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581 Barovian Calendar, Barovia

"Forgive me, my lord, but I still think it is too "

I tried to keep the a in my expression as I looked at Aldrick Wachter across aze, and though he did not at all resely reminded me of him all the same The last year and a half had truly helped Aldrick develop into a n effective commander, but soe

"If you are lost, then all Barovia is lost," he continued, the chronically

Now I allowed h "You may well speak a profound truth, but I can take care ofso"

"But this wizard we fight may have snares so well hidden even you could et that business in Krezk"

Last ed to infiltrate the barracks in Krezk by posing as a common soldier When the htered dozens in their sleep before the alarh the remains of his wolfish head were still on a pike in the center of the camp, the occurrence had been a severe blow to the confidence of the troops I thought it was for that result alone that Azalin had sacrificed his hirsute pawn

"I have not forgotten, and it is for that reason I&039; to this myself I must inspect each individual in the company to make sure there are no similar surprises for them once they set out"

"But one cannot be too careful,back from the table and "Your concern for o see to e in my tone and wisely subsided He need not have worried about h I was protected byabout), I was at present a walking storehouse of ical defenses Add to that the fact that I was in full battle dress with an enspelled sword riding easily on my left hip, and even Azalin himself would have been hard pressed to do me injury

Aldrick picked up a stout leather pouch lined with hammered lead foil and drew hi with the disorientation of as co I picked up a small, heavy wood box, stood next to him, and spoke the words of power that caused us to vanish from my study and reappear seconds later in Krezk so his eyes, Aldrick then released a sh of relief, but made no other outer reaction to the spell He would never be co it, but he did trust me It was a testimony to his own loyalty that he traveled in thisto him - without complaint

Our destination was the aforeh it was h within its newly built walls

Sentries, traveling in pairs, paced alert at their posts while their coe army unit at the ready About one thousand were housed here, and the coe made certain none could complain of boredom They were the best turned out, best drilled, and best fed of all those in my service They were considered the elite of Barovia, and that was likely the reason Azalin&039;s Kargat had been sent here What better place to undermine everybody&039;s confidence than to thumb a nose at Strahd&039;s finest?

My visit noas intended to make the troops put the recent butchery farther behind theratified at the immediate response to our sudden appearance in the center of the parade ground Half a dozen of the people on watch gave the alar in, swords drawn They halted a precise two yards away and gave grin and that evening&039;s password; though it was obvious from their faces that the soldiers knew us, one ulations Azalin&039;s illusions were an ever present threat

A runner was sent to Com us and careet us, smartly turned out in the Von Zarovich colors of black, red, and white She offered a formal salute, which we returned Since I was in unifor ritual out of the way, Resvalan ordered her people back to their posts and led us to her administrative office, a s sheds She&039;d noticed the box inhere was built of wood and plaster, quickly thrown together out of necessity There had been so an attack, but I had taken care of that possibility Once I had finished, the whole of the Krezk barracks was fire-proofed,If he wanted details of ent on here, he had to send in spies, and there ays of dealing with theave up her chair and desk to me and stood to one side with Aidrick while she briefly rendered her daily report, which was satisfactory I then asked for the list of volunteers I had told her to draw up and read over the names on it

"Voan Darl&039;s name is not here," I said after ato snap, my lord," she candidly answered

"Is he now? Would you care to elaborate?"

"He does not interact ith the rest of the troops That can be a fatal liability on a raid"

"Yet he is very efficient at his job"

Several times in the past year I had sent hi missions into Darkon, and they had returned intact and with reed, my lord, but he&039;s a otten it into his head that he&039;s soular duty in the camp Even the Darkon mercenaries will fall in with the rest for the drills; they know the training will keep the that they are civilians"

"Which they are"

Recognizing his talent would be wasted were he to be absorbed into the ement with Darl when I&039;d first hired hiood to have hi idle while the rest of h their exercises"

"I see your point, but the fact reood at his work and entitled to do whatever he pleases when not actively on a mission for me If your people have a problem with that, you can inform them that should they exhibit a similar aptitude of expertise, then they may be allowed to sit out the drills theuht be on a personal level He wasn&039;t a particularly handsome man, but was one of those who possessed the inborn faculty to draw the attention of most women

Even Yersinia had felt his charm, and I knew her to be a most steady and level-headed lady She had once told me that Darl was "perilous" and seeh I couldn&039;t see the peril ly took advantage of it when appropriate His last disguised foray into Darkon required that he gain access into the house of one of Azalin&039;s highest ranking nobles Darl&039;s method involved the seduction of the noble&039;s wife, and - in all aspects - he had perfor with the needed information ahead of schedule As there had been no executions in the family, it was to be assumed Azalin (and the lady&039;s spouse) still did not know of the breach in his defenses

Darl&039;s success had in turn altered ht back was no less than Azalin&039;s invasion timetable

I had already discovered broad clues of it by observing thethe whole of our common border For the last month the small raids ether My inner core of commanders and I knew the first - and likely final - battle was coed that The next dark cycle of the suhts away It was tiet very, very clever

I ordered Commander Resvalan to call up the volunteer squads and went outside to inspect theroup Barovia&039;s resources were such that there was little coin to spare for niceties likeuniforms Those were reserved for the senior commanders who could afford the tailor work All my people did wear cloth arm bands with my colors so that in the heat of battle they would not mistakenly attack their own Beyond that they were in whatever congloear they could assemble for themselves Without exception they were very well-armed That was one detail I did not dare stint on; the sht and day All those in this particular asseic spells, iinative, resourceful - and unencued their ar Azalin&039;s colors As with me, only his top people had uniforms He could afford the expense, but just didn&039;t care to bother with it As far as Resvalan knew, this foray was no different than any other I had planned, except on a larger scale than past efforts She had chosen people who had previously worked well together - with the exception of Darl&039;s band of civilians orked with none but themselves I had them called out, and one by one they sauntered up to stand in an informal line with the others, toruntled face of a man who had just been roused froave a curt nod, and had the first lot of volunteers - a half dozen - file into the co the coive my last orders in private At the same time I hypnotically reconfirmed the truth of their loyalty and reinforced their commitment to the successful completion of their mission When they awoke, I told them that they were the honored few of Barovia and to serve to the best of their ability (at thrice the norical iteht find useful on theirscryed upon

Included were two et the for a deep penetration sortie to Il Aluk and couldn&039;t waste the next few days trying to ride there

This procedure I repeated twice roup of two dozen retained their Barovian arhtly different mission for them across the border

Then I called for Darl&039;s lot In the yard Aldrick shifted a few ti that if anyone tried to assassinate nored hi

This lot varied from the others in its lack of formality and the frank discussion of money Darl&039;s five worked on a job-to-job basis, and if they didn&039;t care for the level of risk con with gold, accounting forand let the coins spill out on the table

The gold caught the candlelight and winked alluringly

Darl&039;s stern face relaxed into an expression of pure pleasure at the sight He was very fond of reed "What&039;s the catch?" he asked after a erous It makes the past ones seem like jaunts to pick wildflowers"

They looked at each other, but their curiosity was up They wouldn&039;t leave before finding out what I had in old

It represented lifetime retirement in luxury for the six people before ," said Darl

I nodded, looking at them all carefully "I want you to kidnap General Vychen"

That brought forth an instant reaction of disbelief Vychen was Azalin&039;s first commander, and next in line to the throne of Darkon itself should the unlikely happen and Azalin be destroyed He was also the secret leader of the Kargat, erous man in Darkon

Darl snorted "Why stop there? Why not have us kidnap Azalin hi you to do the difficult, not the impossible"

"This is i felloith a penchant for picking locks

"Give his lordship a chance to finish, Alvi," said Ag&039;n, a large, gentle-looking man, whose only superior with a blade was Darl "I&039;m sure he wouldn&039;t send us in unless we had a chance to succeed"

"You&039;re too trusting, you are" But Alvi subsided Now that the first shock had passed his gaze arrested on the gold

"One would hope ould have a chance," said Darl "Why kidnap hi him would be less of a risk to us"

"I have a use for hi far more important than his death"

"I should think his death would be very useful to our side," put in Cylla, a slender, sharp-featured wo the thoughts of others and was an efficient archer

"You need not worry about that part of things What I want to knohether or not you&039;re willing to take the job?" I could hypnotize theh such was convenient for me, it was also no true substitute for actual enthusias," said the other wo, fair haired beauty, as very skilled with knives "But before we finally accept, we need to kno it&039;s possible for us to even get close to hi so I&039;ve eneral&039;s habits and they include a liking for co women Either of you may serve as bait" I meant this in the literal sense, for Vychen&039;s lethal appetite for blood was identical to my own Unlike me, he had little practice at self-control, so his dalliances tended to be of very short duration

Both ladies snorted conteeneral&039;s weakness

"Do not underestimate him, for his is not an ordinary proclivity It is well known a his officers that the women he fancies tend to disappear or turn up dead - or worse"

"What&039;s worse than dead?" piped Alvi "Oh - never mind, I shouldn&039;t like to know"

And they would not know from me If I told them about Vychen&039;s true nature they would have sensibly turned heel and walked out the door no roup, Kelab, a largeface, now spoke

"What&039;s your plan, Lord Strahd?" He was second-in-coth (and rather loudly) the desirability of any given job, but he often deferred to Darl&039;s decision

I now told thehly important point, which I held in reserve for Darl By the ti to old back into the velvet bag and said they could collect the lot - if they survived the night Alvisound, which aet prepared except for Darl; I discreetly signaled that he should stay behind I nodded permission for him to take the chair oppositeinto place and with a raised eyebrow so to affect a combination of inquisitiveness and boredo about his manner that reo when I had walked under the sun He was also stubborn and strong-willed - for a normal man That hy I had chosen hie

"I have a special request to ask of you," I said, choosing my words with care

His vast esteem of himself amused me, thus my apparent show of favor This was cohly of itself

"What request ht that be, my lord?"