PlayerOliver

When you were a kid, you lived with your grandmother in the small town of Silvertree, on the edge of a magical forest. Grandma is a witch, and she taught you how to use your magic to affect the natural world, too. “Magic is a part of you,” she always told you. “Learning how to use it means figuring out who you are.”

Now you’re 19 and on your own. After years of living in the forest while you perfected your witchcraft, you’ve returned to take care of your grandmother’s house and crow-familiar while she’s gone. Figuring out who you are feels more important than ever - not to mention, figuring out what Silvertree is. A lot is just as you remembered: the friendly generous next-door neighbors with a kid just your age, the proud town council, the quaint little shops with quirky punny names, the gentle shadowy forest full of magic.

Stone in the shoe

Marlowe laughs and pauses to fan their face.


"Pretty much! I'm taking some online classes, so when I'm not working I'm…still working, mostly. But I hate keeping still. I always need something to work on. Like right now, I'm taking a photography course, but I'm taking a bike repair course as well, so I don't have to keep taking it into the shop."


They lift up the camera again and focus it on a leaf on the ground.


"If I do actually get some free time," they add, "I just like to write. Sometimes I write fake articles for this fantasy newspaper I made up—like last week, all the dragons went on strike. They use their fire to power everything, and people were just starting to take them for granted. And then there's this other thing I've been planning—not that I'll probably get to do it, but still—that's all about weird things that happen in the town. If I ever get the chance, I'd love to write my own column just about weird mysteries and unexplained…stuff."


Marlowe smiles and wipes their camera lens, looking a little wistful. Barely a moment later, however, they look at you with a gasp.


"Oh! Have you heard about the trees going missing in the forest?"


You nod your head, suddenly remembering the conversation you had with Tayo at last night's party.


"Yeah, it's pretty fascinating. If a bunch of workers are saying it's happening, I think I'd have to believe them. If I could, I'd kill to write about something like that."


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