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?))
Prax smiles at the woman, his laboured breathing heavy as he crouches into the tent. The pack on his back is heavy, and he is happy to finally be rid of it. His journey was nearly over.
"Greetings!" he says.
A chuckle escapes him as his eyes dance around the room excitedly and he slowly takes a seat on the cushion. The hag gives him a mirthful smile, but she remains composed.
"Madam, it is a pleasure to finally meet. And what a pleasure it is to be alive. You wouldn't believe the adventure I've had to get here. The seas were rough, unlucky I say. Wasn't what I was expecting."
Prax sighs. The old hag stays attentive, her keen eye examining him three times over, as she does with all her visitors. His old bones creak as he stretches and he speaks again.
"Taking up adventuring at my age... it's got me thinking I'm a fool. I only know how to plow land, and maybe feed a cow or two. But I wanted to see more of the world, you know. Only now I'm realizing that it might be too dangerous for me."
"That is true," the hag says, "You should go back to your city."
Prax looks surprised. "But," he paused.
The hag's eyes peered into him as if staring into his soul.
Intimidated, he said whatever first came to mind, "There's nothing for me back in Oren- or Aaun, whatever they call it these days, it doesn't matter to me, it never did. Nothing changed for me in the fields, you know. I don't want to say I grew tired of the farm life, but I just wanted something different. I've seen people come and go... some of them have long passed. But I saw that they were at least happy to be... free. So I worked until I was a free man, then I left. There's nothing for me back there, really. There's nothing I want to do there."
Prax lets out a long breath. The hag nods in approval.
"So what have you come to me for?" she says.
"Oh!" Prax's mood returns with excitement, "I've heard you know of others like me..."
And so Prax continued for the whole evening, telling her his goals of finding a group of adventurers like him.
Recommended Comments