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.”
Durnin’s eyes narrow as he surveys the hag, his hand never straying far from his hammer.
"Expectin' me, were you?" he mutters, settling onto the cushion with a wary grunt. "You seem to know more than I do about why I’m here."
The hag's crooked lips curl into a knowing smile, and she leans forward slightly.
"Born to stone and steel in the mountains," he begins, his voice low and rough. "Fought, bled, worked—that’s the life I know. Day in, day out, shaping the world. But somethin’ drew me here. Figured there’s somethin’ in this gods-forsaken swamp I need to see, somethin' callin' to me."
The hag tilts her head, her expression unreadable. She nods once but doesn’t speak, her silence coaxing him to continue. Durin’s gaze locks with hers, his dark eyes hardened but curious, like a blacksmith examining a curious ore vein.
His gaze locks with hers. "So, hag. What’ve you been waitin' to tell me?"
Her laughter is a brittle cackle, cutting through the thick, humid air like a blade. She leans back, her joints cracking audibly as she moves. "Oh, my dear dwarf," she croons, "you’ve walked a long road to find yourself here, but the end of your journey lies not in your hammer, nor in your strength. What you seek is older than the mountains you hail from, deeper than the forges you know."
Durin stiffens, his mind racing. For the first time in years, the iron certainty that had always guided his steps falters. He doesn’t know whether it’s the hag’s words or the eeriness of the place itself, but an unfamiliar feeling creeps into his chest—a mix of foreboding and anticipation, as if something monumental is about to unfold.
