The engine's rhythm carried across the marsh before they could see anything of the installation itself. The noise spread over the open waterlogged ground in steady pulses, flattened by distance but impossible to miss. Wynn's crew was somewhere beyond the rise of yellow marsh grass, working the main channel out of sight.
The ground here matched the rest of the marsh, wet soil under a thin crust, unstable footing, grass bending in the wind. But only three people stood on this side of the bank.
Beorn brought his ledger and positioned it against his forearm. Aestrith stood to his left, watching both the marsh and Hild with focused attention.
Hild stood with her arms hung loose at her sides as she watched the terrain.
She didn't ask what to do. She walked directly to the bank and began.
