>Once you were your own people. 
>Once your had been masters of the tundra.
>Once you had lived relative peace with your neighbors.  
>The merchant lords, masters of trade, had been more cordial with your own people for the longest time.
>They traded with you, fought with you, fought with each other, a delicate balance that was never in your favor.
>You coffers ran dry from constant battle with the other peoples of the tundra.  Always the merchant lords kept record of your debts.
>Until you could no longer pay, and they came to collect with force.
>Slave-Warriors and mercenaries swept aside your disciplined, but weakened ranks of soldiers like a scythe reaping a ripe harvest. 
>Your people are no longer masters of the tundra.  No longer masters of anything.
>Your lands belong to the merchant lords now, the Fox People of the Hills.
>Your existence continues with their permission, you serve them to the best of your ability.  There is no other life.
>You are Mataya Mali
>That was your birth name.
>You’re people have their own name for many things.
>The overlords just call you ‘Brown Cats’ for the mix of browns that make your coat.
>Or ‘Shit Cats’ when they think you can’t hear.  You can.
>They took the name of your people and gave you a new name.  
>They took your birth name and gave you a new name.
>You are called Ooiku.  A name for your station as Sootooki to Lady Min.
> Lady Min, daughter of King Laro, lord of the city-upon-the-hill,  the city called Verdant Hills.
>The Fox People do like to give their things pretty names.
>Even the name of your role ‘Sootooki’ is pretty in translation: ‘Serve-Devotion’
>A shame the job is anything but.
>As Lady Min’s Sootooki, you are her closest confidant, her friend, and whipping girl.
>You must do as she says.  If you refuse, you are flogged.
>If she what she does breaks the rules, she must be punished.  However she cannot be harmed, so her punishment is to watch you be punished.
>If she is caught, you are flogged.
>She learns quick.  Seeing your face, the pain you're in, it teaches her a hard lesson.
>It means she has to try much harder not to get caught.
>Despite the harshness of her father, Lady Min seems to have your best interest in mind.  Truly in a castle of Fox Folk who seem to take pleasure in watching you suffer, Lady Min is the only one who cares for your well being.  She has to.  You suffer for her so that nothing blemishes her perfect coat of fur. King Laro intends to marry Lady Min off to a sizeable King’s son for control of more lands so she needs to be perfect.
>She has to be the very picture of a maiden, so training began for her at a young age.
>She was taught how to speak, how to stand, how to walk, and a million other frivolous pointless things  
>You were seldom present for her lessons.  You weren’t supposed to learn what she was taught.
>You were supposed to be taught what Lady Min would need to survive in the harsh reality of Fox politics.  Speak the languages she cannot blemish her tongue with, fight with weapons her dainty paws should never touch, prepare her food, clean her clothes, clean her of filth.  
>You need to do what she must not and cannot do.  You must see that Lady Min is properly cleaned and dressed every morning.  She must look her best for her father, King Laro.
>If King Laro finds her daughter doesn’t look like a proper lady, you are flogged.
>If King Laro thinks you took too long delivering him or his daughter their food, you are flogged.
>If Lady Min gets hurt, and King Laro thinks you could have helped her avoid it, you are flogged.
>If Lady Min’s clothes are soiled, And King Laro thinks it’s your fault, which it always is, you are flogged.
>If King Laro is angry for any reason, you are flogged.
>Lady Min tries to stop them, but when she does, she gets punished.  And you get flogged.
>Your back is sore from the constant whippings.  Laro seems to be constantly angry nowadays, and he takes his rage out on the closest servant he can find.  
>You have the misfortune of never quite disappearing as fast as the other servants in the hold.
>A new threat to the South threatens the Fox Kingdoms holdings. 
>It disrupts King Laro’s current trade war with King Tempa, and his ongoing wars against King Shunkor, and King Lairat.
>As the southernmost king among the kingdoms, Laro had gained much of his fundings by trading valuable timber with the wolf tribes that occupied the Ironwood Forests.
>Wolves of tribes too numerous to remember came to King Laro, talking of terrifying enemies that swept their people aside and claimed the Forests, and its valuable Ironwood for themselves.
>King Laro was so upset, he ripped off your shirt and raked his claws against your back, scratching and ripping until you passed out from pain.
>Some of the wolves claim they escaped slavery at the hands of the ‘Roma-folk’.
>The ‘Roma-Folk’ came from nowhere, clad in the pelts of their fallen brothers, speaking a lilting language they called ‘Lahteenee’.  They swept the Thanes aside and burned the meeting houses, dragging its people away to be enslaved.
>Laro demanded you learn it.  The best way to deal with any enemy was to speak with them.  
>It was hard, the language was structured differently than Wolfish, Todlin or Felim, and had words for things that didn’t exist in those languages, likewise had no direct word for other concepts in Wolfish and Todlim.  Felim was right out.
>Laro conceived a strategy to retake the forests, writing up an agreement that he would fund a new army for the Wolf-folk, bolstered by warrior slaves and mercenaries, in exchange for total control of the Forests and the lands they live on.
>The Wolf-Folk were in no position to disagree.
>These Roma-Folk would then be forced to agree to trade with him if they wanted anymore of that valuable ironwood.  
>And you would negotiate that deal with them.
>Years passed.  The Wolf-Folk’s numbers were bolstered with escaped Wolf-Folk, mercenaries from further north, and the deep wells of slave-warriors and war-cats the masters employed.
>You went from stumbling over every word and phrase, to speaking ‘Lahteenee’ fluently.  
>Or at least as fluently as the Wolf-Folk who taught you.
>No longer a little girl, you have become a fair maiden by the standards of the Fox-People, but still you are Lady Min’s Sootooki.
>She has more authority now to protect you the whip, but her protection can only go so far.
>The plan went up in smoke when the Wolf-Folk army was defeated at the Battle of the Ruby Dune.
>Laro was angry.  Very angry.  He made sure you understood how angry he was.
>Lady Min saw to your wounds that night.  Every application of healing salve brought fresh pain and tears to your eyes.  Fresh scars would be placed over old scars.
>Lady Min cradled your head  in her arms until the pain subsided and sleep finally came.
>The Roma-Folk had routed the army, and were now marching to Verdant Hills.
>Laro was...not angry?
>No, he was jubilant.  
>Far from the frothing, raging tyrant he was yesterday, King Laro was happy.  
>He even gave you a pat on the head!  Not a slap!  A gentle pat.
>Apparently a leader of the Roma-Folk, one that was key in their victory over Laro’s army was assassinated by a Caluki- a claw-drenched-in-night, courtesy of King Ondas.
>His own castle was besieged and deigned to give Laro aid for the mercenary contracts delivered to him.
>Now this weakened army would reach Verdant hills only to crumble. 
>King Laro was ecstatic at this news.
>All he needed was someone to deliver his ultimatum to the Roma-Folk- surrender and be his Warrior-Slaves as compensation for his losses, or be killed.
>He needed someone that could speak the Roma-Folk tongue.  For once in his life, he needed you.
>Fear sinks into your gut like a stone.  The tales of the Wolf-Folk make the Roma-Folk sound like nightmares.
>And you had to be the one speaking for Laro’s people!  And your people! 
>Fear almost made you speak against it, but the glint in Laro’s eyes convinced you that any word you spoke would earn you the whip.
    >You couldn’t sleep last night.  You spent it staring out your window.  Somewhere out there was an army of monsters waiting to despoil Verdant Hills.
>You kept looking into the dark, expecting to hear the moans of the damned and ranks of shadowy soldiers clad in the still bleeding skins of their enemies.  
>It never comes, but it doesn’t assuage your fear.  You still know they’re coming.  
>The sun rises, the cries of the morning fowl tell you as much.  Lady Min stirs from her rest.
>”Ooiku, have you been standing there all night?” she asks.
>”For a lot of it my lady.” you reply.
>”Why do you torture yourself so?  Is it because you hear of the Roma-folk?”  concern creeping into her voice as she sits herself down as you begin to brush her auburn hair.
>”Yes my Lady.  The Wolf-Folk carried such stories, that I fear what they will bring.
>Lady Min shrugs as you apply rose-smelling oil to her fur  “You shouldn’t.  You heard father.  Their greatest leader is dead.  Doubtless without such leadership any army will crumble against us.” she dismisses.  
    >Lady Min lifts her arms as you begin to drape a summer dress on her, one of the latest fashions.  You don’t think you can understand it.  
>You don’t think you’ll ever understand Fox fashions.
>”King Laro said a leader was dead.  Not their greatest.  And if they could defeat the wolf army, what does that mean for us?”
>”The wolf army didn’t have strong walls or the thousand extra soldiers.” Lady Min replies without skipping a beat as she fastens the thing you think is a shirt around her chest.  “They barely even understood the concept of ‘armor’.  Our soldiers are more intelligent and well equipped.  The Roma-Folk won’t know what hit them.”
>She stands up, holding you in a close embrace.  “Ooiku my dear friend, you are scared to speak to those things.  I know.  I wouldn’t let father send you to them, but you are the only one left who can speak ‘Lahteenee’.  I ask you to be brave.  If not for father, than for me.”
>Hearing her reassuring words helps push the fear down.  It doesn’t go away, but it no longer consumes you.  
>With a heavy sigh you fasten her bracelets.  “Of course...my lady.”

******************************************************************************************************************************************

>It is the year 145 Bello Victam
>You are Anon Anonymous Arius, third son of Anon Anonymous Curio Scaeva, son of Anon Anonymous Taurus of Nova Roma.
>Six years ago you left to join the Legions serving as Broad Stripe Tribune, serving under Legate Augustus.
>A year ago, your legion was summoned for the Northern campaigns against yet another enemy.
>These aren’t like the nomads of the plains, nor the barbaric wolves of the forests.  
>This enemy is far more advanced than the tribals of the wastes.  
>These are more advanced, building walls of stone. Much like the other people of this land, they walk like humans, speak like humans, but have the traits of an animal.  
>These creatures of the North have the traits of foxes.
>The Fox-men have among them lithe creatures, like cats though their bodies seem more adapted to the water than land.  
>You learn later on, they are some derivative called ‘Brown Cats’ or ‘Lynxes’ and have served as a client state to the various Fox Kingdoms
>Yes.  Kingdoms.  Plural.  The Fox-men war with each other with astounding frequency.  
>While the presence of Nova Roma had disrupted their bickering, it did little to stop it. 
>Then Rome subjugated the Wolf men.  
>The Wolf Men, were another client of the Fox Kingdoms, trading timber and meat for weaponry. 
>Rome had fought with them for years, the last cells of resistance swept away fifteen years ago.  
>With the forests and its people firmly in Roman hands, the Fox-men have finally taken notice.
>Apparently some Wolf Men that had escaped Roman conquest had fled north, and received money, training, and supplies to retake what was theirs.  
>It failed miserably, but it sent a clear message:  The Fox-men were enemies of Rome.
>It was General Galba that was tasked with pacifying the Fox-Men, and it was up to you to lay siege to one of the large settlements, a walled city on a hill, it’s fortifications were made of wood and clay.  
>Not too difficult if it wasn’t for the trek uphill.
>And the fact the garrison outnumbered your legion three to one.
>And Legate Augustus is dead.
>Since your time in the Legion, Legate Augustus had taken you through the Pacification of Albis Ossa Montibus and the subjugation of the last rebelling hyena tribes.
>He taught you much about leading an army, keeping morale up, and fighting both on the battlefield and the negotiating table.
>Now Legate Augustus is dead, killed in an ambush by the treacherous Fox people.
>It falls upon the Emperor to elect a new Legate for the legion.  
>However the Emperor is far away, and the legion is deep in Fox-Men lands.  
>Until such time is possible to choose one proper, you lead Legio XXI Campestres
>You wake to the sound of men practicing and the smell of burnt flesh.
>The hunters return with fresh meat, that’s good.  The men deserve to eat well before they die.
>You rise from your bed and start to assemble your armor.
>You leave you tent to the usual slew of ‘Ave’ and ‘Hail’ from surrounding hanger ons, you make your way to the command tent, greeting the lower ranked officers as you made your way to the center.
>”Legate Anon, a message came for us from the Fox Emissaries some time ago.  We were told to expect emissaries from the city above.”
>Message?  Emissaries?  Contact between Men and Fox-men was minimal.  As far as you were told, the Fox-men didn’t write, or even speak Latin, much less even know what Latin was.
>This changes things.
>Communication means you can gauge who these people are, and how to exploit that. 
>Augustus told you how to do that with wolf men.  You aren’t sure is if that works on Fox-men
>It is time to put your knowledge to the test.
>Wine is fetched when scouts report seeing two figures escorted by a pair of armed guards coming towards the camp with a garish colored banner.
>When they approach, you get the first glimpse of the Fox-Men.
>Well, no accounting for taste
>Shapely, lithe, and could be something attractive.
>Somewhere hidden under the piles of colors that could only be called a War on the Eyes
>They make their way past your guards, spending extra time staring at the horses of your equites.
>Maybe they’ve never seen a horse before?  
>Eventually they come to you, after making you wait for far too long.  
>They are deliberately slow, speaking an unspoken message of how much more important they are than you.
>The two figures in front unravel their puke colored cloth and pull back the purple hoods.
>They’re female, at least you think so.  The baggy robes cover every inch of their body so it is hard to gauge what they are.  One is a fox, light blue eye shadow, orange fur tinted with streaks of purple, lips painted deep red.
>The other is a plain looking feline creature with pronounced cheek fur.  This must be the ‘Lynx’ things you were told about.  The eyelashes tell you it is feminine, and the pitch of its voice when it addresses you reinforces that. 
> “I am Ooiku, sootooki of Lady Min, second princess of the city of Verdant Green.  We come here to speak terms with you” she speaks in broken Latin.
>She also speaks to your horse.  
>You clear your throat and address.  “I am the one you are looking for.”
>They turn to you surprised.  The Fox thing, you assume is Lady Min shoots a glance at Ooiku, who flinches under the gaze.  You get the feeling someone is going to be severely punished later.
>You pretend not to notice the slight, and reply.  ”You speak to Legate Anon, come to my tent, and we may continue.”
>You guide the two to your tent.  The Fox snorts at the spartan conditions and makes a remark to the Lynx who slowly nods.
>”My Lady requests proper food and drink be set for one of her position before we may speak.”
>Last you checked, you were leading an army, not an inn.
>Still if it gets things moving.  You gesture to one of the camp’s attendants to bring some of the roasted meat the hunters caught and wine.
>The moment they bring in the cuts of round meat, you know it’s Globa.
>Even for a Roman born and raised in these strange lands, these beasts are just...wrong!
>Essentially a hairy, fast ball of flesh that consumes moss and grass, who survive thanks to their horrendously quick reproduction replacing their massive losses as quickly as you can hunt them.  
>Nothing about them seems natural, the sounds they make, the way they eat and move.  
>Only thing you don’t mind is their taste.  Each one is the size of a man, and produces a man-sized pile of edible meat.
>You were told by grandfather they taste like pork.
>Now if only you knew what a ‘pork’ was.
>With food and drink served, the ‘Lady ‘ finally deigns herself to sit.  She whispers in Wolf-tongue to her attendant.  You assume she thinks you can’t hear since she’s pretty damn loud even when whispering
>”Tell the flat ear that I want to discuss terms of his surrender.”
>Ooiku turns to you, lips curled back into a fake smile.  “My mistress requests we discuss terms of peace.”
>You thoughtfully chew on a slice of globa.
>Peace?  After funding to attack Nova Roma?   After killing your Legate?  No.  When the first legion left, Rome, the Gates of Janus were open.  There would be war.  However you will humor the fox, play this little game out and see what you can pry out of her.
>”Tell Min, that I am willing to discuss terms.”
>Ooiku relays your message back to Lady Min and she whispers back
>”I want his armor, I like the way it looks.  And I want his army to surrender to my city.  I want him to surrender his close entourage to me.  They look like they make good slaves.  I might even keep Anon as a pet.  You’ll have a handsome looking playmate.”
>Ooiku turns back to you, trying to hide her embarrassment.  “Min is feeling merciful and shall grant your people peace if you agree to surrender your weapons and armor.  She also desires that your people surrender themselves to her Kingdom where they will be cared for as people of Verdant Green.”
>You look at Min, who puts on a warm smile as she eyes you up and down.
>”Interesting proposal.  And if I refuse?”
>”Tell him my father, the King will grind his army into the ground.  We counted his army.  We outnumber him three to one.  We will break his will, his spirit, and strip him of dignity and make them slaves anyway.”
>Ooiku stares back at you, like a statue.  “Then we shall go to war.  My people outnumber yours.  There is no chance of victory in this.  Spare your people the bloodshed and surrender.”
>”Outnumber you say?  I don’t see an army right now.”
>“Our army is made of three thousand warriors-my people” Ooiku gestures to herself, “a thousand warriors of Lady Min’s people, and an elite guard of several hundred.  Even you can see you are outnumbered.”
>True, you only had three cohorts camping out here.  
>But the other seven were behind the treeline, preparing the cavalry and gathering material for a long siege.
>Still she thinks you field only fifteen hundred men.  
>And if her ‘elite guards’ are the ones escorting her, you estimate her other soldiers are of lesser quality.
>Her guards are just as garishly dressed as her, a hammered plate of iron covering their chests, held in place by a pair of simple leather straps, hidden under a quagmire of blues, purples, greens, and orange streaks of cloth
>They hold spears tipped with bronze, shields of simple painted wood round in shape, more reminiscent of a rampaging Gaul than a disciplined soldier.
>This was the best they had.
>Time to blood the legion.
******************************************************************************************************************************************
>The human called Anon leans in closer to Lady Min, the fox girl locked in place as her eyes meet his.  His next words shock her and you.  
>He speaks perfect Wolfish.
>“I will make one thing clear Fox.  My people do not respond well to empty threats, and even less being enslaved.  Here is what will happen.”
>”Your rabble will break against our disciplined ranks.”
>”We will counter and your oversized mob will disperse against the legion, and then we will take the city.”  
>”Your king, and your people will know the price for actions against Rome as we strip everything from you.”
>He jerks his head around.  What does that mean?
>”But before I take everything you own” he says.
>In an instant your escort is in a chokehold!  The Roma-Folk soldiers slash their throats!  
>Two move come in and grab you and Lady Min by the arms.  Panic envelops you as you flail in the grip of the Roma-thing.  Lady Min shouts in defiance before she is gagged.  
>Then Anon grabs you both by your chins.  “I will take you.”
>The cold fear in your stomach fills your entire body as you are dragged out of the tent.  In the light you notice your captor is not one of the Roma-Folk, but a Wolf?!
>Anon’s voice carries from the tent.  “And you will watch from here as I bring your city to its knees!”  
>You are separated from Lady Min.  Without her presence, your mind reels.  What is going to happen to you?  Are they going to kill you?  Torture you?  Eat you?
>Your struggles intensify as you try to pull free from the muscled grip of the Wolf.  Fear gets mixed with something else.  Something hotter. 
>Rage.
>”Traitor!” you grunt  “You fight against your allies!  Your friends!  The Fox-Kings gave you everything!  This is how you repay them?!”  You attempt to kick the man behind you but he tosses you into another tent, binding your arms together then plopping you into a seat.
>Moments later, the Roma-Anon enters, returning a salute made by the Wolf before he leaves, placing himself next to you.
>Your anger evaporates, replaced with anxiety.  Sitting across from you is the thing that holds your life in his hands.
>”So” he says pouring wine for himself  “You speak Latin.  Were you taught in Nova Roma?  I don’t recall ever seeing one of your kind.”
>You tilt your head in confusion.  “Noh-vah-roh-mah.  What’s that?”
>”Well that answers that question.” Anon shifts in his seat.  “Well then, you said you were Ooiku yes?”  You slowly nod.  “Where did you learn to speak my language?”
>”Where is Lady Min?” you ask before you can stop yourself.  The Roma-Anon raises an eyebrow.  
>”You are quite attached to your mistress.  You referred to yourself as [sootooki] correct?  What is that?”
>”Where is Lady Min” you repeat, “I want to know what you did to Lady Min.”
>The Roma-Anon smiles.  “Loyalty, or fear?  Or perhaps both?  Maybe something else.  Regardless Lady Min is well.  She is being escorted where she will have a good view of the battle to come.  
>“No harm will come to her.” The Roma Anon smiles.  It’s warm, reassuring, like Lady Min’s.  Not at all like the intimidating grin of King Laro.  
>You sigh.  “Sootooki means to serve and have devotion to your master or mistress.  Lady Min is my mistress, I cannot disobey her.  I have served her since I was a cub.”
>The Roma-Anon listens, speaking quitely to himself “Sounds like my brother and Appia…”
>A thought occurs to you, one that fills you with apprehension.  “Am I too be your [sootooki] now?”
>Roma-Anon mulls the thought over.  “Depends on your cooperation I suppose."
>”I want to learn what I can about the city from you.  Lady Min is royalty,  she may be too proud to divulge such things, but I would prefer to take the city with as few deaths as possible.”
>”For you.” you finish.
>”For everyone” he corrects.  “No point it taking a city if all the people living in it are dead.”
>This Roma is delusional!  He thinks he can take the city with his small army?  Even you see that’s foolish.
>”You really think you can take it can you?”
>”I know I can.”
>”You have thousands standing between you and that hill.” you point out.  Anon smiles back.
>”I don’t think that will be much of a problem.”

******************************************************************************************************************************************
>While Verdant Hill is placed at the top of the tallest hill, your camp is perched on another, slightly smaller, albeit big hill.
    >If they attack, that means they will have to charge uphill as well.
>You are counting on that.
>The cohorts in the woods report they are ready to begin. 
>You have two catapults lined up behind the camp
>Your soldiers load the corpses of Lin’s bodyguard onto artillery, and release them into the city.  It’s a hard target, but your engineers manage, the distant sounds of shouts and screaming you hear, as faint as a whisper, but you can tell you’ve caused a stir in the city.
>They reply by the afternoon.  The city gates fling open as a horde of disorganized, slave warriors, wolf, lynx, deer, fox, all dressed in simple pants with no pattern in their armaments.  Some are wielding swords, others spears, some just very big sticks.  A few don’t seem to be wielding anything at all.  Intermixed in the crowd are slightly more disciplined lines of Fox-Soldiers marching out of the city, herding the slave mob and assembling on the plain between the two hills.
>From your vantage, you watch them pull some semblance of order from the rabble, the slave-warriors are whipped into the center of the mass, a facsimile of order. 
>Next to you, Lin, still bound watches with smug approval.  Ooiku is silent as she holds Lin close.
>You turn to Lin.  “Now dear lady, you shall see your great army crumble before its betters.”
>You gesture and the hornblower behind you trumpets the signal for the first phase.  All along the forest behind you are responding calls, the treeline coming alive in reds and silver.  Your army now has tens of thousands.
    >Lin for once looks apprehensive, seeing the ranks and ranks of soldiers standing just behind the trees.  
    >It’s all a ruse.  You have the other cohorts felling trees, chopping and whittling logs and branches into human dummies, dressing them in Roman livery and placing them at the base of the forest.  
>The horncall was the sign to prop them up while the real soldiers waited.
>The Fox-Army appears to be in disarray as the Fox men attempt to reform on multiple lines, dispersing, and reforming again, all the while struggling to keep the slave mob in line.
>”Your move, oh king.”
>And move he does.  Seeing your new reinforcements, a signal is sent from Verdant Hills.  The army slowly, sluggishly turns around and makes for the safety of the walls.  
>You were waiting for that.
>You raise your other hand, and the hornblower declares your second phase has begun.
>Suddenly, every tent in your camp is tossed aside, each held aloft by a spear from an Equites cavalry, your soldiers hiding underneath them.  
>Your men charge, Equites galloping in front of the infantry, matched by the Wolf-Men auxiliaries running on all fours.  
>What defense the Fox-army had was nonexistent when they began to retreat.  
>Your soldiers cut through their ranks like your blade cutting through wet cheese.
>By the time the legion infantry close the trap, encircling them, the army dissolves.  
>Slaves fight the whipping foxes as they attempt to claw their way to freedom, Fox Soldiers throw down their arms and surrender by the score, and independent units attempt to form a circle and make their final stand, only to be cut down mercilessly by combined assault from your infantry javelins and the charging force of the Equites.
>You turn back to the two girls, horror painted across Lin’s face as she sees her people driven so effortlessly from the field.
>There is fear in Ooiku’s eyes.  Not quite as sharp as Lin’s.
>There’s something else.  You’ve seen it before in the face of slaves as your father was about to free them.
>Hope.
>You clear your throat to get their attention.
>”I am still willing to discuss terms.”


>Later you are reviewing the list of casualties.  
>Even a battle as perfectly executed as Verdant Hills will see losses suffered.
>12.  
>Only 12 casualties and of them a mere 4 are deaths.  
>Overzealous soldiers eager for spoils and slaves tripping on their own blades.  
>Every legions has its share of idiots.  
>Better the reveal themselves now instead of a more crucial battle.
>Still with such few casualties, army morale will be at an all time high.  
>The legion is chomping at the bit to take the city, and the rank and file soldier think you're some gods-touched tactician that will lead them to victory.
>True you will take the city but even a frontal assault will reap a bloody toll.  
>You will need to find an easier way in.  
>One that doesn't damage your numbers too badly nor leave the city open to attack from a gap you made.  
>It would be shameful to sacrifice so much only to have one of the other countless damned fox kings come down and steal it from you.  
>All the more reason to pry those secrets from Ooiku, if she has any at all...

******************************************************************************************************************************************

>Once again you are in the Roma-Anon’s tent.  
>This time though, your mistress Min is by your side. 
>Min’s gag has been removed.  Not that it means much.
>Her arms and legs are still bound, making her movements limited to uncomfortable squirming.
>Min hasn’t said a word since the spectacle you witnessed.  
>The pride of Verdant Hills, nearly the entirety of King Laro’s army, effortlessly routed.
>Outside the tent you can still hear the Roma-army celebrating, the shaking of chains as captured foxes chafe against their bonds or brought out and forced to entertain the soldiers.

>Across from you sits your captor, the one who came into your lives, and destroyed its foundations.
>And he’s casually drinking wine.
>You fear him.  But at the same time you can’t help but admire him.  
>This general had delivered a justice on the Fox Kingdoms that your people never received.  
>Just as their armies swept over your people, his swept over theirs.  
>Maybe there could be a place for your people in this ‘Nova Roma’.  
>But...what about Lady Min?
>Does she deserve the fate of your people that you endured?
>Could she even survive in such a state?
>Would she want to?
>Roma-Anon finally speaks.  
>“Why do you stare at me like I’m Pluto incarnate?  
>Tonight you are my guest.  It’s a celebration after all.”
>”Celebration?” Min snorted.  
>“Celebrate what?  That you are treating me like a common criminal?  
>That you slaughtered my people?”
>”People die in battles, that’s what happens in war” Anon shrugs, never breaking his even tone.  
>“I celebrate how few died.  
>Both our armies suffered few losses.  Most simply surrendered.  
>Given the tenacity of the Wolves, I was expecting the number of deaths to be much higher.”
>Anon gets up from his seat.  “Enjoying your new wear?” he asks Lady Min.
>Min refuses to meet his gaze. 
 >Around her neck was a new iron collar, marking her as Anon’s prisoner and property.  
>She cannot pull at it with her hands bound, but the tightening of her knuckles says all that needs to be said.
>”I suppose now you’re going to defile me” Min grunted, spitting at Anon’s feet.  “I certainly would have done it.”
>”Actually no.” Anon says grasping a whip and approaching you. 
 You recoil at the sight of it.  
>Then he hands it to you.
>”From what I’ve heard, Ooiku has suffered under you for a long time yes?”
>Min looks at Anon, then to you, and back to Anon.  
>“S-she’s a [sootooki]!  She gets punished for everything.”
>”Everything wrong you do.  When it should be you that’s punished.” Anon retorts.  He reaches for you with a gentle hand, pulling you in.  
>Words die on your lips and simply let him guide you towards Min.
>”It sounds to me like Ooiku here deserves some justice.”
>”Your hands slowly enclose around the whip.  “But m-my Lady-”
>”Has been a right tyrant from what the soldiers say.
>Stealing from the common folk, mutilating slaves as a ‘joke', intimidating the local troops into favors under threats of enslavement.  
>She sounds like quite the witch. Time enough she be punished.”
>The whip feels so light in your hands, lengths of boiled leather stretched and wrapped tightly into itself.  
>Yet each blow from tools like this felt like hammer blows against your back, your arms, your legs. 
>Memories you have forgotten, or at least tried to have forgotten, surge back up.  
>Memories of Lady Min holding your head in her lap, sobbing as you waited for the throbbing pain from the whipping to vanish.  
>It happened so many times you lost count.  
>Yet Lady Min was always there.  
>Caressing you, whispering into your ear.  
>Telling you “...avoid Father’s wrath.  
>Please stay closer to me.”
>The whip slips from your fingers, falling to the ground.  
>“I-I can't.  Lady Min...she has been my only friend my entire life.  
>I can't just-” the Roma-Anon puts a finger to your lips.
>“Say no more little Ooiku.  
>Still, she must be punished for her arrogance.” 
>He claps his hands twice and a pair of wolf-men guards enter the tent.  
>“Put her in a stockade in the middle of camp.  
>Let her see the faces of brave men she wanted dead.  
>Let them know who their enemy is, and who they will defeat.”
>The guards wordlessly salute and move towards a struggling Lady Min.
>“You can't do this to me!  I'm the princess to King Park, your liege lord!”
>They ignore her protests, gagging her. As they stand her up.  
>One grins as it reaches for her shirt, gripping it tightly and pulling at it.  
>Min’s eyes widen in horror as she hears the fabric begin to stretch and tear.
>“Wait!” You interject.  Everyone turns to you.  “Please.  She cannot suffer!”
>“Why?  Her refusal to surrender will see her people in Roman chains by the end of this war.  
>Their suffering is the fault of her, her father, and all the other kings like them.  
>These men are far from home fighting a war against people that want them enslaved or dead.”  
>He walks over to Lady Min, tugging at her collar.  
>“Now she is mine, just as she would have done to me.  She is my property, I can do with her as I please; and if I feel she must be punished, she will be.
>He circles around, placing a hand on your shoulder.  “So tell me.  Why should she go unpunished?”
>You look to Roma-Anon, then to Lady Min who capes back, fear in her eyes.  “Because-” you begin.  “Because I know a secret way into the city!”
>You have Roma-Anon’s interest.  “And what of it?”
>“Let Lady Min go and I will tell you.”
>He scoffs.  “The city is valuable to me but not that valuable.  
>I can still take the city the old fashioned way.  I won't punished her tonight for speaking against me.  
>In return” he grabs a rolled up map “you will show me the way in.”
>You are no shrewd negotiator like Lady Min, and right now you are terrified out of your wits.  
>You cannot bring yourself to say anything, instead you slowly nod.
>He waves to the guards and they let go of her clothes, escorting her out of the command tent.  
>Roma-Anon then gestures to the seat opposite to him.  
>You get back up, shuffling into the seat opposite of him, a cold pit of fear burning into your stomach.  
>He slides a cup of wine towards you as he refills his own.  “First” he declares before taking a sip, “tell me how you learned of this secret?”
>That threw you off.  You stumble on your first words “Ah-well um.  I-we-me and Lady Min would sneak out of the city when she wanted to watch the traders come and go from the city.  
>When she was older, she would use it to leave the city in secret to visit her friends in Pearl Coast and and Opulent Crest.  
>She would bring me along because...well…” you are unsure how to continue, and Roma-Anon’s eyes bore into you.
>“Because..?”
>“Because Lady Min would have me distract the guards as we left.  I would buy their silence.  
>Sometimes with money.  Sometimes with wine.  Sometimes...with my body.”
>“I thought this was a secret passage, yet King Laro seems aware of it enough to post guards around it.”
>You shake your head.  “King Laro to only posts guards there because it is the largest well in the city.  
>He doesn't know it empties out into a cave” you point to the Roma-Anon’s map “here.  Far enough from Verdant Hills none bother to see if it is connected.”
>Roma-Anon is pensive, fingers over his mouth.  Finally he speaks.
>“How large is the cave?”
>“Large enough for six at a time” you estimate “but by the time you reach the well it will shrink to three.”
>He claps his hands together. “Good!  Good!  You’ve helped me indeed but your duties aren’t over.”
>“My duties” you ponder as you drink from your wine cup.  “What duties?”
>“I haven't decided what would happen to you, but while on campaign you shall serve me.  
>Your knowledge of the land, its people and my language will be quite valuable for me.  
>But for tonight” he sweeps his hand across his tent “You will simply warm my bed.”
>You almost choke on the offered wine.  Is he serious?  Does he really intend to take you here?  
>You are so repulsed!  And yet…
>The thought of it makes part of you ache with longing.  How long have you been without company?  
>No!  You mustn’t think such things about your captor!
>“B-but I am not some prostitute!  I-I can't just ch-ch-choose to lay with you beca-” the Roma-Anon raises his hand.
>“Calm yourself I don't mean it that way. I'm referring to keeping me warm.  
>You may not notice being surrounded in a castle of hearths and blankets, but it gets rather cold out here, especially as summer turns to fall.  
>Everyone will need a companion to share heat with even under the covers.  
>I am lucky and have a lovely companion to do so with me” he smiles and touches your chin.
>You pull away.  “I am Lady Min’s [Sootoki]” you maintain.  “If I am to keep anyone company, it shall be with her.”
>”And as my property, she is obliged to keep me company” Anon replies without missing a step.
>”Wonderful, I get to spend the night with two lovely ladies” he chuckles, the stench of alcohol.
>Before you know it you’re sharing a bed meant for one with Lady Min, Roma-Anon squeezed between you two.
>”Lady Min-”
>”Don’t speak to me” she huffs 
>”But my lady-”
    >”You’ve betrayed me, and you’ve betrayed my people.  I don’t want to speak to you.
>”But it was to save you from-”
>It is clear she isn’t listening.  She turns away from you, her collar jingling loudly.   
>Your own mistress despises you now.  A pit of fear and guilt well in your stomach.
>Roma-Anon grunts in his sleep and wraps an arm around you, pulling you close.
>Strange.  It doesn’t feel as...disgusting as it used to...