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?)) "Um... Do you know me?", I answered.
"Bah! If I knew you I wouldn't have asked, girl."
"But... You said like you've seen me already"
"And yes, I did! But how and when is not the topic of this conversation. You seem like you have some weight over you. Now, tell me your story."
"I'm not sure I can trust you."
"Can we be sure about anything in this world?"
"Point taken." I said, then took a deep breath. "Well, I have no idea about how I was born, neither about who gave birth to me."
"Where you come from, then?" she asked, directing her attention as a whole into me, as it seemed.
"My mother told me she took me from Haense when I was 2."
"A highlander, no less!"
"Maybe. I never cared much. Always wanted to look like my mother."
"And how do your mother look?"
"She... she was an elf."
"She's dead then?" she asked, in the most casual way someone could ask that.
The tent is felt in silence.
"You said she was an elf, didn't you? Oh... I'm sorry for my bluntness."
"Yes, she's dead. Someone killed her with a sword in the heart while she was sleeping, a week ago."
"Will you go after who did this?" Her eyes were filled with excitement, suddently.
"For The Father, no! She died in peace, in her dreams. And she always said to me that death was just a part of living. It's very hurtful, but I try to deal with it as she would want me to." I felt very uncomfortable talking about my mother's death with that hag. Even more, being said that she wanted to know my story, not my mother's.
I continued, then:
"Full story short, she gave me my name and took care of me as her own daughter. For a long time, we traveled slowly to south west. Through the years, she taught me to read, do some other little things, and mostly how to deal with people, which was ironic, because she always had a lot of people who disliked her strongly. We lived a great deal of time in Fi'Andria, until those people started to cause her a lot of trouble. When it started being dangerous, we came for Elvenesse not much time after it, and then she died. Last week I've been going away from that place, because it was too hard for me to stay, but now I think it's time for me to come back, I still like it there. If it doesn't work out, I'll see where I'll go."
"It looks like a whole long story, Lari'adri."
I haven't said her even one letter of my full name.
"Well, it's a beautiful tent you have here, but I have to go. Have a good evening."
And then I hurried out with fear, without listening to what she had to say.
