Today marked quite a new chapter in my life in the Valley. As each day passed, I'd have planted crops, nutured them and then sold the yield to Pierre for my profits but today marked something quite special.
As you may know, the magic of the Valley continues to amaze me and a very surprising moment had just struck me. When I left the farmhouse, to being my morning routine, I so happened to notice something particularly odd with the Melon field and, as I neared, my jaw dropped.
Amongst the pink and green, a titan had grown, three times the size of its lesser peers by its roots. On closer inspection, it was even bigger than I was. I scratched my head in awe as I walked around in shock.
"I've never seen anything like this in my life." I commented to myself whilst feeling its flesh against my hand before snapping a photo of the monolith before I brought my axe out; I don't think I could even get the thing into town like this, let alone get it through Pierre's front doors.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
I gave a hearty swing into the giant fruit as the sharpened blade made good chunks out of the giant berry until it finally exploded into a confetti of smaller-sized examples of itself; Though this essentially had doubled the total amount of fruit I've just harvested today.
Then, I headed into Pierre's where the avid shopkeeper welcomed with a smile.
"Good morning, Robbie. How's the weather faring? I hope you got me some top quality produce for me to sell on." He asked as I dumped the whole sack of Melons right on the counter.
"Holy… there's way more Melons here than I remember last time." He spoke in awe as he weighed the fruit. "Yeah… the valley never ceases to amaze me." I answered with a proud smirk. "Well, I never… it'll take me a while to get this off the shelf before they go off… I uhhh… here's your share… spend it wisely. Haha!" Pierre wheezed and handed me quite a hefty sum of Gold for his time.
2100 Gold?! Damn, that giant melon must've definitely been worth its weight in gold for sure!
Then I remembered that I still gotta donate to the Juminos in the Community Center. So far, I've only managed to donate both the spring and summery crops to them but I've never fully committed towards one of the bundles as a whole.
Perhaps the Vault might be the most straight forward. Earlier expeditions explained that the Vault bundle required nothing more than cold-hard cash and I've just so have enough to completely afford them all. So I went into the delipidated, overgrown ruin, and made my way into the voice; Where the broken old vault sat opened and derelict for years. Propped on the worn out table, the tablet sat unfurled, ready to receive its offerings.
I fished inside my pockets and dug out the funds I gathered and placed them all inside each of the thresholds offered. When I did however, four things fell into my palms; A box full of Chocolate Cake, packets of quality fertilizer, a strange coil like device and a alien-looking cabinet. I wonder what the last two are.
Then, as if by magic, I was surrounded by chirps and cheers; The delighted living creatures hopped in awe and glee and a voice echoed in my ear, something of a child-like quality.
"We are the Juminos… protectors of the Forest."
Then a loud poof and a flash of light later, I was standing in the office again but renewed and restored; It seemed that these little guys are a lot more than at first glance.
Then one of them scurried out of the room with a parcel held in its tiny hands, speaking in a joyful tone; Assuming it was delightful to be receiving the gift. Once the present was dumped inside its little hut, the creature emerged with a pristine golden star and threw it at this plague suspended above the central fireplace; An indicator of my progress at it seems.
Once again, the voice returned to my mind.
"Tomorrow, the way to the sands of time will open. Unearth the secrets held there… only the mechanical horse will show you the way."
I was quite spooked with the omious wordings of these Juminos but it seems the way to some new area will be clear. So, I continued on with my day; Chatting with Abigail, catching and selling fish and conversing with some of the residents until the next day.
As I meandered into town, I was approached by none other but Pam herself.
"Hey kid, didn't ya hear? The bus is fixed. I dunno how but that old thing is good as new. Best part is that I can finally get back on the road again. Penny's been complainin' about the fact that I should get out more than just visiting the JojaMart everyday but she's probably right… but now that the bus is back in service, I can take ya out to Calico Desert; It's a little region, a ways out of town but its still local.
Heard it's got quite the Oasis over there. If I were ya, I'd buy a fare and hop on. I be bound to leave for the desert in a while.
Catch ya 'round kid."
It surely can't be the work of those Juminos. 'The mechanical horse will show you the way'… they must've meant the bus or was it some figurative speech? No matter, it means that there's more to this world than just the confines surrounding Pelican Town and this Calico Desert might offer me some new sights of Stardew Valley.
I made my way back towards where my old farm used to be but arrived at the bus stop where Pam was clambering aboard to get started. It seemed to bring back memories of me first arriving at Stardew Valley; Escaping my troubles in Zuzu City but nowadays this old shuttle will serve a new purpose.
After buying a ticket, I hopped aboard and took my seat where Pam was in the driver's seat, looking at some various things.
"Ah, yer here already? That's good… now the ticket ya got offers a free return back to the Valley but, I ain't gonna wait for slackers so, if ya don't wanna be stranded in the middle of a freakin' desert, I'd be waiting for my last trip around 6pm so don't be late." Pam warned.
The Engine was heard struggling and jiggling as the driver tried to get it to start. "C'mon, ya blasted ol thing, I was told you got fixed… grrrr…." Frustrated, the woman marched off the bus and towards the back then suddenly.
WHAM!
Knocked by the sudden kick, the engine finally whirs into life and the prideful Pam returned to her position. "Heh… I often do that to our ol washing machine in the trailer… needs a bit of coaxing every now and then. Alright, off we go kid….
Next Stop, Calico Desert!"
Feeling the bus pick up speed, light faded into darkness as we entered the tunnel and soon, Pam began to reminisce her past.
"Years ago, I used to work for the local bus company back in Zuzu… became the community favourite running kids to school and the commuters to the workplace. It was a honest life… but then, slowly, the rent for me apartment began to rise as Joja slowly bought out much of the smaller companies round town, our bus company included.
Since I wasn't… 'approved to JojaCorp standards, they busted me out and without a job, I couldn't afford the rent… so I had to move and leave for Pelican Town with me daughter; Ya seen Penny haven't ya? She once rode my bus to school to teach the younglin's but, since we couldn't stay in the city, she moved in with me.
For now, I've been staying in that ol trailer for yonks now; Penny's been asking us just to go ask Lewis for a house out of a favour but I didn't wanna pester that ol man; He's got enough on his plate with them Joja folks… for now, it seems we're stuck in the same loop for years on end.
Maybe one day, a miracle will happen when ol Yoba bestows my faithful prayers with an answer to all this."
Well, that kinda explains Pam's drinking problem, she's been hoping for a miracle to this miserable life of hers and drinking had only been her momentarily respite from it all. Hopefully, we can find an end to this soon.
Finally, the darkness of the tunnel fades and a warm orange light protrudes through the glass windows of the bus. As I stared out, I was greeted with great sandy dunes and the occasional cactus standing the middle of the Badlands beyond.
"This bus got some kinda quirk. It always seems to veer a little to the right and it's crawling at nothin' more than 45 km an hour. Eh, there's nothing I ain't bother with kid; S'long's the journey's short or we'd be sitting in this rust bucket for days!" Pam cackled.
Thankfully, she wasn't wrong as the bus stop in the desert was literally half an hour from the normal bus stop. Then, the shuttle comes to a stop and the doors whisked open.
"Here we are, Calico Desert. Now, mind what I said, be back at this stop by half 6 or ya'll be sleeping on the sand! Haha!" Pam warned as I disembarked and landed on the sun-soaked road. "Stay safe!"
Then the bus roars off into the distance, leaving me in the scorching sands of the desert. Around me, the sky was virtually cloudless, heat was seen withering across the dunes beyond and a great red, rocky cliff stretched along one half of the area. Though, ahead was a bright pink building by a small lake and behind me was a canvas tent manned by this tan-skinned fellow; Flanked by a lazy camel standing and grazing upon the straw laid out in front. I decided to approach this stranger first.
"Welcome visitor, to Calico Desert. It's been eons since I saw that bus pull into the stop… so that must mean that the route is back in business. Well this here is my exotics shop; I travel far and wide across the desert dunes in search of ancient troves and other exotic wares; You should also check out the store, just across the road, the woman there is also a native but sells a variety of assorted stock.
Though, I'd be careful where you look, there's been some strange goings on as of late so watch your back." The man introduced me to the area around me.
Sure enough, if I peered just enough, I could spot the maw of darkness amongst the rocky walls; I headed over and looked inside this small cavern. Across from where I stood was this wooden door but, when I tried to open it, it turned out to be locked; It must require some kind of key… but where? Perhaps, I should find the answer some other time.
I headed across the desert again and this time went into the pink shop, aptly named 'The Oasis', and it was manned by an exotically dressed woman with a flamboyant dress and hairstyle. As I approached, her somewhat woozy expressions was suddenly lost as a twinkle appeared in her eyes.
"Oh? A customer? Am I dreaming? No, you're not Sandy, it's real.
My, oh my, you must've come this far to see me … unless that old bus is back in service; Why what a joy to be alive! My name's Sandy… though it's not really but it's good for business, ehee! So, welcome to the Oasis, my dear! My friend Emily wrote to me about you but please have a look, I got loads on offer!" She giggled.
Emily? It seems the two were close… but it doesn't seem as such for the man lurking in the corner behind the store. Nosily, I leaned over for a closer look.
"Oh, don't mind him, dear. He's just protecting something for my 'tenant'… best not to ask questions.
I guess it would be wise not to dig any deeper but I looked around and found some peculiar seeds. I present my findings to the woman.
"Oh! Those are Starfruit Seeds. They'll grow the juiciest, most nutrious fruits in the land. I'm sure they'll sell like hotcakes back in Stardew so I'd recommend picking up a few for your travels home." Sandy explained.
Since I had some spare change from earlier, I elected on buying a few and, after buying a few packets, I then left the Oasis and waited for the bus to arrive; Which didn't take that long. I clambered aboard and took my seat.
"Well, you've been doing some shopping; I was hopin' to pop into that shop to buy me some suds… but eheh, I'm driving. Wouldn't want the worst to happen now huh?
Guess it's time to go home then." Pam chortled.
Once we were finally back at Stardew, it was already 6pm and Pam gathered her belongings, at the end of her shift.
"Thanks for everything you did here… man, I needed someone to listen to my sorrowing sob story and some company for the trip. Man, it gave me a new lease of life being back on the saddle so be sure to come along next time.
Though, this might mean Emily can go see her in person… it really does help a lotta people. Well, see ya 'round kid." The woman spoke and left me to my devices.
Well, the trip and the heat did tire me out and my hat didn't help a single bit. But, since I got some new seeds, I went to it and planted them in a vacant spot on the farm, using my watering can to get them nutured and ready for tomorrow.
After that, I decided to rest my weary head. Perhaps I should explore the caves. An old door like that would've needed a similarly old key… and the Mines might be old enough to harbour such an old secret.