Chapter 03: Alright, just like always, I DO NOT Own RWBY or Stardew Valley. That being said, I'm going to be focusing on both Pokémon: Rusted Legends and Knightshade of Stardew, as for now. I'll try to alternate between the two of them. So, with that, I hope you enjoy.
For as long as Jaune could even remember, he had heard the stories, the tales, of his family's deeds. Their actions of valor and heroics that had honestly done more than just inspire him a little. It was those stories that had molded Jaune, having him into want to follow in their footsteps. The Arc family, those who had not only fought against the Creatures of Grimm and taking up the blade with not only great courage but also kindness, cleaved their way into battle. Other stories about the Arcs were the hearts they held, hoping to help others in need, trying to see the good in others and stand against the darkness of Remnant. They were a small but honest and earnest family, making small names for themselves, though remaining humble enough not to take much of the credit.
The stories that had Jaune the most motivated were the stories of his grandfather and great-grandfather. Starting with the later, Hunter Arc, a man who had been born in a poor family, who had nearly lost everything during the time of the Great War of Remnant. Despite that however, the man was capable of keeping his hopes high and in time focused on eliminating the Grimm that had grown from the negativity of the waring kingdoms. His so-called "Rag-Tag" group played their part in the mentioned war as well, as he fought for the sake of Vale, befriending the King of Vale and helped try to bring an end to the war. Though not much was known regarding his contributions, according to Ozpin, he was a decent sword but a tactical genius. Capable of surveying, studying and taking advantage of the environments and flaws of his enemies. Using the sword: Crocea Mors, to make a name for himself.
His son, Jaune's grandfather, a man known as Fallows Arc, was named after the color naming rule, just like his father before him. Fallow was not quite like his father in terms of tactical genius, but he was strong to be sure, having done anything and everything he could to protect the peace of the small settlement of Doremy, a settlement that was destroyed by Atlas during the war. Despite that, he served closely to the people, doing what he could to make a better living for all of them. Having trained his son, Jaune's father, to be a huntsman himself. Though, not much about him was known after his time rebuilding Doremy and acting as the family man. He had died on a mission due to mysterious causes. Another disappearance as they claimed, but there were many who thought differently. Even if the kingdoms where at peace, it was a nicer way of saying a "Cease-fire" for a few good years afterwards. Even now, there were still some bias against others in kingdoms such as Atlas, Menagerie and Vacuo. Mistral and Vale having less hostilities.
However, while these tales and family legacies were known to Jaune and his sisters, it was his mother's side of their family that was nearly unheard of. Not just unheard of but nearly nonexistent. They had heard the stories from their mother, about how she and her parents came to Vale from "Outside" of the Kingdoms, as if called back by a force. Their mother had lost their grandmother at a young age, and as such, their grandfather had done what he could to provide for them. Their grandfather, Rufous Archer, was a great man in his own right, having led quite the exciting life himself. Though as they had heard the stories of their grandfather's youth, they were quick to dismiss most of it, the sheer insanity of craziness of such stories were nearly impossible to believe.
For Jaune, it was on the storytelling of Nora or Professor Port, such crazy tall tales that would honestly have to be up there with literal fairy tales. Fairy tales such as The Girl who Fell, the Four Maidens, and more. As if he could easily recount some of these so-called tall tales, one of them featured his grandfather, while tending to his farm, having seen a monster of some sort, a Golem as she called it, apparently destroy a fence he worked on earlier that day. Thrown into such a frenzy, he walked out without a weapon and faced the monster alone. Using nothing but his strength and knuckles, he had apparently wrestled the creature into submission, having somehow supplexing it into the ground and shattered it with nothing but his fighting spirit. The name he was given, known to those who bore witness to the duel, would be Rufous Archer: The Destroyer of Evil.
Another story of his grandfather's apparent misadventures, while not as exciting but still as bizarre, was the tale he had encountered a wile bear, one as big as an Ursa Major. It had apparently wandered into his farm and attacked one of the trees he was using to extract maple syrup. When he confronted the creature, to his shock, and Jaune and his sisters' clear disbelief, was that the bear was magic. How it could talk, and his grandfather could understand it. How, magic apparently. And in the end, after deciding to barter with the large bear over Maple Syrup, Rufous was somehow rewarded with the knowledge of the forest, and since then managed to grow and pick out the ripest and juiciest of Salmon Berries and Blackberries. Turning them into top-notched jelly and jams to make a better living over the years to come.
Another story was when he and his friends, a similar group of adventurers such as his great-grandfather's friends, and how they explored a cave nearby the small settlement near the Archer Family Farms. A powerful creature made of shadows, capable of using swords and magic, facing the group for three days straight. While the monster was strong, Rufous was stubborn and with his sword in hand, he sought to win and defeat the monster.
Yet another story, one that was filled with not only romance and adventure but was so out there that it would turn taking it with a pinch of salt, into a sink of salt. A story about how one day, some pirates came to the small village, and sought to plunder them of everything. Rufous, in anger at the village being attacked, took his sword and rushed at the pirates, facing the captain alone. Rufous, who had managed to defeat and take the pirate's saber as a memento, had not only helped drove out the pirates but had somehow saved and befriended a mermaid. Like, an actual mermaid. A woman's top and a fish's bottom type of mermaid. And to make it worse, according to their mother, how Rufous had proposed to his would-be-wife was actually a gift from the mermaid herself, a pendant that he presented to Stella as a tradition of the town.
Safe to say, many of his sisters thought that it was bullshit. The fact that their grandfather had saved, no that he had met a mermaid was beyond them. the truth probably being something just as romantic but not nearly as adventurous. But by far the strangest story regarding the late-Archer, a story more bizarre than the bear, more mysterious than the monstrous shadow, more shocking than supplexing a golem, more chaotic than anything that would make Jaune accept not only the Maidens were real but were actually one of his friends the entire time, was the tale of The Forest Spirits."
The story behind that was that during the first year in the nearby village, having just finished building a small cabin on the lands outside of said village, Rufous had accidently managed to eat a poisonous berry and nearly died. During his hallucinations in the Clinic, Rufous would go on and on about the, and to have their mother quote him as the happy-little, bundle-loving, bouncy, rainbow-colored jellybeans of the forest."
Yeah... apparently, he was really delusional when he was dragged into the Clinic, kicking and screaming, and laughing like a madman before he had to sweat out the poison. How that made sense, how any of that made sense to Jaune or his sisters, he hadn't known. But according to Rufous himself, those "Jellybeans" were forest spirits. The Jumino as they seemed to be called, protectors of the forest as he had apparently described them to be. Not only that, but in exchange for giving them some of his crops, the Jumino would apparently help him, repairing the farm and providing great fortune. They spoke in a strange language, the words of the woods apparently. Understandably, it was something that no one would believe him in.
And with stories such as those, stories that pained the man as a free spirited and hard-working young man, someone that seemed like a mix of Nora and Yang's fighting spirit and his and Ruby's apparent social awkwardness at times, it was safe to say that he was much like an Arc as well. It would make sense now why Fallows seemed to speak well about him, as did his father when Jaune had asked more about the man. But with those stories being as crazy as they were, deep down, Jaune wasn't sure if he could even believe them or not.
And now, in the first seven hours of waking up just a day after his arrival into the small town, Jaune could honestly say he was shocked, surprised and lost in thought at the realization that all of those stories were actually true. Well, most of them anyways. Having sat down with an older man, the mayor of the town known as Lewis, and an old friend of his late grandfather's. Jaune had managed to ask about some of the same stories he was told, wondering if there was any merit in them. And after having those confirmed, their meeting could truly begin. Three hours later, Lewis merely seemed somewhat ammused.
"Well then, Jaune. I guess this means you're just as unlucky, and in a way as reckless as Rufous was. Honestly, it's nice to know that brand of luck runs in the bloodline" Lewis said, albeit with a little sarcasm regarding the, as he had said time and time again, "The Archer Family's Luck." Honestly it was more like misfortune, as if he or his ancestors had stumbled across several black cats, broke an entire house of mirrors, walked under a mile worth of ladders and managed to spill the proverbial bathtub of salt. It was honestly dumbfounding just how unlucky his grandfather was in life. "Which brings us to the issue at hand, you? have no memory at all on how you got here?" he asked again, Jaune having frowned a bit could only nod.
"Yeah, pretty much" he said as Lewis frowned at that. "The last thing I even remember was holding my grandpa's card, but that was it. Me and Blake in Professor Ozpin's office, not really knowing what to do after being expelled" he lamented, knowing that lying regarding most of what happened was probably a bad idea. Lewis knew his grandfather, he was a friend and according to that not he was found with, containing the deed to the Archer Farmlands, it was clear that the man could be trusted with at least a few important things.
"So... to put it all on the table then. Your name is Jaune Arc. You are Rufous's grandson, though never met the man, only having that card given to you by your mother, Isabelle Archer, as a last request from Rufous." Saying that out loud did make Jaune understand how it seemed to hit the older man, a bit of sadness in his tones by the end of that explanation. However, before the mayor could continue to linger on that note, he continued. "You inherited it, because your grandmother, Stella Archer, using her abilities of apparent Clairvoyance, had managed trust you with it, all according to your mother's word?"
"Yeah, I never really knew him myself. Just stories that seemed like fairy tales for me and my sisters..." Jaune said, trying to still come to terms with this. "I'm... honestly still trying to wrap my head around all of this."
"Heh, you think this is easy for me. If I wasn't such good friends with your grandfather, I'd have thought you were insane. If he hadn't spouted off the same sort of things, you did. I mean, really... as if Rufous couldn't have been a lot simpler than this. It's like every time I think I know him as well as I do, he pulls a one-eighty and I'm back to questioning nearly everything about him."
Jaune had to agree, it was clear that neither of them expected anything like this to even be possible for them. 'A world without Grimm' Jaune thought deeply in realization and thought. 'A world without any Grimm, or Faunus. No huntsmen of huntresses, no aura or semblances. This... is just... insane, a dream almost' he thought as he really did try to chalk it all up as some daydream or illusion to repress some kind of actual reasoning there was behind all of this. 'If... this isn't a dream, if I really aren't in Remnant anymore... then, then what?' How did he get here, how was he supposed to get home. Just why did he feel there was something he was missing, and why did he feel so honestly alright with this whole thing.
He was in some other world; shouldn't he be freaking out more than just slowly trying to calmly understand this. Back at the Emerald Forest, during initiation with Pyrrha and the others, he screamed well over an octave or two higher at seeing a Grimm. He was visibly confused at the concept of aura when Pyrrha brought it up. He was all but lost during Professor Oobleck's lessons, and Professor Port's speeches of his youth. Even Glynda Goodwitch had a more natural reaction from him, but this... this was something entirely different to any of that.
And all he could do was sit there and try to think about it calmly as if he was just told he was in Vacuo from Mistal because he got on the wrong bullhead or something. Not thrown into some other world, with no idea how he even got there, only to learn his grandfather, who he never met, had left him a farm outside of a town in said other world?!
"...Jaune, are you alright?" Lewis asked, seeing Jaune visibly twitch and shake in his seat for a second there.
"I don't know?!" he shouted, not understanding anything. Lewis winced back as he let the young man vent, not really having a choice in the matter "I don't, just... how does this make sense, how does anything related to this make sense. Am I dreaming, or losing it, or unlucky enough to have this happen?!" he shouted as he stood up and paced around the room. "I can't even... I'm in another world, this isn't Remnant, my friends, my family... oh, God my family, what will I even say to them, what if they think I'm dead. And Blake... Blake!" he realized as he turned to face Lewis with fear on his face. "Y-you said you found me near the farmhouse... y-you sure you didn't see-"
"Jaune!" Lewis snapped. "Calm down!" he shouted, grasping at the man, grabbing his hoodie and slapping him across the face for good measure. Knowing him, he would need the Rufous treatment to calm him down. "I'm not sure how, I'm not sure why, I just know that you are here, this is probably because of Rufous and may that man take his luck and shove it up his ass for no doubt laughing at the whole thing. Because I know he probably is..." he finished as Jaune said nothing, silently recomposing himself for a second. Eventually Jaune fell back to his seat, took a breath of air and let out a tired sigh.
"Right... sorry, just... ugh..." he moaned, not sure if freaking out now was a good time. "Just how the heck does kind of thing happen?" he asked as he didn't know how to respond beyond that. Lewis, who knew Rufous better than most, merely shrugged it off.
"Just chalk it up to the Archer Family luck... trust me, it helps" he said while not at all blaming Jaune for his outburst. "Honestly, I think you should keep that bit of information to yourself for now" Lewis said, as he took a deep sigh himself. "I doubt anyone other than your grandfather's friends would bother listening to you at all if you bothered trying to explain anything with Remnant" he suggested. Jaune just looked at the mayor questionably.
"You... want me to lie?" he asked, the mayor nodding with a seriously expression on his face. Jaune pinched the bridge of his nose. No, he knew Lewis was right. He could only imagine how it would look if he brought up Grimm, huntsmen and more to anyone. It would probably end the same way if he went to Ozpin or Goodwitch to anything in Pelican Town or whatever world he was in. Which lead to the next question. "Then what do we go with? I'm not from the Fern-Guild Republic" Jaune pointed out as Lewis nodded.
"The Ferngill Republic" he corrected. "And for Rufous, people just assumed he was from the Gotoro Empire. I'd say it would be a decent idea... but it's probably a good idea not to use them as a cover" he pointed out. "For a good while now, the Ferngill Republic and the Gotoro Empire were at war, still are now to be honest" he said with a frown. "To be honest with you, it might be better to say you're some kind of traveling merchant or something." he said as Jaune frowned at that.
"A traveling merchants?" he asked, questioning as to why Lewis wanted him to go with that over anything else. "...I take it there are reasons?" he asked as Lewis smiled a little bit.
"An old friend of mine is a part of the Traveling Merchant's Guild. Safe to say that they were decently close to Rufous as well. Not only that but they do owe me a bit of a favor. I can call it even by helping you get a better alibi than the Gotoro Empire. All we need now is a reason as to why you're back in town" he pondered for a moment. Jaune followed suit, trying to come up with an idea or two himself.
'A traveling merchant then... I guess that might work out. But what would I even say if I'm asked about that. I never knew my grandfather, and people would ask too many questions if I did. It's not like I'm even a salesman myself. The closest thing I've done to that was work with my sisters around the house. I'm not some merchant, or farmer... ugh, this is just like Beacon all over again, he was stuck in some kind of massive lie that he could get arrested over. And all he wanted to do was be a hero, a huntsman like his family. Someone to help others and fight monster like the Grimm... to be a... a...'
'Wait... maybe?' Jaune began to think as slowly but surely something came to mind. But before he could put it into words, the door was heard, snapping both him and Mayor Lewis out of their thoughts, a familiar face to the later entering the building, followed by not only a second face he rather not sees, and finally a face that both of them knew.
"Lewis... I just heard from young Robin here that you managed to find a lead?" the Governor asked. "And so soon at that. I hardly believe it myself" he said with a smile as Lewis nearly choked.
"G-Governor, sir" he said as Jaune was in a similar mindset. Lewis had informed him a bit about the town in private, the Governor must've remained behind in town for whatever reason.
"I apologize for the sudden arrival, but I was just given word from an anomalous caller that you had succeeded in locating one of the Archers" he said, his eyes turning to face the unfamiliar face and seemed interested in the blonde knight before him. "Oh, I apologize if I was interrupting something, but are you by chance the new farmer I've heard about?" the governor asked as Jaune was a bit taken back.
"I... uh, I suppose so, sir" he said, trying to be respectful as he stood up with a somewhat nervous smile. First impressions were important, and being before the governor himself, it was important to be polite, confident and put his best foot forward. Well, at least he had one of the two with him. "Jaune Arc... nice to meet you?" he introduced, somewhat more asking than saying as the Governor seemed interested in the name.
"Arc?" he asked with a frown, still taking the hand that was offered. "Not Archer?" he asked a bit perplexed.
"Archer was my mom's last name before she married my dad" he quickly said. "I'm Rufous Archer's grandson" he explained, a bit more confident as he hoped that it wouldn't cause confusion. The Governor seemed to nod and accept that, knowing that most people tended to take their father's last names than their mothers. But the young man before him, from what he was told regarding Rufous, did seem to be a decent description to the last man. Blond hair and blue eyes, though lacking the confidence of his apparent grandfather had.
"I see, well it is nice to meet you, young man. How is Rufous doing, if you don't mind me asking?" the governor said as Jaune and Lewis both winced slightly before the mayor looked down.
"I'm afraid that Rufous passed a few years prior" Lewis said sadly, earning a look from the three newcomers. While Robin already knew Rufous's fate, she would still allow some silence to respect the late farmer. The Governor and Morris doing the same. "I was actually talking to Jaune about his inheritance of the Archer Farmland as we speak" Lewis said as Morris and the Governor turned to him, both with slightly differing expressions.
"Inheritance... I see, so that call I received was valid Afterall" the Governor pondered, wondering how that woman seemed to have known to call him when she did. Turning to Jaune, he smiled softly and nodded. "You father, as I recall, was a great man. I'm sure you'll do him proud" he said as he also gave a small condolence regarding the late man's passing. Morris on the other hand seemed to have smiled sadly on the outside, but within him, barely detectable was a bit of annoyance as well.
"Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking" the younger, glasses-wearing man spoke up for the first time. "I was just wondering, Mr. Arc was it, if you could answer a few questions?" he asked, the man smiling slightly as Jaune seemed confused.
"Uh, sure. I guess?" he asked, earning a look from Lewis and Robin while Morris seemed to smile at the answer. Like a shark eying a fish, he began to interrogate-er, talk to Jaune.
"Well, I was just wondering if you could tell us about your late grandfather. There are still some mysteries and rumors around that I was hoping you could answer some of them" he said. Lewis said nothing but could tell that Morris was using this for fishing. Whatever he wanted from Jaune, he could only really guess. He knew he was up to something, Jaune could tell as well, his eyes narrowing as the man seemed to remind him of a certain red-haired bully back at Beacon.
"Sure, what are the rumors though?" he asked, recalling something his father told him the last time he called his parents, after the Vytal Dance before the Breach. 'Keep calm, answer honestly and vaguely' he recalled his father saying when he mentioned a few things. prior to his transcripts.
"Well, I was just wondering where he had been all this time. From what I was told he seemed to have up and vanished for all these years, I was hoping you could fill in some of the blanks" he said. 'This kid... could be an issue. Where did he even come from? He wasn't here before the meeting' Morris thought as he glanced back at a glaring Lewis. 'Lewis... what game is this?'
"I'm not too sure myself what happened when he left with grandma" Jaune said with a simple shrug as Morris frowned. "Mom never told me too much about their time until they settled down back. home" he said as Morris nodded.
"So, he settled somewhere else?" he asked as Jaune nodded, deciding to act on a mix of Lewis's advice and his own cover-story.
"Yeah, a small town across the sea called Doremy... or at least before it became a caravan" he said with a small smile, lying through his teeth while Lewis froze. Just what was Jaune getting at?
"A caravan?" the governor asked as Jaune chuckled a little.
"Yeah, apparently he wanted to travel still, see the world and all. He and mom joined a caravan and meet my dad" he said with a small smile, as if thinking back to a memory from a few years ago. "Dad said that he was training to be a guardsman, deciding to join the caravan like mom and grandpa did. They eventually met and had me and my sisters."
"I see" Morris said, interested in this so-called "Caravan" Jaune was telling him about. "I don't suppose they're still around?" he asked as Jaune frowned.
"No, they said they were only dropping me off... though, I kind of got a little lost?" he said with a bit of embarrassment. 'Yeah, lost is a wonderful way to word it' he thought sarcastically. "I'm still trying to find my way around the region. This is actually the first time I've been in town" Jaune said, and it wasn't a lie at all.
"I see, so... how did you acquire this farmland?" Morris asked while looking at Jaune curiously. "And what about your family. I was hoping that one of them could've informed us regarding the title, if you still have it that is?" he asked sounding curious about it while Lewis took over the conversation.
"From what I was told, Jaune left his family and the caravan to venture out and do his own thing, isn't that right?" he asked, looking at Jaune with while mouthing something out. Jaune simply nodded and agreed with Lewis, recalling the own tales the young knight gave to the mayor, who seemed to play along. "As for the title deed, we have it right here" he said, holding up the piece of paper for not only the governor but Morris and Robin to see. Sensing what was going on, the orange-haired woman spoke up next.
"I was the one who found Jaune in the woods" she said as they turned to her instead. "Ironically it was right at the Archer Farms property. Apparently, he came from the forest and completely missed the town. Honestly, I'm happy he didn't freeze in this weather." That wasn't necessary a lie either, recalling how she had to carry the unconscious swordsman all the way to the clinic just so he wouldn't freeze to death.
"Yeah... thanks again for that" he said, looking a little nervous about it while Robin nodded.
"As for the title, as we discussed earlier, this would not only prove Jaune's inheritance to the Archer Farmland but also explain the reasonings behind it" Lewis interjected, using the opportunity to cut off Morris form doing anymore fishing on Jaune's past. The less they had to say regarding it the better.
"I see, if I may?" the governor said, asking to take the paper and note, carefully inspecting is for a few minutes before nodding his head. "Well, this is the deed to the farm, and the land as well. And the note does explain a bit about this. Though... I do have some questions of my own" the governor asked, looking at Jaune curiously. "According to this letter, you have never met your grandfather, Rufous before, have you?" he asked as Jaune nodded.
"No... just stories mom told me and my sisters growing up" he said as he had to smile a little. "According to Lewis, some of those stories were actually true, and we all never believed her" he said with a small laugh. 'The fact they're true... oh god, what am I supposed to tell the others when I get back home?' he thought nervously as the governor seemed to think about it.
"I see... how old are you, if you don't mind me asking?" the governor asked as Jaune smiled a little.
"Seventeen... though I'll be turning eighteen soon enough" he said with a smile. "Then I'm hoping to live on the Archer Farms. Until then, Mayor Lewis has offered to house me until I can fully move in" he informed, knowing that he couldn't legally move in until he turned eighteen.
"Y-yes, I did agree to that... didn't I?" he asked a little, giving a nervous laugh while thinking how Jaune was just like his grandfather. A good man, but an annoying one that seemed to make his life a bit harder as time goes on. 'I can barely keep myself afloat right now, kid. Now I have to be stuck being your guardian.?' he thought a little annoyed. Oh goodness, what would the others think.
"Actually..." Robin began, noticing Lewis's concern through the barely noticeable cracks. "I wouldn't mind having Jaune spend some time with us if he needs a place to stay" she said as everyone turned to her. "I'm curious about Jaune's journey's making it here. And besides, I'm sure the mayor wouldn't mind if I gave him a hand once in a while" she said with a smile. "Plus, Jaune could help me with that new house extension you asked me about" she said.
"Yes!" Lewis said, a little louder than he thought he did, not sure if he was agreeing to push Jaune onto Robin's family for a few days, or the house extension he never knew he asked for. In fact, after realizing what Robin had apparently said, he froze mentally in horror at what just happened. 'Wait, hold on. What house extension?!' he thought with a panic-filled mindset as he silently looked at the orange-haired Carpender, who seemed to have a slight devilish grin about her. 'O-oh. That scheming brat. After everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me?' he thought.
Honestly if he wasn't the sucker in this deal, he would've admitted it was well-played. But now caught between paying for Jaune or a house extension... he hoped the extension would be worth a little less than playing housekeeping for Jaune.
"Well, that is fine I suppose, I'm sure you will be able to handle it" the governor said with a smile, happy that the situation regarding the property had handled itself. Before he could leave however, Morris spoke up one last time.
"Oh, but... I just realized something" he spoke up with a sudden realization. "You were from a caravan, were you not, Jaune?" the manager of Joja Mart asked, earning a nod from Jaune, having to stick with the story and sleep in the bed he made. "Well, I was just wondering how you'd be able to pay for it?" he asked as Jaune seemed confused for a second.
"Pay?" he asked with a frown, not knowing what he meant. "I thought I owned the land, right?" Jaune asked. Lewis quickly eyed the manager, realization to what Morris had meant and noticed a smile forming on the man's face.
"Oh, that could be an issue" he said before the governor spoke up next.
"...A potential one" he had to admit. Looking at Jaune, seeing his confusion, he realized Jaune didn't realize about the yearly taxes. "I see... well, I suppose it would make sense you might not know about the yearly taxes" he said as Jaune palled.
"Y-Yearly... taxes?" he asked with a same amount of concern of both Robin and Lewis had.
"Yes" he said as he held up the deed to the land, scanning over it and pointing to a particular portion on the page. "You see, while you do own the land and properties on it, the way it was set up was due to a yearly payment of ownership" he said, as Jaune hesitantly nodded. "This would mean that you would have to make up a certain amount of gold at the end of every year in order to maintain ownership" he said as Jaune had to ask.
"So... how much money do I owe now?" he asked with fear filling his tones as Lewis spoke up with a cough.
"Nothing at the moment" Lewis said as he eyed Morris with a glare. "For the last few years, someone had been paying the taxes for the farm. We didn't know who or where the money came from, we just assumed it was Rufous or a family member paying for it. However, once you have claimed ownership of it, the property's payment will have to come from you and you alone" Lewis informed as Jaune froze.
"I... from me... alone?!" he nearly cried out, blue eyes widening in realization as to what that meant. 'B-but if that's the case, then... how much money would that even leave me with?!' he shouted in horror. 'N-no, better question, how much money would I need to have to keep it paid off?' Turning to the governor, the man frowned but could tell what Jaune was about to ask.
"Well... there are a few options we could do" the purple-wearing man said as he recalled the options as well as scanning over the deed's property taxes again. "Normally, you would be charged around 300,000 $G a year, nothing too bad for a typical full-functional farm" the governor said, making Jaune visibly wince. "However, considering just how bad of shape the farm currently is in, I doubt you'd even make half of that payment. as it is now" he admitted as Jaune mentally cursed.
"However, there is another plan we could have made for you, considering your current circumstances" the man said, earning Jaune's attention. "Considering the situation at hand, perhaps the three-year plan could work out better for you" he thought as Jaune frowned.
"W-which is?" he asked as Lewis was the one who answered for him.
"The three-year plan, am I right, sir?" Lewis asked, causing the governor to nod, Morris to frown.
"Indeed" the governor said. "The three-year plan. It is genuinely offered to others regarding certain circumstances. These circumstances involve a buyout, a deed transference, or in your case, Mr. Arc, an inheritance." The governor handing Jaune the deed back. "To put it simply, since you would be the new heir of the Archer Family farmlands, you will have the opportunity to have three years to fix up any properties or land that is currently in disrepair or can be considered a safety hazard by the Ferngill Republic: Landowner's Standards."
"Oh... so It's just a grace period to fix up the farm?" Jaune asked as the governor nodded.
"More or less, though... well, the thing is that the money would still be a potential issue" the older man explained. "While you would normally have to pay the 300,000 a year in order to keep ownership of the property, you would have to pay for the three years spent on the farm... plus an additional fee" he said. Jaune nodded as he kept that in mind. It was just a manner of buying more time to work around. "Essentially, the price you would have to pay at the end of the three years would be about 1,000,000 $G, to give you a rough estimate."
'A... a million $G?!' he mentally screamed in absolute horror. H-how was he supposed to even do that?! H-he didn't have that much money, did he? Wait, did he have any money at all?! The answer to that question was easy. No, he didn't. In fact, he didn't have any money at all. The only things he had on him were the clothes off of his back, and they weren't even the clothes he wore at Beacon. Unlike back at Beacon, Jaune didn't wear the same attire he had back at Ozpin's office. He still wore a black hoodie and blue jeans, yet instead of his black sneakers, he instead wore a pair of brown boots, and matching fingerless gloves and belts that hung around his waist with his small pouch attached at the hip.
No, that wasn't the point, the point was he was broke, not a dime to his name. That, that wasn't good, and Morris knew it. However, before he could make an offer to the young man, the governor spoke up again.
"Not now, give it time" he said as Jaune snapped out of his concerns and turned to face the man. "The former deed of the Archer Family's plot will expire in a few days. For now, perhaps you should give it some thought" the older man suggested. "If you think you can make something of that land, then I'll offer you your options once again. If not, then we'll go on from there" he said with a smile.
"R-right" was all Jaune said as he noticed the man extending his hand out to him. Taking it, Jaune shook the governor's hand, before the man in question turned to leave.
"Well then, it was nice to meet you, Jaune. Morris... if you please?" he began. "I was told you had a slight bargain on some spring seeds for my garden?" he asked, seeing as the local shop was closed on Wednesdays. Morris snapped into action, going into business mode and following the other man out, leaving Jaune, Robin and Lewis to their devices. As they left, Jaune frowned and sat back down in the chair he had earlier. Robin frowning as Lewis sighed.
"Well, this is a messy situation" Robin said with a frown, Lewis had to agree.
"I know... I should've thought about those taxes" he said as he turned to Jaune. "Well, kid... do you know what you want to do?" he asked as Jaune stayed quiet. Clearly, he had a lot on his mind.
Meanwhile in Vale, things had not seemed as bright as they should've been. Rumors spreading, accusations launched and a three-way civil war breaking out against not only the Council of Vale, but between General Ironwood and Professor Goodwitch, or rather Headmistress Goodwitch. Safe to say, things only got worse as time went on. Roman Torchwick, it was all his fault. Silver eyes glared weakly out the window, eyeing the shattered moon that lingered ominously above them. A young teenager looking lost and just as broken now more than ever.
Ruby didn't know what to think now, not sure how exactly all of this even happened. One moment, they were celebrating the capture of Torchwick with their friends, all together and happy to have seemed to have stopped the criminal for good. It was something she was happy about. Now Blake wouldn't worry too much about the White Fang, Yang and Weiss wouldn't be ready to tackle her to the ground whenever they were brought up, Team JNPR would be with them, with Nora eagerly asking questions, Jaune smiling and wanting to know more with Ren and Pyrrha beside them. For the first time, they would've been like actual heroes, or at least helped brought Torchwick to justice.
But then came the announcement, and moments later, the rumors and the Council's arrival. There was no way that was true though, she wouldn't believe it, couldn't beleive it, would never accept it as fact.
'Blakes not a terrorist, not anymore. She wouldn't help the White Fang attack Vale' she thought angrily as she recalled people like Cardin referring her as "Another Animal" and how "They should toss her out with the rest of the trash." Safe to say Yang was more than happy to have words with them, Team CRDL nearly passing out on the spot. But for Team JNPR, it was much harder.
Ruby could see it clearly, the anger and rage, the desperation and anguish in their eyes, hearing how Jaune was written to be a criminal in league with Roman. Rumors spreading all around. "He was a spy for them, he wasn't actually trying to be a huntsman" or "He didn't belong to be here, he deserves to rot in a cell."
Anyone who said that out loud said so with disgust, as if he was just a criminal nobody wanting a quick payoff or something. But to those either reckless or stupid enough to trash talk Jaune in front of his former team, it honestly made what Yang could do be a form of kindness. The infirmary was filled that day, Team JNPR, or rather NPR now, was banned from participating in any sparing classes, or any classes whatsoever. Especially when they could choose who to battle.
Nora made well on her threats to break the legs of anyone who called Jaune a criminal. She didn't stop at the legs, having sent them flying to the wall and through it, nearly jumping up and delivering a powerful blow in pure anger before Glynda stopped the match. For Ren, he was more aggressive, angered by the rumors. They had known Jaune better than the others, so him lashing out and picking a fight with a visiting student from Atlas, who referred to the blond knight as a "Filthy Criminal like the rest of the Arcs" did little to ease the apparent dislike Ren had begun to develop. Perhaps having blamed Ironwood for it all.
But the worst of all was Pyrrha, who had taken losing their leader the hardest. Even she could tell the red-haired champion seemed to care deeply for her blond dork knight. It was only after she erupted when they checked on her that they understood why. But as time went on, the more shut-in she became. There had been rumors floating around, stories that she was used for Jaune's alias, how she had been tricked and more "controversial" stories the media tried to pull. Stories about how she was nearly seduced to join Jaune and attack Vale. How Jaune only saw her as a mastermind spy that only acted the fool, who only saw her for her abilities.
And between the badmouthing, the rumors, the fact Jaune and Blake were both gone, it was clear that sooner or later, Pyrrha was going to break. And when she did, she didn't want to know just how bad that would be.
Turning away from the window, Ruby noticed the room was empty. Apparently, Weiss's sister had arrived and wanted to know more about the "Terrorist" that was Blake Belladonna. And her uncle Qrow, Yang had wanted to talk to him in private, now sleeping silently as she no doubt questioned everything about her former partner. Ruby Rose fought back another familiar choking, her eyes beginning to sting as she thought about the two missing friends that disappeared without a trace.
'Why?' the reaper thought as she made her way to her bed. 'Why did this have to happen, why can't the others just listen to us?!' she thought with frustration. 'T-they can't be like that, Blake... she left the White Fang, and Jaune... he cheated into Beacon, but he wasn't some spy for Torchwick!' And the more she mentally shouted to herself, the more her mind began to tire. The only thing left she could think of was one last question.
'Why did you leave?' she thought quietly as she closed her eyes. 'Blake... Jaune... where are you?'
And there we go; the overall plot thickens as I set up the plot of the story. That being Jaune currently has 3 years to turn the broken down and dysfunctional farmland into something that could produce enough money to make him over a million in revenue. And while in game such a thing is actually easy to do, I'm adding a few things onto it for the sake of the story, just so it's something that Jaune can still accomplish, but not be something too easy for him to do.
Which is why I'm adding a few other things such as the Ferngill Republic's Landowners Guidelines and stuff, as well have Joja act as the eventual antagonist. Which, funny enough, there was supposed to be a villain originally in Stardew Valley, where if you didn't do well enough, you could actually lose. I'm kind of basing the premise of Jaune's goals here off of that. And with a company like Joja, you can already tell that not everything will be played fairly.
I don't know, I'm still trying to find a good amount of challenge for Jaune since I don't want it to seem too easy or too hard for him to handle and still be somewhat reasonable. I'd actually like to hear your opinions on it if you think I need to make it harder or not. Anyways, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed and have a great morning, or night.