"What do you want, child?" a croaking voice says to you. Squinting in the darkness, you see a short old woman standing in front of you, leaning on a strange wooden cane. She wears a cloak just like yours, although its edges are frayed with age, the white freckled with tans and grays of a lifetime of use. Her face is wrinkled and leathery, from what seems like ten lifetimes of too much sun. She's hunched over, and by all appearances looks frail and incapable. But her voice sounded neither senile nor weak, and everyone in the town spoke of this hermit with respect. You must remain cautious.
"Are you the hermit? I... I was told you might be able to help me reach the Oasis." you say to her, your eyes starting to adjust to the blackness in the tent. Looking around, you see a number of bowls along the edges of the tent. Some seem to be filled with beetle shells, another with feathers, a large one with a dark, thick liquid... it looks like ingredients for a witch's brew. And perhaps it is.
"I might, young one, I might..." she replies, looking you up and down. Her stare seems to run straight through you, making a shudder run up your spine despite the heat. "But why should I help you? Are you sure you can get past the trials that await you? Can you resist the temptations that will be in your path?"
"I will overcome anything to get to the Oasis! I won't stop until I've reached it, no matter what!" you tell her strongly, enthusiasm crawling back into your voice. However, it doesn't seem to sway her much. She just chuckles dryly, and turns back to one of her bowls, sitting on the cool dark sand. The old woman opens her mouth to give you her answer...
Copyright 2000 - 2025 21 x 20 Media All rights reserved. This site is property of 21 x 20 Media
All Writing.Com images are copyrighted and may not be copied / modified in any way. All other brand names & trademarks are owned by their respective companies.
Generated in 0.12 seconds at 1:58pm on Jan 23, 2025 via server WEBX1.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
