The orders they received halfway through the next day via a goblin scout instructed both units to stick together, gather the workers from the clay pits along with their carts, take them to the orchard where the battle had taken place, and secure the area until they stripped all the trees of everything edible. And it had to be admitted that both the orcs and the goblins of Wolf Rock had very tolerant stomachs, so even unripe fruit went massively into the carts that normally hauled clay.
The haul was impressive, and despite the fears of some warriors, the enemy from the north did not strike twice in the same place, and after a few days, they returned with it all to the stronghold. Then, workers in a few more places took advantage of their protection to gather what could be taken back to the Wolf Rock. After a week of such escorting, it became clear to everyone that the chieftain apparently expected a siege. Commander Kor’got did not confirm such a scenario, but neither did he deny it, making it clear that at this stage they were to obey orders and leave the grand strategy to others. The surrounding workplaces, hunting camps, outposts, and gathering sites emptied until no one and nothing was left in them. Everything and everyone was withdrawn to the stronghold. Only numerous scouts ran back and forth across the entire northern part of their lands. Patrolled, but not far from the stronghold, by units of Wolf Rock warriors now moving in pairs. It was said among them that a large attack from the north would come any day, that the scouts had found the enemy's rallying point, and the enemy wasn't particularly concerned with doing it unnoticed.
Gra’sha already knew everyone in her unit by name or nickname. They agreed that since they knew where the enemy was gathering and they weren't attacking, it meant that the enemy had such a large numerical advantage that the chieftain was banking on the defense of the stronghold instead of attempting open battle. This did not fill them with optimism. Even the support from Riverbend, which had arrived in the meantime, though received with honors and enthusiasm, changed nothing in this matter. They had sent barely one full unit. The anxiety of the stronghold's inhabitants, now crammed behind the moat and palisade together with the numerous goblins brought in from all corners of their lands, grew every day. Everyone nervously awaited the time when the invaders would appear.
To occupy their minds, ever since the support from the east arrived, they trained in the joint defense of the palisade, fire fighting, inventoried arrows and javelins—though they had long been counted—and similar tasks. The chieftain and the command ensured that everyone had something to do. Two weeks after the battle at the orchard, all units were pulled back to the stronghold and relieved of patrols, ordered to rest. Kor’got passed this order on to them, and so as not to leave any room for doubt about what they should expect, added as he left that they should refresh their knowledge of the rules of siege warfare.
As a warrior of the chieftain's warband and a new member of this caste, Gra’sha was assigned lodging in the immediate vicinity of his imposing residence, where she moved with her modest belongings. It was a longhouse, with one common room in the middle and four bedrooms on each side. An personal storage room adjoined each of them. As was explained to her, new warriors who had not yet started a family were quartered in such buildings, in groups of eight, thus a whole rank from a unit. In their case, since Sha’dru had her own house, they had seven residents. All familiar comrades, including Mal’gor, which pleased her especially. They took rooms next to each other. Hers was in the corner, followed by Mal’gor's, then an empty room, and Par’gul's in the opposite corner.
In the immediate vicinity were four other longhouses, three standing parallel to each other, closed off somewhat from the stronghold side by two others, forming clusters of five dwellings. Five such clusters partially surrounded the chieftain's residence, which was carved into the rock. Half of its ground floor was stone, and everything above was wood. Massive, also rectangular, it housed numerous rooms and common halls. The warriors closest to him lived there with their whole families, occupying spacious and lavishly furnished chambers, sharing a roof and bread with their chieftain. The protruding part of the residence was the size of one and a half clusters, and rumor had it that twice as many places were hidden within the rock. Gra’sha hadn't yet had the opportunity to see this for herself.
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On the first evening in the new place, Sha’dru visited them, and although the mood in the stronghold wasn't too cheerful, they didn't fail to modestly celebrate their new assignment. Gra’sha was no exception here; everyone had worked hard for this day, and despite the war, they drank a little to this success, enjoying good food over the long hearth in the common room.
"Here's to none of you snoring at night," Mal’gor joked, raising his cup.
"May you never lack wood for the fire," Sha’dru added, a classic wish related to the sometimes harsh winters.
"Here's to us meeting in the same company when it's all over!" called Par’gul.
To this last toast, Gra’sha and all the rest also joined in, and everyone clinked their cups of mead, raising cheers, and a moment later they had to refill, as everyone had drained their vessels to the bottom. However, they drank the weakest of meads and with moderation, not wanting to risk any poor performance the next day. They also finished the feast early enough that they went together to the bathhouse to wash away the hardships and fears of the day before it closed for the night.
The young warrior, after the first night spent in the new house, went for a walk around the area after breakfast. Passing by the palisade, she glanced at the iron cramps reinforcing the joints. She had helped make some of them as part of her work with the master blacksmith. She ran her hand over the logs that others had felled and dragged here, some long before she was born, and which were part of this structure today. She climbed to the top, and from over the tops of the stakes, she looked at the moat, dug with great effort by her fellow clan members. Now the enemy was to put all these efforts to the test.
She sighed long and hard, and it crossed her mind that her mother had told her to avoid shamans, which she had dutifully done all her life, but she hadn't warned her that one day they would reach out their hands for her themselves, for all of them. But she had no intention of letting them. This was a sturdy stronghold, her stronghold. She leaned with both hands on the top of the stakes and stared into the distance. After a moment, she blinked twice and stared again at the point that had caught her attention. They were hellishly far away, but she had no doubt. Over the last few weeks, her eyesight had sharpened, and what she saw was a column of troops gliding from north to south. With determination and anger in her voice, she raised the alarm with a resounding call to the warriors standing below: "Enemy on the horizon! Notify the chieftain, on the double!"
A tumult arose, but not panic. For the past weeks, everyone had been training for this day. The news spread like lightning, and everyone set about their assigned tasks. Scouts were sent out into the field and onto the palisade. Slowly, commanders called together their units of archers and infantry, who were the first to take positions on the platforms behind the palisade. The only bridge across the moat was pulled up, and the gate was closed, after which they began to barricade it. The youth delegated to this task ran with armfuls of arrows and javelins, placing them in previously designated collection points. Not long after, it was announced that the enemy would not arrive here sooner than in half a day. So there was enough time for everything.
Gra’sha, like her entire unit, was assigned to the infantry; they were to protect the archers on the palisade, to the left of the gate. To repel attempts to climb up to them. The day was nice, and everyone could already clearly see the slowly approaching troops. Among them, over a dozen figures of ogres towering over the rest. At least four hundred orcs and masses of bone-clad goblins that were difficult to estimate, moving in a loose formation along the entire length of the column, without much rhyme or reason. Although these forces made an impression on the defenders, they did not lose heart; the fortifications of Wolf Rock were in excellent condition, manned by clan warriors. The mood was combative.
The stronghold was ready for defense.
