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

As you move along the main street, you happen to look over at the pet store—and just as you do, you see Nic stepping out through the main doors, a few heavy-looking bags in her hands. In the same moment that you see her, she spots you as well, and with a wave (or as much as she can manage with the bags she's carrying) she crosses the street to meet you.


"Hey—how's it going?" she asks once she reaches you. "I thought I was supposed to work today, but it turns out they hired a couple new people the other day, so they let me have the afternoon off while they're working the shift instead." She sighs, and hold up the bags. "Just needed to get a little more animal food. Um—actually, do you think I could ask you a little bit of a favor? My van's just around the corner; do you think you could help me carry these bags over there?"


You agree, and after thanking you profusely, Nic hands you one of the bags and together you start to walk. As you do, Nic tells you a little about where she's planning to travel next once she leaves again tonight. She says in particular that she won't be able to go too far, because she's already running through her gas budget quicker than she expected.


It only takes a couple of minutes to reach Nic's van, and after putting the bags inside you and Nic end up sitting together on the floor of the van where the rear doors open up. After spending a while longer talking about what you've both been up to, Nic pauses, and turns her gaze toward the nearby road.


"I can't keep traveling for much longer," she says with a sigh. "To be honest, even though I've been planning it for so long, when I actually decided to go it was so sudden and impulsive that I didn't really have much idea what I would do next. I was so ready to get out of Silvertree that I didn't think about where I would end up living, or what kind of job I could get when I ran out of money. I just figured it would work out somehow. But I can probably only afford to travel for a few more weeks, and then…"


She sighs heavily, and casts a weary look in the direction of the town.


"Maybe I'll just end up back here after all," she murmurs. "It's not that I don't like Silvertree; I just…"


She swallows—and for a moment she doesn't look at you directly. Eventually, however, she just shakes her head.


"I guess it wouldn't be so bad to come back here. But maybe I'll keep moving around for now, and see if I find somewhere else that feels a little more like home. And if I don't find a job, I can always come back to Silvertree and worst case see if they'll take me back at the pet store."


She laughs faintly, but you can see in her eyes that she's dreading that possibility.


"I wouldn't mind it if it was just the animals and the customers, but…it's like the company doesn't think the people working for them are human beings," she tells you in a low voice. "They expect you to act as if work is the only thing that matters to you in your life, never say no to customers even if what they're asking is literally impossible, come in to work with no notice…I'd be totally happy getting another job in a store or something, or anything where I'm around people. But what are the chances a new company would treat people any different?"


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