40

You clench your fists in preparation for action, thinking that if anything needs to be done, it should be sooner rather than later. If anybody is still looking for it—if there's any chance it's still doing whatever it's supposed to do—you think it might be best to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

Your grandma, however, cocks her head in indecision.

"I don't think there's any need for that. It's definitely not functioning anymore, and—to be honest, I'd quite like to take a closer look at it. I would never recommend any of this to anyone else, of course, but I do have some experience with electronics, and I felt confident that I could take it apart safely. And since I already have it, I thought it could be a good opportunity to learn a little more. Besides—it's enough of a problem trying to safely dispose of things like this, it could simply draw more attention to the fact that we have it at all."

She speaks quite calmly, as if all of this is just vaguely interesting to her rather than concerning. You're not sure you could be quite so calm yourself if you were holding one of those things—but then, you don't know what it's for. Judging by the look on your grandma's face, it seems she might know something that you don't.

"I haven't figured out exactly what it does," she tells you, not looking up from the device. "But I think I have a good idea what it might be related to."

Without warning, she stands up and moves over to a wall where there's a shelf full of books. She pulls out what looks like a wedge of folded paper and brings it over to you—and only when she starts to lay it out on the table in front of you (after moving aside the teapot) do you realize that it's a large, ornate map.

A map of Silvertree—and the forest.

Next