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?))
I look directly at the old hag for a few seconds, then slightly smirk. I sit down cross legged on the cushion. "I'll tell you a story, and you can decide if it is mine." I take a deep breath and change to a more serious expression. "A child was born in a city, he grew up with loving parents. They were all devout Canonists and spent their lives working hard and being righteous, honest people. One day, when the kid had grown up, he started to question the power that people in the church held. Why did common people hold such power, when in this land there was true magic that could be wielded? This man now yearned to harness a greater power. When he questioned a local Canonist authority on how to harness this power he was shut down and told to follow the seven virtues, especially humility" I take a break in my story and take out a flask, maybe containing water. Without breaking eye contact I take a sip. "Now I ask you, why does humility have to limit our greatness as humans? Would it break a virtue to try and discover more power? I don't think so. I am in search of a mage that can teach me how to wield magic. That is the story. If there is more to it, more, depth, darkness, that is something that you can make out for yourself."
