text: You decide to humor the boy and agree. Chances are, he's not going to get permission from his parents anyway and when that happens he'll be less likely to bother you again. If he does get permission, well it's not that far to Kenneth's Rest and you were going there anyway. Plus you'll have given him the chance he wants and again he'll be less likely to bother you.
  
  "Alright Ulivik, you go ask your parents, but I'm taking you to Kenneth's Rest and no further. And when we get there, you're on your own, don't think that you're going to be tagging along with me anywhere else."
  "Okay! That's great! I'll be right be back... uh could you come with me, so they know I'm telling the truth?"
  "Oh fer... fine."
  
  You follow Ulivik back to his parent's store which smells heavily of leather. The pair of them are working on some sort of the hide when you both walk in.
  
  "Mom! Dad! Mr. Bane said he'd take me to Kenneth's Rest and teach me to be a mercenary! So can I go now?"
  "Hey wait I never said I'd teach... " you start to say before Ulivik's dad interjects his own comments.
  "Oh is that right? And how do you know that? How do you know he won't just rob and kill you along some lonely road?"
  "Or worse!" his mother says.
  "Hey wait a minute now... "
  "But this isn't fair! You said if I could find somebody to teach me, that you'd allow me to go!" Ulivik whines.
  "Yeah, well we didn't think you'd actually be successful, let alone get a cold hearted killer like Bane here to agree. Which makes me wonder why he did... "
  "Trust me, at this point I'm wondering the same thing." You reply.
  "Ulivik, why can't you just be interested in the family business? It's a more honorable profession than being a mercenary. It's honest work."
  "Yeah and the workin' man is a sucker! Look at where we live!"
  "Hey! We get by just fine, and this business has put food in your belly, clothes on your back and a roof over your head! So don't you dare bad mouth this proud family tradition!"
  "Yeah, well I'm not really your son anyway! And you're not my real parents! I hate this place and every here hates me!" Ulivik screams and leaves slamming the door.
  
  You're left in an awkward situation with his parents.
  
  "Okay, so I guess that settles that, I'll just be going now... " you say.
  "No, you get back here you sonofabitch." Ulivik's dad says.
  "Excuse me?"
  "I called you a sonofabitch, now if you want to kill me for that you can do it after hearing what I've got to say first."
  "Heh, okay. It's been a weird sort of day today anyway, I'll play." You say with a smile.
  "Yeah, well I ain't playing. Look, I know all about you, and you probably don't know me at all but I remember your ruthless reputation when you were still in service of the Empire. There was a family that lived down the block from me and my wife. We we're friends and they even had a couple of children. Children that we would sometimes love to entertain because we couldn't have any of our own. But this family wasn't happy with the Empire's rules so they along with several others protested... "
  
  You stop the tanner right there.
  
  "Yeah, yeah, I know what you're going to say, I had them all killed for treason and had their heads put on pikes. Well I was trying to maintain order and I did what I had to do to get the job done. I'm sure this story pales in comparison to others have screamed at me in the past and you don't even need to make your point about hating me, because I'm used to it anyway. Besides you don't want your son going to Kenneth's Rest and I'm certainly not going to drag him along. If anything I'd wish he'd stop looking up to me as some sort of hero and following me around. I was hoping by doing this for him I'd finally be rid of him. So if you don't mind, I'll be going now and I'll also be disappointing you again, by not killing you before I leave."
  
  You turn to leave and that's when you get another unusual request.
  
  "If you take him to Kenneth's Rest, will you also look after him?" Ulivik's mother asks.
  "What?!"
  "If you want money to do so, we can pay. Just can you look after him for a while at least?"
  "Okay... now I'm confused. I thought not only did you not want him to go, but that I was also a ruthless bastard that would probably rob and kill him along a lonely road?"
  "Yeah, we don't want him to go, and yeah you are a ruthless bastard... but I also know you actually do have some sort of code of honor. You might've left the Empire behind, but the regimented way of thinking you have is still there. You wouldn't bother killing my boy unless you felt he was a direct danger to you, and I think we both know that isn't the case." Ulivik's dad says.
  "Well that's the truth."
  "The other thing is... we're not going to be able to stop him. He's been getting more and more restless about this, and he's going to want to pursue this career path whether we want him to or not. At this point he's just going to run away from home and who knows what trouble he'll get into. (sigh) Maybe it's just his nature, bein' a dark elf and all, but for good or ill, me and my wife have taken on the responsibility of raising him. And part of that is making sure he has the survival skills that he'll need to make it in this world. We can't teach him that, but you could. Look, like my wife said, we can pay you a good sum just for you teach him the basics, or whatever else is involved, if you need more, I dunno we'll try to figure out something."
  
  You're speechless for a moment. Just when you think you've seen the worst in people, something like this happens and surprises you.
  
  "I'm not sure what you expect me to do. I mean this job isn't something I can teach like from a book. Most of what he's going to have to learn is going to be from direct experience. I mean I suppose I could teach him some combat skills, but the rest is going to mainly be up to him."
  "Well do what you can, and take this in the meantime."
  
  Uliviki's mother hands you a small bag. When you look inside, it's nothing but gold coins. This has to be some of their savings, possibly all of their savings. They must really trust you, if they've given you this much.
  
  "I'll do my best. You have my word as an Eternal." You say and pocket the bag of coins. With those last words you exit the tanner's store intending to find Ulivik. Fortunately you know he isn't far.
  
  "Ulivik, I know you're around the corner. Stop sulking, or pouting or whatever teenage angst you're doing and let's go."
  
  Ulivik slowly comes out from behind the corner.
  
  "You're taking me with you?"
  "Yeah, I scared your parents into letting you come with me. Now grab whatever gear you want to take and let's go before all the good jobs are taken."
  
  Ulivik is completely giddy at this turn of events and runs back into the store to get his stuff. You on the other hand are wondering how the hell you got yourself into this. Then you feel the bag of coins again and remember.
  
  On your journey to Kenneth's Rest, you explain to Ulivik some of the things he should know such as haggling for better prices on jobs and the art of intimidation. You also teach him a few combat moves. He's a rookie to be sure, but his agility allows him from getting hurt too badly.
  
  When you get to Kenneth's Rest, the place is as busy as always. Ulivik is more than a little distracted by the surroundings, and you have to keep reminding him to stay alert.
  
  "Hey stop staring at the harlots and pay attention! Just because fighting isn't supposed to be allowed here, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. In fact people around here love to start trouble. Don't stare at anyone in the eye for too long and make sure you don't bump into anybody. You could either get into a fight, or someone might even try to pick your pocket."
  "Okay. Here isn't the job board that way?"
  "Job board? Hah. I never use those things. I go straight to the source. Trust me, if you want to get a job that pays well; get to know and make contact with the owners or government officials. Fortunately Kenneth used to work for me at one time, so it was quite easy for me to make contact with him. And when we find him, just keep your mouth shut, and let me do all the talking."
  
  Eventually you find Kennth, he's as jumpy as ever whenever you first see him.
  
  "Sir! I didn't expect you to be down this way so soon? What can I do for you today?"
  "Kenneth, will you relax? It's been what, like ten years now? I'm not your superior officer anymore; you don't have to keep calling me sir and getting all nervous and shit."
  "I know sir, just old habits you know? Who's this with you?"
  "This here is Ulivik, and he's going to be my apprentice for a while."
  "Apprentice? Seriously? Never pegged you as the teaching type."
  "Right, Kenneth, like all those years of training soldiers in this very fort count for nothing at all."
  "No, that's not what I mean... I just oh I dunno. It's just odd I guess. He's a svelk, how come he's not with his own people?"
  "That's a long and unusual story, and one I don't have time to go into. Besides we're not here to satisfy your curiosity, we're here for jobs, but seeing as this is Ulivik's first time and all, can we get something maybe a little less... lethal?"
  "Hmm, usually that sort of stuff is on the boards, but I think I got something. Oh! There's a nest of auravraxes a few miles from here."
  "Ugh, more of those furry things? I just wiped out a nest of them a week ago!"
  "Well that's all I got that's on the easy side. I mean I've got some other jobs too, but you said this was more for training your apprentice than anything else."
  "I can take on a harder task Mr. Bane. I mean I have to learn from experience right?" Ulivik pipes up forgetting that he was supposed to keep his mouth shut.
  
  Still, he might have a point.
  > take a harder job
  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.