Corrupted heart. Options

[jack cloudy]

Alas, I couldn't wait for Agent to finish before I began my next story. Oh, curse me, all of you whose blood shall be spilled before this story comes to an end.

Ahem, I don't expect my loyal readers to complain though. Heh, I hope I managed to portray the first of my main characters nicely. And one last thing that might be interesting to know. This story takes place before the birth of Luper. So yes, that means at least 23 years before any of my other stories. Now, without further stalling I present:


Corrupted heart.

Chapter 1: Among the cold dirt, the fallen lie.

Consciousness flickered, remaining just out of reach. His senses delivered their messages to his clouded mind, broken fragments of a greater whole. The sound of heavy boots hammering cold rock, the smell of dust in his nose, the feeling of being carried in a boneshattering grip. A taste, plaguing the tip of his tongue. Blood, his blood.

The feeling of movement stopped. Words now echoed in his ears, words he did not comprehend.
,,This looks good enough. Open the door.” The shriek of rusted metal being moved ripped through the haze clouding his mind. Now consciousness returned fully and with it, a chance. For a moment, he continued to feign unconsciousness. Long enough to hear more words, words not meant for him.
,,You, don’t move unless you want even greater problems.” The hands holding him pushed him along. His tail brushed against iron bars. Now was the time.

With the frightening grace of a natural killer, his muscles sprang back to full readiness. He used the body of his captor to swing around, somersaulting into the air and landing on the unfortunate man’s back. With a quick swipe, claws ripped out the man’s throat and crushed his neck. Even before the man began to lose his signs of life, the killer had leapt away. The next guard found himself smashed against the iron bars of the cell. Claws leaving a trail of blood in the air where the last thing the man saw before his eyes were removed. He too died soon afterwards. The whole event had taken less than a second from start to finish.

Breathing heavily from both his exertion and the rough treatment he’d received earlier, the killer stared down at his latest victims. In a slow symbolic movement, he raised his claws and licked them clean of blood, savouring the taste. His ears began to pick up the sound of distant boots coming steadily closer. A standard patrol. His hand snatched the nearby torch from the wall and he slammed the piece of wood into a dusty pool of water. There was a large cloud of smoke and then, darkness.

Even though there was practically no light left, his eyes still saw as good as if he was standing outside on a clear day. He quickly scanned the nearby cells. The one which had been destined for him was already occupied by the short stature of a Bosmer. The one directly on the opposite side of the tunnel was occupied by a muscular Dunmer who looked around warily, not seeing a thing. The killer took a double take on the two beings. While the Dunmer displayed all the expected signs of fear, the Bosmer surprisingly acted as if she hadn’t noticed the massacre at all. She just looked at the ground in front of her bare feet with a blank stare.
,,Must have lost its mind so deep underground.” The Killer concluded. He knew from experience that many Bosmer were extremely claustrophobic and hated being in a room without any windows or underground. A natural result from living in the treetops of Valenwood.

The boots had now gotten close. Soon, the owner of these boots would see the darkness ahead and know that something was wrong. By then though, it would be too late. The Killer crouched at the edge of the darkness, confident in the natural camouflage he had. Now the guard ventured into view and the killer’s heart skipped a beat. This was no guard. The fingers of fear reached out for him, embracing him with their cold touch. It was a feeling he hadn’t felt since childhood. The darkness in the tunnel was vanquished by a bright burst of light. With that same burst, the light in his eyes faded and he slipped into unconsciousness once more.

An armoured boot stomped on the ground beside his head.
,,You’ve missed your chance. Enjoy the blood you’ve claimed. They were your last kill.” A gruff voice said as the killer was picked up and taken to his cell.

[jack cloudy]

I won't have much time tomorrow but I'll try to work on Agent then if possible and hopefully make a better update. The last one was a bit short and crappy in my opinion. Ok, more Corrupted Heart stuff.




The two elves heard the Werewolf’s howl. Aran waited while the Bosmer stared at the wall.
,,You can see through walls?” He asked curiously. Rajn shrugged.
,,I’m a Tower so, a bit. It’s all blurry to be honest, I wouldn’t trust myself with an arrow if I could only use this mental vision. Umm, lots of stuff moving around. One big….dog? It’s eating.” She said while watching the scene beyond the wall. Aran frowned.
,,Big dog? Who keeps dogs in a prison?” He wondered aloud.
,,Oh, not just dogs. Giant rats, goblins, big worms, living skeletons and other stuff that scares me. Exactly what happened since I got thrown in here? There were only little rats and guards when I arrived. I’m quite sure of that. It was before I went completely wacko.”

The Dunmer’s frown grew bigger.
,,Necromancy. Dark powers are at play here. We must hurry.” He urged and began to move again, faster this time.
,,If you can see through walls, then do you see the exit?” He asked with the calm voice of someone who was used to danger.
,,Take the first corridor on your right.” Rajn answered, struggling to keep up with the man.

The Werewolf slowed down as he rounded another corner. The path to his prey was blocked by a pack of small green humanoids.
,,Goblins. A Stinking nuisance.” The werewolf let out a roar and watched with satisfaction how the creatures ran away. Suddenly, an arm lashed out from the shadows and gripped one of the little green monsters. There was a scream and then the goblin’s neck was snapped like a twig by its killer. When it stepped into view, the Werewolf stepped back and growled.
,,Zombie. This is not your average prison. Not at all. I’ll be slowed down like this.”The black beast lunged at its undead foe, throwing it into a wall with its great strength. When the undead construct finally managed to crawl back onto its feet, the Werewolf was already out of sight.
,,I would love to stay around and tear that thing into little pieces but I’ve got work to do. No one can pull out my whiskers without paying in blood.”

Both elves were stopped death in their tracks by another group of Goblins. Aran took a short glance at the improvised bow the Bosmer was wielding.
,,Can you shoot bigger prey than rats with that thing?” He asked with a sour grin.
,,No, but I can club them over the head when they’re not looking.” The two looked at each other and nodded simultaneously.

,,I am Aran Geydar, Urshilaku! Fear my blade!” The Dunmer shouted as he waded in. He stabbed his sword into a goblin’s chest and used his foot to pull the blade free. Already, the other Goblins had begun to surround him. He grit his teeth when the first club descended on his unprotected back. He had three Goblins in front of him so he couldn’t afford to deal with the one behind him. In an attempt to finish the fight quickly, he jumped forward and tackled the three Goblins to the ground. A few quick stabs later, and he was sitting on a pile of stinking Goblin corpses.

,,Now the one behind me.” Aran thought and scrambled back on his heels to deal with the remaining Goblin. A hard hit on his leg sent him to the floor and another against the back of his head caused him to black out for a short moment. He rolled over on his back and spat the Goblin in the face. The dumb creature stared at the Dunmer in surprise for a second before raising its club high above its head with an angry snarl. Aran couldn’t help but chuckle at seeing the Goblin’s eyes grow big with confusion. The chuckle turned into full laughter when the Goblin turned around to see where its club had suddenly gone.
,,Go, doggy. Fetch the stick!” Rajn yelled and swung the club into the Goblin’s face. The critter fell on the floor, unconscious.

Aran got up carefully and examined his fresh bruises. It hurt a lot but he failed to discover any serious damage.
,,That was that. Let’s get going again. Any longer in this Goblininfested pit and I’ll kill myself.” He said a bit annoyed.
,,And what about me? How am I supposed to get out of here without my strong bodyguard?” The Bosmer replied sarcastically.
,,Just what kind of Emperor lets Goblins into his prison?” She asked herself a moment later.
,,Either a bad one or one who doesn’t know of the Goblins. Probably the latter.” Aran answered.
,,Now be quiet, girl. I want to avoid any further confrontations with who knows what is down here.” He added. There were lit torches on the walls yet the dust and cobwebs told him that no guard had been down here in years. The whole environment gave him a bad feeling like he’d never had before.

The Werewolf sniffed the Goblin corpses he found half an hour later.
,,Their death is recent. So, that means my prey came by here not too long ago. Good, let them fear the hunt.” He let out a howl that echoed throughout the entire prison.
,,I am coming, prepare to die.”