Vicky had spent the rest of her day working on the farm. Her new little friend kept turning up now and again, and disappearing just as often, sometimes at her feet, sometimes on her shoulders, sometimes rummaging through her things inside the house. She'd returned inside later that night after deciding to call it a day to find most of the contents of her duffel bag strewn about her bedroom. She'd grumbled, but then just used it as an excuse to unpack and get all of her things put away. Thankfully the house had a working washing machine and dryer, so she'd started clothes before she went to bed, after having a shower and getting herself clean.
She woke up the next morning feeling rested, and though she did feel sore it was more of a... memory of being sore than anything of a detriment. Seeing the little dragon at the foot of her bed, curled up and sleeping, had given her a bit of a start before she remembered that, no, yesterday hadn't been a dream and there was in fact a tiny dragon inhabiting her farm. Scellia disappeared sometime during breakfast after absconding with a piece of toast, which reminded Vicky that she'd need to go properly grocery shopping in town rather than relying on what she'd brought with her.
She'd set an alarm on her phone for early in the morning, deciding that it'd be best if she got used to the idea of getting up before the sun most days. It'd give her more time to work on the farm, and it'd help her to have a schedule. All things considered, she hadn't expected waking up to be easy, what with having exercised all day, and was pleasantly surprised at the apparent lack of soreness she'd experienced.
As she stood outside drinking some water, she realized that the flag on her mailbox was up, suggesting she had mail. She ventured over to have a look, finding several messages. One was from someone named Demetrius, asking her to come by and say hello, he was apparently Robin's husband. Another was a card from Harvey, the doctor she'd heard mentioned yesterday, offering her a discount on a checkup if she'd come by so he could start gathering medical records and establish a care program if she needed one. Maybe for being crazy and seeing dragons others can't.
The last few messages were more of the same, from different people welcoming her to town. One from a Jodi introducing herself and her sons Sam and Vincent, a lovely handmade card from someone named Evelyn and what Vicky assumed to be her husband George, and even a message from the Blacksmith, Clint, wondering if Vicky'd found the tools satisfactory. She decided she'd go into town and buy some stationary and reply to all the messages and introduce herself to everyone.
The last message in her mailbox proved to be rather interesting. It only showed up once she'd removed all the other letters, and the envelope appeared to be gilded along the edges in gold, the script of the address, reading only 'You'll Know' on the front, shimmering in the early morning light. She put the other letters under her arm and peeled the newest one open, pulling free a thick card with writing on one side and a picture of a large stone tower on the other. 'I'd love to help you with your 'rat problem', though we both know she isn't a rat. Please come by my tower at your earliest convenience, I'd love to talk.'
Vicky was somewhat alarmed when she felt the card vibrate slightly, though when she turned it over to see why, she was greeted by an arrow at the base of the tower that moved when she moved the card around. She soon realized it was pointing off toward the south, a magical form of GPS. "Well, that's certainly something", she mumbled to herself, shifting the card this way and that to watch the arrow move.
She placed all her mail but the magical card inside her home, deciding that rather than freak out like she wanted to at all the strange magical things going on, she'd do her best to take it all in stride and deal with things as they came. She was stuck here, so she might as well just get over it sooner rather than later. A few minutes watering her plants using the watering can filled from a hose later, and she was off on her bicycle toward the south. There was a vague hint of what might have been a path at some point through the forest, or at least it wasn't quite as filled with trees, and was easier to navigate through.
A short period of riding later, and she'd broken through into what looked like a wooded plain, trees and bushes strewn here and there, but at least there were proper paths. She'd found the bike sturdy and well-maintained, if a bit squeaky under power from not being ridden in a while. It was an older style, so she supposed that was understandable. To her left was a farm, and off near a large lake looked to be a cabin, but a glance off in the distance and a consultation with the card she'd been given affirmed that what she wanted held itself at the large tower she could see rising above the trees off to the west.
She pedaled through the plain along the path, a quiet Tuesday morning, mulling over what she'd seen and experienced so far in her stay within Stardew Valley. She'd somehow managed to attract the attention of a magical creature and what appeared to be some kind of wizard, learned magic was in fact real at least to some degree, planted some crops, watered them, and met some of the townsfolk. A weird, but possibly marginally successful first day? She really wasn't sure how to qualify these things yet.
Along the way to the Wizard's tower, she met someone she hadn't been expecting to see- Abigail, of all people.
Vicky pedaled up to her acquaintance, who'd noticed and stopped with a wave as Vicky was pedaling toward her, walking back toward town. "Hey, Vicky. Going to go see the Wizard?"
"Yeah, I got this card from them in the mail today." She fished it out of her pocket where she'd placed it to show it to the purple-haired woman. "Some weird stuff going on at the farm, I guess it attracted his attention."
"Yeah he mentioned that you'd managed to meet Scellia. He's a bit cross."
Vicky just... stared for a moment, surprised. "You mean you don't think she's a rat or just a dragon?"
"What? Of course not." Abigail laughed quietly. "He did mention those not so 'attuned' would either not be able to see her or understand her as something else. He's upset because it took him years before he could see her, and you turn up and she actually goes and finds you in a day. I haven't seen her yet, but I know who she is."
Vicky let out a quiet 'huh' and sat down onto her bike seat, resting for a moment. "Weird. Some of the others could only see stuff about a rat in the old journal..."
"About that..." Abigail looked off back toward the town. "Actually, he should probably explain. You should head on over and see him."
"Alright." Vicky started to take off, but then settled back onto her seat. "Hey, Abigail?"
"Yeah?" She turned back to look toward the farmer.
"What were you doing out here, anyway?"
"Oh, I usually go learn from him on Sundays but I missed it because of the thaw, pathway was full of mud. If you come into town will you come see me? I'm curious about what you two are going to talk about."
"Definitely!" Vicky smiled. Any excuse to see you is fine by me. Though she didn't add that bit.
Abigail nodded and headed off, and Vicky did the same toward the tower.
When she arrived, she parked up her bike at the side, then walked up to the large wooden door set into the stones on the southern face of the tower. She moved to knock, but the door opened with a quiet 'click', and a deep voice from inside intoned 'Enter, please'. She pursed her lips but did so, though the entire place had her hackles up. Something about it felt... wrong.
She entered to find herself in a wood-paneled room. The floor was smooth, like it had been polished through many years' worth of feet, though there was a large stone circle with symbols drawn on it on one side of the room. On the other was a large, smoking cauldron with a fire burning beneath, though the fire didn't seem to bother the wood floor at all. She eventually realized there was a man standing near the cauldron, though he was obscured by smoke most of the time. "Uh... hello?"
"Yes. Hello." His voice was just as deep as it'd been when she heard it near the door. He wore a black hat with a purple ribbon and a golden symbol on the front, had purple hair- That seems popular around here- and wore black robes, with a large golden chain around his neck, over the robes. She couldn't see much else of what he was wearing given how he was standing, though she imagined the rest of it was just as 'mystical' as what she could see.
He gestured with a hand, motioning for Vicky to come closer. "I am Rasmodius, Seeker of the Arcane Truths, mediary between the physical and ethereal, Master of the Seven Elementals, Keeper of the Sacred..." He let out a good-natured sigh. "You get the point."
Vicky smiled slightly and nodded, not having expected him to stop halfway through. Maybe he was as tired of listing off all those titles as she'd been growing of hearing him rattle them off. Contrary to her first impression, he didn't seem quite as full of himself as he'd appeared.
"And you, Victoria, the one whose arrival I have long forseen."
That sent her eyebrows directly vertical. "Me? Why me?"
He nodded, then gestured again. "Here, I'd like to show you something."
He reached into a pocket in his robes, revealing dark cloth or leather pants and a purple shirt, and pulled free a handful of some kind of power. He tossed it onto the stone circle with a cry of 'Behold!'. Vicky was initially going to dismiss it as theatrics, but then she saw some kind of odd green marshmallow-looking creature appear in the circle.
She wanted to leap backward and scream, but the thing started to fade away after only a moment. She glanced to the Wizard with a look of concern, and he seemed to judge her for a moment. "So you can see them. Hm. The other villagers in town, for the most part, cannot. Any reference to your small draconic friend they will interpret as rats, or other small woodland creatures, and will be unable to see her if she chooses to manifest in town. I've taken the liberty of erasing the villagers' memories of yesterday on your farm. It's best if they don't ask too many questions, I'm afraid. They cannot see, much less understand."
Vicky didn't particularly like that but she supposed she could understand why. "What about Abigail? She seems to understand."
"As long as you keep the information between the two of you, I don't believe any harm will come of it. Though I suggest you not mention it to anyone else."
He strode away from the circle as the little green thing seemed to squeak and shiver before it slowly disappeared, his hand resting on his chin, entwined in his beard. "This is most interesting. The foretelling suggested that you'd be attuned with the elements and the forest, but not to such a degree that you'd be able to see them on your very first day." He seemed to be mostly talking to himself, Vicky could barely hear him over the rumbling and bubbling coming from the cauldron.
"Are you see you've got the right person? This is the first time I've really even been in a forest, and I only got here yesterday."
"If Scellia thinks you're the right person, then I do. It took me many years before she'd show herself to me, and she sought you out on your very first full day here. She apparently thinks you're important, or strong enough to care about, which means you are intriguing to me. Tell me, are you the granddaughter of old sir Finley? The man who owned that farm before you?"
"Yeah. I'm here because he sent me the deed."
"Certainly. These things do fluctuate through generations. Hmm..." He stroked his beard a few times before he continued. "He was attuned as well, though never enough to see anything. The land reacted to him, cared for him, as he cared for it. His farm was rich and prosperous in his time, and it mourned his passing. The land is thick with nature because of it."
"You mean all the trees and things I've been cutting down were mourning him? Is that ..." She shook her head and looked away. "This is all too weird for me."
"It may seem strange at first, but you are mostly correct. The land is covered with plantlife in a natural facsimile of the way he maintained it while alive. Though he covered it in useful and saleable goods, not weeds and trees and grass. I doubt the forest will be offended if you clear the land for farming. If it was, Scellia", he gestured toward Vicky, "Would have prevented you from doing so."
Vicky turned, and almost jumped as she realized the little dragon was sitting behind her. It was nibbling on some sort of crystal it held in a paw, though it didn't appear to be actively eating it. She could hear little 'tink tink' noises coming from it as sharp teeth impacted the surface.
"Yes, she seems to like Amethysts. Might make a good offering or gift if you ever have any. Regardless, she seems to have taken a shine to you. She followed you here this morning."
"Really?" Vicky glanced back at the dragon, who greeted her with a raised eyeridge and further nibbling of the crystal. She turned back to the Wizard as she continued. "She ran off after breakfast, and that's the first time I've seen her in over an hour."
"Truly?" He pursed his lips and stroked his beard, looking toward the cauldron. "Come here, please." He beckoned her with a finger, as he reached toward a table and retrieved some kind of goblet.
"The forest creature you saw earlier, the one in my circle that I summoned, was a Junimo. Scellia is not a Junimo, as you can probably observe for yourself. She's a forest spirit, a guardian of sorts, protecting the land. Able to grant and take away blessings as she sees fit. The lack of ache you feel this morning is her doing."
"Oh, I guess I should thank her for that. I was expecting to wake up a painful lump."
"Quite. The Junimo, however, are more like custodians. They maintain the forest, where she protects it. They can grow it, perform magic, repair it. They've taken up residence in the old abandoned Community Center in town. I believe Lewis wants to show it to you." He looked toward Vicky somewhat pointedly as he ladled the contents of his cauldron into the goblet. "You should go with him. I would imagine the experience will be enlightening."
"Why's that?" She asked, as she watched him take a sip from the goblet, perhaps to judge if it was ready?
He pinched something from another pocket and added it to the goblet before handing it toward Vicky and continuing. "As you have no doubt seen or heard, JojaCorp has moved into the area. They've attempted such things in the past, and their lack of care for the land and it's inhabitants acts as a deterrent for things like Scellia and the Junimos. The land of the Valley loses it's anomalous properties after they farm it, as they do not care for the land as the farmers here do. Farmers under their employ have the effect 'rub off' on them over time, and though they may not change their behaviors, the 'taint', such as it is, spreads and renders the farmland mundane over time. More slowly than if the Corporation itself farms the land, but it invariably happens over a period of months." He gestured toward the goblet. "You should drink."
"Er, what is it?" She glanced toward the goblet. It was green, and glowing, and felt... oddly warm. Not to mention it didn't smell particularly good.
"It's a natural mixture, incorporating some of the Junimos own magic into the brew. It should bring your attunement into correct alignment. If you can see Scellia some times but not others, it may be that your long period living in the city threw off your natural energies. This will help correct them, and allow you to see the Junimos on your own." He flicked his hand as if motioning for her to drink again.
She pursed her lips and looked at the drink, swirling it slightly as she raised a lip in distaste. It smelled awful, and would probably taste just as bad. Not to mention she was about to drink a concoction of some sort from an old man she'd never met. Pretty bad things had happened to women in her position...
Vicky sighed and pinched her nose, then tilted her head back and poured the glass in.
Even with her nose pinched, it was as bad as she'd expected. Even though it smelled acrid, it tasted like she'd just poured liquefied bark and dirt into her mouth, and left her tongue feeling like it was coated in an earthy flavor. She had to fight back the urge to gag, though couldn't stop herself from coughing a few times.
"Yes, it's quite bad. Apologies."
Vicky nodded and looked up to the Wizard, though had to steady herself on the side of the cauldron as her head spun slightly as she stood. Strangely it didn't even feel warm...
"You may feel strange, but I assure you that the effects are temporary and you'll be fine in a few minutes."
She tried to nod, but she wasn't sure if she was nodding up or sideways, as her vision began to swim. Something akin to trees swirled across the room, green shapes like fractured leaves danced upon the wood of the floor. Or was that the wall? It might have even been the ceiling, she wasn't sure. She saw dancing dragons, tiny versions of Abigail raking dirt over rows of plants, and even Lewis with his face embedded in a tree. She saw other things, but not all of them were pleasant, and some simply didn't make sense at all.
Eventually she realized she was laying with her face on the floor, Scellia sitting before her looking somewhat concerned. Odd expression for something reptilian, they usually lacked the capacity for expression. She slowly pushed herself up with a groan, looking around. She was still in the Wizard's tower, though he didn't appear to be anywhere nearby, and many of the candles in the room had burned down or otherwise gone out. Even the cauldron's bubbling had died to a quietly-roiling shimmer. "Oh... my head...", she groaned as she stood, wobbling slightly as she pushed herself to her feet.
She glanced out the window only to realize it appeared to be rather late in the night, and cursed quietly. "I'll have to get home."
Vicky let herself out, and Scellia climbed onto her shoulder, though Vicky hardly noticed as the dragon appeared, or at least felt, weightless. "Did you hitch a ride this morning too?"
Scellia nodded several times, looking rather pleased with herself.
"Got it. At least I can see you full-time now."
The little dragon nodded again, then retrieved her Amethyst from... somewhere and continued to gnaw.
"Good talk", Vicky muttered under her breath as she set off for home.
