It was a human-shaped figure, but its size was about twice the one of a regular human. Its body parts were thick and bulgy, made from pure metal. The head was shaped like a big bucket, with holes for two eyesockets carved into it. Gleaming light came out of those sockets, staring down on them.
(A golem!)
As someone working in the smithing business, Corwyn could instantly discern what the giant form in front of him was. In every large city, including Quorin, there existed complex machinations called "Golems", although there were only a few of them still in use. Basically, they functioned like large dolls, being controlled by someone to fulfill manual tasks. Their use was mainly in agricultural and construction work. However, back in the age of the Tehr, golems had many other uses, some being powerful war machines that could take on hundreds of warriors like it was nothing. But that was a thing of the past.
In order to be able to control a golem, one must possess the puppeteer ability, which gave one the power to use Arcor in manipulating other objects. Through that method, one could do simple tasks with it like letting it float or moving it in a specific direction. More advanced usages were complex movements or controlling multiple objects at once.
The reason why the number of golems used in this day and age was so little didn't result from a shortage of golems. Many of the ones constructed in the ancient era still existed, and it wasn't like the method to create them was completely lost either. The problem was the number of people able to use them. Not only did one need to have great Arcor capacity and control, the mechanisms of a golem weren't so easy to grasp as well. Out of a hundred puppet users, which were a rarity by themselves, maybe 7 or 8 would be able to control one. And that was in a city with an Arcor well. Who knew how many had the ability to control a golem in the outside world.
Reality was cruel though. At present, right in front of them, stood the undeniable proof that it was possible, and unfortunately, it didn't work out for them at all. As soon as they had entered the passage, the golem started to move towards them. Its movements weren't fast, but they weren't slow either. Moving around it was not an option in this small alleyway as well. Corwyn had to act swiftly, or this could end in a disaster.
"Turn around, back to the street! We have to avoid that thing at all costs!"
Seeing the tall figure of metal running towards them, the adventurers didn't need any further explanation and made a turnaround immediately. Back on the street, they had been following before, Corwyn and his group 1 resumed their escape from the bandits who had now caught up quite a bit. There was nothing he could do. Fighting that golem would have been a very bad idea, and would have also trapped them inside the alleyway.
By taking a glance at behind them, Corwyn saw that not only the bandits, but also the golem was following them. His original plan was to meet up with group 2 and then engage the enemy, but with the addition of that battle machine, their foe's fighting power had risen considerably. This was no longer a fight they could take without a good plan.
Teo, running next to him, was looking back as well and asked in a surprisingly calm tone:
"What are we going to do now?"
Corwyn sighed. That very question was exactly what was hurting his head at the moment.
"Let's see... Fighting them would be unwise at the present moment, but even if we manage to meet up with Shigar and the others, I don't know how we could possibly win against such a foe!"
"Is it one of those moved by Arcor?"
"Probably."
As they ran, Teo turned his head towards him for a moment, then back at the large figure chasing them.
"Then shouldn't there be someone controlling it? I mean, I don't understand that much about Arcor, but in order to control something as big as that, doesn't the ability user have to be quite close?"
Corwyn was dumbfounded for a second as he listened to his friend's explanation. Teo was completely right. In a small and cramped space like an alleyway, the ability user could easily hide without getting noticed. But in constant motion, he had to be nearby in order to not lose control of the golem.
Corwyn retracted his gaze from the crowd behind them faced Teo again.
"In other words, you're suggesting that we try to ambush them and take out the ability user before the golem can trouble us?"
Teo too stopped looking back and answered.
"Yes, but I don't know how we can discern that person from the rest of the horde. Are there some kind of conditions to the puppeteer ability which give away the user?"
Corwyn thought for a moment. As he was born with the power to manipulate Arcor, he had some decent knowledge of it as well. Therefore, it should be possible for him to come up with something. A bit later, he replied to Teo's question, vaguely.
"Basically, there are no grand motions required for it to work. Simply moving one's arms and hands slightly should be enough to execute crude movements..."
He paused for a short while, unsure if what he was saying was correct or not, until he continued:
"However, what an ability user definitely cannot hide is his absorption of Arcor from his surroundings. I am an ability user as well, so I can sense the Arcor around me. If the one controlling the golem takes in a large amount of Arcor, I should be able to sense where the Arcor is being drawn to!"
Teo nodded his head.
"Alright, then all we need to do is to find an opportunity for you to track the user down, right? But I guess for that to happen, we have no other choice but to engage them!"
That was indeed the truth. Currently, Corwyn couldn't sense any strong disturbances in the surrounding Arcor network, as his focus was currently fixed on running away and planning out their next steps. In addition, just keeping the golem running wouldn't force the puppeteer to expand that much energy. An engagement was the only possible conclusion.
However, they were at a great disadvantage in battle power at the moment. From a commander's perspective, fighting now wouldn't be a smart move. But as he had discerned earlier, running away was no option for long either. He had to make a decision soon, or they would all be annihilated.
Corwyn breathed deeply while simultaneously letting all the important factors run through his head, ultimately arriving at a decision.
"We will fight them. But not here. The tight side streets were to our advantage before, but against this golem, engaging here would be the worst possible cause of action. We need to find a slightly wider space. I'm telling you the battle plan on the way. Relay it to the others once I'm done!"
"Understood!"
As they continued to run, Corwyn explained his intentions to Teo, and once he grasped the general meaning behind the plan, he began to pass it on to the other members of group 1. Corwyn looked back at the bandits behind them once again.
They were taking a great risk in fighting them while their own forces were still separated into two halves. But he couldn't take the risk of getting surrounded eventually too. As he surveyed the crowd tailing them, he could make out that their pursuers were about 20 in number, including the golem. Since his group 1 had already taken out twelve people, the remaining Red Vipers should amount to around 20 as well. That number could have been reduced by group 2 though, if they were lucky.
It had been nearly four minutes since they had begun their escape. Corwyn didn't know how far group 2 had been away from them, but their fast return was his only hope now. Group 1 might hold out against their opponents for a while, but they needed back-up to win the battle.
Finally, a small plaza came into sight, and Corwyn braced himself for what was about to come.
"Once we have reached the plaza, prepare to go into formation! We will carry out the plan as best as we can, but if your lives are in danger, don't hesitate to regroup. Should we not be able to hold on until reinforcements arrive, we will retreat immediately!"
Everyone nodded in understanding, their faces tensed up. In the upcoming battle, they had absolutely no room for error. After they had crossed about two-thirds of the plaza, the adventurers started to fan out. By the time their pursuers arrived, their formation was already completed, and with a battle cry, every one of them charged towards the bandits.
The rogues were momentarily taken aback about them suddenly turning around and choosing to fight. It lasted only for an instant though. In the next instance, the bandits were already grinning ferociously as they readied their weapons.
Corwyn and Teo were at the center of the formation. At the same time as the others, the two of them were charging towards the golem, only a few seconds left until they would clash. They both paid close attention to the machine's movements, while Corwyn additionally focused a part of his concentration on the surrounding Arcor.
As if it had sensed their approach on its own, the golem raised its right arm, and with perfect timing, brought it down to smash Corwyn and Teo. It was not an unexpected movement though. The two young swordsmen sprang back just before the fist would have hit them, and started to circle around it from different sides.
In response, the golem tried to hit them with its other fist as well, however, Teo who was the target of the attack took that already into account and nimbly dodged it at the last moment once again. He then executed a slash at one of its joins around the right leg. But since his opponent was made out of metal, his sword simply bounced off and did no particular damage. Corwyn too attacked with his dual blades, but didn't put much force into his strikes. He wasn't interested in damaging the golem, since he knew that defeating it with swords was nearly impossible either way. His aim was to provoke the puppeteer to spend more Arcor on controlling his puppet. If he didn't apply at least a little bit of pressure on the golem, its master wouldn't need to exert himself.
Throwing a glance at the overall battle situation, Corwyn discerned that the battle was currently in a balanced state. The Red Vipers might have the numbers advantage, but the adventurers were more combat experienced and showed better poise in combat. It would be impossible to avoid any deaths though since this was a direct confrontation and not a sneak attack like what they had done before. Everything depended on when group 2 would arrive and back them up. If they had to retreat, Corwyn wasn't confident that he could keep everyone alive.
But he had to stop thinking about this problem as much as possible. He himself wasn't an experienced fighter as well, so getting distracted in the middle of the fight for too long was definitely not a good idea. Returning his attention back to the battle in front of him, he watched as the golem lifted its arms back up and tried to kick them with its left leg. Corwyn quickly retreated from its range by jumping back. As soon as he had landed, he was already springing forward again. Who knew how often he had to repeat this process, and also if anything would happen to him or Teo. Corwyn hoped he would find the puppeteer soon, or this situation could get really dicey.