Emo boy [Stardew Valley]

Chapter 26 - Essence of the forest

After walking through the woods for maybe 10 minutes, it's already entirely dark. Just as Abby warned us. The only light source we have is that of Emily's small pocket flashlight. Abigail is taking the lead, with me clinging onto Emily's arm behind her. "Are you scared?", she asks me. I glance at her without replying. "Wuss", she mumbles. Emily pats my arm. "Don't worry, I'm here too! I know how to fight bears!" I can't help but grin.

I'm glad I don't have to do this alone. Having just one of the two with me would be enough, but having both of them here is incredibly reassuring. Emily for the emotional support, and Abby for the guidance. Even though I can still feel the tension between us occasionally, I think it's quite clear that Abby wants to protect Pelican Town just as much as I do. We found a shared goal and can hopefully build up our relationship again because of that.

We arrive at a small campsite and decide to rest for a little bit. Emily is trying her hardest to read and understand the note, whilst Abby is looking around for clues. Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out what we could be looking for anyway. We met 'the purple', it gave us the note, now we're waiting for the forest to explain the rest. But what is the rest? And who is the forest? Obviously the trees can't talk. So what- or.. who are we looking for?

"Are we sure we're progressing right now?", Emily suddenly asks. Abigail shrugs her shoulders. I jump up from the tree trunk I was sitting on. "Of course we are! Can't you see?" Abby rolls her eyes at me. "No. I can't. It's dark and I can't see anything." "I can see a pebble path.", the blue haired one states out of nowhere. Both Abby and I run over to her and allow for her to show us what she's found.

It's true. There's a very narrow and overgrown path out of pebbles hidden behind two bushes. I glance at both of them, trying to signal them to lead ahead. "Both of you have absolutely zero guts." Abby exclaims, then leads the way.

We follow the pathway for about 10 minutes. Emily is about to convince us to turn back around, when we suddenly stumble across a very obscure looking abandoned building. It seems to be an old tower, made entirely out of cobblestone and some purple decor. This has to be it. I've never once seen this before and it feels like it's screaming my name.

"This is it! My gut is telling me to go in!", Emily shouts out "Or maybe I'm just hungry..." I chuckle at her and quickly hand her one of the sandwiches we packed. "So you guys are sure we should go in? Not that I'm worried, or anything. You guys should be, not me tho." Abby tries to convince herself and us that she's definitely not scared.

I know she's lying. She always tries to hide her fear behind a confident facade, but I don't blame her. Sometimes it's easier to fake a personality you don't have, instead of letting the world confront you with the darkest parts of your true self. I don't want to take that fake identity away from her, if it brings her comfort.

A couple seconds of hesitation later, we finally gather up the courage to open the squeaky door and enter the old tower. There's not a single light that's on, and all we notice is a spiral stairway upwards. "I mean.. it still looks intact. For the most part." Emily tries to reassure us. A tingling sensation rushes down my spine and my breath turns cold. I can feel my hands tense up.

"I'm scared", I whisper.
"You should be", a deep voice suddenly speaks from behind us. All three of us get startled and back away slightly from the door. While trying to calm ourselves again, we examine the figure that has suddenly appeared behind us through the entrance. He's rather tall with black long hair, a dark hoodie, pale skin... wait-

"Sebastian?", Emily finally asks. He nods his head. "Well obviously." I look at him in shock. I truly didn't expect him to be here and I feel guilty. I know why he's here, but he shouldn't be here. I know I'm to blame. A frown forms itself on my face immediately and I look away from him in shame. He sighs. "Why are you out here when it's so late? And why didn't you ask me to come with you? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? I was worried sick!", he explains.

Before I can try to explain, he grabs my hand. "Come home with me. I truly don't think it's safe here." I push his hand away from mine. "No. You don't understand! I mean.. I apologize that I didn't tell you, I should have. But I truly think this is where we can find the information we need and I can't bail on that now!" He glances at me in shock, then looks away. "I'm staying behind you."

I give him a grateful grin, then all of us carefully head up the spiral staircase, with Abigail still leading ahead. However, even she seems to be a lot more careful now. We arrive at another door and open it silently. What we find leaves all of us in amazement. The room is big and tidy. It feels warm and cozy in here.

We head in and examine a few of the objects, with me feeling drawn to a gigantic cauldron. I can't help but feel as though it could be of good use. Suddenly I can feel someone's breath behind me. "Stop, Abby. You're tickling me."
"Um... Sami? That's not me." She replies from across the room.
I glance at her with widened eyes before quickly turning around to face a complete stranger.

He's got purple hair and a big witchy hat on. Sebastian grabs me from behind and pulls me further away from the other person. They chuckle. "No need to be so protective, young man. If anything, shouldn't I feel scared that four intruders have suddenly entered my house?"

I choke back my fear. "We're sorry.. we found a note written in a weird language and thought something in here could help us." The strange man reaches out his hand after my explanation. "Let me see it". I glance over at Emily and Abby to see if I should trust him. Emily nods her head, whilst the other one simply shrugs her shoulders. I sigh to myself before handing him the note.

"Ah, I see.", he says. All of us await another sentence out of his mouth. He examines the language once more before turning back around to face me. "You, young farmer, are one smart and brave person. I believe it is best if I put this task onto you, only. Trust me now, and go stand in front of the cauldron."

Sebastian, who has been gently holding onto me this entire time suddenly pinches my arm and pulls me to him. "Don't do that. Who knows what this man is scheming.", he whispers to me. "Seb, why would he do something when there's three other witnesses in the same room? Plus... he doesn't seem like a bad person. He's offering to help, even after we barged into his home uninvited", I reason with him.

I can tell that he's not amused whatsoever. I can't blame him. Obviously I also think this entire situation is weird and scary, but I have to try everything I can. I free myself from his grip before approaching the cauldron. It is filled with a strange liquid. The stranger comes closer to me and throws the note we found into the cauldron, then hands me a big spoon.

"Drink some of this. Let the essence of the forest permeate your body.", he states.
I do as he says, trying my hardest not to choke back now. I don't notice anything at first, but suddenly my vision becomes blurry and I feel dizzy. My surrounding turns green and wobbly, and I can smell grass and dirt. "Woah. Those trees are huge", I mumble to myself.

"Focus on your senses, Sami. Take it all in", he guides me. After about a minute, I slowly come back to reality. I blink twice and rub my eyes to rid myself of that weird sensation I just experienced. My three friends stare at me expectantly. All of the sudden, the note appears in my thoughts, but this time I can understand it. I can translate it. My eyes widen.

"They... they want to help us! I have to get back to the community center immediately!", I shout out. Sebastian stops me from storming out of the room. "Woah... I'm not sure what kind of trip he made you go through just then, but I don't think it's safe for you to run right now." The stranger laughs at Sebastian's exclaim. "Don't worry. She's fine. The effects of the potion only last for about a minute. She'll be safe as long as you all go with her."

I smile at him. "Thank you- uhh..." "Rasmodius, the Wizard." "Thank you, Rasmodius!" I state happily, then I head out, followed by the other three. Abby starts leading the way out of the forest, whilst Emily is asking me a bunch of questions and Sebastian is quietly walking behind me. I hope he's not upset. I've barely made any time for him these past couple days, and now he found me in such a dangerous situation.

I'm glad he's here, though. I'm glad all of them are with me. I don't know if I could've gotten this far without them. It's time to head back to the community center and find this last puzzle piece that I need to find our final solution in order to safe Pelican Town.