Glitch Hunter

by Skyler Grant

  Vulnerabilities

  Sight Hounds are vulnerable to Harmonized Steel, Magic, and Blunt damage. They are highly resistant to slashing and piercing attacks.

  These were the rare enemy that might be better hurt by Alex's Songhammer as opposed to the Songblade. Still, if harmonized, the blade would hurt them and it made sense to use both. Alex struck a tone and the blade trembled in his grasp as he swung both weapons down onto the back of one of the hounds busy trying to tear off one of Jess's legs.

  You have hit the Sight Hound with your Songblade

  Harmonized

  10 Harmonized Damage

  Dissonant Stone absorbs 2 damage

  6 Slashing Damage

  Dissonant Stone absorbs 6 damage

  8 Damage dealt

  You have gained 8 Fury

  You are at 8 total Fury

  You have hit the Sight Hound with your Songhammer

  Magic

  10 Blunt Damage

  Dissonant Stone absorbs 0 damage

  5 Magic Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 1 damage

  14 Damage dealt

  Daze Activated

  You have gained 14 Fury

  You are at 22 total Fury

  Alex had gained the Fury mechanic after his last level-up and so far it felt good. It made him feel more alive, sharper, faster.

  The blows rang off the stone hound knocking free chips of rock and ringing sharply. The hound staggered in the aftermath, looking confused. The dazing effect of Alex’s hammer had triggered.

  The rest of the hounds were still chewing on Jess so Alex struck twice more while the opportunity remained good.

  You have hit the Sight Hound with your Songblade

  Harmonized

  13 Harmonized Damage

  Dissonant Stone absorbs 2 damage

  6 Slashing Damage

  Dissonant Stone absorbs 6 damage

  11 Damage dealt

  You have gained 11 Fury

  You are at 33 total Fury

  You have hit the Sight Hound with your Songhammer

  Magic

  13 Blunt Damage

  Dissonant Stone absorbs 0 damage

  6 Magic Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 1 damage

  7 Damage dealt

  You have gained 18 Fury

  You are at 51 total Fury

  You have Killed a Sight Hound

  You have gained 4 Purple XP

  Two others turned after the first one fell, then from elsewhere in the chamber Alex heard the sound of a crystal shattering and everything went completely still.

  25

  “Crystalwave communication is one of the great adaptations of first age magic to a post merge world. While still used almost exclusively by mages one day it may allow communication for all.” Relics of the First Age

  Jess dragged herself free from beneath the unmoving stone hounds. Once she was clear clothing shimmered back into place on her body.

  "Any chance of them coming back to life?" Alex asked.

  "They're shut down. They draw off energy reserves, so normally you'd just have them activated when doing experiments. In his case he must have also set them to activate to welcome him home," Kationa said.

  "Touching," Alex said.

  "I didn't like them," Jess said. The trauma of being torn apart seemed to have faded fast and she was already looking around the interior of the lab.

  Kationa said, as she moved to study some of the lab equipment, "You can look around, but stay clear of the books, notes, and obviously any potions."

  Ryn headed off to look at the books in blatant disregard of Kationa’s instructions, as Jess poked at an intricate structure made of crystals and wire.

  Alex headed over to Ryn. "You're happy to disregard her instructions."

  "That’s because I know what I'm doing. Bookcases are great for hiding things. False volumes, hidden passages," Ryn said.

  "He was a mage. Would he go to the trouble?"

  "You saw the traps we encountered in the hallway, they weren't just magic. The man was obviously terrified of another mage trying to learn his secrets, so he built defenses against them."

  It made a lot of sense. Alex left her to it and went to Jess inspecting the sculpture.

  "Hi Alex!"

  "This is pretty. I wonder what it is," Alex said.

  "Communication. We sort of use something like it back home, but a lot more advanced," Jess said, tapping at a crystal with a finger and causing a unique tone. "Each of these is attuned to someone specific he wants to contact, then they'd have his in their own. They’re set to vibrate in sync. If you activate one you can communicate with the person holding the other."

  "I thought you didn't know much about magic other than illusion?" Alex said.

  Jess shrugged. "It isn't really thought of that way back home. You want to talk to someone on another moon you aren't going to fly there. We had to get good at talking over long distances."

  "Do you get homesick?"

  Jess gave him a wry smile. "Course I do, but I was even more sick of being home. I like going on adventures even if they involve me getting hurt way too much."

  "I'm sorry, we should stop using you like that."

  "I'd like that. I don't like getting hurt."

  Kationa was scowling at some lab equipment surrounded by sheaves of handwritten notes and scrolls. It wasn't an encouraging sight but Alex moved over to join her.

  "Glitch Hunter, I think I figured out just why there was such paranoia related to this Tower," Kationa said.

  "Is it about the vault stone?"

  "I don't know. I hope not. It looks like Renauld was studying corruption in a more than theoretical sense."

  "Corruption?"

  Kationa rolled her eyes. "I forget how clueless you are. Remind me to find Yasmine and set fire to her for the sheer overwhelming nature of her continued incompetence. Corruption is a term you should know. It is the conversion of mortal flesh or objects to Glitch."

  "I've seen the word once before. It was after you helped me to unlock my frost power. My bracer reported detecting corruption in me from an unknown source," Alex said.

  Kationa lowered her gaze to Alex's bracer for a moment, "I'd argue that definition. You are already a Glitch and I am surprised it is so sensitive as to pick up what we did at all. It has ... some justification for that point of view. I did infuse you with foreign quintessence to help you manifest an ability quicker."

  "How is what Renauld doing any different?" Alex asked.

  Kationa picked up a vial from the table and held it up. The contents glowed a sickly green. "I think from what I see here that he was trying to isolate elements from were-physiology to amplify human health."

  "That could be considered noble," Alex said.

  "It is a complicated issue. Your House and my House both are the result of studying corruption. We are each the results of that research, and given extraordinary powers as a consequence," Kationa said.

  "But we're not eager to share?"

  "Perhaps it is just that selfish. Research like this usually ends in tragedy. Quintessence warps the human body and the human mind into completely new forms. One requires either extraordinary control or some sort of intermediary to keep from being consumed."

  Alex didn't need to ask—obviously the bracer acted as his control. It made him wonder about Kationa and the House of Towers, although he didn't think he was likely to get any answers by asking her.

  There were other vials on the table, colors that glowed with unnatural light.

  "Why do you think he was playing with something forbidden?" Alex asked.

  "It is always a matter of power. Whether it was to do good or evil, I really can't say from what I see here. Glitch get to bypass what are, for the rest of the world, natural laws. It is always tempting to try to get past those."

  "That sounds sympathetic of you," Alex said.

  Kationa made a face. "I believe in pushing some boundaries that others
frown upon. That is why I offered to help you."

  "Are you going to keep any of this research?"

  "I honestly don't know. When we are done here I am going to have to talk to the House of Towers, who are probably going to tell me to burn this place to the ground. I don't know if I trust my own judgment," Kationa said. “It’s dangerous.”

  "Yasmine sometimes doesn't trust her own judgment so she has made a code to guide her. Do you have one?" Alex asked.

  "Good to hear that she isn't always a buffoon," Kationa said, as she returned the vial to its place with the others. "I don't. The reason I might keep his notes is because I hate for any knowledge to be lost. There may be a time when it is needed."

  "And the danger?"

  "That I might use it. There are things here that might be used to make me stronger, smarter, my spells more potent. Even if I leave the finished potions behind, if I take the means to recreate them and continue this research, it is always going to be a temptation."

  "Even knowing, as you said, that they almost always turn out badly?"

  "I'm about as human as you are, Alex. I once was a powerful mage who chose to have her flesh ripped open and purple quintessence poured in until her humanity bubbled and boiled away," Kationa said.

  "So what would the potions do to us?" Alex asked.

  "Now I can hear the temptation in your own tone."

  "I'm fighting a major threat to the city of Falkirk, one I am really not powerful enough to face. Yes, Yasmine is with me, but more power might save my life. It might save a lot of lives." Kationa regarded Alex for a moment before picking up a potion pouch from the table and carefully loading it up with tubes. One for each color of quintessence. When she was done she offered it over.

  "I think it a bad idea, but I also don't think you're wrong in anything you say. I wouldn't try consuming these unless the situation seemed desperate, but your case is sound," Kationa said.

  Alex accepted the pouch and tucked it away. "I didn't expect that."

  "I'm of the Grey Tower, Alex. Politics is our lifeblood. Hard decisions made in a moment and stuck to with conviction."

  "Then I think you should keep the notes. If anything does go wrong with these, with me, you might be able to render aid."

  "Quite the pair we are. So many justifications for yielding to temptation," Kationa said. She quickly gathered up the notes and placed them in her bag.

  A click came from behind them. Ryn was stepping back as one of the bookshelves swung aside to reveal a wall engraved with runes.

  "I told you not to touch the books," Kationa snapped.

  "I don't follow bad advice just because it is given by old women," Ryn said.

  "I like her," Kationa said, surprisingly as she held up her crystal lens to inspect the runes. "He actually does have a vault. Protective wards, but nothing that I can't get past with time."

  "How did you open it up?" Alex asked.

  "People always think they are so clever. A few of the books on this shelf only had wear along the tops of the spines and nowhere else. Classic sign they're switches," Ryn said.

  "Just how many libraries have you robbed, girl?" Kationa asked.

  "Not half as many as I'd like."

  "I want to steal something," Jess said.

  "Why don't you steal his communication crystals?" Alex said.

  Kationa said, "Please do. I'd like to have a look later and see just who he was in contact with. Where there is one forbidden experimenter there may be others." She pressed her palm against the runes. Light flared and the stone trembled.

  "Is this going to set off any further defenses?" Alex asked.

  "I don't see anything defensive here. The wards are to keep out mundane mages, nobody but another member of the House of Towers should be able to get past it."

  Ryn was taking Kationa's distraction as an opportunity to go around the lab, pocketing anything that looked valuable. Alex didn't speak up about it. He would approach Ryn later to get his cut.

  The stone beneath Kationa's hand flared again and the trembling increased. Then, with a shimmer, the stone vanished. The vault was small, really more of a tiny chamber in the rock.

  Within were several books stacked on top of each other, some bars of unknown metal, crystals of different shapes and colors, and a flat, round stone marked with an intricate rune.

  Ryn was drawn closer by the valuables.

  Kationa looked through the books. "First editions of Devosson's 'Orbits of the Celestial Spheres, Gubay's 'The Potency of Magic, Vianesses "Properties of Elements'. The man had more taste than I knew."

  "What are the crystals?" Ryn asked.

  "Nothing useful to you. Stored magical energy, they're useful when casting powerful spells."

  "The metal?" Alex asked.

  "Vauxite, fairly rare. You've encountered its opposite in Dimurcite which suppresses magical energy. Vauxite can enhance and channel it."

  "Sounds valuable," Ryn said.

  "And not yours to take. You're here for one reason and that is your prize," Kationa said, drawing out the small stone and studying it briefly before passing it over. "I get to be there when you open the vault."

  "You get a look of the contents, but not a share of them," Ryn agreed, accepting the stone and holding it up to her eye before putting it into a bag on her belt. "Cass is going to be delighted. We couldn't be sure it was here."

  "And you might have stormed through a well-protected magical tower for no reason. I can see why that wouldn't thrill you," Kationa said, as she moved the rest of the contents of the vault into a bag of her own after tossing Jess back her clothes.

  "Nah, still would have been good practice. I've always wanted to crack one of these places, but the problem is finding them," Ryn said.

  "You wouldn't think a tower would be hard to locate," Alex said.

  Kationa explained, "We usually move them about. They shift from one inhospitable spot to another and usually have wards outside to move them if anyone gets too close."

  "Meaning the only way to get in is by teleportation. Are all mages that paranoid?" Alex asked.

  "Not paranoia when someone is actually trying to rob you blind," Kationa said.

  Ryn beamed at that.

  When their business was done Kationa gathered everyone together and returned them to the keep.

  26

  “Three bolts shimmerweave. Two bolts silk. Three spools of Webghast thread.” Shopping list of Kasina of Towerholm

  Getting through the tower had taken time. It was late afternoon by the time they returned.

  Alex checked the inn once more only to find that Yasmine still hadn't returned. If she didn't get in touch by the morning he was going to have to go hunting for her. There was little he could do for the night except making sure he was prepared.

  Sabrina proved to be her usual boundless fountain of energy that night, then after they'd sated themselves a few times she had no shortage of questions about what he'd found in the tower. It wasn't something that Alex felt he could keep a secret from her, although he was sure Kationa might have preferred that.

  After Alex explained about the corruption research Sabrina wanted to see the vials, and she curled up beside him inspecting one that shimmered white.

  "Do you think Renauld was investigating such things at the behest of my father?" Sabrina asked.

  "Did you ever see any signs of that?"

  "I only ever remember seeing Renauld once. Which is strange, if he really was doing work for my father. Kationa was the only mage I really knew and I've never seen anything like this in her lab. Are you going to use them?"

  "It isn't a good idea unless I have to. I don't know what they might do to me and while they might make me stronger they also could kill me," Alex said.

  "I'd prefer you didn't die. I've grown somewhat fond of having you around," Sabrina said, returning the vial to its place. "You really shouldn't have told me about my father’s secret vault, by the way, with your friends planning to rob it. Technically
whatever is within belongs to me."

  "I only care a little about any coin from whatever is inside. I'm mostly interested to see if anything is related to my quest. In that sense I know you're going to want it opened as badly as I do."

  "I do, I don't even care about the value of the contents. Not truly, not if there are some sort of answers in there."

  The next morning Alex found himself riding towards the mountains. He’d again checked on Yasmine and found she still hadn’t made her return. As a clue where to go, Cassandra Windicott gave him the same information provided to Yasmine, although it wasn't much. Vague talk of bandits who had their lair in the mountains and said they had found something terrible buried in the earth.

  The mountains were more like massive hills to Alex's mind, if steep ones, the slopes adorned with trees although given the chill in the air most of them had already lost their leaves.

  Alex rode towards the tallest one. Without a guide his best option was to get some elevation. Alex's horse was able to take him almost halfway up and the rest he had to do on foot.

  The peak was above the tree line, a patch of bleak stone, and he scrambled up so that he could stand and take a look in all directions. It still wasn't enough to see much more than the immediate vicinity. Alex toggled Analysis Mode, perhaps his bracer would pick up something he was missing.

  Heel print

  Match to Yasmine Cinquedea

  Scanning for tracks or partials

  That was something. Yasmine must have had the same idea of climbing this rise to search around. It gave him tracks to retrace.

  Alex returned to his horse and within a half-hour had picked up the trail. Yasmine had ridden off to the northwest.