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Message: <blockquote data-quote="seasong" data-source="post: 760878" data-attributes="member: 5137">Believe me, I loooove questions <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />.Partially, because this is D&D, and that there wilderness is damned dangerous - and Aglaonis is a good ways to the north, hence the trade route and fortified caravans (our favorite greedy merchant from Part I was unusual). The dragon (Amalan) is also a consideration. Any major military push through the wilderness would have to be very careful about how much damage they did on their way to the field of battle.And Aglaonis isn't a pushover by any means - they could be conquered, but it would cost. Theralis has to weigh that somewhat unknown cost against an also unknown benefit. As they become militarily more strong, however, that will eventually become a serious consideration.Particularly if the orcs can be shoved/diverted north, away from Theralis, to weaken Aglaonis and allow Theralis to swoop in, save the day, and "help rebuild".Indeed, they have the military will to do many things we might find distasteful in our quiet modern age. Particularly once they've got their war dander up (which I believe they could be said to have, by now <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />).Nah <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />. What you're seeing in Greppa is the first stages of "their military SUCKS; well, that's because they are innately inferior; well, maybe we should help them; maybe we should rule them".Eastpass is pretty well fortified by a human wall. It's narrow, and more easily accessed from the interior of the valleys. As has been proven, a few hundred soldiers can make it nigh-impassable. Any more fortification there would render it useless for trade... and Theralis HAS to have that trade.Theralis Ridge is a bit different - it's steep enough that it hasn't needed walls, and it's useless for trade. The idea that it would be seriously attacked was ludicrous prior to a few years ago - and one of the difficulties the orcs have had in penetrating the shield wall has been the fact that the shields are above them on the slope.Theralis itself HAS walls, but the idea of covering the entire ridge with a wall simply wasn't considered necessary until recently... and the idea has been slow to catch on, due to its expense, difficulty, and the niggling possibility that Amalan might consider a wall far enough downslope to be useful "encoraching".On the other hand, once the Olympiad is over, a fair amount of funds may be freed up for just such a thing.That's actually how they viewed the human shield wall up until recently (Theralis tactics haven't really had to evolve in warfare in several hundred years - they've only been facing western orcs). The idea of facing giants in war was considered ludicrous, and the idea of 800+ pound armorcats fighting on behalf of the enemy was considered ludicrous, and the idea that shamans could return fireball fire was considered ludicrous, etc.That Theralis is holding up as well as they are in the face of a changed battlescape says a lot for them. That they are going to improve drastically (and have improved drastically) is inescapable, and possibly something to be feared.</blockquote>

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