(Back to the Desert Settlement)
Old man Ivan continued with his plan even discussing with Chai wanting to know some information on the empire nowadays which she replied back by saying " Its peaceful as long as your normal but " she paused then started smirking with a sarcastic tone and then continued " But to lower beings like us it's just great"
She then started ranting while thinking about how things have gotten worse and worse.
" They are a lot more hunters to try to hunt down our kind and even the bounty has risen to 10 gold per female, 7 per male and lets not forget about 9 gold on children depending on their conditions though"
" They are chained to places of work like hounds for those who don't have money for slave collars and are beaten to submission when they attack anyone, even if they are bumped into they are at fault for not getting out of the way"
" Lets not talk about a new venture where they tie them up to pole with a chain and anyone who can pays 20 silvers can fight them and if won can get a prize of 2 gold but they'll fail if they are disarmed or surrender, and I mean anyone can get a reward you can even use a sword or bow but they want people like us to fight back and as long as we disarm them we win but here the catch"
Her smirk dropped and you could feel the air twist in resentment even Old man Ivan hearing this wondered what was next thing she was going to say.
" They are unable to leave until their master says so , so they continually fight stack up injuries gradually bleeding out or being beaten to death while begging for mercy, while they make their captors richer, while people smile like it's a show"
" Gradually some even with a sword to a stomach and arrows in their legs just drop dead ending the amusement , there was even a time when a young mage child cut them in half using a scroll spell, with the top half still moving forward to try to live another day"
Karisa and the group hearing this were frightened no they were abhorred thinking of the scene then Chai continued " Other than that nothing new they are no human rights for us, if your a woman and pretty enough though you'll be lucky to get someone who needs someone for pleasure if not your life is lower than a servant"
"There was even an incident where I was walking around the master's pavilion and a male knight was talking to some maids and a man was walking by to do his cleaning duties was scolded by the knight that his armour was dirty and that he should shine it"
"But as all rats like us were suppose obey those in charge he could only obey , the problem was that he was ordered by the head maid to clean the grounds and polish the pillars in the area he was assigned to"
" He then told the knight he would polish his armour as soon as he finished what he was assigned to by the head maid which caused the ire of the knight which was snickered at by the maids he was talking to"
" The knight called the other defects like us to hold him down to present his hand and his hand was cut off with while he groaned and was told to get his armour clean by tomorrow , the man had to not only clean the blood he spilled but also finish his chores and clean the knights armour, no medicine at all was even given"
"Later he was found dead while doing a chore assigned to him blood dripping and pus coming from his wound while taking care of the garden still in a kneeled position with lifeless eyes"
Chai then finally stopped looked around at everyone then put back the smirk she had on her faced and said" Well this is how the empire is nowadays and I'm pretty sure other ones are doing the same , good thing though is that when you expect it it's not that scary"
She said so with such a casual remark as if this normalcy was expected on behalf of people like them.
Karisa, Ranr, Seras,Hane, Old man Ivan and even the guards were distraught hearing such casual remarks scared them more that if caught this is their fate and all they could do was die themselves or be prepared for torture.
This isn't what they liked to hear but they understood that they were no longer considered to be a part of the human race they were less than and even so they had no power to change this for them to be seen as equals toward others.
Karisa then said " Well these things won't happen in our empire we are building because the Lord is not like those people"
Chai they looks at her mockingly telling her " When people have power they lord over anyone and when some has nothing to do they use that power for the fun of it against those who won;t be missed, defended or even welcomed that's the real truth of people"
" When people are kind and have power they die quickly due to them thinking they are the same as others who are jealous of them but they never last long enough for true change because doing so stops people with power lower than theirs to do whatever they want without feeling restricted"
They all realized it was true and Karisa and their group realized that Lord Niles might be someone that could be taken down due to his kindness but they internally promised no harm would come his way.
The group continued towards the entrance where the line was getting smaller and the guard there reported that there were over 200 traitors in the midst of them which they weren't surprised anymore with all what Chai said but they were all terminated.
When the last of the people finally left the tunnel and all the supplies needed to make the trek across the desert were escorted up a Old man Ivan and his group looked back at the tunnel that shielded them but were happy in their mind for change and headed upwards sealing this remnant of history up until needed again.
When they finally reached the service everyone could be seen coddled up nearby some houses waiting for the time they needed to leave but with the massive amounts of people some had to make the trek across the desert on foot some in the already brought Wagons
Old man Ivan seeing this was lucky to have hidden some roofed wagons he made hidden in a cave nearby which he then said to everyone " Everyone the cave nearby here has some wagons we can use to cross the sand sadly, we only have enough for a few people to ride in and others have to help push and pull the carriage along or we'll have to walk of foot"
He continued " It's best if the children and elderly stay in and the young men push, while others will form a perimeter while travelling and to allow the ones moving the carriage to switch every so often to conserve strength"
Many volunteered upfront wanting to contribute and went to get the wagons from the cave and were warned to be sceptical about anything that seems wrong.
In 3 hours the group returned and everyone who saw these beaten up wagons were okay with them as long as they could be used to travel sadly with no steeds to help they relied on human power but they had to do what they had to do.
Old man Ivan then told everyone one final thing before leaving. " With this moment everything could change for us but we have to be prudent, respectful and be ready to assist where help is necessary."
" We can definitely triumph over this situation and become better and even though this place covered us for many years which was a haven for us we are now headed somewhere where we may live more valiantly like those of us in the past"
" But be warned there is no tolerance to the lazy and dishonest because if anyone thinks to do something that jeopardizes our chance you'll not only be met with retaliation from me but also all of us "
This being said invigorated everyone to be helpful and created a better cohesion to everyone Karisa and her group even remembered when Lord Niles said something similar and kept his promise .
Now they head off to the Forbidden forest towards their new Haven and home but they will be surprised at all the new changes that quickly occurred during this timeframe of them away which will cause them to understand the true powers of the being they now serve and see that he truly will become someone greater than any god in this era and more eras to come.