k0oky

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?))

"Thank you, auntie." Ydrina responds carefully and takes a seat on the weathered cushion. She has not been the only one who has sat in this seat. Her eyes flick back and forth, wondering what the old hag had summoned her for. Carefully she watched the hag reach one long, mangled finger towards her. It touched her forehead and nearly instantly, she submitted her mind to the hag's will.

"Ah, yes dearie. These will do nicely."

Memories of the dirty work she had done in her home. The epic hunts for both beasts and people alike. The drunken dancing and singing in crowded taverns. The cobbled streets of her home and the windy paths to the cliff face. Yes, these would do nicely, wouldn't they?

But there was something else there. Ydrina felt the hag pry farther into her mind-- a skull-splitting feeling that made her eyes ache. The little bit of autonomy she had she had given up to her touch, to the hope that she might one day have the power she craved.

After all, thats what the hag had been looking for, hadn't she? The whispers of desire that crawled through her brain, itching in every nook and cranny it could find itself in. She wanted more than she had been given. Ydrina had no desire for a quiet life. She craved adventure, she craved battle. She was hungry and ambitious. And that ambition, just a taste, could make a very powerful brew.

Ydrina fought hard to not give in to the hag-- not to much, at the very least. She gave up a fraction of her ambition, her hunger, and tried to force the hag out of her mind. Her face crinkled as she pushed her out.

"Not so quickly, dearie. There's so much more I want to poke around and find!"

Ydrina grabbed the wrist of the hag and smiled. 

"It's been a measure, auntie. But I think I should get going soon! I do have to fetch you those bat fangs after all."

The hag smiled back, yanking her hand out of Ydrina's lose grip. She had so much to learn, this impetuous girl. "Oh yes dearie. You go do that. I'm sure you will do a fine enough job, hmm!"

Ydrina stood up from the cushion and turned her back to the hag. Silently walking towards the edge of the tent, she was met with one last response.

"But don't you forget." The hag leaned in from her chair. "You will come back again. You were the one who made the deal after all, isn't that right, little Yiledram?"