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]

Ok, after our scene of breaking and entering. (little breaking, much entering.) It's time to switch to a scene with less action or tension.




The sight that greeted her was worthy of the Emperor himself. The room was the epitome of decadent luxury and decoration. Life-sized marble statues of past Emperors and heroes guarded the door leading to the bathroom as well as the door she came in through. Paintings and woven carpets showing scenes of Septim glory covered every bare part of the walls. A bed as large as her house back in Valenwood took up one side of the room, with small golden statues of Akatosh at each corner. Closets large enough to stand in were placed at either side of the bed. Finally, several chairs with soft pillows completed the interior.

Rajn looked at everything, both impressed and unnerved.
,,I don’t think I’ll get much sleep with all those eyes staring at me. Not to mention the heavy usage of wood. At least there is a window.” She concluded after her examination of the first room. With a slight hesitation, she turned the handle on the second door and looked into the bathroom. The exaggerated need for luxury was present here as well. The bath itself was a large bowl shaped out of blue glass, with a pair of copper tubes hanging over the edge. Rajn leaned over the edge and peered at her own reflection in the bowl. She also noticed a silver plug in the center.
,,Wow, I can swim in this thing. If there was any water in it.”

She stepped back and made a mental list of all the objects in the room, paying particular attention to those she could easily hide in her pockets. Before she had a chance to plan any thievery though, there was a polite knock at the door followed by said door opening. The Bosmer swiftly spun on her heels, her bow already out with an arrow on the string before she’d completed her turn. The servant dressed in his wide robe made a few trembling steps backwards till the wall prevented him from going any further. Clearly he’d never met a guest who was easily agitated. His eyes were wide with fear and he held up the greenish bundle in his hands as if it could protect him from the arrow.

Rajn held her bow out for a few more seconds just to show who was in charge before lowering it and easing her pressure on the string.
,,Next time, ask before you come in here.” She scolded him, showing delight in the power she held over the much taller person. The still shivering servant nodded a few times.
,,I had been charged with the duty of delivery.” He explained after his nerves had calmed down a bit. Rajn looked at the bundle in his hands and then picked it up. She unfolded it and found herself holding an incredibly light robe.

It was of a light green colour and while not transparent, it did allow some of the candlelight to pass through. In its design, it had some intricate weaving resembling various kinds of leaves and flowers.
,,Nice robe, but it’ll rip on the first treebranch.” She commented.

,,It’s a dress meant for indoors.” The servant corrected her and then looked over her shoulder at the bath.
,,Is there any way I can be of assistance during your endeavour into personal hygiene?” He asked humbly. Rajn blinked as she always did when she was confused. This time, there was no Lucius around to explain the weird choice of words. She had to look over her own shoulder before she knew what exactly he’d meant.
,,How about this? I would be most pleased……If you were willing…To move…..Ah, screw this! It’s like I’m trying to talk in a whole different language or something. Out, I want you to get out of here. It’s best to give a girl some privacy unless you want to gain a few holes in your body.”

The servant left faster than she’d expected, after putting a pair of shoes on the floor. Apparently, the language barrier only went one way. She turned to the bath again while still holding her new dress.
,,This is so annoying. It’s as if everyone wants to make sure I’m being watched all the time.” She frowned at her own remark. Half a second later, she had dropped underneath the sink, letting her fingers run over the wall.

Two hours later, she sat on the edge of the bowl and admired her handiwork. Half a dozen of tiny peepholes had been plugged with a towel she’d torn to pieces.
,,Finally, some privacy. Now for the next crisis. Where does the water come from?” Back in Valenwood, whenever she needed a bath, she would just empty a bucket over her head or jump into the nearest river, whatever was closer at the time. There were no buckets here and a river was slightly too big to fit in the room. After some long thinking, she concluded that the copper tubes had something to do with them. There was a little wheel on top of each tube.

She turned the left wheel out of curiosity. After a few seconds of burping sounds, a constant stream of water shot out of the tube and into the bath.
,,Wee! This is fun!” Rajn clapped her hands excitedly and then held a finger under the stream of water.
,,Ouch, hot!”

After some experimentation, she’d discovered that while the left tube spewed boiling water, the right tube brought cold water. From that point, it was a simple matter of mixing the two till she had the right temperature. While the bath was being filled with a steady stream of water, she had the time to give her dress a closer inspection.
,,Drat, I didn’t knew Lucius had been able to guess my size that accurately. It’s perfect. And just how did he manage to get the size of my feet right? Hmm, looks like he wants me to look like a noble now. That’s fine with me, makes it easier to blend in.” She reached out behind her head with a hand and pulled a clasp of bleached bone out of her hair.
,,Ok, then I guess I’ll wear the dress, put on those little shoes and maybe I should try to tie my hair into a ponytail or something. I should include my clasp though, I can’t live without it.”

Once the bath was filled, she played around for a while with the countless bottles of perfume she’d found during her hunt for the peepholes before finally stepping into the bowl.


Two floors lower and on the other side of the tower, Marsh sat in his own room, reading a book. There was a knock on his door and when he looked up, the servant he’d hired to do some spying stood in the doorway.
,,And?” The Argonian simply asked.
,,Lord, the Bosmer has retreated into a room. I lost sight of her then. She’s been quite thorough in blocking all the peepholes in the bathroom.” The servant reported, a bit annoyed at his inability to continue his observation. Marsh chuckled.
,,Well, I do suspect that she’s done her fair share of burglary in the past. It’s hard to sneak up on a thief. Well then, I guess I’ll just give you your payment then.” He spoke and brought out a pouch that rinkled heavily with coins. He slipped it into the servant’s hands who hid it under his robe.
,,Oh, and one more thing. Could you be so kind and slip this letter under the door leading to her room?”




(No, I'm not going to write a bathing scene. Apart from the fact that nothing interesting would happen, I'm trying to keep the PG-rating down here. Though with all the brutal murders Ra'trith did earlier, I don't think there's much I can do to keep the rating down. I should bring back the furry killer again somewhere. )