NRSG: Of course. Come to think of it, why in the world does Gorgrael think that more solid Skraelings will increase their menace??

Good question. Quite frankly given how completely fucking useless they are they might as well have just been human troops. Completely incompetent ones with no weapons.

Absolutely.

Exposition is BORING. Why would you want your first chapter, the one that's supposed to get readers invested in your story, to be BORING?