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.”
Jax's first thought is: My story? We're sitting here in this mob infested mire, and you want my STORY?! However, a sentiment along those lines might piss off my employer, and untimely money is still money, no matter how you think about it. Instead, Jax nods calmly, trying to figure out a way to end the fable of my life as quickly as possible. "I'm an adventurer, and a Mercenary for the house of Evvendawn. They made me take their name when I entered their service, so that their line might gain more renown should I ever, well, make a name for myself." Jax would say this genuinely, trying to sound regular. Of course, that wasn't the whole story, but anyone of with sense wouldn't need to hear the rest. For some reason, though, the crone didn't seem as content as one might usually be with such an explanation, at least given the nature of their relationship. Jax waits for a moment as she continues to eye him with a strange look, something like slight impatience mixed with..pity? Jax shoot back a look of disinterest, trying to stand my ground, but her grating look imparted upon him an itchy irritation he can’t even begin to name.
“You just won’t let this go, Crone? Not enough gossip in this place to sate your appetite?” Jax would say, now audibly annoyed. To his surprise, her voice is more youthful this time as she grins, chuckling a bit. “Here? There’s no gossip at all, Jax. I’m a bit starved for entertainment, as you could imagine.” She’d say, her lilting voice somehow calming me a little. “Ah, so now I’m your next toy, Jozefina?” Jax would retort, not one to sit idly by and get played. ”Precisely, my dear, or at least until you give me something I can work with. Then, maybe you and I can chat about something to work for.”
Jax was so surprised at the Crone’s bluntness, for a moment he sat stunned. Usually, manipulative women aren’t so snippy. He finally sighs and rests his head in his hands, giving up. Still, Jax needs the funds, considering how much he used to get to Stalonshir in the first place. “Fair sport, hag. I’m good enough at games to know I’ve been outplayed.” The lady looks a bit surprised when he uses the word hag, but she doesn’t care, because he had just walked into an even better comeback, something Jax determines when she returns my offering of peace with a scathing sentiment: “Most losers are competent enough to do so, Jax Evverdawn.”
Jax sat silent for a moment, accepting that this old lady had just utterly disintegrated him in terms of their battle of wits. “Fine, I’ll elaborate, but only because I get to steal that response to use myself.” He’d chuckle, not willing to let the Crone have the satisfaction of seeing me impressed. ”I don’t know what theories you must have, but this is the truth, so listen closely. Evverdawn is a defunct house, so my status within the upper world is not very respected. My clientele used to be a lot… richer, shall we say, than this,but jobs like these are better than death. In a way, I’m glad the Evverdawns are gone, because I split ways with them long before they fell. I was elected to teach the young master Julius all about combat, but he used it for a different purpose, that being assassinating his father.” He’d shiver at the thought, always a bit surprised at how vicious politics could get. “Did he succeed?” the Crone asked, obviously interested.
“Yes, but not very well. His necklace, a family heirloom, fell off in the struggle, for he did not kill cleanly. Thanks to this, he was executed and I was fired for teaching him how to fight, even though I had no idea what the foolish lad was going to do. Anyway, that’s about it.” He’d sigh at this, yawning. “Now, may we discuss payment? I enjoyed retelling my life story just a tad, but this is serious business.” Thusly, she laid out the terms and Jax exterminated some mobs around the village, leaving the following day.
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