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?))
Example:
"Well, it's nothing special..."
I say as I sit down where she gestured.
"Years back, I was just a simple kid—son of the local blacksmith. I helped my father with the business, went to school like any other..."
I pause for a long moment. My body slumps as memories of the old days, when everything seemed easier, flood in.
I speak again, now with a less confident tone.
"But one day, my mother got sick. The cure was expensive at the time, and the smithing just didn’t bring in enough to afford it."
I fidget with my fingers. My voice darkens as I recall everything.
"One night, I decided to sneak out the window and steal the one thing that could save my mother..."
Suddenly, I return to my previous confident, unbothered tone.
"Well," I chuckle, "it didn’t go as planned—and I got caught."
I raise my hand, stretching my sore muscles as I continue.
"Even though my father tried to explain everything and take the blame, they still sentenced me."
"I spent... four? No, maybe five? Yes, five years in prison."
"It wasn’t the nicest place—food was worth a good vomit—but I pulled through."
"Now, to answer your first question: I’m just trying to earn some coin. I don’t care if it’s feeding pigs, building houses, or... doing things I should probably keep to myself."
I lean forward toward the old woman, noticing just how ancient she really is. I nearly mutter a comment about it but manage to hold my tongue.
"And now, I’d like to ask you something."
I hold the tension with a pause, my stare intensifying into the hag’s eyes—probably coming off more weird than anything else.
"Do you have any jobs I could help with?"
