Eternal
Nothing like trial by fire, if Ulivik thinks he can handle it, he’ll learn soon enough.
“Kenneth just give us whatever job pays the most currently right now.” You say.
“Oh okay then, that’s easy. There’s a troll somewhere south of here near the old Empire border. Dunno exactly where he’s making his home, I’m guess there’s a hole in the ground somewhere though, anyway it’s been eating a lot of travelers and merchants on the roads whenever it’s feeling a little hungry. It’s only just arrived, but it’s hurting business and for some reason none of these fucking cowards will go and kill it!” Kenneth shouts so everyone in the bar can hear him.
“A troll? Where the hell did he come from? They’re rare enough as it is, and even less likely to wander around above ground.” You remark.
“I have no idea, but it’s ruining business. So are you going to take the job?”
“Yeah sure, should be interesting.” You say.
You and Ulivik get up and leave who looks less enthusiastic now.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Oh uh, nothing. Just didn’t expect it would be a troll. You only hear about them in stories.”
“Yeah, well this ain’t no story and they’re quite real. I should know I’ve fought one before when I was serving as a soldier here. Damn thing blended in the darkness of the cave and took out three men before we even knew what was going on. Now it’s a common misconception that you can only kill them with fire, but that’s probably the best way to kill ‘em anyway given how tough their skin is, let alone their regenerative abilities…”
At this point Ulivik begins to look pale, an amazing feat for a dark elf. You address the situation before continuing.
“Okay and I can tell by your look, you’re having second thoughts about all this. If you want to back out, there’s still time you know. Do you want to back out?”
Ulivik’s silence isn’t an answer.
“Look, you better tell me now because when we’re facing nine feet of green and black horror I don’t want to be having to pull your fat out of the fire because you’re freezing up in terror.”
“I’m not backing out and I won’t freeze up!” he exclaims.
“Okay then, come on we need to get a few extra supplies.”
Ulivik’s answer doesn’t exactly convince you that he still isn’t scared about all this, but sometimes fear can be a good thing. Keeps you on your toes. Besides one would have to be a complete moron to not be a little worried about facing a troll. The only time you faced one, wasn’t exactly a picnic and you had the advantage of numbers on your side. Normally you don’t waste your money on things like explosives, but you make an exception and buy a couple of firebombs along with some oil flasks, torches and a whetstone to make sure your sword is extra sharp.
Along the way to your destination, you tell Ulivik how he should approach fighting the thing and whatever he does to not let it corner him or get the drop on him. If either one happens he’s dead. You also tell him that unlike an ogre or a giant, trolls are a lot faster and sneakier than their size would indicate.
You travel for about a good portion of the day on your way towards the southern Rask border. You stick to the road since you figure if the troll has been ambushing merchants and travelers, he’s got to be stalking the road. When night comes you make a camp along side of it, but there still is no sign of any troll yet.
“Hey you said these things don’t usually come out from underground?” Ulivik asks.
“Well the one I encountered was living in a cave that was being mined, and all the other stories I’ve heard and you’ve probably heard is that they’re completely subterranean. Whatever the truth is, this one has been lurking above ground and out in the open, so maybe they just don’t like sunlight. Probably has a home somewhere nearby, but there aren’t any hills or mountains in this part of Rask, just forest. Could be living in there I suppose, but I’m betting he’s probably got a hidden entrance in the ground somewhere and he’s living right underneath us.”
This of course causes Ulivik to start looking at the ground around him.
“How do we know it’ll even show up?”
“We don’t, but if it’s been attacking people like Kenneth says it has, then us lingering around the road will probably draw its attention. Of course there’s no point in sitting around and using up all our energy by staying up all night. We’ll be taking shifts. You seem to be alert already so you’re taking first watch while I get a little rest.”
When you close your eyes you begin to slowly drift off, though you’ve always been sort of a light sleeper, so you never really fall into a deep sleep. What wakes you up completely is a sickening cracking sound and heavy breathing.
You stand up with your sword in hand and you’re just in time to see a large gangly figure with its hands around Ulivik’s head which is now completely backwards. He didn’t even have a chance. Seeing you, the troll emits a low growl and drops Ulivik’s body. The troll lurches and leaps about in a chaotic manner. It tries to circle you in such a way that it’ll be behind you, but you don’t allow that to happen. Eventually it gets frustrated and attacks you head on.
Fighting the troll is harder than the last time you fought one before and not just due to the fact that you had back up. The open space of the outside world is actually more beneficial for the troll’s fighting style which is jerky and involves a lot of leaping around. Many times the creature manages to smash you with its hardened fists due to its extended reach alone. Feels like getting hit by fucking battering ram.
Your own hits against it don’t seem to do anything, except the one time when you actually manage to cleave one of the troll’s legs off just below the knee. This doesn’t deter its attack though. It merely backs off long enough for it to change its fighting style. It comes at you on all fours (or rather threes in this case). During this time you’ve taken the opportunity to light up one of the firebombs to throw at the thing, but by the time you light it, it’s already upon you and knocked you down. Pinnining you to the ground as best it can, the troll punches you in the face, breaking your nose to a point where it practically explodes into a mess of blood. You gasps for air as it follows up by sinking its teeth deep into your sword arm. The sound of bone cracking is a sure sign that it won’t be long before the troll chews it off completely.
In the meantime the firebomb you lit fell close by and its fuse is still burning down. Somehow between your eyes covered in blood, the difficulty breathing and the pain wracking your entire body while a troll is eating you alive, you manage to grab the firebomb with your good arm and hold it right near the troll’s head.
You get a minor satisfaction at the troll’s expression when he sees the bomb just before it goes off, blowing the pair of you up.
“Kenneth just give us whatever job pays the most currently right now.” You say.
“Oh okay then, that’s easy. There’s a troll somewhere south of here near the old Empire border. Dunno exactly where he’s making his home, I’m guess there’s a hole in the ground somewhere though, anyway it’s been eating a lot of travelers and merchants on the roads whenever it’s feeling a little hungry. It’s only just arrived, but it’s hurting business and for some reason none of these fucking cowards will go and kill it!” Kenneth shouts so everyone in the bar can hear him.
“A troll? Where the hell did he come from? They’re rare enough as it is, and even less likely to wander around above ground.” You remark.
“I have no idea, but it’s ruining business. So are you going to take the job?”
“Yeah sure, should be interesting.” You say.
You and Ulivik get up and leave who looks less enthusiastic now.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Oh uh, nothing. Just didn’t expect it would be a troll. You only hear about them in stories.”
“Yeah, well this ain’t no story and they’re quite real. I should know I’ve fought one before when I was serving as a soldier here. Damn thing blended in the darkness of the cave and took out three men before we even knew what was going on. Now it’s a common misconception that you can only kill them with fire, but that’s probably the best way to kill ‘em anyway given how tough their skin is, let alone their regenerative abilities…”
At this point Ulivik begins to look pale, an amazing feat for a dark elf. You address the situation before continuing.
“Okay and I can tell by your look, you’re having second thoughts about all this. If you want to back out, there’s still time you know. Do you want to back out?”
Ulivik’s silence isn’t an answer.
“Look, you better tell me now because when we’re facing nine feet of green and black horror I don’t want to be having to pull your fat out of the fire because you’re freezing up in terror.”
“I’m not backing out and I won’t freeze up!” he exclaims.
“Okay then, come on we need to get a few extra supplies.”
Ulivik’s answer doesn’t exactly convince you that he still isn’t scared about all this, but sometimes fear can be a good thing. Keeps you on your toes. Besides one would have to be a complete moron to not be a little worried about facing a troll. The only time you faced one, wasn’t exactly a picnic and you had the advantage of numbers on your side. Normally you don’t waste your money on things like explosives, but you make an exception and buy a couple of firebombs along with some oil flasks, torches and a whetstone to make sure your sword is extra sharp.
Along the way to your destination, you tell Ulivik how he should approach fighting the thing and whatever he does to not let it corner him or get the drop on him. If either one happens he’s dead. You also tell him that unlike an ogre or a giant, trolls are a lot faster and sneakier than their size would indicate.
You travel for about a good portion of the day on your way towards the southern Rask border. You stick to the road since you figure if the troll has been ambushing merchants and travelers, he’s got to be stalking the road. When night comes you make a camp along side of it, but there still is no sign of any troll yet.
“Hey you said these things don’t usually come out from underground?” Ulivik asks.
“Well the one I encountered was living in a cave that was being mined, and all the other stories I’ve heard and you’ve probably heard is that they’re completely subterranean. Whatever the truth is, this one has been lurking above ground and out in the open, so maybe they just don’t like sunlight. Probably has a home somewhere nearby, but there aren’t any hills or mountains in this part of Rask, just forest. Could be living in there I suppose, but I’m betting he’s probably got a hidden entrance in the ground somewhere and he’s living right underneath us.”
This of course causes Ulivik to start looking at the ground around him.
“How do we know it’ll even show up?”
“We don’t, but if it’s been attacking people like Kenneth says it has, then us lingering around the road will probably draw its attention. Of course there’s no point in sitting around and using up all our energy by staying up all night. We’ll be taking shifts. You seem to be alert already so you’re taking first watch while I get a little rest.”
When you close your eyes you begin to slowly drift off, though you’ve always been sort of a light sleeper, so you never really fall into a deep sleep. What wakes you up completely is a sickening cracking sound and heavy breathing.
You stand up with your sword in hand and you’re just in time to see a large gangly figure with its hands around Ulivik’s head which is now completely backwards. He didn’t even have a chance. Seeing you, the troll emits a low growl and drops Ulivik’s body. The troll lurches and leaps about in a chaotic manner. It tries to circle you in such a way that it’ll be behind you, but you don’t allow that to happen. Eventually it gets frustrated and attacks you head on.
Fighting the troll is harder than the last time you fought one before and not just due to the fact that you had back up. The open space of the outside world is actually more beneficial for the troll’s fighting style which is jerky and involves a lot of leaping around. Many times the creature manages to smash you with its hardened fists due to its extended reach alone. Feels like getting hit by fucking battering ram.
Your own hits against it don’t seem to do anything, except the one time when you actually manage to cleave one of the troll’s legs off just below the knee. This doesn’t deter its attack though. It merely backs off long enough for it to change its fighting style. It comes at you on all fours (or rather threes in this case). During this time you’ve taken the opportunity to light up one of the firebombs to throw at the thing, but by the time you light it, it’s already upon you and knocked you down. Pinnining you to the ground as best it can, the troll punches you in the face, breaking your nose to a point where it practically explodes into a mess of blood. You gasps for air as it follows up by sinking its teeth deep into your sword arm. The sound of bone cracking is a sure sign that it won’t be long before the troll chews it off completely.
In the meantime the firebomb you lit fell close by and its fuse is still burning down. Somehow between your eyes covered in blood, the difficulty breathing and the pain wracking your entire body while a troll is eating you alive, you manage to grab the firebomb with your good arm and hold it right near the troll’s head.
You get a minor satisfaction at the troll’s expression when he sees the bomb just before it goes off, blowing the pair of you up.
