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?))
Elias hesitates at the edge of the cushion, eyes flicking once around the tent counting, measuring, noting. The gentle sway of the candle flames unsettles him. No visible draft… yet they move. Suspended. Controlled. Designed.
He exhales quietly and sits.
“My story…” he repeats, voice low, roughened by travel. “It’s not much of one. Not yet.”
He removes a small brass device from his coat a half-finished mechanism of gears and springs and turns it in his hands as if grounding himself.
“I was left with nothing. No name. No past. Just… found.” He glances up at her briefly. “Dwarves took me in. Deep earth folk. They don’t waste time on pity but they gave me purpose.”
His fingers begin to adjust a tiny gear unconsciously.
“They taught me how the world moves. Not just on the surface but underneath. Gears. Balance. Precision. Every motion has meaning, every failure has a cause.” A faint, almost wistful smile touches his lips. “I learned to listen to machines before I learned to trust people.”
He pauses, then looks directly at the hag.
“I want to be a clockworker. Not just fixing broken trinkets I want to build something that lasts. Something… perfect.”
The tent creaks softly around him.
“But perfection is expensive.” His voice hardens slightly. “And knowledge even more so. The Dwarves taught me what they could but there are things they wouldn’t touch. Things they said were ‘out of time.’”
His gaze drifts briefly to the floating candles again.
“That’s why I’m here. This place…” he gestures vaguely outside, “…it feels wrong. Like a mechanism with missing teeth. But wrong things often hide what others won’t.”
He leans forward slightly, studying her now with the same intensity he once reserved for intricate machinery.
“And you,” he says quietly, “you were expecting me.”
A small pause.
“So tell me” his grip tightens slightly around the brass device, “what part of my story haven’t I been told yet?”
The back story
Elias is a human whose dream has always been to become a clockworker. Abandoned at birth Elias was raised by Dwarves Which gives him skill mechanical mechanisms and started his dream of being a clockworker [My actual end goal is building a clock tower if permitted]
By the way there wasn't enough space earlier for my physical description so I'm putting the rest of it below this
Height: Around 6' (182.88 cm)
Weight: About 70 kg (154 lbs), slim build
Hair: Short, dark brown, slightly messy
Eyes: Dark brown, calm and observant
Skin: Fair with a warm tone
Facial Hair: Short, neatly trimmed beard
Outfit:
Elias wears a dark green long-sleeved coat or tunic with gold trim on the cuffs and collar. On his chest is a small gold cog symbol, and on his back there is a larger, detailed cog design. He also wears dark trousers, simple and practical.
Overall look:
Neat, calm, and slightly mysterious, with a smart and refined style.
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