EthnicGroup

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?))

Kokhba would eye the hag, slanting one eye in an easy-to-read state of confusion, riddled with off-putting aura followed by a slight leaning back gesture he'd exclaim, "Is there a bounty on my head? How could you possibly predict my presence decayed human?"

The hag would ignore such blatant insulting mannerisms, almost like she expects this nature from him, "Go on Kokhba, speak from your soul, there are no eavesdroppers here."

Kokhba raises his eyebrows, exhaling like he's almost defeated by the hag's knowledge of him, then following this would grin slightly, while adjusting his belt he'd respond, "If you're asking for my soul to speak, I'm afraid it isn't here, maybe check-"

The hag would interrupt, filling his sentence with the words, "-the undercities yes, you owe many people heavy debts, not to worry I am no collector of coin."

Kokhba finds his throat resembling the feeling of swelling, choking on his tongue he'd stumble over his words responding, "Alright alright, you're good at this" following this sentence he'd take a seat on the cushion, supporting his head on his lanky arms, "what do you want to know, that you obviously don't already lady of the fossils?"

The hag would smile while placing incense into a small bowl, "You've been busy haven't you? Desiring such a mundane life of agriculture, only for your lands to be raided by the same people you owe, this must fill you with frustration trying to repay your debts, while your debtors disrupt such task actively."

Kokhba sighs, "You're telling me miss, it's almost like those dent-heads want me to have an open debt" he'd spit on the ground after confirming their existence.

The hag begins lighting the incense, Kokhba wouldn't be able to make out the method of flame production, while doing so she responds, "There is no shame in retreat, but how long have you been running child of Krug?"

Kokhba burrows his head deeper into his palms, resting them on his forehead now staring at the floor, "It feels like all my life, I can't fight, I'm not a scholar, but I am fast, just not faster than my mind sadly. Trust me, I wish I could empty my head of thoughts."

The hag stares at the incense blankly for a moment, before her body come back to life with a cold tone, "I'm afraid you'd be dead if it weren't for your fear, fear is one of the only things that keeps us alive, the only option you have sometimes is running from those who entail your undoing."

Kokhba stares at the hag, tears resting in his eyes, "I just wanted more, my greed consumed me, maybe dying would be easier for everyone."

The hag smiles wholesomely, "Stop talking like that, your life has only begun, when you get to my age, you can see even your opposers are in strife. Find your freedom, seek the gate to the next chapter of your story, your potential still remains."

Kokhba takes a cloth resembling a symbol from a culture unknown to him, he'd blow his nose into it seemingly devout of respect especially after displaying vulnerability to a level he considers weakness.

Kokhba then asks, "How would you get away from these morons? Everywhere I run they seem to follow, they interrogate the villagers of every place I scurry."

The hag thinks for a moment, then responds, "Maybe go where no voice can travel, reside among the speechless."

Kokhba in a state of thought begins to rub his head, almost like a migraine is coming on, "Where no voice can travel... the speechless huh? Are you saying... live in the middle of nowhere? How would I survive? What if I need bread, I could die of thirst."

The hag states, "You've been training for this since your debt began, instead of feeding your debtors, nourish yourself, become self-sufficient, and keep running. No animal will tip off your opposition, no tree can whisper your place of homestead, the birds chirp without greed, and the streams flow unbothered."

Kokhba would get up from the cushion, eyes widened with an epiphany, "You're right fossi- sorry, lady of the swamp, you might be old, but your noggin works better than mine." he'd flick a coin to her.

The hag opens a palm for the coin to land, smiling with the other hand pointing out of her tent, "Now get out of here, shoo, you have a world to traverse."

Kokhba would smile at the hag, marching out of the tent stretching, the last glimpse the hag would have of him is a sprint, before hearing the rapid pacing of footsteps fading away as he gains distance.

The hag would look at the coin, closing one eye inspecting it, "Goblins..." then smile before placing it in her pouch.