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]

A short one. Enjoy!





That night, Aran returned. When he arrived, he found an unexpected scene. Pots, plates and cutlery were littered all over the small cabin. At the table, the Bosmer he’d brought in was stuffing herself full with what looked like enough food to feed a whole garrison of Legionnaires. Erinus rushed over to him when he clutched his head.
,,Aran! What did you get yourself into?” She chided the Dunmer. He waved off her attempts to help.
,,There’s nothing wrong with me. I just tried to keep up with Ghorak in drinking. Bad idea.” He grumbled. Rajn snickered.
,,Enough is enough. Don’t overdo it.” She joked.
,,Look who’s talking. This must be like your fifth serving. Finish it up already.” Erinus chided the girl as well.

Aran took the healer by the arm and led her outside.
,,About the payment.” He began but Erinus interrupted him before he could finish his obvious question.
,,Don’t worry, I know you don’t have any money. It’s fine, even though she just managed to go through a week worth of food. I’ll have to turn over each coin twice, but I’ll manage.” She told him. Without making any more futile attempts at talking, the Dunmer simply pulled out the pouch containing a thousand septims and pressed it into her hand.
,,Here.” He said.

The woman didn’t dare to open it, afraid that the illusion would be shattered. The hard coins in her hands felt real, very real.
,,Aran, how can I ever thank you?” She asked with tears of joy in her eyes.
,,Don’t thank me. This is the payment Ghorak owes you. He also insisted on giving you a weekly bonus for outstanding service quality. In other words, he found a way to sneak past that stupid law. Now let’s go in, it’s cold outside.”

,,Done! I’ll do the dishes!” Rajn exclaimed and was about to jump out of her seat when Erinus pushed her back down.
,,No walking for you yet. I don’t want you to trip and break everything. Now get back in the bed.” She ordered the Bosmer and then turned back to her old friend.
,,Would you mind?” She asked, gesturing towards the sink. Aran shrugged.
,,There is more to life than war. I’ll help you with cleaning the dishes.” He answered the unspoken question.
,,Good, I’ll stuff the vegetables first. Turns out our little lady here is a religious carnivore.”

Deep in the night, a coach arrived at the gates.
,,Please open! It is Mannimarco!” A voice shouted. Out of sight, sitting on a large suitcase, a slumbering shadow woke up. He dropped from the coach and clung to its underside. The gates opened and the coach entered the city, carrying an unwelcome guest.
,,Now, let’s find that man. We’ll see what this is all about.”

Ra’trith let go of the coach and rolled over the street till he reached a dark alley where he pressed himself against the wall. He checked his surroundings for any potential witnesses before ascending the wall towards the roof. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, he made his way to the Plaza district. There, he gazed over the roof’s edge in the hope of seeing his target. There he was, a Redguard with hair as white as snow, a body bent over with age and a robe that had seen its better days.

The Khajiit resisted his urge to kill the man. First, he needed to assess the safety of this place. He looked at every roof, every shadow, every window. Nothing, no one was there.
,,This can’t be. It has to be a trap so why isn’t there one? No matter, then I’ll just kill him here and now.” He thought and licked his teeth. He moved across the roof till he was directly above the Redguard. Then, he dropped down. His claws shone in the moonlight, his eyes were blazing with a thirst for blood that knew no bounds.