Appearance

A swamp hag with moss-draped shoulders and skin the color of algae-streaked water. Her eyes gleam like old coins sunk in bog mud, and her long fingers end in crooked, slippery nails. She wears tatters of ruined robes soaked in swamp fog, and around her neck dangles charms carved from bone and reed. Miremongers speak in soft, lilting tones, praising the listener with unsettling sincerity. She runs a grim market of compliments and curses: for every compliment she receives, she offers a favor in return—a curse that tightens its hold like a knot in a swamp vine. Travelers who flatter her often find themselves bound to a bargain they can’t easily break, their bravado slowly slipping away as a curse takes root.

Behavior & Origins

Legends say Miremonger Hag drifted into the Mire of Whispers as a mortal stage magician who learned to barter with emotions. She learned to turn praise into power, and with each compliment she extracts, she twists a curse a little tighter around her buyer’s fate. The hag thrives in fog and muck, preferring to trap travelers with words before turning those words into chains. Outsiders who attempt to outwit her quickly discover that the bargain is never as simple as it seems: the compliments bloom into gratitude, which seduces the target into accepting a curse, and the curse blossoms into misfortune that lingers long after the swamp is left behind.