Editing Dern's Hold (section)

===The Compound===
:  The palisade surrounding the top of the hill is crudely built but still an effective defense against wild animals and small numbers of attackers.  The wall varies between 12' and 15' high with the top of the logs cut into sharpened points. Each timber is almost two feet thick. Small holes in the wall are filled with daub or rocks.  The sole entry is a single eight-foot-wide gate.  While no ditch or other barrier prevents an attacker from reaching the wall, the inside face of the palisade has elevated fighting platfomrs every 10' to 15', from which archers can fire on an invading force.  During the day two guards typically stand duty at the open gate with another on a platform overlooking the village.  At night the gate is closed with 1-5 often inattentive guards on the walkway next to the gate and another few partolling the perimeter.  <br>  Inside the palisade, the crown of the hill is dominated by two large stone buildings and a wooden cage. Piles of firewood are stacked along the sides of the buildings, under the eaves to keep them dry, and empty barrels are positioned to catch the runoff from the rare rain when it comes.  Near the cage, an open privy, little more than a shallow pit, reeks of human waste and does little to improve the conditions for the human chattels kept in the crudely lashed structure. By the gate, four posts are driven into the ground; at their ends, great hooks used to hang freshly killed game are routinely empty but the ground is dark with the blood of countless animals.