Writing Hardship farm diaries

[Terdin]

My ability to write has returned. And for whatever reason, my mind kept on going through versions of the ending chapters for this novel throughout the depression. So I guess I'd better get to it, or my imagination won't leave me alone.

Summer 1
Woke up feeling great. Without checking the cards, I suspected it was the fishing I’d done yesterday. Went to check the TV instead.

Weather forecast thunderstorm. Luck poor. Livin’ Off The Land talking about the new seeds and specifically mentioning hops. At least I wouldn’t need to water my plants tomorrow, but I could only hope lightning wouldn’t strike anywhere on my farm.

I left to prepare for planting. Only the coffee bush remained of the spring crops. After some effort I had the grid laid down and planted the starfruit, melon, and summer squash seeds. While watering, I took part of the remaining grid before remembering that it might be in vain if the ground dried up before I returned from buying seeds.

Just over 1800 G from the fish. I made ten tea saplings to supplement that, and brought along the silver quality strawberries to ensure I’d be able to buy enough seeds.

I scanned the bus stop as I walked past, and made a detour when I saw a berry that had ripened early. In picking it up, I saw something behind the bus, which proved to be a bunch of grapes. Looking around gave me no clue as to where the grapes had come from. No vines in sight. Were the bats in my cave responsible for dropping it? Still musing about it I continued towards town.

Before I could talk to Pierre about what seeds I wanted, the door opened behind me with more force than I’d heard before. Morris entered and looked around at the townspeople browsing the goods. Pierre’s scowl deepened as Morris offered coupons for JojaMart and his other customers took the bait and left.

“But I can’t compete with that. I’d be selling at a loss.” Pierre stifled a moan as Morris approached.

“Isn’t it sad to find out that your customers have no loyalty,” Morris gloated. He extended a coupon to me. “Here, I have one half-off coupon for you too, my dear. You look like you need a decent meal in you. Wouldn’t you like getting more than twice as much to eat than you could afford at this grimy place?”

Pierre grit his teeth, restraining himself from doing or saying something that could make Morris take legal action against him. Then a bated breath when he realized I hadn’t taken the coupon yet.

“Aren’t those coupons only for those that have membership at JojaMart?” I asked. “I wouldn’t be able to afford to buy that, so that coupon would do me no good.” I didn’t want to reveal that I had worked for Joja.

“As the manager, I could override it for you, my dear,” Morris said with oily sweetness.

I took the offered coupon, noting Pierre’s pained breath of lost hope behind me. His anguish mirrored in Morris’ widening grin of triumph.

“That ‘my dear’ just lost you any chance of winning me over.” I tore the coupon into pieces and let them fall to the floor.

Morris’ face clouded. “I’ll make you regret doing that.” He seemed to be on the verge of saying something more, but then he stormed out of the shop.

Several emotions played over Pierre’s face as I turned to him again, relief being the foremost.

“I thought I’d lost my last customer this morning,” Pierre finally said. “But you should beware of making an enemy of them, as much as I appreciate what you did. He might sue you out of your farm and into life-long debt if you so much as lay a finger on him after this. I have to say that he may have been right in one thing though. You do look like you’re starving.”

“Probably because I haven’t eaten anything since afternoon yesterday,” I admitted. “And I can’t remember if I’ve eaten a cooked meal since coming here... Oh, I did have something hot. The tea Caroline offered to me. Don’t look like that. I have eaten, mainly raw fish and stuff I’ve found in the wild.”

While I could’ve included the Wizard’s brew into the category of warm and cooked, it hadn't been tasty enough to count as soup.

“But still... I’m surprised that you were able to turn him down. I’d have found it difficult if I’d been given that offer after a morning of hard work on an empty stomach.” His gaze went to the fresh stains of sweat and dirt on my shirt and hands.

“I ate more than enough of that kind of food while I lived in the city and my low-wage job made it the only choice if I wanted to be able to keep a roof over my head. Now... I’d like to get some seeds.”

“I’d recommend the blueberries. While each berry is worth less than the seeds, you get multiple berries per harvest, and several harvests. Hops, corn, tomatoes, and hot peppers also give more than one harvest. If you want something tasty to eat that will fill you up, you can’t do better than corn. Just roast it over an open fire, and it’s done.”

Once I’d bought what I needed to grow eight each of hops, hot peppers, and tomatoes, the money from selling the fish was almost gone. Pierre reluctantly bought the tea saplings from me, then a handful of strawberries. His hesitation vanished when he realized I used the money gained to buy more seeds. Twenty-four blueberry seeds, eight corn seeds, and one surprisingly expensive sunflower seed.

Finally I bought as many wheat seeds as I could afford when I noticed they only took four days to mature. Surely I’d get at least three more rainy days this season apart from tomorrow. If not, I’d be able to water them in the last few days of Summer even if over sixty seeds would have me running back and forth with the watering can.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Pierre asked as I put away my few remaining coins. “It will take some time before any of your crops are ready to harvest.”

No doubt relief of having earned more than his expenses battling the worries of letting an ally starve. Well, an ally for now. I didn’t know enough about him to be able to claim I’d always be that.

“I’ve got crops left from Spring. I can eat those,” I said to ease his worries.

The reminder of the many seeds I’d bought in Spring and how few crops I’d sold to him made him nod. “Or you could sell some of it and buy yourself dinner at the Saloon some time,” Pierre said.

Rather than trying to come up with more courses of action I could take, I nodded and left.

I paused right outside the door. I had two items requested by the Junimo and had promised them to give them the items as soon as I could get them. I’d better keep that promise.

On my way through the park, I spotted another new forageable and picked up a sweet pea flower. I smiled at the scent even as I tried to remember what might be the fourth forageable item of Summer. Filling all but one spot would make things more difficult for me, but it couldn’t be helped. I went to face anticipating tension of the Junimo.

No. There were just three slots to the bundle. I had all of the forageables.

There was a release of the brief increase in tension, and I slumped near the scroll as I picked up the return gift of 30 wild summer seeds. As the Junimo carried my gifts away, I looked at what remained.

Couldn’t do much about the Fall and Winter forage, until those seasons unless I had more windfalls or unexpected monster drops. I still didn’t know how or where to get moss, and I’d need more than just what the bundle demanded. I’d be able to grow the hops for the Wild Medicine bundle, but where I’d get fern or purple mushrooms for it was a different matter.

A look at the Summer Crop bundle in the pantry reassured me that I had the seeds I needed to complete that. I’d even get corn for the Fall Crop bundle... wasn’t there another bundle that required corn? I hurried to the old bulletin board despite the tension from the fish tank scroll. Ten more for the Spirits Eve bundle. Looking around at the other bundles there made me pause. I needed a tapper for the maple syrup. Blueberry and sunflower would be on its way now, but I had forgotten to buy a poppy seed. Had to get one later.

“I’d better go and plant my seeds, or I won’t be able to harvest them,” I told the Junimo before I left.

I met Harvey as I took a shortcut through the park.

“I saw you coming out of there. No rat bites?” Harvey asked.

I held up my hands to show him. “Nothing’s bit me so far today,” I reassured him. “No rat trap mishaps either. Though I might get blisters from farm work before nightfall. Nothing caught in the traps yet,” I added.

“You should eat more. Your eyes are shadowed from not eating nearly enough and from not sleeping enough. Keep in mind that farm work requires you to eat more than you did back when you lived in the city. Eat when you’re hungry, and at regular meal times. Don’t try to stick to some kind of diet,” Harvey lectured. “Losing any more weight could be bad for your health.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I promised. “I’ll try to sleep more too,” I added.

I ate a handful of salmonberries before planting any of the seeds. I needed the energy, and more, even if the extra areas I'd watered hadn't dried out just yet. Watering the regrowing crops, and adding a line for the hops that would ensure their trellises wouldn’t be too much in the way, took all of it. I had to eat more, including some left-over spring onions for bulk, before making a second scarecrow and hoeing an area near the ruin of the greenhouse for the wheat. Tending to the furnaces too.

By the time I’d planted the last of the wheat, night had fallen. I only noticed it when I started to look further than the small area lit by my glowstone ring. Out of habit I brought out the watering can before remembering that I’d decided to let the rain do all the watering. I crafted three tappers, brought them to the bus stop and fitted them to the trees in front of the bus. Since I passed through there often enough, I'd see when they were ready for harvest without missing too many days. Sure, it was just one maple and two oaks, but I felt pretty certain I'd need oak resin at some point too. If not, I should be able to sell it.

I had some energy left, and enough time to cut down a tree or two, but decided to take Dr. Harvey's advice to heart and got to bed half an hour earlier than yesterday.

 

[Gamer1234556]

Damn, this project’s still alive. I thought it was dead.

I should probably get to my novel soon. I have been falling behind reorganizing and just proofreading my stuff.

 

[Terdin]

Damn, this project’s still alive. I thought it was dead.

I should probably get to my novel soon. I have been falling behind reorganizing and just proofreading my stuff.

Just for a break of little over a month? The average length of my depressions is 6 weeks, give or take two weeks, so this one was on the shorter side, which also meant it never got really dark.

I still haven't given up on Duilin 6, Auris 5, Ina-tori 3, Nygai 3, or Necromancing Countries, despite not having touched some of them in over a year. I should be getting back to the rewrite of Duilin 2, but no, those scenes for Hardship Farm Diaries won't leave me alone unless I write them. If I write them too early though, I could run into the problem I had with Kitty. Wrote the final chapters for that trilogy in 2013 despite still being on book 2. Reached halfway through book 3 in 2016, but it took me until 2019 before I managed to connect to the ending as I had to get them from a medieval tech planet to its modern-day tech neighbor. But I knew the ending had to happen that way, and that it would slot in seamlessly with just minor editing when the main story caught up to it, because I'd written it in a fit of inspiration.

 

[Terdin]

Summer 2
A loud thunderclap woke me up. Before I was aware of my surroundings, I stood next to my bed. A more distant rumbling thunder followed. Muscles protested the abrupt movements and I sat down at the edge of the bed to stretch them and regain my wits. While the dreams had fled without a trace, the sound must’ve made me dream that Morris had decided to bomb my farm to retaliate for the ripped coupon yesterday.

My hands still shook from the adrenaline when I turned on the TV. Weather forecast sunny. Luck poor.

I petted Belle and gave her some food before heading out. It wasn’t the best day for mining and the thought of going to those freezing floors with wet clothes was not appealing. Instead I fed some broken CD to the recycling machine, and tended the furnace before grabbing the finished salmonberry jelly and adding more berries. I spent some time cutting down trees to relieve my early morning stress, occasionally checking back to tend to the furnaces and the recycling machine, before grabbing my fishing rod.

It didn’t take long to decide where to go. I was missing three fish on the Ocean Fishing bundle, and one of them was on the Quality Fish bundle too.

At the beach, I found Sebastian standing at the edge of one pier to look at the light show in the dark clouds. The sea, while normally a welcoming blue, mirrored the clouds as if someone had spilled a huge bottle of black ink into it. The pier was slick with foam and spray from the larger waves, but Sebastian didn’t seem to mind that he was getting soaked. Then again, the air and sea had warmed up a fair bit the last week or two.

Sebastian frowned when he turned towards me. “The sea is best enjoyed alone, don’t you think?”

“Depends on the situation, but I just wanted to say hello and warn you that I’m gonna fish over there.” I nodded towards Willy’s shop. “Just so you know who to blame if you end up on the hook, even if I’m not that incompetent anymore.”

He scoffed at the notion. “I’ve been able to avoid your hook even when you’ve been fishing next to me.” He returned his attention to the clouds in time to spot a magnificently branched lightning.

Only the rumbling thunder disturbed the sound of the rain as I cast my line. I caught several red mullets, a few flounders, and a couple of seaweeds along with some trash, before I caught something that at first glance looked like a tiny red mullet.

Not red mullet. Red snapper. I didn’t check, but unless there were more than two kinds of red fish, I now had one of the fish I needed.

Then something really bit, and I had to struggle with the rod. At first I thought it was an eel, because of the behavior, but the moment it put all its weight on the line renamed it tuna. I sometimes thought it would break my rod, but after a long fight I managed to reel it in. Gold quality.

I took a break after that, eating some berries to regain energy and flexing my fingers to stop their trembling. Then I cast my line again, hoping for tilapia to complete the bundle. Another red snapper, then a second tuna.

Willy emerged from his shop and made a pleased sound when he saw me fishing. He stayed to watch me work another flounder to shore.

“When can tilapia be caught?” I asked him.

“It’s too late for tilapia now. Your best bet would be in the morning. Is it for a request?”

“A private request,” I said to avoid being called a liar if he checked the help wanted board and there wasn’t any such request there.

“Good luck tomorrow, lass,” he said. “Summer’s also good for sturgeon, dorado, and rainbow trout in the freshwater areas. You could find pufferfish and even octopus here in the sea if your timing is right, but they’re mighty choosy. Tilapia is just a little easier. The other fish here at the beach are likely easier to combine with your farm chores, but beware of the area around the tidal pools. You’re not good enough to catch what lurks there during Summer, lass. Or rather, your rod isn’t good enough for it.”

His warning rankled. “Thanks for the warning. Maybe I can earn enough for that iridium rod before Summer ends. Would that be a good enough rod in your opinion?”

“It may still be a bit lacking, but if you’re skilled enough and choose the right tackle, it might be just barely enough. He’s slipped from my hook more times than I care to count.” Willy glanced over his shoulder and looked like he’d add something, then shook his head. “I’ll head over to the Saloon, just so you know.”

“I’ll catch a few more before calling it a day.” I cast my line, trying to think of what to do with the fish.

There was no time to think. Another tuna bit almost immediately and played hard to get. By the time I reeled it in, Willy was long gone.

Lightning still crackled against the sky occasionally, but not with the same frequency as it had done a few hours ago. I watched the roiling clouds as I thought about my options. There was my promise to the Junimo on one hand, and not wanting to experience the increased tension the fish would bring on the other. But they probably knew I’d caught the fish, and might get annoyed if I didn’t keep my promise.

I caught half a dozen more fish until I only got bites from halibuts, seaweed, trash, and something that kept escaping with the bait.

“I guess I can’t avoid this any longer,” I said in a low voice, not wanting anyone to hear me.

A diggable spot I hadn’t noticed earlier gave me a brief glimpse of a book before the Junimo took it away. Hopefully it wasn’t too water damage from spending the day in wet sand.

Despite my decision, I still procrastinated by going to the Saloon and at least attempt to be social.

Leah frowned at me. “You seem more anxious than usual. What’s going on?”

“I’ve been out of sorts since the thunder jolted me awake. For one thing I’ve got no lightning rods on my farm, so I don’t know how much damage is being done. Makes it difficult to relax, even if I have been trying to do that by fishing.” It was true enough, even if there was more to it right now.

My words were spoken a bit louder than intended, and the only other conversation, between Shane and Emily, went silent. As I went around to at least say hello, several of the others hoped the damage wouldn’t be too serious. Apart from Shane.

“I don’t care if lightning struck something important on your farm,” Shane said. “In fact I kinda hope it did.”

“Shane! Why do you keep being so rude and confrontational?” Emily asked.

“Why don’t you ask her why she keeps talking to me like we’re friends? She should leave me alone and mind her own business if she knows what’s best for her. I don’t want to get any more friends. Friends just complicates things,” he said to Emily.

Emily looked back and forth between me and Shane, at a loss for words.

“You may not want it, but I think you need it,” I said in Emily’s stead. “You’re right that it might not be what’s best for me, but whether I can handle it is for me to decide.”

Shane’s scowl deepened and he raised a fist.

“Now, now, Shane. You know the rules. If you start a fight in here, you won’t be welcome back until the one attacked tells me you've apologized and that they've forgiven you,” Gus said.

In the silence that followed, I left.

There was a request on the help wanted board. My eyebrows rose. Shane wanted a red snapper for making a shishkebob.

I returned to the Saloon and got out one of the fish. “Here’s the snapper you wanted,” I told him.

Shane looked torn between several emotions. “Thanks, I guess.” His face twitched, then he pulled something from a pocket. “Here. Though I really don’t want to give it to you. I thought Willy or someone would...” He thrust it towards me, then snatched his hand away after the briefest of touches.

What he handed me was not just the envelope with the money, but also a ticket for the prize machine in Lewis’ house. And for the Helper bundle.

“Thanks...” I barely caught myself from echoing how he’d thanked me.

My reluctance caught his attention, but before he could bring himself to ask about it, I left again, this time going straight to the community center.

I handed over the prize ticket first, for a barely noticeable increase of tension compared to the fish tank scroll just a few steps away. Now there were two bundles, only needing two items each, halfway done, which was probably why they weren’t as powerful as a four-item bundle needing just one more item.

The fish tank came next. I drew a shuddering breath as I touched the scroll. Red snapper, and tuna. The tension returned to about where it had been before completing the Crab Pot bundle. Then a gold star tuna for the Quality Fish bundle. As I'd feared, it brought the tension to near unbearable levels.

As if the Junimo were trying to crush me.

I wanted to flee the mental pressure, but I couldn’t bring myself to move or speak. All I could do was keep breathing and try to get used to the feeling. Learn to bear it. Try to bring up the strength for it from the depths of my beeing, with only partial success.

“I’ll try for more items tomorrow,” I whispered when I finally felt I could bend my knees enough for walking without fear of them giving way altogether and making me faceplant.

I hurried home, too worn out by the latest experiences to check more than the closest areas of the farm for thunderstorm damage. A splintered tree seemed to be the worst of it. The remaining fish went into one of the chests.

Belle had hogged most of the bed, so I lay down beside her, not wanting to disturb her.

 

[Terdin]

Summer 3
Landing on the floor next to my bed woke me up. For a few confused moments I remained there, floor still shaking, until I realized it was an earthquake. Belle landed on me as she fled the cottage and I got a brief view of her hanging onto the door handle and waiting for the door to open enough to let her through. When the rumbling ceased, I got to my feet, hoping there wouldn’t be any aftershocks. Or worse, that it had only been a pre-shock, if that was a thing, and that the real event would come later.

I checked the TV. Weather forecast thunderstorm, luck good. The Queen of Sauce re-run showed how to make radish salad, which I didn’t remember seeing earlier. So, I had missed one. At least now I had the recipe.

I wasn’t surprised there was no mention of the earthquake, since that usually took at least a few hours to make it into the news. And that was if it was major and affecting several regions. If this was just a small local thing that was felt more because it was so close, it might not make it at all unless buildings were damaged or people got injured.

A realization struck me. There was a dried-up watercourse near the Adventurer’s Guild, courtesy of a recently built power dam by one of the daughter companies of the Joja corporation. If that was... No. Even if there was a power outage or something there, they’d put a lid on it if a reporter asked and say that they hadn’t experienced anything out of the ordinary. Maybe they’d say that it was normal with minor earthquakes because of the ground settling as the reservoir filled up.

If it had caused a landslide or something, they might send someone to clear it if it blocked a path, much like what had happened when I moved here and access to the mine and the Adventurer’s Guild was blocked.

But I couldn’t stay pondering it all day. My crops needed water, most of them anyway, and I had to gather more wood and ores. One letter. From Mayor Lewis, asking if I could find his lucky purple shorts and get them to him. The way he stressed the word “discretely” was suspicious.

Furnace and recycling machine were quickly tended to. Picking up the watering can from the chest brought the fish from yesterday to mind. Hadn’t been able to think clearly back then and left the decision on what to keep or sell to future me. Pursing my lips I put most of them in the shipping bin, keeping the tuna and a few low quality flounders. Mom had made a tasty fried flounder. Too bad she probably wouldn’t give me the recipe.

Watering made me once again wish for decent sprinklers. Those I could make would have me having to search for the crops missed by the sprinklers, and wouldn’t save me much time or effort. The coffee plant was almost ready. One or two more days.

Visiting my quarry, I blinked in surprise. It was the first time I’d seen an iron ore node there. What didn’t surprise me was that it was just as tough as those in the mine. Of the three dig spots, two yielded coal, and the last one gave me just a few stones. There were also a bunch of copper ore nodes and four geode nodes.

I went to the Cindersap Forest to get some wood, but got distracted by Vincent and Jas running to the spring onion area. I followed them and found that Vincent wanted to take Jas on a sewer exploration, only hindered to do so by the locked grate. Jas’ mention of Gunther possibly having the key made me wonder if I should ask for it, or wait and see if it was one of Gunther’s planned gifts for donating stuff.

My musing got cut short at a sound from inside the sewers. Jas and Vincent were spooked, and took shelter behind me. If I hadn’t been there, they’d no doubt have run all the way to either Marnie’s ranch, or even the town.

“Can you go see what it is, Miss Erica?” Jas asked in a tiny voice.

I briefly placed a hand on their shoulders before going down the stairs to the grate.

Something darker than the background moved. Dark enough to seem to suck any light into itself. There was an odd sound from it, and yet there were words in that sound.

“Open the door,” the creature said.

Spooked at finding I could understand its language, I ran away. The two children ran ahead of me, realizing that if it was bad enough to scare an adult, it had to be really bad.

I paused when Marnie’s ranch came in sight, recalling I had come to gather wood. Got about a dozen trees, but working my way towards the Wizard’s tower rather than returning to the spring onion area. One tree proved to have a strange blue box hidden in its branches. Then a tree dropped a book: Woody’s Secret. The subtitle was “How to get more wood from felling trees” which would help a lot and let me leave more of my tree brethren standing.

Glancing at the tower, I went to sit behind one of the larger bushes, not wanting to let the Wizard see me just by looking through a window. He’d probably hid it in that tree hoping I’d cut it down, so he could watch me without having to resort to a crystal ball or a mirror, or whatever means he had of spying on me.

I repeatedly tried telling myself I wanted to read it and take my time learning its information, but I couldn’t help but brace myself. My hopes of avoiding the experience I’d come to expect were quickly dashed. As soon as I opened the book, pages turned on their own and it flew into me. Once my lungs stopped being paralyzed, I gasped for air. Despite the axe on the cover it hadn’t been nearly as bad as the Monster Compendium experience.

My knees were wobbly as I stood up. No more wood gathering for today. It wouldn’t be safe. Recalling the earthquake, I went to check on Marnie.

“The earthquake? I did notice a rumble, but it didn’t shake all that much,” Marnie said when I asked about it.

“I was sleeping on the edge of the bed to avoid disturbing Belle,” I said. “Not the first time I’ve done that.”

Marnie nodded. “Or it was more of a landslide and you were closer to it than I was. How’s the cliffs on the farm looking?”

“Nothing’s fallen down since I arrived,” I said.

“Then the farm’s in better shape than you. You should eat more. Farmwork’s hard work,” she reminded me.

“As is tree felling to get enough wood for a coop,” I added. “Was too shaken up this morning to be able to eat anything, but I’ll get something when I return home.”

“You’d better.”

I ate a few salmonberries as I returned to the farm, then one of the flounders, leaving some for Belle. Enough time remained in the day to visit the mine. Even if I didn’t get to the next floor with an elevator, I could get some ore. The stuff I’d gathered went into the chest. Enough wood to build a coop now. But not enough money, and maybe not enough stone.

A dig spot in the backwoods gave me another book. Fortunately just a lost book, whisked away by the Junimo. Why they couldn’t just bring the books there as they found them, instead of hoping I’d spot them waving at me and then bring it, was beyond me.

My thoughts went to the community center. The way the tension increased and vanished as the bundles were filled. Were they somehow feeding off of my effort? Some kind of magical symbiosis maybe. Hoeing the dig spots didn’t wear me out more than preparing soil for planting, so they couldn’t be feeding off my physical energy. Was it the mental energy spent in locating the spots? It was the only reason I could think of.

Reaching the plateau where Linus had his tent, something was off. It took me a while to realize why. There was a gap in the cliff to the north. No debris from a landslide or rockfall. I braved the gap, looking up at the cliffs flanking the stairs. It seemed almost as if an earlier rockfall had been reversed. Or had the earthquake just been one heck of a dynamite blast? That would explain why there had been no aftershocks.

Up the stairs was a scene I somewhat remembered. The train station, looking abandoned for a decade or more. The rocks among the weeds made me suspect that was where the mass of stone had gone. And there was another building, a bath house, or maybe even a spa. I went to check.

The interior was rundown. Cracked tiles, cracked paint and plaster on the walls, and I left footprints in the accumulated dust from the years it had been inaccessible from town. No-one seemed to have stopped at the train station to visit it either. The lights were still working. That was a good sign. With what I could see at the women’s side of it, I renamed it a spa. It wasn’t just somewhere to go to swim a few lengths and get clean.

I sneaked through the changing room, past the showers, and felt dirty for not having washed up before going into the “swimsuit only” area with my clothes on. I had to bring my bikini on my next visit, and maybe store it in one of the lockers. But it would be of no use if the pool had been damaged enough to drain it of water, or if it had become all slimy and stagnant. Would I have to do something to restore this place too?

I needn’t have worried. The large pool was full of steaming water, smelling slightly of sulfur and cloudy with minerals. It had to be fed by a hot spring. I quietly left before anyone else came to investigate, or worse, take a dip, and went to check on Linus, and on Robin’s family.

“At first I thought it was someone pelting my tent with stones again. Then the ground shook real bad.” Linus shook his head, whether to signify that he could not find words, or because he wanted to forget the experience. “When I finally dared to get out, the road to the train station was open again.”

Robin was helping Demetrius tidying up after what had happened. The smell of various chemicals stung my nose.

“Is it bad elsewhere? We’ve been busy here,” Robin said. “You should’ve seen it this morning. Glass shards everywhere. Floor bubbling with chemicals. We had to open the windows for several hours before it was safe for anyone but him to be indoors. He's got a hazmat suit.”

"No, you were closest to the epicenter," I said.

“Need to order more laboratory goods,” Demetrius said. “Beakers, retorts, flasks, and not least test tubes. Need to replace the chemicals I lost too.”

To my relief he didn’t name them. Acids and bases were probably just part of it. Solvents for extracting stuff from soil or plants too, no doubt

“It would be a lot better if you didn’t,” Robin said. “How many times have you managed to cause minor fires, only contained because I realized the risk of that ahead of time and used flame-resistant varnish on the ceiling?”

I left them to it and went to the mines.

Floor 65
The cold felt worse than it had during Spring, and made me glad for my warm boots. At the same time the chill was welcome for the first few minutes. Just one slime, and it only took me a few rocks to find the way down.

Floor 66
One greenish rock near the ladder attracted my attention. Jade. Hunting down the monsters and gathering the iron kept me warm. Prioritized getting all the iron nodes before going down despite the stairs showing up before then.

Floor 67
A darker than usual rock gave me another jade. A quick search proved no monsters, no ore, and the ladder out in the open. Both a frustration and a relief. Just as I was about to go down, a screech heralded a bat. I waited for it to attack, netting me four bat wings. How it was possible was beyond me until I turned over the now wingless body and made myself feel guilty for killing it. A baby bat had been clinging to its mother’s fur. Wiping away tears before they froze on my cheeks, I reminded myself that it had been the one that chose to attack me, not the other way around.

Floor 68
The cold was deeper here, soul-chilling. Moments later the reason showed itself as a ghost floated through a wall. This one only dropped some gold ore. The chill grew less severe. I chased down most of the monsters, but as slime dropped a staircase and one path was too rock-strewn to bother with, I didn’t search the floor all that thoroughly. The bat on this floor just dropped one wing, which was a relief. Got some coal from a bag near where the stair dropped. Not too low on coal at the moment, but with the furnaces, and the need for more preserves jars, they’d come in handy.

Floor 69
The first part reminded me of a floor in the first 40, suggesting there might be a room with barrels and boxes somewhere. The blue slimes I encountered in my search for that room were annoying, yet I couldn’t ignore them or they might kill me. A tackle from one almost gray slime made me cry out from how hard it hit. Upon killing it, the reason was obvious. It had eaten, or absorbed, some stones. Then I found the room I was searching for, guarded by another slime. Several barrels and boxes broke as I fought it, dropping frozen geodes, amethysts, and frozen tears, in addition to iron ore. The ladder was out in the open in the room beyond the treasure room.

Floor 70
Seeing proper walls down in the mine made me wary. For some reason I couldn’t bring myself to believe the miners had built them. The treasure chest held a sturdier slingshot. I threw away the sap I’d got from the slimes to fit it in my backpack. A faint clattering sound came up from downstairs and I fled to the elevator, not wanting to see what was below this late in the day.

Ran all the way home after putting the slingshot away and making sure I was bringing home a full load, including the bat wings this time. Barely remembered to fill the furnaces with iron ore and give the recycling machine another broken CD before going in to get ready for bed.

 

[Terdin]

Summer 4
Woke up to the rumble of distant lightning. Despite having a bad wake-up for the third day in a row, I felt better than expected. One or more of my skills had to have increased.

My eyes widened as I checked my crafting recipes. Lightning rods. Just what I needed.

I ran out to check the crafting materials chest. Just enough to make six lightning rods, and I silently praised Yoba that I’d thought to bring the bat wings from the mine chest. They were quickly made and placed along the edge of the cliff, forming a partial fence. I went back inside to check the TV.

Weather forecast, sunny. Luck was in my hands. Livin’ Off The Land mentioning fish that could only be caught during Summer.

It could be an idea to go fish, but recalling some of the stuff I’d heard elsewhere years ago, most of those Summer-only fish could be difficult to catch. On the other hand, the newly opened railway area did give me a large space that seemed perfect for tree planting, and mushroom logs once I found enough moss for making some. Though maybe I should start with just a small area to see if anyone protested. With my most plentiful seeds so it would hurt less if someone else took them down for being planted without permission.

I checked my crops. The coffee plant had beans for me to harvest. Four of them. I quickly replanted them, then grabbed the pine cones and some stones. Left most of the stones though. Thinking things through again, I went inside and got my bikini, then checked the shipping bin. 3821 G was a good bit on the way to upgrading the axe.

All the way to the train station I thought about my layout. I needed space for the mushroom logs, and the trees needed space too. I planted a first line, then made cobblestones to place around them so they wouldn’t spread seeds before I could fill the spaces with logs. Feeling a bit greedy I made a wide avenue that I could line with logs. It was tempting to go with just one line of trees flanked by wide avenues, but the description by the recipe said that more trees were better, so I alternated the avenues with one-space alleys.

I ran out of stones for the cobblestone area before I had filled in the area in the upper left corner, so I got more from the rocks. Despite summer rains being generally warm, I still got chilled. With the spa so close, I went in after I’d finished my test area.

The water in the pool felt almost unbearably hot against my chilled skin as I stepped in. I relaxed there, near the stairs, wishing someone else had braved the rain to take a swim so I had someone to talk to. And yet I was happy to have it all to myself for now. It was probably for the best. Anyone of the townspeople might try to make me change my plans.

Finally I felt warmed through and ready to face the frozen depths of the mine. Said hello to Linus and Sebastian on my way past.

Stepping out of the elevator on floor 70, breath making a cloud in front of my face, I remembered why I’d fled earlier. I shifted my grip on the insect jaw sword, hoping it would be enough for whatever was down there.

Floor 71
My answer to what was down here came sooner than I’d have liked. Walking skeletons, the former inhabitants of these long-buried buildings no doubt. The one that approached me was more than enough. At first it seemed like my weapon barely gave it pause. Then it collapsed in a pile of dust and a few bone fragments. The two bats and a blue slime were a lot easier on my mind. I gathered what I could of iron, a frozen tear, and a couple of frozen geodes. When I found the stairs leading down, I hesitated. Not for long. If I wanted to be able to take the elevator past these floors, I had to take the long way through first. I didn’t want to have to do it more times than I had to.

Floor 72
More skeletons. Two closer and one in the distance. This time I saw them before any of them saw me, and I tried to get the attention of just one of the first two. No dice. One of them threw some kind of bone at me, and busy trying to fight the other skeleton I couldn’t parry it. It hit me in the ribs harder than I’d thought possible for something thrown by something that didn’t have muscles. My shocked cry echoed between the walls.
Once the first two were down, I noticed the third hadn’t moved. Sound obviously wasn’t what got their attention. It had to be body heat. I took out a few rocks that blocked my path. It didn’t move. Then I got close enough for it to notice. By now, the initial shock and scare had started to wear off into a numbness. For all the Spirits’ Eve horror they were, I had fought ghosts earlier.
No iron ore on this floor, but there was an aquamarine stone, and an odd-looking mineral node that dropped a diamond.

Floor 73
Two more skeletons. While I wasn’t as scared of them now, I still wished for a better weapon, so I wouldn’t have to hit them quite as many times before they went down. The warmth from the bath had long since left my body. My right arm ached and my clothes felt like plate armor made out of thin ice. There was no going back though. Even the residual warmth from a sunny summer day wouldn’t be enough to keep me warm down here. Plenty of iron ore though, even if each node didn’t yield much, and three frozen geodes appeared as I searched for the stairs.

Floor 74
No skeletons in sight. I hurriedly looked for the stairs down. Just one more floor. Then I heard a clacking from behind a corner, making me jump a step back and get hold of my weapon just in time as a skeleton came out of hiding.
Took some rocks, and a tenth frozen geode, before I found the stairs. I looked at the clock. Had to go. Was too late in the day to attempt to reach floor 80.

Floor 75
Seeing only ordinary rocks around me, I ignored the further reaches of this floor and stepped into the elevator as soon as it came to life.

While it was too late to go further in the mine, it wasn’t too late to hand in the diamond, and to say hello to people that were still at the Saloon. My promise to the Junimos hurt in the wallet. A diamond was probably worth a lot, but there had to be more down in the mine.

The rain felt warm now, thawing my clothes and rinsing away the melted ice. Made me realize just how chilled my skin was.

As soon as I stepped inside the Community Center, I was hit with the tension from the fish tank scroll. It made me want to flee, even to give up my attempts of restoring the place entirely. I willed myself to walk through it and go to the boiler room. Adding the diamond to the treasure hunter bundle made it increase in tension. Yet it paled in comparison to the fish tank. I had to go fishing tomorrow, and try to get a tilapia and maybe ask Willy when and where I could get the other fishes the Junimo asked for.

I leaned against the door for a long minute after I got out of the Community Center, letting the rain wash my face, even if it also soaked my clothes further. Definitely didn’t want a lot of questions about what had spooked me. I was probably still pale. Then the answer to that came to me. I could mention the skeletons. They’d been scary enough at first.

The rumble of not-distant-enough thunder heralded the rain increasing in intensity, and I fled towards the Saloon.

“You’re soaked!” Emily said before I could close the door behind me.

I looked down at myself to give me a few seconds. “Is it that obvious?” I asked facetiously, pulling at my shirt to keep it from clinging too much.

At his usual table Willy laughed heartily enough that Clint joined in.

“Good to see that you’re not staying inside because of the thunderstorm, Erica,” Willy said then. “Caught anything good lately?”

“No, but there are a few fish I’d like to ask you about. When can tiger trout, sturgeon, and walleye be caught?”

“Those be somewhat tricky fish t’be sure. Sturgeon can be caught at this time of year. Easiest during the day, though with the right bait it’s possible at other times too. You won’t see tiger trout or walleye until Fall. Ask me again then. Now, if you want really tricky fish in Summer, you want to fish at the dock by the tidal pools, like I told ya the day before yesterday. Why be ye asking?”

I paused for a second. “Dad asking me about them in a letter, something about Grandpa... Patrick, having mentioned them way back when,” I lied.

Willy brought out a pipe and filled it.

“No smoking in here,” Gus warned him from behind the counter.

Willy put away his pipe again with a sigh. “Old Patrick... He was one fine fisherman and a friend of my old man. He caught a good many o' the fish around here. Not sure if he ever caught any o' the five legendary fish around here. Probably not. If he did, he di’n’t brag of it. My old man did catch a few o' them, though never the Legend. Didn’t know you were related to old Patrick.”

That was a side of Grandpa that I hadn’t known about. Every time my family came to visit, he’d been busy with the crops and the animals. Then again, the time he’d spent with us was probably the time he could’ve taken to go fish.

“Thanks for telling me about the fish, and for telling me about a side of Grandpa that I didn’t get to see as a child.” I went over to Shane.

“I don’t want to talk right now,” he said in response to my hello. But there was no anger in his voice, just tiredness.

He was, however, looking at how my wet shirt clung to my skin. Made me glad it was thick and dark enough to not reveal more than my figure.

“Just wanting to enjoy the view?” I asked a bit sharper than intended.

Shane tore his eyes away from me and stared into his mug instead, blushing at having been caught. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

I ignored his predicament and went over to Leah. She usually left earlier than most of the others.

“How’s the farm holding up?” Leah asked before I could say anything.

“It’s going well enough. Harvested my first few coffee beans this morning. Replanted them. Should get at least a couple harvests from them. Depending on how soon the next harvest is, I might plant those beans too.”

“You’re gonna make your own coffee?” Leah asked.

“Once I’ve got a keg or two, probably. Depends on how many beans I end up with, since I want to save what I need for planting next year. How’s things going for you?”

There was a pause before she answered. “Fairly well. There’s decent enough forage, and I usually go down to the tidal pools for inspiration around this time of year. There are some beautiful shells there now, and the corals are intricately shaped. I might even show you some of my sketches if you catch me in the right mood down there.”

“I hope you will show me some of your artwork some day,” I said.

Leah got to her feet. “I’d better get home if I want to get dry before I go to bed.”

I went over to Clint, catching him shooting a glance towards Emily before he noticed my approach.

“I have been meaning to upgrade my axe, but between needing new seeds and all... And the lightning rods I made today kinda ate most of my supply of iron bars. I’ll get around to it someday soon,” I promised. “I got enough iron ore from the mine today to replace what I used. Not really expecting to run into skeletons though. They spooked me.”

Clint’s eyebrows rose. “You’ve reached pretty deep,” he said. “Unless, of course, they’re going outside of their normal haunts.” He paused. “Pun not intended.”

I was sorely tempted to ask how deep the mines went, so I knew what to expect. But what if the whole mine thing was considered an initiation rite? They wouldn’t let the initiate know. Wasn’t an adventurer supposed to be able to handle the unknown? The elevator might be controlled from the guild house, letting Clint and Marlon go to floors deeper than I could.

“Floors 71 to 75,” I said in a low voice when Clint raised an eyebrow.

Clint nodded. “That’s the beginning of their floors.”

There was a hint of relief in his voice, as if he’d been worried he’d be called in to help beat them back to where they “should” be. He’d also taken care to not reveal too much. No hint of how many floors the skeletons haunted.

I briefly looked into the side room. Empty, as I’d figured it would be. There had been no clack of colliding balls from the pool table and no murmur of conversation.

“Want something hot to eat?” Gus asked.

“Thanks, but I’m saving up for upgrading my axe,” I told him.

“You should get something to eat,” Emily said, concern in her voice. “Surely you can wait a day longer with upgrading the axe. You’re all pale, and...”

I tried to laugh it off, intending to mention the skeletons, then winced at a stabbing pain in the side. “Ow. I think one of the monsters in the mine bruised a rib with that attack. Not enough to bother Doctor Harvey with," I added. "Should’ve healed by tomorrow without any treatment since it doesn’t hurt with normal breathing, and I’ll eat some of the stuff I’ve foraged."

“You’d better,” Emily said to my back.

Rather than foraged stuff, I ate a carrot when I got home, wanting to give my stomach a bit more to work with, and felt the weariness lift more than if I’d eaten a salmonberry. Curious, I prodded my ribs, and failed to find the sore spot that had been there. Seemed like it wouldn’t be all that difficult to sleep tonight after all.

 

[Terdin]

Got sidetracked by a much later scene.

Summer 5
Lay still for a few seconds, relishing in having woken up in a normal way for once. The previous three mornings had been awful. Birds were twittering about outside. Didn’t stay in bed for long. Crops needed watering... apart from the wheat. I just needed two more rainy days and they’d be done without any input from me.

Went to check the weather forecast and my good mood disappeared. An anomalous reading, whatever that meant. The green-tinted computer failure shown on the screen behind the meteorologist was ominous. Checked the fortune-teller show. Neutral luck. Didn’t make me feel better about either today or tomorrow. Was it some kind of hurricane or other weather that would prevent me from going outside tomorrow? How would my crops fare? Would my house be sturdy enough? At least I didn’t have any animals, apart from Belle, to worry about.

Ran out to water the crops, and got distracted by the lightning rods. Five of them had produced batteries. I needed one for the boiler room. It stayed in my backpack. The other four went into the materials chest.

Straightening from that, I noticed I had mail. A rectangular box with a card attached.

-Erica!
I made you a little treat this morning in the saloon. Dig in!
Your friend, Gus.

I opened the take-out box. A portion of spaghetti, complete with a sauce that made my mouth water just from the smell of it.

My eyes teared up and what he’d said to Linus of not wanting anyone to go hungry came to mind. Gus didn’t have to do that. I wasn’t that strapped for money that I needed handouts. But I would eat it. After watering my crops.

Nothing had ripened yet. But they were growing well. There were green berries on the coffee plant, which could mean they’d be ready to harvest tomorrow. If I could go outside, that was.

Watering done, I sat down on one of the footbridges, took off my boots, and dangled my feet in the water as I ate the spaghetti. Too hungry to go look for my kitchen utensils, I ate it with my bare hands, not caring that it got a bit messy. To my pleasant surprise it was still a bit warmer than body-temperature.

I sucked most of the sauce from my shirt before washing it in the small river. I had to try and catch either a tilapia or a sturgeon... I’d try for the tilapia first. It should still be early enough in the day, unless I made too many detours to greet people on the way there. Oh, and better get those geodes too and see what I got from them afterwards. And the blue box with the question mark.

A barely audible screech made me look towards the cave. I hadn’t checked it for a few days. Maybe I had better do that too and see what the bats had dropped for me before the fruit rotted away. An apricot and a peach, along with some salmonberries and spice berries. Two more gifts for the Junimo.

At most exchanging hellos, I made it to the beach before noon, and met Alex on his way back to town.

“Hello, Farm girl... Erica I mean. Did you get yourself some new pants? You must be doing something right. Er... As much as I’d like to spend more time with you, I need to go open the ice cream stand. It’s my part-time job during summer. Hope to see you there.”

I made a wry face behind his back as I realized that my trousers were a bit looser now, confirming what everyone had told me in the last few days. I was losing weight.

Haley was enjoying the sun a bit further down the beach. She took one look at me. “Do you wear those clothes every day? I’ve never seen you wearing anything else.”

I sighed. I should try to get at least one more change of clothes. “Hasn’t been high on my list of priorities,” I said. “I admit it’s getting a bit frayed in the sleeves from monster attacks.”

She didn’t say anything else to me, apparently having lost interest. I went to the side of the beach and cast my line. It seemed a decent enough place, and if a big fish pulled me off-balance I wouldn’t fall into deep water with a long swim to shore.

I caught a box along with the fish, but it took me a while to look at the contents of the box as I stared at the tilapia. Hadn’t expected to get one first try after trying for so long last time. Then I looked in the box. Some deluxe bait and... iridium ore? Didn’t I need that for one of the bundles? The deluxe bait would come in handy.

I went to look for beach finds. A couple of clams, and two dig spots where one proved to hold another of the library’s lost books, the other held a few pieces of clay. Behind Elliot’s cabin, I paused at the sight of a most beautiful seashell that shimmered in all the colors of the rainbow as the sun hit it.

Then crossed to the tidal pools to pick up some of the pieces of coral. Of course I had to pick a day when Leah wasn’t there. Cast away the clay to make room for a different quality of coral. Then ate the salmonberry I’d found in the cave to make space for a sea urchin.

I made a detour past my fishing chest to put away the beach finds, especially the rainbow shell. It seemed like a rare find, and if a request asked for one, I didn’t want to have to curse at having sold it. There were a fair few pieces of coral there. Maybe even enough for the axe upgrade, especially combined with what I had.

On my way to the community center, I noticed one of the trees had grown a weird green growth, which on closer inspection was... moss. I scraped it off with my weapon, hoping no-one would mind. My first piece of moss. Not nearly enough for the bundle, but now I knew where to find it.

I almost went for the fish tank scroll first. Then I told myself to endure it a little while longer and be a little bit obstinate about my promise to give them the items as I got them. The boiler room came first, since I’d acquired the battery first. The iridium ore got added at the same time to save me some time, releasing some of the already minor tension from that scroll. Only one unfinished bundle left there.

The reward for the engineer bundle was such that I didn’t think it’d fit in the backpack. Two furnaces. Yet when I tried, I felt a surge of magic, and the furnaces became small enough to fit. Still weighed a lot.

I forced myself to walk through the front room to the pantry to drop off the apricot and the peach for the artisan bundle. I had obtained those next. Filling that bundle to the halfway point didn’t raise its tension all that much, barely even noticeable at the moment.

Approaching the fish tank scroll were the most difficult steps I could remember. A bit like walking uphill on a slippery muddy slope going against a strong wind. Part of me wanted to see if it was easier to approach on hands and knees, but I resisted that urge.

Finally I reached it. The reduced tension by giving them the tilapia was such sweet relief that I at first didn’t look too closely at my reward. Five beach totems. Just holding one in my hand made me know how to use it. I just had to raise it above my head, wish for it, and I’d end up at the beach. I turned it over, wondering how such a thing was possible. But I could sense there was magic instilled in it.

I stuffed the beach totems in my backpack, resisting the urge to try one. While it would mean a shorter walk to visit Clint, I also had to thank Gus for his gift, which would be quite a detour from the beach.

“Oh, don’t mention it,” Gus said when I thanked him for his gift. He did seem pleased to find that I had that much good manners.

“It was really tasty. Ate it after watering my crops,” I added. “Have to go do more errands.”

“Take care.”

Reached Clint’s shop just in time.

“I thought you didn’t...” Clint began.

“Not enough money for an upgrade, no, but I do have enough to open these geodes, and maybe you could help me open this box too.”

Clint nodded and we got down to business. Aerinite, fluorapatite, coal, stone, a single piece of iron ore, kyanite, geminite, frozen tear, clay, and esperite. The ordinary geodes came next. Thunder Egg, Dwarvish Helm, Coal, Sandstone. Last, the box, which proved to contain 10 mixed flower seeds.

“Lots of things here that I don’t remember seeing before,” I said. “While it’s good, it’s also a disappointment, since it doesn’t give me an excuse to sell them rather than donate them. I recognize these two though, but I think I’ll drop them and the helmet off at my shipping bin instead.

Clint looked relieved. Maybe some of the minerals were worth a fair amount. It still didn’t deter me from going to the museum and donate the five new minerals.

“This takes your donations past 35, which means I’ve got some pumpkin seeds for you. You should wait with planting them until Fall though,” Gunther said.

“I guess you’d better hold on to them for me for a while. I’ll try to remember picking them up in late Summer.” I looked towards the shelves. “I think I’ll do some reading while I’m here.”

There had come a few titles since I last checked. Fisherman act 1 didn’t interest me. I returned it to the shelf after a quick glance at some of the play’s dialogue.

The title “How deep do the mines go” did interest me, but it gave no concrete answers, other than there being three distinct areas. The one I’d reached recently was different from the first few frozen floors, but it wasn’t that much different. More like how those dark floors before the frozen area were different from the bug infested floors above them. If they counted, that would make it four areas, which went against the information in the book.

It made me think of the magma geodes I’d found while fishing. There had been only ordinary geodes, and maybe one omni geode, in the first 40 floors. The frozen levels gave me frozen geodes, including the last few floors. Was the last area hot, with magma geodes?

The book did indicate that the depths were a well-kept secret. And that the mines had claimed the lives of more than a few. Made me wonder if it was all that wise to go any deeper than I already had. No. I needed gold for the bait maker, and for upgrades, and for who knows what else, and so far ghosts seemed the only source of gold. Maybe there were gold ore nodes further down, just like the iron ore nodes hadn’t started to appear until the frozen floors. I had to go just deep enough to get at them.

Still deep in thought, I returned the book to the shelf and moved to the next. An old farmer’s journal, written in Grandpa’s handwriting, about people sending gifts and recipes by mail once he’d become good enough friends with them. I returned the book to the shelf, wondering how old he’d been back then. Probably before he proposed to Grandma and a couple of years before he had my uncle and mom.

The book about scarecrows was less interesting than it first seemed. Only thing I didn’t already know was the mention of collectible scarecrows.

I got out the slightly crumpled list and made sure the six titles I’d found were crossed out, then counted those that remained. 14 lost books left to be found. Turning my head I spotted the scattered finds in the museum area. Plenty left to find there too. Maybe I should be really looking for the blasted stuff the junimo tried to get my attention to, even if it could lead to finding more of the books that read me too.

Leaving the museum I barely remembered to check the trash cans, in my new focus on looking for stuff to unearth. Nothing. I went around the bare-earth areas around town, but found only a few sweet pea flowers, then up to the mountain area. Peeked into the mine to place the new furnaces there to lighten my load a bit. Not enough remained of the day to go down there. No dig spots outside the guild.

There! There was one near Linus’ tent. Another lost book. Disappearing like the others.

“Didn’t find anything?” Linus asked. “I’ve seen you browsing about.”

“I thought there might be, but...” I showed him my empty hand.

“That’s the foraging life at times,” he said with a knowing nod. “Roots are difficult to find at this time of year unless you go into the mines. Cave carrots are available there all year round.”

“I didn’t know that, but it makes sense. The interior of the mine, any kind of cave really, is supposed to remain much the same independent of what time of year it is, so the cave carrots wouldn’t know what time of year it is.”

“That is so.” Linus returned to stir the pot he had hung over his campfire.

I went through the backwoods, finding another spot, which gave me a few pieces of coal. Not what I was looking for, but it would come in handy. And a couple of grapes and a spice berry.

On my way through the farm I tended to the furnaces. Tomorrow I’d have enough iron bars again... except I didn’t know what tomorrow’s weird weather would do. Clint might not have his shop open. I went down to plant some of the mixed flower seeds and water them.

Darkness had fallen when I went to the forest, making it difficult to spot anything worthwhile from a distance. At least I could spot stuff in my immediate vicinity thanks to the glowstone ring.

The cart of the traveling merchant was dimly lit by another light source, but she’d already turned off the lights inside her cart. No chance for a rare seed today. Instead, I went to where Shane sat on the jetty with a lantern beside him and a beer can in hand. The remaining five in the sixpack on his other side.

He turned to look at me as my footsteps shook the jetty, and froze. A glance towards the water, then back to me, apparently deciding to stay was to prefer to a night-time swim in the pond. Then he extended a beer can to me.

“I’ve never seen you drink at the saloon, but... Want one?” he said hesitantly.

I nodded but took off my boots before accepting the offered can. Taking a seat next to him allowed me to dangle my feet in the water.

“Ooh. I needed that. Boots suitable for winter are not ideal for a hot summer day.” I opened the can. “What brings you to drinking out here?”

“Just wanted to be away from the Saloon for a bit. Too damn cheerful for me today after that weather forecast.” He burped slightly, then sighed. “Life... You ever felt like... Like no matter what you do, you’re gonna fail? Like you’re stuck in some miserable abyss and you’re so deep you can’t even see the light of day? I just feel like... like no matter how hard I try, I’m not strong enough to climb out of that hole, that I'll never be.”

His words echoed how I’d felt half a year ago. I stared at the can in my hand, then emptied it in one go, wanting an excuse for what I was about to say. For the first time since the Egg Festival I saw a smile on his face.

“Fast drinker, huh? You’re a woman of my own heart. Just don’t make it a habit. You’ve got a future ahead of you still.”

“You think so?” I asked, already feeling the effect of the alcohol, having drunk beer on an empty stomach. “I did feel the same way as you half a year ago. Even thought of ending my life rather than keep working customer support at Joja. Then I recalled the envelope Grandpa gave me shortly before he died, and how he told me to not open it until I felt my spirit fading into nothingness. The farm gave me a third option.”

I didn’t notice the tears making their way down my face until Shane offered me a paper tissue.

“Thanks.” I wiped my eyes and blew my nose. “Then I find that it seems like everyone has plans for me. Marlon sending me down the mines to fight monsters for some weird suicidal initiation rite... That guy in the tower wanting me to communicate with spirits... Various shopkeepers hoping my spending will keep them afloat when...” I barely kept from mentioning how I felt like I was barely scraping by. No doubt he knew what that was like.

I looked over at him, finding him staring into his own can. He emptied the rest of it and opened another. The rings of another sixpack lay under the one that now had just three remaining. He crumpled the empty can and put it in a pocket. It rattled slightly as he shifted position.

“I... didn’t know. I thought you were like Emily... Always cheerful, saying stuff to make light of... Just couldn’t handle another one like her. But now that I think about it, you didn’t come with less than useless advice.”

“I realized you were in a depression after just two or three run-ins with you, and I knew enough that I knew that I didn’t know what to say. There was no advice I could give that I wouldn’t have taken like an insult if it had been aimed at me just a few weeks earlier.”

Shane nodded wordlessly and drank about half of the contents of the can. “So, that’s why...” He burped again, louder this time. “Sorry.” He emptied the can. “You don’t need to do that, you know. Why did you keep coming back despite everything I said? Why...” He gestured to where I sat beside him.

“All I knew was that if you were pushing everyone away to justify how you feel, you might need a friend that wouldn’t avoid you. Who would keep coming back. I wasn’t sure if I could be that friend. If I had that in me. But I knew I could at least try. I have experience with shrugging off verbal abuse from my time at Joja.”

“You shouldn’t let yourself put up with that...” Shane made a small sound, no doubt recalling that he’d been the one handing it out, even if his attempts at shooing me away hadn’t been anywhere near as bad as some of the customers I’d dealt with.

He reached for the fourth can of the sixpack, then winced. “Welp. My liver’s begging me to stop. Better call it a night.”

I got to my feet first, swaying a bit from the alcohol. Then realized the opportunity. When Shane got to his feet, he almost lost his balance. Reaching out to steady him, I gathered all my desire to help him, hoping the alcohol wouldn't mess up the aim for my magic.

He steadied quickly, used to function at this level of inebriation, then looking down at the hand that still held his wrist. I released him.

“You’re stronger than you look, farm girl. But what if I’d ended up pulling you into the water?”

“I can swim. Not sure if I’d remember enough of the one life-saving class way back when to be able to rescue someone else, but I would try. Whether you’d want me to or not,” I added.

“I... Never mind.” He turned and staggered off, leaving a wavering line of wet footprints until his feet were dry enough.

I stuffed my feet back into the too-warm boots and made my way back to the farm. Too impaired by alcohol to even consider looking for forage, moss, and waving Junimo arms. Besides, I could probably use a few more hours of sleep. Spotting the quarry I went to clear it again, despite knowing it wasn’t the best course of action. No geode nodes, but a few ore nodes and some rocks. Most of my sluggishness wore off halfway through the quarry work.

Belatedly, I ate a salmonberry and drank some water to give the beer some company. The alcohol might’ve cleared from my brain, but my stomach was a different matter. A fish might’ve been better company but would taste a lot worse if it came back up again tomorrow.

The furnaces and recycling machine needed tending and I filled them with the ore I had gathered before going inside, then put parsnips in the preserve jars after gathering the two jars of salmonberry jelly. The minerals and artifact from the geodes went into the shipping bin.

The diary also needed an update. What had Shane been about to say before leaving? A disparaging comment about my willingness to try to save him from drowning? A demand for a good-night kiss withdrawn to avoid offending me and ruin a tenuous friendship? Something else? I still pondered that as I lay down in bed.

 

[Terdin]

Summer 6
Woke up to my room seeming greenish. It wasn’t just the muted light from windows that seemed covered with a thin film of algae. The very air seemed to have a green tint to it. Even the fire, and Belle lying in front of it, seemed green. Belle was cheerful enough when I petted her, so it didn’t bother her too much. Then again, animals avoided showing signs of weakness until they were in really bad shape.

The TV had just green static on it. I sighed. No chance of learning what this weather was from official sources.

So, I had to find out for myself. I went outside to see how it would affect me, and how it had affected my crops.

A weird sense made me stop just outside my door. The forest magic inside me was elated, making me want to dance around. There was no danger from the green rain, at least not for me.

This was no time for dancing though. The other townspeople might be scared of it, and there were weeds everywhere. Not just the ordinary small ones that dropped fibers, but huge weeds that shouldn’t have been able to grow overnight.

There was a letter in my mailbox, from Gus. He mentioned keeping the Saloon open and invited me to take shelter there. Most of the townspeople would likely go there, braving the rain to not have to stay cooped up in their home and fearing they were the only ones left in the world. 260 G in the shipping bin from yesterday.

First things first though. I hacked my way towards my crops. Rather than taking just one swipe, these weeds needed two for a small growth, and four to six for a big. The first big weed I cleared made me pause again. It had dropped moss. I looked around at the weeds around me. One of the earlier weeds had also dropped some moss. Went back to pick it up.

Change of plans. I needed that moss more than I needed to check on the townspeople, but crops first.

No rapid growth among my crops, but I sensed the soil had more nutrients. It might make for better quality produce. The coffee bush had another harvest. I planted those four beans, completing the part of the grid I’d started earlier. The hot peppers were also ready for their first harvest.

Ran back to empty my backpack of stuff I didn’t need, then I realized that with how much fiber I’d get, and the wild seeds I’d got from the summer forage bundle, I could make enough tea saplings to earn the rest I needed for the axe upgrade. I did that, putting all 15 saplings in the shipping bin. I could always use more money. Especially with the vault bundles, the return of the traveling merchant tomorrow, and my vow to Mom.

I made sure to bring my weapon, the axe, pickaxe, and hoe, so I could deal with any obstacles. Kept the moss in. Already four pieces, and there would be more before the day was over.

Made my way down towards the forest, figuring that would give me the largest areas to clear from weeds. I found that not only did I get fiber, moss, and mixed seeds from the weeds. I also got some mixed flower seeds, though that seemed rarer. Maybe one mixed flower seed for every two or three mixed seeds.

I cleared the way to Marnie’s farm and went inside. Startled gasps greeted me, the sounds coming from the kitchen.

Marnie looked me up and down. “You’re not worried about this rain? I guess that puts me at ease a little. I just hope the cows are okay.”

“I’m scared...” Jas clung to Marnie’s skirt despite being old enough that it looked a bit strange.

“The cows weren’t outside, so I think they’re just treating it as ordinary rain. If I were to guess, the water droplets formed around algae. One of my teachers in school once mentioned raindrops always forms around a particle, whether dust or something else. Now that I think of it, wasn’t there one news report a few years ago of what the locals in that country nicknamed a blood rain, where the raindrops had formed around some red microbe, but I don’t remember if it was a bacteria or algae. It only affected a small area, so it was mere chance that I saw it.”

Marnie, Jas, and Shane all looked at me. Marnie then looked at the window.

“I guess this green rain is a lot easier on my mind than if it had been red,” Marnie said. “How does it look outside?”

“Weeds all over the place, that’s... Oh, and some trees look a bit weird. Might be just moss, but I’m not sure. The nature seems to really love this rain, so there’s nothing to be afraid of, Jas. How are you holding up, Shane?”

He shrugged. “Well, I don’t have to go to work today, so I’m not complaining. The phone doesn’t seem to work, so they can’t call me in.”

Marnie’s gaze flickered between me and Shane, noting the difference in tone in Shane’s voice. Wisely, she didn’t mention it.

“I just wanted to check on the three of you. Had planned to spend most of the day clearing out weeds. I need the moss they drop if I want to make mushroom logs.” I waved goodbye and left.

Clearing my way towards Leah’s cottage, I found I wasn’t the only one to dare spending time outside. Leah was outside, studying one of the large weed growths.

“Where did all these plants come from? It’s a surprise, but I’m not complaining. Gathered anything from them, Erica?”

“Fibers, mostly, but also some seeds and moss.”

“Oh! Did you know you can make soup out of some kinds of moss?” She dug into the depths of the big weed, sniffed at the clump of moss she extracted, and gently licked it. “Yeah, I think this is the right kind of moss for cooking moss soup. Looks, smells, and tastes right. If you make some, once you have a kitchen, could you give me a taste? It takes a lot of moss for one portion, and I’d rather spend my time foraging for stuff I can put in a salad. Fruit salads this time of year.”

“I’ll think about it. I’m hoping to use it to grow mushrooms.”

“Oh! That’s even better. Mushrooms can be soo tasty. Especially when fried. Just beware of the red ones with white spots,” Leah said.

“I will,” I said in parting, and returned to hack my way through weeds. Occasionally I found a rock or fallen branch that I cleared away too. Any nearby tree that was covered in moss got most of it scraped off.

The forest was thicker than before. I thought it had been just that some trees had come to look different, but close to the Wizard’s tower, I found that entire trees that looked odd had grown to full size over night. I looked up at one tree that had a completely green trunk without being covered in moss.

My breath caught. It looked like a gigantic fern in its fiddlehead stage. Another stood nearby.

I bit my lip and got out my axe. Rather than turning into pieces of wood when felled, the fern-like tree dissolved and turned into seven pieces of small fiddlehead ferns. I dropped to my knees in relief. Just what I needed for the community center, with one left over. Now I just had to wait for the first harvest of hops to complete the wild medicine bundle.

The break was cut short when an odd sound came from the Wizard’s tower. Not sure it was a sound even, or if I heard it with my mind instead. I hacked my way over there and went inside.

The Wizard looked me up and down, taking in my disheveled appearance. “Though this unusual rain may be alarming, there’s nothing to fear on this day. In fact, it’s a day of great joy for many living things.” He spoke as if he was trying to calm a frightened child.

I laughed. “I knew that much just by stepping outside this morning. Are you forgetting that you awakened forest magic in me?”

His eyebrows rose. “You looked like you came searching for an answer.”

“Not for the rain. For the odd sound I heard from over here,” I said.

Another look of surprise, then a frown. “That is nothing that concerns you. If there’s nothing else, you may leave. There are special matters I can only attend to on this day.”

The door opened behind me, proving beyond words and the rising tension that I was dismissed. I left, also having more important things to do than stand around talking.

His reactions kept haunting me as I went from weed to weed. He’d been pleasantly surprised to find that I had embraced the forest magic rather than trying to tune it out. Had he thought Junimo and their scrolls would let me forget about it? Or that I’d be so spooked by what the magic books did to me that I didn’t want anything more to do with the forest magic?

Actually... Maybe it would’ve been possible to tune it out, by avoiding the community center.

Before tearing up that coupon, I could’ve gone and bought a Joja membership, no questions asked, with only my conscience and wallet suffering from it. Lewis had been on the verge of giving up on the community center anyway. Morris would’ve gloated at his triumph even then, but not as much. If I went and did it now, he would rub it in my face every time I visited. From what Pierre said, Morris was the type who carried a grudge. He’d keep on mentioning that I’d admitted defeat and that I had finally realized that Joja was the superior choice.

The Wizard’s other surprise hadn’t been of the good kind. As if I’d revealed that I’d eavesdropped on his secrets without him noticing. I had better hope it really didn’t concern me.

I was so caught up in my thoughts and the effort to gather more moss that I forgot about the time, and about my physical needs. The rain seemed to compensate completely for the effort of clearing the weeds. Because of that it came as a surprise to me when I fell asleep mid-cut, barely registering falling across the large weed in front of me as if it was a mattress.

 

[Terdin]

Drat. Got inspiration for the scene of reaching floor 100 of SC for the first time. Gonna post this so I can use the field to bring the scene home from work the easy way.

Summer 7
Woke up to the sound of rain. Lay still for a few seconds wondering why I was in my bed. I’d been by the spring onion fields. Lifting an arm made me frown. My lilac shirt had been all but green from the algae in the rain, but now it looked like it had been washed and dried before whoever carried me home dressed me again.

I got out of bed and gulped. My trousers had been cleaned too. A look at my underwear confirmed that the laundry effort hadn’t been restricted to what anyone could see. How else had they violated me while I was out cold? I could only hope it was the Wizard or the Junimo, and that my clothes had been cleaned through magical means without them having undressed me first.

Petting Belle, something tugged on the skin of my left arm. It proved to have been taped in a few places, reminding me of the last few conscious moments. I’d fallen across my right arm, and my sword must’ve cut me up.

Doctor Harvey... I had some questions for him regarding who’d brought me over to him.

Decision made, I went to the TV. Weather forecast, sunny. Fortune teller telling me the day was in my hands. Queen of Sauce teaching a recipe for baked fish.

Outside, I went straight for the mailbox.

-Erica,
Someone dropped you off at the clinic. You’d passed out from exhaustion! You’ve got to take better care of yourself and go to bed at a reasonable hour. I’ve billed you 371 G to cover your medical expenses.
Dr. Harvey.

Groaning, I checked my wallet. He’d already taken his fee. Good to know in case he demanded I pay it a second time. Then I went over to the shipping bin. Adding what I’d earned from the tea saplings brought my funds up to just over 7000 G. Enough to upgrade the axe.

While I had more than enough moss now, I only had enough hardwood for one mushroom log. Unless... I went up to where I’d planted the mahogany seeds. One of the trees had matured and had a couple of saplings nearby. I cut it down, giving me enough hardwood for a second mushroom log. Among my crops, the summer squash had ripened, reminding me that I had stuff for the pantry scroll too.

I went through my mental list as I moved stuff between chests and backpack. Ten moss, six fern, and summer squash for the community center, oh, and a hot pepper too. Five iron bars and the axe for Clint. The two mushroom logs for my grove. Bring a couple of carrots to have something that had a chance of filling my stomach when mining. Take route through the forest to visit the traveling merchant.

Then I was off. The weird-looking trees had turned into normal maples and oaks and all the twisted and enlarged weeds had gone.

The traveling merchant proved to have just one rare seed, which was just fine with me. On my way through town, I looked into Jodi’s home. All three in the family brightened when they saw me.

“Seems like there’s no damage to anything... That sure was a strange event. How are you holding up?” Sam asked me.

Jodi merely nodded.

“I’m fine, other than I spent just about all day hacking away at those weeds to gather moss, and ended up fainting from exhaustion. I’d been looking for moss for making mushroom logs for some time, so when I noticed there was moss in the bigger growths of weeds, I kind of went wild.”

“You were outside in that..?” Jodi said.

“I wanted to go outside and play, but Mom didn’t let me.” Vincent pouted.

“There wasn’t anything harmful in the rain, but my clothes became greenish from the algae in the rain,” I admitted. “I don’t blame your mom for not wanting to have more laundry to do,” I added to Vincent.

“That wasn’t what I was afraid of,” Jodi admitted. “I thought it would eat through the roof and...” She caught herself from saying more.

“Just wanted to see how you were doing,” I said in parting.

I checked in on Emily and Haley next, but neither had been all that worried about the rain.

“I did end up visiting the Saloon for the first time in my life though,” Haley said. “It was surprisingly cozy in there. Just wish the weather wasn’t so awful two days in a row.”

“I felt a strong presence, as if some nature spirit drew in and did its thing,” Emily said. “Didn’t want to leave Haley all alone and possibly getting worried, which is why I made her come to the Saloon with me. We had a nice little chat. Clint promised to protect us all if something attacked us. There were some that were fearful and thinking the end of the world was near, but Elliot proposed to have something hot to drink, and then we had a sing-along. Too bad the weather affected the jukebox, or we could’ve used that to bring up the mood with the negative Nancies. And too bad you didn’t come stay with us.”

“I had other things to do, like gather moss. I’d better get over to Clint,” I said.

Clint eagerly accepted the task of upgrading my axe to steel, promising it would be done in two days.

“Well, yesterday was kind of a dud. And there I was, thinking it was finally my chance to be a hero and protect... the townspeople from toxic sludge monsters or something. Oh well, back to the grindstone. Once I've made the new edge, I've got an axe to grind.” He grinned at me, proud of the pun.

I laughed, happy that he hadn’t been overly scared of the rain.

“You know, today would be a good day to go to the mines,” Clint said.

“I’m not so sure about that. Those frozen floors are horrible when you have wet clothes. But it’s definitely not a day to go tree cutting. Not when you’ve got my axe. I’d better leave you to it.”

I ran back to town, to see Dr. Harvey.

“Oh, good to see you upright,” Harvey began, then frowned. “I thought you said you’d get more sleep, and then you...” He shook his head. “How’s the arm?”

I showed him my left forearm where only the tapes indicated something had been wrong. “Thanks for just disinfecting and taping it up.” I removed the tapes.

“Even if it was a clean cut, and not overly deep, it shouldn’t have healed that fast. I was told you’d spent just about all of yesterday outside. I first feared that rain was toxic, but what if it’s actually healthy for the body? The plants sure seemed to respond well to it, and so did you.”

“Who carried me here and told you that?” I demanded.

Harvey paled. “I promised not to tell,” he said, echoing what he’d said the first time I’d been brought to his clinic after a faint, but this time he was far less certain.

“From your reaction, I think it’s more like you were told not to tell and that the person frightened you enough to not dare to, even if he never actually uttered a threat. Let me guess. He had purple hair and beard, and was the one who carry me home as well.”

Harvey looked even more frightened and shook his head with pursed lips. His reaction made me certain, and I was surprised at finding myself annoyed at being right. Again.

“Well, I guess better him than Linus, considering I found that my clothes had been cleaned as well. All my clothes,” I added and let it sink in.

“You mean... that person took advantage of you?” Harvey said, shocked.

“I don’t know. However, if had been you that carried me home, it would mean that you would be the prime suspect for removing all my clothes and then putting them back on once they were clean and dry.” I glared at him.

He backed against the wall, waving his hands in front of him. “Not me! I wouldn’t take advantage of a patient! I swear! Never! I only rolled up your sleeve to treat your wound! He was the one who took you home, scooped you up and carried you like a parent might carry a sleeping child.” He held out his arms to show me, and I could well imagine him carrying a child around Jas or Vincent's age, one arm under the shoulders and the other supporting the knees.

“I guess I have some questions for him next time I see him.” I crossed my arms, trying to look more certain about how that conversation would go than I actually was. From past run-ins, I might get one question, maybe two, answered in a way that wasn’t an answer, before he’d decide he was done with me.

“You’re gonna...” Harvey began.

“It’s not as if I can expect anyone else to be my knight in shining armor and do it for me, now can I? I don’t have a boyfriend, or girlfriend for that matter, who might feel that level of protectiveness about me. I am also a member of the Adventurer’s Guild, so I think Marlon would expect me to face my problems on my own. With that in mind, I think I’ll go down the mines today. There are some frozen floors there that will help me cool off.”

I left before he could say something about wearing wet clothes into the equivalent of a walk-in freezer. I hadn’t caught a cold yet despite how long it had been since I first set foot at floor 41.

The community center was next on my to-do list. Now that the fish tank scroll’s tension had been lowered, it was a lot easier to move about in the front room.

Went to the first scroll. Out of curiosity I added the fern to the Wild Medicine Bundle to increase the tension, before completing the Forest Bundle with the moss and releasing the tension from that. With only three bundles left, there was no chance for that scroll to overwhelm me. I somehow managed to pick up the charcoal kiln I was given in return for the completed bundle and stuff it in my backpack, even if it was nowhere near as problematic as the two furnaces had been.

The pantry scroll got the two crops added. It too was such that it wouldn’t be able to overwhelm me if I just kept up my promise to the Junimo, even with that six-item Artisan Bundle. The biggest possible problem was in the last scroll. Two six-item bundles that looked like they’d take a while to complete. Sure, adding the fern to the Chef Bundle didn’t do much at all, but later on it might.

On my way to the railroad, I thought about it. Was it that each item added its own fraction? A quarter, plus a half, plus thee quarters, plus the last one that released it. No. It seemed like there was more to the tension than that. Maybe like... the first item of four added a one unit of tension. The second added two units, and the third added three. The fourth would add the final four units of the 10 needed for it to release. That would mean the Crab Pot bundle had 10 units of tension before I released it, and the six-item bundles would have 15. That would also explain better why the two-item and three-item bundles never seemed to add much.

While my attempt at quantifying it probably was a bit off, it felt close enough to what I’d experienced so far.

I didn’t recognize the railroad. The area where I’d planted pinecones was full of almost grown saplings and even mature trees. I put down my two logs on each side of one of the mature pines before running off towards the mine.

Exchanged a greeting in passing with Linus, who mentioned being proud of how much moss he’d gathered yesterday, then heard the door of Robin’s house close and took a detour. Sebastian was heading out.

“Are you going down to the beach?” I asked him.

“What’s it matter to you?” he asked at first, then sighed. “Nah. I’m on my way to the Saloon. You too?” He said it as if he might change his mind about it if I were.

“No, I’m gonna go down into the mine. Just wanted to say hello first.”

He glanced in the direction of the mine. “I snuck into the caves a few days ago, and got a nasty cut from a rock crab. Just don’t tell my mom. She worried enough yesterday for an entire week. You be careful with those, alright?”

“The rock crabs aren’t much of a problem if you’ve got a pickaxe. Break their rock and they just try to scurry away and hide. And if you go there again, avoid the sandy patches. The duggies hide in those and attack from below. It gets difficult to escape with wounded feet... Though I must admit that the monsters down where I’ve reached are a bit worse, enough so that it sounds like a fun idea to stay in the first few floors and play around with the rock crabs and duggies.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “You must be crazier than Abby if you think that’s fun.” He then shook his head and walked away without further explanation.

I stood a while looking at his retreating back, realizing that some of what I’d said came from the Monster Compendium lodged inside me. Then I shivered and realized I stood in the rain when I could be at least dry in the mine.

Before taking the elevator down I wrung my clothes as dry as possible without taking them off first. Placed the charcoal kiln near the furnaces to make room in my backpack.

Floor 75
No skeletons in sight, and no ore nodes either. I hacked away at the regular rocks until I found the stairs.

Floor 76
Two skeletons near the elevator, and an iron ore node beyond that, but didn’t have time to look more closely until both skeletons were down. I’d seen correctly, but not just the iron node. There was an amethyst node a bit beyond it. I found a third skeleton, which dropped a staircase when it died. I went down without searching further.

Floor 77
A copper and two iron nodes near the staircase. I gathered the ore and went further, finding another iron node, which fortunately hid the stairs down.

Floor 78
The colder than usual cavernous chamber didn’t just hold three skeletons, but also a ghost. While trying to kill them, I heard a familiar chittering from beyond them. I ignored the staircase the ghost dropped along with a solar essence and went for the bunch of dust sprites. Unfortunately they were guarded by another trio of skeletons, which to my surprise dropped two of those blue boxes. Mystery boxes, I guess, since they had question marks on them. Some coal from the dust sprites, and, of course, some bone fragments from the skeletons.
Returning to the stairs, I spotted the coal bag just north of it and went to empty it. Six coals.

Floor 79
The stairs were in plain view from where I climbed down. I still went a bit further along the winding path, finding some quartz and an iron node, but no monsters. I took out a boulder and some rocks to gather stone for the coop and other stuff that needed it, and got an omni geode and a frozen geode for my effort, before climbing down.

Floor 80
It was warm here, hot compared to the floor I’d just left. My iced clothes thawed in the few steps it took me to get to the treasure chest. Thick-soled Firewalker boots. Again in just my size, which wasn’t as surprising, even if it meant that it was the same person who’d put all the chests here. One who knew my size.
Hot air rose from the stairs to the floor below. Like I’d predicted when I read about the mine at the library. Was this last section also 40 floor long? I wasn’t so sure I wanted to find out.

Floor 81
Two gold nodes, taking more effort than the iron nodes, but just what I was looking for. There was also a weird monster that seemed like an iron helmet with feet. Some kind of hermit crab maybe? The red slime was less weird, but proved a lot tougher to kill than the blue slimes, and the pain from where it hit me was more the pain of a burn than a bruise. Once it was down I inspected it. A blister had formed.

Rather than go further down, I escaped, then took the elevator back down to floor 80. This time floor 81 had two more gold nodes and an amethyst node, but no visible monsters. In the far reaches was a red mushroom with white spots. In going to get it, a red rock moved. A rock crab, which proved more difficult to take down than the ones in the first section. It dropped a staircase, but I took a look at the time and realized it was time to leave.

I filled the furnaces in the mine with iron ore and coal, then ran home and filled one furnace with gold ore and the other with iron. Stuffing the rest of my gathered materials away, I noted that I had enough gold ore for a second furnace, but what was done was done. Went inside and fell asleep trying to record it all in the diary.

 

[l0NYX0l]

Such a masterpiece! I love how you capture the flow of the game without making it seem too much like a game. I hope you keep writing, this has taught me more about the game than me playing it hahaha(I progress very slowly).

 

[Terdin]

Such a masterpiece! I love how you capture the flow of the game without making it seem too much like a game. I hope you keep writing, this has taught me more about the game than me playing it hahaha(I progress very slowly).

Thanks! And I will keep writing it. Some things I did differently in the save that I use as a base for it, but I'm trying to keep the big things, like not going to the flower dance, and going moss gathering during the green rain rather than run around seeing what everyone's got to say about it. And, of course, adding the flow of a novel to the events.

Will have to see what to do once this novel's done. Whether to write a sequel about completing the community center, or make a time skip to events that happens after that.

 

[l0NYX0l]

Thanks! And I will keep writing it. Some things I did differently in the save that I use as a base for it, but I'm trying to keep the big things, like not going to the flower dance, and going moss gathering during the green rain rather than run around seeing what everyone's got to say about it. And, of course, adding the flow of a novel to the events.

Will have to see what to do once this novel's done. Whether to write a sequel about completing the community center, or make a time skip to events that happens after that.

Ooo that is great! I hope you keep writing after this novel is finished. Maybe you could write about the different marriage partners? Keep up the great work!

 

[Terdin]

Summer 8
Despite not having slept that many hours, and having woken up enough to crawl into bed at some point, I woke up feeling fine. There had also been a dream about a choice between more ore or more gems. I’d gone for the gems, and the dream had shifted to a museum filled with wonderful-looking minerals.

Rather than look at my skill card, I checked my crafting recipes. Warrior ring... While it was probably useful, it required far too many iron bars and coal, not to mention frozen tears, to bother with. Not at this time. Then looked at various recipes to see what I could do with my gold bar. Worm bin... required the hardwood I had used for the mushroom logs.

Once I had the axe back, I could make a worm bin and not have to worry about whether I had enough bug meat. Maybe even... My eyes fell on the deluxe worm bin recipe. I had the moss to turn around and go straight for that and get better bait. Not sure if it would make a difference when it came to baiting crab pots. I’d left mine alone for maybe a bit too long, but I’d been busy with other stuff and bait was precious enough as it was.

Stuffed the cards back into the backpack and went to the TV. Weather forecast, sunny. Luck was in my hands. Livin’ Off The Land talked about corn and urged me to go plant some.

“About a week too late with that piece of advice,” I told the TV, despite knowing the host of the show wouldn’t hear me.

I went out to water my crops and see if the wheat had ripened. Tended the machinery first. The preserves jars had my pickled parsnips ready, and I gave them more parsnips to work with. The pickles ended up in the shipping bin.

The wheat was indeed ripe, and temporarily forgetting about my other crops I took my scythe over to it. To my surprise I got some hay in addition to the wheat. Even more surprising was that the Junimo didn’t magic it off to the silo, but left it for me to gather.

I looked into the cave, but there was just one gold quality salmonberry there. While it felt tempting to eat it for breakfast, I knew it would taste that much better if I watered my crops first.

Watering took a couple of refills, having forgotten to end last session by filling the watering can. The coffee was ready for harvest again, but this time I merely gathered the beans and put them in the chest. Nine plants would have to be enough.

Looked between my crops and my two chests... There wouldn’t be enough space for the summer crops, along with the foraged stuff, in the crop chest. I ate the salmonberry from the cave before bringing out the wood for a third chest. Then took the time to rearrange the forage and crops so I had a Spring chest and a Summer chest.

The rare seeds got to remain in the Spring chest, and despite having been harvested in Summer, the coffee beans went into that chest too. They had to be planted in Spring to get the most out of them. The hay and what was probably Fall forage also got to stay in the Spring chest until I needed one for Fall.

Maybe today would be a good idea to see if I could catch a sturgeon. I grabbed my fishing rod, the bug meat if I needed extra bait, and did my best to make room for the fish and trash I’d catch, while still keeping what I’d need to dig up spots, or go into the mines. The process made me wish I had the 10,000 G Pierre asked for the even bigger backpack. Spotting the red mushroom made me dig through the cards until I found the one for the bulletin board scroll. Just as I remembered. The red mushroom had to come with me.

Passing through the bus stop I stopped to pick up a grape. There were more trees here now. Four oaks. Was this a sign that I’d need more oak resin than maple syrup in the future? Shaking my head I continued into town.

A request from Alex to get him a rainbow trout... for his afternoon tea party... I couldn’t help but giggle at the mental image. Looking closer at the quest note, the handwriting didn’t seem like how I imagined Alex would write. Had Haley helped him write it and added the reason on her own?

Still shaking my head over the request I spotted Abigail on the bridge ahead and went to talk to her.

“I heard from Sebastian yesterday. If I knew how to use a sword, I’d be exploring those caves by the mountain lake by now. It’s probably nice and cool in there,” she said.

“Depends on how deep you go. Close to the surface it’s pretty nice and cool, and the monsters aren’t that troublesome either. You may want to talk to Marlon if you want to go there regularly though.”

“Why did you... Why do you go there so often?” Abigail asked.

“I need more ore than I can get from the quarry on my farm, so I went there thinking it was a mine that was in use rather than abandoned. Then Marlon handed me an old rusty sword and told me I’d need it if I wanted to go down there. And gave me a set of challenges. First one, to reach floor 5. Then he sent me a letter outlining what I had to do to be allowed into the guild house.” I kept the information vague and shallow, just like Clint and Marlon did with me.

Abigail stared at me, wide-eyed. “Where did you learn to use a sword?”

“In the mine.”

“Weren’t you scared?”

“I was. Still am. The monsters get worse the further down you go. But I need the ore, that’s why I keep going there.”

“Oh.”

“Gonna go fish today though. Willy mentioned something about sturgeon in the lake. Want to see if I can catch one. And I’ll see if I can get the rats to eat some red mushroom,” I added, in case she followed me far enough to see me go into the community center.

In the park I noticed Dr. Harvey, Demetrius, and Caroline, all three busy with their own thougths, and I went to greet them.

Harvey looked at me. “You look more rested today, and like you’ve managed to get enough to eat. That’s good.”

Then Harvey got a worried look in his eyes, as if fearing I’d ask him again about who’d carried me home last time I fainted outside. I didn’t bother. His reactions had told me enough. I could ask the Wizard about it next time I met him.

Caroline sighed and mentioned something about intending to just think positive thoughts today. I almost asked her what had given her trouble, but decided I shouldn’t get involved in what was probably a family argument.

Demetrius was so deep in thought that he barely reacted to my greeting, so I left him to it.

In the community center, the fish tank scroll didn’t give me much problem. The bulletin board scroll had a barely noticeable increase in tension when I added the red mushroom to the Dye bundle. I didn’t linger.

Up at the lake, I headed straight for the water and cast my line. After a few chubs and carps, I got a bite for something that I at first thought was a largemouth bass, but which proved to be a rainbow trout. A few bullheads and chubs later, I got a bite by something that clearly didn’t want to get caught and which felt large. Didn’t manage to reel it in. Tried again, got several other fish, including two more rainbow trout, before I got another bite from that fish or one like it. Again it escaped.

To avoid further frustration I decided I'd fished enough for today. I took one step towards the mines, when I recalled what Alex’ help wanted note had said and went back to town.

Alex still manned the ice cream stand, holding a conversation with Haley. Even from a distance I could see him blushing, frequently turning away his gaze when Haley paused to lick her ice lolly. I got within a few steps from them before either noticed me.

“What can I get for you, farm girl?” Alex asked.

“Nothing. I just figured I should deliver this.” I took out one of the rainbow trouts.

“Hey, thanks! Now where did I put... Ah, there it is.” He straightened from his search. “You caught me a good one too. Full of protein.”

As I accepted the envelope, I couldn’t help but grin at him. “I hope I got it to you in time for your afternoon tea party.”

His bewildered reaction made me giggle. Haley was trying to edge away.

“My WHAT?”

“Did you get Haley to help you write that Help Wanted note?” I asked between fits of giggles.

“I did, but...” His face fell. “Please tell me you took the note down when you took on my request.”

“Sorry, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to catch one, so I left it up, figuring you’d rather have the chance that Willy or someone else would be able to get you the fish.”

“Oh, no! HALEY! Why did you do this to me?” Alex called out to her, making her flinch and freeze.

When she turned around it seemed effortless, as if she hadn’t tried to avoid the confrontation. “You know you’re supposed to put a reason when you put up a Help Wanted note. You merely told me ‘You know what it’s for’ and that was the only reason I could think of for wanting something food-related before dinner.”

I laughed harder than intended at that, making both of them look at me.

“That explains why Demetrius wrote the reason he used for an earlier Help Wanted request. It was just a random thing. I sure wondered how he was gonna dissect a full soda can.” I used my hands to illustrate trying to carefully cut up a can with a knife. “It’s not like it has all that many layers that can be peeled back.”

They looked at me for a few seconds longer before they too laughed, their argument temporarily forgotten.

“Maybe you should write your own Help Wanted requests in the future,” I suggested to Alex. “I suspected Haley had a hand in it, since the handwriting looked too girly to be yours.”

Alex blushed. “I definitely will. Thank you for not thinking I wrote it.”

Haley made an annoyed sound and got between me and Alex. “Don’t you have other things you should be doing, farm girl? Why did you have to come and try to ruin things between me and Alex? Why..?” Her second question faltered.

I shrugged and walked a few steps away. “I’m not trying anything. But you’re right. I was intending to go to the mine when I realized I’d better deliver the fish while it was freshly caught. I've got so much to do that I sometimes forget things for a day or two, and that won't do with the help wanted requests. Gonna go see if I can get some mining done.” I got out my weapon.

“Mining? With that?” Haley asked, even if she’d paled.

“Need to clear out the monsters first. I don’t mind spending time with Dr. Harvey, but I’d rather not use injuries as an excuse to talk to him,” I said.

Darkness fell as I made my way to the mine, but I was only aiming for one floor. Get down, gather the stuff, and escape. Repeat.

At my third visit to floor 81, I’d only seen red slimes, and that was what was here now too. Difficult but not nearly as scary as the skeletons had been. The barrels had dropped a new object, a farm totem, which might come in handier than the beach totems. Took out the gold ore nodes, bringing my total to 23 gold ores, cut the weeds for fiber and seeds. I’d found an aquamarine rock and some magma geodes, but no other gemstones. Then a barrel dropped a ruby. I stared at it for several seconds, then hurried out.

I ran to the community center, and to the boiler room. Added the final part to the Treasure Hunter bundle and accepted a lucky lunch in return.

As I stood up, a lot of Junimo revealed their presence and magic surged. But not like the coercive tension I’d felt from the scrolls. A growing, rejuvenating magic, echoing with the magic in me. As it vaned, the room looked completely different. The boiler worked. The pipes intact with pressure gauges and safety valves intact. Wall sconces bathed the room in light. The Junimo disappeared again, apart from one that ran towards the main room.

Walking back up the stairs, I noted that the wallpaper in front of them had also been reached by the restoration spell. In the front room, the Junimo went into the hut and emerged with a golden star, which it fastened to one of the stars above the fireplace. There was even a different feel to the place.

Gratitude.

A promise.

That was what I read into the mood, and the closest I'd got to actually communicating with them outside my monologues.

I left, and couldn’t help but look back at the house. From the outside there was nothing to indicate the change that had happened inside. Didn’t stay long. It was getting late and tempting to test the farm totem. But it could save me if I forgot about the time while down in the mine, so I left it in the backpack and ran.

I made it with time to spare. Enough time to put gold ore in the furnaces and stuff the rest into a chest before heading inside.

 

[Terdin]

Summer 9
I had a couple of weird dreams during the night. One of the Junimo working their magic at the mine cart at the bus stop, the mine, and the one next to Clint’s place. The other of having to make a choice between animals and crops. Which one I wanted to be more profitable. With no animals to make a profit from, the choice had been simple.

I got out of bed and went to check the TV. Weather forecast, windy. Luck poor.

Not that I needed much luck. Not if Clint had finished upgrading my axe.

Plants first. They needed water.

The sunflower was ready for harvest, but rather than the seed it dropped I planted one of the mixed flower seeds in its place, hoping for a poppy for the community center. The hot peppers were also ready and went into the Summer crop chest.

Made sure the magma geodes were in the backpack.

When I hurried off towards town, I looked at the bus stop to see if there were any forage to pick, or if the tappers were ready, and paused. The mine cart. Was it fixed like I’d dreamt? Got distracted by the tappers on the oaks, and made a small detour to pick up the oak resin. The machinery near the mine cart had steam emerging from a safety valv. It looked like it was working.

I got in the cart and flicked the switch marked ‘Town’. There was barely time to draw my hand back to safety before the cart set off at high speed.

An exhilarating ride later, the cart stopped near Clint’s place. On shaky legs I went inside.

“Here’s your axe, Erica,” Clint said. “And judging from the specks of gold on your pickaxe, you’ve reached floor 80.”

I inspected it. The edge and weight of it had improved. “Thanks, and yes, I have.”

“I heard the whoosh of the mine cart,” Clint said then. “It’s odd that it’s started working again.”

“I tried it out to get here,” I admitted.

“Just don’t be too comfortable with it, even if it makes it a lot easier to get to the mines. If it started working again on its own, it might stop working again just as easily.”

“So, you mean it’s better to enjoy it while it lasts? I’m not so sure it will stop working, unless there’s active sabotage.”

Clint frowned. “You know something about it?”

“I saw those that fixed it last night,” I admitted. “And no, it wasn’t people from Joja,” I added at his suspicious glance in the direction of JojaMart. “Do you have any idea of where I can find a log to see if this works without having to go all the way to the south end of my farm?” I hefted my axe.

“There’s a place near the mine cart, but it might be a bit difficult to find. There’s also a place north of JojaMart, where the bookseller likes to land his balloon. Then, of course, there are all those trees in Cindersap Forest. You'll notice an improvement with ordinary trees too.”

“I hope so. Oh, and before I forget, I should open these.” I placed my six magma geodes on the bench.

Star shards, 10 stones, two pieces of neptunite, a lemon stone, and dolomite. I recognized the neptunite, but the other parts not so much.

Went and donated the three new pieces to the museum, earning Gunther’s reward for 40 donated pieces, which was a rarecrow.

Then I went in search of the locations Clint had mentioned. A gap in the fence, almost hidden by a bush. A log lay a bit further along the narrow path, blocking it. Nine strokes, and it splintered into eight pieces of hardwood.

The path continued beyond it, leading to a boulder, making me glad I had brought the pickaxe. I finally reached a clearing that had been used as a rubbish dump. To my surprise there was a trashcan there too, and I went to search it.

A book lay just under the lid, and my blood ran cold. The Alleyway Buffet looked new, much unlike the degrading rubbish beneath it.

I took several deep breaths before opening it. As the book entered my chest, my nose was hit with the ripe smell of a multitude of full trashcans that had been baking in the sun for too long. Despite being unable to breathe, I threw up next to the trashcan. Mostly just stomach acid, burning my throat. When my lungs started working again I was still huddled on the ground and dry-heaving.

“Why?” I asked. “Why do I have to suffer this way?”

There was no answer, but I hadn’t expected one anyway. I stumbled away from the clearing, knowing I had to eat something once my stomach stopped feeling like it would expel anything it got.

I avoided the trashcan by JojaMart. Did not want to risk upsetting my stomach again so soon. Went around the building and found that the path to the stairs leading to the balloon landing was overgrown with weeds. No-one had been here for a while.

There were a few trees here, and a large treestump. Looking at the balloon landing, I figured no-one would mind if I cleared the trees here, making it safer to land. My stomach had finally settled enough to dare eating a couple of salmonberries before getting started.

Like Clint had said, I could cut down trees a lot easier, and the large stump was also easier than I remembered. A box was nestled among the weeds beyond the large stump. I braced myself for another book, but it wasn’t. Someone had hid a prize ticket out here. One of the Junimo compensating me for giving up on the one I’d earned? Something the bookseller had stashed away and forgot about?

I hurried over to Lewis’ house and used it on the ticket machine, giving me a free orange sapling. While it wouldn’t give me any fruit this year, that wasn’t any excuse for not planting it. Lewis wasn’t there, so I didn’t spend anymore time in there. I had a sunflower to deliver.

The rejoicing air had vanished from the community center, and its normal expectant tension from the scrolls had returned. Turning the corner to reach the bulletin board scroll, I saw the restored section beyond the door to the vault room and smiled. It was still there, and gave me hope that working with the Junimo would lead to something positive beyond satisfying the Wizard’s curiosity.

Adding the sunflower and noting how much it increased the tension, made me wonder if I could make it rival the fish tank scroll at its worst. Maybe not. The two bundles needing two items wouldn’t contribute much. Nor the one with three items. And I had made that promise to them. If I got the items, I would hand them over. It would take a lot of coincidences to get all the bundles to need just one more item.

With a sigh I went back to my farm to plant the orange tree and place the neptunites in the shipping bin. Found 240 G from the pickled parsnips, which was at least twice as much as I’d have earned from the raw vegetables.

Went up on the plateau where I had the mahogany trees. It seemed like it would be a good place for my fruit tree, in a place where I could see it grow. Planted it in the corner overlooking my crops.

Should I clear out the logs on my farm? They weren’t more than minor obstacles, and maybe I would get some request or something that required a lot of hardwood in a hurry.

The log blocking a path deeper into the forest north of the Wizard’s tower came to mind and I ran over there, taking down a few pines along the way, still remembering to apologize. I didn’t apologize to the log. It was long since dead anyway.

The place I entered was tingling with magic, sparkling even. The dense growth of trees and undergrowth around the clearing was a good deterrent for not straying from the open area.

Then something green oozed towards me. A slime. I had to beat it off with my axe. Then I made sure I had my sword in hand before I went any deeper. There were tree stumps here, and I cut them up. Two pieces of hardwood each wasn’t much to save for an “in case of”. A few more slimes were dealt with too. Then I saw a fiddlehead fern, and through a narrow passage I could see a red mushroom.

Getting to the mushroom revealed an area with two more tree stumps, and another slime.

As I left the secret woods darkness had fallen, I glanced at the Wizard’s tower, light from its windows attracting my attention. Maybe he knew something about it. Or, he might get angry for disturbing or even destroying something he had planned. Still, I should own up to it.

He looked pleasantly surprised to see me. “Have you made any headway with the forest spirits?” he asked.

“Depends on what you mean by that.”

“From the faint traces of forest magic on you, it seems like you have managed some success with the Junimo. I surmise that you’ve hit a snag and have come to ask for help.”

“Unless the traces you perceive is from my visit to the formerly blocked off area north of here. The forest magic there was strong enough that I could see it. That area is what I’ve come to ask about.”

“For some reason forest slimes spawn there, due to the magic you sensed, so I had it blocked off to keep the townspeople safe. If you’ve opened the path there, it’s on you to keep the slimes culled. The magic also makes the tree stumps return each day, so you can harvest as much hardwood there as you need. I only go there occasionally for certain reagents, such as the rare fish that lives in the pond. How’s that Junimo scroll going?”

Scroll. Singular. Well, if he was only asking about that one, that was the information he was gonna get.

“I’ve completed three of the six bundles. Should be able to get the fourth in a few days. The remaining two would be the Fall and Winter forage bundles, which, of course will take a while. I don’t anticipate any problems with those. They’ve made their wishes easily comprehensible, with pictures and everything.”

“You’re hiding something from me,” he said sternly.

Tension emanated from him, about as much as I got from the first scroll, urging me to reveal more. It wasn’t difficult to resist.

“How could I hide something that’s in plain view at a brief visit?” I asked instead. “At least it’s in plain view for me. I’m not sure if the Junimo are hiding things from other visitors. And I’d better get home if I want to avoid you having to take me to the doctor again.”

“I told him...” he grumbled, stronger magical tension emanating from him. Threatening.

“He didn’t say anything,” I said hurriedly to protect Dr. Harvey from reprisal. “His frightened reaction at my first guess was enough for me. You were one of the few who knew I was in the forest and not bothered by the rain. My second guess would’ve been Leah.”

I paused, not sure how to phrase my discomfort at having found my clothes clean. Instead I went for the door and found it behaving like a normal door, uninfluenced by the Wizard’s intentions.

I took down a few more pines on my way home since it wasn’t yet late enough to panic, stopped only when I was almost exhausted. I needed the wood for a coop and for tappers, preserves jars, and who knew how many other things. Tended the furnaces and recycling machine before going inside to sleep.

 

[Terdin]

Summer 10
My arms protested movement when I got up. Maybe I had gone a bit too wild with the axe yesterday. Felt tired and worn-out too.

Went to the TV. Weather forecast, clear and sunny tomorrow, for the Luau... What did that entail? Hopefully Lewis had sent mail like he’d done for the two Spring festivals. Luck good but not great. Queen of Sauce re-run was about omelettes, which I’d already seen.

Rather than eating a salmonberry or two, I ate a parsnip when I got outside. Needed more substance. Like I’d hoped, I had mail.

-Dear Erica.
Tomorrow we’re all gathering at the beach for the annual Pelican Town Luau.
The highlight of the event is the communal potluck. Make sure you bring something good to contribute! The governor himself is attending the event, so make sure you’re on your best behavior.
Come to the beach between 9 am and 2 pm.
Mayor Lewis.

I went to my Spring crop chest. A potluck. There wasn’t much to share from a potato, parsnip, or carrot. Same thing went for the summer squash and hot pepper in the other chest. Cauliflower on the other hand could be shared by many. My eyes fell on the gold quality cauliflower. It was the best I had. I reached out to touch it before recalling that the Luau was tomorrow, not today.

The summer squash was ready for harvest, as was the first coffee plant. I took them to the chest, then stood looking at them, biting my cheek. I might need money tomorrow. I picked up the gold quality squash and hot peppers, then went to get the gold quality parsnip and strawberries. They should be worth the most, and benefit the least from getting pickled or jellied.

Found 800 G from selling the neptunites yesterday, a sum that made me blink in surprise. I had to get more magma geodes.

Yesterday’s hardwood hunt came to mind as I closed the lid of the shipping bin, and how that had been the only thing that stood between me and a deluxe worm bin. I quickly got together the materials and got to work, making first the basic worm bin, then adding moss for the upgrade.

“So, I guess I just have to put this somewhere and it’ll make bait for me,” I said. Looking around for a good place nearby I eventually went inside and put it by the door.

The question was what to do today. I could go to see if I could catch a sturgeon with the help of the deluxe bait I’d found while fishing and then put aside, but maybe it would be better to wait until I had more of that. Going to the mine and seeing if the lucky lunch could get me an elevator stop or two further down was also a possibility. The value of the neptunites was a good motivator.

I pursed my lips. The mines. Fighting was less draining than fishing. Despite the lucky lunch, I brought a couple of carrots.

Taking the mine cart took a lot less time. Maybe I could even stay out for a bit longer, like to 1 am rather than having to call it a day when it was midnight. I ate the lucky lunch before going down, filling up my energy.

Floor 81
Another helmeted hermit crab here, dropping a solar essence. The barrels dropped iron, a magma geode and copper, along with the two gold nodes. When the stairs appeared under a rock, I took them.

Floor 82
A slime that didn’t drop anything, and barrels that dropped cave carrots, wood, and two magma geodes. The stairs appeared under a rock in the first area, and I didn’t bother to search further.

Floor 83
A purple mushroom stood close to the ladder. As I made my way through, cracking rocks to look for the stairs, I found a ruby node and some red quartz. Then I recalled the acual name for that type of quartz: fire quartz. A barrel dropped a mystery box and another gave me some more iron ore. Then an odd sound carried words in it.
“Intruder. Kill it.”
Towards me came a midnight-black creature with white eyes and mouth. My eyes widened as I realized what it was. A shadow brute, one type of void spirit. Fighting him off took longer than it had taken to kill the skeletons. Then I noticed the reason why I hadn’t uncovered the stairs yet. They were out in the open.

Floor 84
No more void spirits, but ahead were some gold ore nodes, which turned out to be guarded by a red slime. Going for the gold, I was surprised not just by a bat coming in from somewhere, but two red rocks proved to house rock crabs. Both the crabs and the bat dropped bombs. The stairs were under a rock near the crabs.

Floor 85
Another shadow creature was at the far wall. The mask on its face pronounced it a shadow shaman. “Death to intruders,” it said and a dark streak flowed towards me. I barely avoided it. Was there magic that could throw visible spells? I thought that was just in videogames. It proved easier to kill the shaman, and it dropped a copper bar and a shadow essence when it died. Further away, by some barrels and boxes, I found a red slime and a helmet hermit crab. Nothing in the boxes though. No ore nodes either, and it took a good while to find the stairs down.

Floor 86
A quartz stood near the ladder. Not wanting to search too much and having to fight for my life, I immediately started looking for the ladder. Found it after just a few rocks, but a bat flew in from somewhere and I decided to take it down. I needed more bat wings if I wanted to make more lightning rods.

Floor 87
Another shadow shaman. I ran to get it before it could throw a spell at me, not wanting to find out what it did. To my surprise, it dropped a book. Combat quarterly. Only other obvious monster was a helmeted hermit crab, which I took down. I’d need to get rid of something if I wanted to have room for new stuff. Swallowing, I took a deep breath and opened the book. It flew at me like all books had done other than those in the library. Fortunately, it didn’t paralyze my lungs for long. Looking at the card, it was no-where to be seen, and I sat down on a rock to digest the knowledge that there were more books than were shown on the card. Looking at the skill card though, I noted that my combat had reached level 5, but showed that no skill had been chosen.
I vented my feelings about the books on the rocks, and about 15 rocks later I found the stairs. Had to eat a carrot before going down though.

Floor 88
Started my search for the stairs immediately. The rocks were few, but still gave me two more magma geodes, and my search took me past two red slimes before I found the stairs a few rocks south of them.

Floor 89
Spotted a red slime a bit into the room, but as I went for it I noticed a shadow shaman off to one side. Having already got the attention of the slime, I had to take it down first, and the shaman’s spell hit me. It shook me to the core and I just knew that I had to avoid the red slime hitting me. I failed, and the pain of being hit hurt worse than I’d ever had imagined. The shadow shaman laughed at my scream, but not for long, as I went after it as soon as the slime was down. The spell wore off not long afterwards. Only then did I notice the slime had dropped another mystery box, and the shaman dropped a staircase. At some point I’d acquired an omni geode.

Floor 90
Another treasure chest. I ate the white algae some slime had dropped, to make space in my backpack before opening the chest. An obsidian-black sword lay there, which probably was a better weapon than the insect jaws. Having had enough for the day, I went up to the surface, rearranged stuff between backpack and chest before leaving.

I headed for the Adventurer’s guild for the first time in a long while.

Skeletons proved to be on the list of monster eradication goals, as were void spirits. Fortunately I’d only need 50 skeletons to complete that goal. The goal for void spirits was three times as high. Only the four goals at the end of the list remained unknown. The helmet hermit crabs and ghosts were not on the list.

“Why is the goal higher for void spirits than for skeletons?” I asked Marlon.

“Because they’re more capable, more dangerous. Skeletons don’t exactly have much going on in their heads,” Marlon said.

“Neither have slimes, and a thousand are needed for that goal.”

“There are that many more of them. Those buggers proliferate fast. That’s also the reason for the amount of dust sprites needed,” Marlon added before I could mention that goal. “And to a lesser degree the bats.”

“Some of them, at least. I’ve got fruit bats in a cave on my farm and they’ve never tried to attack me. There are slimes over in the forest too,” I added.

“I thought that wizard had blocked off the entrance to that area,” Marlon said grimly.

I shrugged, feigning indifference. “I opened it, and when I talked to him about it, he tasked me with culling them regularly. Not my idea of fun, but I need the hardwood I can get from there, so...”

Marlon nodded. “See to it that you do. Fortunately for you I count those slimes towards the goal too.”

“That’s good to know. Well, I’d better get going.”

“You might want to focus on one or more of the goals soon to get the reward, just like you took down enough insects to earn that insect jaw sword,” Marlon said as I turned to go. “The Wizard’s provided us with nice rewards for some of them. And Gil and I came up with the rest.”

“I’ll think about it,” I promised.

I had plenty of time to walk home, but I still went to the mine again even if only to the entrance area. Picked up the iron bars and loaded the furnaces with gold ore. Then took the mine cart to the bus stop. Only then did I realize Marlon had been calling Rasmodius a wizard. None of the others in town seemed to know that, or maybe didn't want to admit to it. Marnie had only referred to his tower as "strange tower" and warned me to not go near it. No-one else had given the slightest hint about knowing the Wizard was there. It made me feel like I had got involved in some kind of secret society without even realizing. Had the Wizard been the one to urge Marlon to get me to join the guild?

I pushed it from my mind. It was unlikely that either of them would admit to it. Not that learning whether there were reasons would change what had happened. Besides, I was probably better off for what had happened to me. The guild. Forest magic. The tension from the Junimo. The books. Well, maybe not the books. They seemed mostly to have downsides and not enough benefits. But the other stuff had made me more confident.

It was getting late, but I still had some time to take down a few mature trees from the nearest copse before bedtime.

 

[Terdin]

Summer 11, The Luau
As soon as I woke up, I had the feeling that there was something I had to remember. Not the dream I’d had, of having to choose whether to be a better fighter or a scout. Of course I chose fighter. I had to become a better fighter before I ended up facing several of those void spirit creatures.

Getting out of bed I searched through the letters I’d got. There it was, the letter Mayor Lewis sent me yesterday.

“The Luau. Oh, yes. I had intended to bring that cauliflower,” I said to myself.

Weather forecast, windy. Luck was in my hands. Livin’ off the Land mentioned that there’d be more seashells than usual on the beach starting tomorrow. Maybe I should go there. It also seemed to be where I had the best luck in finding dig spots. Harvested my first deluxe bait from the baitmaker.

I picked up the cauliflower, then recalled that my crops needed water, and that I only had to get to the beach before 2 pm. For that matter, it hadn’t even started yet.

Nothing was ready for harvest, but there were large green tomatoes on those plants, promising a harvest tomorrow. The coffee plant would also be ready, and maybe some of the other crops.

By the time I was done watering, it was just past 10 am and the Luau had started. Belatedly remembered to go pet Belle and fill her water bowl, then check the shipping bin. The money from yesterday brought my total to 4189 G, which could be enough for a coop, unless there was something sold at the festival that I just couldn’t resist.

Maybe the seashells and the corals and stuff I had in my town fishing chest could help me get enough money to buy a chicken or two. Oh, and I had those two envelopes, from the red snapper and the rainbow trout deliveries. That should help a little.

I hurried to the beach. The Luau was already in full swing.

Lewis stood holding a quiet conversation with a man who had to be the Governor, the music drowning out their voices from even a few steps away. I left them to it and went around to talk to everyone else.

Elliot stood right outside his hut, together with Leah. I greeted them briefly, then continued to where Linus was roasting a big piece of meat. It smelled heavenly, and he hinted at his secret to the perfect roast. Maru couldn’t tear her eyes from it, and hoped it would be ready soon. Dr Harvey on the other hand couldn’t take his eyes off of Maru and mumbled something about sunscreen.

Shaking my head at them I went to check what Pierre had in his little shop... Nothing interesting. My money would go towards building a coop. Pierre was eyeing the Governor, mumbling about trying to get lower taxes and about aged whiskey.

“Trying to bribe him could have the wrong effect. Even if you say it’s just a gift, it could backfire,” I warned him.

“Er... Maybe you’re right. But with things as they are, it’s not so easy,” Pierre said. “I doubt it would hurt to try to make the offer.”

“Oh? Even though the most likely outcome is that he takes your gift and then never thinks about you until next Luau. I’d think it would hurt your wallet,” I said.

Pierre groaned. “You’re right. Maybe it’s better if I just talk to him. Get to know him first. Might not get fast results, but... Now, if only the Mayor would stop schmoozing with him...”

Caroline moved up to me and said in a low voice. “Thanks for talking him out of it. He wouldn’t listen to me. What are you adding to the soup?” she asked in a louder voice.

“Cauliflower. Didn’t know it was for a soup, so I went for something that could easily be divided on several people.”

“It’ll be okay, and cauliflower is wonderful in soup,” Caroline returned to keeping an eye on her husband.

Jodi, Pam, Gus, and Clint walked around the tables, mainly talking about the food, sometimes straightening the food on a plate, other times taking a few pieces.

Shane was making a sandwich that seemed to be all chutney then took a big bite. “Mmm... you don’t get hot pepper chutney like this in the city...” he said when he’d swallowed and then took another bite.

“You like spicy foods, Shane?” I asked.

He nodded, his mouth too full to answer.

Robin and Demetrius were dancing together, and kinda difficult to approach. Emily danced by herself and was too caught up in the music to notice anything else. Jas and Vincent were trying to dance together, but stumbled over their feet and had to start over every so often.

George complained about the music being too darn loud, and Evelyn was reminiscing about things that happened in her youth.

“You know, your grandpa was a handsome man when he first moved here, Erica, and caught the interest of all the single ladies, and even some of the men. I was already married to George then, and we had Alex’ mother, Clara, not long afterwards. Patrick was up and down the valley, all around, trying to get that farm up and running, much like you seem to be,” Evelyn told me.

“Thank you for telling me about my grandpa, Granny. I didn’t know that about him,” I said.

“I hope you too find someone to settle down with soon. I’d love to see your children,” Evelyn said.

I nodded and went back to Marnie who was stirring the big pot that held the potluck soup.

“If you’ve brought something for the soup, cut it up and put it in,” Marnie told me.

I cut the cauliflower into bouquets and cut the stem and leaves into relatively small pieces, knowing that all of it was edible even if most people shied away from eating the stem and leaves. For whatever reason, most people thought that cabbage leaves were okay, but cauliflower leaves weren’t, even though they tasted much the same.

“I think you’re the last contributor,” Marnie said. “We’ll just need to let it cook for another twenty minutes or so, so you’ve got time to talk with people a bit more.

I nodded and went towards the piers. Alex and Haley stood talking, having apparently made up for their little fallout yesterday. Haley looked at her sister from time to time, and sighed.

“What’s up?” I asked them.

“Great weather for a beach party, right?” Alex told me.

“I kinda want to dance, but I don’t want to get sweaty. She don’t seem to mind.” Haley gestured towards her older sister. “And you’re running around, not worrying either.”

“I got sweaty from watering my crops this morning, so a little more won't do much difference.” I noticed a commotion from one of the tables and went to help Penny stop Pam from adding alcohol to the mixed drink bowl.

“Not now, Mom. Don’t ruin everything for the Mayor," Penny told her.

I put a hand on Pam’s arm and pulled it away from its intended target, making her spill some on the tablecloth. “Don’t ruin it for Jas and Vincent. They’re way too young to drink alcohol. Save it for yourself instead.”

“Oh... I just thought it would be like the Egg Festival and Flower Dance. Everyone remarked about how good it tasted,” Pam said. “Didn’t think about the kids...” She looked between me and Penny and sighed, then took a swig from the bottle.

“Not exactly what I wanted, but it’s better,” Penny said. “Mayor Lewis is trying to get our town on the Governor’s good side, so he’s kind of neurotic about the way the soup tastes.” She looked over at the Governor. “Not sure if it’s the same guy as last year. They all look kind of the same in those official robes and hat.”

“And if we only see him once or twice a year, there’s not much chance of learning what each looks like,” I added. “Gonna go say hello to Sebastian and Sam, and then see if there’s anyone on the piers that I’ve missed so far.”

Sebastian and Sam were reminiscing about pranks Sam had pulled in the past, like putting anchovy in the pot at the Luau last year.

“In case you ever wondered why Sam leads the town in community service hours.” Sebastian grinned at me.

“Hey! You’re the one who set me up for most of the pranks!” Sam complained.

“I merely talked about things that would be interesting to do. I never told you to actually do them,” Sebastian countered.

Was that why Sam was working part-time at JojaMart? I didn't have the heart to ask about it and I left them to their bickering as I’d spotted Abigail out on the pier.

“Oh... Hello,” she said when I came to stand beside her. “It’s so tiring trying to socialize with everyone... I’d rather watch the sea.”

“I agree that it’s tiring. Maybe especially for you since you already know everyone in town. I’m still learning new things just about every time I talk to someone.”

“And the music’s way too loud and... annoying,” she said.

“Fortunately the soup’s ready soon, so it won’t be much longer,” I told her.

I went in front of Willy’s shop and found him there, having gone aside to smoke without bothering anyone else. On my way back from there, I spotted the Wizard, standing where I’d once found Sebastian watching the sea.

He had not been there before.

I hurried over to him, barely registering Abigail's reaction to me running past her.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you attend a festival,” I told him, trying to make small talk despite suspecting why he was there.

He turned to me with a stern look on his face. “I visited the community center. You’ve made yourself quite a mess.”

“I know.”

“Magic energy all over the place. I’m surprised the others in town haven’t noticed.”

“I’ve kept up the pretense that I’m hunting rats there. Most of them are happy to let me do that on my own. Well, Abigail got a bit curious and peeked in, then left thinking the building’s haunted.”

The Wizard pursed his lips, silently pressuring me to keep explaining, but his tension wasn’t enough to force me to do anything.

“It’s improving though,” I said. “It’s been worse.”

“How much worse? Why didn’t you wait until you had all the items for a bundle before bringing it to them?” His voice was menacing.

“I did it that way for the Spring Forage bundle, but for the fish tank scroll I didn’t want to accidentally sell the fish they wanted, so I added them as I caught them. Had a minor confrontation when they got upset over that, at which point I promised them that I was giving them the items as soon as I could. I’ve kept that promise to them since, even if the fish tank scroll got a bit difficult to approach before I finished the Ocean Fish bundle. I doubt any of the remaining scrolls will reach that level of tension, that’s why I say it’s improving.” I tried to keep my voice steady, but noticed myself speaking faster than usual.

“There were more scrolls?” His coercive tension increased. “In the boiler room, I guess. It looked... out of place.”

“The scroll asking for gifts from the mine,” I said. “I think I can complete two or three scrolls before Fall ends. By the end of Winter there should be at most one scroll left.”

His tension increased further, getting to uncomfortable levels. “You seem way too confident about that, young Erica. Hmm?” He looked to a point behind me.

I turned in time to see Abigail flee towards the shore from a point much closer to us than she’d been before.

“We’ll continue this talk later,” the Wizard said.

Then he was gone.

As I was going to see if Mayor Lewis had finished his talk with the Governor, Abigail came up to me. She pulled me to the side, glancing to make sure no-one was too close.

“What kind of secrets are you into with that guy?” she asked in a low voice. “I got close to hear some of what you said about scrolls, and then I felt such danger when he looked at me.”

For a second or two I considered trying to deflect it and play it down. But she already knew enough that it might be better if I was honest. “He was aiming it at me, pressuring me for information, when you caught his attention. It’s possible you got hit by it by mistake. Recognize it from somewhere?”

“No. Why are you...” Her eyes widened. “The community center.”

I nodded. “There are no rats there, but spirits that I’ve been tasked to appease. They are demanding things, and sometimes they give me things in return. Only... I didn’t tell him there was more than one scroll with demands, and he thinks I’ve done a botch job of it, so he’s a bit upset. It’s been easier to tell people I’m trying to catch rats. Fewer questions and fewer odd looks.”

“I don’t see why you’re so calm about that guy being upset. He’s got some kind of magic powers. You don’t know what he might do to you.”

I considered it. “You’re right, I don’t know. The problem is that I’ve got used to try to pretend everythings fine. He’s found out that the gentle pressure that was enough at first, no longer is. Last time he probed harder. And today too. Next time, the kiddie gloves might be all the way off. But I don’t think you need to worry about that.” She still looked worried, and I had to think quick to come up with some kind of reason. “He needs me to work with those spirits as he doesn’t want to have to run errands for what he consider lesser beings.”

That seemed to reassure her. “Oh... Will... Will those spirits do something to intruders?” Abigail asked. She bit her lip and got something determined in her eyes.

I smiled at her. “Probably not, but I can’t say for sure, not without being there to sense their reaction to said intruder. Er... Would you want to come with me?”

To my surprise she blushed slightly. “A date in a haunted house? Sounds like fun. But...” She glanced in the direction of her parents. “Maybe ask me when both of us are able to sneak off without notice. Today’s too much going on, and I don’t want to miss out on the soup.”

“I too don’t want to miss out on the soup,” I admitted. “And I want to try some of the other stuff too, like that roast Linus was turning. It’s a rare chance to eat my fill. As for when, it might be best to wait until I’ve done something about the front room, which currently is about on par with what you experienced from him.”

She looked uncertain again, then nodded. “Sounds like a plan, I guess.”

I went over to Marnie. “How’s it coming along?” I asked.

“Just about ready. Will you go tell Lewis about it?”

I nodded and rounded a table to reach the Mayor. This time he noticed me and introduced me to the Governor. Remembering his letter, I was on my best behavior.

“Have you added your contribution to the soup?” Lewis asked. “I noticed your arrival earlier.”

“Yes. A while ago. Marnie wanted me to tell you that it’s ready to eat.”

Mayor Lewis and the Governor made their way to the big pot. That made the other townspeople gather around it too. The Mayor's loud announcement that the potluck ceremony was about to begin brought in the stragglers who'd been too occupied in their private conversatios to notice.

“Well, Governor... Would you do us the honor of tasting the soup?” Lewis held out a large spoon to him.

Everyone waited with bated breath as the Governor took a spoonful, blew at it, and put it in his mouth. Then he shone up.

“Oh my... This is the best soup I’ve ever tasted!”

I imagined a ‘here’ tacked on at the end of it, omitted for politeness. The Mayor also tasted it and announced that it was really good. That made others approach too, including me.

It was indeed very good, and I tried to figure out some of the ingredients. Then part of the aftertaste made my eyes widen. I recognized that, from when the Wizard awakened the forest magic in me. What had he done to the soup? What was he doing to the townspeople?

I still ate a lot of the soup as it was unlikely to have much of an effect on me, and some of Linus’ roast, and tried various dishes from the tables. As I helped clean the beach after the end of the festival, I went to have more soup as often as I felt I had room for it, in a desperate attempt to keep others from eating too much of the soup. Fortunately, no-one had lost consciousness like I had back then, or claimed to have odd experiences. Had he altered the recipe somewhat? Or was it just that it was diluted enough that it didn’t have that kind of effect?

I considered those questions even after I’d returned home. I wanted to confront him about it, but maybe not straight away. Better to let him calm down first. I spent the next few hours clearing my quarry and making sure saplings had room to grow to mature trees, until it was time to get ready for bed.

 

[Terdin]

Summer 12
The chirping of birds woke me up and I considered staying in bed a while longer, until I remembered that the crops needed water, and there were other things I needed to do too.

TV first. Weather forecast, thunderstorm. Luck good. Maybe a good idea to make a couple more lightning rods. And pick up my bait, I recalled when I was about to go out.

Went to pet Belle first. Didn’t fill her bowl. She wouldn’t go out tomorrow, and the rain would fill it for me.

The hops and tomatoes were ready for their first harvest, third harvest for hot peppers, and whatever number harvest it was for the first coffee plant. The five base quality hops got to stay in my backpack, along with one of the tomatoes, when I went to put them away.

Picked up wood, stone, fishing rod, the deluxe bait I’d put away. Pursing my lips I removed the remaining ordinary bait and put the deluxe bait in the bait holder. I had the receipt for how to add moss and turn bait into deluxe bait, which I used. Maybe today would be a better day for catching a sturgeon.

The crops forced me to change my plans. No mine-cart ride. I’d walk past the community center to make my delivery. Maybe say hello to Evelyn and George while I was passing through too. Seeing them at the Luau reminded me that I hadn’t visited them for a while. And maybe take a... No, sturgeon-fishing went before going to check on my mushroom logs or going to the beach for seashells.

Looked at the tappers as I passed by the bus stop, then realized the maple was ready for harvest. Had it been ready yesterday or the day before and I’d just been too focused on my plans to notice? Went to get it. One more gift for the Junimo.

Went to see George and Evelyn first.

“Take a deep breath,” Harvey’s voice said.

I froze, not wanting to intrude on them, but also not wanting to flee and risk causing a distraction that way. The consultation ended with Dr. Harvey giving George some medical advice, and George grumbling about it.

“What are you doing here, Erica? These consultations are meant to be private between doctor and patient.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll leave you to it,” I said, figuring he’d take a look at Evelyn’s health next.

“Not so fast. I want a second opinion from this young lady,” George said.

“My opinion is that you should take Doctor Harvey’s advice seriously.”

“I’m only trying to help you,” Harvey reiterated.

George grumbled a bit. “I guess I will do those arm exercises,” he said then.

“Thank you,” Harvey said in a low voice on his way out. “I appreciate your help. He ‘forgot’ his last monthly checkup, and didn’t respond to his reminder, so I figured I might as well come here.” Then he was out the door.

I considered going talking to George, but he kept on grumbling. Looking around the corner he was busy lifting some small weights, just a pound or two. Maybe best not to embarrass him further. Evelyn wasn’t in the kitchen, so I went out and found her tending to some of the flowers around the square. I exchanged a few words with her before going to the community center.

Despite being got last, I put in the maple syrup first as it was the shortest walk. As expected, it didn’t do much.

Then went to complete the Wild Medicine bundle, getting two cookout kits and a release of tension in return. Unless I got the money for upgrading my house soon, they’d be handy for making the fried egg and maki roll for the Chef bundle. But I needed an egg first, or I wouldn’t be able to fry one.

The tomato for the pantry scroll was next, increasing the tension there a bit, for the first time in a long while having more of it than the first scroll.

When I reached the mountain area, I almost went for the lake first, before recalling my other big errand here and went to see Robin.

“You want to build a coop on your farm?” Robin asked when I explained what I wanted. She pulled out the map of my farm. “Where do you want it? It’s about this size,” she added, drawing a box.

I chewed my lower lip as I considered placements. “It looks like it could fit there, but... Could you move the pet bowl that’s there to the corner between the cliff and the house?” I pointed to where I wanted it.

“Sure thing. Won’t take long to move it when I fence off the construction area. When are you gonna upgrade your house?” she asked then.

“When I can afford it. Sure, I want to have a kitchen so I can cook my own food, but there’s a bunch of other stuff I need to buy too. Such as a chicken or two for the coop.” I chose to mention just the most obvious purchase.

“I have some convenient stuff to add to the coop when you upgrade it. It’s not just that you’ll be able to house more animals in there.” Robin winked at me.

When. Not if. On the other hand, if the chickens and whatever other fowl was available proved profitable, it was definitely on my list of things to get.

“What do I need to upgrade it?” I asked.

“To the next size, 10,000 G, 400 wood and 150 stone, so I understand completely if it takes you some time to get that much. On the other hand, a barn would only cost you 6000 G, and a bit less materials than it would take to expand the coop.”

“I’ll need to think about which to get first. And I need to go fish,” I said. “Or I won’t be able to earn that amount of money anytime soon.”

I went to my preferred fishing spot and cast my line.

Three hours later I had yet to get even one bite from a sturgeon. I had caught four carp, three chub, a bullhead, two rainbow trout and a largemouth bass later, not to mention various bits of algae and trash. There had been three chests too, one giving me chub roe. The other items in the chests had been bait, stones, an amphibian fossil, and a mystery box.

Then a livelier fish took the bait. Several times I was close to losing it, but after a long battle I brought it to shore. The sturgeon I needed.

My first urge was to go to the community center, but I reminded myself of the mushroom logs.

A few more pines had matured, and the mushroom logs proved to be ready for harvest. Two common mushrooms, and three chanterelles. On my way out, I spotted a dig spot which gave me a prehistoric tibia.

On my way down from the mountain, I was elated, but remembered to say hello to Linus when I saw him.

“You look pleased with yourself,” he remarked. “Found something good?”

I quickly decided to not say anything about the community center items. “I found two items that the curator at the museum might be interested in.” I showed them to him. “I think they’re pretty nice examples too, even if I don’t know enough to say for sure.”

Linus laughed gently and patted my shoulder. “Good luck with that.”

I continued down the stairs.

At the community center, I gave the Junimo the sturgeon first. I got a dressed spinner and the tension from the fish tank scroll lowered. Maybe Abigail would be able to handle that amount as long as she didn’t approach too close.

Like I remembered, the Fall Forage bundle required a common mushroom.

“I really look forward to when I can complete some more scrolls, and I think you do too,” I said in a low voice, speaking as much to the Junimo as to myself. “Fish tank in Fall, this one in Winter. Uncertain about pantry and bulletin board since there’s so much left there. Hoping for the rare seeds to get me enough for the vault.”

I visited the Saloon on my way to the beach, and was surprised at how many were there. Robin and Demetrius were dancing to the music from the jukebox. Marnie and Lewis had a private conversation, keeping their voices down enough that the music drowned it from a couple steps away. I greeted them briefly, only really getting a response from Lewis, who was pleasantly surprised at finding me socializing.

Leah and Elliot were discussing art and the philosophy behind it, barely pausing it to respond to me.

Pam... was drunk, responding with a “Whacher looking at?”

Gus gestured to me and shook his head. I left her to it and went to talk to him instead.

“I’m sorry about the attitude,” he said with a glance in Pam’s direction.

“No need to, I knew it was a gamble. Moodswings can be difficult to spot from a distance.” I too kept from using pronouns that might catch Pam’s attention and make her realize we were talking about her.

“Can I get you something?” Gus asked.

“Sorry, but I paid Robin to build me a coop, so I’ll eat some of the fish I caught instead.”

He glanced at the dancing couple. “So that’s why she was so happy when she arrived,” he said. “They even had their dinner here, and usually they eat at home before coming here. But a coop’s good and will help keep you fed. Eggs are nutritious both raw and cooked, even if raw eggs are a bit of a gamble.”

I nodded and went over to Shane to say hello to him.

“You’re really persistent...” He seemed about to say something else, but shook his head and resolutely turned his attention to his mug.

Emily looked back and forth between us. “Did something happen?”

“Not really,” I said. I didn’t want to tell her about the conversation we’d had. Didn’t know her well enough to tell her my troubles.

The clack of pool table balls colliding attracted my attention.

Sam was eyeing the situation on the table from various angles. “Hmm... Maybe if I give the cue ball a bit of a spin...” He flinched at my greeting. “Erica! I’m in the middle of something important here.”

Sebastian chuckled from the other side of the table. “He wanted to bet a Joja Cola that he could beat me this time. Despite the fact that he’s never won before,” he added proudly.

“They’re at it just about every Friday,” Abigail said from the nearby couch. “Sometimes we end up talking together after the game, other times Sam throws down the cue and stalks out of here... but that’s only when he’s had a really bad day.”

A louder song started, giving me an excuse to lean closer to her. “I think things have improved enough,” I said.

Her eyes widened, but then she eyed the two guys. “Some other day, maybe.”

I understood what she meant. If we went now, Sam and Sebastian would come snooping. “I’ll go see if I can find some seashells on my own then. Livin’ Off The Land mentioned it yesterday.”

As I straightened, I noticed both guys turning their attention away from me and back to their game.

Went to Willy on my way out. “I finally caught a sturgeon,” I said.

“That’s good. If you make a fish pond for it, you could get roe that you can turn into caviar. Could be a nice additional income.”

Just great. Another reason to regret my promise to the Junimo. I left, and met Clint on my way to the beach.

“I’ll need to come in and see you about some more geodes soon,” I told him.

“Just bring them,” he said. “How are your tools holding up?”

“They’re just fine. I want to upgrade my pickaxe again – the rocks down there are a bit difficult – but without the money it’ll have to wait.”

He nodded and we parted ways.

Just before reaching the beach, I recalled something and went for my fishing chest instead. I put away all the fish and most of the items, including that dressed spinner from the Junimo, and picked up the corals. I’d likely get more of all of them, so it would save me some space. It was uncertain if I’d get more of every quality of sea urchin, so they stayed.

I lost count of how many shellfish and other stuff I found. At least twelve. The count was made more difficult because in some cases what seemed like one piece of coral or shellfish from a distance, proved to be two, and I hadn’t memorized how many pieces of coral I had brought. Three sea urchins too, and one piece of seaweed that had just been washed up by the waves.

There were two dig spots on the beach too. One with a lost book near the tidal pools, the other closer to Willy’s shop with a trilobite. Took my way past the fishing chest and deposited the base quality coral and urchins, bringing the rest. The artifacts, mushrooms, and most of the fish I’d caught also got to come with me.

On my way home, I spotted a dig spot at the bus stop that I hadn’t seen earlier, but it just gave me some mixed seeds.

Not much left of the day besides tending to the furnaces and recycling machine. The corals and urchins went into a chest. They’d go toward buying chickens, not whatever caught my fancy before the coop was ready. I did throw in the chubs to get money for the geode breaking.

 

[Terdin]

Summer 13
Woke up to the rumble of thunder and tried to remember what I’d planned for the day. Museum, which meant geodes to Clint while I was in that area. The rain would do the watering for me, so I could hit my quarry to see if I got a few more geodes.

Petting Belle, I turned on the TV. Weather forecast sunny. Luck poor.

I sighed. If luck had anything to do with the geodes, I’d probably be disappointed. Unless it was the luck when finding them that counted. I couldn’t see how the contents could be determined when it was broken. What was in them should remain the same.

To my surprise, Robin was working despite the thunder and lightning.

“I noticed the lightning rods,” Robin said when I asked her about it. “They should keep me safe enough, and the work keeps me warm.”

I went to check on my crops, and raised my eyebrows. The hops were already ready for harvest, and so were the melons and summer squash. The melons got replaced with mixed flower seeds and a few mixed seeds, and the crops got stored away.

There were three ordinary geode nodes, and two frozen, along with a decent amount of copper and iron nodes. Two of the geode nodes, one of each kind, surprised me by dropping two geodes instead of one.

I tended the furnaces and the recycling machin. When I opened the chest to get the magma and omni geodes, I paused. When had I got all the five mystery boxes to complete the Helper bundle? The one I’d found yesterday must’ve been what completed the set. That changed things. I wouldn’t take the mine cart to Clint, but take a detour to deliver the boxes. Then again...

I ran past Robin and into the cave. A handful of blackberries, a wild plum, a pomegranate, and some salmonberries. I ate a couple of the salmonberries that didn’t stack with the base quality I had. Now I had a second gift for the Junimo. Storing away the spare fruit, I turned to leave, then spotted the mailbox. I had mail too.

A letter from Dad.
-I read an article about you in the local paper! I’m so impressed with your progress on the farm! Keep this up and your dear parents may be retiring in a Fern Islands luxury bungalow after all! ;)
Love, Dad.

P.S. Roxanne is kinda surprised you haven’t given up or asked for a handout yet, and while she wouldn’t admit it to you, she’s as proud of you as I am.

My mouth set in a determined line. So, that was what he... they thought? Maybe I had better avoid selling stuff in case there was another article... No. I wasn’t able to do that yet. Too many things I needed to buy. But it was an idea for when the farm was up and running. It also felt odd to see Mom’s name mentioned in Dad’s letter.

I barely rememebered to get the money out of the shipping bin before setting off.

Out of breath and soaked I entered the community center. Completing the Helper bundle didn’t change much, and in return I got... a mug of purple liquid?

The Junimo that was about to leave with the bundle squeaked at me.

Tea for making friends, was what it seemed to want to say, though I had no idea how I’d understood it.

Uncertain about my feelings about what seemed to be the friendship version of a love potion, I went to hand over the pomegranate. Maybe best to keep the tea in a chest until I really needed it, and if I didn’t need it, it could just stay there. I took note of the increase in tension before leaving. If Abigail could stand the fish tank scroll, this shouldn’t be a problem.

While I wasn’t sweaty when I arrived at the museum, I was soaked. Quickly handed in my artifacts to make room in my backpack.

“I might be back soon if I get something worthwhile from the geodes I found,” I told Gunther.

Clint looked up from the knife he was sharpening and returned to the counter when I entered. He looked me up and down.

“You look like you took the long way through town,” he said.

“Wanted to check the Help Wanted board, so...” I lied. “Got some geodes to open.”

I picked the omni geodes first. Five pieces of gold ore, and a jasper. Three more gold ore, two dolomite, eight pieces of iron ore, a fire quartz, a dwarf gadget, and three pieces of iridium ore.

I bit my lip. Two more pieces and I’d be able to make an iridium bar for the dye bundle.

Three pieces of copper ore and two hematites from the frozen geodes. And ten stones, a piece of iron ore, an earth crystal, and another dwarvish helm from the ordinary geodes.

“Quite a nice haul,” Clint commented.

“I think there’s four items I haven’t donated yet, and a good amount of ore,” I added.

“Even iridium, which is really rare here,” he said. Then he drew breath through clenched teeth, as if he’d caught himself saying a bit too much.

“Not enough to make even one iridium bar though,” I said. “And I guess I’ll eventually need more than just one. I have some memory of Grandpa’s tools being purple... Oh drat.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, really. I just recalled that he had a set of tools made for me. The same ones Dad gave me when I was about to move here. I’ve been using lightweight tools made for a child to feel like she’s helping out. No wonder they weren’t all that good.”

“For all of that, they are solid, quality tools. Even I wouldn’t have been able to upgrade mere replicas. For that matter, replicas would’ve failed you on your first day of using them as an adult. I think your grandfather had them made so you’d be able to help out without his tools swinging you as much as you swinged them, so to speak, not just to coddle you...” He shook his head. “I’m not sure I’m making any sense to you.”

“You’re making enough sense,” I assured him. “I’d better go hand in the new stuff to Gunther. Then I might hit the mines. The floors I’m on would get me dry pretty soon, and I might find more magma geodes.”

“Good luck. You might need it down there.”

That I would. Recalling the fortune teller channel made me change my mind. Maybe it was better to go get some more hardwood from those secret woods and take out the slimes there.

Gunther was happy to see me return, and when he saw what I put on the counter, he pointed to the dwarf gadget. “That’s quite a rare piece, and it’s seems like it’s still in working condition despite having been in a geode for who knows how long. Now that you’ve got both the void spirit tool and a dwarf tool, I’ve got a reward for you in commemoration of the Elemental War.”

He held up a... painting of some sort. Too gloomy for me to want to look at for long.

“I don’t have much room on my walls,” I said. “It will have to wait until I have.” Until I had walls I wouldn’t need to look at every day, I added to myself.

“I guess that goes for the other two rewards as well. As you were leaving I was just about to tell you that you were four items away from earning a rather big statue, and the amount of minerals got you a vase.”

I sighed. “Sounds like you for the most part were putting together rewards needing a mansion when the one receiving them has a small one-room cottage.”

Gunther laughed ruefully. “I guess so. Was just so relieved to finally have something to display again that I went wild. I’ll rethink some of the remaining rewards,” he promised.

“That would be nice.” I looked at the rewards chest behind the counter. “And those things I’ve already earned will be useful if I ever want to set up a museum of sorts in my home. Well, I’d better be going.”

My intentions to visit the general store to invite Abigail got cut short. I met her on her way to the Saloon, carrying a black umbrella.

“Do you have time now?” I asked.

She glanced over her shoulder. “I do. We might have to take the long way around though. Told my parents I’d be going to the Saloon. They might notice if I sneak back right past the side of the house. Sorry if my umbrella isn’t big enough for two.”

“That’s fine with me,” I assured her. “I’m already soaked.”

We went around the front of the house and then towards the stairs next to the clinic.

“Wish I had a prettier umbrella, but it’s kinda difficult to find, and black was better than the alternatives,” Abigail said in an obvious attempt to fill the silence.

“Let me guess. You’d have preferred one that was purple?”

“Have you been... Oh. You guessed it from my hair, didn’t you? Yeah. There’s just something so... I don’t know... magical, I guess. It’s been my favorite color ever since I met that guy with purple hair. Then I pestered him until he agreed to dye my hair for me. Thought he was just one of those... but from what you said, he’s the real deal.”

“He called himself a wizard in the letter he sent to me. Well, here we are.” I opened the door.

Abigail swallowed. “It’s kinda difficult to move.”

“You can get used to it.”

“Are they...” she asked, not putting it in words.

I did my best to open myself up to the intentions of the Junimo. “I sense nothing out of the ordinary. Curiosity, maybe.” I extended a hand to her. Her hand trembled slightly in mine, but I figured it best to not mention it. “Should we go look around?”

She left her umbrella by the door. “I guess we should. I don’t want to give up just a step in.”

I led the way to the first scroll I’d found, and told her that much.

“It’s pretty, but I can’t read a word it says. It’s all odd symbols and stuff,” she said. “Its energy is a bit lower than in the front room, isn’t it?”

“It is. A while later, the next two scrolls appeared.” I led her to the pantry.

“What was that?” she asked. “There was some small creature that disappeared.”

“So, you can see them too. I’ve been able to see them since I was little. They were all over Grandpa’s house, but as a child I thought they were plushies that Grandpa collected.”

“They look like that cartoon on TV a few years ago: The Junimos where these nature spirits help out a farmer... who was... a beginner...” Her voice trailed off, and looked at me as if she’d seen a fairytale come true.

“I think it was aired at a time when I considered myself too old to watch cartoons,” I said. “If I had watched it, I might’ve been less surprised at learning that they were alive, and I wouldn’t have needed to be told what they were called. Anyhow, the Wizard volunteered me to meet their demands, because I was the one who’d seen that scroll first, so I’ve been working at it.”

“Can I help somehow?” Abigail asked. “I mean, since they’ve shown themselves to me too.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Whyever not?” she demanded.

“You couldn’t read the scroll, meaning that even if you have enough magic talent to see them, you don’t have the right type of magic. Sometimes I think there’s some kind of symbiosis going on between me and them. Like, I help them, and they help me in return. Though it could be that I'm just fooling myself.”

I led the way past the fish tank scroll, noting how she made sure I was between it and her. Then she stopped.

“I thought it was just that one, when it was two scrolls projecting that energy into the front room,” she said.

“This one doesn’t add all that much energy to it. Not yet anyway. Could get a bit worse in a few days,” I said. “Haven’t touched the one in there yet.” I gestured to the vault scroll.

“That wall looks like it’s been recently wallpapered,” Abigail remarked.

“The result of me completing the demands of one scroll,” I admitted.

Abigail looked around. “So, is that also the reason for the star above the fireplace? Will the community center be completely restored if you complete all of them?”

“There’s a chance for it,” I said. “It would be best to not build up hopes though, which is why I’ve claimed to be hunting rats.”

“That red mushroom you told me about was part of you running errands for them, right? There has to be some way I could help you. You shouldn’t have to bear this all alone.”

“I think the best help would be to keep Mayor Lewis from selling off the building to Joja. He’s said he’d do it if one more person buys membership there.”

“I think the only adults without one is the Mayor, everyone in my family... and you. Dad would never, and neither would Mom...” She clapped her free hand over her mouth. “Oh, no... I’ve considered it from time to time, after arguments, as a way to hurt their feelings as much as they hurt mine. After I found out how much it would cost, I’ve been saving up. Don't worry. I’ll use it for something else now. But really... Couldn’t you just tell him?”

I shook my head. “I think it’s best to let him keep thinking it’s rats. The fewer that knows about this, the less likely that those at Joja might learn of it,” I said in a low voice. "They would want to prevent it. If they think it's rats, they'll let me be. They wouldn't want a rat-infested warehouse."

“And yet you told me this big secret of yours,” she said.

“You already knew bits of it, enough to start speculating about it with others,” I said, hoping to hide that part of the reason was that I kinda liked her.

She pursed her lips. “I think I’d better leave. Maybe it is better to leave this place to you. You don’t seem bothered by all this energy.”

We went over to her umbrella. “I was at first. Then it got so much worse that this amount is almost easy. Easy enough that I can pretend I’m not bothered by it.”

“Will... will you tell me when you’ve finished another scroll?”

“I can do that. Just keep in mind that it won’t happen until some point in Fall. Until then, the tension will increase from most of them.”

She opened her umbrella as we stepped out into the rain. “Thanks for the warning.” She sighed. “I guess I’ll have to wait. But I look forward to seeing..." She glanced around. "...those rats when you catch them. It was nice of you to show me your traps. Gonna come with me to the Saloon?”

“I think I should be going to gather some hardwood. I need it for making more mushroom logs. There’s a place in Cindersap Forest where I can gather it.”

I still followed her to just outside the Saloon. “See you later,” I said.

On my way to the forest I looked in to talk to Haley, who was bored enough to ask me what I was even doing all day.

“I often go explore the mine to gather ore,” I said.

“Hmm... Sounds like a lot of work. Way too much work.”

“And now I’m going to chop up some hardwood,” I added before leaving.

Her groan at the thought of that much effort followed me out the door.

I also went to talk to Jodi and her sons. Sam was busy playing his handheld videogame. Vincent was busy doing homework, so I didn’t even say anything to him as I didn't want to distract him from it.

“I’ve been a bit more hopeful since you tried to cheer me up,” Jodi admitted. “I have the boys to take care of, too. They keep me from worrying too much most days. Caroline also tries to cheer me up, but she rarely wants to talk about problems, not even her own.”

I wanted to promise to lend an ear if she wanted to vent, but with Shane being the way he was, I wasn’t sure I could handle negativity from two sources. I also didn’t know Jodi well enough to know if the offer would be well received. Instead I nodded to her and left.

The secret woods had a bunch of slimes oozing about already. One close to the entrance proved to have eaten a mahogany seed recently enough that it still looked viable. The six tree stumps got chopped up, and a couple of ferns got picked up.

Then I went deeper in search of more tree stumps and slimes, and found a statue of a sitting man that had a different kind of magic in it. A plaque on the base said: – Old Master Cannoli – ...Still searching for the sweetest taste...
The statue’s mouth had an opening, as if it was a keyhole waiting for the right key.

I tried with a salmonberry. It had the wrong diameter. Too small, and I had a feeling the hole would’ve been irregularly shaped if salmonberry had been the answer. Thinking of the blackberries, spice berries and strawberries I had back home, it felt like none of them were the answer. Wrong sizes and shapes. Besides, none of them were sweet enough to qualify for “sweetest” taste. Sugar was sweeter.

A leaf rustling behind me was all the warning I had before a slime tackled my lower legs. It barely did any damage, but still left enough slime that it would be dangerous to walk too fast until it wore off. Fortunately, slimes weren’t the kind of creatures to make hit-and-runs. They stayed around after their initial tackle, so it wasn't necessary to chase them.

For a short while I looked out over the small pond south of the statue, wishing I’d brought my rod. The Wizard had said there was some kind of rare fish in the pond that he used for something and I wanted to catch at least one. Maybe I could give it to him and hope he’d forgive me for the community center...

No. He wasn’t likely to forgive me that easily. And he wouldn’t like me asking about what he’d put in the soup at the Luau. A fish wouldn’t cut it. Besides, it was too late to go home and fetch the rod.

I went home, looking forward to hang my clothes to dry. For once I remembered to harvest and re-bait the crab pots. Some kind of stick destined for the recycling machine, a snail and a crayfish. The catch went into the shipping bin and got joined by the corals and urchins, and the surplus minerals from the geode breaking session. If Robin had the coop ready tomorrow, I’d better be ready to buy chickens from Marnie. If not, the traveling merchant might have a seed I could buy. Maybe even a few. I totally forgot it yesterday, but the coop was probably the better investment.

I went inside to write in my diary and get ready for bed.

 

[Terdin]

Summer 14
Woke up feeling completely refreshed. Something had improved. I looked at my crafting recipes. Another kind of totem was possible to make, hadn’t noticed I already had one such recipe... Tree fertilizer... Winter seeds... Foraging related stuff. I sighed before noticing that the list didn’t end with that. Some kind of cheese-making machine, which meant Farming skill. Hardwood fence, as if I’d waste my hardwood on building fences when the cliffs did that for me, and when I could use lightning rods and tea bushes instead.

I whooped loudly when I saw the last recipe on the list. Quality sprinkler. At a quick check, it seemed to do what I wanted it to do, but then I saw the materials I needed for it. Iron, gold, and refined quartz. Still, I could make a few.

Almost forgot to check the TV in my eagerness to go and make sprinklers. Weather forecast, windy. Luck good. The Queen of Sauce teaching me how to make pancakes, and as usual the way she presented her finished dish made my mouth water.

Five pieces of bait. Enough to rebait the crab pots and add two to the bait holder on my rod.

Sounds of hammering told me Robin was still working on the coop. No chickens for me today. Tomorrow... No. Marnie's shop was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Drat!

I consoled myself by gathering the batteries from the lightning rods, then making four of the quality sprinklers, putting more ore in the furnaces and a pair of broken glasses in the recycling machine. The piece of driftwood had turned into three pieces of wood that could be used for construction even if they were a bit singed.

I placed one sprinkler, realized it didn’t do anything, then read closer on the description and found it would only run between 5 am and 6:10 am. It was too late for it to help me today. Tomorrow, though... The blueberries had ripened, each bush providing me with three berries. Just the first one gave me enough for the community center. The starfruit had also ripened, and there were the hops. The four plants I’d planted with my first harvest of coffee beans were ready too, giving me twenty beans instead of four.

In returning to put most of my harvest away, I saw that I’d got mail.

Pam wanted me to make her a pale ale. However such was made. Probably with a keg. Well, she’d have to wait for it until I had a keg or could make one.

Checking the shipping bin surprised me. 4944 G was more than I’d expected from what I put into it.

I ran down to take care of my crab pots. Periwinkle, trash, and broken CD, then figured I might as well go check the traveling merchant’s inventory. With what I’d had before checking the shipping bin I had enough for five seeds if she had them.

She proved to have just one rare seed and I bought it. None of her other wares interested me, apart from something called a Junimo catalogue, which unfortunately cost a lot more than I could afford. I went back to see if furnaces and recycling machine had finished working, and to put away my seed.

Furnaces got loaded, the broken CD went into the recycling machine, and the periwinkle went into the shipping bin.

Reaching the bus stop I recalled the gold ore I’d put in the mine furnaces and made a detour for them, then took the route by Robin’s house. Fewer people that would see me and wonder about the community center.

The first blueberry went to the Dye bundle to raise its tension. If I had to endure the Wizard’s “continued talk” sometime soon, the tension from the scrolls would be good practice. Then went to the pantry scroll and added the final part of the Summer Crop bundle. The reward, a quality sprinkler, made me smile. One sprinkler I wouldn’t need to craft.

“Thank you. I needed this.”

The leaving Junimo made an amused sound, which I decided probably meant something like “good to hear, and we needed this” even if I had no idea of the actual meaning. For all I knew it could just as well have been a laugh because it thought I was being silly.

On my way down towards the town square, I spotted a dig spot, which proved to hold one of the lost books. Down the stairs I found Abigail leaving the general store and I ran to say hello to her.

“What have you been doing?” She nodded in the direction of the community center.

“Not much. Used two blueberries as bait,” I said in case anyone overheard. I glanced at the various houses around us.

She looked a bit unhappy at that, then sighed. “Let’s say you won a free vacation to anywhere. Where would you go?”

“Hmm... Not sure... Maybe some old forest," I said, silently wondering how it would resonate with the forest magic in me.

“Yeah! That sounds wonderful.” Abigail smiled at me. “Most other people I’ve asked have been so boring and talked about going to some seaside resort and spend a week at the beach. And speaking of forests, I think I’ll go over to Cindersap Forest. Coming?”

I shook my head. “I should go see if there are more shellfish on the beach. I need to raise money to buy chickens.”

She sighed. “And here I thought you preferred the forest to the beach...”

“Depends on what I’m looking for. The forage in the forest is spread over a bigger area. The beach can be combed in an hour or two and the forest takes all afternoon. Unless what I’m after is wood, but I left my axe home today.”

She sighed again. “Well, good luck.”

For once I remembered to check the calendar, and realized I’d missed Alex’ birthday. Sam had his in a few days, and the day after that the bookseller was supposed to visit town. Maybe I should see what he had to offer. Demetrius’ birthday was also somewhat close. But whether I’d remember any of it remained to be seen. Lewis asked for six red slimes to be killed, for a reward of 600 G.

I spotted Haley walking towards the ice cream stand, but continued down to the beach. Sam was there with Vincent, standing next to his brother who was playing in the sand. I went to talk with them, in case they left before I’d finished my search.

“Oh, hello,” Sam said in response to my greeting. “Did you know that when you can see hot-air balloons over the sea, then you know the summer is in full swing.” He pointed to such a balloon drifting by. He'd been watching it rather than his brother.

“What are you up to?” I asked.

“I’m not up to anything!” Sam protested. “You shouldn’t believe everything Sebastian tells you.”

“That wasn’t what I meant. I meant what you’re doing here.”

“Oh... Just keeping Vincent company. Mom has forbidden him to go to the beach alone. I thought you were still thinking about what Sebastian said at the Luau.”

Vincent yanked at my sleeve. “Miss Erica! Come look at my sandcastle!”

It wasn’t much of a sandcastle. An upturned bucketful of sand with some old seaweed on top. I got a piece of old bark lying nearby and put it as a door or drawbridge.

“Don’t you think your castle needs a wall and a moat around it?” I asked.

“Hmm... Yeah!”

I started digging the moat, and using that sand to make a wall. Sam joined the effort after the first few handfuls. After a while, Sam gestured that I could leave them to it.

Four pieces of coral, and two sea urchins... another rainbow shell, but only a couple of clams and a cockle. So much for “an incredible number of seashells” or whatever that show host had said. Sam was still actually keeping Vincent company rather than just hanging around nearby, so I left them to it and went to talk to Alex and Haley.

“Hey, farm girl, you must be pretty fit working on that farm all day. Maybe you’ll reach my level some day. Something to look forward to, huh?” He paused, looking puzzled. “Why do you have that look on your face?”

“If you were trying to give me a compliment, it was a complete failure,” I told him. “You managed to take it all the way to an insult.”

Haley giggled.

“What?” Alex asked.

“Why would I want to look like a female bodybuilder?” I asked.

The look on his face as he tried to imagine that made Haley giggle harder.

“If you looked that masculine, you’d probably have a better chance of attracting some of the girls than any of the boys,” Haley finally said.

“Unless there was some guy who would like to be on the submissive side of a dominance play,” I added. Shane came to mind, even if it was mostly based on that hot pepper chutney sandwich he’d made for himself. It had been almost as if he'd sought to punish himself.

Alex’ eyes widened and he grew pale. “Nope! Not me.”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “Oh, really? You were the one to suggest I should get that strong and muscular.” I turned to Haley. “Maybe you should look it up and see if he likes it if you get more assertive...” I suggested to her. “Well, I should get going.”

"Hey! You can't just say something like that and then leave!" Alex protested.

I ignored him and took the nearby mine cart to the mines. Dumping as much as possible into the chest there, I took the elevator down to floor 90. The plan being to just do floor 91 until I had enough slimes, and of course get any ore and gem nodes I could see.

My plan lasted until I had three slimes killed and filled both of the mine furnaces with gold ore. The obsidian sword felt weird in my hands after using the insect jaws for so long. On my next visit, I spotted the stairs down out in the open, and some kind of floating pink blob that shot fireballs at me as I approached the stairs. For whatever reason, the monster compendium in me called it a squid kid.

Fortunately it didn’t seem to be much more than a bag of hot air. One hit and it died. But what it dropped surprised me. Not so much the solar essence, as the bottle of ink. The squid ink I needed. Well, half of what I needed, I amended after checking the card for the Fish Farmer bundle. I needed two, not just one bottle. So, that was the reason for the monster being called a squid kid.

Floor 92
As I set foot on it, I recalled why I’d decided to not go deeper than floor 91 this time. Even that had been a step into the unknown, and here I was on the floor below it. A big shadow brute approached me and had me cursing at my new sword. The obsidian sword forced me to swing it too slowly. The good thing was that its sharp edges meant I didn’t need to hit the shadow brute quite as many times to take it down. The bad thing was that the shadow brute hit me a couple of times while I was at it. I’d have to think a bit more if I wanted to stay alive, like trying to ensure it was just one-on-one fights. Fortunately it hadn’t said anything. Hearing their voices somehow made them scarier.
Warily I ventured further from the ladder, looking for slimes and those fire-spitting squid kids. Found two slimes, and a rock... no... lava crab. Then, when I was gathering all the valuables on the floor, I found the stairs down.

I stared at it. Take the safer option and go up again, or take another step into the unknown? Knowing I lacked one slime, and one bottle of ink, I went down.

Floor 93
Several bats, and it was as if their shrieks attracted more from cracks in the ceiling and walls. For a while, all I could do was try to keep them away from biting or scratching me too much. Then finally they stopped swarming, allowing me to catch my breath a little. I ate a couple of salmonberries to regain some of the energy lost, and felt the worst injuries grow less severe. Found the slime I needed for the quest, but no squid kid.

Realizing the time, I used the farm totem. For a while it felt like I was turned inside out, but not in a painful way, just unsettling.

When I was aware of my surroundings again, I stood in front of a strange statue on my farm. I’d sometimes idly wondered what it was, but not dared to ask about it.

“Yoba almighty! You almost made me hit my thumb!” Robin exclaimed from where she was working on the almost done coop.

“Sorry. I used a farm totem. First time I tried one. It was too late to get home from the mine any other way,” I said.

Robin paused, looked at her watch. “You’re right. I’d better get home myself once I finish these last few details. I can sleep in tomorrow.”

Was the statue some kind of totem focus? There had been other similar statues. One down at the beach, one near Robin's house. Were totems widely accepted here? Was that how Robin managed to get to my farm so early in the morning? But if so, why hadn't we ever used farm totems to go see Grandpa? Mom and her aversion towards magic and stuff like monsters, that I'd found were actually real after coming here, came to mind.

Leaving Robin to her work, I hurried home, tended the furnaces along the way, then went straight to bed.

 

[Terdin]

I wrote 5 chapters before feeling my words had returned enough to take up posting again, and have now run out of those, which means I need to slow down my posting to my writing speed and maybe get one chapter every other day.

Summer 15
Lay still for a while after waking up, feeling like I’d forgotten something, then it hit me. The sprinkler I got from the Junimo. I’d never installed it, and even worse, I’d put it in the mine chest.

I’d have to go get it as soon as I’d watered the crops that weren’t taken care of by the first four sprinklers. And make... four more.

I went to the TV. Weather forecast, thunderstorm. Luck very bad. I sighed. Not a good day to try to go deeper in the mine, even if I could visit floor 91 until I found another squid kid. But it might be a better day to be social, or to go fishing. The sprinklers weren’t as urgent as I’d thought, but still, I wanted to be able to just need to water the hops and any other crop outside the current grid.

Watering was a lot easier today. The corn were ready for their first harvest, as were the hops and the hot pepper. I stored away most of it, but kept one cob of corn in my backpack. It felt weird to get started on the Fall Crop bundle in Summer, but I had the crop, so I’d hand it over.

Checked the cave for fruits, but there was just a blackberry there. Another of the 50 I’d need for the Forager bundle. I sighed. There had better be a lot of them in Fall. Or a bunch of wild plums.

Looking into the new coop, it was rather cosy in there. I placed feed in what seemed to be the right place for it, preparing for the chickens.

I made the detour to the mine to get the gold bars and sprinkler, and a bunch of the other stuff I’d left there. Returned to make three more sprinklers and place them, leaving just one square and the row of hops to be watered by hand.

Feeling a lot better, I went to town.

Harvey was in the park. “I quite like sunny days like this, even if I have to spend an hour or two watering the crops,” I told him, trying to come up with some kind of small-talk.

He looked me up and down. “Just make sure you don’t get a sunburn when you do that. It’s healthy to get a moderate amount of sunlight and get some vitamin D going, but overdoing it is no good. I’ve tried to tell Haley that so many times, but... Well, at least she uses sunscreen these days, even if she uses it as an excuse to stay in the sun longer.” He shook his head disparagingly. “At least you don’t seem to have burnt yourself today. What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“First to check the traps and see if I’ve caught anything. Maybe move some of them to other places. Then I’m gonna check the Help Wanted board and maybe go fishing if... Oh yes. I need to go report to Lewis that I took care of the slimes he wanted dead.”

“Good luck.”

He made a sound as if he’d just stopped himself from saying something. Probably something about not wanting me to have to go to the mines.

Demetrius were studying some bushes near the fountain, pen and notebook in hand. “Sorry, I’m really busy. There are so many plants to study right now,” he said in response to my greeting.

I went into the community center after a glance at the two men. Neither seemed interested in what I was doing, which was a relief. I quickly added the corn to the Fall Crop bundle. I spent a few minutes walking around, looking into corners, just in case anyone spied at me through the windows, then left.

I went down the stairs, then figured I should go buy some seeds.

“Been a long time,” Pierre greeted me.

“Yeah, sorry about that. It sure took a while for the crops to grow, and when I did go fishing I prioritized building a coop. Now that I’ve got some sprinklers, I can plant a bit more. Still need more sprinklers though.”

“Or better sprinklers,” Pierre said. “Where did you buy them?” Something on his face told me he feared the answer.

“I made them myself,” I admitted. “Found a recipe for crafting them.”

Relief spread across his face. I bought eight more melon seeds, and sixteen radish seeds. As an afterthought I bought a couple of poppy seeds too, wanting to be sure to have one.

I almost asked if Abigail was in, but didn’t want to sound about half my age. Nor could I ask about where she was. She wasn’t likely to tell her parents where she went. I did catch Marnie as she was doing her weekly grocery shopping and exchanged a few words with her.

“I heard you ordered a coop built,” she said. “I hope to see you on Wednesday. I’ve got some chicks that will hatch by then.”

“See you then,” I promised.

I exchanged a few words with Leah on my way out. She'd had wild fruit for breakfast, and urged me to find my own if I wanted some.

Searching for Lewis, I found Maru and Penny on a bench near the Saloon, holding a quiet conversation about some kind of book.

“Hello.”

“Hi... er... Nice weather, isn’t it?” Penny said. “Er... I see you still have that ring on.”

“It sure is a lot better weather to be outside in,” I agreed. “Not that I can afford to stay indoors all day when it rains. I’d get cabin fever in no time at all in that small farmhouse.”

“Small?” Penny asked. “I thought your farm was pretty big.”

“The farm may be, but the farmhouse is currently one room. Bed. Fireplace. Low table with mats to sit on. TV. And that’s about it.”

“You should ask my mom to upgrade it for you, but since you only just built a coop, I guess it will be some time before you can afford it,” Maru said.

“Yeah, she sent me a letter a few weeks ago about expanding my farmhouse to include a kitchen. Would sure be nice to have. Would make it feel like a home rather than just a convenient place to sleep.” I sighed. “One day I’ll afford it. Hmm... Do either of you know where Lewis is? I need to report to him on the Help Wanted request I took on yesterday.”

“I think it’s the day of the month when he visits Mom’s shop,” Maru said.

“Thanks!”

I ran back towards the community center and continued up the stairs to Robin’s house. Not for the first time I wished I was a bit faster. All the running around I’d done didn’t seem to have done a thing except maybe that it took a bit more before I got winded. Sure, Joja Cola did give a short boost, but it wasn’t something I wanted to rely on, not least because of what it did to my bowels when I had too much.

Lewis was still there. My arrival had made them pause their conversation.

“I got those slimes you posted about,” I told Lewis.

“I hope you didn’t ruin your clothes doing that. I still remember how my mom yelled at me for ruining trousers while fighting slimes in my youth. It takes a lot of work to get their secretions out of the fabric. Learned that the hard way when she set me to handwash my slimed clothes.” He handed me an envelope.

“My boots have handled most of it, but you’re right. I should take better care of my trousers,” I admitted.

“At least that should calm them down a bit,” Lewis said.

I pursed my lips. “How often are you to those floors of the mine? Or was it Marlon who asked you to put up the request to see if it was me or Clint who stepped up to the challenge? Unless there are members of the guild that I’m not aware of.”

“I used to be a guild member in my youth. Kinda had to retire from that when I became Mayor. Haven’t swung a sword or club in decades, but I still talk to Marlon from time to time.” Lewis shook his head. “Sometimes I miss that excitement, and the energy I had back then. Patrick and I made quite a team. He was newer to the guild than I, but quickly became kind of an older brother to me.”

Robin raised her eyebrows. Apparently this part of Lewis’ past was news to her too.

She caught me looking at her. “We moved here shortly after I married Demetrius, so I don’t know much about what the village was like when Mayor Lewis and your grandfather were young,” Robin said.

“She told me you’d built a coop,” Lewis said. “It’s good to hear that you’re trying to bring Patrick’s old farm back to its glory days.”

“I do want to bring it back to what I remember of it when I was little. Maybe make it even better,” I added, not quite wanting to own up about my vow to Mom about earning a billion G. Didn’t want to overhear jokes about it spoken behind my back. “But one step at a time.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Lewis said. He dug into a different pocket handed over two more envelopes. “I kinda forgot that I’d prepared a little gift to commemorate your first harvest back in Spring. And another for when you built a coop. It’s not much though.”

I fanned the envelopes out, finding that the harvest envelope had one marked “scarecrow” stuck to it.

“Oh. Seems like I forgot that one too. I spotted your scarecrow on one of my visits to your shipping bin, and figured it was worth a small gift too. But there’s been too much other stuff on my mind just about every time we’ve talked, so...” Lewis made a helpless gesture. “Only 100 G in each of those,” he added. “Just so you know.”

“I’ve only opened reward envelopes when I’ve needed just a little more for whatever I’ve been about to buy, and it’s quite possible I’ve forgotten some of them in some pocket of my backpack, so it’s not that big a deal that you forgot. It’s not like you told me about there being a reward for any of that before now. Though if you had done that, I could’ve reminded you about them.”

Lewis rubbed his mustache, failing to hide his embarrassment. “I’ll try to remember to do that in the future.”

“Could you go downstairs and remind Sebby to take his dirty dishes to the sink, Erica? He took his lunch with him to spend time with his computer game instead of his family.” Robin gestured towards the stairs. “Maybe someone his own age could get him to do it when he won’t listen to me.”

“Sure.”

I went down and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Sebastian’s tired voice said.

He was typing away on his computer, the remains of his half-eaten lunch on a nearby plate. “Wait a minute. I just need to finish this.”

I waited quietly, looking at the posters on the wall behind him.

“There. Sorry to let you wait, but I had to finish that module.”

“What are you working on?” I asked.

He got a wry smile, as if expecting my question to be from politeness rather than genuine interest. “I do freelance work as a programmer. I won’t discuss the details of the current project.”

His computer plinged, and Sebastian groaned after a glance at the screen. “Sam messaged me about wanting to meet up now that his workday’s over.”

“What are your career goals?” I asked, trying to keep from getting distracted by Sam’s message.

Sebastian’s eyebrows rose. “I’ve been saving up to move to the city, or somewhere. I could’ve earned a six-figure salary if I’d joined the corporate rat race, but I prefer the freedom of freelance work. This way I don’t have to be face-to-face with my clients.”

“And easier to have it in print exactly what they ask for, I guess.”

Another, but smaller, surprised reaction. He nodded. “Why did you come here?”

“If you mean right now, your mom wanted me to tell you to remember bringing the dirty dishes to the sink. Then I got distracted since you clearly weren’t busy with a game... at least not playing one,” I amended.

“Sometimes I am playing games on it, but the rest of my family seems to think that’s all I ever do on the computer.” He eyed his plate. “Maybe better get this done now and then go see what Sam wants. You can go tell Mom that I’m on it.”

I went ahead, only giving Robin a thumb up to indicate that I’d succeeded, then went to look for Linus. I spotted him by the lake, but a lilting melody drew me aside to where Abigail was busy playing a flute. For a while I stood there, listening, not wanting to disturb her, before going to say hello to Linus.

"How have you been, my young friend?" Linus asked in response to my greeting.

Somewhat taken aback by being called a friend, but flattered too, I smiled at him. "Fairly well, I guess. Starting to feel like I have a handle on the basics of farming."

"Are you going to the mine today?" he asked. "You know, few have gone as deep as you have."

My eyes widened. "No, not today. Thought I'd better spend a day to be a bit social."

There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask him, about how he knew how deep I'd gone. Whether he'd asked Marlon or Gil about it. Or if he'd followed me. But then he'd have needed to take the elevator down, which would've needed him to have taken the long way through at first. Another guild member? Possibly as retired as Lewis, but Linus' active lifestyle had kept him in good enough physical condition that he shouldn't have any problems going down there if he had a decent weapon.

"I could ask you a lot of questions about how you know that, but I won't," I said instead.

"I think you'll do fine," Linus said. "Few are allowed into the mines, and fewer still have what it takes to go as deep as you have."

I nodded to him and headed towards town again.

In a way it started to feel like I'd set foot in a society for guys only without knowing it. Maybe that was why Gil had been so averse to talking to me. Then again, I had proven Marlon right in allowing me in. Well, maybe not quite. I still hadn't found anything that seemed like a bottom floor. I still hadn't found out how far down I could go.

After a brief visit to talk to George, and then across the square to talk to Evelyn, I went to the beach to see if Leah had gone there after her grocery shopping. She hadn't. And there was just one mussel and one coral. Went to see if I could get to Willy's shop before he closed.

The shop was still open, but Willy wasn't there. Then he emerged from the back room, looking dejected.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well... Business could be better. Me old friend back there has seen better days, but I'm working too hard to have time for me own projects. Maybe I could show you if business picks up. How's fishing been coming along?" he asked, deliberately changing the topic.

"It's been going pretty good, even if I haven't had much time for fishing since I caught that sturgeon."

Willy nodded repeatedly. "That's good. The Trout Derby is coming up later this week. Two days of fishing, with a range of decent prizes to win, Lass. The billboard for that should have been set up in the Cindersap Forest already."

I frowned. "A competition to fish rainbow trout?"

"That's the fish. Regular bait works fine, but if ye've got a bait maker ye could make targeted bait, getting a better shot at it."

It reminded me of when I'd bought eel bait shortly after getting the fiberglass rod and how many eels I'd caught before running out. "Speaking of that, what kind of targeted bait do you have today?" I asked, eyeing the small trough of targeted bait.

"Just sturgeon bait today. Don't expect me to have rainbow trout bait until after the Trout Derby. I need it for meself."

"I'll buy what you've got of the sturgeon bait. I'd like to catch a few more sturgeon before the summer's over." I said it with some confidence. It was unlikely that it cost more than I could afford.

He packaged it up for me. "That'll be 440 G," he said with some relief in his voice, as if I'd made his day.

As I left his shop, Willy followed me out and went to fish near his front door. With sturgeon being a daytime fish, I wouldn't be able to make use of the new bait today. I left the beach and went to my town fishing chest to put the beach finds away. It was only when I closed the lid that I thought to check what I'd need if I wanted a bait maker. Iron, coral, and sea urchin... I dug into the chest for the corals and the sea urchin, then returned to the farm. I had seeds to plant, and stuff to make.

I put some soggy newspaper in the recycling machine and set the furnaces to refine iron ore while I went to plant my new seeds. One square of melons, another of radishes, then extended the row of hops with the two poppy seeds. Had to return to get the watering can. By the time I'd watered it all, the furnaces needed tending to. The recycling machine had somehow turned the newspaper into three torches. Looking at the tapered point, and recalling there was a hole where the arms of the sprinklers met, I pursed my lips. Could I...

I tried placing a torch on a sprinkler. Didn't place the other two, since I wanted to know if it impacted the crops or how the sprinkler worked. And also if it'd keep burning through the night and survive tomorrow's rain. Placed more soggy newspaper in the recycling machine in case my experiment turned out well. Even that small point of light made my farm feel a lot safer now that night had fallen. The relief made me realize how much on my guard I'd been without knowing.

I returned to town, to visit the Saloon and talk to the usual people. Pam had already drunk too much, as usual. Gus reminded me that I should eat something. Emily hinted that she had a secret hobby, but wouldn't tell me anything more about it.

"I don't want to talk now," Shane said in response to my greeting. "Had a bad day at work."

"I understand to some extent," I said. Then I briefly placed my hand on his, hoping to lift his mood even a little. Give him what little strength I had to spare. To my surprise he didn't snatch his hand away and I was the one to break the touch.

Emily gave a small approving noise, clearly reading a more romantic intent into my gesture than it was meant to be. She seemed about to comment when she glanced at Shane and shut her mouth, not wanting to ruin things while it was still fragile.

"Heard about your latest exploit from Marlon," Clint said when I got to his table. "Good going. Would've done it myself if I hadn't been busy sharpening knives for Gus."

"Thanks."

Clint cleared his throat, then leaned closer to me. "I've got pretty terrible luck with women... You're a girl, Erica. Could you give me some advice in how to approach one?"

I didn't even need to glance towards Emily to know who he meant. I'd caught his looks at her often enough. "Treat women the same as men. That's probably the best advice I can give. You've done that well enough with me, so I'm sure you can manage that with her too."

Clint got an odd look on his face. "I'll keep that in mind. Er..." His eyes widened.

Emily was approaching his table. "Was just wondering if you wanted to order something."

"Yes!" Clint got flustered. "Er... I mean... I'll have the Big 'n Cheesy. With extra sauce, please."

"Anything for you?" she asked me.

I shook my head.

"Er... Thanks, Emily... For taking my order I mean... Umm... I wondered if..." Clint said.

"Yes?"

Clint paused, seemed on the verge of saying something. "Er... Nevermind."

She left to get his food made.

"I'm doomed. I often see her and Shane talking together with such ease. They even danced together at the Flower Dance. And I just can't..." He shook his head. "I need to think about what you said."

"Good luck."

"I'll need it," he moaned.

I returned home in good time for once, and made the bait maker, which took a surprisingly small amount of space, before going in to get ready for bed.