The vast lands of Rhovanion had several rivers renowned throughout Middle-earth, such as the Anduin River, which had witnessed countless historic events over the ages, the Enchanted River in Mirkwood, whose waters could put people to sleep, and the Running River, which crossed the eastern Wilderland.
The Running River stretched nearly a thousand kilometers, rising at the Lonely Mountain and flowing past the settlements of several powers, including Dale, Lake-town, and the Woodland Realm, before emptying into the Rhûn Inland Sea at Dorwinion. It was Rhovanion's most important trade route.
Now, however, that trade route had been severed. The plunder-loving Easterlings had occupied a crucial stretch of it. These savages did not even understand the value of a steady source of income. Any caravan that passed through their territory, regardless of which southern power it came from, would have its goods seized and its people enslaved.
Of course, the shrewd and cunning Ashur had not occupied this area solely for plunder. Along the stretch of the Running River between Heidelberg and Red River Town, he had built an enormous permanent camp that housed nearly twenty thousand people. Building the wooden palisade around the entire camp alone had required felling every tree nearby.
Countless farms surrounded the camp, occupying the fertile land and enjoying easy access to water. Vast numbers of slaves worked the fields, producing abundant harvests of fruit, grain, and vegetables each year. The only problem was that these harvests did not belong to the people who actually worked for them. As slaves, they had to plead desperately just to receive enough food to survive.
Several wine estates occupied the nearby hillside that received the most sunlight. Their wine not only satisfied the Easterlings' drunken revelries but also provided a considerable surplus that helped Ashur win over small tribes