Glitch Hunter

by Skyler Grant

  "My answer is unchanged. This is my town, my keep, my place," Sabrina said.

  Alex wished that he had confidence in that. Through his corruption from the two Coldflames so far, he’d gained an impression of his adversary. During the quenching of the first flame he'd felt the coldness of conviction, ruthlessness, power.

  The second flame brought forth rage and lust—and Alex was fairly sure the lust wasn’t anything to do with him. While Alex was still figuring out just who he was, he certainly hadn't lusted after any men.

  That meant the enemy was a woman, ruthless and cold, with power at her command, and someone who had been in Falkirk for some time.

  There were only three real possibilities. Kationa remained the most likely, she was smart and confident, and also practical to the point of viciousness and he couldn't deny he'd felt attraction there. Of his three suspects she was the only one he knew to be a mage and therefore the only one with the skills to pull this off.

  Then there was Cassandra, brutal by all accounts and incredibly ambitious. With her money she had access to a magical education and agents in the keep who could have arranged for Kationa's abduction.

  And, of course, Sabrina. The baroness who had lost both her parents, a reason to be filled with rage, and a considerable portion of their time together had been spent indulging in their lust for each other. Kationa could have given her a magical education, and her access to the magess would have easily let her abduct her.

  "You're tense," Sabrina said, running her fingers idly through his hair

  "I'm wondering if you're my enemy," Alex said, looking at her.

  "If I am you're both figuratively and literally screwed," Sabrina said.

  Alex had to laugh. More than anyone else in Falkirk he'd trusted Sabrina, crawled into her bed and leveled-up in her presence. Alex shouldn't trust her, not really, but he had little to lose in continuing to do so. If she were out to do him harm she'd already done it.

  He said, "I need to spend some Experience and probably level-up. Will you watch me?"

  "Is this just an excuse to get me on top again?" Sabrina teased.

  "Maybe," Alex said.

  "Then let me get out of these clothes while you do what you have to do."

  It was a distracting sight, but Alex made himself focus on his XP screen and pulled up his interface.

  Experience Interface

  You have 22 Black

  You have 6 Brown

  You have 25 Green

  You have 4 Purple

  You have 15 Red

  Cumulative XP: 112

  Level 5 Requirements: 80

  The past few days had made a huge difference for his XP gains, although almost all of that XP had come from sources that corrupted him in one form or another.

  It was notable that he had enough for the next level, although the cost had gone up steeply from last time. Had it not been for all of the unapproved sources of quintessence he'd be far from it right now.

  The other news was just how much Experience he'd collected. This would buy him several new abilities. Alex started with the black Experience, given it was the most core to his abilities.

  Black Experience Interface

  Current Options

  Map functionality (20 XP)

  This upgrade uses dissonance mapping of locations you have visited before to construct a visual map indicator that can be toggled in your vision in either standard or Analysis Mode. This level includes basic navigation cues although future upgrades can far improve the functionality.

  Hardened Analysis Mode (10 XP)

  Your Analysis Mode will be hardened against disorienting attacks used by some Glitch as well as interference caused by weaker magical wards.

  Pain Dampening (10 XP)

  While some pain can be useful too much can hamper effectiveness in a fight. With this upgrade you have an enhanced ability to shrug off pain for short periods and maintain focus.

  The map option was new, and expensive. Alex could have two others abilities for the same price. Still, it intrigued him. While hunting for the lost bracer he'd already seen his own display a point for a destination onto his vision, and he was sure upgrades might allow more of that.

  Alex accepted that upgrade and his vision flashed. Towards the upper right corner of his vision was a square box depicting what he realized were rooms of the keep. Even that was useful, he had gotten lost in the place before.

  Going down the list the next option would be brown.

  Brown Experience Interface

  Current Options

  Armor Regeneration (5 XP)

  While this upgrade will not make your armor any more durable it will use your dissonance field to help repair any armor you wear that is damaged. The rate of this repair is similar to your own healing with it taking twenty-four hours for mundane damage to heal, thirty-six for magical, and forty-eight for dissonant.

  Lock Scanning (5 XP)

  When attempting to pick locks your dissonance field can interface with the mechanical elements and reveal a visual representation. This both increases the ease and makes identifying any traps in the lock easier.

  Alex hadn't even tried to pick a lock, nothing from within his echoes suggested that was anything he'd ever been good at. It might be a useful skill to have Ryn teach him some day. Neither of these was helpful just now. The armor regeneration seemed it would be the most use and he selected that.

  Green was next on the list and Alex opened up the menu. Natural abilities, he was curious what he might find here.

  Green Experience Interface

  Current Options

  Increased Speed (5 XP)

  With this upgrade your dissonance field is adjusted to enhance your speed while on foot. Whether running from a foe or chasing down prey you'll have an edge you did not have before. Future upgrades will increase run speed and the ability to take leaps.

  Basic Danger Sense (10 XP)

  In the wild creatures often have an innate sense of when they are about to be attacked and with this upgrade your bracer’s threat assessment matrix will be enhanced and connected to your natural awareness. Future upgrades will both expand the range and the nature of detected threats.

  Aspect of the Predator (25 XP)

  This upgrade can have a number of effects that while largely positive can be negative as well. It enhances the predator aura that naturally surrounds you. Prey animals will be more likely to flee as will weak-willed humans you fight. Peaceful people will also find it more difficult to trust you, although other predators will respect the aura of strength.

  Two of the upgrades were purely physical, which was about what Alex was expecting, although the last was tempting despite its cost. Alex decided he could strike fear in people on his own, and he selected the first two before pulling up the menu to look for new options. He still had ten green Experience to spend.

  Increased Endurance (10 XP)

  With this upgrade you can fight longer, run further, or engage in any physical activity longer. This is particularly useful if fighting defensively and needing to outlast an opponent.

  Alex selected the new upgrade. There wasn't enough purple Experience to buy an upgrade. Besides, all of what he had was being devoted to unlocking the ability to read magical script. That just left red.

  Red Experience Interface

  Current Options

  Unarmed Damage (10 XP)

  With this upgrade your ability to directly increase the dissonant damage delivered through your fists is increased. With further upgrades your fists could ultimately punch through armor.

  Tonal Upgrade (10 XP)

  With this upgrade you enhance the ability of your tonals allowing them to be applied at a distance. While the most effective use will remain by physical touch you'll now be able to project an elemental lance or beam of short duration.

  Alex had seen one of these upgrades in practice already. Yasmine was able to project her fire blasts with a stream of flame. It was something that she use
d in fights quite a bit. Right now Alex didn't get much use out of his tonal. That was in part because it really didn't work well with weapons in hand. With that upgrade he'd be able to initiate a fight with an elemental blast and then close the distance with weapons drawn.

  Then there was unarmed damage. Although it didn't seem something that would be useful—he was rarely unarmed—Alex had found himself having to punch Glitch in a fight before.

  Alex went with the tonal upgrade. It gave him more options in combat and that was always a good thing.

  That was it for Experience spends. Sabrina had gotten undressed and after he called out the command for the interface to close she moved on top of him, straddling his hips. She said, "That was a lot, you've been busy, Glitch Hunter."

  "The vials gave me a lot and I've been getting more from shutting down the Coldflames," Alex said.

  "Good. Your House has left you alone in this city and you need to get as strong as you can," Sabrina said, as she began to rock.

  When he was close Alex triggered his next level-up and his world tore apart in several different ways. There was something fundamentally different about this one. The previous levels had been a few tense seconds. This one lasted over a minute.

  Congratulations

  You are now level 5

  Your rank has been increased

  You have advanced from novice Glitch Hunter to beginning Glitch Hunter

  New privileges have been unlocked

  You have earned a piece of specialized gear. One will be delivered to you.

  'Merhal' tonal has already been unlocked.

  Having new privileges would be more useful if the bracer would actually tell him what they were. Gear might arrive eventually, but not in time to help him save Falkirk.

  Tomorrow would be the last day before the warning timer reached its conclusion.

  39

  “He said he was immortal so I chopped off his head, threw it in a bag, shat in it, tossed in some rocks and dumped it the ocean. Who the fuck needs a Grimoire?” Gorath Axe, House of Bats

  Alex awoke in the morning with Sabrina still beside him—the baroness usually awoke and left the bed before he did.

  WARNING

  Destruction of Falkirk is now estimated to occur in one day

  Threat level is critical

  Ranseur and Pike are estimated to arrive in twelve hours.

  Helen and Morgan were on the way. That at least was good news. It wouldn’t be in time to help with the last Coldflame, but perhaps before the final battle.

  Alex was going to check with Cassandra that morning, talk with one of her mages about Yasmine and see if he could confirm what Kationa had said, that Yasmine was unreachable.

  Alex was out of the keep within the hour along with Jess. Sabrina, when she awakened, ordered guards to accompany him. There were only six of them, each clad in heavy plate and armed with halberds. The plate might even do a decent job at slowing down dissonant attacks.

  Cassandra and Ryn were waiting for him when he arrived. This time Cassandra had around three dozen cutthroats armed with an assortment of spears and clubs.

  Alex spoke with her mage, a balding man named Oster, who asked for an object owned by Yasmine. Ryn was using the pack she'd retrieved from the inn and the mage was soon trying to find Yasmine by holding onto one of her shirts.

  Alex could tell he had some degree of success when he jerked back as if struck.

  "Did you find her?" Alex asked.

  "A brief glimmer buried beneath the aura of something terrible. That isn't as bad as it sounds, lad. I can tell she put some distance between herself and it, but I can't get a lock to her," Oster said.

  Did it support Kationa's innocence that she spoke the truth, or confirm her culpability because she had so completely removed Yasmine from the fight to come? It didn't matter, the time for speculation had passed. Alex would have answers soon enough.

  The next Coldflame was perhaps an hour out from the city. They arrived at a vast forest, the boughs heavy overhead and casting everything into shadow. Alex had dipped into Yasmine's spare ampules for a few lightning, today wasn't a day for fire.

  The forest was unusually devoid of wildlife. No birds chirped, or rabbits crossed their path. It was still and unnaturally silent.

  "How did you ever manage to find a flame in all this?" Alex asked, as he calmed his mount. The horse sensed the danger in the air.

  "Backtracking from the effect. Brightshy has been losing patrols in this area," Cassandra said.

  "The first Coldflame I encountered used the bodies of those it summoned to create more Glitch. That wasn't the same with the second. I wonder what we'll find with this one," Alex said.

  There was a growing sense of dissonance in the area although Alex had yet to see any Glitch. Alex felt they were being watched, but the frequency was still vague and he couldn't identify by what.

  "You said your scouts saw spiders before?" Alex asked.

  "They did. We're almost to a clearing where the flame is supposed to be. There are webs in the treetops there."

  Alex looked up. There was no sign of any spiders. They advanced further and soon broke through the forest into the clearing.

  This Coldflame was more akin to the second fire than the first. Lacking a lighthouse to convert the brazier had been placed in a sort of stone gazebo. This flame burned with a white aura. There was movement in the tree-tops.

  "Get to the flame, Alex. We'll form a perimeter around you," Cassandra said.

  Alex still didn't like that—and he still couldn't argue with the logic. There were probably too many Glitch here to neutralize. That meant killing the flame and moving on quickly. The real fight wasn't here. Alex moved into the gazebo and scanned the runes.

  Coldflame

  Est Vor Sal Del Mer Kal

  Coldflame is a complex magic that is designed for the purposes of converting human life force into quintessence. Typically it is black quintessence but this is an extremely rare variety that instead focuses on white.

  WARNING

  White quintessence is extremely dangerous and is not subject to manipulation or control by your bracer. Killing divine creatures or otherwise absorbing white quintessence is strongly discouraged by those under level 25.

  ALERT

  The transformation underway appears to use a combination of Black, Red, and White quintessence. Tri-colored Glitch are both extremely dangerous and extremely rare. Gather any additional information that might aid in identification.

  That was a lot of warnings coming all at once. To date the only Glitch Alex had seen utilizing white quintessence was Jess who was a combination of white and blue.

  Yasmine had never mentioned any opposition of quintessence, but Alex had wondered before if there might be. Black and White seemed like they would be natural opposites and the warning he just got seemed to confirm that, with his bracer being unable to process it at all. If others were in opposition, it wasn't so obvious.

  One of Cassandra's men screamed. A massive spider had dropped from above and impaled him through the chest with a leg ending in a tip as sharp as a spear.

  Alex forced himself to focus on the flame. If they needed him they would call him. It was old routine at this point, slitting his palm open along the edge of his blade before chanting, “Kal,” and covering the rune with his palm.

  This time the energy that coursed through him wasn't painful. It was welcoming and inviting. If the black flame had been about cold purpose, and the red about rage and passion, the white was all about a desire for transcendence.

  WARNING

  Corruption Detected

  You have gained 2 White XP

  Alex didn't know anyone this applied to. Nobody had shown him this side of themselves—a part of their heart they kept secret. Alex moved on to the next rune just as Cassandra cut a leg off a spider, the runes on her sword flaring.

  Jess created illusionary flames that held most of the spiders back, dissonance swirling around her as s
he worked her specific brand of magic.

  “Mer,” Alex said, and planted his palm on the second rune. The rush this time was ancient. White quintessence was old, older than black, older than all the others.

  WARNING

  Corruption Detected

  You have gained 3 White XP

  Time seemed to slip away from Alex. When he looked about at the fight again there were more downed thugs. Cassandra had a nasty blood gash across one arm, and Ryn was almost out of throwing daggers.

  Alex was wasting too much time, losing focus from the rush of quintessence. He all but ran through the rest, not pausing to recover after each, instead letting the blasts of power hit his mind one after the other.

  You have gained a new upgrade

  Gaze of the Divine

  The Divine have noted your existence and are aware of you. You will find yourself involved in their schemes and reap their rewards and their fury.

  After striking the last rune and the flame faded, a calm certainty settled over Alex. The plan had worked, he now knew who their adversary was and could feel her song echoing in his mind.

  It was Sabrina who had created these Coldflames, it was Sabrina who had to be the heart of the storm.