Rowan's Cindersap Friday went about as expected, aside from the fact that the goats produced their first milk which slowed the morning a bit: Got 2 ducks and 2 geese from Marnie, got a rare seed and a bookcase from the trader, poked through the secret woods, and cleared some of the deadwood from both Cindersap and the secret woods so there was room to move.
They also remembered to try the rusty key Gunther had passed to them after the great breaking of geodes, and wandered into the sewer. The algae ridden water smelled weird, something off-putting, but not nearly as bad as human waste, and besides, it kind of glowed...
But when they walked far enough, they spotted a strange dark figure, with a little headgear, almost like a fascinator, made out of a dark speckled egg * . (which belatedly reminded Rowan they hadn't checked the coop as planned after the witch's visit), and recognized it as the strange creature they'd seen in the last winter, who'd shoved a magnifying glass at them and fled. They crouched down to look shorter than the creature, and tried to speak to it. It stood silent, and looked frustrated at first, then got a bright look on its face, and pulled out a light that wasn't dim and greenish - solar essence, Rowan noted - and picked up a book that was a bit the worse for wear from the foggy air. But they pointed to some words. The first was "Hello", next to something that looked like a scribble. The next was "I", then "sell" then - after a longer search - "Mysterious", then "goods".
Rowan remembered their strange not quite human voice from the last time, and asked, and after some more searching, the creature pointed to "Friday" and "holy", "day", and then "silence". Rowan hesitated, then asked if their own talking was rude or violating the holiness. The creature was emphatic in pointing at "no". But after a pause, added, "human", re-found "holy" and then "different".
Rowan asked about the goods, then. It was a surprisingly good collection, with a collection of dark and light essence, and a fantastic looking sprinkler Rowan grabbed a bit too eagerly. A few goods too expensive to consider for now... and, most startling of all, and just inside Rowan's budget, a stardrop.
The creature saw their expression, and urged them to eat it on the spot. Well, after they paid.
Hearing birdsong and having a mind filled with feathers and wings was very strange in that muggy musky sewer, and they suddenly felt poured full of energy - which had been flagging barely above exhaustion moments before. Apparently the creature understood big human grins, as it seemed as delighted to watch them as they were to feel it.
They had to ask its name. It considered, sighed, and pointed, one letter at a time. They sounded it out, an on their third try, it hopped up and down with agreement. Rowan repeated the name, Krobus, and, at a loss for a friendly gesture, offered it some of the tea from their thermos. This at least seemed to get a small smile. Maybe because it was a similar colour - if thankfully not smell or taste - to the sewer water.
It looked a little alarmed then Rowan stood back to their full height - but Rowan just said they'd come shopping again sometime. It smiled and waved.
Then it was back to the farm and up the north path to check in with Marlon. Well, if the price he paid for the boots and knife was very low, so at least was his fee for rescuing their sword. And those purple boots he called space boots were so much nicer than the strangely banded reddish ones Rowan had on that they also traded for those on the spot. The boots felt sturdier, too.
The next day, they checked the coop, sure enough, and held the strangely pulsing dark egg, but candling it showed a live embryo, that looked no different, so far, than any other chicken. They hesitated, but curiosity about it led them to tuck it into the incubator. It would be interesting to see what came of the chicken. That would be a bit too much for the coop, though, they only had eight nests. So, reluctantly, they reached out for Marnie to pick up one of the hedgehogs. Glory had to stay, though.
The rest of the day was catching up around the farm; getting rid of that silly sweetpea vine that was managing to grow up one of the orchard trees in a way that would stunt its growth, milking cows and goats, and setting out a new planting with the new iridium sprinkler. And some pottery. A quiet day, but that was fine.
* I have this Krobus mod set to be a random changing one every day.
https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/44248