The military camp was located on a leveled slope to the west of Falcon Keep, encircled by a two-meter-tall wooden palisade.
Inside the entrance lay a training field about the size of a soccer pitch. To the south stood a wooden platform used for issuing commands, while to the north stretched the orderly rows of soldier barracks.
Though the sky was already growing dark, the camp gates remained wide open — no one in their right mind would attempt to break in here.
The sun, having just dipped behind the hills, cast its final golden rays across the road, pulling long shadows behind the two riders — Rus on horseback, with Vlarov at his side.
As they rode into the camp, Rus dismounted and handed his reins to the gate guard, motioning for silence. Then, he climbed straight up the platform.
