At Ashwell, the Horde's camp had become a settlement.
Three weeks of occupation had transformed the farming village's fortified perimeter into something that resembled, in its organizational structure and daily rhythms, a smaller version of Yohan. The earthworks were permanent. The Roarer positions were constructed with the precision that the troll specialist corps applied to structures expected to last. The market that the village's farming population operated had expanded to serve the additional demand that seven thousand warriors' daily requirements produced.
Khao'khen walked the camp's perimeter each morning, inspecting the fortifications that were stronger than any previous camp because they had been improved daily for three weeks by engineers with nothing else to do and whose professional standards demanded that idle time be converted into structural improvement.
