The Old Lady

The Old Lady is a wrinkled halfling woman, well over a century old. She has coarse white hair tied back in a messy bun, drawing attention to her gaunt features. A thick wool robe covers most of her body, save for her spindly hands—hands that are often wrapped around a tiny skull. Tiny bottles and charms swing from small strings that hang around her neck, and close observation reveals small mushrooms growing from the seams of her robe. This halfling enjoys visiting various locations including taverns, forests, empty battlefields, alleyways, and sewers. She acts either content or aloof, and never seems to care much about even the most dangerous situations. When roleplaying her, act as though you’re never in danger, and there’s nothing better than laughing at tragedy. Her conduct strongly resembles that of a jaded elder, who enjoys talking more about simple things than themself. Her best-kept secrets are her age and the nature of the tiny skull, details that she guards like a dragon guards its hoard. She is more than happy to talk about the god that she serves, but only ever refers to them as “the god of decay,” “the rotting one,” or similar titles. She explains that this deity is the one that grants her divine powers, but she is reluctant to display them. Her knowledge is most extensive when talking about nature and magic, topics that she believes are no different from one another. The best way to gather information or teachings from her is to express interest in her enigmatic deity. If ever forced into a dispute, The Old Lady will always attempt to settle the argument with a drinking game. Some tavern patrons believe she has never lost a drinking game, even having won against a dwarven king and a demon lord. If the players find her at Poor Larry’s, she will greet them with an uncharacteristically large smile. After offering the party a round of drinks on her tab, she will gleefully tell the tragic story of how Larry lost his fortune and family. The tavern’s history can be found in its chapter, but the Old Lady tells it differently: she will twist the story so that Larry caused everything, and leave out Llad Ye’oth’s involvement. For example, instead of describing Larry’s first meeting with Llad Ye’oth, she will blame the change on a twist of fate and a roll of the dice.