ufffer

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?))

As the hag’s words trail off, Kael pauses only a heartbeat before obeying.
The man lowers himself onto the worn cushion, boots planting firmly in the soft, damp earth beneath the tent floor. The candlelight flickers across his sharp features purple eyes narrowing slightly as he studies the old woman just as intently as she studies him.

He rests his gloved hands atop his knees, posture straight, controlled. When he finally speaks, his voice is low, measured.

“If you were truly expecting me,” he says, “then you already know this swamp wasn’t my destination.”

His gaze shifts briefly to the swaying candles overhead, then back to the crone. The smell of rot and moss lingers in the air, but he doesn’t flinch from it.

“I’m passing through,” he continues, his tone calm but edged with caution. “Tracking a trail that went cold days ago. Bandits… or something worse.”

He tilts his head slightly, observing her from beneath dark lashes.

“But you speak as though my coming here means something.”
A beat passes. The tent settles into quiet, save for the faint hiss of wax.

“So tell me,” Kael says, voice steady as stone, “what story is it you want to hear the one I’ve lived, or the one you believe is meant for me?”

Backstory:

Born in a strict militaristic household, Kael was trained from youth in discipline, strategy, and combat. After serving in local guard forces, he left due to corruption among command. Now he works as a private operative part scout, part investigator, part bounty hunter.

He moves through cities and wilderness alike with quiet efficiency, doing jobs most others can’t… or won’t. Some whisper he’s still tied to a secret order or old regiment. Kael never confirms it.