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'll try to get the Elder scroll part done tonight though I can't make any promises. Till then though, enjoy this little update.





Most of their walk through the palace was done in silence. Aran didn’t feel like talking, Marsh was too focussed on the paper and the preparation of his spells in case something went wrong and Rajn, she soon stopped talking when no one replied. That was till she suddenly held up her hand to stop the two men. It had been ten minutes since they last saw someone else walking the corridors.
,,Just beyond the corner is the door you need. There are two guards……..not human.” She whispered nervously. She still remembered their encounter with the demons in the sewers. She did not feel good at the thought of having to meet them again.

Marsh leaned against the wall, his eyes closed. It appeared that he’d fallen asleep while in reality, he was thinking. He knew a spell that could take them out but as he’d found out before, it would mean his death and alert everything else about their presence. There had to be another way.
,,Their disguised form is smaller than their true form. As such, it is more than just an optical illusion. This is more like…….shapeshifting. There is a very good possibility that while disguised as a human, they have all of a human’s weaknesses. That makes them killable.” He mumbled, more to himself than to the others. His eyes opened and he looked up.
,,Rajn goes in and distracts them. Then while they’re distracted, Aran and I take them out before they can revert to their true form.” He explained and focussed his gaze upon the Dunmer.
,,Or do you object to the danger I’m putting her in?” He asked. Aran frowned heavily but in the end, he nodded.
,,Fine, that’s how we do it.”

Marsh nodded as well.
,,Good, now get going.” He ordered, forming his hands into a cup and beginning his spell. Rajn sputtered for a bit, claiming she had no idea how to distract them but a grey hand shoved her into the guard’s sight. Instantly, two pairs of eyes were levelled upon her. Taking a deep breath, the Bosmer walked up to them.
,,Hi, is this the way to the bathroom?” She asked with the most innocent voice she could muster. The two guards looked at each other in a confused way and then turned their heads back to her.
,,No, it’s not. Now go away, you’re not supposed to be here.” One of them barked.

,,Ah, but I really need a bathroom now! Can’t you at least tell me where to find one?” Rajn squeeled. By now, the two demons were feeling rather awkward. Under normal circumstances, they’d simply kill the Bosmer and forget about it but these were not normal circumstances. They’d been ordered not to kill unless there was absolutely no other way to protect the door they guarded. Showing a great deal of reluctance, the guard who’d spoken lowered himself down to her height.
,,Look, you go back the way you came till you reach the stairs going down. Go down one floor and take the first passage on…..”

Marsh and the Dunmer nodded to each other. Both leaped out from behind the corner.
,,Heyat!” One of the Argonian’s scorching light spells flashed across the distance, curving around the Bosmer before plunging into the crouching guard’s face. He was thrown back by the impact and clawed at the steaming mass. His body began to shift, growing and losing all signs of humanity. When the shapeshifting had ended, he was in his demonic form, minus the head which had already been burned away by the spell before the transformation could be completed.

Even as Marsh’s spell struck the first guard, Aran had thrown his spear at the other. This guard brought up his shield to protect himself from the shaft which was quite lethal if it hit him with that speed. The spear bounced off the shield and the guard brought his hand down to the hilt of his sword. Before he had a chance to draw though, Aran was already on top of him. The Dunmer lodged the nose of his boot under his foe’s chin while his hand picked up the spear. As the guard’s head snapped back from the hit, the blunt end of the spear slammed down on his now exposed windpipe, crushing this vital supply line of fresh air. He too shifted back to his demonic form during his death throes.

Far away, in the Imperial throne room, the Emperor looked up from the report he’d been reading. He looked towards the guard standing next to his throne and nodded. Without a word, the Blade left the throne room, moving towards a destination only the Emperor and he knew. The Emperor returned to his report, though his face was now etched with worry.
,,The Elder scrolls. They’re trying to get the Elder scrolls. But how, how did they manage to defeat the guards?” His frown grew deeper.
,,It must be that mage who destroyed one of my minions in the sewers. He might turn out to be a threat of great priority.”

Looking down on the two corpses, Marsh brushed a speck of dust from his robe.
,,It appears that my theory was correct.” He spoke as if he’d never doubted it.
,,But how do we open the door? They don’t have a key.” He continued, his illusion of confidence fading. He still had the key Ria Silmane gave him, but that one was too big to fit in the keyhole.
,,I’ve got a key! Snatched it from that guard outside the building.” Rajn spoke up and proudly presented her treasure.
,,That won’t work. Only a fool would give the key to this place to a simple guard standing outside. Do you have any better ideas?” Marsh answered.

,,You’re the mage here. Don’t you know a spell to open the door?” Aran raised his voice slightly to catch all attention.
,,No, unfortunately I don’t have a spell for every situation. I usually talk my way inside.” The Argonian replied, leaning against the door as he thought over their situation.
,,Move aside.” Marsh stumbled when Rajn pushed him away from the door and peered into the lock. He looked at the Dunmer who simply shrugged. Aran also had no idea of what her latest plan would be. They both looked on in silence as the girl removed the clasp out of her hair and flipped it upside down. Stacked into neat row, a dozen metal straws became visible, embedded into several grooves that had been carved into the clasp.

,,It’s a Bosmeri thing. Any article of clothing must have at least one pick stored somewhere.” Rajn explained to her public and choose one of the picks.
,,This one should fit.” For a few long minutes, she moved the pick around inside the lock which made faint clicking sounds. Finally, there was a click louder than the others and the door opened on its well-oiled hinges.
,,Gentleman, lady, I present to you, the Imperial library.” Marsh whispered and was the first to enter.