ilikedinosiguess

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?))
 

The rain outside drowns out most sound, leaving only the flicker of candlelight and the soft rustle of Noelle’s robes as she lowers herself onto the cushion. Her expression doesn’t change, but her eyes—dim gold and distant—study the old woman’s face with quiet precision.

“You say you’ve been expecting me,” she says, her tone low and even. “Then you must already know where I come from… or at least, what’s left of it.”

A silence stretches between them. The candles sway gently, and for a heartbeat, Noelle seems lost somewhere far beyond the tent.

“My home was a place few would recognize now. It stood on high ground, where the wind never stopped and the soil was thin. The people there were reserved, proud in their own way. We valued silence, restraint—too much, perhaps. When everything finally fell apart, there were no screams. Only quiet.”

She traces a gloved finger along one of the candle’s melted rivulets.

“I left before the end. Some said I was wise to go, others called it betrayal. I stopped listening long ago. The world beyond was… no kinder. You learn to move unseen, to speak only when you must, to keep your past folded away like an old letter you never open.”

Her gaze sharpens, steady and unwavering.

“Lately, I’ve heard whispers—someone asking for me by name in places I’ve never stayed long enough to be remembered. That’s why I’m here. I thought I’d find answers, or at least silence. But you…”

Noelle’s voice trails off. She leans forward slightly, eyes narrowing.

“You claim to have been expecting me. So tell me, then—what did you see that I haven’t?”