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.”
Erling briefly glances at the seat before him. One could barely call this moldy rag a cushion, he thinks to himself. But given his current situation he cannot afford to be picky and as of these past few weeks even a rotting cushion seems to be a luxury, and so he decided to sit. "Thank you", he hesitates as he wonders whether anything bad can come of telling this woman the truth.
At last, he speaks: "My home town was raided by an evil hoard of mystical creatures a few weeks ago. I was forced to flee and since then I've been trying to get by with the scarce resources in the neighboring forest. That was until I met a tall hooded man", recalling the ominous stranger sends a shiver down Erling's spine and he quickly scans the room anticipating that the man will show up simply by the mentioning of his presence.
Deciding that the coast is clear the halfling continues, "the man asked me, 'what do you seek', and after recovering from the chock of his sudden appearance I reluctantly answered, 'I want to live a comfortable life'. You see, the past few weeks have been taking a toll on me, especially my health. Besides, I lost everything I've ever known to the raiders", he looks down at his hands with a sorrow expression.
"The man then referred me to this town and told me to find you. However, he gave me no explanation as to why, which left me with a lot of questions. I thought 'what have I got to lose?', and decided to satisfy my curiosity, which is how I ended up here," then he looks up at the woman again to see if she has bought the story.
