My apprentice is sprinting about like a distressed hunting hound. The ambush against the smaller group of goblins went well. He successfully killed all seven before significant reinforcements arrived. The attempt to kill the goblin warband leadership was equally clever. Unfortunately, instead of releasing a bolt of magical lightning at his enemy, he delivered a super charged carpet shock to the leader.

I really should consider rescuing Ed at this point. Of the 22 goblins that entered the riverbed looking for Ed, 19 remain. That is pretty impressive given the odds and although I don’t approve of these traps and dirty fighting tricks he uses, I cannot deny they are effective, if uncouth.

Unfortunately for Edward, he is surrounded. From my perch, I can see another group approaching from the South of his position, maybe another dozen goblins. In all likelihood, I will need to intervene soon. I told my thickheaded apprentice that the shock spell was a minor spell for incapacitating a foe, but he seems to think he should be throwing true lightning around like an experienced mage. It is true he has the power to do so, but he has no control.

I did not expect Ed to imbue his weapon with electricity. That is quite a trick, but in the heat of battle, surrounded by the vanguard of the group to the south, 5 goblins with rusty swords and moldy leather armor, Ed started using shock on his weapon to incapacitate foes. That is quite clever and very difficult, as you need to keep concentration to hold the spell on the blade. Granted, without the blessing of skill that his mark gives him, he uses his arming sword more like a club that an actual sword, but it is still something.

Within a minute, he has stunned all 5 and delivered a coup-de-grace to 3 before the 5 rear guard goblins could make it to the spot, along with the rest of his pursuers. The 5 to the south are all elite goblin warriors, in reasonable leather armor and with sharpened, unrusted swords. The group of 19 from the rear are all grunts, except the 2 remaining warriors and 1 elite. That number however is still too large for him to break free.

Charging the 5 elites will bog him down enough for him to be overwhelmed, and there are simply too many goblins to make his escape to the north. I unlimber my bow and prepare to offer some assistance to my apprentice, when the mana in the air shifts.

Mana is like a living thing in the wild. It has desires. One of wild mana’s greatest desires is to be claimed. It fights the process, but congregates around something strong enough to claim it. This is how we get monsters. A creature is able to claim ambient mana, so more mana gathers around it, the process is very slow, but all monsters are capable of becoming terrifyingly powerful, if they live long enough and claim enough mana.

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All things do this to a certain extent, even mundane humans gather mana to strengthen themselves. Only monsters and mages, both Light and Dark, are capable of gathering ambient mana in any great amount. When enough mana is gained, both monsters and mages must undergo a growth period to stabilize the mana and begin to claim more. For monsters, this means growing bigger, stronger, more intelligent and more skilled. For mages, this means developing catalysts, internal and external, that are invested with power. Few mages can hold any great amount of power internally, hence old mages carrying around hundreds of enchanted items. Warlocks are different in that they become their own enchanted object, using the body itself as the magic catalyst.

And I am witnessing the famed Warlock ability of mana growth. Because Warlocks grow like monsters with more mana, they use spells inscribe into flesh like monsters use natural magic. The air around me grows thin, and the air around Ed thickens. Ed throws off a terrifying feeling, like a great beast is there and not the lanky human. Ed’s skin takes on a blue tone, his hair stands on end, and electricity crackles about him, coming off him.

He looks like a lightning construct gone wrong, throwing off sparks like a broken gnomish toy. Something is very, very wrong. I suck in a breath, and where Ed once stood, something very much not human is in its place. It is shaped like a human, but its entire body is covered in iridescent blue scales, to its neck. It roars at the stunned goblins and a bolt of energy lances from its mouth, striking one of the elites to the north and leaving him a smoking husk.

Then, like a berserker from the tales, it charges in amongst the larger group of goblins. Blows and swords glance off the scales of the creature, and lightning arcs from its claws and feet. At one point, it grabs a goblin by the face and causes it to detonate from the coursing energy.

The scene is one of chaos and carnage. The scaled monstrosity in Ed’s armor weaves through the goblins leaving crackling ruins in his wake. Cooked goblins, in various states of dismemberment and disembowelment lie on the ground. Some still twitch and crackle with power, and the ashes of some of the more badly burned specimens wafts through the air. I gag on the stench and my eyes water from the smoke. I wipe my eyes and look to where the creature was, but it’s gone.

I hear the branch above me sway, and hear “I will kill them all, do not interfere” in my ear and tremble. Ramrar’s gift of madness and power seem to have taken hold of my apprentice. I nod my head in understanding and breath a sigh of relief when I cannot feel the-thing-that-inhabits-Ed’s presence anymore.

I wait a few minutes and move from my perch to close in on the camp, and observe how the creature handle the remaining 60 or so goblins.