Stardew Valley Fanfiction:

'The Farmer Witch'

Chapter 16:

The first day of Fall.

The witch stepped out into the brisk air of Autumn. There was so much work to be done on this first day of the season, but she had to take the moment to enjoy the beauty of the new shift in the weather.

And then that moment passed and Alice was off, rushing to clean up the mess of withered crops left behind by Summer to make room for new seeds. She finished plowing and watering the field just as Robin arrived in the morning to start on the second story of her farmhouse. Alice waved at her kindly as she departed the farm for Pierre's general store. She needed to pick up her Fall seeds to plant them. She was going to have fields and fields of pumpkins by the end of the season~

As she entered Pierre's, she didn't see the man behind the counter, but she could definitely hear him in the other room. The farmer waited patiently by the counter as she heard Abigail and her father having an argument somewhere in the back of the house.

"Just like your mother at her age. There's no reason for you to be gallivanting around the forest or down into the mines Abigail, it just isn't safe. Or ladylike, for that matter."

Alice could almost hear Abigail rolling her eyes.

"I can take care of myself dad! Farmer Alice basically cleared out the mines anyway, and there isn't anything dangerous in the forest to worry about!" She huffed.

"Nothing dangerous? Icky slimes and aloof wizards are not nothing Abigail."

Alice winced slightly. She understood why magic folk could be thought of as dangerous, but to be listed as threats in the mind of a villager was disheartening. This was why she wasn't quite ready to reveal her secret yet.

Soon Abigail exited the door beside the counter looking moody. She brightened when seeing Alice, however. "Hey girl! I saw your order in the back. Are you seriously going to be able to plant all those seeds this season?"

Alice smiled mischievously. "That's just phase one~" She retorted.

Pierre was entering the shop behind his daughter now. "Phase one? Might that mean another shipment mid-season?" He barely tried to hide the curious greedy tone in his voice. This time Alice was able to witness Abigail rolling her eyes firsthand.

She ignored her father and pressed on. "Those sprinklers must be working like magic. Hey, save me a good pumpkin when they come in, alright?"

Alice nodded. "Of course Abs." Indeed, the sprinklers were working like magic. The Obsidian stone Sebastian had given her were keeping the Wild Golems from trampling her fields and she had Krobus working full time making Iridium Sprinklers for her. The Shadow Fiend had been very enthusiastic about having a 'real job' and was happy to be of service to the witch. Despite being a pacifist, the Shadow Person was very strong and could bend even Iridium metal easily. So, every Friday Alice would stop by to pick up a sprinkler, paying the creature a decent amount of coin each time. Krobus always seemed excited to get paid for his work despite not having a real use for coin. He rarely left the sewers, so Alice had no idea what he spent money on.

She wrote a check to Pierre for the seeds, which he hastily accepted. Alice could have sworn his mouth was watering as she wrote the check out. She couldn't blame him though. Pierre was in a long-standing rivalry with Joja Mart, down the street. Having the farmer's business was a big blow to his competitors and helped Pierre stay in business.

Alice bid Abigail farewell and started the walk home. She couldn't afford to waist time today chatting with friends, unfortunately. She needed every hour so she would have time enough to plant the seeds in her watered field. When she got back it was a mad dash to get every single seed into the field. She had a few cranberry bush seeds, a few yams, some corn left over from Summer, some of every crop so she would have some food variety in the Fall – but everything else was pumpkin. Lots and lots of pumpkin~

Alice had spent a good amount of time saving copper and iron and using it to build kegs in late Summer. She had an entire shed full of kegs now. Her master plan was to pop pumpkins into them and make triple the profit off her crops. It would take extra time, but by Winter she would have a hefty nest egg to fall back on in the off season.

Robin left for the day and the farmer was still running around her fields like crazy. The sun set and Alice was still working. By the light of her glow ring she barely finished her work before 02:00am. She was so exhausted, but at least all the seeds were planted. She sat down on her porch, needing a minute to just sit and breath. The time on her watch hit two o'clock exactly as she fell asleep, sitting on her porch steps, too drained to even make it inside to her bed.

Gonna play a bit of Stardew myself today I think~ I have re-played that game so many times I've lost count XD It really is a great game. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter - more to come soon! Leave a review if you wanna let me know your personal Stardew Valley strats! - Mystical Jelly