Glitch Hunter
Page 37
Ryn made a face but nodded and headed for the stairs.
Jess slipped in and gave Alex a hug. "That was hard. I'm glad we didn't have to kill her and I'm going to feel guilty when she kills other people. Glitch Hunting is hard. I'm going to go steal a dress."
Alex decided he may as well join them. He had been around Sabrina long enough to know where she kept the best liquor. They'd be wasted on Yasmine's palette.
55
“Most disagreements can be settled with an arrow to an eye. While mercy might compel you to aim for the knee instead, you’ll never hear the end of it.” Yvette Bow, House of Bats
Alex studied himself in the mirror and had to admit that he looked good. The drakeskin armor had been freshly oiled and a few days had been enough for his ability to fully repair the damage it had taken.
The keep had been bustling with activity. The fires burned down about two thirds of the town and the west side was little more than cinders. With people returning a good portion of the population were being housed in the keep.
Yasmine and Kationa had thrown open the doors and were doing their best to see everyone accommodated so long as they helped in rebuilding the town. The two bickered, loudly and publicly, but Alex could tell that Yasmine was starting to take the time to get Kationa's input before making any major decisions.
An entire wing of the keep had been devoted to the Glitch Hunters. Rooms were set aside, grandly labeled for Glaive, Ranseur, Pike, and even Flail. Nobody had seen or heard word of Evan yet, or even knew if he still held the Flail bracer, but if he or someone else wearing it made their way to Falkirk keep, they'd find a home waiting for them.
Alex had plans to take his very clean armor and go stomping through the sewers. There were reports of terrifying sounds coming from the tunnels and Alex figured when Sabrina took the Glitch out of the city she must have missed the Shriekers.
Alex's vision flashed and text began to scroll.
Update
A report of your recent activities has been compiled.
Do you wish to view?
Alex acknowledged and more text appeared.
Alex Glaive
Choices & Consequences Report
You decided to complete your training. (+100 House Status)
During training you established a sexual relationship with your mentor. (-50 House Status)
Despite barely having completed training you and another trainee rescued two members of the House of Bats from captivity. (+150 House Status)
You retrieved the bracer of a fallen member of the House of Bats. This has consequences.
Deciding to honor your contract you accepted a challenging high priority quest. (+75 House Status)
You aided in the butchering of a mundane encampment of Youlash soldiers. This decision has consequences.
You established a sexual relationship with Sabrina LaFele, the ultimate target of your quest. (-200 House Status). This decision has severe consequences.
You subjected yourself to corruption at the hands of Kationa Vess of the House of Towers for the purposes of acquiring more power. (-200 House Status)
You established a friendship with Cassandra Windicott. This decision will have consequences.
You rescued Yasmine Cinquedea from a possibly fatal situation. (+100 House Status)
You doused Coldflames threatening the city of Falkirk. (+200 House Status)
You allowed yourself to be corrupted by Coldflames. (-250 House Status)
You subjected yourself to the effects of corruption by consuming liquefied quintessence. (-250 House Status)
You established friendships within the House of Towers. This decision will have consequences.
You have had a sexual relationship with multiple Deep Maidens. (-250 House Status)
You have established a relationship with Malia Kass of the Black Tower. This decision will have consequences.
You have encountered Amanda Glaive. This encounter will have major consequences.
Your actions caused the evacuation and survival of a significant portion of Falkirk’s population. This decision will have consequences.
You encouraged the intervention of Kationa Vess which resulted in the city of Falkirk coming under the command of Yasmine Cinquedea. This decision will have severe consequences.
You allowed the Red Queen to survive. This decision will have severe consequences.
You completed the primary goal of your quest, if not in the expected fashion. (+1000 House Status)
Because of your actions you have been awarded or penalized with the following traits.
Flexible
You have proved yourself to be a flexible thinker marking you as qualified to undertake less ethically clear quests on behalf of the House. These will now appear in your bracer.
Political
You have proved yourself both adept at befriending nobility and have made choices with political consequences. You will continue to find yourself embroiled in the nobility and their games going forward.
Easy Lay
During your first month within this world you have slept with five individual Glitch. Your ability to resist mundane seduction attempts is reduced to 25 percent and completely negated in the case of Glitch. You also mitigate much of the supernatural harm that these liaisons might normally inflict.
Glitchfriend
You are willing to consider unaligned Glitch as friends. Glitch that might normally assume hostile intent are more likely to regard you as a possible ally, but mundanes are more likely to fear you scheme against them.
Corrupted
You have been badly corrupted. In addition to harmonized blows with your weapon you are now able to make dissonant blows amplifying your natural dissonance to do severe damage to mundane flesh and armor. Long term corruption can have serious negative consequences and you are advised to avoid further corruption until your matrix can be stabilized.
Forward Facing
You have demonstrated no remorse over being where you are and shown no desire to reclaim your lost memories. Options to reclaim your past will be muted in favor of ones focused on your future development.
It wasn't that long ago that Alex hadn't known who or what he was. Although he might not approve of everything that his bracer said, he didn't find that a bad summary. Alex checked the rounds in his potion-caster and the supplies in his belt and headed out the door. It was time to hunt some Glitch.
The End
Afterword
Author Notes
It has been raining nonstop here in the Pacific Northwest which isn't unusual for the area. While much of the US has been buried under surprise April snows here, we've just been wet. If you're fans of the Laboratory series you knew this book was coming. If this is the first book of mine you've picked up, welcome to the family.
Most of my works are shorter than this. When I grew up, although I'd read door-stoppers I always had a particular fondness for quicker bites of escapism and adventure. I got about two thirds of the way through this story when I decided it needed more, so went back to the drawing board and started fresh aiming for it to be as long as it is now.
In the Laboratory series, in the author’s notes I said that if you liked it to please let me know and I'd write more. I'm five books into that series now because I meant it, you let me know and I've done my best to give you more of what you want. If you like Glitch Hunter and want more, let me know. This universe has all kinds of room left to explore and Alex has a lot more adventures in him.
Following these notes is a section of Alex's Grimoire as it stands at the end of this book. I think it self-explanatory and you'll see some information that didn't make it into the main text.
Now for the standard author stuff—reviews and positive word of mouth is our life blood. If you enjoyed this book, let other people know they might enjoy it as well. You'll help me out and make it possible for me to push out more books.
Grimoire
Aryx
Alignment: Black
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Aryx visually appear to be a hybrid of a panther and a deer and are usually found in a state of partial decomposition. They largely feed upon small animals and spawn from larvae they leave in the corpses of the rotting dead.
Vulnerabilities: Fire, Magic, Harmonized Steel, Corpsebane Oil. Strongly resistant to mundane arms of all sorts.
Bloodthirster
Alignment: Red/Black
Bloodthirsters are the result of a vampires attempt to spawn that has gone awry. Instead of coming away thinking and reasoning they are consumed with bloodlust and fury that has granted them access to red quintessence as well as black. Bloodthirsters are immensely strong and are best engaged at a distance. With their bite they can extract quintessence or life energy from others using it to bolster their own abilities.
Vulnerabilities: Bloodthirsters are not resistant to any weapon types but they do naturally regenerate health quickly, something enhanced by their bite. Elementally they are vulnerable to fire and resistant to cold.
Borkai
Alignment: Blue
Borkai possess strong camouflage abilities which they use to hide in bodies of water. Their chosen strategy is to try to overwhelm a foe quickly, if a fight persists they are very cowardly and will typically run away. While vulnerable to mundane weapons they often use illusions to avoid damage, these effects are broken upon contact with harmonized steel.
Vulnerabilities: Harmonized Steel, Lightning. Take standard damage from mundane weaponry.
Caveling
Alignment: Brown/Green
Cavelings as their name suggests are primarily found in deep caverns. They are able to see in pitch darkness but have issues in bright light. Incredibly agile they are capable of great speed that lets them dodge many attacks. In darkness they are possessed of powerful regenerative capabilities but these can be disrupted by sunlight or fire.
Vulnerabilities: Cavelings primary defensive attributes are their speed and regenerative properties. They are capable of vicious slashing attacks. Mundane weapons are vulnerable to magic, harmonized steel, and fire. Flame oil, flash bombs, and poison are all effective.
Cleanslime
Alignment: Green
Cleanslime are an artificially manufactured Glitch, a variant originally made by the Magess Onessa Klint who was obsessed with practicality and wished to get ready for bed as quickly as possible. Her design ingested dirt, grime, and clothing while leaving her unharmed. Further variants have been created to remove debris or solid matter from inconvenient places.
Vulnerabilities: Cleanslime are vulnerable to most forms of elemental and magical damage. While harmonized steel will harm them, they'll also devour it so that approach is not recommended.
Deep Maiden
Alignment: Black
Deep Maidens are Glitch most commonly found in the ocean although any body of water can host one. They possess a hypnotic gaze and their touch is a powerful aphrodisiac. They mate with their victims, planting eggs inside of them in the process which later grow into Deep Spawn.
Vulnerabilities: Deep Maidens possess little in the way of natural defenses, rather their ability in self-defense comes from offensive abilities in taking the fight out of a foe. It is advised when fighting them to not meet their eyes and to avoid physical contact.
Deep Spawn
Alignment: Black
Deep Spawn are the children of Deep Maidens who have lured men to their deaths in the ocean. Their claws can infect a target with a wasting disease of the muscles that in many cases can prove fatal and their mouths can suction onto a target while their teeth grind it away.
Vulnerabilities
Harmonized Steel, Lightning, Decapitation, Essence of Earth
Resistant to Slashing, Blunt
Djinn
Alignment: Blue/White
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 caster’s will for a short time.
Vulnerabilities: With harmonized steel can be dispersed for a short time but they are essentially immortal. Magic, elemental potions, and mundane weapons can hurt but not kill them.
Drake
Alignment: Green
Drake are distant cousins to dragons and unlike their relatives are far more feral although not nearly as deadly. Both are of the Draconid family and have an obsession with hoarding shiny things and a fascination with young women. Drakes will usually grab them and fly them back to their lair where they will hold them for weeks, feeding them like one of their own offspring until eventually they die from complications of eating raw meat or attempting to escape.
Vulnerabilities: Frost (Winter's Breath Ampule recipe unlocked), Harmonized Steel, Draconid Oil (recipe unlocked. Drakes are resistant to piercing and slashing damage as well as fire.
Dreameater
Alignment: Blue
Dreameaters appear to be intangible bands of colored chimes floating in the air. They play a melody that can render those who hear it unconscious and trap them in their dreams. If left uninterrupted their victims will eventually starve to death.
Vulnerabilities
Dreameaters are intangible and completely immune to mundane weaponry. They can be harmed by loud sounds, dissonant steel, and magical damage. Spirit Oil and Anti-illusion bombs will also harm them.
Flame Maiden
Alignment: Black/Red
Flame Maidens are women who have died in flames while filled with rage. Their spirits bond with the flames that burn them and they become beings of fire. They are possible to appease, usually being able to burn the arsonist responsible for their death will sate their flames and allow their spirit to rest.
Vulnerabilities: Immune to all mundane weapons. While they can be harmed with harmonized steel their intense heat will usually warp the sound chambers of the blade rendering it useless from that point forward. Vulnerable to elemental magics involving water.
Fleshweaver
Alignment: Black
Fleshweavers are a manifestation of those who died under extreme circumstances and had their flesh used after death in some way, commonly either as a spectacle or as food. They are capable shape-shifters, an ability which they can use in combat. They make powerful tools and implements from their victims, using pain and suffering to magically enhance mundane materials.
Vulnerabilities
Like most variants of the undead Fleshweavers are vulnerable to fire. Other vulnerabilities are hard to ascertain, Fleshweavers are intelligent Glitch and capable of using their shape-shifting abilities to defend against specific threats as required. Corpsebane oil is especially effective.
Glutton
Alignment: Black
Gluttons are a manifestation of those who died from overeating. They are quite capable of eating anything, stone, poison, the weapons of those who attempt to murder them. Whatever they consume makes them stronger and they are able to quickly heal damage by the ingestion of new material.
Vulnerabilities
Technically a form of undead Gluttons are vulnerable to fire and Corpsebane oil as well as harmonized weapons. Mundane weapons work well against them but they are capable of consuming steel that is not harmonized or coated with Corpsebane.
Grimmer
Alignment: Black
A Grimmer is the spirit of a dead child who was murdered by their parents in order to save the life of a sibling and not given a proper grave. The Grimmer will often sob and beg to be let in outside the family's home for several nights and if the door is opened for it, it will kill all inside. If it should be denied entry it will lure out its sibling, rip out its innards and take over the body returning to the home where it will eventually torture and kill the parents who abandoned it.
Vulnerab
ilities: Harmonized Steel, Fire, Corpsebane Oil. Resistant to all mundane weapon types.
Plains Cockatrice
Alignment: Green
A Cockatrice is a winged creature with the legs and head of a rooster and the body of a serpent. They are found in family units of three to four and families are extremely territorial. Plains Cockatrice are a relatively weak variety that are either scavengers or prey upon livestock and small animals near human settlements.
Vulnerabilities: Lightning, Harmonized Steal, Poison. Mundane weapons are effective but weakened across all types.
Red Queen
Legendary
Alignment: Black/Red/White
The Red Queen is a female ruler driven by a need for vengeance. By sacrificing the lives of those they rule they become a powerful hybrid Glitch. While appearing fully human their eyes become a distinctive red. If they succeed in killing the target of their rage they undergo a second transformation to either a Black Queen or White Queen.
Vulnerabilities: A Red Queen is resistant to magical and elemental damage. They are vulnerable to harmonized steel and possess no special immunity to mundane weapons, although given their abilities with compulsion they should not be engaged with mundane forces.
Shrieker