The army came down the east bank through the afternoon cold, and Sarai was visible before the first riders reached the settlement.
It was different from when they had left.
The workshop district had expanded along the eastern side, with three structures that had not been there before, their fires burning and the smoke going straight up in the still air.
The market section showed a prosperous character in how it was positioned, not the temporary boom of an early settlement.
On the track leading to the depot, the footfall of the last weeks had beaten the ground into a packed surface that had not existed before the raid.
More people stood at the outskirts than Batu had left here.
He counted the new ger clusters as the column descended and observed what they told him about who had come and from where. Khulgen was at the settlement's outer line when the column reached it, with Saran beside him.
Her attendants were arranged around her with careful closeness.
