Sunday, 7th of Winter

Alma looked over the notes she had taken so far from watching The Queen of Sauce. Her collection of ideas was growing, but her choices were still limited because of her ingredients. As she looked over today's recipe, plum pudding, and saw she needed sugar and wheat flour, she couldn't help but feel a little discouraged. "It'll happen," she told herself.

Then, as she put on her clothes and zipped up her coat, she remembered that her ax should be ready today. Maybe she could finally start to chop down some of the big logs on the property. That got her motivation up again for the day, and it helped her get out of the door and into the cold winter air.

Alma went first to the mailbox, where she had a letter from Pierre:

"Hello there, Alma. So! Your first year in Stardew Valley is almost over, huh? If you keep buying seeds from me, you'll be twice as productive next year! And I have some exciting news … I'll be selling new seed varieties in my shop next year! I should have one new variety per season.

Well, that's all I wanted to say. Have a good one.

You know … I wouldn't even bother trying my competitor's seeds. Pierre's seeds are the *highest* quality seeds you'll find anywhere. That's a promise.

- Pierre"

New varieties of seeds sounded exciting to Alma, and though it was hard to believe, he was right: her first year in Stardew Valley was almost over. She would need to start turning her attention to preparing for next spring soon. For now, though, there was another letter in the mailbox:

"Dear Alma,

Tomorrow we're all gathering in front of Marnie's house for the Festival of Ice. It's a celebration of winter …. There'll be snowmen, ice sculptures, and an ice fishing competition! Arrive between 9 AM and 2 PM if you'd like to participate.

- Mayor Lewis"

Alma had never been to an ice festival before, and it sounded fun! The fishing competition sounded particularly interesting to her. Who else would be competing? Willy, no doubt. Maybe Elliott? Gus? Should she even try to compete? She folded up the letter and gave it some thought.

After Alma took care of the animals and gathered the mushrooms, she went to the chests to think about what she needed to take into town. She knew she was going to Clint's smithy, so she packed up some geodes, along with five iron bars for ordering an upgrade for her pickaxe. But other than that, she didn't have much she needed to do. She saw the amethyst and remembered Clint's request to give one to Emily. And she remembered the secret note about Leah's favorite meal, too. She had gotten some goat cheese from the press today, so maybe she would take that to Leah instead of selling it to the store. She packed up her bag, closed the chests, and walked down the snowy path into town.

In front of the store, Alma saw that today was Caroline's birthday, and she wondered what she might be able to give her. "Hello there, Alma!" Pierre said as she came through the door.

"Morning, Pierre. I just saw that you've got a birthday in the house! You all doing anything special?" she asked as she unloaded her bag.

"Yes! I'm going to surprise Caroline with dinner and a bottle of Stardew Red. Don't tell anyone!"

"Aw, that's so sweet of you! I bet you're a good cook."

He chuckled and said, "I don't know about good, but I enjoy it. And with the Ice Festival tomorrow, I don't have to open the store. Finally, a day of relaxation."

"I know you work hard. You both deserve a nice night and a holiday too!"

"Exactly. I'm looking forward to it. This cold weather makes me want to just curl up in the house."

Alma looked at the goods she had placed on the counter. "Do you think Caroline would like some fresh cheese to go with her wine?"

"Oh, yes, she'd like that!"

So Alma smiled, put the cheese back in her bag, and asked, "Is she home today?"

"Yep. Go right on in," he said, gesturing to the back door.

When Alma pushed the door open, she could hear the music from the Yoba temple carrying through the halls. "Caroline?" she called. She knocked on their bedroom door, and Caroline and Abigail were both standing there. "Oh, hi. Sorry to bother you all. Are you two … hiding?" she asked with a little chuckle.

"Yeah, we're hiding in here so we don't have to talk to anyone," Abigail said quietly.

"Oh, well, sorry, I guess I interrupted that."

"It's not quite like that," Caroline said, giving Abigail a sideways glance. "It was the previous owners who built the altar room. We aren't religious, but we let the other townsfolk use it if they want."

"Well, that's nice of you, birthday girl." Alma pulled her bag around and took out the cheese. "Sorry it's not wrapped, but happy birthday!"

"You remembered my birthday!" she gasped, taking the cheese. "Thank you. This is great. It smells so fresh!"

"That's because it is! It came out of the press just this morning."

"Wow, thanks Alma!"

"When can we have some?" Abigail asked with a big grin.

"When you're done hiding!" Alma laughed. "I'd best get going. You all have a lovely day!" They said their goodbyes, and she went back through the store and into the town square.

Just by the store, Alma saw a small book poking out of the snow. She quickly grabbed her hoe to dig it out, hoping it might be another of Mona's books. She couldn't read it clearly, so for now, she put it in her bag to show to Gunther later.

Before she went to the smithy, Alma thought maybe she could poke her head into the clinic and say hi to Harvey. But when she opened the door, she was surprised there was no one at the front desk. "Harvey?" She went through the doors and didn't see any sign of anyone in the clinic. There wasn't any jazz music coming from his apartment. "Harvey?" She made her way up the stairs and knocked on the door, but there was still no answer. She turned the doorknob and felt it was unlocked, so she slowly opened it up and peeked inside. He was sitting at his desk with his headphones on, working on the ham radio. Harvey looked busy right now, absorbed in whatever he was listening to. She smiled and watched him a second, then she ducked her head back out and hopped down the stairs and out of the clinic.

She went next to see Clint. He gave her the upgraded ax, and she gave him the two geodes she had to process. When he broke them open, one was a beautiful blue stone, and the other was a whitish green stone. "Thank you so much, Clint. And, uh," she started, pulling on her bag, "I'm planning to fulfill your request today."

"Oh. Uh … thanks. Let me know how it goes?"

"Sure! I can maybe try to catch you in the saloon later?"

"I would appreciate that. Thanks, Alma."

"No problem," she said with a smile on her way out the door. And as soon as she stepped out, she noticed something poking out of the snow in front of the building. It was another lost book! But this one looked a little different. It was much smaller, like a pocket-sized reader. It seemed to be paperback and fairly flimsy - but thick. She wiped her hands on the cover, trying to see what it might be. As she tried to flip through the pages, she made slow steps toward the museum and eventually went inside. "I've got good timing, Gunther," she said as she entered.

"Always!" he agreed with a big smile. "But why specifically today?"

She held up the small book. "I just found this one - and another just earlier today!"

"Oh, I think I know what that one might be." When she put it on the counter in front of him, he used his gloves to try to wipe away the snow and ice. He pointed to a faded image on the front cover: the sign of the vessel. "This seems to be someone's pocket copy of The Book of Yoba." He carefully tried to turn the wet pages, but he stopped himself. "No, let me try to restore it first before I look inside. Don't want to risk any injury." He smiled a little and placed the book in a container on the counter behind him. "And the other?" Alma took out the thinner booklet too and placed it in his gloved hand. "Hm. Looks almost more like a leaflet. I'll take a look at it."

"I also have these," she said, pulling out the gemstones.

"Oh, what beautiful specimens! Aerinite and a ghost crystal. Lovely!" He took them carefully in his gloved hands and also placed them in a container. "Thank you very much, Ms. Alma."

"You're welcome, Gunther. See you around!"

"Careful out there!" he called as she went for the door. She smiled and nodded to him as she pushed the door open.

Alma crossed the bridge and walked toward Emily and Haley's house. But as she passed the cemetery, she found herself slowing down. She walked into the little graveyard and stopped in front of Mona's grave, gently wiping the snow away to read the epitaph: "Our beloved Mona."

"I don't think your story is over. I'm working on it." She patted the headstone and sighed before continuing toward Emily's house.

When she knocked on the door, she could hear Emily's voice faintly answer, "Come in!" When Alma came in, Emily smiled from her bookshelf and Haley peeked from the kitchen. "Oh, hi Alma! Come on in! What brings you here?"

"I actually have a gift for you," she said, wiping her boots on their rug.

"Oh, for me?" Alma took out the amethyst and handed it to her. "Oh, my favorite stone! You're so sweet!"

"Oh, it's actually not from me. It - It's from Clint."

Emily looked up from the stone. "Huh? It's from who?"

"From Clint. The blacksmith?"

"Oh, you got it at Clint's?"

"Well, no I - "

"Well I don't care where you got it from, it's beautiful! Thank you!" She gave Alma a peck on the cheek before walking off to take the amethyst to her room.

"No, Emily, you don't understand. I'm bringing it on behalf of Clint. He's the one who wanted to give it to you."

"Do you have a pony on your farm?" Haley asked from the kitchen as Alma tried to catch up to Emily.

"Uh … no, Haley, I don't."

"Oh. That's disappointing."

Haley went back to whatever she was doing, and Alma continued after Emily to her bedroom. "Look, Emily, all I'm saying is that you need to thank Clint. Talk to him. Okay?"

"Clint? Oh yeah, we're friends. He comes to the saloon nearly every night! I'll be sure to thank him." She put the amethyst on her dresser then stood back to admire it.

"Okay, good." Alma looked around Emily's room for a minute. Cloth and scissors on the table, a large painting of a psychedelic desert, hearts on the walls, and plants everywhere. It did feel a lot like Emily's energy. "Well, I'd better go. I've got to run some more errands before we lose sunlight."

"All right. Be careful an icicle doesn't fall on your head!"

"Will do. See you around!" She left the bedroom and said bye to Haley on her way out too, then she continued west toward Leah's cottage. She knocked on the door and heard Leah's footsteps as she came to open the door. "Hey, Leah!"

"Oh, hello, Alma. Come in, please. It's too cold for you to just stand out there." Alma came inside, and Leah closed the door behind her. "What are you up to today? Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"No, not necessarily. I just thought I'd pop in and say hi. And I have something I thought you might like." She pulled her bag around and dug around in it for the goat cheese. When she pulled it out and handed it to Leah, her eyes lit up.

"Oh! This is exactly what I wanted! I just bought a lovely bottle of wine from Pierre's and was sad I didn't have anything to pair with it. How did you know?!"

Alma shrugged with a smile. "I dunno, just a hunch, I guess. Seemed like the type of thing a classy lady like you would enjoy."

Leah gave her a side glance smirk. "Well, you're not wrong." She then took it to her dining area and set it on the table. "Thank you so much! How about we have some together?"

"Nah, you enjoy. I've got to do a few more things around town."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, but I'll catch you around. And my goat is producing more milk, so there will be more cheese where that came from!"

"Thanks, Alma. You're too generous. Stay warm out there!"

"I'll try my best. See you tomorrow at the Ice Festival? It's right outside your front door pretty much, isn't it?"

"That's right. See you then!"

Leah saw Alma out, and she made her way up next to the traveling saleswoman's cart. "Hi there!" Alma greeted.

"Good afternoon, farmer."

"Your pig staying warm?" Alma asked, patting his back.

"Yes, he has enough fat on him to last him all winter, I think," the woman snickered. "See anything here you'd like?"

Alma looked over today's selections, but there was nothing really that struck her fancy. "No thanks. Not today anyway."

"Suit yourself. I'm sure I'll see you soon."

"Yes ma'am. Have a great day!" And as Alma waved and began to turn, her eyes looked up and noticed a large log blocking a path at the treeline. She had never noticed that before. As she approached the log, she thought about her ax. Maybe now that it was upgraded, she could cut through and see what was on the other side. She kicked at the log. It seemed pretty sturdy. But when she pulled out her ax and swung it down, she was surprised to see and hear a nice, solid crack. A few more swings and, sure enough, the log broke down, revealing an opening in the treeline. She picked up the few pieces of hardwood and continued down the canopied path. Alma could sense something different about this place. Maybe it was the snow and the covering of the trees, but it felt particularly hushed, like a whispered secret. As she walked, she heard a crinkling sound under foot, and she looked down to see an old piece of paper under her boot. She kneeled down to pick it up and wipe off the snow. It was a handwritten note on lined paper, as if from someone's journal. Alma could make out some of the sentences with the help of her magnifying glass:

"... There are only a few 'older' bachelors in town, and none of them are perfect!

Harvey is really anxious and weak, but I know he would make a loyal and devoted husband. He likes coffee and pickles.

Elliott is a bit foppish and melodramatic, but he does have a nice chin. He likes crab cakes and pomegranates.

Shane is messy and anti-social. But I think his gruff exterior is a defense mechanism, insulating his softness from the world. He likes beer, pizza, and pepper poppers."

Who could have been writing this? One of the older bachelorettes in town, maybe thinking through her options? Alma found herself reading the sentence about Harvey over and over again. "I know he would make a loyal and devoted husband." She felt her heart begin to pound and a nervousness wash over her. She quickly folded up the letter and put it in her pocket, trying to shake off the feeling.

As she continued down the path, she noticed something familiar: a slime wiggling its way to her. Instinctively, she took out her ax and swung when it lunged at her, only to have another come from the treeline. "I don't have my sword!" Her ax was not good enough to fight these off so easily, but after several hits from her ax, the slimes were destroyed. She looked around for other slimes and could see their red eyes glowing from the shadows of the trees. She scanned the area and clung to her ax, panting. "There's too many," she thought. "I've got to come back when I'm better prepared!" So she put the ax away and ran out of the woods. Once she was out from the trees, she was able to catch her breath. She looked behind her in shock. "What was that place?!" She wasn't hurt too badly, but still, it was a bit jarring to see monsters like that somewhere other than the mines. She checked the time; it was now nearly four o'clock, and the sun would be going down soon. Maybe it was best to head home. She could use the remaining sunlight to break down the logs on the farm before calling it a night.

"Have a good evening!" the saleswoman said to her as she passed by again.

"Yes, you too!" Alma answered with a wave. She went up the north path to the farm and began chopping at all the felled logs she could find on the property. They provided quite a bit of hardwood that she gathered into her bag as she went. And even though the upgraded ax made it possible, it did not make the work easy. Alma tired quickly, and the cold began to creep up through her fingers, toes, and nose. But when the last log was broken up and the last bits of hardwood were placed into the chest, she sighed with contentment knowing that she had been productive. She put her tools away, added more wood to the fire, and curled up with Bisclavret and Mysteries of the Dwarves until she fell asleep.