Glitch Hunter
Page 23
"All palaces and sand?" Alex asked.
"I think you're joking, but you're pretty much right," Jess said. Alex took a place at a window to watch for the drake.
Alex hadn't had time to prepare any special concoctions for the fight. Hopefully he didn't need them. Frost was one of the Drake's vulnerabilities and he had a tonal that could deliver just that.
Alex hadn’t practiced with it and he took a moment to do so. He wanted to see if he could manifest the dissonance of the magic through his weapon. If he could imbue his hammer with the ability of Frost for awhile it would make things easier.
The results were inconclusive. By really focusing he could feel the field, but warping it in just that way wasn't working for him. It wasn't going to be something easily accomplished. Perhaps it was a higher-level ability or it just required more practice.
"I'm surprised you find this better than home," Alex told Jess.
"Anything different is good when you get so used to the same thing. I like Falkirk though. People in the keep were weird about me at first, but once they got used to me they're nice," Jess said.
"No problems with people trying to use your ability?"
"One guard kind of wished his dick was in my mouth. It didn't work out the way he wanted and there was a lot of blood, and Sabrina got all mean at his commander."
Alex didn't dwell too much on how that wish might have gone wrong.
Alex said, "You've been around the staff a lot more than I have. Has anything in the keep ever struck you as strange?"
"There are lots of things in the keep that are weird. Have you ever noticed how there aren't enough guards?"
"What do you mean?"
"That day in the cave was almost all of them. Cassandra had just as many—and she said she left half of them back at home."
It hadn't struck Alex as unusual. Then again, he had no idea how many guards a keep should have.
"Anything else?" Alex asked.
"Lots of things, but I think a lot may just be humans being humans. It is a sad place," Jess said.
Alex almost didn’t hear her. Outside a shadowed shape had landed on the shore, a massive green-scaled, winged form with a fish in its mouth. It was time.
34
“Every dragon now alive is a survivor from the first age, or before. Seek them out for knowledge if you must for they have it in abundance but remember always that wisdom may be in shorter supply.” The Dragons of Fell Keep
Alex focused on the drake to get its frequency. He didn't require a Grimoire entry as he’d unlocked that already. In a moment he had it, singing in his head like fangs crushing flesh, and wings beating the sky.
Drake
Alignment: Green
Level: 6
Hitpoints 65/65
It was a higher level than him. Alex wasn't too concerned by that, not with only one drake and him being able to exploit its vulnerabilities. Given how every Glitch Alex encountered had a weakness to harmonized attacks, and primarily relied on dissonant damage—which Glitch armor resisted—it really did give Glitch Hunter's a small edge in every fight. Still, Alex remembered how the Deep Spawn had nearly killed him. It was never wise to take anything for granted.
Alex struck the note on his Songblade, able to find the place on the steel even without the visual indicator.
The drake dropped the fish as the sound rang out, letting out a furious roar and snapping its head towards the shack. Alex kept his hammer in hand for now. If he got an opportunity to use his tonal he would.
Alex knew that although the drake’s fanged maw seemed dangerous, the creature was more apt to eviscerating prey with its talons.
As Alex charged the drake he waited for it to move, and when it lunged forward he rolled out of the way and brought his sword up to strike at one of its wings from below.
You have hit the Drake with your Songblade
Harmonized
11 Harmonized Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage
7 Slashing Damage
Dissonant Stone absorbs 7 damage
9 Damage dealt
You have gained 11 Fury
You are 11 total Fury
Blood sprayed out as the harmonized blade cut through the sensitive flesh. The damage indicator showed less than he would have liked. There wasn't time to dwell on that. Alex swung around behind the drake and brought his hammer down on its tail.
You have hit the Drake with your Songhammer
Magic
7 Blunt Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 7 damage
6 Magic Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 3 damage
3 Damage dealt
Daze Activated
You have gained 4 Fury
You are at 15 total Fury
Still less damage than Alex desired, and his hammer proved itself to be nearly useless except for activating the daze effect. It wasn't something Alex was going to try again and he sheathed the hammer before flipping over the wobbling drake to thrust at the creature’s chest. At the same time he punched the drake's jaw as he murmured 'Merhal'.
You have hit the Drake with your Songblade
Harmonized
14 Harmonized Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage
9 Slashing Damage
Dissonant Stone absorbs 8 damage
13 Damage dealt
You have gained 16 Fury
You are at 31 total Fury
You have hit the Drake with your Frostfist
Dissonant
Frost
5 Dissonant Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 4 damage
4 Blunt Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 4 damage
15 Frost Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage
14 Damage dealt
You have gained 18 Fury
You are at 49 total Fury
It was a solid punch and with the blows Alex had dealt so far the drake was already half dead. But it was no longer dazed and its head snapped forward at Alex’s hand, fangs crunching down as it shook its head violently to the side and the wings began to beat.
You have been bitten by the Drake
Dissonant fangs
17 Dissonant Damage
8 has been absorbed by your armor
12 Piercing Damage
4 has been absorbed by your armor
15 Damage received
You have lost 15 Fury
You are at 34 total Fury
Alex's arm was wrenched out of its socket and possibly a bone broke. The drake was taking to the air and dragging Alex with it. In moments he'd be easy prey to its talons, eviscerated and dropped to the ground dead.
Instead of trying to pull away Alex shoved his fist deeper into the drake’s maw and whispered 'Merhal' again. Frost flowed through his body and erupted through his palm against the drake's tongue.
You have hit the Drake with your Frost tonal
23 Frost Damage
23 Damage dealt
You have gained 29 Fury
You are at 63 total Fury
The drake lashed out with its legs, the talons hitting Alex in his chest. Even through his armor he could feel them cutting him open.
You have been clawed by the Drake
Dissonant Talons
Desperate Attack
22 Dissonant Damage
8 has been absorbed by your armor
17 Slashing Damage
4 has been absorbed by your armor
27 Damage received
You have lost 27 Fury
You are at 36 total Fury
The drake dropped him. The fall wasn’t far, still it was a jarring impact when he hit the ground
You have suffered falling damage
9 Blunt Damage
4 has been absorbed by your armor
4 Damage received
You are at 32 total Fury
Alex wasn't doing well. It was small comfort that the drake wasn't either. It would
be trying to finish him off and he had to act first. Alex pushed himself shakily to his feet and rushed the drake which had landed, half its face coated in a thick layer of frost. The drake snapped to the left as Alex lunged right, thrusting his blade into one of its eyes.
You have hit the Drake with your Songblade
Harmonized
9 Harmonized Damage
Dissonant Hide absorbs 2 damage
7 Piercing Damage
Dissonant Stone absorbs 8 damage
7 Damage dealt
A Drake has been killed
You have gained 6 Green XP
The drake was down and Alex collapsed on top of it, the world blurring into a spinning mass as his wounds overcame him.
Alex awoke to sunlight streaming through a window. The burned down docks and a pile of fish guts had been replaced by one of the rooms in the keep. Sabrina was sitting in a chair nearby and looking through some papers. Jess and Ryn looked to be playing dice at a table behind her.
WARNING
Destruction of Falkirk is now estimated to occur in two days
Alex tried to sit up and grunted.
"Down, Alex. My physician managed to get your guts shoved back inside of you, but you're not ready to go pushing it yet," Sabrina said, setting her papers to the side.
"He's awake," Jess said, sounding as chipper as ever.
"Baroness, I thank you for all you've done, but time is a factor," Alex said, trying again. His head spun and he fell back with a grunt.
"We forced one of your healing potions down you and you're still not ready to get up. Let that tell you something and stay put," Sabrina said.
"What happened with the drake?" Alex asked.
"Ryn finished it off, she's really good with her knives," Jess said.
"So she keeps telling me," Alex said.
"I guess I proved both that and the need to have someone watch your back. Congratulations Alex, you look worse than I do," Ryn said. The passage of another day still hadn't done much to help the bruising of her face.
"We've only two days left and we've found a lot since we last spoke, Baroness," Alex said.
"I assure you, when Jess brought you in spilling your guts all over my fine carpet I asked a lot of questions. I understand you think Kationa is behind all of this?" Sabrina asked.
"I know she is your closest adviser, but it makes sense."
Sabrina put a hand on his arm and shook her head. "You don't need to couch it like that, Alex. I've told you, I always prefer truth to fiction."
Ryn said, "We found the other two flames. One is in the mountains near the smugglers highway, and the other in a forest near the Brightshy border."
"Do you have map?" Alex asked.
"Cassandra already has one done up and marked the locations," Sabrina said, handing it over. The three sites of the flames were marked and a circle drawn through them. The center of these locations would be the epicenter of the disturbance—and there it was. The keep.
"It does rather make your case for you. I feel blind for having missed it," Sabrina said.
"Kationa must have been at it for years. You can't be blamed for failing to see something false in the person you trusted the most. If I can get to those towers I can shut them down," Alex said.
"You can't. Unlike the one on the island these are protected by their Glitch," Ryn said. "Cavelings for the one in the mountains, and some kind of giant spiders in the forest."
"I have to do something," Alex said.
"You're in no shape to do anything," Sabrina said.
It was true. That didn't alter the fundamentals of the situation. Unless Alex did something, in two days Falkirk would be destroyed.
Alex said, "Baroness, you should get out of here. Take as many of the townspeople as you can. Cassandra has already started that. Leave me to deal with Kationa and whatever she brings."
"My parents died for this place, Alex. I'm not leaving it," Sabrina said firmly.
"Can someone get me my pack?"
"I'll do it!" Jess said, running from the room.
Even with the healing potions dissonant damage would have him off his feet for more than a day. It was time Alex couldn't afford to lose and there were only two things Alex could think of that might make a difference. One was the potions he'd taken from Renauld's lab, and the other was a wish from Jess. Shoving strange, quintessence-infused magical potions into his body seemed the safer option.
Jess returned with the pack and with a grunt he took out the vials, setting them beside him on the bed.
Sabrina said, "I don't like this, Alex. If this was something you shouldn't do while you’re strong, it is an even worse idea while you're injured."
There was a vial for each color of quintessence, and some were obviously worse choices than others for Alex. The safest was probably going to be black, it was already Alex's primary attunement. The source of whatever accelerated healing Glitch Hunter's already enjoyed came from there. Red was offensive power and Alex couldn't see how that would help. Brown was defensive, which might have been useful before fighting the drake, but it was equally as useless now. Neither magic or illusion seemed relevant, so purple and blue were out. That left green and white. Green was related to physical strength and endurance, and white centered around divine forces and their powers.
Black, green, and white. Alex figured in that order was probably both the safest and the most likely to do something useful.
Alex worked the black vial loose and grunted again as he tried to sit up, nearly spilling it.
"If you're going to be a damned fool at least let me help you," Sabrina said, taking the vial from his hand and holding it so that he could swallow.
The smell was horrendous, like rotblood. The stench of death and decay, and the dust of the grave. It settled into his stomach and Alex felt a tingle coursing through his veins, both familiar and strange, and with a faint chill.
WARNING
Exposure to corruptive mutagenic agent detected
Attempting to mitigate interaction with dissonance field
Corruption detected
Your resistance to cold has increased
Your vulnerability to fire has increased
You have gained 5 Black XP
That wasn't helpful. It wasn't exactly harmful, apart from the corruption which was continuing to stockpile.
"The green one next," Alex said.
Sabrina popped the cork and held it up to Alex's lips, and he gulped down the contents. There was nothing familiar here. The taste was thick and herbal, and heat instead of cold flooded through his veins.
WARNING
Exposure to mutagenic agent detected
Green quintessence is interacting with dissonance field
Resistance failed
Corruption detected
Your maximum health has been increased
You have gained a new trait
Green Thumb
You now have a natural affinity for growing plants.
You have gained 12 Green XP
Alex felt as if he were being torn apart anew. This wasn't as bad as leveling-up but it was similar. The bracer didn't tell him what new trait he’d gained, which was worrisome. However, he did feel better. The wound in his stomach hadn't gone away although it certainly bothered him less, and as he sat up his head was clear.
"Thank you Baroness, put the others away. I won't be needing them. Jess, I'm going to need my armor and weapons," Alex said.
35
“For all the talk of twisted worlds of horror beyond our own there are few records of the better ones. The intricate and civilized courts of the Djinn, or the crystal towers of Atalana beneath the sea.” The Quest for Paradise
Ryn helped Alex to get dressed in his armor.
Sabrina said, "If you are going to insist on being an idiot I think I have a target you should go after instead of these Coldflames."
"Shutting them down will stop people from dying," Alex said, then recalled Malia's words. "But i
t may be too late to stop what is coming. If you have any better idea I'd like to hear it."
"Kationa's tower. I can get you in. Perhaps she is still there and you can put a stop to her, or perhaps you can find some notes on exactly what she has planned."
"If you agree that wandering into the tower of a hostile magess is a good idea, that drake must have dropped you on your head," Ryn said.
It was unquestionably dangerous. It was also a possibility.
"Ryn, Yasmine's belongings should be at the Crow and Tankard," Alex said.
"On it," Ryn said, and dashed out.
"I don't know if she had her anti-magic bombs on her when she got teleported. If not, they'll be in her belongings," Alex said.
"Good thinking," Sabrina said.
"You might have mentioned you knew the way to her tower earlier," Alex said.
"You might have mentioned your findings that she was involved earlier. She’s my adviser. Of course I have a way to both reach her and find her, if needed. The passkey I give you should take you right to her workshop."
Alex figured if they had given him a minor healing potion last night then it would have already worn off. He refreshed it by downing another. It was an hour before Ryn would return with Yasmine's bags. Hopefully with backup grenades and a few potions.
Jess wasn't going to pass up invading another mage’s tower and soon Sabrina had led Alex, Ryn, and Jess to Kationa's lab and had them standing within a circle engraved on the floor. She handed Alex a carved disk.
"Three taps to activate and you'll be there," Sabrina said.
There was little point to further discussion. Alex tapped the stone and around them the air warped and shimmered.