“This land, this vast prairie where we were born and raised, where our parents rode and hunted, had been ours from times untold! If these humans wanted to take it from us, let them know in no uncertain terms that it would only be done over our dead bodies! Now who is with me!?” - Supposed transcript of a speech by famed Orcish Warchief Radoth of Clan Bloodfang to the assembled clans and tribes during the fourth northern crusade.

“If what you said is true, It might be best for us to wait for the rest of the clans to assemble before we break the news to them,” said Orica when Aideen explained the implication she discovered from the tabards salvaged by the Featherclaws. The orcish warchief looked deep in thought, somewhat reluctant to believe the news and its implications, yet also obviously angered by the assault that one of their fellow clans had suffered.

“That’s what I thought as well. No reason to repeat the story many times,” replied Aideen with a nod to the orcish matron. She had not seen any signs of aggression from the human countries towards the orcish clans when she passed by, but that had been six years ago. Many things could easily change in that timespan, especially with humans. “If it helps, I can explain to everyone about the political situation on the human lands and what we could expect, though my information would be more than half a decade out of date by now.”

“We could likely make some use of that, so the information would be appreciated, Everlasting one,” replied Orica politely. Aideen had stayed with her clan for the past six years, and in those years she had only given them more than what they could have reasonably asked for in exchange for the hearth and home she asked. The Orcish warchief suspected no duplicity whatsoever from the Unliving woman, and thought of her as an honored guest of her clan.

Over the following week, many more orcish clans - and even some goblin tribes from the western borders of the rainforest that bordered the prairie - arrived for the meeting. The clans and tribes from the east, west, and north were fine in general, but amongst those from the south, many showed signs of having faced combat, and losses not only to their warriors but also to their old and young. The damage was mostly to those few clans who typically lived further south, but it was plenty to alarm the rest to say the least.

The clan that received the worst impact from the human invasion was the Stonehooves, who usually lived to the far south of the prairie. In fact, Aideen had not encountered them because at the time they happened to be a good bit further east from the path she took, and the other tribe whose territory she and Celia had crossed until they met the Bloodfangs happened to be at the other areas of their land as well.

There were less than half of the Stonehooves left. There were barely fifty of their warriors left at all, most of which sported heavy injuries, and even amongst the rest of the clan, it was rare to see one who didn’t carry a wound or three. They had the misfortune of having met not with roaming bands of knights on a forceful reconnaissance, but was struck by the forward elements of the human army itself, and barely managed to escape while leaving many of their belongings behind.

Needless to say, all those clans who had escaped from the human invasion on the south of the prairie gave Aideen unkind and at times hostile looks, and even many of the other clans looked at her suspiciously. At least that was the case until Orica bluntly stated that Aideen and Celia were honored guests of their clan, and those who were not happy about it could come and meet her with a challenge instead.

That statement, combined with Aideen and Celia’s - who while lacking any magical healing, had learned quite a bit of Aideen’s knowledge and could help handle less serious injuries - efforts in healing and taking care of the wounded mellowed the orcs some, until most accepted their presence in their midst without any complaint.

After a whole week had passed, dozens of clans - or representatives from clans, as some whose lands were further away generally only sent a delegation rather than bring their clan over - had gathered in the land of the Greentusks, and the many chieftains and shamans quickly devolved into arguments left and right, the main topic of which was the human invasion in the south.

Some clans who live further in the north had looked at the invasion lightly, since in their opinion they lived far enough from it to not be affected anyway. Other, more warlike clans called for war against the intruders, for the various clans to amass their warriors and teach the humans their place. Yet others called for caution and thought that they should learn more about the invaders and what brought them to their prairie before they acted.

Quite naturally, the clans which lived in the south had mostly been in the camp that advocated for war, since the land taken over by the invaders were their lands, and many of them also hankered for revenge. The discussion was often chaotic, and at times dissolved into a brawl, but to the orcs it was a rather typical scene that caused none of the others to worry.

It was not until Orica stepped forward and called for attention, where she used the reputation of Clan Bloodfang as one of the strongest in the prairies to ensure that the others paid attention, and brought Aideen over that the gathered orcish chieftains and shamans quieted down, their attention riveted to the Bloodfang’s warchief and the unexpected human guest she brought at her side.

Then Aideen unfurled a large map, drawn on parchment, which depicted not only a good part of the southern part of the prairies - results of Aideen’s observations and conversation with visiting clans over the past years - but also depicted the neighboring human nations. The size of the Clangeddin Empire as depicted on the map caused a sharp intake of breath amongst the gathered orcs, as the reality of what they might be facing truly dawned upon them for the first time.