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.”
Response:
Otavia never meant to return here. Not this place. She wanted to leave it behind and start anew.
Otavia was born in Mirebound on the coast, it was a stretch of drowned lowlands where fog clings to the skin like a second layer of flesh. Ysmera Otavia's mother was a mad woman who was once known for being an amazing healer throughout the humans had raised Otavia in this dim town. People came for her mother's cures and left just as fast because she'd talk to the walls.
Otavia had thought her mother crazy until she grew up. Her mother called it a gift, but it was more of a curse. She could see the threads of fate sometimes, glimpses of what could be. Ysmera knew that prophecy would have a price, so she told Otavia to drown it out. Though Otavia thought this could be used for good she helped a neighborhood boy from drowning in the dark colored waters due to her sights.
The gods must've been mad at Otavia for her mother had told her to leave and that Otavia had angered them. She knew it was about time to leave home anyway this dingy town had held her down for long enough and she was destined for so much more, to see so much more.
Then why did she come back? Why was she here again? Why did the glimpses of fate bring her back to this god forsaken place? Though this place was different now. All she could see were people she didn't even know, unfamiliar faces. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.
Otavia pushes into the tattered tent glowing with candlelight. The old hag inside lifts her head, her eyes pale as bonewater. The hag smiles at Otavia as if this meeting was long overdue.
"ah..it's you," the hag murmurs. "I've been expecting you." she gestures to the cushion. "Sit. Tell me your story"
"...My story," Otavia murmurs to herself. "I suppose it begins here even though most would rather to forget." Otavia looks around the tent her eyes trying to figure out the old woman in front of her. She gripped the handle of her blade as if it could offer her some reassurance.
"I was born in this mud riddled town. The fog still feels the same...slimy and like a second coat. Ysmera....my mother-"
"Ah yes Ysmera." The old hag responded before Otavia could finish.
"You knew my mother?" Otavia felt nervous she tightened her hands around each other. wringing them together as if they were a wet washcloth.
"Yes, a wonderful woman...the towns crazy lady. She left awhile back said that the gods had told her it was time for her to go. So, what did you do child? To get sent away from this place. No one ever leaves here on their own. We're all stuck here."
Otavia swallows it was quiet and it felt like even the old lady could hear it; she clenched her jaw.
"I saw his death clear as day you know, the current was going to take him under, the reeds were going to ty him up and drag him into the deep depths. I stopped it.... I saved that boy." Otavia said though she sounded unsure about herself she looked at the floor as if she were a child being punished. The old lady shook her head back and forth.
"You thought you knew better than fate child. You think saving one life doesn't mean you'll have to pay with another?"
Otavia hesitated she seemed unsure whether or not this woman was trustworthy.
"...............I keep seeing him. The boy I mean in my dreams he's there sometimes. It feels as though the gods think I still owe this place something and I can't figure it out. So, tell me why you have been expecting me?" Otavia's tone had turned from friendly encounter to one of question as she had no clue who this woman was or why she knew her.
The old hag paused. She looked lost in thought almost and kind of taken aback by Otavia's upfront questioning. Otavia gripped her blade hard her knuckles turning white. There was something behind her resolve she was calm on the outside but in her mind, she was scared. Scared of this place, the darkness it had in the shadows, the secrets it kept hidden from her. Otavia rose from the chair faltering a little bit.
"Tell me." Her voice cracked, desperate for answers.
"You deserve to know the truth the god of fate was not mad they did not punish you. You simply meddled with a thread that wasn't meant for mortal fingers. You saved a life, but a life was paid in full in return. Fate isn't something you should mess with my dear remember that."
Otavia looked the old hag in the eyes. This wasn't a good fortune truth. It was a warning. Otavia pulled the tents opening aside before storming out the sounds of mud following under her boots. Was this truly all she was called here for? Or were the gods still watching her? She prayed that they were so maybe she wouldn't be driven to insanity like her mom had been maybe they'd free her from her fate........or maybe she'd become free herself.
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