The chapter opens with a description of the fortress, which is described as a "fruit of the labor" of both the human and the incarnate. The North is trying to destroy the fortress. The incarnates do not have the numbers to fight against the North's army. The chapter ends with a soliloquy by the captain, in which he laments that if he had not taken on the form, he would not have come back. The captain tells him that he has received a message from Caius, asking him not to kill any of his fellow humans. Caius says that he will kill him if he does not join his side. He tells the captain that he cannot see the big man anymore, and that he must kill him too. He says that they have just found the body of a sasquatcher, which means that the target may still be near.