_Duwang_

You’ve just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As you look around, your gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. You 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?))

"I suppose a quick chat wouldn't hurt, I've been meaning to rest my feet anyways. I've been walking for what feels like forever" Nephiah sits on the cushion "Since I was a child I've been searching for a place to call mine. My mother died shortly after I was born so father raised me. He installed a simple value into me" she pauses for a moment. "He said to seek greatness for that is what I deserve." She stands from the table "I will crawl through hell and back if that's what it takes for me to sit upon a throne. I do not care if it is a throne of gold or guts, as long as I get to rule It is what I want- no what I NEED to do if I am to achieve my goals" She looks at the Hag "You know all of this already don't you, that is why you sent for me. Why do you play dumb? Do you think that I am that foolish?" Nephiah reaches for her dagger and rests her hand upon the grip "There is a thin line between friend and foe and I do not yet know which side you fall on. I have been crossed one too many times and the moment I smell betrayal is the moment I unsheathe my blade. Do not attempt to deceive me. Honor is what keeps people together and it is what tears them apart. I will never rely on deception to achieve greatness, I expected you to return the favor."  With a swift slash of the blade she slices the throat of the hag. The hag's lifeless corpse falls to the floor. As Nephiah approves the lifeless body of the hag, she kneels down beside it and the closes the eyes of the hag and before saying a quick prayer over her corpse. As Nephiah steps outside the tent and into the night she knows this is only one body of many and she has a long road ahead of her. She has to press on, No matter what it takes