Wednesday, 10th of Winter
Alma went out to get the mail and brought it back into the cabin to read while she drank some coffee. There was a letter from Mayor Lewis:
"Alma, I'm really glad you've become part of our community! I've enclosed a 500g check from the Stardew Valley Agricultural Fund to help you continue your good work. Maybe you can buy some more seeds with it.
Sincerely,
Mr. Lewis"
Alma smiled to herself and sipped her coffee. She thought about her conversation with Gunther. Her walk home with Jodi and Marnie. Harvey spending the night. She read over the letter again: "I'm really glad you've become part of our community" ….
"Me too, Lewis," she said quietly. She finished her coffee, got dressed, and went out to work.
The most noteworthy thing on the farm this morning was that Beatrix shed some wool in the coop, which Alma promptly threw onto the spinning wheel. She gave the rabbit a cuddle before going back outside.
After she finished the rest of the farm work, Alma went to the chests to think through what she needed for the day. She knew she wanted to take the woodskip to the community center, but other than that … there wasn't really much else to do. Maybe she might go to the mines or gather resources. Or maybe something would turn up in town and give her some things to do. She made sure to bring her tools, then she went down the path toward town.
In front of the store, Alma saw an ad from Rasmodius asking for topaz. She knew she had some at home, so she could quickly go home at some point to get it for him today. She tore the paper from the board then looked over at the calendar. Not only did she see that today was Sebastian's birthday (another reason to go home, to grab something for him), but she also saw that Harvey's birthday was coming up in just a few days. She thought for a moment about how she might celebrate with him. The older you get, the less you care about your birthday; still, she wanted to make it special for him. But since this was his first birthday with her, maybe she should ask him how he might like to celebrate. Plus, she knew he didn't like surprises. She thought on it as she pushed the door open and went inside.
Alma happily sold her produce and made her normal small talk with Pierre before taking her gold and heading back out again. She decided to go back to the farm to grab a topaz for Rasmodius and a gift for Sebastian. She knew he was a quiet "emo" guy, so she wondered what she had that he might like. "A frozen tear maybe?" she thought, seeing one in the chest. She shrugged, pulled it out, and put it in her bag along with the topaz. Then she turned on her heel and crunched her way through the snow to the south.
When Alma approached the door to the wizard's tower, she half expected it to open on its own like it usually did. To her surprise, though, it stayed shut. She hesitantly knocked then heard Rasmodius's voice from inside. "You may enter, Alma."
Alma carefully opened the door and saw the purple-haired wizard standing over a podium and scanning a book. "How did you know it was me?" Then he looked up at her flatly. "Right, I guess it was a … silly question."
"If you have nothing important to tell me, leave me be. I have much work to do."
"Like study the elemental powers of a topaz?" she asked, pulling the gem out from her bag.
"Ah, the item I requested," he said, approaching her. She handed the stone to him, and he looked it over before putting it on top of the book he was reading. "Your work is satisfactory. Here is your compensation." He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small bag of gold.
"Um, before I go, I wonder if I might ask you about a few things."
"Quickly." He turned from her with a wave of his cloak and went back to his book.
"What can you tell me about Mona Chalcedony-Ivanov?" He looked up slightly from his book. "Or maybe you know her as M. Jasper?"
He looked up to Alma and took a deep breath, pursing his lips. "Are you aware of her spiritual presence?"
"Not … so much. I mean - maybe a little, I guess. But … the junimos have sent me on a bit of a paper trail to find out who she was. I'm just trying to learn more about her."
"I didn't know her when she was alive, but I am well acquainted with her now that she is in the afterlife - much like your grandfather. Though she, unlike your grandfather, is quite unsettled in her death."
"Do you know why?"
He looked carefully at Alma, as if wondering how much he should divulge. "Her life was ended prematurely."
"I knew it," she said quietly, her eyes darting across the floor. "By Quintus Ivanov, right?"
"Ssh!" He lunged toward her with his hands up then stopped, looking carefully around them. This shocked Alma, and she looked around too. Rasmodius set his jaw and looked at her sternly. "You don't know what you're getting into," he said quietly.
Alma looked at him with curiosity and concern, but she answered, "I know there is some danger. But like I said, it's the junimos who are leading me to this information. I think they want me to know."
"Of course they do! They are trying to help her find rest! But I don't think you can help. It is too dangerous. It may already be too late for you."
"But what could happen to me? If I'm in danger, can't you tell me so I can protect myself?"
He took another breath and thought carefully before speaking. "If the Junimo are leading you to her, then … maybe they trust you can take care of yourself, I suppose." He took another quick look around the room before stepping closer to Alma. "Ivanov is not as far away as people think he is. I don't know exactly where he is, but I know his presence is around this place. He dabbles in magic, but not enough to control it. He is dangerous and conniving. He sets traps and leads unsuspecting people into them. People like young Mona. People like you."
"What kind of traps?"
Rasmodius stopped and closed his eyes as if he was listening to something. "She says … there are more than monsters in the old mines." His eyes shot open and looked at Alma. "Don't trust everyone here. Just ask my neighbor, the mouse."
"The hat mouse, right?"
"Yes, the hat mouse!" he said, exasperated and annoyed. "Now leave me be. And don't be stupid out there!"
"One more question, actually."
"What?!"
"Old Master Cannoli. Know anything about him?"
"Oh, I set up the monument for him in the woods just like I did for your grandfather because he kept roaming around looking for something sweet to eat. It was getting kind of annoying, honestly."
"You mean his ghost was roaming around?"
"Yes, girl! Sometimes it's like you don't know anything!"
"Okay, okay, sorry, geez! I'm just really new to all this - ghost stuff. But you didn't know Cannoli when he was alive?"
"No. I just know he was a chef. Obsessed with food. Is that good enough for you?"
Alma began to back away to the door. "Yes, that's fine. Thanks. I'll leave you to it now."
"Yes, go!"
"But, uh, you're welcome for that topaz, you know."
"Go!" He reached his arm forward with a fling of his cloak, and the door slammed shut behind Alma.
She jumped a bit at the sound then pulled on her backpack before turning to go down the stairs. "Gah, he can really be a drama queen sometimes." Still, as she walked, she thought about what he said. Marlon, Harvey, Gunther, and now Rasmodius all seemed concerned about her safety and Ivanov. She wondered what kinds of traps there could be. And what Mona said about the mines …. It made sense Mona would be scared of the mines because that's where Quintus killed her. But what did she mean? What was waiting for her in the mines? Again, Alma knew that the only way to find out would be to keep going deeper. As she passed the south side of the lake, though, she could see the hat mouse's shop on the other side of the river and she wondered …. "Not today," she thought. At least, not until she finished these other errands. She would see what the time would be then and maybe come back.
As she came close to Leah's cottage, she could see something poking out of the ground. When she dug it out with her hoe, she could see it was some sort of fossil. It looked almost like a large beetle. Gunther would know. For now, she put it in her bag and kept going down the path into town.
Alma went first north to the community center and dropped off the woodskip into the specialty fish bundle at the fish tank, which then disappeared and revealed a present in front of her. She opened up the box and was hit with the smell of freshly cooked fish. When she looked down inside the box, she found a complete meal of fish and potatoes, which she recognized to be what was called "the Dish o'the Sea." She kept it in the box and was about to put it in her bag when the room lit up and several junimos appeared all around her. "Oh, did that finish the … bundle …?" she asked as the familiar dreamlike fog began to rise around her and a singular, happily bouncing junimo appeared in front of her.
"So many wonderful bundles," it squeaked. "Thank you! Thank you!" She blinked with another bright flash of light then saw that corner of the room transformed. The windows were fixed, the wooden paneling on the walls were repaired, the vines were removed, and an anchor now hung on the wall behind the tank, which was also now repaired and filled with clear water, a little castle, and a few ornamental plants. A little end table was next to the tank with a small decorative planter and a nice ash tray - for Willy's pipe, Alma assumed. And in front of the tank, there was a nice bamboo mat. She looked around to see if there was any sign this time of something that the Junimo might want her to know. For now, she didn't see anything that stuck out to her.
She wondered what this meant for the community; she checked her notes on the community center and saw that the "glittering boulder" would be removed. She looked up for a moment and tried to think of what this could be referring to. Was that the strange rock that was stuck in the mountain face by the mines? "Is that what it is?" she asked the junimo who came bouncing back to her after throwing a star up on the mantle. But like always, there was no answer other than a happy squeak. "Time will tell, I guess," she said with a smile, putting her notebook back in the bib pocket of her overalls under her coat. She zipped up her coat again, said goodbye, and went back out into the cold and farther north into the mountains.
When Alma came into Robin's house, the redheaded carpenter looked up with a pleasant smile. "Hey, Alma!"
"Hey, Robin. Woo, it's cold out there."
"I bet. But our house is in such a beautiful area, don't you think? Everything looks still after a fresh snow."
"That's true. Very picturesque!"
"Well, what can I do for you today?"
"I'm actually looking for your oldest. I hear it's his birthday!"
"It is! I think he's in the kitchen."
"All right, thanks," she said with a little wave as she headed that way. Sure enough, Sebastian was standing in the kitchen. "Hey, Sebastian!" she greeted as she came in.
"Oh, hey Alma. What's up?"
She pulled out the frozen tear and handed it to him, saying, "Happy Birthday!"
"Oh, is it my birthday today?" he asked, taking the stone. He shrugged with a chuckle. "I guess it is. Thanks. This is nice."
"Of course. You doing anything fun today?"
"Not much. Just doing some things around the house, I guess."
"All right, well, have fun!" She waved and went back toward Robin's shop, saying her goodbyes to her too. But as she went outside, she saw Sebastian again under his motorcycle in the garage. "Oh! Is this what you meant by 'things around the house?'" she laughed.
Sebastian rolled out from under his motorcycle. "Oh, hello Alma. What, you haven't seen my motorcycle before?"
"There's not much opportunity to ride a motorcycle around Pelican Town."
"Hmm … yeah, I guess I haven't shown it to you."
"That's all right. But now I'm curious about it." He rolled back under the motorcycle, and she took a minute to look it over. "I've always thought motorcycles are so cool. My dad used to ride one around the city when I was a baby, but then he had a wreck that about scared my mom to death, so he told her he wouldn't ride it anymore."
"Heheh, yeah, that sounds about right." She touched the handlebars a bit and felt the cool metal. "Sometimes, after sundown, I make the long ride out of Stardew Valley …. There's nothing else like it, blazing along the empty stretch of road toward the faint city glow."
"Yeah, that's what my dad loved too."
"Once I've saved up enough money, I'm going to head out on my own … to the city and beyond. Just me and my bike."
Alma smiled. She felt a twinge of envy, remembering her life before it came crashing down on her. But then she shook it off and hoped things would go better for him. "Sounds fun."
"There we go, oil's changed," he said with a grunt. He rolled out from under the bike again and wiped his hands and face with his rag. "Hey … maybe I'll let you ride sometime, if you want."
"Really?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Thanks, Sebastian. That's really nice of you. That sounds fun."
"Great," he said with a smile. He stood up and pulled the garage door closed. "Gotta keep it warm too." Then he turned to her and took a breath. "Well, I'm probably going to go for a smoke then take a shower. I'll see you around?"
"Yeah, sure. Happy Birthday again!"
"Thanks." He began walking toward the lake, putting his hands in his pockets.
Alma checked the time. It was nearly six o'clock. Harvey would be going to the saloon right about now, so she decided to go that way too. On the way, she found another artifact in the snow, and when she dug it up, she could see another rolled up parchment like the dwarf scroll she gave to Gunther a few weeks ago. This one, however, had a red ribbon tied around it. She dusted off the snow and ice, put it in her bag, and continued to the saloon.
When she opened the door to the restaurant and felt the warmth surround her, she looked around and was a little surprised to see he wasn't there yet. Gus, however, greeted her as soon as she closed the door behind her and began knocking the snow off her boots. "Good evening, Alma. Can I get you something?"
"A coffee please."
"You got it," he said with a nod.
Alma looked down at the menu next to the register and happened to see that today's special was Super Meal - Harvey's favorite dish. "Hey, uh, Gus."
"Yeah," he called over his shoulder.
"If I get a Super Meal today, will it keep fresh for a few days?"
"Oh yeah." He put the mug of coffee in front of her. "My food always stays fresh."
"I'll have two then please. And keep it discreet."
"No problem," he said with a pat on the counter. He quickly packed the meal for her in a to-go box, and she promptly hid it in her bag before giving him the gold.
"I can always count on you, Gus." He smiled and gave a wink before turning around to get back to cleaning mugs.
Alma sat at the bar, putting the coffee mug at the spot next to her. As she waited, she happened to remember a secret note she had found while gathering wood last night. She pulled it out of her bib pocket and opened it up to read it: "Mermaid Show: 1-5-4-2-3." What the heck did that mean?! What was the mermaid show? And what were these numbers? It was obviously some kind of code, but to what?
She heard the door of the saloon creak open, and she looked up and saw Harvey coming in. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled up at her. She smiled back and gently pushed the coffee mug toward him on the counter. As he came next to her, he asked, "It's for me? You're not having anything?" before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Nah, not today. Just wanted to see you."
"Well," he said with a sigh as he climbed onto his stool, "here I am." He brought the coffee up to his lips and smiled as he took a sip. "This is my favorite stuff! It's like you read my mind."
"I have a way of doing that." She held her hand out on the counter, and he put his in hers and pushed his fingers between hers, squeezing tight. "How was your day?"
"Not too bad. Long. It's amazing how the short winter days can seem to drag on forever." Alma nodded. He took another drink of coffee and sighed. "I'm starting to feel kind of old. The cold weather makes my joints more stiff, and I just feel exhausted at the end of each day. Sometimes the mental exhaustion is worse than the physical. The older you get, the more memories you get burdened with. It can be overwhelming."
"I understand completely. Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, stroking his thumb.
Harvey pursed his lips and shook his head. "Nah, don't worry about it. I'm all right." He squeezed her hand again and said, "I think I'll stay younger with you around."