By the time Allen led the rest of his forces to Bamund's camp, dawn was beginning to break, and the fighting there had long since ended. With over a thousand infantry and the help of the Skin-changer Wulf, Bunduk had quickly breached the camp. After all, Bamund had taken most of its fighting strength with him to pursue his own little scheme.
Before the war began, Allen had gone to see his good friend Beorn. But since Allen had initiated this conflict, and it was a war between humans, the kindhearted Beorn was reluctant, for reasons of his own, to travel to Eastern Rhovanion and slaughter Easterlings. Besides, his daughter Rebecca was only five or six that year, and he could hardly bear to leave his sweet little girl.
In the end, Beorn decided to remain in the Anduin River Valley, helping Allen secure his rear and guard any prisoners who might be brought back.
But Beorn did not stop his son Grim, who had only recently come of age, from leaving with Allen. He also spoke to his people, the other Skin-changers, telling them that they could seek a future in Allen's army if they wished.
In fact, four Skin-changer families were living near Beorn's Garden at the time: those of Beorn, Wulf, Augris, and Balk. There were already ten adult Skin-changers, and with the children included, their numbers came to nearly twenty.
Female Skin-changers generally did not go to war, however. They only joined the fighting in the face of invasion or other emergencies, such as when their families were threatened.
Most Skin-changers were kindhearted and hated evil, but their personalities differed in smaller ways. Wulf, for instance, hoped to give his family a better life, so he was eager to join each of Allen's campaigns. Most battles