PapaRay_

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?))

Hägen followed the gesture, stumbling a bit as he settled back into the seat - his eyes fixed on the flickering candles. "it were quiet out there," he said softly. The old hag listened as she poured out warm tea. Hägen continued, with his deep broken tone mixed with his dwarven accent, "The mountains stretched from 'orizon to 'orizon, where the purest cold white met the twilight radiant red. No edges, no angles just curves an' the gentle rise an' fall of snow as far as me eyes could see, an' even further. I was so alone. I could seen' it all." A strong gust of wind rattled the tent, a chill crept in. One that Hägen felt was familiar. Hägen's voice dropped, sounding more somber. "I were there when the fightin' started, an' I were there when it ended. Watchn' cold an' scared as more battles raged. Trapped, I were, but I didn’t die, no...didn’t starve neither. I fell in and was stuck an' kept woken' for some time by the ice around me." The old hag nodded slowly. "Why’ve ye finally worked your way out of there now?" she asked. "Is there somethin’ ye seek? Some call ye wish to answer?" Hägen’s face remained stern, his voice low. "I wanted to go 'ome, to me wife an' lad. But the cold...it took 'em from me. I feel empty, an' cold" he muttered. "I were warm once, I loved once. We were free of this winter that’d droven our folk mad. We sought a way out, but lost everythin’—to nature’s wrath an’ man’s greed." The old hag continued to smoke her pipe. With closed eyes and with wisdom stating, "There’s warmth out there,", puffing out a cloud of smoke. "There’s life. Why worry when there’s purpose? There’s warmth, love, and growth in this world.". Hägen’s eyes looked upwards, a flicker of hope visible in his gaze. As though part of the cold freeze was pulled away from his soul. She smiled softly. "Dearie Hägen, the world’s full o’ life. Honor those ye lost an’ start anew. Ye’ll find adventure, purpose, an' life."

Hägen spoke slowly, his voice rough. "A simple life, ye say? No heroics, no grand deeds? Just livin’? It’s all I’ve ever wanted. To bask in the beauty of the world. Where ought I go?". The old hag grinned, her wrinkles softening. "Go west, to Urguan. Ye’ll find life an' purpose there, good dwarf." Hägen rose, giving a slow yet gentle bow to the old hag. His armor clinked quietly as he stepped outside, greeted by the sun on the horizon and farmlands aglow. Hägen began to walk and looked back, to see suddenly see the tent gone. He wondered if what he had seen was real, and as he focused, he saw a single candle in the middle of three stones on the earth, slowly burning out. He watched the flame extinguish, followed by a clear thin smoke, almost pointing him in the direction to journey towards. And from there, he knew his journey would begin.