Chapters 22-24 - The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett (Also: The Painted Man)

With Angiers pretty much off limits, Rojer and his master head for the Hamlets, the tiny villages far outside the main cities- to play and grow a reputation. Rojer finds a much more receptive audience among the country folk while his master is displeased that they are not raking in much money, if anything.

Arrick drank one too many bottles one evening on the road and began laying into Rojer. Honestly, I would not blame the kid for pushing him out of the warding circle- but he didn't. Somehow they both end up outside the protection of the wards, and Arrick realizes the value of his companion when it is too late and he is about to lose him. Rojer retreats to the wards as his master is pounced and mauled.

Alone, Rojer continues on and pulls out his fiddle to play it to take his mind off of the corelings pounding on the wards. As he begins playing he notices that he can exert some control over the corelings. Experimenting with notes of discord, the corelings reach to cover their ears and shriek horribly, backing away and out of range. Playing faster and faster, the corelings continue to shriek, but this time they are coaxed into a fit of rage as they pound at the wards faster and faster- trying to silence the source of the sound.

Arlen, alive but not well wakes in the middle of the desert with some of his things. He faces the reality of betrayal and sets to exit the desert. In a 'fuck all' moment, and from the drawings of the attack wards sketched in his notebook, which he still has and may have been a huge mistake to let him keep, Arlen has an idea. If attack runes on the spear activate and produce an effect, why can't the human body, which is already a weapon, also do the same?

He wards his hands with paint in an experiment. The next time a sand coreling attacked, the spectacle ended in an explosion of black blood. At this point the book is really reaching a crescendo in the storytelling and I am now entertained on a high level. We have enough past knowledge to draw on while the combat gets.... involved.

Experimenting with different offensive and defensive wards- the corelings engaging Arlen begin to show fear, and even try to run away when maimed. The man has every right to be pissed as hell with the abominations- and he shows no quarter. So begins his transition into 'the warded man'. Arlen tatoos as much as he can on his own and later gets warders to help tatoo the rest of his body. Corelings bounce off, explode when punched a la One Punch Man and fear shows in their eyes- possibly for the first time in centuries. Word spreads through the land quickly that another monster is out hunting the monsters preying on humanity.