History VideoGame / TheTraderOfStories

* CrazyJealousGuy: In Myo's story, [[spoiler:Elm - the divine judge who values Order above all -]] is so intensely jealous of Hazel that he subjects Cedar to KangarooCourt and exile just for spending too much time with her.

* FalseFriend: [[spoiler: Myo herself,]] back when she'd been a manipulative bitch, "befriended" Reyle specifically in order to hurt her.

** [[spoiler: Vozi's]] father went missing after conceiving the child (in a one-night stand) and definitely never even knew he was a father in the first place.

* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: [[spoiler:Hvarfa]] and [[spoiler:Reyle]] both got pregnant by men they loved, only to be abandoned by them; in the latter's case because of a BedTrick and giving the former an understandable case of DoesNotLikeMen.

* UnPerson: Elm orders that [[spoiler:no one ever find out what happened to Cedar]], which is why everyone is surprised at Myo's version of the story.

* NotAMorningPerson: Myo is ''not'' an early riser, no matter how much she claims to be every time she's woken up by other characters.

* ''Bell's Heart'' (2010): When her cart breaks down, Myosotis is forced to stop in a small town with quite a [[GhostStory romantic legend of a haunted lake]]. In the course of her investigation, she discovers how [[StarCrossedLovers romantic the story really is]]. Since the server it had originally been hosted on had gone Among the Roots, the game is temporarily unavailable. %% the game got re-released in 2023 with some tweaks. Play it [[ LINK here]]. %% it's going to be, soon, but isn't yet

* BaitAndSwitch: Myo's initial observations on her past self are completely off the mark (loves reading, keeps good order, pyromaniac) since she's sleeping in Coni's room. And there's no pyomania either, Coni just stays up reading until the candles burn to the ground.

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: To Elm, there is the Law, those who follow it, and those who must be destroyed. Fittingly, his segments switch to a stark monochrome that's necssary to solve a puzzle.

** The most sympathetic of them [[spoiler:invents bacteria as a means of forcing survival of the fittest]] as a means to encourage change in the world.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Coni is obsessed with order, doesn't speak at all except to rattle off long excerpts from books she read (down to the chapter, page and line). She gets better at communicating after a while, but even then has a tendency to chime in at inappropriate moments.

* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: [[spoiler:Hvarfa]] and [[spoiler:Reyle]] both got pregnant by men they loved, only to be abandoned by them; in the latter's case because of a BedTrick and giving the former an understandable case of DoesNotLikeMen after that.

* UntrustingCommunity: At first, a numer of townsfolk want as little to do with Myo as possible. Then we find out they're more than justified due to [[spoiler:Myo's past behavior]].

* StoryBranching: How the RomanceArc plays out is largely dependent on player's choices, as there are two {{Love Interest}}s. [[spoiler: You can actually, ahem, play with both guys, but if you do, Ugo gives you a DidYouThinkICantFeel and Scath, well. Spoilers.]]

* AmnesiacsAreInnocent: Most of the messes she has to solve in ''Chapter III'' are, directly or not, Myo's own fault. Except she's sown the seeds before contracting amnesia, as a child or a constantly-acting-out teenager. Several of the villagers remember her as a first-class manipulative bitch.

* ExcessiveMourning:

* SustainedMisunderstanding: Veig thinks [[spoiler:he drunkenly slept with Neesan (though after Coni was born)]], Neesan never told him [[spoiler:she just threw up on him after they both got stinking drunk and he blacked out]]. Myo never brings this up with him.

** Targov, who's lost his daughter about the same time Fryme lost her son, refuses to move anything in her room and will move heaven and earth to find her again, as he knows for a fact Reyle's still alive.

* GriefInducedSplit: It seems like this happened to Fryme and Kesaj, as she began suspecting him of cheating after their son's death and then he vanished. [[spoiler: Except Kesaj was really spending the time helping Reyle - the girl his son had a one-night stand with before FakingTheDead and running away - because she's the mother of his grandson. Kesaj's vanishing turns out to have been caused a fatal accident when [[FinallyFoundTheBody Myo finds his dead body]] in the underground tunnels.]]

* SustainedMisunderstanding: Veig thinks [[spoiler:he drunkenly slept with Neesan (though after Coni was born)]], Neesan never told him [[spoiler:she threw up on him after getting drunk]]. Myo never brings this up with him.

* CrazyJealousGuy: [[spoiler: In Myo's story, Elm - the divine judge who values Order above all - is so intensely jealous of Hazel that he subjects Cedar to KangarooCourt and exile just for spending too much time with her.]]

* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Ashur actually ran away to Bark, leaving his backpack to be found in the meadows so everyone would think he's been eaten.]]
* FalseFriend: [[spoiler: Myo herself, back when she'd been a manipulative bitch, "befriended" Reyle specifically in order to hurt her.]]

* TheMaze: [[spoiler: While Myo falls into the Caught Breath cave system through the ceiling, leaving it requires some careful navigation of underground tunnels]].
* NasalTrauma: Myo punches [[spoiler: Sljed after having enough of his crap]]. Right in the nose. The punchee claims it's broken, but later appears perfectly fine, so either it wasn't or Hvarfa the healer did her magic.

** [[spoiler: Hvarfa also had a baby as a young woman, with a guy who didn't even stay for breakfast. She had to give her son up for adoption and is very sympathetic to Reyle and Neesan.]]

* SeekingTheMissingFindingTheDead: Technically, [[spoiler: Reyle]] isn't dead when found, but dies on the way back home.

* ''Bell's Heart'' (2010): When her cart breaks down, Myosotis is forced to stop in a small town with quite a [[GhostStory romantic legend of a haunted lake]]. In the course of her investigation, she discovers how [[StarCrossedLovers romantic the story really is]]. Since the server it had originally been hosted on had gone Among the Roots, the game is temorarily unavailable. %% the game got re-released in 2023 with some tweaks. Play it [[ LINK here]]. %% it's going to be, soon, but isn't yet

The first installments star a young woman named Myosotis, a traveler who makes it her business to buy stories from people -- because, suffering a severe case of LaserGuidedAmnesia, she hopes to find the story that is her own. WordOfGod says that future games are going to have a more diverse cast. In {{flashback}} / story sequences of the prequels the player characters are the protagonists of the particular story told by Myo, eg. for Willow's part of ''Chapter I'' the point-of-view character is Willow.

All the games from ''A Grain of Truth'' up will be found [[http://www.rudowscy.com/ here]], on the official site.

* ''Bell's Heart'': When her cart breaks down, Myosotis is forced to stop in a small town with quite a [[GhostStory romantic legend of a haunted lake]]. In the course of her investigation, she discovers how [[StarCrossedLovers romantic the story really is]]. %% Link is defunct, a director's cut version is planned, but we'll announce it for real later [[http://jayisgames.com/games/the-trader-of-stories-bells-heart/ Play it here]].
* ''A Grain of Truth'': In her search of a [[MagicalGuide wiseman]] who might know where to find her past, Myosotis must first unravel the mystery of the Floating Rocks. [[http://www.zamolski.com/agot/ Play it here]] or [[http://www.rudowscy.com/agot/ here]].
* ''Trader of Stories, Chapter I'': The first of a number of planned {{prequel}} games that deal with Myo's backstory, this one tells of the time she spent in the [[HiddenElfVillage Forest of Dancing Trees]] immediately after contracting the LaserGuidedAmnesia. Play it [[http://www.rudowscy.com/tos1/ here]].
* ''Trader of Stories, Chapter II'': After spending nearly a Blossoming in the human city of Bark, Myo's life seems fairly ordered. She works as a waitress and storyteller in Gofung's teashop, has aquaintances, if not friends, and generally makes do. But the amnesia still bothers her, alongside an odd sense of not belonging. Until a TallDarkAndHandsome mysterious guest arrives... Play it [[http://www.rudowscy.com/tos2/ here]].

!!Tropes in The Trader of Stories series:
* AccidentalPervert: In ''Chapter II'', [[spoiler: Ugo walks in on Myo while she's washing]].
* AlchemyIsMagic: ''Bell's Heart'' and ''Chapter II'' feature potion making.
* TheAlcoholic: The inn patron in ''Bell's Heart''. Claims it's due to being spooked by the ghost. The bartender doesn't mind much, since the guy drinks enough for ''6'' people.
* AllThereInTheManual: In ''Bell's Heart'' Myosotis ''carries'' the manual (helpfully written for her by her sister). You don't need to access it to win the game, it's pure {{Worldbuilding}}.
* AlternativeCalendar: The Forest Bed measures years in "Blossoms" and days in "Breaths". This is because the light in this world comes from the Great Tree, in twenty-four hour "breath" cycles resembling our days and nights, while the Tree's blossoming marks years.
* AndTheAdventureContinues: ''Bell's Heart'' ends that way.
* AnimalisticAbomination: In the {{climax}} of ''Chapter I'', [[spoiler: the, for lack of better word, monstrous wolfeer that somehow ends up in the Forest]]. Wolfeers [[AlwaysABiggerFish run away from it]].

** Except in the first game, clickable areas can be highlighted via a button, preventing a PixelHunt.
** The second game has a map that acts as a WarpWhistle.

** In ''Chapter II'' you can lose your patience and simply [[spoiler: hit the potion-making apparatus to create the explosive mixture. But only the explosive, not the star solvent.]]
* TheAntiNihilist: The general tone of Wiseman's talk with Myosotis is: stop obsessing over your past, girl, and make use of the time you have!

* AwfulTruth: ''A Grain of Truth'' hints there might be something really, really bad in Myo's past, and the Wiseman knows all about it. [[LockedOutOfTheLoop But won't tell]]. [[spoiler: She might be a LivingMacGuffin, ChosenOne and/or DarkMessiah -- or possibly just very unlucky.]]
* BarefootSage: The Wiseman.
* BedTrick: [[spoiler: In ''Bell's Heart'' a girl in the village did this to Derrida]], causing said person to [[DrivenToSuicide become the ghost in the lake]]. [[spoiler: And the real father of the present-day mayor]].
* BettyAndVeronica: Myo's {{Love Interest}}s in ''Chapter II'' are Ugo, a BoyNextDoor whose only fault is FantasticRacism towards Shadowchildren (which may or may not have to do with his rival being one) [[spoiler: and who [[TakingTheBullet defends Myo with his life and limb]], even if she's been standoffish to him]]; and Scath, an exotic, mysterious, [[ArtistsAreAttractive artsy]] and suave [[InterspeciesRomance Shadowchild]] [[spoiler: [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys dream thief]] and the unrepentant [[DatingCatwoman villain of the episode]].]] Also, you are free to play a MasterOfTheMixedMessage if you like.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Myosotis, in ''A Grain of Truth'', [[DeadpanSnarker talks back to the player]] when asked to do things she deems stupid. Some characters even ask who she's talking to.
* ButThouMust: The goddess Willow really doesn't want to [[spoiler: cause the Oak additional pain by reopening His wound to get fresh sap]], but it's the only way.
* CallASmeerpARabbit: The people of Forest Bed sometimes do that, for example: they call their steeds "horses" despite them being different sorts of creatures.
* TheCallLeftAMessage: [[spoiler: Dew's sword has been patiently waiting in its box since before Baccataxus came back from his travels]]. And that's a long time ago - ''six hundred Blossomings'', as it turns out in ''Chapter II''.
* CerebusSyndrome: ''A Grain of Truth'' is (until the [[TwistEnding ending]], that is) LighterAndSofter than the whimsical ''Bell's Heart'', but also much harder (with more classical PointAndClick puzzles).
* CharmPerson: ''Bell's Heart''. By means of a magical charm.
* ChickMagnet: Derrida in ''Bell's Heart''. He only has eyes for the school teacher though, despite the [[StarCrossedLover racial divide]].
* CityOfAdventure: Bark, the central city of the Forest Bed (build right around the Oak's trunk, no less, hence the name), is huge and offers much possibilities. ''Chapter II'' is set there.
* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption: [[EyeOfNewt Ingredients for the two potions]] in ''Bell's Heart'' include: cat's fur, hair of the person you want [[CharmPerson charmed]], an amulet and a pot to boil these together -- and the last two you have to [[KleptomaniacHero swipe]] from the old lady's house. Okay, maybe she doesn't mind much, but you only find this out if you talk to her, and you don't have to.
* DeadpanSnarker: Myosotis, more so in ''A Grain of Truth''.
** Also, the Wiseman in the same game.
* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: [[CoolOldGuy The Wiseman]] has a heart-to-heart with... someone who knows way more than a human ought to. Also [[MagicalGuide communes]] with the [[PhysicalGod Tree]].
* DisabledDeity: In the story Myo learns in prequel ''Chapter I'', [[spoiler: First Born Willow weeps so hard her [[ProphetEyes eyes become dull and unseeing]] ]].
* DivineConflict: In the backstory we learn in ''Chapter I'' [[spoiler: one of the many things it led to was [[CreationMyth creation of the Dancing Trees]] in an attempt to RestartTheWorld]]. It was suitably [[WarIsHell world-shattering]].
* DreamStealer: A gang of these in [[spoiler: ''Chapter II''. Dreams are then used to produce a FantasticDrug.]] Losing your dreams results in a depression-like illness.
%%* DreamWeaver: Dew, the Guardian of Dreams.
* DrowningMySorrows: Omorica after it turns out it was her sister Pinutros has an interest in, not her.
* DubNameChange: First Born Jaśmin turns into Cedar in English, because "Jasmine" would be too girly.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''Bell's Heart'' is the only game without option to highlight clickable areas.
* EasterEgg:
** Ask the Captain in ''A Grain of Truth'' if her crew has a long-standing tradition [[spoiler: of brewing]].
** Try asking the Wise Man (who [[StrangeSyntaxSpeaker talks like Yoda]]) about [[spoiler: the Force]].
* EmissaryFromTheDivine: Enora, the prophet and founder of the Servants of Voice.
* TheExile: In ''Chapter II'', Scath was exiled by the Shadowchildren for vaguely defined reasons. [[spoiler: Dew, however, was exiled for breaking a specific law.]]
* ExpansionPackPast: The glimpse we get of Myo's amnesia in ''A Grain of Truth'' ''kind of'' suggests that she awoke surrounded by people who told her her name and so on. It turns out that she spent Blossomings with people who knew no more about her than she did, before finally meeting someone who recognised her.
* TheFagin: [[spoiler: In ''Chapter II'', Scath is one for the dream thieves, because he needs them - only a small, lightweight kid can fly a kite to catch a dream before it falls back to the dreamer.]]
* TheFairFolk: Very mild -- the Icy Butterflies are perfectly friendly, but wary of humans and inscrutable. The Dancing Trees fit the "HiddenElfVillage deep in the forest" mould.
* FanService: Some of the poses Myosotis strikes in ''Chapter I'' are rather egregious.
* FantasticRacism: A mild example in ''Bell's Heart'': Humans and "Butterflies" are forbidden to marry; while not an open hate thing, it still causes [[StarCrossedLovers tragedy]].

* FantasyPantheon: The First Born, [[DivineDelegation children of the Great Oak]]. They are all named after trees. [[spoiler: Upon taking the role of TheSacredDarkness, Birch shed her old identity and [[MeaningfulRename renamed herself]] Voice.]] Most of Myo's stories feature them and their Myth/ClassicalMythology worthy exploits.
* FirstKiss: In ''Chapter II'', [[spoiler: you can give Ugo his.]]

** Myosotis is the scientific name of the "forget-me-not" flowers.
** In {{flashback}} sequences of the prequels we meet some of the Oak's Children, who are all named directly after trees.
** The Dancing Trees tend to take their personal names from botanical nomenclature.
* FriendToAllChildren: In both prequel games so far, Myo ends up looking after the kids.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: The Wiseman is unbothered by a ''bird nesting in his hair''. Couple of years before [[Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney Radagast]], no less!
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The ending of ''A Grain of Truth'' hints at [[spoiler:the possible destruction of the world]] in the near future, and Myosotis' amnesia is somehow connected to it.
* GiveTheBabyAFather: Happened in the story Myo discovers in ''Bell's Heart''.
* AGlitchInTheMatrix: [[spoiler: To break out of her [[LotusEaterMachine artificially-induced dream]] in ''Chapter II'', Myo needs to change the pattern of things, effectively creating Glitches in the Matrix.]]
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: [[MixAndMatchCreatures Wolfeers]] have glowing red eyes visible from offscreen.
* GodsHandsAreTied: The Red Codex, a collection of laws that bind the First Born and Guardians, explicitly forbids meddling in the affairs of mortals. [[spoiler: It never stopped Rowan. Voice, too, is able to establish her cult quite freely, although after Enora's VisionQuest, most work is done by mortal priestesses anyway.]]
* GoodBadGirl: Moralba ain't shy around boys. Or mead. This does not hinder her work in the nursery or her generally [[CoolBigSis helpful personality]].
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Myo smokes a pipe. So does the mayor in ''Bell's Heart''.
* GrumpyOldMan: ''Chapter I'' has Fagusvat, the grumpiest tree ever.

* GuideDangIt: Several times. Especially in ''A Grain of Truth''.
* HiddenElfVillage: The forest of Dancing Trees, for all its TheLostWoods decorations, is one of these. Secluded? Check. Populated by very traditional, yet (mostly) friendly to the lost, helpless protagonist CloseKnitCommunity of sentients not often met in TheOutsideWorld? Yup.
* HighPriest: Mother Superior of the Servants of Voice is a female example (since they're all women in service of the goddess Voice).
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Possibly. ''Chapter II'' begins with Myo's account of how Bark was founded. Later, she's told that her version differs a lot from the official history books, in which Enora was much less [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] and more saintly. We don't know who's got it right.
* HolyIsNotSafe: Yes, the Oak's sap is quite holy. It can send you on a VisionQuest, but you're not guaranteed to get back.

* HorseOfADifferentColor: Husks are oxen of a different color (that look reptilian, grow bigger than houses and regularly shed their shells). The cloud eater is... an elephant-giraffe-sauropod... never mind.

* InformingTheFourthWall: ''A Grain of Truth'' at least makes these [[DeadpanSnarker funny]].
* InnocentPlantChildren: Subverted in ''The Trader Of Stories I'': The sapient, humanoid trees are shown to care for their young like a human nursery, but the focus isn't on the children but the adults, many of which have... ''difficult'' personalities (some due to the fact that they don't like the player character, a human).
* InterspeciesRomance: In ''Chapter II'', Scath's RomanceArc, should you choose it. [[spoiler: OptionalSexualEncounter included.]]

* JobTitle: For the series, at least.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Myo knows her own name, recognises her sister, but several years ago has forgotten her entire life story.
** Possibly justified; she took three Blossoms (the equivalent of years) to come out of the comatose state she was left in after being found. That's plenty long enough to relearn her name and her sister, especially if her sister isn't really her sister at all, but is only a caretaker claiming to be her sister at the request or order of [[spoiler:the Guardian.]]
** The above is Jossed, or possibly {{Retcon}}ned by ''Chapter I'' where we learn exactly how she spent these Blossoms (with the Dancing Trees, not learning her real name, because they didn't know it).
* LovableRogue: Scath in ''Chapter II'' has this vibe about him. [[spoiler: Except [[FauxAffablyEvil he's not]].]]
* LoveLetter: A clue to the ''Bell's Heart'' story.
* {{Narrator}}: Intros and outros feature narration by Myo herself.
* MagicalGuide: The Wiseman.
* TheMasochismTango: Aumur and Aislin, who seem unable to communicate without verbal abuse. Aislin says they wanted to kill each other when they first met in the university, only to get married this same Blossoming.
* MeaningfulName: "Myosotis" is the scientific name of [[IronicName forget-me-not]].
** Aislin (dream) for a dream researcher who CannotDream herself.
* MiniGame: Mahjong and jigsaw puzzle in ''A Grain of Truth''. Sliding puzzles in ''Chapter II''.
* MixAndMatchCritters: Several of the wild creatures encountered throughout the series seem to be a mix of two or more different types of animals.
* MoodWhiplash: Intro of ''Bell's Heart'' starts with a dramatic bit of narration that segues into "I would kill for a soft bed right now."
* MysticalWhiteHair: In ''Chapter I'' and ''Chapter II'', Myo's hair is white, even though it wasn't in ''Bell's Heart'' and ''A Grain of Truth''. [[spoiler: And, as Adalbert says, it's not her natural colour. What makes it mystical, though, is the fact that somehow she can use a Guardian's sword, which would result in a pretty weird death for a mere mortal. Also, the stories about gods "just come to her, like memories".]]
* NiceGuy: The owner of the teahouse, Gofung. Also his son Ugo, who [[DoggedNiceGuy quite obviously carries the torch for Myo]] (Low-Key Yearning style).
* OneOfTheBoys: Word of advice - don't call [[StreetUrchin Red]] "little girl". She's the meanest guy in town.
* OntologicalMystery: In ''A Grain of Truth'', Myosotis is an AmnesiacHero, and the floating stones' history is revealed through the game.
* PaintingTheMedium: Intro of ''Bell's Heart'' is made in the [[IndecisiveMedium style of a comic book]]. And suddenly Crack! Goes the wheel and several panels.
* ParentsAsPeople: Gofung is a bit of a BumblingDad, but loving and responsible. Aumur and Aislin were so [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]] that their son ran away from home, but they really, really regret that.
* PlantPerson: [[{{Treants}} The Dancing Trees]], or most of the cast in prequel game ''Chapter I''.
* PopQuiz: ''Chapter I'' requires answering questions to complete some tasks (e.g. shooting rodents from the trees.)

* {{Railroading}}: In ''Bell's Heart'' potion making puzzle, you're not allowed to put the ingredients into the pot in a different order than the recipe says. And you [[GuideDangIt need a special bottle]] (obtained in the inn).
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Ticordata in the Forest of Dancing Trees.
* RipVanWinkle:[[spoiler:In ''A Grain of Truth'', when Myosotis awakens from connecting with the Great Oak, she finds that it's been ''ten'' "Blossoms" (years).]]
* QuirkyTown: Everywhere she goes, Myosotis meets people of unusual personalities or occupations (some more than others).
* TheSacredDarkness: Voice is the goddess of the underworld, caretaker of the dead and advisor for those who want [[HeelFaceTurn redemption]].

* SiblingYinYang: ''Chapter I'' has cutesy, perky [[ThePollyanna Juni]] and her sister Omorica who holds everything and everyone in utter disdain, the [[FlatEarthAtheist Great Oak included]].
* SmallTownBoredom: Aceru is chomping at the bit to leave the forest of Dancing Trees, just like [[CoolOldGuy Baccataxus]] did in his youth.
* StarCrossedLovers: The theme of ''Bell's Heart''.

* StayInTheKitchen: The Dancing Trees have a traditionalist society were men typically become soldiers and guards while young women all work in the nursery taking care of the seedlings, until they take root and begin bearing seeds of their own. This probably has a strong biological component (becoming immobile is an intrinsic part of their life cycle).
* SteamPunk: Mild example -- the Wiseman owns scientific equipment [[spoiler: including a movie projector]].
* StoryBreadcrumbs: Myo gathers them as her job.
* StoryBranching: In ''Chapter II'' there are two {{Love Interest}}s and how the RomanceArc plays out is largely dependent on player's choices. [[spoiler: You can actually, ahem, play with both guys, but if you do, Ugo gives you a DidYouThinkICantFeel and Scath, well. Spoilers.]]

* StrangeSyntaxSpeaker: The Wiseman speaks like [[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]], and if you ask him about "force" at the end of the game, he makes a shout-out to him, saying IAlwaysWantedToSayThat.
* StreetUrchin: In ''Chapter II'', Red, Scraggly and Sniffles. Curls, the first of their gang that you meet, acts more like TheArtfulDodger. [[spoiler: Possibly due to being TheRunaway by choice, not an orphan.]]
* StuffBlowingUp: One of the potions you make in ''Chapter II''.
* TalkLikeAPirate: Part of the Cloud Eater crew.
* TitleDrop: Myosotis is known around the land as the [[JobTitle Trader of Stories]].
** The fact that the Big Oak "dreams" is also mentioned. [[spoiler: It's dreams take form of the clouds. The floating stones from the ''Grain of Truth'' are Oak's dreams in their crystalized form.]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Old lady Willow ''loves'' her tea so much she has a tea merchant visit her every couple of Blossomings solely for the purpose of buying some. Or so [[TheChessmaster she says]].

* [[spoiler:TraumaInducedAmnesia]]: As we learn when ''A Grain of Truth'' goes the way of [[CerebusSyndrome Cerebus]].
* TwistEnding: ''A Grain of Truth''.
* UndyingLoyalty: Zephyr hangs around for ten ''years'' after [[spoiler:Myosotis goes into her trance]].
* WhamLine: The ending of ''A Grain of Truth''.

* WeAreAsMayflies: The Dancing Trees live several times longer than humans. One of their older members even mistook several generations of merchants to be the same person changing form each visit.
* WeirdCurrency: Acorns of the [[WorldTree Great Oak]]. They're silver in colour, for some reason.

** Myosotis would qualify too, if there were other story traders.
* WingedHumanoid: The elder butterfly in ''Bell's heart'' only has visible wings when she is approached. They have a full spread as a regular butterfly, and glow white.
* WiseTree: Dancing Trees take root and become immobile when they age, although wisdom doesn't necessary come with it.
%%* {{Worldbuilding}}:

* YearOutsideHourInside: This happens to both [[spoiler:the Wiseman and Myosotis]] while [[MentalWorld communing]] with the Great Tree.

%%* DoesNotLikeShoes:
%%** Myo, as expected of anyone dressed like a HotGypsyWoman.
%%** And also the Wiseman.

* ''Bell's Heart'': When her cart breaks down, Myosotis is forced to stop in a small town with quite a [[GhostStory romantic legend of a haunted lake]]. In the course of her investigation, she discovers how [[StarCrossedLovers romantic the story really is]]. [[http://jayisgames.com/games/the-trader-of-stories-bells-heart/ Play it here]].

The first installments star a young woman named Myosotis, a traveler who makes it her business to buy stories from people -- because, suffering from a severe case of LaserGuidedAmnesia, she hopes to find the story that is her own. WordOfGod says that future games are going to have a more diverse cast. In {{flashback}} / story sequences of the prequels the player characters are the protagonists of the particular story, eg. for Willow's part of ''Chapter I'' the point-of-view character is Willow.

!!Tropes in The Trader of Stories: