Three years passed.
And in that time, the city of Lupos changed quite a bit from what it had once been.
It grew several times larger, with constant construction raising new battlements and thickening its walls. The kingdom poured a great deal of money toward the Count, and he, in turn, made the city sturdier, stronger, and ready for the invasion everyone believed was inevitable.
The kingdom's army arrived before the orcs could press their advantage beyond Kolma's ruin. Banners filled the walls, soldiers crowded the streets, and peace and order slowly returned to Lupos. The city became a fortress almost overnight. Its gates were guarded day and night, and its towers were filled with archers and paladins.
But the great attack from the orcs never came.
Only small skirmishes broke out from time to time, usually when scouting parties wandered too close to what had once been Kolma.
Kolma, or what remained of it, had become the orcs' foothold.
Their den.
