Mary Unfairy is absolutely certain that today is the day she will finally overcome her biggest fear and set foot in the completely terrifying, probably dangerous and definitely magical Dark Wood. She’s pretty convinced it will happen. Probably.
Mary is the Realms of Faeries’ best and only Explenturer (half explorer, half adventurer). She spends her days adding newfound lands to her meticulously hand drawn map. But there’s a big section of it that remains disgracefully unexplentured – the Dark Wood.
Mary sets out one morning to remedy this situation once and for all. But the Realms of Faerie can be a dangerous place and all manner of things can happen as you go about your day –
- You could get chased by Goblins and in your desire to evade them you might drink a potion that turns you into a Goblin yourself.
- You may encounter a Troll who drops you off her bridge and straight onto a River Dragon as it passes underneath and now you’ll have to somehow jump off it before it drags you down into a nearby lake.
- You might even end up in a very unpleasant smelling swamp after falling asleep on a hill you didn’t know could walk, and then have the misfortune of being discovered by a Mosster.
For Mary on her way to the Dark Wood, all of these things definitely do happen. And more. Much, much more.
As she stands at the edge of the Dark Wood, Mary finds that she finally has the courage to walk inside it. Little does she know that those first steps into the forest will alter the very path of the rest of her life.
A Gnome called Willow and her grandfather’s old spellbook will see to that…
Jay Penn writer/illustrator 