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horsemen. As Jonas spotted them, Synne twisted her head, it was immediately clear to Jonas what she was saying.
    One of Khan’s lieutenants walked over and spoke to him for several minutes but the sound level was too low for Synne to hear whatever it was that they were discussing. Whilst the conversation continued, Synne watched what was going on. It was clear that the prisoners were from many different places. Some were members of the great Houses, most were simply workers or traders from the large flatlands that ran across the land. She couldn’t understand why there were so many of them, the Raiders were surely not this well organised, unless they were being helped of course. They must have huge numbers in the Wastelands to be able to carry out operations like this. She started to think about the rumours she and Ulric had discussed, when a loud whistle came from over the ridge. The guards moved along the prisoners and attached manacles to each person. A chain ran from one to the next that created a series of long lines of prisoners. As they started to move off towards the storage buildings, the carts moved in the opposite direction. Synne wondered to herself if they were going into storage or more likely back to the violence and confusion of the lands she had left to find more prisoners.
    “Hey, what are you looking at?” shouted one of the men as he struck Synne with a leather whip.
    The rough leather made her wince and gave her a red slash across her side that stung. She turned back ahead and followed the rest of the line as they snaked through the array of buildings. It was clear this was some kind of temporary storage area or depot, though where it was in relation to her own lands she had no idea. How long had she even been unconscious? They moved past the first few buildings, Synne could see wooden crates and stacked weapons, mainly spears and axes though at least one was stacked with crossbows. Another building was full of clothing, furs and skins. They walked around the corner to be greeted by dozens of people running about. Some were carrying goods on their shoulders whilst other groups were trading wares on a series of tables.
    The man that was walking behind Synne took a step closer and whispered to her.
    “This must be the Horizon Market. I’ve heard of this place, it’s where you can buy anything from what people say. Food, clothing, weapons, drugs, the lot.”
    “Horizon Market. I thought it had been closed down by the Brotherhood years ago in the attack a few seasons ago when we cleared large areas around here,” said Synne.
    “Doesn’t look like it, does it? Who told you that, the men of the Brotherhood and you believed them?” said the man with a chortle.
    The columns of prisoners continued shambling along with their Raider escort always staying close by. None of the traders or workers gave them a moment’s notice, they were obviously a common sight. They passed a long hut and then came to a raised stone platform that ran alongside a set of parallel iron rails. A great whistle came from further away and Synne was shocked to see a metal beast making slow progress along the rails. Some of the prisoners recoiled at the sight and sound but Synne was almost excited. She had read about this form of transport before but had never seen a picture of what it looked like. As the machine came closer, it slowed and then stopped with a great screeching of metal. A plume of steam hissed from the top and then it was still.
    The guards made them continue their movement up onto the long raised platform that ran alongside the tracks. From this position, Synne was able to get a good look at the machine. It looked as though it was fabricated from parts salvaged from many places, as it was different faded colours. Most of the machine was taken up with a great metal cylinder, the length of two or three carts. On top of this was a platform with several men stood carrying crossbows. A vertical cylinder pushed up several