_akinator

Your character has just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As they look around, their gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. They duck and step into a tattered tent, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the tent, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town? She begins, then pauses to study your face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a cushion, “Tell me your story.”

((How do you respond?))

"Hello to you too," Akhinari greets with a small nod, voice thick with an unfamiliar accent. There's a hint of humor in his tone. "...I suppose I could tell you, given how curious you seem to be." Despite his words, Akhinari doesn't continue right away, instead taking his time with settling down on the cushion the old gorgon had gestured to. He sighs, reminiscing, "My story begun when I was a wee lad, you see. I was born into a rather poor family, with 3 sisters and 2 brothers. We barely had the means to put food on the table, and due to our unfortunate circumstances, I was forced to begin work in the fields at the ripe age of 8-and-three-quarters. Oh, yes, and how quickly I grew fond of it," Akhinari speaks with great bravado in his voice, as though he thinks he's telling an incredible story, although eventually he trails off, noticing the woman's lack of interest in his tale, "even two decades later I did not grow sick of harvesting and planting, day after day..."
 

"Anywho." He waves his hand dismissively, "alongside my affinity for the fields, I was always rather fond of books... In my youth, I had the pleasure of reading one particularly marvelous one, but my misfortune knows no bounds, and I lost it in a flood many years back. After the recent passing of my father, I thought it only right to find a copy of one of my greatest joys in life... and here I am."

Akhinari ends off his story rather abruptly, slamming his fists down on the table with a chuckle and great, big grin. "And how about you?"