Galen's mind replayed the chaotic moments of the witch doctor's hex, every sensation after the transformation vividly etched in his memory.
The frog form had persisted for what felt like a significant duration, at least thirty seconds. Omar and Varokal, witnessing his sudden return to human form, likely attributed it to some protective enchantment or artifact from the royal family's vast collection.
Only Galen knew the terrifying truth: in those initial moments as a frog, he had been utterly helpless, a hair's breadth away from Drek'maz's lethal axe. He vividly recalled the primal, overwhelming urge to flick out his sticky tongue, a desperate instinct to snatch at imaginary insects. Years of human intellect had been suppressed, replaced by the simple, driving needs of a frog. Dodging Drek'maz's attack should have been impossible.
His unexpected awakening, the autonomous shattering of the hex, was the work of the Origin Heart.
He distinctly remembered the sudden surge of energy within his mind, the Origin Heart pulsating with a brilliant blue light. Then, a faint, mechanical voice had echoed in his consciousness for the very first time.
"Detected that the host has been invaded by alien energy, threat level: low.
Querying for a removal plan:
One, use the magic immunity body of the Magic Destroyer, which makes you immune to any magic after use.
Detecting this plan, you have already been hit by a transformation magic, currently unavailable.
Two, use a priest to dispel all magic effects on the host.
Detecting the plan, untrained priest, no research on priest master training, requires spending 470 gold coins to purchase the right to use this skill."
The Origin Heart's activation had jolted Galen back to awareness, granting him the split-second he needed to evade Drek'maz's blow. Then, with a surge of desperate intuition, he had mentally commanded the Origin Heart to expend the 470 gold, unleashing the dispel skill that unexpectedly shattered the hex and allowed him to strike the killing blow against the troll warrior.
Galen hadn't realized the Origin Heart possessed such an active defense mechanism. Moreover, the alarm's content hinted at a passive magic immunity ability. Could it be that in the future, he would be completely impervious to transformation spells, fear, mind control, and other forms of hostile magic?
Even spell damage might become irrelevant. Wonderful, he thought with a wry grin. Perhaps I should rebrand myself: Galen, Magebane, instead of Trollbane.
Another intriguing possibility arose in his mind. Once the base was fully developed, with all unit types and building technologies unlocked, would he be able to utilize the skills of all trained units?
It didn't seem entirely far-fetched. He had just spent gold to access a priest's dispel ability. The exorbitant cost likely stemmed from the lack of a Priest training building and any trained Priests within the base.
This is a hypothesis worth testing, Galen decided. He picked up Varokal's discarded shield, focused his mental energy, and reached out to the Origin Heart, attempting to convey his desire to use Shield Defense, a basic infantry skill.
"Shield Defense is currently unresearched, current usage requirement: 300 gold."
Galen's eyes widened in surprise. His hunch had been correct. He could access unit skills.
Three hundred gold was double the cost of researching Shield Defense. It seemed the lack of research made the skill usage prohibitively expensive. Perhaps once researched and units trained, the cost will plummet, he mused.
The likelihood of this new theory being correct felt high. But there was no immediate need for experimentation; he could verify it at his leisure later.
His thoughts then turned to a critical self-assessment of his performance during the ambush.
While the statistics looked impressive – the most trolls slain, including the two strongest – Galen knew the truth. His success was largely due to Omar and Varokal, who had drawn the majority of the trolls' attention, allowing him to capitalize on opportune moments.
Furthermore, he had committed two significant errors. The first was abandoning his two experienced guard captains, leaping and charging far ahead, beyond their effective protective range, nearly resulting in his death at Drek'maz's hands.
The second was succumbing to battle lust. Both Witch Doctor Hex'jin and Drek'maz were cunning adversaries, adept at exploiting weaknesses. His rash advance had left him vulnerable to the transformation hex, a spell that allowed the two trolls to coordinate their attack perfectly. Had it not been for the Origin Heart's intervention, Drek'maz's axe would have likely ended his life.
If I am to change my destiny and the future of Stromgarde, I must survive, he reminded himself sternly.
Having identified his mistakes, he resolved to maintain a calmer demeanor in future engagements, resisting the urge for reckless aggression. As long as he remained standing, he was a threat. Survival was paramount.
Stay steady. Don't be reckless. This became his new internal mantra.
Lost in his introspective analysis, Galen was eventually brought back to the present by the sound of Omar's footsteps. An indeterminate amount of time had passed, and Omar and the three lightly injured soldiers had completed the grim task of sorting through the trollish spoils.
Omar approached Galen, ready to deliver his report.
Galen looked up. "Is it finished, Omar?"
"Yes, Your Highness. The troll supplies have been organized. The primary items are some freshly tanned leather, a quantity of raptor meat, several raptor eggs and a few live cubs. We also recovered a number of giant spider venom sacs."
After a moment of consideration, Galen instructed, "We will take all the leather and raptor eggs with us. We will also attempt to bring the cubs, though their survival will depend on our ability to care for them, which is uncertain. The meat we can confidently identify as raptor will serve as our rations for now. Discard any meat of unknown origin."
The Witherbark trolls were known to have a history of preying on Stromgarde civilians. While not as cannibalistic as the Vilebranch tribe, they were not particular about their human victims. Galen had no desire to consume unidentified meat.
"Your Highness," Omar continued, his tone thoughtful, "those venom sacs… they are likely intended for the trolls' holy medicine. The Witherbark tribe's Day of Sacrifice approaches."
Galen understood the implication of Omar's reminder. Though his direct experience with the border trolls was limited, he had gleaned knowledge from the royal family's extensive library.
The Witherbark trolls and Stromgarde had been locked in a brutal conflict for centuries. Their familiarity with each other was profound. Stromgarde's larger population had always given them an advantage, yet the Witherbark tribe had persisted. When faced with large-scale Stromgarde offensives, they retreated into the labyrinthine Alterac Mountains, only to re-emerge when the human armies withdrew.
The current King of Stromgarde, his father Thoras Trollbane, was a legendary warrior, a figure of immense power. The Witherbark tribe's long survival under his relentless campaigns was largely attributed to their allegiance to their Loa god:
The Spider God, Shadra.