24

As he begins to try and organize everything into a more sensible arrangement, Robin asks you to collect a couple of things off the shelves. As you're walking through the archives and trying to find your way around, you notice sections for almost every kind of historical record—as well as labels for every subject matter—you could expect to find. In addition to books, there are archives of newspapers, photographs, film reels, sound recordings, maps, local advertisements, blueprints, artwork—even a section dedicated to storing pieces of industrial equipment from old factories. There's so much here you're not surprised Robin feels overwhelmed by the prospect of doing research on the town—but you can also understand why he might want to help preserve it.

Just as you're about to bring back a few things, however, your eye is caught by something hanging on a wall: a large, seemingly very old map of Silvertree and the region surrounding it—including Alberobello Forest. You pause for a moment just to look at it more closely, curious to see how much you recognize of the town and the forest in this map, which, according to the date, is over a century old.

Right away, however, you notice something a little strange. There isn't much detail in the illustration of the forest itself, sticking mostly to the shape of the outline—but somewhere near the middle of the forest, there's a small section that's been marked off by a circle. Next to it are some words in tiny letters that you just can't make out.

You can't be quite sure, but you think you were very close to that spot today when you were hiding from Mr. Clarence.

You bring Robin the things he needed, and he thanks you profusely before going back to typing. He seems a little less anxious now that he's sorted through his notes and is starting to write, but he's still very much focused on what he's doing. He tells you that he might ask to read you some of what he's written after a while, but for now you're free to wander. He even suggests that you find a computer yourself and explore some of the digital archives—according to him, they're about as vast as the physical ones.

Well, now might be a great time to try and look into what was going on in the forest. It just seems too important not to find out what's going on—and luckily, that map on the wall might have given you a good idea of where to start. You think if you put your mind to it, you might be able to dig up something really interesting.

However, now that you're here in the archives, you start to wonder if you're being too hasty in deciding what to do. After all, there's so much information around you—and just as you're thinking that, your gaze lands on a sign marked "Legal Records," pointing to a smaller room full of bulky filing cabinets. Trying to guess what might be in there, your eye continues on until it stops at a wall display containing what looks like a timeline of Silvertree's history, told through old photographs and newspaper clippings.

Even though you know you could still go through with your original idea, it strikes you that there's so much more you could try and discover. That display of town history showing just how much things have changed—that map with its strange marking in the forest—and all those legal records, hiding the solutions to who knows how many mysteries. Maybe the display could give you an idea for how to help Robin with his research; the map might give you a clue about what Mr. Clarence was doing in the forest; or maybe, hidden somewhere in those legal records, is a hint about those mysterious trees that have been appearing. What if it's happened before?

After turning once more about the vast room, you decide once and for all on a plan