While nominally just a building for grain storage , the Grange now served as the center of local trade . If open fighting broke out , its walls were unusually thick for a granary ; the Grange could also serve as a fort for the Hobbits . They might have well needed one . Bandits roamed this area ; suspiciously , they troubled mainly Hobbits and travellers from the outside . Aradan , unable to recruit enough Arthadan commoners to expand his holdings ,had brought in Dunmen from Cardolan to work his fields and a small company of Dwarvish mercenaries to protect them . The first action had bred resentment among the Marwen peasants , who bore strong racial animosity agains the Daen ; they no longer trusted their lord . The second move had caused a reaction of fear and panic among the Hobbits of O