Clash with Truth.

Chris was thinking about what the group would want and he looked to Sarah for a reaction. She asked one of the kids in the back for her sword and slowed down to meet the oncoming people.

Chris looked back for the walking stick he used to get to the cottage, he thought it might be better than nothing if they had weapons and were unfriendly.

The carriage slowly came to a stop as the group of men were just over 50-yards away when they slowly sped up.

Chris was getting nervous and gripping his stick, this would be very bad if they wanted to take the kids.

A man stood up on the other carriage and shouted, "OI, LASSIE! What are ya' doin' out her' with all of these little children? It isn't safe out here ya' know?"

As the man waved his finger back and forth and smiled, he revealed his true intentions.

"Listen, my group of "fine" warriors can escort you back to the city for some coin, how does that sound?"

Sarah was getting annoyed because she hated the "talking" type of bandits.

[I wish they would just attack and be done with it. Now we have to pretend to get along before they turn on us.]

People in this world could be labeled as abusing their power if they slaughtered people that did not deserve it. The typical rule was that you could defend against a group that was threatening you with more force than they used, but if you did not actually experience danger then it would be a lie under the oath of the Gods. Some bandits use overwhelmingly fast and violent tactics to break the enemy's morale, but some are more inclined to perform "impromptu escorts" which would be met with a trap if refused.

"We are going to be okay on our own, we aren't in much danger, I can assure you." Said Sarah with a wicked smile on her face.

The men on the other carriage were very surprised at a commoner's stupidity.

The leader was thinking and decided to play it a little more aggressive than normal.

"Miss, wouldn't it be easier to let us help you back? I am sure you don't want anything to happen to those kids."

Sarah was stunned at their inability to think.

[By the Gods, how foolish do they have to be? What normal person wouldn't be scared right now?]

She shook her head and declined, "Nope, we are going to keep on moving to the city. Thank you for the offer!" She waved her hand as she moved the carriage slowly past them.

The leader heard one of his men speak up, "Uh…boss? What do you want us to do?"

He thought for a second and said, "We will attack them at night, this time it will be a battle."

The Henchman replied, "We are going to kill kids?" and he was met with, "No, there is a nobleman who is looking for an escaped dwarf with red hair in the town over, and I think we just found him."

..

..

..

Chris was sitting there and sweating bullets.

[That was a little intense. I can't believe she handled it that way.]

Chris spoke up and asked, "Hey, Sarah, that was a close one wasn't it?"

She looked over at him holding his stick and laughed, "Don't worry kid, I can keep us safe. I am pretty strong you know."

Chris was inclined to agree but she seemed confident versus all of those men.

"Do you think you could beat them all?" Asked Chris as he leaned over.

She simply nodded and smiled.

[Woah…a person this old would have had to have run into some bandits at this point, how many people has she killed?]

Chris knew it was taboo to ask, but he had to know.

"Sarah, how many people have you, ya' know, killed?"

She was taken aback for a moment and thought about the true answer, "Probably over 150-people total." Then she continued, "I take it that killing isn't something you do very often at "home?" and winked to Chris.

"No, actually, it is pretty common in certain places and I was around it a lot. But I have never killed anyone, I was trying to do the opposite…"

Sarah looked at him, "What do you mean, healing? I thought the Heroes didn't have magic before they came here?"

He shook his head, "No, we don't have magic but there are things you can do to help people without magic. Have you ever heard of First Aid?"

Sarah shook her head, "I don't remember reading anything about it in the books, but there was an explanation on how people get sick. Germs and Viruses are responsible."

Chris was thankful.

[Hopefully we have some sewage system or some form of technology.] Then Chris looked at her weapon, it had scrapes and nicks on it.

"What kind of metal is that?" He said as he pointed to her sword and dagger.

"It is the finest iron that our Empire produces, it is lacking in quality to the Federation's metal though, but that is only if you are not a military member. When I served, we had beautiful blades that could cut this sword in half almost." She was smiling as she thought about what it was like. Her standard issue weapon was worth much more than the personal sword that she had crafted over the years.

"Why aren't you using steel?" Said Chris was a confused look.

"What is steel?"

"Wait, you don't know what steel is? It is sort of like iron but just way harder, like the military sword."

Sarah shook her head, "Never read about any steel, are you sure it would have been around for the last group of Heroes?"

Chris was thinking, "I mean, humans had produced steel for hundreds of years, we made damn-near everything out of it. It is very simple to make, you just need a really hot furnace and some way to collect the slag, then you have to like, blow air on it really hard to oxidize the other wastes. I am sure you should have heard of this; it is known by anyone that has an interest in fantasy or history."

Sarah thought about it, "No, I have not heard of it, but there must be a reason that the Heroes did not mention it. Maybe it is harmful to society?"

[Something isn't right. The Heroes mention the Cell theory and explain sickness but don't mention the industrial powerhouse of steel? I call bullshit.]

"Hey Sarah, you said that power in this world went to the people that are strong. Are the "commoners" allow to vote in government?" Asked Chris.

He heard a laugh, "No, you have to be a noble to have a say in the ruling of a territory. It is the true way; the Heroes even say so."

Chris tapped Sarah on the shoulder, and she turned to look at his pale face. "We killed our rulers centuries ago in my world."

She stopped the carriage, "What?"

He swallowed and said, "Almost every country where I come from is free. Slavery is completely outlawed. Nobles are a fairy-tale, something like a monster under the bed. Some nobility still exists but they are not wielding any real power, they mostly represent the past."

Sarah's mind was racing, "I knew it…" she said as she started to cry.

[All of those poor children…Rufus, I wish you were here to hear this.]

Sarah was a noble elf, but she had abdicated her title to be with her love.

She turned to Chris and asked, "Would the Heroes have known what you know from 100-years ago?"

Chris nodded immediately then said, "In fact, it if was 100-years ago then the Heroes would be very knowledgeable on the ideas of men." Chris said, "A lot of people died in World War 1, the French lost so many men that it impacted their morale for the second world war…"

He solemnly leaned back into the wooden "seat" and began to think about those stories from hell.

After getting restarted, Chris just thought about the strange incongruity between the words of the Heroes and the reality that he knew.

He knew that some people were obviously racist, but it was unlikely that every Hero would be racist…in fact, it wouldn't make much sense at all to be a racist Hero.

[Why would the Heroes change their position on slavery, maybe they had some slaves?

I mean, it is possible, but that wouldn't happen to everyone, right?]

Chris was thinking about owning a slave, but deep within him there was another feeling, one of deep repulsion.

[Slaves bad. Bad, no good.] He shook his head and the feeling began to solidify into an emotion. He despised slavery.

Chris felt his hands and feet began to shake; he was so mad that other people think they have the RIGHT to own people.

[What the hell? I have never felt this way about it…]

Chris felt a pounding of blood within his head and his vision went dark slowly.