Chapter 2

The Broken Regime

As the storm raged over the heads of the distressed she wolf and the reserved warrior, there was another brewing a good league back within the city Holo and Lawrence had called home, the city of Nyohirra. There was an unusual destitution among the town, for the words that passed through the lips of the citizens were filled with fear and wonder.

The night before sent a tragedy and a discovery of the most quarrelsome nature. The evidence of which was in the form of a large, unorganized pile of load bearing beams, brick and mortar and wood that was all blackened and nesting in ash. In front of this condemned edifice was a sign that swayed morbidly and read, 'The Spice and Wolf, Inn and Bathhouse,' just below those words was another plank that scripted, 'Closed.'

The rain and clouds were just as unforgiving upon this city as it was in the wilderness. Through the downpour, were two men wearing the padded tunic of the city guard, with sword and buckler that completed their uniforms. They were organizing a mass effort to remove the debris of the inn, and investigate it's cause.

Another sentry ran to them from around an alley and called for their attention. The two sentinels being called upon, set their attention upon the advancing comrade, with one inquiring, "What is it Pvt. Samson?"

Samson panted, then recomposed himself and said with grim regret for what his duty demanded of him, "We found him."

The two glanced at each other then said, "Show us."

The private then led them way with a quickened pace that was faster than a walk yet slower than a jog. Eventually they were brought to an old, archaic church with more guards of the like nature standing about, with more within. The doors opened and the two sentinels were led inside.

Once they had entered, they looked down the rows of pews and found a group of three huddled together and working in unison upon a grizzly project. Upon noticing the soldiers who were called upon by Samson advance towards them, one tapped the shoulders of the others and whispered, "Let them have a moment."

They arose with cloths in their hands that were reddened with blood and wet from continual dowsings in a bucket of water they kept near.

When their bodies slid from view, there was the body of another, wearing tunic of the city guard as well, laying on his back across the seat. The skin around his lips and jaw were stained with a dark maroon whilst his esophagus was exposed due to a terrible laceration of the throat. The final touch of this ghastly nightmare of this apparently known associate, was that his eyes where opened and transfixed into a gaze of pure terror and self loathing.

The two sentinels stood over the deceased within the parish and bowed their heads. One rested his head upon the pew and rubbed his eyes with remorse. The other shook his head and caressed the back of his neck while pacing away from the sight.

Samson approached the two with a sanguined stiletto wrapped in a lenin clothe in his hands and informed, "This was found next to Abruzzio sir.' then motioning over to a nun that was sitting with her legs crossed, body haunched and face burrowed in a palm, said, 'She was a witness and the one who informed us what had happened, we decided to leave the questioning to you."

Letting out a sigh, one grabbed the other and stood in front of the traumatized woman. The more senior looking one, introduced himself, "Ma'am, I'm corporal Chadrick Lydford,' then motioning to his comrade, 'and this is corporal Kristov Kovalsky."

The fair maiden extended her hand to their's, "Sister Fridrika." said she while shaking their hands in the formal custom of introductions.

Kovalsky suddenly took the lead, "We need to ask you a few questions in regards to what happened here."

The nun nodded timidly while the corporal began, "Can you tell us what happened?"

Adjusting her costume while recalling a memory that was already replaying within her mind, Sister Fridrika gave voice. "It was a night as any other, I had just gotten some of the children to bed, when the young soldier entered."

"Abruzzio?" asked Lydford.

"If that was his name, then yes.' returned the nun, 'He came in and sat down with such a heavy weight, it almost seemed as if the Almighty Himself could not lift his burden. He did not move nor give voice, only staring upon the floor. It was not too long after, until another guard entered the room. I approached the constable and asked of him if there was any way I could best serve him. He declined that he was in need of any assistance from me, that is when I decided to check up on one of the crying babes, leaving the two alone to talk."

"What were they talking about?" pressed Kovalsky.

She strained her brow as she went on, "Abruzzio was speaking rather demonically, something about him being the devil's man and how God had forsaken us! The other was pleading with him to stop and put the shackles on but he would not listen!" said she with a mature whine.

"Then what?"

"Well there was more, the younger one then began to cast blame on the constable, saying things about how he let a pagan monster dwell within the city. And how the people would curse him the rest of his days for it."

Kovalsky and Lydford gave each other stern glances before pressing on, then inquired for more information in which the maiden was disobliged but accepting.

"The conversation was becoming more hostile until Abruzzio yielded a small weapon, in return the constable drew his sword. I do not know why it was coming to this. Abruzzio was talking about how he was 'serving two masters,' and questioning whether or not he should slay the constable or himself. I was then told to take the child and put him back into his nursery. When I returned, the young guard arose and made a lunge for the other, then…" she sobbed, while burying her face into her hands.

Kovalsky looked over to the corpse which was now covered and being placed on a stretcher before being carried out leaving a few others to stay behind and clean the stains from the wooden pews.

He then forced himself to ask, "Was he slain by the other?"

She shook her head, "I do not know!' said she, 'It had happened so fast, swords were drawn, aggression was seen, from where I was standing I could not see how it all unfolded. Atop of that I winced and turned my face when realizing I was about to see a deadly altercation, I am so sorry, I did not know what to do!"

Kovalsky gave a comforting sigh, "It is alright sister, can you tell us more?"

Wiping her eyes the nun went on, "Abruzzio was lying on his back, choking on his own blood. The other rushed to give him aid, who then instructed me to find help, I rushed out post haste in search of another sentinel, but found none in the time being. I am so sorry that I was too late."

The corporal gave a stern reassurance, "Sister Fridrika, this was not your fault, and you are being a greater help than what you give yourself credit for. The only question that I have left is, who was the constable who confronted Abruzzio here?"

The nun took a moment to recollected, then responded, "I never actually caught his name, but Abruzzio referred to him as 'Sergeant.'"

Lydford and Kovalsky looked towards each other then back towards the abbess in which Kovalsky concluded, "Thank you for your time Sister.' then towards his partner, 'Chadrick do you have any questions?"

The other corporal slightly shook his head with a tucked in lower lip. The two then decided to quit the scene. As they were doing so, Kovalsky asked of Lydford, "What do you think?"

In response, the other corporal said, "That we have our work cut out for us."

They scarcely made it out the doors when confronted by another sentinel who appeared onsite and addressed the two corporals, "The chief has sent out a summon for the both of you and wishes to see you immediately."

Lydford looked towards the forecast with a weary gaze while Kovalsky massaged his brows. Shortly after they proceeded away from the church and gave one last look towards the two guards who were laying the body of Abruzzio in the back of a handcart before being rolled away.

Side by side, they morbidly made their way to the barracks.

The governmental section of the city whose structures were designated for the public servants of Nyohirra had a chateau of solid stone work adjacent to the barracks. It was within the more luxurious abode in which the highest ranking city officials used as their personal working space.

Within the hallways of granite stone that had strips of velvet rugs running down the centers, Kovalsky and Lydford walked down with strides filled with anticipation. They took a turn to the right and followed a corridor with pristinely lined windows on their left.

Coming across a polished door of maple, Lydford took it upon himself to knock upon it. A voice came in on the other side that granted them entrance. The door the opened and the duo walked in.

Within the office was a well seasoned man of about fifty sitting behind a desk that was positioned in front of a large window. He had faded brown hair that grayed out at the side burns and a mustache that was a frosty dark gray. There were chairs lined on both sides, with another man sitting at the left whose face was swollen and bruised.

They saluted and addressed, "Chief Reinhart."

Then shooting fiery glances at the man in the chair, Kovalsky half heartedly acknowledged with spite, "Lt. Dorian…."

Reinhart saluted back then motioned to the other row of chairs, "Have a seat corporals."

Stiffly, they did so as Lydford asked, "You wanted to see us sir?"

"Indeed,' he responded, 'it had come to my attention that yesterday was rather eventful. Attempted murder of two inn keepers who were ushered into protective care of some trading company whose members were found butchered into pieces in a nearby warehouse, only to have their inn burned down with the owners allowed to leave with some unknown characters, a dead private and a sergeant who has gone missing after assaulting his own Lieutenant in his own quarters. Does that report sound accurate?"

Lydford nodded, while Kovalsky quietly said, "Yes sir…"

Leaning back in his chair and resting a hand against his cheek, the chief went on, "The reason I have called you here is to debrief, I need more information on the matter before I determine the next step. First off, let's start from the beginning, what more can you tell me?"

Kovalsky began, "It started when Abruzzio informed us that Sgt. Bourgeois wished to meet us at 'The Spice and Wolf, Inn and Bathhouse,' and that a body had been found laying in the alley."

"What was his interest in the inn corporal?" asked the chief in a stern yet non hostile manner.

"The corpse had a torn invitation found on him, one that was a personal invite to a select party from the owners. Bourgeois felt that they may have been targets of the culprit, and perhaps they would know of the identity of the deceased. So we had gone there to talk to the couple, Holo and Lawrence."

"How were you received by them?"

"Well enough considering. They did not know the deceased, however they had just come back from an unusual meeting with a man by the name of Count Laternieux, who seemed rather interested in them. They said he offered them a partnership of some sort, yet it was the means by which they were contacted and where they were taken that seemed to cause some alarm with them. However, his intentions were supposedly made clear when another lad came on scene, a boy working for a company by the name 'wolf trading,' who addressed himself as Hugo de Que Hada."

"What did he want?"

"He told us that the count was after their inn and would stop at nothing to have it, leading us to believe that he was the suspect behind the murder. Hugo offered to take them in while we would go to were the count was said to have been and arrest him."

"When you got there?"

Kovalsky let out an air of discomfort and slight shame when he said, "When we had gotten there, the count was gone and all that was found were two men who had been trampled by a horse and three others found near a wrecked carriage with yet another body within it, who was believed to have been a servant of the count. The suspects denied killing the man, and there was little information we could retrieve further more. So we brought them back with us."

"Perhaps you should tell him what had happened during your absence!" interjected Dorian.

"Lieutenant." scolded the chief softly.

Kovalsky sighed then said, "When we returned, there had been an incident at the warehouse during the time we were gone."

"I am aware of what had happened there.' said Reinhart, 'I am more interested in Sgt. Bourgeois. From what I have been told, he doubled the man hours and took his regime beyond the city limits without checking with his superiors. Atop of that it has also been informed of me that he was becoming rather delusional in his reasoning behind his actions."

Kovalsky shot a quick glance at Dorian and stammered, "Most likely one sided information wouldn't it be!?"

"Good heavens your just as crazy as he is! To defend him after all this!" growled the lieutenant.

"He's done more for the people of this city than you!" shot back the corporal.

"Gentlemen!" said the chief in a loud voice, then spoke more calmly, "I am not so willing to believe your sergeant was absent minded. But I need to know more behind his motives before deciding the next corse of action. What more can you tell me about his mental well being?"

Kovalsky nodded his head and said with a defense any would have for a friend, "He had every reason for his suspicions."

"That's what I would like to know from you corporal." said chief Reinhart.

Kovalsky then adjusted his uniform before continuing. "Bourgeois became suspicious over a series of murders that had taken place outside the city over the past five years. He began to track them and was able to isolate some of the beginnings and found a relation between the times and places to the inn keepers. It appeared that when the couple were just partners in travel, they had been to some of the cities and with some of the trading guilds prior to disappearances or deaths regarding the areas and organizations."

"How did the sergeant learn of all this?"

Dorian then interjected, "By sending out and inquiring of the sentinels of other cities without my knowing!"

The chief raised his hand to cool the nerves then bade Kovalsky to proceed.

"In summary, Bourgeois was able to discover that the inn keepers had a price placed upon there heads but were spared without there knowing by another being who was working in the shadows as their unknown savior."

"Who?"

"The only known alias was the name Alden, who was the name one of the count's most elite servants, but have not been able to confirm this."

"More importantly corporal, is who placed this bounty upon the heads of these citizens and why?"

Kovalsky looked up to the ceiling and pondered greatly the most bizarre element. "Bourgeois discovered that Holo was more than the lovely wife of an inn keeper….and expectant mother. She was among the kenrou, she is 'Holo of the wheat and tail.'"

Dorian scoffed, "This is why I suspended that imprudent dolt!"

The chief leaned forward and said with wavering confidence, "Kristov, Chadrick, do you actually believe this?"

Lydford at long last broke his silence, "I saw her sir, she had the ears and tail of a wolf. She is the pagan god of legend."

Massaging his temple the chief caught Dorian's reddening face, then asked for more to be divulged.

Lydford decided to give voice, "The sergeant believed this to be the reason why she is being hunted. Other speculations point to a very powerful crime lord who has won the favor of the church to have her eliminated."

"Which leads me to my next question, why weren't they taken into protective custody? Because from what I have heard, the sergeant allowed the couple to leave in the company of someone else."

"I was there sir,' returned Lydford, 'It was the count Laterniuex."

"This is where my faith in Bourgeois falters." stammered the chief, "Why did he do this?"

Kovalsky joined in, "Because he believed this crime lord to have members of his own within our ranks. And it has been recently discovered that Abruzzio may have been one of them, we do not know who the other one is, other than he suspected Dorian."

Turning to the lieutenant, Reinhart inquired with boldness, "Is this why he really attacked you?"

Dorian looked away with an insufferable look of stubbornness.

"I take it that you were not fully informed of all the details?" almost mocked Lydford when addressing his superior officers.

Dorian let out an aggressive huff and said, "I find it amusing when being accused of such treachery by the very individual who ambitiously prosecuted me, let the so called wolf girl go with the very man who was suspected of it all!"

Lydford was silent, while the chief interjected, "Was this count the suspected crime lord then?"

Kovalsky shook his head and informed, "No, Bourgeois mentioned the name Jurgen."

Dorian gave out an obvious pshaw and let his displeasure known, then accused, "Why don't you tell him the circumstances in which you found this out corporal?!"

The sentinel then bowed his head as to almost accept defeat, "It was within the lieutenant's quarters. When the sergeant was found quarreling with him."

"Damn fool just about choked me to death, and all I was attempting to do was reason with him before he made his charge at me!" yelled Dorian.

"And that justifies what you did AFTER WE HAD THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL?!" screamed Kovalsky.

The chief slammed his fist upon the desk to grab the attention of both men, "Corporal mind your tone in my office, and lieutenant, I already have a testimony from you."

Kovalsky took a moment to recollect himself and began to breathe with more control to lower his rage.

The chief then exercised more of his curiosity and asked, "What happened then, in those quarters?"

With a slight grudge, the corporal accounted, "When we had interrupted the conflict, Bourgeois then told us everything that was on his mind. I was not sure if he was sincere or greatly fatigued by the day's events, for you must understand the amount of guilt we all feel in this. The sergeant then told us that he was going go after the couple himself, and abandon his position within the city guard."

"Why go after them if he felt he had left them in the appropriate care of the count?"

Kovalsky shrugged his shoulders and said, "He claimed he had information that an ambush was waiting for them and felt obligated to warn them himself. Sir, he seemed very paranoid over the name Jurgen, and I do believe it is worth investigating."

"I'll be sure to take that under advisement corporal, in the meantime can you tell me the cause behind his disappearance?"

"During the conversation, Dorian slashed him in the gut without warning, and he escaped while Lydford and I had to subdue the lieutenant. I followed him to the river and it was there he leapt in and allowed the current to carry him off."

The chair of the chief creaked loudly as he turned to Dorian and said, "You did not tell me of this!"

The high ranking sentinel grimaced with displeasure at being exposed for being a man who spared crucial details in this plight. Then in the petulant act of shifting blame, the lieutenant mumbled, "What of private Abruzzio? Did the sergeant kill him under this delusion like he attempted to kill me?"

Lydford bowed his head, "We do not know what happened. Our witness stated that Abruzzio made mention of either killing himself or his commanding officer. However we are not sure what unfolded in the church."

Dorian then gave a disrespectful scoff, "For all we know he may be going to kill the inn keepers himself considering…"

"Lieutenant!" snapped the chief, "This is your final warning."

Kovalsky then inserted, "Chief the only way to get to the bottom of this is to ask Bourgeois himself."

"I could not have put it better myself corporal." returned his superior.

"Sir?" inquired Kovalsky.

Reinhart leaned back and declared, "There is much mystery and darkness that seems to have invaded our borders. Hidden secrets have come to light and heavy prices were paid for it. There is much left unanswered, and whether or not the sergeant was in his right mind is still unknown. However, I do feel strongly that he knows and knew more than what he ever led onto. And for that I need him here for a full debrief, then take the next appropriate actions."

"Sir, how are we to accomplish this?" asked Lydford.

With a smile the chief motioned, "That is were you two come in."

The corporals gawked at each other for but a moment.

"The two of you knew the sergeant better than anyone, if he has survived you would know where he would go to next. I am assigning the three of you to track him down and bring him in."

Dorian's eyes widened, "The three of us sir?"

Waving to him, Reinhart said, "Oh fear not Dorian, you will not be joining them, for you are suspended until further notice."

"Excuse me!?"

"Whether you are defector or not, your actions have called for you to be investigated more thoroughly. You will be reporting to internal affairs within the hour."

"Because I was defending myself from a deranged lunatic?!"

"It was not only that Dorian,' returned the chief, 'I have heard some interesting stories concerning you. Such as willful neglect, misuse of work time and personal quarters, and a continual pattern of disrespect and hostile interactions with your subordinates."

Dorian shot his finger towards the two corporals and exacerbated with rage, "You can't rely on the testimony of these two!"

The chief leaned forward and said quietly, "The corporals didn't sell you out lieutenant, there were others willing to do that."

Dorian was silenced beyond words while the corporals hid their smirks in a non conspicuous manner. Eventually Kovalsky was able to say calmly, "Sir, who is the other member of this search party?"

"Private Samson will be going with you, he could use the field experience and is not a member of Bourgeois' regime, making him all the less bias."

With a nod the corporals stood and saluted before they were dismissed.

As they walked out and back into the hallway, Lydford commented, "You surprised me Kristov, I've never seen you show so much spine. Normally it was the sergeant who had the nerve to scream at the lieutenant."

In response, Kovalsky said, "I can't roll over and show my belly all the time."

"Very well, so how do you plan on tracking him down?"

"Follow the river and look for either footprints or a corpse." said Kovalsky with a hint of gloom.

As they made it outside, another voice ruptured behind them, "I'm glad you're going after Bogey, this way at least the city guard's most obsolete members will be absent for the time being."

They turned to see Dorian trailing behind them with a nerve wrenching smile. They continued to walk out of the barracks together without much conversation.

With the freedom now to say what he wished, Kovalsky said, "So, how did it taste?"

"What are you talking about? How did what taste?!" stammered the unpleased Dorian.

"When you put your tongue to Reinhart's boot."

With a flare in his temperament, Dorian turned him around, but was shoved back by Lydford who said with a condescending tone, "Now, now Lucas, you are suspended, which means that you no longer hold your title within our ranks. In other words, even a cadet out ranks you! What I just saw, was an irate citizen attempting to assault a guard, if you leave now, I may just forget what I saw. I bludgeoned you once, I will do it again."

With a flustered growl, Dorian pushed past both of them with an aggressive pace. As he was quitting the scene, Kovalsky called back out to him, "Oh, and Dorian."

He turned to face him.

"You had better hope we don't find Bourgeois, for your sake."

With a sulking squint, Dorian left out of view.

As the two corporals were making their way towards the barracks, Kovalsky asked of Lydford, "You enjoyed that didn't you?"

In response, his partner said, "You're damn right!"