Eternal
Ulivik might think he’s ready, but he’s definitely not. Killing auravraxes might be easy for you, but they’ll be more than enough for him to handle. Anything harder and he may very well be killed in the blink of an eye. Normally this would just be on the job training, but you were sort of paid to look after him for a while at least.
“Give us the auravrax nest job.” You say. Ulivik looks a little disappointed, but he doesn’t speak out of turn again. Kenneth proceeds to tell you exactly where the creatures have been spotted in large quantities and the pair of you are on your way.
Along the way, you tell Ulivik how he should approach fighting these things and how not to take them lightly as they can easily take an arm off or any other limb if you aren’t careful. He seems to understand the risk.
As you get closer to their nest, you begin to encounter the furry fiends. Ulivik slightly freezes up when they spot you and attack. You have to snap him out of it and take up the fighting slack.
“Come on kid, move in and attack! This is the moment of truth!” you shout. Fortunately, this motivates him to do just that. Of course after the fight, he’s got a very different view of things now. He’s out of breath, his heart is racing and he’s probably feeling a mix of excitement and fear, or perhaps just fear in his case.
“So, is it everything you expected it to be?” you ask.
“I…yeah, I mean no. I mean…(pant) that was intense.”
“Yeah, well it’s about to get even more intense, we’ve still got a whole bunch more to kill.”
The auravrax nest is another typical hole in the ground filled with them. Standard stuff for you, but its Ulivik’s true test. If he can make it through alive and in one piece, he might just have what it takes after all. You let him do most of the fighting, only intervening when it really looks like he’s going to get himself eaten or when you’re directly attacked. After he thinks he’s killed them all, you point out that he should double check the entire dwelling just in case.
“What? But we got ‘em all! I mean if any were still alive they would’ve attacked by now.”
“Not necessarily. A few of the smarter ones will actually find some place to hide and attack when you think you’re safe and let your guard down. Trust me, you better double check. It might be boring, but this is part of the job and you will do it if you want to stay alive. And while you’re at it bring the bodies of the dead ones back here for skinning. You always need proof and the furs usually fetch a good price. It’s a good way to earn extra money. Off your go, and if I hear any more whining from your apprenticeship is at an end and you truly will be on your own.”
Ulivik certainly doesn’t want that, so he obeys what you tell him to do. You can sort of tell his “hero worship” is already starting to wane a bit though, but that’s good. It’ll keep him grounded and show him that this isn’t some glorious profession that he thinks it is. You figure after about a week of this and he’ll probably be ready to go back to wanting to take up his dad’s business or at least considering it.
Eventually after all the double checking, skinning and some sleep you head back to Kenneth’s Rest.
“I know I asked you this earlier, but it bears repeating. Is it everything you thought it would be?”
“Some of it I suppose, I dunno it’s weird. Part of me almost wants to go back to take up my dad’s business.” He says, causing you to smile to yourself at being correct.
“Well if you want to get out, the best time to do it is when you’re ahead. If you’re going to stick with it though, I’m going to warn you, my combat training is only going to get tougher.”
“Tougher? But you saw me handle myself.”
“I saw you nearly get your head bitten off several times if I hadn’t been there to help. And if you think if I’m being mean, you have no idea what being mean really is. MY first training instructor was a sadistic svelk bitch and out of all the people I’ve ever met, she still ranks number one.”
“So is this why you agreed to train me? Some sort of revenge then?” Ulivik asks.
“Ha ha ha! Is that what you think? If I was going to hold grudges for something like that, I’d be bringing genocide to the svelk race. No, if anything she helped me survive and that’s what I’m trying to do for you, assuming you even want to pursue this path. I’d say you’d better decide what your priorities are between now and by the time we get our payment from Kenneth.”
Ulivik is silent for the rest of the way, makes for a nice change. Still, you are wondering if he’s going to let his steadily decreasing opinion of you change his mind about being a merc. Eventually you get back to Kenneth’s Rest which is busy as usual, you also run into another face you haven’t seen in a while, though you weren’t really missing it in the first place.
“Well if it isn’t the infamous Bane of Rask, heard you were around.” Eldolith remarks with her small group of svelk milling about behind her.
“Eldolith, I notice your little band of cutthroats is getting smaller and smaller. Keep this up and you’ll soon have no more warm bodies to hide behind and actually have to do the fighting yourself.”
“And I’ve heard you acquired yourself a new one. What’s wrong, human aging finally catching up with you at last Eternal? Is this him? A svelk? Hmmm he is very young, is he your pleasure boy?”
Before you can reply, Ulivik steps up and speaks.
“I am a mercenary, like you and the rest of our kind!”
This of course causes laughter among Edolith and her men.
“You? You’re no mercenary, let alone one of our kind following around a human like some harlot in heat. No, what you are is a poor mockery of what a svelk should be. Now be gone, your mere presence offends me.” Edolith says and turns her back on you both. Ulivik nearly takes the bait, but you intervene and hold him back from getting himself killed. Eldolith and the rest of her group laugh and head to the inn.
“Easy, there. Words nothing more. I’m sure you’ve heard worse when you were still working as a tanner.”
“Perhaps, but this is different! I’m a mercenary now, not some weakling tanner!”
“To most you’re still a snot nosed kid that doesn’t know shit and that would be a correct assessment, especially to a svelk. Now I’m sure harsh words from one of your own kind has filled you with a bruised ego, anger and disappointment, but if you try to challenge her, she’d cut you down before you even knew what was happening, as would any of her men.”
“We could take them together!”
“We? No, I might be able to take them. You on the other hand would get in my way and get yourself killed. Besides I am here to train you to become a mercenary, not be your personal avenger. Part of this training is learning when to pick your battles. Now I suggest you ignore her words for now, and let us get our payment from Kenneth. Money tends to cheer most up.”
Ulivik obeys and follows, then he asks an amusing question.
“Is she the svelk bitch you spoke of that trained you?”
“Ha ha, no not her. Eldolith pales in comparison. No, she’s just another arrogant svelk merc that likes to do a lot of posturing. She’s actually really insecure about her leadership position. Always has been, even when she was hired by the Empire decades ago, but those are stories for another time.”
You and Ulivik soon meet up with Kenneth who gives you your payment. This does cheer up Ulivik a little and soon he’s forgotten Eldolith’s insults. Predictably he spends most of his coin on some strumpet looking for an easy mark, she still gives him a good time though.
The next day, Ulivik’s training continues as it does for at least a year after which time you figure he’s ready to go out on his own. He’s still a little reckless for his own good, but you can sense he really does want to be independent. His hero worship of you is gone and he may even dislike you now, but the respect is still there as it always has been.
Part of you feels glad that the “job” is over with, but another part of you feels a sense of loss. As strange as it may seem, you started not minding Ulivik’s company. It’s been a long time since you’ve lead anybody into battle or otherwise. Ulivik may have only been one svelk trainee, but it still brought back memories of the “old days”. The old days, back when you had more of a purpose.
In some ways training Ulivik gave you a higher purpose than just killing for coin again. You also think back to Eldolith’s words about human aging. Sure they’re meaningless now, but how long can you truly keep up a mercenary life? You are definitely in better shape than most humans your age and barring violence you still probably have several years left, but the future is something you are starting to ponder about. Despite being an Eternal, you ARE still human, and from your own experience, being an Eternal does not make one immortal. Growing “old” is something you never considered, at one time you always figured you’d just die in battle one day. That day may still come, but even you have to admit that the prospect of dying in battle no longer holds the same “appeal” as it once did when you were in the service of the Empire.
At one time you also wondered what other skills you had besides killing. Now you see that you haven’t given yourself as much credit as you should have. You have decades of combat experience behind you, experience that you could easily pass on to others if they were willing to pay for the knowledge.
You begin to entertain the idea that maybe you should open up some sort of combat training school. The more you think about it, the more the idea appeals to you. You’re going to have to remain a mercenary for quite awhile still as you attempt to gain the coin to get such a place started, and probably still go on jobs even a little afterwards, but you feel like you have a true purpose again.
And so you set off with your new goal in mind…
“Give us the auravrax nest job.” You say. Ulivik looks a little disappointed, but he doesn’t speak out of turn again. Kenneth proceeds to tell you exactly where the creatures have been spotted in large quantities and the pair of you are on your way.
Along the way, you tell Ulivik how he should approach fighting these things and how not to take them lightly as they can easily take an arm off or any other limb if you aren’t careful. He seems to understand the risk.
As you get closer to their nest, you begin to encounter the furry fiends. Ulivik slightly freezes up when they spot you and attack. You have to snap him out of it and take up the fighting slack.
“Come on kid, move in and attack! This is the moment of truth!” you shout. Fortunately, this motivates him to do just that. Of course after the fight, he’s got a very different view of things now. He’s out of breath, his heart is racing and he’s probably feeling a mix of excitement and fear, or perhaps just fear in his case.
“So, is it everything you expected it to be?” you ask.
“I…yeah, I mean no. I mean…(pant) that was intense.”
“Yeah, well it’s about to get even more intense, we’ve still got a whole bunch more to kill.”
The auravrax nest is another typical hole in the ground filled with them. Standard stuff for you, but its Ulivik’s true test. If he can make it through alive and in one piece, he might just have what it takes after all. You let him do most of the fighting, only intervening when it really looks like he’s going to get himself eaten or when you’re directly attacked. After he thinks he’s killed them all, you point out that he should double check the entire dwelling just in case.
“What? But we got ‘em all! I mean if any were still alive they would’ve attacked by now.”
“Not necessarily. A few of the smarter ones will actually find some place to hide and attack when you think you’re safe and let your guard down. Trust me, you better double check. It might be boring, but this is part of the job and you will do it if you want to stay alive. And while you’re at it bring the bodies of the dead ones back here for skinning. You always need proof and the furs usually fetch a good price. It’s a good way to earn extra money. Off your go, and if I hear any more whining from your apprenticeship is at an end and you truly will be on your own.”
Ulivik certainly doesn’t want that, so he obeys what you tell him to do. You can sort of tell his “hero worship” is already starting to wane a bit though, but that’s good. It’ll keep him grounded and show him that this isn’t some glorious profession that he thinks it is. You figure after about a week of this and he’ll probably be ready to go back to wanting to take up his dad’s business or at least considering it.
Eventually after all the double checking, skinning and some sleep you head back to Kenneth’s Rest.
“I know I asked you this earlier, but it bears repeating. Is it everything you thought it would be?”
“Some of it I suppose, I dunno it’s weird. Part of me almost wants to go back to take up my dad’s business.” He says, causing you to smile to yourself at being correct.
“Well if you want to get out, the best time to do it is when you’re ahead. If you’re going to stick with it though, I’m going to warn you, my combat training is only going to get tougher.”
“Tougher? But you saw me handle myself.”
“I saw you nearly get your head bitten off several times if I hadn’t been there to help. And if you think if I’m being mean, you have no idea what being mean really is. MY first training instructor was a sadistic svelk bitch and out of all the people I’ve ever met, she still ranks number one.”
“So is this why you agreed to train me? Some sort of revenge then?” Ulivik asks.
“Ha ha ha! Is that what you think? If I was going to hold grudges for something like that, I’d be bringing genocide to the svelk race. No, if anything she helped me survive and that’s what I’m trying to do for you, assuming you even want to pursue this path. I’d say you’d better decide what your priorities are between now and by the time we get our payment from Kenneth.”
Ulivik is silent for the rest of the way, makes for a nice change. Still, you are wondering if he’s going to let his steadily decreasing opinion of you change his mind about being a merc. Eventually you get back to Kenneth’s Rest which is busy as usual, you also run into another face you haven’t seen in a while, though you weren’t really missing it in the first place.
“Well if it isn’t the infamous Bane of Rask, heard you were around.” Eldolith remarks with her small group of svelk milling about behind her.
“Eldolith, I notice your little band of cutthroats is getting smaller and smaller. Keep this up and you’ll soon have no more warm bodies to hide behind and actually have to do the fighting yourself.”
“And I’ve heard you acquired yourself a new one. What’s wrong, human aging finally catching up with you at last Eternal? Is this him? A svelk? Hmmm he is very young, is he your pleasure boy?”
Before you can reply, Ulivik steps up and speaks.
“I am a mercenary, like you and the rest of our kind!”
This of course causes laughter among Edolith and her men.
“You? You’re no mercenary, let alone one of our kind following around a human like some harlot in heat. No, what you are is a poor mockery of what a svelk should be. Now be gone, your mere presence offends me.” Edolith says and turns her back on you both. Ulivik nearly takes the bait, but you intervene and hold him back from getting himself killed. Eldolith and the rest of her group laugh and head to the inn.
“Easy, there. Words nothing more. I’m sure you’ve heard worse when you were still working as a tanner.”
“Perhaps, but this is different! I’m a mercenary now, not some weakling tanner!”
“To most you’re still a snot nosed kid that doesn’t know shit and that would be a correct assessment, especially to a svelk. Now I’m sure harsh words from one of your own kind has filled you with a bruised ego, anger and disappointment, but if you try to challenge her, she’d cut you down before you even knew what was happening, as would any of her men.”
“We could take them together!”
“We? No, I might be able to take them. You on the other hand would get in my way and get yourself killed. Besides I am here to train you to become a mercenary, not be your personal avenger. Part of this training is learning when to pick your battles. Now I suggest you ignore her words for now, and let us get our payment from Kenneth. Money tends to cheer most up.”
Ulivik obeys and follows, then he asks an amusing question.
“Is she the svelk bitch you spoke of that trained you?”
“Ha ha, no not her. Eldolith pales in comparison. No, she’s just another arrogant svelk merc that likes to do a lot of posturing. She’s actually really insecure about her leadership position. Always has been, even when she was hired by the Empire decades ago, but those are stories for another time.”
You and Ulivik soon meet up with Kenneth who gives you your payment. This does cheer up Ulivik a little and soon he’s forgotten Eldolith’s insults. Predictably he spends most of his coin on some strumpet looking for an easy mark, she still gives him a good time though.
The next day, Ulivik’s training continues as it does for at least a year after which time you figure he’s ready to go out on his own. He’s still a little reckless for his own good, but you can sense he really does want to be independent. His hero worship of you is gone and he may even dislike you now, but the respect is still there as it always has been.
Part of you feels glad that the “job” is over with, but another part of you feels a sense of loss. As strange as it may seem, you started not minding Ulivik’s company. It’s been a long time since you’ve lead anybody into battle or otherwise. Ulivik may have only been one svelk trainee, but it still brought back memories of the “old days”. The old days, back when you had more of a purpose.
In some ways training Ulivik gave you a higher purpose than just killing for coin again. You also think back to Eldolith’s words about human aging. Sure they’re meaningless now, but how long can you truly keep up a mercenary life? You are definitely in better shape than most humans your age and barring violence you still probably have several years left, but the future is something you are starting to ponder about. Despite being an Eternal, you ARE still human, and from your own experience, being an Eternal does not make one immortal. Growing “old” is something you never considered, at one time you always figured you’d just die in battle one day. That day may still come, but even you have to admit that the prospect of dying in battle no longer holds the same “appeal” as it once did when you were in the service of the Empire.
At one time you also wondered what other skills you had besides killing. Now you see that you haven’t given yourself as much credit as you should have. You have decades of combat experience behind you, experience that you could easily pass on to others if they were willing to pay for the knowledge.
You begin to entertain the idea that maybe you should open up some sort of combat training school. The more you think about it, the more the idea appeals to you. You’re going to have to remain a mercenary for quite awhile still as you attempt to gain the coin to get such a place started, and probably still go on jobs even a little afterwards, but you feel like you have a true purpose again.
And so you set off with your new goal in mind…