Beneath the Surface IX

I look at him with pity for a moment before I remember how we ended up here as I remove my mask so he can see my face clearly.

"You know... For a piece of sewer scum... You reminded me of something important." I say, as I feel my rage settle around me as I have a heart-to-heart with my soon-to-be victim.

"Hut ish hat?" Creep mumbles in fear as he stops clawing at my hand.

"Nothing groundbreaking, just that there are two things in both this life and my last that sicken me to my core... That being rapists, and child abusers... Unfortunately, in my last life I was... Ugh!" I start trying to remember my past life before a terrible headache assults my mind as I almost let my grip slip on the target of my anger.

"Sorry, where was I? Ah, yes, I was too weak in my last life to do anything about it, I could only bite my tongue and watch the sick, degenerate bastards get away with all of it... But now? Now I have the power to stop you, to stop all of you!" I begin to shout at Creep as I feel my free hand start to shift into a piercing claw and a deranged look enters my now golden eyes.

"Onster! Ur a onster! Guk!" Creep starts to shout as I drive my claw into his chest ripping out his heart and devouring it before his eyes.

"Yes... I am a monster, the monster that's going to devour all the scum of this world and cleanse it from the face of Nirn." I say with a mad gleam of determination as I feel my left arm pulsing lightly before I shake my head and process what I had just done as I drop Creep's lifeless corpse to the ground.

"W-what... Have I done? Why..." I look at disbelief what I had done as I see a cheese wheel roll beside me with a familiar face seared into its side.

"Now that's what I call some bloody entertainment! Such a wonderfully entertaining mutt! Thanks for the laughs, your seeds of madness are simply delectable! Keep it up, Fido!" The cheese wheel seared with the face of Sheogorath says with delight before it turns as if talking to someone behind him.

"What? No, I don't like him more than you..." Sheogorath retorts to the unseen person.

"Hey, you're still my favorite dead, deranged monarch!" Sheogorath reassures the shapeless figure which I assume to be Pelagius.

"Of course I'm telling the... Oops, left the cheese on again, toodels." Sheogorath exclaims before disappeading from the cheese wheel as it falls over on its side.

"Um... The fuck just happened... Did I seriously just eat a man's heart?" I think to myself as I ruminate on what just happened, I toss Creep's body into a loose sewer grate, letting it drift away as I use a water skin to wash the blood off my face and hands.

Still processing my 'minor' mental snap, I return to the group after putting my face mask back on, when M'rissi comes up to me.

"I-Is the kinkiller..." M'rissi starts to ask, going quiet as she sniffs the air around me before locking eyes with me and nodding silently as Inigo also looks at me.

"Well, I think it is best we get out of this dank, smelly place." Inigo says with a cheery smile and a clap of his hands as he takes the lead of our little group.

Handing off the unconscious girl to me, who I reposition to carry on my back as we make our way out of the warrens and back into the Ragged Flagon, where Brynjolf calls out to me.

"Hey, Lad, I got-... Why do you have a child on your back?" Byrnjolf asks as he gives me a weird look.

"Do not worry, Brynjolf. This is actually very normal for him, how many children have you adopted now? 8? 9? Have you finally hit double digits my friend?" Inigo says teasingly as I give him a glare and Brynjolf chuckle.

"Hahaha, Don't worry lad, some of us old cut purses still have a heart. But, I was going to say, we've got an important job in Solitude that I thought you might be perfect for; if you're up for it?" Byrnjolf says, while holding up a paper with the details of the Solitude job.

"Of course, some one has to do something to improve the Guild's name." I say with a smirk beneath my mask as I free a hand to grab the paper and place it in my pouch before leaving to go find my face sculpter.

"Aye, lad. Someone has to take the load off my weary bones." Byrnjolf says in return as he waves at my back as we go and collect Galathil.

I see the bosmer woman standing outside her little nook, a small rucksack on her back as she is patiently awaiting my return.

"So, you're ready to get out of here?" I ask her as she turns to me.

"More than ready... Why is there a child and two old men with you?" Galathil asks giving me the same weird look Byrnjolf had just moments ago making Inigo and M'rissi exchange a look before quietly snickering to themselves.

"Consider it a charity case, helping them get out of here as well. Now, you going to come along or do you want to spend the rest of the night in here?" I ask her, trying to move our growing group along.

"Of course, just need to stop by the inn on our way out of town to say good bye to a friend, if that's alright?" Galathil asks hopefully.

I'm then reminded of the recruiting notice for Helgan I was also supposed to be doing while I was here, "Sure thing, it would be best to have a nice warm meal before hitting the road."

I say with a smile as we head out of the Rat Way and up to the streets of Riften before settling in for a meal in the inn as I ask around about the recruiting notice Patsy had sent out.