Lily of the Valley - Stardew Valley - Sebastian

Chapter 3

***

Later that evening we swiftly settled in for the night. Abigail's parents had already gone and to my utter betrayal Koda had chosen to sleep with Abigail.

Her room was about the size of my whole living room back at home. She even had her own television right by the bed. I had had to save up for months for one and even then it had to be second hand. This one seemed to be brand new.

"So," Abigail had turned around to face me without my notice. With her other hand she supported her head, and the other one was firmly wrapped around the dog. The poor thing had no idea of the world around him. Fast asleep he snored like a broken-down motorcycle.

"How'd you get here? Ooh! Did you move to the farm nearby? I heard someone was moving in. How cool!"

The questions had no end and by the time it was midnight we had gone through multiple topics of who-knows-what. The last thing I could remember of the night before passing out was how she showed me her terrifyingly wide collection of weapons.

"Oh, but wait!" She said full of excitement. 

"This one's my favorite by far!" She told me and swung a meter long sword out of nowhere. "Yes, it's quite heavy, but in combat it can do a lot of damage!"

I watched her do some example swings through the air. The blade wasn't even close to me, but I had an unbeatable urge to bend down and cover my head when it swung my way. "That is so cool! Where do you use them?"

"I don't." She lowered the sword and frowned. Her cheerfulness seemed to be wearing off a little and all emotions were soon colored over by weariness. "But I know there's a scary cave up north. Seb goes there all the time. I'm going to go and explore it someday, too. Once I've built enough courage."

She yawned and slid the blade back under her bed, where she had hidden all the rest. She said her parents had allowed her to own a few swords, but they still didn't like to see them on display.

"It's actually better this way." She spoke. "It's more exciting. Like a secret that only I know. And now you do, too!"

The ever-looming bankruptcy that was going to face me soon had lit an uncomfortable fire under me. It affected me badly enough I couldn't sleep a wink that night. The first few days I spent in distress trying to find some peace, but when it never came, I sought other means.

Strangely enough it didn't take much begging for Abigail to lend me her sword and after rummaging a few hours around the farm one afternoon I found a rather passable pickaxe to go with it.

So, naturally. I spent the nights away, fighting strange creatures and collecting minerals. At daytime I carried all of it up and sold them to the local blacksmith who gladly took them in. Unfortunately, he turned out to be rather stingy about prices.

The mines were a cold and dark place, and my wardrobe wasn't nearly enough for any of it. I had gotten a little glowing ring from some half dead creature, which was amazing since I didn't have to hold a living fire everywhere I went.

Another night had fallen and with Abby's sword carefully tucked into the belt I bent over to collect more copper. The bag was already full of it. Wandering around the higher levels there wasn't much more than plain stone, which the blacksmith refused to pay for.

I'd have to dig deeper for the good stuff. And so, I tried. In just a few hours I managed to reach at least ten levels down with little to no creature's disturbance. Most of the ladders were plain in sight so the quest was faster than usual.