324 A City Of Tents

As Arran followed the woman through the camp, he could not help but be impressed by the vast number of people he saw.

Earlier, he'd thought there had been tens of thousands, but now, he thought that estimate was off. There had to be at least a hundred thousand people here, and probably even more than that.

But despite the large number of people, there was little sign of filth or disorder. While it might lack actual buildings, it was a far more pleasant place than Esran had been.

"Awful lot of people you've got here," he said to the woman.

"It gets crowded," she replied in a casual tone. "Especially near the end of the month. But we do our best to keep the conditions acceptable."

"What happens near the end of the month?" Arran asked. Although he already suspected what the answer would be, it couldn't hurt to ask. He'd been wary of giving voice to his curiosity earlier, but here, he suspected that it would be more suspicious not to ask questions.