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?))
Gnomulus the 2nd, at your service, madam, though I'd wager you'd already know that, wouldn’t you? It isn't often a gnome like me gets expected in a place like this.
Now, where to begin? Ah, yes! Born and raised in the shadow of the Heartland Mountains, It was a place where the winds are sharp, and the stones sharper. My family’s been in the rock trade for generations, mind you, but I had a different calling. I was, from young, one for the old tales, the songs and stories passed down from ear to ear, whispered around campfires and in the dim glow of hearths.
The thing about these stories, you see, is that they had an effect on me, pulling me into the fantasy of dreams gone by. My granddad, Gnomulus the 1st, used to say I was born with wanderlust in my bones; and perhaps he was right, for as soon as I was old enough to hold a bindle, I set off on my own in search for stories. After this, I set off exploring Aevos without plan or preparation: I've roamed far and wide through the forests of Haense, I've traversed the great plains of Rohan. Even down into the far off corners of Norland, you could find me, ambling the lands alone.
Yet, I believe that every journey, every road, leads somewhere, either now or into the future, and it seems this particular road has led me here, to your tent, in this swampy corner of Aevos. As for what brings me, well... let’s just say I’m seeking something. Not gold nor jewels, for those are the worries of mountain dwarves and dragons. But me, I’m only after a story, a scrap of ancient knowledge, a whisper of a forgotten truth that I can carry with me as a memento of my life, and the lives before me.
The culmination of my efforts have led me to some uncomfortable truths, however. It would seem that the spirits of Aevos are changing. As you may expect, I am not here for gold or jewels, for those are the worries of mountain dwarves and dragons. Instead, I am here in response to the growing darkness. You see, the winds are shifting in the world, madam. And it’s said that in places like this, where the light barely touches, secrets hide that can shape the fates of many.
But, I am more interested in what Gnomulus here has done to attract the attention of such an interesting character as yourself, and also what secrets you may be willing to share?
