An attempt to prove their worth... Valerie wasn't fond of casting judgement on those she wasn't familiar with, but everything Markus told her left her with the impression that the orcs had a very backward culture, savage even. The attack they'd just survived had no other purpose than to slay them and take their weapons from their corpses. Valerie doubted an orc would even find much use for a sword like hers. It was a colossal waste on both sides, but there likely wasn't any way to persuade them into stopping. Which left them with the unfortunate ultimatum of killing or being killed.

The bumps in the road gave Valerie small jarring pains, but she imagined her discomfort was nothing compared to those who had received more grievous injuries in the fight. She turned to see the sight of Hillglen approaching, with walls of stone and timber protecting the little outpost. As they approached, Valerie noticed a great deal of wear on the walls. Splits in the wood where arrows had once struck it, or even gashes left from an axe, evidence of an orc or some other creature trying to literally tear the defenses down.

"It looks like this outpost deals with these attacks often," she pointed out. One nearby section of wall had signs of recent repairs, with the stones in place there looking significantly less weathered than those surrounding it. "I wonder if anything can be done." Likely they just didn't have the manpower to do anything more than weather the assaults, but Valerie found herself curious if they even knew where the orcs were coming from beyond a general direction.