The group of arriving recruits comprised nearly 150 men, mostly from the southern villages. Besides the massive frame of Drew, who led the troop as their temporary commander, Torphin’s bow also gathered considerable interest from the surrounding mercenaries. Both massive warriors and skilled long-distance fighters experienced a warm welcome, no matter the situation.

Interestingly enough, I also spotted a few of the original garrison members, who returned with the new recruits. Their missing armors stood out between the recently outfitted newcomers. Though even more astonishing was the fact that their facial expressions were calm and their gazes without hostility. They just joined the others and followed directions.

A weird situation, given how harsh their farewell had been, but a welcome one for sure. Of course, I would have been happier with a regiment of paladins or a group of mages, but given the situation, this was already better than I had expected. Although there was one face I didn’t expect at all.

“So what are you doing here?” A sighed accompanied my question. “Weren’t you against this?”

“Me? Against it? Never!” Thea answered with a forced smile that screamed >forget about it already<. “Isn’t it our duty to protect the fields? I remember you talking my ear off and here I am.”

“Well, whatever.” Another sigh. But I decided to let old stories rest thanks to the clear unease on her face. No need to bring up the past with how horrible my behavior had been. Furthermore, one more pair of hands, even an untrained one, was always better. “You can help me with the people from the southern villages. They already know you and will follow your instructions. Drew and Torphin will be responsible for the battles, but you can oversee the other tasks.”

“Other tasks?”

“There’s a lot of work to be done. We have to build fortifications, simple accommodations, and depots. I already started with some, but that’s a lot more trees.” I gestured towards a small pile of logs. “Afterward, there is also stuff like cooking, hunting, collecting firewood, the mending of clothes and armor, …”

I continued the sheer endless list of menial tasks. Even worse, most of them were daily chores, which would waste a lot of labour force. Hence, I had decided to split the troop into two groups. One would learn to fight with the spear, ride the horse, and run away. The other group would run the actual fortress. There might be some backlash from the latter group when their dream of glory was crushed once more, but I didn’t see another way.

Without experience, any confrontation between my men and the leprechauns would end in a strike-by-strike replay of my merchant escort mission. Enough time might change that, but I didn’t have that luxury with further attacks on the horizon. So I picked a strike-by-strike replay of our village defense instead.

Scout the southern area, find the leprechauns, and evacuate their potential targets. The southern fortress would then become a simple shelter for those villagers. One with actual fortifications. A place that our small group could defend against a more powerful enemy. But building and running such a fortress would need a lot of work.

“I’m not doing that!” Thea interrupted the still ongoing list. “I can fight!”

“But we also need someone to -”

“I’m fighting!”

“Okay, okay. You can fight.” I sighed. “I don’t know what’s with you but be my guest, then.”

A wide smile bloomed on the Thea’s face, even showing her teeth, and left me speechless. What was her problem? Blood and violence weren’t the place for a bubbly village girl and her collection of colorful stripes. But given how well-known she had become as the ‘sole girl staying back’ among the villagers, a discontent Thea might lead to more problems than it was worth.

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“What’s with that sigh?” Thea dug deeper. “So you are against it?”

“Well, obviously. The battle isn’t a place for a girl.” I explained as patient as I could. “It’s dangerous. And you still have no combat experience.”

“I was with you.”

“Yeah, you were.” I nodded. “But what did you do? You took care of the wounded. But you never touched a weapon or wounded a leprechaun. Instead, you did what I asked you to do this time as well. Make sure, that we can fight without worry.”

“But…” Thea started, but fell silent. “But… she… she is here, isn’t she?”

“She?”

“That silver-haired girl.”

“Ah, Rhoslyn?” I realized who she meant. “No, she isn’t here right now. But why? Do you want to speak with her?”

“No. It’s just… she will fight.”

“Of course, she will.” I confirmed Thea’s guess. “Those mercenaries are her men, and she will lead them into battle. Like any excellent commander would. So nothing special about that.”

“Then… won’t you… fight alongside each other?”

“Hmm? Don’t know…” I thought about it for a moment. Given how the two of us were both commanders of our own troops, the chances were rather favorable. I could fight with her. “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, it would be nice if she would support us.”

“Then… I also want to fight!”

“That again?” A subconsciously raised eyebrow.

“I. Will. Fight.”

“I already said okay.” Another sigh before I finally connected the dot. “I see, that’s why you wanted to see her. So that she can teach you how to fight.” I nodded, persuaded by my reasoning. “It’s true. You are both women, so there might be some things Rhoslyn can teach you better. Although the sword won’t be as effective during a siege. But it’s still a good idea to -”

“No!” Thea’s outbreak silenced me. “I will never ask her for any advice. And I will never learn the sword. That’s only for show-offs. Instead, I will learn how to wield a spear. Just wait, and I’ll wield the spear better than she ever could!”

And with those angry words still ringing in my ears, she turned around and stomped away, leaving me on my own.

Another sigh escaped my lips. Really? What was her problem?

In the end, she still returned together with Drew and Torphin to discuss the fortress’ layout.

The main idea was to divide the fortress into an inner and an outer part.

A handful of mass accommodations, the food and firewood depots, and a wooden wall would account for the inner area. As none of us had any idea how to construct a proper well, we decided to use the river as our sole water source with the inner area right next to it. Not much, but a roof above our heads and enough food and water to weather an attack. An unembellished last line of defense against a siege gone wrong.

Given the wooden wall around it, we had to make the inner area as small as possible. Therefore, it wasn’t really usable in everyday life. Instead, we would create multiple outer areas filled with big huts for both the recruits and possible refugees. Still no luxury, but sleeping with ten men in a hut was a lot better compared to a hundred people and more under one roof.

Each outer area would comprise a few small huts, a cooking place, and an earth wall around it. With one inner area and multiple outer areas around its three sides, we could recreate the combat tactics we had used during the village defense. Stall for time until an outer area was empty, fall back to the next wall, and repeat until everyone had evacuated into the inner area.

“I want to create a few small wall pieces tomorrow. Not that wide, only a few meters.” I explained our upcoming work. “With that, the battle groups can start their training right away. The construction group should start with the wooden wall, followed by the depots. It’s still warm, so we can postpone the huts for now. Protection against the enemies comes first. The battle groups can heap the earth walls after their training. Drew and Thea, that’s your job.”

“And my job?” Torphin asked, seeing how I singled him out from the combat troops.

“We’ll need scouts.” I explained to him. “But this time, running fast isn’t enough. Pick a few men and one of the mercenaries will teach you how to ride a horse. Those men will become our eyes and ears against the leprechauns. In the morning, the two of us can go hunt.”

“I want to hunt, too.” Thea interrupted.

“In the morning, the three of us can go hunt.” I rectified, after Drew’s shaking head had answered my questioning gaze. “We’ll dry and cure the meat. A fifth of our game will go to the mercenaries. In turn, they’ll help us with the urgent construction. Also, set aside some of the best meat for a small ceremony with the mercenaries. It’s better to find a common ground between our groups.”

The others nodded before we called it a day, focusing our attention on the upcoming days.