Pinehook appeared between the pines just after noon. Its gate stood open, but a pair of villagers waited outside it with spears in hand. Wei stopped the convoy before the first cart reached the road fork.
Village head Leda came down from the gatehouse. “How many people need space?”
Wei gave her the count. “Families, wounded, and some clinic supplies. The military camp will stay outside your boundary. We will not take your storehouse.”
Leda looked past him at the line of carts. “Two barns are empty. The school hall can hold more if the families keep the benches clear. The homes and grain bins stay under village control.”
“Agreed,” Wei said.
Leda called two volunteers to open the barns. A third carried a board to the gate and wrote the names of the rooms that were available. The villagers moved at their own pace; no soldier entered before Leda’s people showed him where to go.
Oren brought the route guides to her. He pointed out the second road toward the northern ridge. “Could the carts use this if the main trail closes?”
“Foot traffic only,” Leda said. “The old bridge will carry a person or two. A loaded wagon will break the boards.”
