The fortification work had been running since the day after the column set camp.
The eastern and northern faces of the camp had earthworks now, low berms thrown up from the dry steppe soil with the supply train's tools, enough to break a mounted approach into a channeled entry.
The horse lines had been extended and reorganized, remount animals separated from working horses by a clear corridor. Penk's relay had adjusted its pattern to account for the new structure, riders moving in a tighter arc that kept the fortified faces covered at all intervals.
From the camp's southern edge the streambed was visible as a pale depression in the flat terrain. Beyond it the steppe ran open and unbroken in every direction.
The parties had been out for a few days.
Batu rode south at first light, two hundred riders from Torghul's third mingan with three of Siban's men at the front.
