The Golem Adventurer

Chapter 6 - Privateers

I haven't asked much about this new land I appear to be in. During breakfast, strange thoughts started popping up in my head. Did I happen to go to a different dimension? Was I actually reincarnated when I died? But I still had the past memories of my previous life. I remember my home, my training, my gruesome violent death. I'm in a new body now, one with all my limbs attached but unfeeling. I can still feel emotion but the loss of almost all of my senses are disheartening. I guess just being able to still have my own thoughts and feelings is a blessing. 

But what I'm feeling right now? Anticipation. The same feeling I get before something bad was going to happen. When someone is going to die.

Privateers they're called. Just a fancy word they like to use instead of thieves and bandits. The Glav Empire up north sends these guys down here. They're groups of trained soldiers sent to every corner of the Nation Alliance with nothing but some tattered clothes and some equipment. Their only mission is to cause disruption of the daily lives of the Alliance's civilian population to spread turmoil and dissent. And due to the political situation, the Empire denies any hand in it. The irony is that they steal nothing, unless there's food, which they smuggle back into the Empire. Everything else is razed to the ground. Food has become a commodity there, possibly because of the lack of agricultural land and one of the reasons why the Empire has been so aggressive with their neighbors. A barrel of grain is much more valuable than gold in the Empire and the southlands have plenty of land to grow it on.

The Empire's problems aside, I still have to deal with the problem that's walking right in front of us. The bandit's were closing in on us.

"Boss, I've already scoped out the wagon beforehand. It's quite big but it's all shit. No food either."

One of the bandits started addressing their larger leader holding a large axe. He nodded at him and started walking towards us.

"Well well, what do we have here? We came looking for food but we got ourselves a nice fat paycheck instead. Two mages and a craftsman golem."

The large man sneered at Hina and Tessa. I'm guessing he's quite confident he and his crew can take us all on. Has he got a plan or something up his sleeve to deal with our casters?

All of us started tensing up. We could see archer's lining us up like a firing squad. There's nothing but the carriage behind us to act as our only cover. Our group wouldn't be fast enough to get behind it in time and Kleid can't block all those shots with his shield.

"Heh, our employer pays well for any southlander mages we happen to... retire. Of course, we'll need to cut off your ears as proof. And a golem like that will pay even more. Hah, I'm quite lucky I woke up this early for a run. Guess it pays to switch our work times around every couple of days."

Being treated like a commodity is demeaning. And the threats to my friends? No, I'm not going to take this lying down.

The archer's started to pull back their arrows. It was then that Hina and Tessa started chanting.

"Eh uh uhhh."

He pulled out a small orb from his pocket and tossed it in front of us. It exploded and covered the area in chaff-like dust. I started having the feeling of something feeling off. Like my body had it's air supply cut off. Both our mages started gasping in mid chant as if they were suffocating.

"Huff huff, the Mana in the air. Why... why can't I draw it into my body!?"

Tessa looked mortified at the realization.

"These bits floating in the air... they're Mana Draught particles!?"

Hina was absolutely livid.