Spencer wasn't sure how whether he should continue on as he stared up at the staircase leading to the tower. His grandfathers words rang though his head like a distant bell.

'Stay away from the tower.'

'You must never go there.'

'Once you do, your fate is sealed.'

Spencers attention turned to the very top as he saw a purple-haired figure staring down at him. With malice or benevolence was something Spencer couldn't figure out.

As if he was on autopilot, he started walking up the stairs, not breaking eye contact with the man. But once he got halfway, the man disappeared and the staircase behind him started to crumble.

Spencer made a mad dash up the remaining steps, but the stairs were falling apart quicker than he could run. He felt the ground below him disappear, and he fell into darkness, screaming.

Spencer shouted as he sprung up from bed, panting heavily. He buried his head into his hands as he tried to calm himself, "Just a dream… Just… a dream," He slowly lifted his head up and stared out at the window ahead. He could faintly see the tower in the distance.

"What don't you want me seeing, grandpa?" He muttered. He rubbed the remaining, but little, sleep from his eyes before getting out of bed.

Pelican Town was a beautiful, peaceful village. There were no cars, no streetlights, no crosswalks. It was a town left frozen, untouched by modern hassles. Spencer liked it.

Spencer received a letter in the mail earlier that morning from a man named Pierre, advertising seeds. Although he didn't find the other man's attempt of bringing in more business the best welcome, he wasn't going to be a farmer without any seeds.

The bell rang as Spencer pushed the door open. He was shocked to see how empty it looked. He figured that having this be the only shop in town it would be a little busier.

The man behind the counter perked up and smiled widely, "Welcome to Pierres!" He shouted maybe a little too enthusiastically.

Spencer jumped at the sudden exclamation, "Oh, hello…"

"You must be the new farmer! I was hoping you would stop by today… or ever… heh…" The mans face suddenly grew worried.

"… Uh huh… Well, anyway, I believe you have some seeds, correct?"

"Yep! Just got them in yesterday. I'm Pierre, by the way," Pierre introduced himself as he got from behind the desk to show Spencer the seed display, "Please, take your pick!"

"Thank you," As Pierre went back to his post at the register, Spencer perused the selection of seeds, hardly noticing the bell ringing a second time as a shorter man with a toupee and a well pressed suit came it.

"Pierre!" The man said smugly, "It's good to see you! How's business?"

"Wouldn't you like to know. You have no business here, Morris, leave!"

"Harsh words coming from someone so… Old Fashioned, for lack of better term."

Spencer knelt to get some seeds on the bottom.

"I heard there was someone new today. I just figured once they get here I'd show them where the better products were, for low prices of course," Morris looked over at the seed display, placing a hand on it, "I mean, just look at this flimsy display," He purposely pushed it over.

Spencer grunted as he caught the display before it toppled over, setting it back upright in it's rightful position.

Morris made a confused sound and looked up, stepping back when he saw the taller, strong built man, "Well, uh…" He gulped at Spencer's glare, "There he is."

"May I help you?"

Morris straightened himself out, "Well," He started, "I would like to be the first one to welcome you to Pelican Town. I'm Morris, the customer service rep at the JojaMart down the river. And of course, with every welcome comes with a twenty-five percent discount off you're first-"

"Not interested."

"Ah, you're a man who wants greater things. I think I can do a fifty percent discount for you!"

"Still not interested," He turned back to the selections of seeds, picking out a few packages.

"S-seventy five, then?" Morris asked, almost desperately.

Spencer placed some seeds down on the counter before turning to Morris, "When I say no, Morris, I mean no. I hardly ever change my mind. I'm not interested in your business. Good day."

Morris was left dumbfounded. Eventually, he turned around and left the store without a word. Pierre lowered his head into his hands, "I don't know what to do. Ever since that JojaMart opened down the river I've been losing business. I don't get anyone coming in anymore."

"Don't say things like that. There's always a way around these things," Spencer turned around and saw a small display of produce, "People like fresh produce. I can come in every harvest and give some to you," He looked around the store again and noticed a table, "And this table could be used as a display for some artisan goods. I'm sure my grandfather has left a few beehouses and preserve jars laying around. Just think of it, 'Starry Hill Goods,' a Pierres Corner Store exclusive!"

Pierre looked up at him with a doubtful look, "If you could make that happen, that is."

"I know I'm from the city, but my heart has always been here, in Stardew Valley! There's a reason why I always feel more at home here and broken everywhere else, I just don't know yet," Spencer gathered some more seeds, "Just give this a chance, will you?"

Pierre adjusted his glasses as he rang up the seeds, "Would you like a bag for those?"

Spencer stared at the large pile, "… Please?"

The rest of that morning was spent tilling the soil, planting the seeds, and making sure they got enough water. Spencer found all of this very easy, familiar almost. Probably from spending every summer down here watching his grandfather work.

He did, also, manage to find some of his grandfathers old bee houses, but they were old and grimy after years of neglect. Some of them were well beyond repair, "This is going to be harder than I thought."

He spent lunch at his table, mulling over old layouts of the farm. He made a few notes on what to change, what to build, what needs to go where for optimal production, and where would be best to start and orchard and how to arrange the trees.

"Hmm… Maybe I could have some buildings for preserves here… I can use the old cellar for cheese and aging… Are those old wine casks still around?"

Spencer stopped when he felt his stomach growl loudly. He looked outside and saw it was late in the afternoon. He looked at his sandwich, which was warm from being untouched since he sat down (ew).

The only restaurant in town was "The Stardrop Saloon", so Spencer decided that would be the best place to grab a bite.

It was warm and welcoming inside, which put his worries at ease. He found a spot in the corner on the bar side table and waited, at least until he heard a sound come from the side.

Spencer looked over, seeing a disheveled purple haired man standing by. Unless Spencer was mistaken, the man looked pissed.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I'm-"

"Actually, I don't care. That is my spot you're sitting in."

Spencer was taken aback, but nonetheless moved a few seats down.

"Don't worry about him," Spencer turned around to see a blue haired woman smiling brightly at him from across the table, "Shane is cranky until he gets his bottle."

"Speaking of which!" The purple haired man, Shane, raised his hand.

The woman chuckled before sliding a beer towards him. Shane flashed something short of a smile and took a long swig.

"So you're the new farmer, huh? I'm Emily," She held out her hand.

"Spencer," he shook her hand, "It's good to meet you."

"Likewise! Have you been here long?"

"No, just got in two days ago, actually."

"Really?"

"Emily!" Called out a voice, "Stop bothering our guest, he must be hungry."

"Uh, no it's-"

"Got it, Gus!" Emily flashed a smile back to a round, jovial man, who gleefully handed him a menu.

"Oh, thank you." He opened it and browsed through it as Emily went back to work. As he read through it, he caught a glimpse of red hair belonging to Leah across the room. Leah must've saw him too, because he excitedly waved him over.

"It's good to see you again, Spence," Leah smiled as he sat across from her, "How's it going on the farm?"

"Just planted some seeds today, actually. Also managed to find some of my grandfathers bee houses."

"I was wondering what those were. They were so old and broken I couldn't tell," her eyes widened once she realized what she said, "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean-"

"No, it took me a while, too," he looked to the side, as if a better topic was right next to him, "Hey, uh… yesterday when we were talking about the tower…" that was not any better.

"What about it?" She asked.

Too late.

"I had a dream about it. As if there's something out there trying to tell me something."

"This seems more like Emily's forte but tell me more," She rested her head in her hands.

"I was walking up the steps, then, suddenly everything fell apart," He scratched the top of his head, remembering the dark figure, "That's just about it, really…"

"Sounds like to me that discussion we had got to your head. But yeah, it is pretty weird."

Emily came over with their orders, "Here you go, guys!" She smiled.

"Thank you!"

"I wouldn't think too much of it," Leah reassured, "I have dreams of having to go back to school but I have to go to college at the same time. Strange and vivid but doesn't really mean anything."

"I suppose," He twirled his spaghetti around his fork, "Why don't you tell me more about your artwork?"

It was almost midnight before Spencer and Leah parted ways. He wasn't quite ready to go home, so he walked up the steps that lead to the park that overlooked the town.

He was greeted by and old, decaying building. Upon further inspection, he found it was the community center he and his grandfather went to sometimes. Against his better judgement, he walked towards it.

The door creaked as he pushed it open. Inside was in worse shape, as vines crawled along the walls and a chilling breeze sang through the walls.

But what was stranger to Spencer was the small hut in the corner.

Spencer got closer to in and knelt down to look inside, seeing nothing, "Hm," he sat up, scratching his cheek.

Something moved from the corner of his eye. Something small and green. He turned around, but there was nothing. Spencer quickly got up and ran out the door.

But what he didn't see, up in the rafters, was the gold-crested owl.