Glitch Hunter

by Skyler Grant

  Alex's possessions were neatly stacked outside the door. He began the laborious process of getting dressed again. Whatever Sabrina had done, it had worked. It wasn't just the most recent damage that had healed, but his earlier wounds as well.

  "They were therapeutic," Alex said.

  "Man likes monsters in his bed I figure that’s his business. Kationa came by looking for you," Ryn said.

  "Sabrina must have this place warded against teleporting or she'd have come directly," Alex said, as he snapped the potion-caster around his arm. "What time is it?"

  "After noon at this point. The monster waves are getting more frequent. That friend of yours Morgan is down, I mean he's alive, but they gored him pretty good," Ryn said.

  "Helen?" Alex asked.

  "Running out of arrows. Everyone is running out of arrows. We going back into town, or we going forward to finish what we started?"

  They hadn't found a way to stop the magic. Going forward would limit Alex's choices for killing Sabrina, and for all that her methods were extreme she had just possibly saved his life.

  "Let’s find Kationa. I need to explain to her what’s down here and see if she found anything on her end," Alex said.

  Ryn moved at a limp down the hallway. Alex saw claw marks in her leg.

  "Deep Spawn?" Alex asked.

  Ryn nodded wearily. "When Morgan went down they broke through the port barricade. They're loose in the north city now and one caught me on my way back."

  "Do you think I'm having us do everything the wrong way?" Alex asked.

  "I'm not the Glitch Hunter and all of this is way beyond me. I sincerely think you're this town’s best shot, Alex. It’s why I'm exhausted and bruised, and weak as shit, and still guarding your back. Are we doing the wrong thing?" Ryn asked.

  Yasmine had once told Alex that all Glitch Hunters were selected because they knew the true value of life. They knew it intimately, having taken lives for all kinds of reasons.

  Lives of innocent people who Alex didn't even know were being lost by the hour because Sabrina was still alive. It might be possible for Alex to kill her, but clearly, she was very powerful even before her transformation. Killing her might not end the threat. A violent death could make different forms of Glitch and Sabrina was filled to the brim with quintessence just waiting to manifest.

  Disrupting the magic was still going to be the best call and Kationa should have some idea how.

  "Yes, we're doing the right thing," Alex said finally.

  There was no commentary from Sabrina in his mind as they made their way out through the sewers. Perhaps she really had closed the door inside his head. If so, this was possibly an opportunity to take her by surprise. Alex decided to stick with his decision and talk to Kationa.

  When they left the sewer entrance a Deep Spawn charged out of the fog at them. Alex drew his weapons and struck a tone on the blade.

  Deep Spawn

  Alignment: Black

  Level: 2

  Hitpoints 24/24

  A throwing dagger struck the Deep Spawn in the throat as Alex went low, lunging forward with his blade and swinging his hammer to smash one of the Deep Spawn's knees.

  You have hit the Deep Spawn with your Songblade

  Harmonized

  10 Harmonized Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage

  8 Slashing Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage

  14 Damage dealt

  You have gained 18 Fury

  You are 18 total Fury

  You have hit the Deep Spawn with your Songhammer

  Magic

  5 Blunt Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 5 damage

  4 Magic Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage

  2 Damage dealt

  You have gained 2 Fury

  You are at 20 total Fury

  The Deep Spawn stumbled forward. Alex tossed his hammer in the air, the instant it was free aiming his hand and chanting 'Merhal' under his breath.

  A stream of frost erupted from his palm and caught the Deep Spawn from behind.

  You have hit the Deep Spawn with your Frost Stream

  Magic

  9 Magic Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 2

  4 Damage Dealt

  You have gained 5 Fury

  You are at 25 total Fury

  A Deep Spawn has been killed

  You have gained 2 Black XP

  The Deep Spawn froze in place, skin coated with frost. Alex caught his hammer on the way down, swinging it to crash into the back of the Deep Spawn. Flesh shattered, fragments of the Glitch spraying through the air.

  Ryn retrieved her throwing dagger from the mass of frozen Glitch bits, wiping the blade clean before shoving it into her belt.

  "Haven't seen you pull off that one before," Ryn said.

  "Pretty good isn't it?"

  "Seems to work better than your ‘impaling them on your dick move’ with the Deep Maiden," Ryn said.

  Alex gave her a wry look as they moved through the fog.

  He heard panicked human breaths and the dissonance of two more Deep Spawn. Alex grabbed Ryn's shoulder to pull her with him.

  They stepped out of the alley just as a woman staggered past, dress torn and blood matting one side of her chest.

  "Behind us," Alex said, as he drew his weapons and struck his blade to make it ring out. The hammer was otherwise almost useless in the fight apart from the stun enchantment because of the Deep Spawn's blunt resistance, but he held onto it anyway.

  Ryn got the attention of one Deep Spawn, hitting it with a throwing dagger before backing away, using her agility to stay clear and buy Alex time to deal with the other.

  The Deep Spawn was already moving to claw at Alex and he brought his hammer down sharply on its arm before plunging his blade into its chest.

  You have hit the Deep Spawn with your Songhammer

  Magic

  8 Blunt Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 5 damage

  6 Magic Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage

  7 Damage dealt

  You have gained 9 Fury

  You are at 9 total Fury

  A Deep Spawn has been stunned.

  You have hit the Deep Spawn with your Songblade

  Harmonized

  12 Harmonized -Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage

  9 Piercing Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage

  18 Damage dealt

  You have gained 23 Fury

  You are 32 total Fury

  A Deep Spawn has been killed

  You have gained 2 Black XP

  The Deep Spawn gurgled out its last and collapsed to the ground, rotblood spilling out around it.

  Alex moved to help Ryn but she already had the other Deep Spawn handled. Ryn had somehow straddled the Deep Spawn's back and was sawing through its throat with her dagger. Mundane blade or not, the Deep Spawn wouldn't long survive.

  Still, best not to waste the Experience since Ryn couldn't profit off it. Alex drove his blade through the Deep Spawn’s skull.

  You have hit the Deep Spawn with your Songblade

  Harmonized

  13 Harmonized Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage

  8 Piercing Damage

  Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage

  17 Damage dealt

  You have gained 21 Fury

  You are at 53 total Fury

  A Deep Spawn has been killed

  You have gained 2 Black XP

  Ryn slipped off the Deep Spawn as it twitched, pulling a few throwing knives from the corpse.

  The injured woman was in the ally, sobbing and clutching at her side.

  "Keep pressure on it. We'll take you somewhere safe," Alex said.

  She leaned against Alex as they made their way through the streets. Fortunately they didn't encounter any more Glitch on the way to the Windicott manor.

  Al
ex handed the woman off to an exhausted servant. Kationa was outside, sketching runes on the exterior of the house.

  "Bolstering the defenses?" Alex asked.

  "There wasn't much of a magical nature. About time you got here. You're still alive, I was worried when I couldn't reach you with a teleport," Kationa said.

  Ryn said, deadpan, "When I found him he was surrounded by Glitch and doing his best to see them finish."

  Alex appreciated the humor, even if now didn't seem the time for it.

  He said, "We infiltrated the keep in the hopes of shutting down whatever magic Sabrina still had going to power all of this."

  "What did you find?" Kationa asked, finishing the last touch on the rune which glowed purple for several seconds.

  "Two things. One is that the Coldflames were not the only magic in use, there are also three Softstone holders, and three plagues released from Burnwater. The Coldflames are also back, she relit them."

  Kationa sighed. "My student never fails to impress. What else?"

  "When Sabrina was a child, Renauld was dosing her with red quintessence in an attempt to make her a better host for Ebonhart while supposedly curing her of some physical ailment."

  Kationa looked stricken, staring into the distance for several long moments before she said in a cold voice, "You're certain of this?"

  "I read Renauld’s logbook of the experiments and we found his laboratory beneath the keep."

  "Sabrina was a sickly child, but not fatally so. She was simply possessed of a frail constitution. The baron asked me to use my magic to help her and I refused fearing it would do more harm than good," Kationa said.

  "It seems he found someone who would," Alex said.

  Kationa said, "I was coming to tell you that I hadn't had much luck, but this changes matters. If the House of Towers was involved in the formative stages of this event, it is partially our responsibility."

  Ryn asked with a hard look, "Does that mean the rest of your friends are actually going to do something to help instead of letting a whole city of innocent people die?"

  "I'd be more kind to my House than that, but yes, I think it does. I need to go and do some screaming at those in power and I need you to come with me. You're a witness to events. You have other Glitch Hunters here, have them stop the Coldflames again and this time break the pedestals," Kationa said.

  Neither Morgan or Helen would have the ability to read magical runes, but Alex's bracer had made an exception to allow him to do it. He imagined theirs would as well.

  "I shouldn't be gone from the town for long," Alex said.

  "We'll make it quick," Kationa promised. That was as much as Alex could hope for.

  45

  “The failure of the Selesu is perhaps the greatest failure of the study of quintessence in history. The House of Towers and the House of Bats have both shown the potential of binding quintessence to a human host.” Notes of Renauld de Argentine

  Alex gave instructions for how to shut down a Coldflame to Helen and Morgan before he left, returning the potion-caster to Helen.

  Morgan was barely able to stand, but they both agreed to go. Morgan would handle the lighthouse. It was the least likely to involve combat, and Helen would take the other two.

  Ryn refused to leave Alex's side, even for this, and so she and Alex were soon stepping through one of Kationa's portals together.

  Their first destination was a familiar one, Kationa’s laboratory in her tower.

  "If you're looking for your stuff we already stole it," Ryn said.

  "I'm all too aware," Kationa said.

  "Jess likes your underwear," Ryn said.

  "I wish I were unaware," Kationa said, moving to the crystal sculpture and tapping several in unison.

  "Tower, this is Kationa Vess. Emergency session requested for the situation in Falkirk. Tower involvement has been found," Kationa said.

  "Understood," said a voice.

  Over the next few minutes several magical apparitions appeared in the air. Alex recognized only Malia, who was looking a little bloodstained. There was beady-eyed man with a thin beard, an amiable-looking woman in a rich gown, and a sharp-nosed woman with a jagged scar across one cheek.

  "You've got your meeting, but if this is further wasting our time I'll come there in person and kick your ass myself," said the woman with the scar.

  Kationa said, "This is Alex Glaive of the House of Bats come to give testimony regarding the actions of Renauld de Argentine, House of Towers and member of the Red Tower."

  "I can confirm his identity without us having to get his bracer involved," Malia said.

  "Well, let’s hear your statement then," said the cheery-looking woman.

  Alex recounted what he had read in Renauld's journal. He was starting on a summary of current events when Kationa raised her hand to silence him.

  "They know all that," Kationa said, before looking at the apparitions. "We are involved in this."

  "Why? Because one of our members experimented on a girl ten years ago, and her actions since then—completely at her own discretion—have led to this?" Malia asked, scornfully. "I like the Glitch Hunter, but you're reaching."

  "We filled her with quintessence. When it was my wrongdoing alone for teaching her magic, you could make the case that it was my responsibility alone to fix, but this has now gone beyond that," Kationa said, staring them each down in turn.

  "She has a point," said the scarred woman.

  "A weak one. We gave this girl power, twice. The fact that she has chosen to do terrible things with it is not on us," Malia said.

  "Filling a young body with quintessence is far worse than just teaching a growing woman magic. We all know how greatly that can distort personality," said the bearded man.

  "I agree," said the cheerful woman.

  "Call that three to one?" asked the bearded man, and the others nodded.

  "Just because we've agreed to bear responsibility that doesn't mean there is much we can do," Malia said. "If she hasn't teleport-locked the town yet, she sure will if we start a mass evacuation. What do you expect us to do?"

  "I need some time. The ascension can't be completed until enough of the townsfolk are dead. The town’s defenders are exhausted and running low on supplies. Shield them from the Glitch," Kationa said.

  "We can do that, but against red quintessence on the scale being channeled we can't do it indefinitely. We can perhaps buy you a day," said the scarred woman.

  "Two more things. I need a massive line of credit to negotiate with Olean, and I also need the teleport of Yasmine Cinquedea back to the town. The distortion near her is too great for me to penetrate, but you should be able to do it," Kationa said.

  "The one you flung off with Ebonhart? That will be a challenge. I'll see what I can do."

  "Don't forget, murder and slaughter later," Malia said, waggling a finger at Alex before she disappeared. The other projections vanished in quick order.

  "Were I in any place to judge I'd question your dating habits," Kationa said.

  "How can yours possibly be any worse?" Alex asked.

  She admitted, "My last one was a serial killer who cut the hearts out of witches and ate them to absorb their power."

  Ryn said, "My last boyfriend turned out to be a thief-catcher sent to hunt me down. I don't think it wins. I just wanted to play."

  Kationa said, "Good, then I win. Hurray for me. Gather up and do try to look presentable. The next stop is the head of the Olean council." She began chanting the words of the spell to open another portal.

  When Alex stepped through he found himself on the balcony of an opulent manor. Below was a beautiful garden, and a hedge maze with a fountain in the center.

  A woman with long blonde hair was wearing a robe and looked to be fresh from the bath, hair still damp.

  "Really, Kat? Five minutes earlier and you'd have caught me naked. Arrival chambers are there for a reason," she said.

  "Before either of you say anything, no Alex, it isn't a s
hame we didn't come earlier. No Ryn, you can't step inside the manor just for a minute," Kationa said, with a firm look at them both. "This is Tania Croix. Olean pretends to have a council, but she has the pull to make sure whatever Tania wants, Tania gets. This is Alex Glaive of the House of Bats, and Ryn Cosis—who appears to be some homeless waif he picked up along the way."

  Tania dipped her head. "Well, if it meant I could have flirted with a Glitch Hunter do feel free to arrive earlier next time. Ryn Cosis of the Falkirk Cosis?"

  "You know my family?" Ryn asked, unusually subdued.

  "It was a shame what happened to them. They did business with Olean. I met your mother once when I was a young," Tania said.

  Alex could see Ryn's eyes growing damp. Ryn didn't meet many people who knew her parents. In a way she was almost as cut off from her past as Alex.

  "I've got a deal to pitch to you," Kationa said.

  "If this is another request for army forces to come to Falkirk, I'm sorry. We can't, not now with the tensions with Brightshy," Tania said.

  "I want to take Falkirk off your hands," Kationa said.

  Tania arched a brow. "Oh do go on. This should be rich."

  Kationa sat down. Alex and Ryn leaned against the wrought iron railing of the balcony.

  "War is coming your way. You know it and I know it, and you can't adequately defend Falkirk. Current events are proving that, you're already willing to lose it," Kationa said.

  "Taking a risk that the House of Bats will actually succeed at their job is hardly being willing to lose a Commonwealth city," Tania said.

  "Finish hearing me out. You'll like this."

  "I doubt that, but I'm listening," Tania said, settling back and folding her arms.

  "In the past, the Ginak accords once allowed for the House of Bats to take control of an Olean province for several months," Kationa said.

  "Because the local lord turned into a werewolf, turned the townsfolk into werewolves, and he ate the rest of his family that might replace him," Tania said.