Mira squinted against the rising sun as she approached the bustling construction site on the outskirts of Everspring. The air was thick with the scent of freshly cut wood and the pounding of hammers. She'd risen early, eager to earn some coin and keep an eye on things for Alic. And by keeping an eye on things, that meant spying.

Mira remained skeptical of orcs, or any green skins, for that matter, not because of their skin color, but because she had been fighting orcs and goblins for the past two years across countless battlefields. She'd stood in ranks with other men while being charged by these hulking brutes or herself charging them in a desperate attempt to shatter their ranks.

At least half a dozen villagers were already helping the orcs. Mira hoped she would blend in with them.

As she drew closer, Mira spotted Urzan and Moktar directing their warband to construct a sturdy fortification. The orcs worked surprisingly efficiently, probably because they were built like rock-walls and had muscle on top of muscle. They'd already cleared out the trees and ripped out the stumps, probably with their bare hands. Mira chuckled to herself.

One corner of the fort already had a tower built up with a covered platform. The roof was little more than branches woven into longer tree branches, but it helped keep the sun off the two guards stationed on either side. They paced, watched, and looked like they were acting as lookouts. Mira just hoped it was lookouts for the town and not some other nefarious reason.

Despite Varix's almost almost blind acceptance of the orcs, she kept them at a safe distance. They would need to do a lot more to earn her trust. For all she knew, they were setting up this fort to begin building up for fresh attacks against villages around the countryside.

Mira was part of a crew that Roland had hired at King Alister's behest to help build the wooden fort for the new protectors of the local lands. Help might have been a stretch. She couldn't believe that they were now working with orcs. Orcs! They were smelly, mean, and gross; they snapped bones and sucked the marrow - raw! She had observed this behavior on several occasions.

Mira had fought orcs across half of Mythralon, into the blighted plains, and almost to Morthisal's fortress before the war had ended.

"Moktar! Put back into it!" Urzan bellowed, his voice carrying across the site. "Wall not build itself!"

Moktar grunted, hefting another log onto his shoulder. "Urzan talk less, work more!"

"All work more!" one of the dozen or so other orcs yelled.

Mira couldn't help but chuckle at their banter and muttered, "How did we get here?"

She was dressed in sensible brown trousers, a thick maroon linen shirt, and over that, a light leather breastplate and thick leather boots. It was hard for Mira to give up on her armor, but she chose the lightest she could find. Leaving behind her short sword, shield, and bow had been even harder. She was supposed to be here to help and consult. She hadn’t mentioned “babysitting the orcs” to Alic, but that’s what it felt like.

The king's envoy was supposed to stop at the building site this afternoon or evening to assess the fort's progress.

"Need a hand?" Mira called out, approaching the two orc leaders.

Urzan turned, his tusks gleaming in the morning light. "Warrior woman! Come to help orc build fortress!"

"That’s right. Tell me how I can help," Mira said and picked up a large hammer from a nearby workbench.

“Human woman is small! Human woman also strong!” Urzan proclaimed.

“You can say that again, Urzan. I spent two years on campaign,” Mira said and hefted the hammer.

“We can use you over here,” one of the human workers yelled.

She nodded at Urzan and Moktar, then went to join the crew. She positioned herself to watch the orcs while she drove large iron nails into planks to build a set of stairs leading to the top of a wall. A few other workers were busy creating scaffolding so they could make a walkway at the top of the wall.

Large stripped and sharpened logs had been driven into the ground at regular intervals. A couple of orcs held another log eight feet in the air over their heads while another came behind them on a small table for added height and tied the wood in place with heavy leather straps.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Yet another orc came behind them with a long hand drill and bored holes through so the logs would be secured with wooden dowels, which they drove in with a large soft-headed mallet. They worked fast and had most of the east wall up by the afternoon.

They'd left a gap large enough to walk a pair of horses through. A couple of orcs worked off to the side on what appeared to be a door. Another worked at a bench on hunks of wood he carved into thick discs. Mira was sure this was to make pulleys to lift and lower the door.

After several hours of work, Mira wiped the sweat off her forehead and went to find a cask of water. So far, she hadn't observed any shady activity. From the outside, it appeared the orcs were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Building a small fort that could support about two dozen orcs. Any more, and they would be elbow to elbow.

She walked by Urzan, who was busy chatting in Orcish with his pal, Moktar. The two were pointing at the other side of the wall and making hand gestures.

"How's it going?" She interrupted them.

"Higher tower needed! Need clear view over hills!" Urzan pointed. A wide road cut through the center of a pair of sweeping hills, but the view on the other side was obscured.

"Is there a specific reason for needing such a high vantage point?"

"Protect Everspring! Watch both ways into village!" Urzan nodded solemnly.

Mira was tired of the subtle approach, and she didn't want to stay out here for days, so she flat out asked them. "Look, guys. I want to believe and trust you, but I've fought orcs for years. Why are you suddenly so helpful in wanting to work for the king?"

"Orc want peace! No more dark lord! No more dark lord lies! No more war! Morthisal terrible! Seduce and betray entire orc nation!"

"Betrayed?"

"Morthisal lies! Always lies! Dark lord also leave when battle close! Run away!"

Mira's eyes widened. "I'm sorry. He ran away?"

"Not body! Just evil soul! That is what other orc say!"

"I don't follow," Mira said. Her mind raced. Were the orcs telling her that Morthisal had somehow escaped? They'd razed his fortress to the blighted ground. Then, it had been burned by the fires of a dozen mages. They had poured so much fire on the location it was said the very stones had burned to ash.

That had occurred months ago. If Morthisal was still alive, she was sure he would have popped up by now. The dark lord's ego wouldn't have let him stay in hiding for so long. Even his number two, Thalindra, had been captured, and from what she'd heard, the dark sorceress's tongue had been ripped out at the capitol.

"Is that why we never found his body?"

"Body no use! Morthisal leave body behind!"

Mira's mouth dropped open.

One of the orcs in the watchtower yelled something in Orcish.

Mira looked to Urzan and asked, "What's wrong?"

Urzan yelled back, then looked around and bellowed, "Patrol! Now!"

Mira grew concerned, her hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of her sword, which wasn't there.

Urzan noticed her unease and grunted, "No worry! Something in woods to west! Maybe large pack of wolves!"

Wolves? Here, and in a large pack? That didn't seem likely. She'd like to know what they had observed. "I can help."

Urzan shrugged, his massive shoulders rippling, and pointed at a corner of the fort. Barrels and crates sat there, bristling with an assortment of weapons.

Urzan and Moktar lumbered over and grabbed spears, swords, and shields. With a few other orcs, they headed for the entrance, their heavy footfalls thudding against the packed earth.

Mira stood frozen for a moment, torn between her instinct to join the patrol and her lingering distrust of the orcs. She shook her head, banishing her doubts, and sprinted to the weapons cache, calling for a couple of the human workers whom she knew were competent fighters. "Bowen! Tobias! Grab a weapon. There may be trouble in the woods to the west."

The pair of men who had been working on the scaffolding scrambled down the ladder and quickly rushed to her side.

Tobias was a graying man with a salt-and-pepper beard that was long enough to touch his chest. According to Alic, Bowen was younger and had proven himself countless times while defending the town from raids earlier in the year. He still had a tuff of peach hair on his chin, but he was tall and powerfully built. Alic had his eye on Bowen for a possible position in the town guard.

Mira snatched up a short sword in a sheath and a shield that would have been small for an orc but fit her perfectly, and motioned for Tobias and Bowen to do the same.

"What kind of trouble?" Tobias asked her.

"I don't know, but it's got those orcs riled up. I want to know what's out there," she said and lowered her voice. "And also keep an eye on the orcs."

Bowen nodded and pulled a long, thick spear with a wickedly sharp iron tip. He hefted the heavy weapon, nodded at her, and said, "This is perfect."

With the other men in tow, Mira had to run to keep up with the orcs, their long strides eating up the ground. She took in the surrounding area as they raced after the green skins. The fort sat on a slight rise, overlooking a patchwork of fields and meadows. The dense forest loomed to the west, its dark canopy swaying in the breeze.

The orcs charged towards the tree line, their weapons glinting in the sunlight. Mira and the two men followed and slowly closed the gap. She hoped this wasn't a trap, some elaborate ruse to lure her away from the fort's safety.

The sound reached them, and Mira stopped to listen more carefully. Tobias and Bowen stopped close behind her.

"Those aren't wolves," Tobias said.

It was the yapping and snarling of dogs. No, not dogs.

She turned to the men. She and Tobias said the word at the same time. "Gnolls."