A WITCH stands in the middle of The Woods. It’s been many moons since they returned to The Woods. Much has changed, but some things remain the same. They stand with their arms folded and their foot tapping. 

“I know you’re there…” 

This dance is one of the few constants. While the outcome is always the same, she loves this dance. And so they stand waiting in The Woods, a willing participant in her little scheme. 

“I know you’re there.” 

These games always test what little willpower they possess. Why draw out something where you know the outcome? Yet, they know it’s just her nature for she is a WITCH hatched from a scheme. 

Again, their words are met with silence. They survey The Woods looking for any clues but she has hidden them well this time. 

“FINE.” 

Their voice echoes across the woods. A fox scampers across their path, diving into a nearby hole. 

“Last chance…or what happens next is your doing…” 

They start to fiddle with the subtle jewelry adorned on the bridge of their nose. This was a recent piercing crafted from pressed flowers and parakeet feathers. Their studies of cursed objects led them to the secret of storing sources of magic within the smallest of vessels. 

More silence. With a flick of their wrist, the piercing crashed into the earth. A thick peppery smoke began to seep through The Woods. 

“Good heavens! Someone’s feeling extra spicy today…” 

A voice called out from within The Woods. They whispered a short incantation and the peppery smoke slid back into their piercing. As the smoke cleared, there she was snatching the piercing off the ground.  

“Wipe that smile from your face. I should have known that new piercing was fashionable and functional.” 

She stepped forward and gently refastened it to the bridge of their nose. As she pulled away, she could hear them whisper something in an arcane tongue and felt their hand press softly against her chest. 

“What…what IS this?!” 

She looked down at the threaded necklace adorned with lavender jewels. The necklace completed her look perfectly and she knew she’d never take it off. 

“I missed that smile of yours, Shallot. While I was traveling across the weird wilds, I just happened upon some dragon scales. I know that’s where your magic stems…”

“Oh so now you decide not to be extra? I want to hear all the details! And no, Neutrino, I don’t want to read about it in one of your journals. I want to hear about it from you!”

Before they could protest, she was dragging them by the hand to her cottage hidden within The Woods. 

“Now, you’re going to tell me everything while I cook for you. I know you’ve missed my cooking after all those months researching all things cursed.” 

When they reached her cottage, Neutrino navigated their way to the familiar nook that had many of their research papers adorned to the walls. Amid all the weirdness in the wilds, there was always a familiar place with her. 

“You see, this is how you’re supposed to act. You don’t see my throwing balls of pepper magic because I’m impatiently waiting for your story…” 

They exchanged looks and both started to giggle. As they thumbed through an open tome on herbs, she glided through the kitchen starting the prep work for their meal. 

“Okay, so where was I…” 

A few months ago, Neutrino received one of the oddest reports they had ever read. WITCHES were mysteriously losing their corporeal forms across the weird wilds. There were no real leads but whispers among numerous necromancers was that this was the doing of an ancient WITCH. 

Once a WITCH lost their corporeal form, a cursed object would appear hidden within a hollowed tree. Few understood the significance of the objects or what remained locked within them. Many theorized the objects trapped WITCHES within like djinn, but they had a different theory. 

“Ohhh dinner and a mystery? Like the mage you are, I bet you went straight to The Library to consult with your fellow librarians on this…” 

Filled with wonder but no idea where to find one of these cursed objects, they quickly made their way over to the Detective Agency. There was one WITCH in particular that they wanted to consult with on the matter. 

“You didn’t! You consulted with them?!” 

Amongst the many detectives from all archetypes, there was one WITCH in particular that could help them locate a cursed object. They was the only WITCH to have ever out schemed Shallot. And they made it a point to decorate their turban with the emerald Shallot had lost. 

Despite this tenuous relationship, Neutrino knew that Chrysalis was one of the few seers that had the skill to reveal the whereabouts of these objects. 

“Ugh, I hope you told them they looked like a bejeweled pirate.” 

As with most cases, the Detective Agency and Chrysalis made short work of locating a hallowed tree where a cursed object resided. Unfortunately for Neutrino, the tree was located in one of the more remote areas of the weird wilds and was quite a ways from the Detective Agency. 

Along their travels to the remotest parts of the weird wilds, they stumbled upon a dragon's den. A reclusive species, dragons have long-lived hidden within the weird wilds. There are legends passed down about WITCHES that formed bonds with dragons as equals and familiars, but few speak freely about such things. 

“Here, taste this…and don’t you dare try to claim you fought a dragon and took some of its scales for me. Your little pepper bomb would barely tickle a dragon’s nose!” 

By a stroke of luck, the dragon had shed many of its scales nearby its lair allowing Neutrino to collect a handful at a time. However, these scales were worn and hardened from centuries of living in the wilds. Melding them into a thread for a necklace would be the true challenge. 

They spent weeks in The Library, pouring over tome after tome searching for the right concoction to break down the dragon scales. After dozens of failed attempts, they found just the right mixture of diatomaceous earth, pressed lily of the valley, and aged parakeet feathers steeped in pepper spray. 

Then the dragon scales were melded with Ethereum into an unbreakable thread enchanted to enhance channeling ability. The final piece, the Ethereum diamond, was designed with her elegance in mind and to store a reserve of her magic. 

“Oh Neutrino, this is the most thoughtful gift! Just…I love that wherever I go, your essence will always be with me. Now before you finish that story, let’s have a nice dinner together.”

A WITCH stands in the middle of The Woods. It’s been many moons since they returned to The Woods. Much has changed, but some things remain the same. They stand with their arms folded and their foot tapping. 

“I know you’re there…” 

This dance is one of the few constants. While the outcome is always the same, she loves this dance. And so they stand waiting in The Woods, a willing participant in her little scheme. 

“I know you’re there.” 

These games always test what little willpower they possess. Why draw out something where you know the outcome? Yet, they know it’s just her nature for she is a WITCH hatched from a scheme. 

Again, their words are met with silence. They survey The Woods looking for any clues but she has hidden them well this time. 

“FINE.” 

Their voice echoes across the woods. A fox scampers across their path, diving into a nearby hole. 

“Last chance…or what happens next is your doing…” 

They start to fiddle with the subtle jewelry adorned on the bridge of their nose. This was a recent piercing crafted from pressed flowers and parakeet feathers. Their studies of cursed objects led them to the secret of storing sources of magic within the smallest of vessels. 

More silence. With a flick of their wrist, the piercing crashed into the earth. A thick peppery smoke began to seep through The Woods. 

“Good heavens! Someone’s feeling extra spicy today…” 

A voice called out from within The Woods. They whispered a short incantation and the peppery smoke slid back into their piercing. As the smoke cleared, there she was snatching the piercing off the ground.  

“Wipe that smile from your face. I should have known that new piercing was fashionable and functional.” 

She stepped forward and gently refastened it to the bridge of their nose. As she pulled away, she could hear them whisper something in an arcane tongue and felt their hand press softly against her chest. 

“What…what IS this?!” 

She looked down at the threaded necklace adorned with lavender jewels. The necklace completed her look perfectly and she knew she’d never take it off. 

“I missed that smile of yours, Shallot. While I was traveling across the weird wilds, I just happened upon some dragon scales. I know that’s where your magic stems…”

“Oh so now you decide not to be extra? I want to hear all the details! And no, Neutrino, I don’t want to read about it in one of your journals. I want to hear about it from you!”

Before they could protest, she was dragging them by the hand to her cottage hidden within The Woods. 

“Now, you’re going to tell me everything while I cook for you. I know you’ve missed my cooking after all those months researching all things cursed.” 

When they reached her cottage, Neutrino navigated their way to the familiar nook that had many of their research papers adorned to the walls. Amid all the weirdness in the wilds, there was always a familiar place with her. 

“You see, this is how you’re supposed to act. You don’t see my throwing balls of pepper magic because I’m impatiently waiting for your story…” 

They exchanged looks and both started to giggle. As they thumbed through an open tome on herbs, she glided through the kitchen starting the prep work for their meal. 

“Okay, so where was I…” 

A few months ago, Neutrino received one of the oddest reports they had ever read. WITCHES were mysteriously losing their corporeal forms across the weird wilds. There were no real leads but whispers among numerous necromancers was that this was the doing of an ancient WITCH. 

Once a WITCH lost their corporeal form, a cursed object would appear hidden within a hollowed tree. Few understood the significance of the objects or what remained locked within them. Many theorized the objects trapped WITCHES within like djinn, but they had a different theory. 

“Ohhh dinner and a mystery? Like the mage you are, I bet you went straight to The Library to consult with your fellow librarians on this…” 

Filled with wonder but no idea where to find one of these cursed objects, they quickly made their way over to the Detective Agency. There was one WITCH in particular that they wanted to consult with on the matter. 

“You didn’t! You consulted with them?!” 

Amongst the many detectives from all archetypes, there was one WITCH in particular that could help them locate a cursed object. They was the only WITCH to have ever out schemed Shallot. And they made it a point to decorate their turban with the emerald Shallot had lost. 

Despite this tenuous relationship, Neutrino knew that Chrysalis was one of the few seers that had the skill to reveal the whereabouts of these objects. 

“Ugh, I hope you told them they looked like a bejeweled pirate.” 

As with most cases, the Detective Agency and Chrysalis made short work of locating a hallowed tree where a cursed object resided. Unfortunately for Neutrino, the tree was located in one of the more remote areas of the weird wilds and was quite a ways from the Detective Agency. 

Along their travels to the remotest parts of the weird wilds, they stumbled upon a dragon's den. A reclusive species, dragons have long-lived hidden within the weird wilds. There are legends passed down about WITCHES that formed bonds with dragons as equals and familiars, but few speak freely about such things. 

“Here, taste this…and don’t you dare try to claim you fought a dragon and took some of its scales for me. Your little pepper bomb would barely tickle a dragon’s nose!” 

By a stroke of luck, the dragon had shed many of its scales nearby its lair allowing Neutrino to collect a handful at a time. However, these scales were worn and hardened from centuries of living in the wilds. Melding them into a thread for a necklace would be the true challenge. 

They spent weeks in The Library, pouring over tome after tome searching for the right concoction to break down the dragon scales. After dozens of failed attempts, they found just the right mixture of diatomaceous earth, pressed lily of the valley, and aged parakeet feathers steeped in pepper spray. 

Then the dragon scales were melded with Ethereum into an unbreakable thread enchanted to enhance channeling ability. The final piece, the Ethereum diamond, was designed with her elegance in mind and to store a reserve of her magic. 

“Oh Neutrino, this is the most thoughtful gift! Just…I love that wherever I go, your essence will always be with me. Now before you finish that story, let’s have a nice dinner together.”