Zach Ursus Ae-Jarino/P-Dialogue

This is Zach's P-Dialogue!

Levels

Level 9

Zach

...

Mardek

Aww, why won't you talk?

Zach

...Please. I am a mercenary. It is easier if I don't talk.

Mardek

Well, what do you mean?

Zach

I am a weapon. Nothing more. Once my contract expires, I will leave. It is best to do it without emotion.

Now, let us go.

Level 12

Zach

Why do you still insist on talking to me?

Mardek

Well, I just want to know more about you!

Zach

There is nothing worth knowing.

Mardek

Well, how did you become a mercenary?

Zach

...I'd rather not talk about it.

Mardek

Aww... why not?

Zach

I have told you before. I don't want to form emotional connections.

It is just... easier to block things out. Less people get hurt that way.

Mardek

Huh?

Zach

Never mind. I am done talking for now.

Level 18

Zach

You do it again. You are the first employer to take so much interest in me. I don't understand it.

Mardek

Nobody else took an interest? Why not? I don't understand THAT!

Zach

To most of my employers, I was no different than a sword to them. A tool for defeating monsters, no more. They would order me like a beast, but talk for talking's sake? Hah.

I grew resentful of employers in general, and... ahem. I still do not trust you. This could just be some kind of scheme, somehow. I will fight for you, but stop begging me for words. I will have none of it.

Level 22

Zach

I see that you are not going to give this up easily... Sigh. Very well. I will indulge you momentarily. What would you like to know?

Mardek

Well, why did you become a mercenary?

Zach

Hmm... A lengthy and sombre tale. Suffice to say, it was not entirely by choice, but by lack of other options.

You see, I am from a far away land, from a village where we were all members of the same tribe, who lived and worked together. We were called the Bear Tribe, and honour was of utmost importance to us. The tattoo above my eye marks me as a member of this tribe.

Mardek

Oh, you mean you're a Proud Warrior Race Guy!

Zach

I... suppose you could say this? Now, will you allow me to continue the tale that you have coaxed out of me, or would you rather I returned to silence?

Mardek

Well, carry on!

Zach

As a member of the Bear Tribe, I was young, and inexperienced, yet, as is common amongst young people, I thought that I could handle everything and I was very optimistic. I had great pride in my skills and was eager to show them off and help others.

Our village was out of the way, and was rarely visited by anyone at all, other than a few traders every so often. But there was one man... a Northerner. An Adventurer. He came to our village seeking assistance in some quest or another, and told tales of his exploits.

It was against our strong code of honour, handed down through many generations of ancestors, to help strangers such as him, so the elders refused to give him even the time of day. But I... I was young...

Mardek

Well, then what happened?!

Zach

...Another time, perhaps. It has been long since I spoke so much, and my throat, it is sore. We must return to fighting and travelling.

Mardek

Aww...

Level 26

Zach

I take it you wish to hear the rest of my story?

Mardek

Ooh, yes please!

Zach

As you wish.

When I last spoke, I mentioned an Adventurer who travelled to our village. He was charismatic, and heroic; he had seen things I had but dreamed of. Or so he claimed. As is typical of people of youth, I was excited and eager, and took pleasure in defying the will of the elders and ancestors. I thought they were outdated, and that I knew better.

So when the man was about to leave, I approached him, and said that I would join him. That I would help where my brothers and fathers would not. I thought that it was wrong to deny others of assistance that they sorely needed. I was naive.

I accompanied the man for many days. We were heading for the lair of some beasts, where some artefact or another was meant to be resting. He wished to retrieve it and sell it for a high price. I was to assist him in fighting the monsters, and he promised to share his earnings with me.

Yet when we travelled, I tried to converse with him and he shunned me. He didn't seem to care. I was... a sword to him. A primitive savage, to use. No more. Many times he acted as if I could not understand basic concepts, as if I was a handicapped child, fresh from the womb and unwise to the ways of the world.

We reached the lair of the beasts he sought, and many of them attacked. I fought my hardest, putting all my training to good use. I defeated them all, and was exhausted... but I saw the 'hero' nowhere. He had gone. During the melee, he had not fought; I was but a distraction that he used while he snook behind them and took the loot. He left me to die.

My tribe... I could not return to them, for I was without honour. I had broken the code and would have to pay the price with my life if I were to return, so I headed to the nearest settlement and tried to start life anew. As a mercenary, it was all I knew how to do.

After serving many employers, I quickly learned that I was the same to them all. A tool. A sword. I didn't matter.

I have become jaded. I don't think about what I do anymore. I don't care about others, because they seem not to care about me. I'd slit a crying child's throat if I was to be paid. What's the difference? I need to eat. I just obey now. Why care? Nobody else does.

I am doing people a service by freeing them from this despicable world of men. Wherever they end up, it would surely be better than this.

That is how I rationalise this to myself. That is how I survive.

But you... You are not like the others. You... seem to care. I do not understand it fully, because it makes to me no sense. But I can tell you that you have earned my trust... somewhat.

Mardek

Only 'somewhat'?

Zach

Yes. I cannot let a lifetime's worth of jading wear off with a bit of banter. I am sorry. You now know more about why I am the way I am, but please do not expect me to change my ways now.

I am once again exhausted of this exchange. Come, let us continue, master.

Locations

Zach

...

Mardek

Won't you talk to me?

Zach

No.

Mardek

Aww.