by Skyler Grant
Looking down Alex could see hand-holds carved irregularly into the rock, used during the well's excavation, and he used them to crawl down. The bottom held only a small pool of water, likely accumulated from recent rainstorms. The village must have been abandoned when the well had gone dry.
With analysis sight Alex could see beneath the muddy water stirred up by his arrival. He wasn't seeing any bones.
Along one wall something glowed and Alex looked closer. A dark bloodstain, and scratches. Rak's parents hadn't had the courage or resolve to finish things quickly, they'd dumped their son down the well and thought the fall would kill him. Rak had hit his head, then regained consciousness and tried to get out, and failed. He'd probably either starved or died of exposure, cold and alone in the darkness.
There should be a corpse here.
Alex climbed back to the surface and returned to Yasmine still standing guard over the seemingly sleeping Geb. Alex knew it was a ruse, Glitch weren't so vulnerable to sleeping potions. That was Rak, now a Grimmer, living within his brother’s flesh.
"You find anything?" Yasmine asked.
"I did. Parents dumped him in the well and thought it would kill him. It didn't. He was a long time dying," Alex said.
Geb's eyes flickered open, the desperate look replaced by a murderous madness.
"Damn it," Yasmine said.
"They killed me. Left me. Let me finish it," Geb said.
"Thing has a point. They deserve what comes to them," Alex said.
"Might be. But Geb didn't."
"That deed is done. Not saying we should let it walk. Just saying ..." Alex didn't know what he was saying, not really. There was no justice to be had in this situation, not now.
"Calara," Yasmine whispered and extended her hand towards Geb. Alex had seen her speak the word many times before to light a candle. This time the stream of flame that erupted from her palm was far different.
Geb screamed as the fire engulfed him, blazing brightly, and his flesh began to distort and twist in weird ways as if something were trying to break free of it.
"You can get the frequency now. Harmonize and decapitate," Yasmine said in a cool tone that brooked no argument.
Alex listened, really listened, and got the tone. In his head it was like the sound of nails scrambling on a wall, sobs in the night. Misery and rage, and desperate terror.
Grimmer
Alignment: Black
Level: 4
Hitpoints 14/41
Alex drew his blade and hammer and tapped out the note. It was near the midpoint, a rippling sound echoing as he swung the blow with all the strength he had, striking the boy’s neck.
You have hit the Grimmer with your Songblade
Harmonized
Target Vulnerability Exploited
16 Harmonized Damage
10 Slashing Damage
14 Damage Dealt
A Grimmer has been killed
Half-share awarded
You have gained 4 black XP
The head was still shrieking as it rolled free, black tendrils of wispy black energy pouring from the neck. Then with an explosive burst it dissipated. Geb’s body collapsed, a child's corpse mangled and smoldering.
Alex sheathed his weapons. It was another strange moment of disconnection. A sense of how this situation should have made him feel, and the reality was only a portion of that. Sad, but not overwhelming grief or guilt.
Yasmine said, "We kill the monsters, we don't agree with them. Especially when we're getting paid. Help me gather some rocks, he’ll get a proper burial this time along with his brother."
It wasn't much of a grave, a pile of stones on the outskirts of an abandoned village, but it was something. Neither Alex or Yasmine said any words, it wasn't their strength.
The walk back to town was a somber affair.
"Is it always this bad?" Alex asked.
"Not always. The things involving black energy are amongst the worst we encounter. Vengeful spirits, undead, feeders—it’s usually sad tales just getting sadder."
"What about the others?"
"If blue is involved, people often think they’re losing their mind or else they actually have gone mad. Illusions play with the head and some Glitch delight in what happens as a result. Some feed on it."
"The Borkai weren't that bad," Alex said.
"Like most Glitch, the lower-tier they are the less dramatic things get. You go from scavengers and pests to genuine, often very intelligent and very human monsters," Yasmine said.
"What about green, when it gets bad?"
"Often that’s someone infused with the spirit of the wild and losing all control. They think that they’re still human and the rules that once held them in check will continue to do so, but the monster within them almost always wins. Green hunts can be bad ones too, if you step in late enough."
They reached the edge of town and Yasmine said, "Go to the inn and get yourself a drink. They have a room prepared for us tonight. I'll go collect our pay."
"I feel like I should be there," Alex said.
Yasmine stared at him flatly and nodded. "Fine, you can tag along, but stay silent."
"You don't think I can control myself?"
"No, I think that you can, but I know how I want to handle this and I'm in charge. The day will come when it will be your hunt and you might make a different call. That day isn't today."
"Fine," Alex said.
The mother was waiting for them and rushed outside the home as they approached, looking hopefully behind them before her face fell.
"No sign of him then?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"We weren't in time. I'm sorry. We did kill that which did for him, but I know it's little comfort," Yasmine said.
Sobbing, the mother seemed to sink inside herself.
"There’s the matter of our pay," Yasmine said.
The woman threw a bag at Yasmine's feet and returned inside the hut, slamming the door behind her. The sobs turned to wails.
Yasmine bent down to scoop up the bag. With her face made of stone she turned towards the inn.
"You didn't tell her what it was. Why it happened," Alex said.
"I didn't. Even though it might have brought me some hint of pleasure to add to that family’s suffering after what they did. If she hadn't paid the coin, I might have broken her heart in spite, or her nose."
"It’s always just the money then?"
"I've played it the other way. I've gotten all the righteous fury out of my system, and when it was said and done I wasn't sure it was all that righteous after all."
"Did you ever agree with the monster?" Alex asked.
"Once, but it wasn't a Grimmer. I let the spirit of a drowned maid have her intended. The man was a callous lout who'd left her to die because he preferred her best friend. He watched the flooded river drag her away instead of extending an arm to save her."
"How did that go?" Alex asked.
"I'm not your mentor anymore.”
"It seems to me I'm still learning," Alex said.
"I hope so, because if there is one thing I still have to teach that I think is of real importance, it’s this. We truly do have the potential to be monsters, and it’s doing the job and following the rules that keeps us sane. Keeps us mostly human."
"You regretted it, then?"
Yasmine laughed, a sound dry and devoid of humor. "Is that what you think? No, I didn't. I chose death over life. Vengeance over forgiveness. Justice over compassion. I didn't regret it then and I still don't. For some reason I can't."
This was the most negative that Alex had heard Yasmine talk about her life as a Glitch Hunter. It was the most he'd recalled her ever talk about how this job touched her.
Alex admitted, "I didn't feel like I should have felt—when we took care of the Grimmer. My echoes told me it should have broken me, made me guilty or sad, but it didn't."
Yasmine said, "The parts of us that are human get stripped away in part when we come to this world.
We lose a little bit more each time we level-up, at least most of us do. We gain power, but there is a cost. Your rules don't have to be the rules of every Glitch Hunter, but you do need something for yourself. You need lines you won't cross, because one day it could be all too easy."
"What are yours?"
"I don't hunt humans. I'm a Glitch Hunter, not an assassin. I take a job, I do the job. When it comes to a choice between a monster and a human, I choose the human," Yasmine said.
"Even when the human is a terrible one?" Alex asked.
"I start blurring those lines, I don't know what is on the other side. I don't expect your code to be my code, just take my word. Those who last a long time have a code."
It was something to consider. Alex wasn't prepared to make a code for himself just yet, he still didn't know himself well enough.
15
“Just because you can see it doesn’t mean you can build it. The machines from the Dream just don’t work like they’re supposed to. What we can do is grasp inspiration.” Vyan Markalashi, House of Artifice
The room wasn't grand. It was still nice to have a place to sleep. They shared the bed, continuing their arrangement from the keep although Yasmine seemed to have no more desire to get emotionally closer than when she was Alex's instructor. Alex had thought at first it was a choice, that distance, now he wasn't so certain. Some of the humanity had been sapped out of them, and perhaps he was the same way.
They were preparing to leave the next morning when Alex's vision flashed.
Optional Quest
Bracer Retrieval
Chakram Bracer is in your area and retrieval protocols are having issues establishing a connection. Find Bracer and resolve issues or provide a manual link.
Rewards: Black XP
"You see that?" Alex asked.
"I see it. Let’s play it cautious. We can at least have a look. The two of us are in no way prepared to take on the army. With luck, it might be something easier," Yasmine said.
"You've seen this sort of thing before?" Alex asked.
"Heard about it. I've never done a retrieval myself. It means I was right about them trying to get the bracers out of the area and passed on to someone more experienced."
They packed up their bags and got on the horse. Yasmine had tried to find a second animal in the village to purchase, without success. They at least had provisions, which was more than they'd had before given the unplanned start of the journey.
Yasmine accepted the quest on their behalf and Alex acknowledged. As soon as they had done so a blue marker appeared in the distance with numbers below.
"Last known location of the bracer," Yasmine said, answering Alex's question before he could ask it.
"The numbers are what then ... distance?"
"Got it in one. Handy, isn't it? I'm focused on combat, but some upgrades unlock a lot more functionality like this. We have some pathfinders that are invaluable when it comes to a big hunt."
They rode out of the village, the mother glaring at their backs when they passed her hut.
It wasn't a minor diversion. Twenty minutes of riding and the numbers had only decreased by about ten percent. They'd be on horseback for hours before getting to where the bracer had gone missing. It didn't help that they couldn't follow the road, riding through hilly plains.
"So, what are probably riding towards? You must have some idea," Alex said.
"I only know of two things that will interfere with a bracer retrieval. Powerful magic or powerful dissonance. If a mage runs off with one into a well-warded tower it can be an issue, or sometimes we lose track of a bracer when the fallen was hunting something powerful."
"Either sounds dangerous."
"The mages usually aren't. Earning the ire of the House of Bats is unwise for them. They can be curious and believe a few days to have a look at a bracer before getting a knock on the door sounds like a fine idea and worth the risk. We'll slow down when we get nearer and approach by foot."
It was another several hours riding. Yasmine brought the horse to a halt and slipped from the saddle. Alex followed her and they both drew their swords and crept forward. There was a strong sensation of dissonance in the air, a ringing that made Alex's head throb.
When they came around a hill they found a large scorched area, the ground turned black with the remnants of a large fire. Two blackened posts rose out of the ashes. One was bare. The other had a woman bound to it.
Despite not being human, the figure was obviously female, naked, her skin a pale red. She was covered head to toe in intricate geometric tattoos in a golden hue. Her hands were bound behind the post by a set of manacles.
She called, "I really, really, hope you're nice and not the burning-a-girl-alive types."
Alex focused his attention, seeking out her frequency.
Jessabella Twelvemoons
Blue/White
Djinn
House of Bats Relationship: Neutral
Warning: High-Tier Glitch. Combat is not advised.
Grimoire Entry Unlocked
Djinn are true visitors from another world, able to transition back and forth between their home during certain astronomical events. They have the ability to grant any wish they hear, although in a way that almost always ends badly for the wisher. They are fully immortal and completely invulnerable to mundane and harmonized steel as well as magic. Powerful magic can be used to bind them to a casters will for a short time.
"Huh," Yasmine said. "I've never met a Djinn."
"We're really rare and I'm really cold. Name is Jess, by the way. Get me off this post?" Jess asked.
"Explains the problem. Her dissonance is so intense it’s blocking an unbound bracer," Yasmine said.
"Do we set her free?" Alex asked.
To reply, Yasmine asked Jess, "What happened?"
"I was traveling with Melody—you know her as Chakram. I guess you're here because of her, she was a Glitch Hunter. We met these soldiers and they kind of decided to burn us. Djinn don't burn very well, but Glitch Hunters burn really good," Jess said.
"Can't argue with the evidence," Yasmine said, moving over to stare at her restraints. "Anti-magic. Is that why you're not using your illusions?"
"Yeah, they didn't know what I was, but they tried to kill me anyways."
Yasmine told Alex, "See if you can find the bracer. All you should need to do is touch it. I'm going to get her out of these."
Alex toggled Analysis Mode. The world blurred into incoherence and he had to disable it. Of course, if the dissonance was drowning out the bracer, it made sense that it would drown out his sight. Alex wondered if fighting a powerful Glitch could do the same? Would he lose aspects of his abilities?
Sifting through the ashes, it didn't take him long to find the skeleton, a gleaming bracer seemingly untouched by fire still on the left arm. Alex reached out to rest his own against it.
Foreign Bracer Detected
Identification: Chakram
Interfacing
Please maintain contact
The bracer shimmered black for a moment and vanished.
Quest Completed
Bracer Retrieval
You have been awarded a half-share and have gained 4 black XP
Yasmine had managed to get the manacles off Jess who had undergone a dramatic transformation. The alien appearance was gone, instead she was now pale-skinned, with blonde hair and blue eyes and dressed in a red and gold gown suitable for nobility.
"You clean up nice, but I liked the old outfit better," Alex said.
Yasmine said, "Down boy. Every warning I've given you about not sleeping with other Glitch is magnified by about ten in the case of a higher tier. You'd scramble your senses for days."
"Yet think it was totally worth it in the end," Jess said with a grin, her spirits much improved now that she'd been set free. "So where are we going?"
"We're going to Falkirk. I don't much care where you go," Yasmine said, turning and moving back towards their horse.
<
br /> "I'm fun! And I'm useful!" Jess said.
"You're so damned noisy we can't hear ourselves think. I don't know how Chakram stood it," Yasmine said.
"Oh!" Jess said, and scrunched up her face. The deafening roar of her dissonance faded to mere background noise.
Yasmine paused and looked back. "Okay, that was pretty good. How are you pulling it off when you can't even perceive dissonance?"
"Practice. Melody didn't like it and it’s a little like using illusion to go invisible. I just warp things around myself so it’s like I'm not really here," Jess said.
"Invisibility is a pretty good trick," Alex said.
"Didn't help either of those two from getting taken the first time," Yasmine said, resuming her walk. When she came to where they had left the horse it was gone.
"You have got to be kidding me. We just got supplies," Yasmine said.
Alex toggled on his Analysis Mode. Now that Jess had dampened herself it worked, although flickering more than usual.
Their footsteps weren't the only ones where they had left the horse. There were new tracks with a second horse and it looked as if they'd ridden off to the west.
"Thieves. They had a horse of their own and took off to the west," Alex said.
Yasmine looked west with a frown and shook her head. "Damn it. They'll likely keep going until nightfall. We could probably catch up on foot eventually, but that’s the wrong direction and there’s no guarantee."
"Back to the village?" Alex asked.
"Still the wrong direction and we already exhausted what they had for ready sale. No, best we just press on."
"I can sing! It really makes journeys so much more fun," Jess said.
"You realize I can put a sword through you?" Yasmine said.
"It won't actually do anything but people try sometimes," Jess said.
"We could try some conversation instead. You're from off-world? Do you remember anything about it?" Alex asked.