Chapter 3A1: Bane of Rask


Year 45

"Bastard!" you say landing a killing blow on the last auravrax.

You do a double check of the cave just to make sure you've got all the beasts. It's times like this you're reminded of your kobold hunting days. Of course auravraxes are a lot furrier and stupider. Doesn't make them any less dangerous though considering they're basically balls of hair with lots of teeth and a vicious streak a mile wide. You wonder how it was you never encountered them before when you were posted up here. You can only assume that the larger creatures like ogres and wendigos kept them in check. Thanks to your depletion of such creatures other predators managed to gain better dominance. Nature is wonderful at balancing things out that way.

After making a check you pile up the bodies and start skinning. You figure between the payment for this job and the sale you'll make on the pelts you'll have enough money for at least of week's worth of wine, women and song.

"Nah, to hell with the song. More women." You chuckle to yourself.

Thoughts about such "common" pleasures would've never entered your head decades ago. Makes you realize how much you're changed since then, but it's a good change you think. For the first time, you've actually been enjoying life rather than just going through the motions of it like a golem. Life is so much simpler and easier when you don't have anyone to answer to; especially when that "someone" doesn't even know what the fuck they're doing half of the time. Life of course still has its bad moments, but compared to your time serving the Empire, it's like a non-stop party.

The Empire, now just another government resigned to the trash heap of history. All of its years of power and whatever glory it claimed it had completely gone. And of course much like Mother Nature, the smaller predators get to take their chance in the sun now that the big one is extinct. One of those smaller predators being one your old fellow Eternals, Edgar.

You don't know all the details, but from the rumors you've heard he's declared himself a general and is calling the territory in his control, The Eternal Dominion. He apparently managed to get some of those chaotic eternal wannabes in some semblance of order to help him as well. When you first heard about this you could only shake your head in disappointment. Not even so much for what he's doing, but more with how he's doing it. It's almost like he's going down the same path that Kane did, but with even less planning and followers that are probably more duplicitous than Shadow Guards. You'd think that he would've learned something from that mess.

Still, it's his life and you have yours. You stop reminiscing about the past and concentrate on skinning the auravraxes. When you're finished you cook up one of them to eat and then get some sleep. The next day you set off to Keplavisk with your furs.

When you get to Keplavisk, the usual people acknowledge you. Some are friendly, some aren't, and others with longer memories hate your guts for your action when you were trying to maintain order here a long time ago. Just one of the things you have to put up with, after all you still have your reputation of being…

"Bane of Rask! Bane of Rask! Hey wait up!" Ulivik yells.
"(Sigh) Boy, I told you to stop calling me by that ridiculous name. In fact I told you to stop following me period!"
"Sorry, Mr. Bane. Hey are those auravrax furs? Did you kill all of them? I bet you just went in and totally destroyed them without fear!" Ulivik says while making sword whooshing sounds.

You roll your eyes at the teenager's over enthusiasm and resign yourself to him following you while you head to the town hall. For whatever reason he sees you as some sort of brave "hero" though you wish he wouldn't. You can't get too mad at him though, not his fault he's a dark elf brought up by humans. There's got to be a lot of confusion going on there.

You mostly ignore Ulivik's incessant questioning until you get to the town hall where upon his guard run him off with racial slurs and threats. You enter the building and see the mayor. Mayor Stundle is sitting his fat ass at his desk doing nothing of any importance as usual.

"Ah Mr. Bane, I can see by the numerous pelts you're carrying that you've taken care of the problem, I knew you would. That's why you're the best merc in the Confederation. Your payment is on the desk there."
"Good, and my name isn't Bane you know. I keep telling people that."
"Indeed it may not be, but that's what everyone knows you as. Can't fight fame or maybe in your case infamy. Heh heh."
"Yeah, anyway I showed you the proof, I've got some furs to sell."
"Got a special job for you if you want."
"Maybe later, I'm going to enjoy myself."
"Okay, but I can't promise you it'll be available when you get back."

As you leave Mayor Stundle's office, Flog is just entering with several ogre scalps. He displays his obvious dislike of you as usual. As thorough as you were when you destroyed Fort Defiance, Flog survived because he did the smart thing of running away and hiding as soon as he saw your army approaching.

"Outta da way Bane, Flog has to see fat mayor!"
"He's all yours." You remark not really wanting to deal with his attitude today, of course in typical orc fashion, Flog feels the need to press the issue. He sees the auravrax furs and makes his move.
"Gruh. You kill little furry things. Flog kill big ogres! More proof that Flog better merc than you!"
"Sure Flog, whatever." You say dismissively which of course annoys Flog even more.
"Flog gonna kill you one day Bane!" he shouts as you walk away.
"Sure Flog, whenever you're ready." You say almost yawning. Another time and place you would've killed him for speaking to you in such a manner, but over the years you've mellowed with age. Besides he's been threatening to kill you for the last eight years. The first few times you took him seriously. Now it's just boring. If he really ever wants to try he knows where to find you, not like you're hiding.

After selling your furs you make you take your money to the closest tavern where you proceed to make good on your claim of relaxing. After a couple days of carousing you're lying in bed with a couple of serving wenches and you decide that you should probably get back to work. No point in waiting around until all your coin is gone, you've had your fun now its time to get back to what you're really good at, killing stuff. You tell the girls in your room to leave and get prepared to go find some more work.

You've barely stepped out of the inn and Ulivik has already found you and nearly gets himself stabbed for sneaking up on you.

"Hey Mr. Bane, it's just me!" he says with a worried tone.
"Boy, didn't I tell you to never sneak up on me like that? I could've killed you and I doubt if anyone would've blamed me for it!" you shout
"Sorry, Mr. Bane. Hey are you going on another mission?"
"What do you think?"
"I think you are! But Mayor Stundle already gave out all of the jobs, you'll probably have to go to another town."
"And how do you know this?"
"Because I tried to sign up, but I got thrown out of the town hall and called names."
"Sounds about right, but how did you get in there in the first place?"
"I snuck in. I think I'm getting really good at it!"
"Hmm, sounds like your svelk heritage is finally paying off." You say.
"Svelk?" Ulivik asks as if you've spoken a made up word.
"Svelk, you know it's the proper name for you dark elves, you mean you've never heard the term?"
"No, I've been called a dark elf before, but I mostly get called a lot of other names."
"Well life's tough kid, now you go run along…"
"Hey why don't I come with you on your next mission!?"

And there it is. You knew the day was coming where he'd start asking you to bring him with you.

"Yeah, no. I work alone."
"Aw come on! I need the experience! I try to sign up for even the easy jobs and I get thrown out! I've even tried going door to door asking if there are any monsters they need killing and they usually just say, yeah the one standing front of me! Then they slam the door in my face! It's not fair!"
"Why do you want to be a merc anyway? I mean I know you've got a family that takes care of you. They must, if they were willing to take on the ostracizing that would come in raising a dark elf baby."
"They do and I know they love me, but working as a hide tanner is boring! I want to be a mercenary and live a life of adventure! I mean I've heard stories of how my race is composed of nothing but mercenaries! Just think, a long proud line of brave ancestors that lived a glorious life of excitement! I should be as noble as them!"

You almost laugh when hearing how Ulivik has spoken of his race. He truly is out of touch as there is absolutely nothing glorious, proud or noble about them. Even brave is debatable most of the time.

"Ulivik, if you really want to be a merc, why not just go to Kenneth's Rest? He doesn't give a shit who he hires. Hell, he hires dark elves on a regular basis."
"I would, but uh, I'm not allowed to leave the town…but I know if you were with me, my parents would let me go! So can I please come with you?!"

This scenario is just so bizarre; you hardly believe that it's happening, a dark elf practically begging you to teach him to be a mercenary. The crazy thing about all this is you're actually considering it. You must finally be suffering from some of the blows you've taken to the head in the past. It's the only explanation.

You ulivik (Outcast)

Ulivik is a strange young man. First of all he's a svelk that had been abandoned as a baby, presumably by one of the many mercenaries that travel through the area. It's not uncommon for dark elf mothers to abandon their young if they are an "inconvenience", it is however less common for these babies to survive, let alone taken care of by others. Ulivik was that lucky rarity that a human couple that couldn't have any children of their own literally stumbled upon him in the woods.

Other than that, he hasn't exactly been all that lucky. Given the reputation of his kind, it's hardly surprising that he's practically run off or insulted everywhere he goes. How his adopted parent's business hasn't suffered is amazing, but it's a small enough town that people understand that the couple was trying for a child for a very long time and keep their dislike for the svelk youth to a minimum. Doesn't stop other youths from being complete bastards to him though.

Perhaps due to his outcast nature he's latched on to the idea of a mercenary life of being a glorious life of excitement and adventure. Naturally when he found out that you were one of the best mercenaries in the region, he attached himself to you almost immediately and whenever you're in town, he asks you a bunch of questions. Even getting hostile with him doesn't drive him away since he's so used to it, so nowadays you just resign yourself to the temporary annoyance.

He's sort of a good example of the whole nature vs. nurture nonsense you overheard some drunk philosopher babbling about in a local tavern once. You have to admit, sometimes you feel a little sorry for him, never thought you'd feel that way towards anyone, let alone a svelk.