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If freedom were defined by chaos, the Free Kingdom of Carpathia's self-proclaimed name would be very apt indeed.

Villages were surrounded by faltering pastures, scorched fields, and crumbling homesteads. One could not look in any direction throughout the vast plains of Carpathia without seeing a mass of horse hooves beaten into the dirt. The wolven nomads were running rampant, doing whatever they felt like, just as the rumors had spoken.

Emir Pesht-Kutlar had done an excellent job at proving that his family members were only good at being Hereditary Dukes while the Alphate appointed a governor to actually keep things running properly. Although the human that Romulus had put in charge when I captured the city previously was not exactly a shining star of good governance, he would have not let the area turn into this.

Although this would create a logistical nightmare and we would have to deal with what was surely to be a future famine, this blatant mismanagement provided a great opportunity for us. So desperate were the local village elders and so hated were the nomads that we were given free reign to advance into the land.

The three cities of the Southwest surrendered within the day of us arriving to each of them. Pecs was the only one that offered any resistance, the Chief of some nomad clan whom I could not bother learning the name of, stood atop the wall in defiance, proclaiming he would mount me like a bitch before having me trampled to death by his horses. Ending this boastful rant was a proud laugh from the wolf which even from the distance we were at, I could tell elicited mere nervous chuckles from his solders at his side, most of whom were foxes, but even the wolves did not look entertained.

Sure enough, around midnight a beacon of surrender was lit atop the wall. The Chief was covered in pitch and lit aflame before being cast to the dirt below. The gates flung open and the city welcomed us with open arms.

Szekszard had no wolven garrison and the fox mayor, upon sighting us, cried out a song praising the Republic before suddenly switching to praising my name as we grew closer. Kaposvar had another nomad governing it but he was smart enough to surrender and abandon his post in favor of a local fox, so I spared his life.

While we made this lightning-quick advance across the countryside, we would occasionally run into skirmishes with small clans. We were always prepared to repel them, but unfortunately far too many of them escaped our soldiers and we feared that they were going to report back to Pest.

If this had been the Alphate we were up against, we would have faced heavy resistance by now. The Free Kingdom appeared to also have crumbling communications on top of everything else. We got drunk with our early success and as our supplies were dwindling and I didn't want to resort to pillaging the very people we were here to save, we pressed on

Within the month, we had reached Lake Balaton, deluded that we could reach Pest before the end of the season.

"General Vito, tell me what the hell I'm looking at."

Vito put his paw to his brow to cover the sun and looked down at the peculiar sight by Lake Balaton. A stone wall surrounded a large compound where a series of buildings with red, ceramic shingles sloping down it were littering the lakeside, along with an octagonal pagoda.

"It would appear to be a pleasure palace of some sort," Vito squinted, "Alphate, it would appear."

My ear and my nose twitched as a symphony of music notes and grilled meat danced in the air around me, "It would seem they're having a party and are not suffering the same hardships that the local peasants are."

"What a tragedy, Marshal."

"I'm aware that in order to win the hearts of the people here we need to refrain from plundering," I fidgeted in my saddle, "but I don't think the peasants will so much as sniffle if we were to crash this party and perform a little redistribution of their food."

"The gates are open," Vito muttered, pointing to the walls surrounding the palace. Blurry figures of wolves armed with tall spears were lining the entrance but otherwise it was completely insecure. If they had spotted us, which unless the noble occupying the location had hired exclusively near-sighted guards was impossible, they weren't particularly concerned.

"No fortifications, no traps that I can see," Laurent muttered from the tall grass in front of us, his red fur sticking out like a sore thumb from the green. He never looked away from his spyglass for a second, "something stinks."

"Fresh meat, salt, and spices, that's what!" Livio slapped Laurent on the hip, his pink splotches of bare skin looking like even worse camouflage. The mangy fox lifted his head from his hiding spot and his black nose twitched as a breeze wafted by. "Nicolo's Fortune! Cheese!"

"I assume you're in favor of storming the place, Lieutenant?" I asked.

Livio wiped away a rope of drool from his lips, "I'm in favor of having a bit of fun, yeah."

"I'm not," Laurent muttered, "they're acting too stupid. Something isn't right, we should wait and scout out the area."

"And miss our chance?" Livio laughed. "If we take a small cavalry unit down there right now, we can storm the place faster than they could shut the gate! Any moment they could close, we need to act fast!"

I was inclined to agree with Livio, enjoying the thrill of a lighting-quick sack, but decided to defer to my inner circle before making a decision.

"Vito?"

"I respect the desire to want to give the wolves a bloody eye," Vito shifted in his saddle and spat onto the ground, "but this seems too obvious of a victory. We've already had too many of those on the way here."

"Guy?"

The campaign had not been kind of the yellow fox. Heavy bags were under his eyes and his coat was looking course like a wolf's. A brown cloak was wrapped around his torso, despite the fact that it was rather hot. He remained tense, paws gripped tightly around the reins of his horse.

"I'll defer to you, Marshal."

"I guess it's settled then," Vito said.

Clearing my throat, I interjected, "I haven't given my opinion nor order yet."

Vito smiled, "I think you have, Marshal."

I nodded towards the small palace, "Give me a hundred cavalry, I'll have the whole place in chains within the hour. Livio, Guy, you're with me."

A sour scent carried across the air from Laurent. His disappointment with my decision was obvious though he did not let it show otherwise.

Livio and Guy sprang into action and within a few minutes we had one hundred horses and their fox owners atop them behind me. The one exception to our overwhelmingly vulpine assault team was Sister, perched atop a mare in formation behind her mate. To her and Livio's credit, they did not let their relationship compromise their discipline.

"Go!"

We charged towards the gates in an arrowhead formation, ready to pierce their feeble defenses. As the air slapped against my face, I lowered the visor of my helmet, expecting a spray of arrows to greet us. It felt like the Earth itself would shatter beneath the pounding of hooves and I could taste fear in the air. Wolven eyes were upon us and we saw their spears move.

And then clatter to the ground.

"Surrender! Surrender!" one of the wolves cried out as all of the guards fell to the ground, groveling for mercy. Most of them tucked their tails between their legs, a few raised them as if expecting us to mount them. Typical wolf behavior upon being faced with their superiors.

"Slow!" I barked to my army and slowed my horse to a trot just before we passed between the rows of guards.

None of the wolves dared avert their eyes from the dirt, save for one dressed in blue silk robes who greeted us beyond the gates and immediately slapped his head to the dirt, genuflecting.

"This humble, wretched-"

"Omega," I sneered down at him in contempt, "you look like an Omega at best."

The wolf was light gray and his black lips quivered as he processed my orders. Whining, he lowered his head back to the ground, "This humble, wretched O-Omega greets you, respected fox."

"Respected!?" my soldiers laughed in a chorus behind me. "Merely respected!? Not honored? Dominating? Give me the best Alphate honorific you can, Omega!"

"T-t-th-"

"On second thought," I beckoned my horse to take a single step forward, "my horse's hoof is dirty, you can apologize for your transgression by licking it clean."

Whining, the wolf crawled over and much to my endless disgust, eagerly began lapping at the hoof. Even my horse looked humiliated, looking to the side as if it couldn't stand to look at this pitiful display.

Perhaps in an attempt to salvage this disgrace, another wolf in plain robes approached from beside the pagoda near the water. The wolf gently placed a serving tray of empty bowls onto the ground before bowing graciously before me.

"Master Marco, I presume?" the servant wolf said with surprising eloquence as his superior continued to polish a hoof.

"It appears my reputation precedes me," I smirked.

"The pagoda has someone in it that might interested you."

"Traitor!" the wolven noble snarled, upsetting my horse who snorted and stomped at the ground by his face. "How dare you!? How d-"

"Shut up!" I swung a kick at the wolf's face, knocking him into the dirt, before I slid off my horse and patted the servant on the shoulder. "So, wolf, what prize might I expect?"

"Something you own and lost some time ago."

"I do not appreciate riddles, slave," I rubbed my chin, "but I'm feeling exceptionally curious today, lead the way."

The servant was stiff and graceful as he led me towards the short staircase leading to the wooden doors of the pagoda, varnished to an intense shine. He wasted no time in getting me there quickly, no doubt he was used to the merciless whims of his Master or perhaps he knew that my patience was likely limited.

My ears flipped back as wretched wolven court music assaulted them. A band of exhausted humans were playing poorly-tuned string instruments while gluttonous wolves dug into succulent pork glazed with honey, surrounded by dishes of soft cheese. Each wolf had two cups of ale and at least one wolf looks to be suffering from the first stages of grape poisoning, having wanted to taste local wine and not knowing you're supposed to spit it out.

"By Canis," Guy grumbled with his paw on the pommel of his sword, as if expecting any of the drunken wolves to assault him any moment. Seconds after invoking his name, we passed by the ground floor's idol to Canis, which was covered in wine stains, "what a disgrace."

"Kinda like it myself," Livio snatched an unguarded plate of runny cheese and began licking the treat as we continued, "are all wolven temples like this?"

"Gods, no," one wolf, who was dancing around with the remains of a paper lantern atop his head, bumped into me and I shoved him to the ground, "usually more rigid, every mere step is a damned part of their rituals, and Canis help you if you howl at the wrong time. Truly miserable experiences."

"Didn't know you ever attended one," Livio mumbled with a maw full of cheese.

"Never have."

We were led to a wooden staircase that wound along the octagonal walls of the pagoda. Each floor we observed had nothing but pure decadence. It was a never-ended party and all that was missing was the orgies, but my nose picked up the scent of wolf musk so I knew we had to be approaching that.

"You know," Livio gave his plate one last lick before tossing it down the staircase with a crash, "I bet if they had prostitutes like at the Temple of Vulpa, maybe the wolves wouldn't be so fucking uptight."

"That, Lieutenant," Guy sniffed, "is a sacred calling for vixens of good repute."

"Never once said they weren't!"

"SLAVE! SLAVE!" a wolf cried out from the floor we passed by. He was pointing at me, rather than the wolven slave leading us. The fur around his lips was purple. "R-refill my wine! NOW!"

Ignoring him, we continued on. However, the sot seemed to possess supernatural speed and he leaped in front of the staircase, barring our path with his bloated frame. He carried a cup that was empty and a clay vase of wine, begging the question of why didn't he just pour it himself.

He was a wolf, of course, a rich one. That was why.

"Hold him," I ordered Livio and Guy, who grabbed him by the arms before the wolf could react, "and open his mouth!"

Livio wrapped his mangy paw around the wolf's snout and pried it open, until his maw was as wide as it would get. His teeth were yellow and his tongue was black, but the worst part of all was his breath, which I could not even dream of describing.

Taking the vase, I poured him his wine right down his throat while Guy rubbed at his neck. Once the vase was empty, Livio closed his maw up and pinched his nose shut until the wolf swallowed.

Drunk though the wolf was, he seemed to be filled with a sudden chilling awareness that he was in serious trouble.

"I'd suggest finding a doctor immediately, I'm sure a noble wolf such as yourself will have one available."

Without saying another word, the poisoned wolf tore down the stairs, allowing us free reign to ascend.

The final staircase ended at a door leading into a private room. The wolf pressed a finger to his lips and edged close to the door, cupping his ear against it.

"Your gift awaits you," he whispered.

As I drew closer, the sounds of pleasure made themselves present. Beyond the door lay a world of moans, the grinding of flesh, and the crack of the whip. The door was thick and muffling, but all of those rang clear.

The voices were hard to pick up, but their words were clear enough.

"...You're a stupid wolf, aren't you?"

CRACK!

"Ohhhhh..."

CRACK!

"...One day, every fox in the world will have your kind on leashes..."

CRACK!

"Yes! Master! Please!"

CRACK!

Though I did not recognize the voices, my nose began to twitch as a scent wafted up from the crack at the bottom of the door.

It had been a long time, but I would remember that scent anywhere.

Rosewater.

My ears perked up and the servant nodded with a smile before pushing open the door.

Laying atop a massive bed covered in green silks was my long-lost slave, still as youthful and handsome as he had been since I last met him. Chains were wrapped around all of his limbs and his thick, red member was sticking out of his sheathe while a slim, naked red fox stomped on his chest with a leather boot. The fox wielded a thin whip and was quick to chastise his submissive with it.

"Galip," I whispered.

Both of the occupants jerked their heads to face us and their eyes went wide. The fox quickly backed off, ducking into a corner and begging for mercy. Galip on the other hand, had no choice but to remain still, though I believe he would have been paralyzed even if he was not cuffed.

"N-no..." he whispered.

"Yes," I smiled as I approached the bed, taking in his sweet smell, my favorite part of my first wolven war trophy, "I'm back for what is mine."

"T-t-t-they..." Galip licked his lips, "...r-r-ransom...I-I-I..."

"I don't care about that," I cupped his chin, stroking his gray fur. Beyond his familiar rosewater scent came a cornucopia of fox musk reeking in his fur and flesh. He had been with many, many foxes since my interregnum over him.

Galip whined as I forced him to look into my eye.

"You're mine," I whispered and nipped him on the tip of his black nose, "and I'm not going to let anyone take you from me again."

"Thank you..." Galip submissively licked at my chin, "...Alpha..."

I knelt down and let one of his paws feel my face, even run his blunt claw along my false eye.

"Alpha...what happened?"

"Nothing important," I ran my paw across his shaft, stroking it, "what say we have a bit of-"

"Marshal!" Guy barked. "Get over here, now!"

Cursing, I removed myself from my tender reunion with my trophy and stormed over to Guy, who was peering out a window.

"This had better be-"

I cut myself off as soon as I saw what he did.

Off to the North-East, clouds of dust were being kicked up on the horizon. It looked like there were four of them and chances are they belonged to sizable armies, far greater than we had faced since our incursion.

There was no question as to where they were headed.

"Marco!" Livio suddenly called from the South-West of the room.

My tail bristled and I was carried across to Livio by an unseen force. I tried not to let the fear show, not in front of my Lieutenants, but I knew that Livio had nothing good to tell, nothing good at all.

It was even worse than I imagined. More plumes of dust, six I counted, were pounding towards us, kicked up by unseen legions of nomads.

"We need to regroup," I swallowed, "get back to Vito. Now!"

I swung about and my blood went cold. The wolven servant was gone and the door was shut. I put my paw on the knob, expected nothing but the worst, and turned.

Locked.

"Open up!" I banged on the door.

"Marshal!" Livio whined.

"WHAT NOW!?"

Acrid air invaded my nostrils and I looked at the ground.

Smoke was seeping through the floorboards.

We were trapped.