A lot of you have been bringing up the ark in comments. So we figured we'd answer the question up here instead of individually. What happened with the ark will be in the sequel to ADL. Clarke and co will find out what happened but whether that is that they all died, they came down, or something else, you'll have to wait and find out. We'll be taking a few months break after we finish ADL before we start teh sequel but we have the sequel plotted out and will be starting it sometime this winter or late fall. During that time we'll be writing some other stories and will put out a few oneshots in the ADL world to tide you over. Hopefully that answers your questions.

RhinoMouse

-DLDLDLDLDLDDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-

Clarke could hear the wind whistling in her ears as she pushed her horse as fast as he could go. Their hearts were beating as one as they flew across the ground heading for the Azgeda line. She didn't have time, she must look a fright wearing only what clothes she could grab off the floor of Lexa's room, her shirt on backwards, her hair wild and flying about her. None of that mattered though, what mattered was the time, and they had so little of it if they were to save the lives of those in TonDC. It was a part of war that Clarke had not missed, the long monotonous waiting before adrenaline fueled blur that was the actual fighting. The blood was pounding in her ears and she let herself fall into the rhythm of movement, letting her endless list of plans fall away as she focused on moving with her horse.

She was brought out of her almost focused trance when she came charging into her camp. Flinging herself out of the saddle as she brought her horse to a stop, she threw the reins at a warrior who had come running to see what was happening. "Bring Anya to the command tent now!" She ordered as she moved to the trough set out for the horses and dunked her head straight into the water.

"General?" Laslow asked, running up to her, clearly having been summoned while she was getting the berries out of her hair.

She stood straight, deciding a brief dunk in a trough was all she had time for to get the blasted red out. "Wake everyone, our brawl with the Trikru starts as soon as we can get our men up and moving."

His eyes widened before he was off shouting orders.

Clarke breathed a sigh that he didn't question why they were moving out days earlier than planned. She just knew he'd have their army marshalled in under an hour. After all, she'd trained these men to be ready to move out as quickly as possible. They were a well-oiled machine. Entering the command tent, she didn't even bother waking Lisa, who was sleeping in what was normally her bed. She was in her trunk and pulling on her uniform in moments. She was fastening her jacket when Anya came in without announcing herself.

"What's happened?" The Trikru captain asked urgently.

"The radio is working, the mountain is preparing to bomb TonDC, if we move now there is a chance they'll delay to allow us to destroy ourselves." Clarke tightly braided her hair out of the way, some red still showing through, but mostly it was back to its usual gold.

Anya straightened, "I'll leave for TonDC immediately."

"Change of plans." Clarke said, halting the captain's movement. "You and a team of your choosing are to find and kill the spotter from the mountain to further prevent the launch of a missile. You are to make it look like an accident due to the spreading chaos and not a targeted hit." Clarke tossed her a radio. "Gustus is taking command of TonDC and the brawl in your stead, his place on Lexa's guard has been filled by Dax."

Clarke sheathed several of her knives, ignoring the startled and clearly terrified form of her medical apprentice, who had woken up at some point in the last few minutes.

"Are the men even ready for the attack?" Anya asked in confusion holding the radio clearly not knowing what to do with it.

"They don't have the choice not to be." Clarke replied, sheathing a short sword along her back with her bow and pulling on her pauldron. "Give that radio to Charlotte, she should be able to help you find the spotter using it."

Anya finally gave a nod of assent. "It'll be done."

"Good hunting captain." Clarke said as the woman turned to leave. She saw the serious look on Anya's face but also the slight approval.

Turning to Lisa, who was now pulling on her own clothing, clearly realizing something was happening, she began giving more orders. "Get to the medical tent, rouse everyone. They need to be ready to start treating patients soon. Tell Brady he's in charge of the tent until further notice."

"Yes, General!" Lisa answered before darting out of the tent as well.

Clarke strode out of the tent, shoving the war paint into a pocket as she walked, she could apply that later. She could see her men marshalling themselves. Breathing deeply, she grabbed the reigns of her horse back from the warrior who was still holding them for her. Swinging herself into the saddle, she began to ride making sure the men were prepared. As she rode, she lathered her white war paint across her face. They were heading out to war again.

-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-

Six months ago:

Nia stared at the messenger in front of her, who had just interrupted her day, and somehow knew it was not going to be good news. "Rise," She ordered as she examined the man, clearly from her son's army though he wore that unfortunate blue those idealistic fools in Klark's army had been sporting.

"My queen, General Klark has won the war!" The man was clearly vibrating with excitement at being the given the honor of bringing her the news.

She swallowed thickly. "And Prince Roan?" Her son was her nation's future ruler. He was her greatest ally.

"He was captured. However, General Klark rode into the desert and brought him back to our people." He said excitedly.

"And how has this war been won exactly?" Nia asked carefully.

"Every water hole and reservoir in the dead zone has been poisoned. No sand rat will be able to survive the journey across it." He proclaimed.

Nia felt herself settling back in her throne as she accepted this information. Clearly, this was a forward messenger and she'd get a formal report from her son as well as Klark within the next few days. Still, the news was dire. With the water poisoned, conquering their neighbor across that border was impossible. She grit her teeth. While it had not been a prominent plan of hers, it had been a possibility she had not wanted to discount. Gripping the arms of her throne, she waited as the messenger opened his mouth to speak.

"The people are calling her the Undefeated because she did not lose a single battle!" He proudly informed her. "The army is under her command till Prince Roan is well enough to travel, and she can come here to proclaim the victory properly."

She felt her knuckles turning white. A single general commanding half her armies was unthinkable.

"The death toll from poisoning the water." One of her advisors said in some horror, finally overcoming his shock to speak. "Those who live and travel across the dead zone will die. It will be catastrophic, thousands will perish."

Nia wanted to huff in annoyance, the man was weak. The death was significant but a decisive win for Azgeda. She was more concerned with the closing of an entire border when it came to her plans for expansion as well as the fact her son had been captured and his army usurped. Killing war heroes was unfortunately not how to keep a stable clan. She would need to speak to her son, as well as Klark.

-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-

Present:

Lexa stared as Nut and Bolt set up a radio relay station in the command room. They both were acting very serious and professional and their expert handling of the machines clearly showed that they knew how to use them. Deciding that they had it in hand and were in the most fortified building in TonDC, she moved to leave. If the missile couldn't be delayed, they had orders to take the tunnel and flee, their knowledge and mastery of technology too valuable to be wasted.

Moving quickly, she felt the weight of her command as her men pulled on their weapons and began to prepare to move out. Gustus was marshalling the civilians with their orders to flee for the woods once the brawling started. The reaper teams were out of the village. She'd seen them slipping out a half hour earlier with Indra in the lead. Mounting her horse, she felt it moving uneasily below her, clearly sensing her tension. Reaching down, she stroked its neck waiting for it to settle. Walking the creature to the center of the village, she gazed around and was impressed with how quickly her people had marshaled themselves.

The town hushed as she sat there on her horse. Most of her men were on foot. The trees and terrain meant horses didn't do well off roads here. Clearing her voice, she spoke loudly knowing no one from the mountain could understand her words.

"Today we take the mountain! While our forces do this we must keep the mountain's eyes firmly on us. So fight, do not kill, but fight like the warriors that you are!" She roared.

There was an answering roar from her men as they moved out to face their allies. Everything depended on this looking real. She only prayed it didn't become real.

They moved in silence and eager anticipation as they moved through the woods until the first Azgeda warrior dropped from the trees, tackling one of her forward warriors. After that, chaos reigned. She heard the war cries of her people and the Azgeda forces. They all were clobbering each other with an unholy glee. Turning her horse, she felt hands gripping onto her leg. With a sharp fist, she cracked the idiot trying to grab her over the head, forcing him to let go.

Dax seemed to appear from nowhere, lifting the would be attacker up and tossing him bodily away. It was in impressive show of strength, she thought, as she kicked at another approaching Azgeda warrior. She fell into a rhythm. The push and pull of knocking people off of her as Dax would throw them about like bales of hay for the horses. The man had a bleeding nose and some incredible bruising across his face just beginning to show. With sharp eyes she could see that no one had been crushed by the ever moving forces. The Azgeda warriors in Trikru colors seemed to be enthusiastically assisting in clobbering their brothers.

Then there was Klark, cresting a hill in full regalia, her hair golden once more, she was yanking some of the more violent members of her clan back and ordering them to the rear. Lexa kicked her horse forward, continuing with her task of moving to wherever things were getting out of hand and separating people. Bloody teeth and bruising faces were becoming the norm the longer this lasted. They were well into the fog zone by now though, their reapers would be grabbing some of their warriors and making the attack on the mountain. She gave out a cry and grabbed the back of one of her warrior's coats, yanking him off an Azgeda warrior he was beating.

-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-

Monty cursed under his breath as he tossed an explosive up over his head, they didn't have time to do this slowly or carefully. The men above him were attaching the explosives to the underside of their furs to disguise their presence. Reaching back down, he grabbed the last brick of explosive and chucked it up, praying someone caught it before it broke and Raven murdered them. With that, he was up and out of the bunker in seconds, several detonators inside of his clothing.

"All clear general." He reported to Indra, who was buckling a bomb under her armor.

"Finish securing your cargo." The woman ordered harshly as the men continued to strap themselves with explosives.

Monty shared a concerned look with Miller before they started getting their teams in white war paint and blood smears around their mouths. The Trikru made affronted faces as they painted white marks on their faces. There was general discontent as they smeared animal blood across their faces. Examining his men, he nodded in satisfaction, they made passable reapers as long as no one noticed that there was a distinct lack of self-mutilation. What was important was that from a distance it was passable.

Indra had no need for inspirational speeches or words. The men knew the importance of what they were doing and just the orders would do, "Move out."

He moved swiftly and looped the false binds around Indra's wrists. Only fearing for his life a little bit as he tied a blindfold around her head and began to lead them through the trees to the caves. Their group was splitting into individuals with their 'prisoners' so that they didn't look like too organized of a mass. He knew a few of the fake reapers would be grabbing people out of the chaos that was rising up around TonDC if possible to help add to their numbers. He wasn't going to risk that, just skirting round the chaos and heading straight for the tunnels. There wasn't time to worry about much else.

He could hear some truly creative insults being hurled through the air as they skirted around and away from the brawl. How Clarke and Heda intended to stop this chaos once they no longer needed the distraction he had no idea. The heavy wear of the reapers weighed down on him, he could feel sweat dripping down his back, making his shirt stick to him.

Indra tripped slightly and Monty cursed under his breath. "Sorry."

"Avoid killing me." Indra snapped while following him as he pulled her along the woods at the fastest speed he dared with a blindfolded prisoner. Which, considering they were both highly trained, was quite a quick clip. It helped that Indra's blindfold was tied in such a way that she could see the ground immediately before her feet. The heavy reaper gear was far too hot for the sunny day and he wished for nothing more than his regular clothing as he felt himself sweating.

Monty felt his lungs burning slightly as they arrived at the mouth of the tunnels. Scanning the area, he was surprised at the lack of any actual reapers they'd encountered so far. The remaining reapers had been increasingly aggressive but despite being deep inside the blockade now, he hadn't seen so much as a hint of a true reaper. Ignoring it for the moment, he moved to a log clearly used by the actual reapers to attach their prisoners to while they waited to enter the tunnels. It took some effort but he got Indra attached to it in such a way she could break free quickly if needed. He spun on his heel, sword drawn, at the sound of someone approaching from the woods. A breath of relief left him as he saw it was some of their party.

It was Miller arriving with Peri, tied and blindfolded behind him, along with a few of the others. An hour to start the brawl, at least an hour to grab and haul their load in, time was precious, they would have to be quick if they had any hope of preventing the missile. The only reason they had any time at all was because the brawl was doing its job and distracting the mountain but they couldn't depend on that. He shared a wide eyed panicked look with Raven as Indra gave new orders.

"Into the tunnels, Raven stay in the middle." It was truly surprising Indra could be so commanding and in control, despite being tied and blindfolded.

The tunnels were dank and smelled of rotting human flesh. He could feel himself gagging as they moved deeper and deeper into them. The comforting presence of Miller at his elbow was keeping him settled enough to examine their surroundings. Signs of the reapers activity were all about, from footprints to human waste. Yet, even with the overwhelming darkness, they didn't see or even hear any actual reapers.

"General, something isn't right." He said cautiously as they continued on through the maze only some of their number had had the time to memorize.

"We cannot control it," She replied, "but I agree, this is too easy." There was a snarl to her voice as she spoke.

Looking at Raven, who had moved forward some, he asked lowly. "Is there time to send a scout to inspect what's waiting for us?"

She shook her head. "We're already hitting their estimated time of launch." Her voice was strained and he could feel the fear between all of them who knew why the plan had been accelerated.

He'd had enough of the death of civilians and having entire groups of people wiped off the map at the border. He didn't think he could survive that again, really that any of them could. Reaching out, he gripped Miller's hand in the dark reassuring himself that at least they were together for this. Miller gripped his hand back tightly as they moved through the tunnels. Coming around a corner, he saw the door. Swallowing thickly, he stepped towards the door.

Moving quickly, he was at the door and examining the locking mechanism and pulling out the tools he'd brought with him. The obvious camera above his head was shattered by Miller. He looked up at his lover in surprise. "Why did you do that?"

"A reaper could break that, but you hacking the door might raise some red flags." Miller explained as the others started untying and rearming their 'prisoners'.

Indra's voice broke out as Monty pried the face of the card scanner off so he could get into the inner workings. "Listen up, we go in, kill anyone in our paths, and we hold our ground till Raven kom Azgeda gives us the signal to run. You three," she gestured towards three of the warriors, "stay here and hold the door."

"General!" Came the positive response.

Monty hissed when he shocked himself on one of the wires as he pulled them out.

"You alright there?" A Trikru warrior asked from over his shoulder.

"Just dandy." He snarked, pulling out a pair of pliers and snipping one of the wires. Glancing at the door, he cursed when he saw that the door hadn't opened yet.

"Do we need to blow it?" Raven asked in concern, watching over his shoulder as his frustrated murmurs increased.

"Almost have it." He said, connecting the last two wires and completing the circuit. With a metallic sucking noise, the door opened.

"Holy shit you did it." Peri said in awe.

"Front guard move in." Indra ordered.

Monty wiped his forehead before following the front guard into the mountain.

-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-

Anya swore as she kicked another Trikru warrior off her. The damn brawl had devolved from Azgeda vs. Trikru into 'whoever the hell you can punch'. It was maddening and was making swinging around to the likely position of the spotter damn near impossible. They only had a general area the spotter could be in based off the chatter Char was listening to on her radio through the chaos. That the girl was managing to dodge other people while still listening to the black box was honestly one of the most impressive feats of flexibility and situational awareness she'd ever seen. Even so, when they got to the location Charlotte had indicated they would need to do a broad search and that would take time.

Aden was sporting a busted lip as well as brilliant grin and he was clearly enjoying the brawl. Tris was watching his and Char's back, being the reliable warrior just as she was trained. The rest of her team was built with seconds from the Azgeda camp who Laslow had assigned to her in the chaos. She trusted his judgement that they would be useful and honestly shouldn't be in the brawl. Sadly, things weren't going according to plan. The only fully ranked warrior besides herself was Mozu. With her were the seconds Sophia and Percy. Percy was hardly twelve summers old and his armor barely seemed to fit on him, but he was quick and was avoiding most of the brawl with some skill. As they fought off attackers though, she could see why Laslow had assigned them to her. They were all fast, light on their feet, and small targets, able to weave through the brawl in ways that larger warriors couldn't.

A crack of broken bone caused her to turn and see a large warrior stumbling back from Aden, who had just elbowed him in the face. She shoved a warrior away as she moved with their small group. "CHAR!"

"We're getting there!" She called back.

Anya just groaned as she hauled another warrior back before slugging them in the face. "We need to get out of this."

Looking around, she saw the edge of the fight. Using her momentum, she swung a Trikru around her and into someone behind her. Pointing, she shouted. "THERE!"

Her band of small warriors seemed to breathe easier as they broke out of the thick of the fighting and began to move quickly following Char's lead. They were moving uphill to the elevated land above TonDC. Anya realized with some fear that it was going to be hard to make this look like an accident so as not to alert the mountain. A crashing sound as two warriors wrestling with each other went rolling across their path almost made her laugh. She quickly sobered, it would seem the chaos had spread this far as well.

"Spread out and be on guard." She ordered to her team when she realized they were getting close to the assumed position of the spotter.

She was impressed by how quickly everyone spread out, disappearing into the woods. Then again, this team was made of small targets with skills in stealth, so it wasn't that surprising. As she was sliding over the top of a log and beginning to move across a small clearing for the cover on the other side, she heard the first crack of a gun. Tris let out a pained yelp from behind her.

Anya didn't think, just diving for the trees to the side of her and turning to search for her second. Tris was collapsed behind a small bush that provided almost zero cover, clutching her leg that was clearly wounded. She could see Char and Aden flat on the ground behind the log at the entrance to the small clearing, Char preventing Aden from moving to help their friend. "Stay down!" She ordered.

Another crack and splinters from the top of the log went flying. Examining the situation, she could make a good guess at the position from which the spotter and apparently sniper were firing. Gritting her teeth, she hoped all of her men could hear her. "Stay under cover, Char keep the sniper distracted. Percy and I will loop behind the enemy and kill them."

There was a chorus of assent from the woods around her and the small second Percy dropped next to her. "Captain." He looked at her seriously.

"How good are you at moving through the trees?" Anya asked seriously. With his small size, he had the potential to be very good at it.

He grinned, "I'm awesome!"

"Good. Get up into the branches and follow me from above."

"Yes, ma'am!" He said before scrambling up the tree she'd taken cover behind. He easily disappeared into the branches.

Taking a deep breath, she moved, keeping herself low to the ground and behind cover as she began to get a better angle for approaching the mountain men who threatened her people.

-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-

Gustus waved civilians into the command hall and into the tunnel that would lead them out if it came to that. For now, the tunnel would provide some cover from the potential destruction. Seeing a small child trip, he scooped it up and handed it to a passing civilian. Gustus noticed the blacksmith, an old warrior forced to retire because of injuries, trying to carry some of his precious tools with him. Gustus growled lowly, they didn't have time for this.

Striding over to the blacksmith, he grabbed the tools out of his arms. "We don't have time or space for your possessions. Get to the tunnel!"

"I'm nothing without my work!" The man protested, looking like if he didn't know Gustus' rank he would have punched him for touching his tools.

Gustus didn't have time for this, but the man was right. A blacksmith's tools were rare and important for his craft. However, if he allowed an exception for the blacksmith, he would have to allow everyone to bring their valuables with them. The tunnels would barely hold the civilian population, there was no room for their stuff. Gesturing to two of his guards, he spoke loudly. "Get this man into the tunnels."

He turned, ignoring the man's upset sounds, as he quickly deposited the tools back in the man's house before returning to oversee the evacuation. He could hear the shouts and cries of battle from here inside the village. It sounded real enough which was some comfort.

With great long steps, he moved to the wall and hauled himself up to see the chaos erupting throughout the woods. The fighting had mainly moved within the bounds of the blockade as planned. A small detachment of Azgeda were fighting their way towards TonDC, they're excuse for hiding the civilians in a central building. The warriors were clearly starting to tire. They'd been fighting for almost an hour now. Even for a trained warrior, an hour of intense combat like this, where taking some damage was necessary, would tire them. Not only that, but they had been roused rudely and sent running for their gear and then out to war. It was inevitable that the fighting was going to slow soon.

He saw one of Indra's team come running for an Azgeda warrior who was towards the edge. He frowned that shouldn't be happening, Indra and her team should have reached the tunnels already. What was one of her 'reapers' doing back in TonDC? Even as he watched, he realized there was something wrong with the warrior when he charged like he was possessed. Suddenly Gustus realized what was wrong, but it was too late. The reaper, the true reaper, had plunged its sword into the side of the Azgeda warrior, who like Gustus had assumed the creature was an ally. The warrior fell over clearly dead, from the red blooming across his side.

Gustus roared in warning as he saw more movement in the trees. "REAPERS!"

The warriors seemed to pause confused and then turn, seeing the dozens of reapers coming out of the forest. Gustus ran for the gates of TonDC, hurling the doors open, he shouted at the men who were clearly still unsure of what was happening. After all, they'd been told that their allies would be dressed as reapers. Gustus bellowed at the frozen men. "GET BEHIND THE WALLS!"

That seemed to spark something as they made a run for it, desperate to get out of the small army of reapers coming out of the forest. Gustus cursed and turned to his men in TonDC. who were realizing what was happening in horror. If he counted the men trying to get to safety, he had maybe fifty warriors with which to protect the village. It wouldn't hold against at least a hundred reapers. Sweet spirits, the foul beasts must be taking advantage of the chaos to work together. A group this large was unprecedented.

"HURRY!" He shouted as the warriors started tumbling in through the gates Two more warriors had been cut down trying to get to the safety of TonDC. With the last of them coming through, he yanked the gates closed.

Six months ago:

Frederick stared warily at the young general he was answering to at the moment. They were discussing the future of the territory. Since Roan still hadn't woken from his injuries, it left him as acting general of the region. He had no doubts however, that if he stood up against this general, he'd be dead by morning. Acting general until Roan woke up, simply meant he was the one general Klark was discussing logistics with not that he had any actual say. He wasn't foolish, she'd proven to be a ruthless leader and he did not intend to leave his men without what small allowances he could make for them.

"The first heavy snows will be here before the end of the month." The general said, looking down at the map.

Frederick swallowed. "If you're army remains for the winter, there won't be enough food to last till harvest."

Klark nodded thoughtfully. "Still, we need the manpower my men can provide to rebuild as much as possible before the snow gets here." She tapped the table where the layout of her forces were illustrated on the map.

Gunter, her second in command, cleared his throat. "General if I may, our orders have been completed. You need only return Roan to the capitol and announce our victory formally and our forces can return to our own territory. It would prevent the over taxing of resources."

Frederick took the opening. "General, you have helped enough by beating off this threat. My men can handle the rest."

The general shook her head. "With the close quarters the people are being forced into right now and with the amount of rations so low, camps are going to be a hotbed for disease and infection. I did not sentence thousands to a painful and torturous death by poison so that our own people could die from disease instead of war."

"The queen will want you to report to her soon." Frederick tried, knowing that the longer the general stayed the more likely she would try and take control of this territory as well. Civil wars started this way and his people couldn't handle more death.

"True." The general glared at the map. "I'll take Roan and an advance guard to the capitol. Bellamy, can marshal our forces and return them to our territory." She ordered finally.

"Of course general." The stiff man replied. "And myself?"

"I'll need you in the capitol." She replied to her second's question.

Frederick let out a breath of relief.

The general continued. "Leave Xander and his division here to aid in the rebuilding effort. In the spring, we will send an eighth of our surplus meat from the elk herds here to help the rations stretch longer. Any excess food we can afford to part with needs to be sent to this territory while they rebuild. We can send some of our carpenters and farmers to assist in the planting of new crops as well."

"Is that really wise?" Gunter asked.

The general shook her head. To Frederick she looked thoughtful. "I will not abandon this territory to die even if it is the wise decision. What will your people need to recover other than manpower and food to help through the winter?" She asked.

He stared at her, she couldn't be serious. People did not make such offerings without strings attached. The question was did he accept it? This sort of support would not come from the capitol, where to ask for help was a weakness that could not be afforded. The general was right. His people would be dying by the dozen when the depth of winter came if he didn't accept aid. His eyes found the blue fabric so many of her men, and a growing number of his own, wore. With a sigh, he accepted he would need to take some assistance. "We need livestock, a great many of our horses have been killed and we've lost goats and sheep as well. The elk herds we moved inward with the rest of the livestock as soon as we realized they were being killed. Still the losses will be felt keenly."

The general nodded. "We can help rebuild your herds but I cannot leave my own territory stripped of resources. I will beg the queen to lift your food taxes for two years to help you to recover."

Frederick opened his mouth to cautiously thank the woman, when a warrior walked into the tent. "General we need your help in the medical tents." She said clearly distressed.

The general breathed out. "We'll finish discussing the logistics of the rebuilding of your territory before I leave."

Frederick straightened as he watched the general leave the tent closely followed by her second in command. Deciding he should also see to his duties, he followed them out into the light of day. The air was cool and he could feel the hint of snow in the air. He watched as civilians reached out to touch the general in greeting. She accepted their careful touches and reverent thanks.

He understood their awe and the loyalty that she inspired. However, he feared what secrets she hid, and he had no doubt she had them. He hadn't spent years as a senior captain to Roan without learning that even a truly great person could be twisted up by their desires and goals. He'd seen how Roan's banishment had changed him. The way he'd struggled to re-earn his queen's approval.

He'd fought in wars with Roan before and never had he seen Roan stick to a plan he knew was doomed to failure until this war. It may be better for all if the prince never woke again. However, he knew Roan had been in a no win situation. If he had listened to the general, maybe his life would have been preserved, but Nia would not have been kind. Roan would have lost his ability to protect his people. His rank would almost certainly have been stripped. After having fought for so long to come back from his banishment, Frederick did not think that Roan could face being brought so low again. He was pulled from his thoughts by his quartermaster coming to his side and clearing his throat.

"Report." He ordered.

"Sixteen more dead nomads, the other captains believe they have almost finished rooting out the sand rats. Our position is secure and we have a sixteen mile confirmed clean area surrounding us. We need an estimated twenty additional cords of wood for the winter. I've assigned some of the men to begin harvesting it."

"Food?" He asked in resignation.

The quartermaster flipped through his books. "If we ration it our warriors and the villagers should make it through the winter. Although if the snow's last longer than may we won't survive without additional assistance."

Friedrich frowned looking at the quartermaster. "General Klark has offered to assist with food, livestock expansion, and man power. Can we survive without her aid?" He asked seriously.

The man frowned. "Perhaps, without aid we will likely be forced to allow the elders to die to preserve supplies, maybe the sick as well."

"Then we have no choice but to accept." He said in resignation.

"What will we owe her for the assistance sir?" The quartermaster asked carefully.

"I don't know, and that is what gives me pause." Frederick said.

"Surely we can wait for prince Roan to wake and make the decision?"

Frederick clenched his hand. "The prince may never wake. We don't have time to waste. I must make the decision and it seems I must accept the General's aid and hope the cost is not too high."