Once Sten got some clothes on, we geared up and headed south on our wargs.

"So, now will you tell me what the fuck we are doing out here," Sten asked.

"I need to get a few things from the traders on our southern borders. After everything that happened in Blackwater, I decided not to travel alone. I might be Chief, but I'm not stupid," I replied. "Also, I want to check out our reclaimed territory."

"You think Corvus would be ignorant enough to come after us again?"

"You'd be surprised. It's not unlike humans to make cocksure decisions," I said solemnly.

We rode for about half an hour before finally making it to the traders. Thankfully they had traveled further north. Most human kingdoms would not trade with the Orruk, but lucky for us, their wondering gypsies would. They were still wary of us, but we made up most of their customers.

"Would you like to take a look at our wares?" One of the women said.

"Yes, thank you," I replied while dismounting my warg.

"Is there anything, in particular, you are looking for?"

Not wanting Sten to know I'd drug him out here just for a dress, I threw in some other reasonable items when telling her what I needed. Of course, he still had something to say.

"Why in the hell do you need to buy women's clothing? You plan on cross-dressing or something?"

"Ah, shut the fuck up. The new female doesn't have any extra clothing." I said, not wanting to mention her name in front of strangers.

"You mean to tell me that Princess has an Orc Chief; out in the woods dress shopping?" He laughed. "My, my. She must have you whipped then, and she hasn't even had to put out for you."My head dropped, hoping the trader wouldn't ask questions. I turned to him and gave him a look, letting him know to shut the fuck up.

I browsed through what she had. She had a few nightgowns and a handful of chemises. I took those off her hands. She also had a boned corset that was in good condition. I just hoped this stuff would fit her. "What other undergarments do women wear?" I wondered to myself.

"Do you have any gowns," I asked her.

She went into her tent to dig through a trunk. She pulled out a dark emerald green floor-length gown. The bodice shimmered with what I assumed was glass beadwork. It was made up of layers of sheer fabric and had a floor-length cape sewn in.

"This one is a bit much," She said. "It's not a day-to-day maid dress if you know what I mean.""That'll work, thank you," I said. I also took a few yards of fabric off the trader's hands. I thought Brenna might like it to sew.

"Alright, Sten, let's head out."

Sten and I stowed everything on our wargs and remounted. There was just one last place I wanted to check before going back. After yesterday, I wanted to check our previous border and see what we need to do to secure the new one. I have men out that patrol the area.

On the way there, I noticed many purple, spindly flowers blooming. I slowed my warg and signaled to Sten to slow down as well.

"Hold on, Sten. I want to check something," I said.

I unmounted and went to look at the flowers to be sure what they were. They were a type of Nepeta flower known as Catmint. I only knew this because some of the elder's wives come out to pick them for teas and bath waters because they have medicinal purposes.

They typically grow on our mountainside, but I recall one of them saying that there weren't as many plants this year. They are very hardy and fair well in the cold. I went through my saddle bag on my warg and pulled out a small drawstring pouch.

"Oh, tell me you aren't about to pick flowers for the bitch too," Sten laughed.

Sten had always been like a brother to me, but it was taking everything inside of me not to deck him. I held back my anger and just shook my head.

"Their medicinal, dip shit," I said as I picked the blooms off their green stems and stored them in my pouch. I did my best to fill it up quickly so we could move on. When finished, I remounted and took off. I was ready to be done with the day.

We ride for another half hour and begin to slow down when we enter the new territory. As I expected, there's nothing that I see thus far in the area but thick forest. We keep going until we are near the border. Something throws me off.

Orcs have what some people call Lupine ears. They give us almost animalistic hearing abilities. We had to be at least another mile away, but I could hear the marching of hooves beating on the earth. There were sounds of hammers and men. I know Sten heard it too. His eyes darkened and became more serious.

We slowed down to be more cautious, not to give away that we were nearby. Another advantage we have are our wargs. Wargs are essentially massive wolves. The pads of their feet make relatively no noise on the soft forest floor. Finally, we could start to see into the clearing where our border ends.

We got off our wargs and crept closer, using the trees to our advantage to get a better look at what was happening. A sick feeling came over me when I saw what was happening.

The Humans were moving into the area from the south. Some had already begun pitching large tents and Blackwater insignias. Sten and I looked at each other. We didn't need to say anything for the other to know what we were thinking. The humans seemed to be preparing for war.