How many Elements of mana are there? This is, I believe, a question with three answers; hypothetically infinite, technically finite but extremely large, and practically little more than we know of now. Nearly any concept, if realized with enough specificity, can be used to taint mana. In other words, mankind can create as many forms of mana as thoughts it can conceive. Unfortunately, most Elements turn out to be practically useless. For example, if one were to conceptualize the Ideal of a Chair, the tainted Chair Element mana that results would be good for little more than sitting on. There are some conceptual convergences that reduce the useful total as well; both fire and friction, when taken to their Ideal, create the same Ideal of Heat. Going back to the number of technically possible forms, one might wonder why I say it is finite. After all, are not the possible thoughts of mankind infinite? I would argue that they are not. There are certain thoughts that a human would never be able to conceive of, even given infinite time. In order that one might know something, we must have another related concept with which to derive meaning. If a man, blind from birth, wishes to understand color, they might gain understanding by relating the concept to sound or feel. The word 'green' in isolation has no meaning; a bridge must be made with what is already known. Once mankind has made every possible combination between every possible bit of information available to it, there will be nothing left to think. Likewise, there are surely things in this universe that are true, but which mankind shall never know of, for we have not the senses to perceive them, and no relevant connections to bridge the gap.

-Excerpt from Musings of the Philosopher Magus Decart

"This is where you first encountered it?" asked the massive armored man, who was sniffing loudly at the air.

Meld looked around the field where he had fought a pack of wolves the day before. "That's right. It was spying on us from up in the trees, over there." The swordsman took his hand off his beard and pointed towards a particular treetop.

After walking to the base of the tree, the huge man in thick metal armor effortlessly leapt from a standing posture onto a high branch. Sniffing at the tree each time, Thugi jumped between several branches with no apparent effort. On the seventh branch the giant spent a much longer time huffing, nearly crushing his face against the bark. Afterward, the huge man jumped from branch to branch deeper into the woods, disappearing from sight. Moments later, he jumped back down to the forest floor beside the party, landing with a silent roll and springing back to his feet in one motion.

"It's as I suspected; I can smell residual Mind mana on the tree." Ghul turned towards the party. "Take me to the location of the second incident."

Mud observed the group of Goblins in front of it. Three of the magical beasts walked side by side, scanning the surroundings with weapons drawn. Their level of alertness was much higher than the last group. Perhaps the Goblin that fled from the last fight had raised the alarm. Such unskilled vigilance would be of little use against Mud, however. Taking aim, Mud fired a Force Bolt at the lead Goblin's head.

BANG. Gore flew backwards onto its stunned allies. Before they could recover, Mud dropped on top of the leftmost Goblin, sliding a dagger deep into its brain and fired a point-blank Force Bolt into the right Goblin's torso. THUNK, BANG.

Less than three seconds after the ambush began, it was over.

[Sneak Attack Skill increased to level 4]

[Experience Gained: 21]

[Experience Gained: 21]

[Experience Gained: 20]

Again, that worrying dip in experience. No use worrying about it now. They were still worth the effort to kill, for the time being.

Making good time though the forests, as the monsters seemed to be actively avoiding them, they arrived at the location of the party's second encounter with Mud.

Not needing to ask where the incident had occurred, the Association Leader walked over to the crater left by the mysterious stalker's spell. Kneeling down next to the small pit, Ghul scooped up a small handful of dirt and licked it.

"Gross..." muttered a wincing Suzy.

The armored giant squinted and let the dirt fall from his hand. "More Mind mana... we're dealing with a Psionics user." Standing up and dusting himself off, Ghulleapt into the nearby treetops. Hopping from branch to branch for a moment, he landed back on the ground with a roll.

Crossing his arms and looking in a certain direction, he spoke slowly. "I see... I believe I know where its base of operations is." Looking up at the canopy, he continued. "The branches have deep scratches where it passed. It doesn't look like it even tried to cover its trail. If I consider where the marks from here and the from the first location would intersect... this way."

Without explaining further, he began walking into the woods.

In a short time, Mud hunted two addition groups of Goblins, for a total of seven kills, and gained another level. For now, the golem decided to save the Skill Point. If it continued to become more difficult to gain Experience as Mud’s level increased, Skill Points might become an incredibly valuable and scarce resource in the near future. Rather than wildly purchasing new skills, the best path to power in the long run seemed to be enhancing existing skills. Improving strengths, rather than simply becoming mediocre at many things.

Just as the golem moved into position for another ambush, Mud felt a sensation from its Domain. Three moderately strong signals entered the yard. They were much stronger than the thin human and the thick human, roughly as strong as the feeling from Jabrax. Mud was slightly concerned, and turned from its quarry back towards the mansion. Before it could move, however, it was assaulted by two more signals. One was around the same level, but the other... Strong. If the captured humans were pinpoints of light, and Jabrax was a candle in the darkness, this new arrival was a roaring inferno. There was no hope against such a monster. If that thing wanted to, there was no question in Mud's mind that it could obliterate the entire estate in a heartbeat.

Filled with panic, Mud began swinging towards home as fast as its flailing mud tentacles could carry it.

Scowling in annoyance at being interrupted from her fun yet again, Jabrax opened the door. "Yes, what is it this time?"

A group of five humans, led by a truly massive armored brute with a somewhat charming fluffy mustache stood on the other side of the door. The mustachioed man spoke for the group. "Hello there. I'm Thagi Ghul, Leader of the local branch of the Delver's Association... may we come in for a moment? There's something I'd like to discuss with you.”

The demon gulped. An Association leader was not something she wanted to deal with. Any clever tricks would probably just get her killed, if she was lucky. Quickly putting back on her persona of an innocent and shy teenage girl, she lowered her head and spoke softly. "It-it's not like I don't believe you or anything but... do you have any proof...?"

Ghul leaned back and let out a mighty laugh. "Ha! It's been a long time since I've been asked to show my credentials! I guess I'm too used to everybody knowing me by sight or reputation. Hmm, well, this should do for proof, eh?" Fishing a small glistening piece of flat silver metal from a pouch on his belt, he held it up for her to inspect.

THAGI GHUL

DELVER'S ASSOCIATION LEADER

CITY OF GELTHEAS

An Association card was solid proof of identity, despite the simplicity. The Association frequently performed wide area scrying for fake cards, and those found with such things were punished swiftly and brutally. There was no doubt that this man really was a Leader.

Smiling weakly, Jabrax stepped back from the door and stretched back her arm towards the interior. "Would you like to come in for some tea?"