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Spring 24, Year 4

"That's odd, The Order of the Knights of Pythagoras called me this morning, and now Beep and Marlon are missing from the Flower Dance. I hope the two aren't related..."

While the rest of the townsfolk were dancing and having fun, Beep and Marlon were at the Adventurer's Guild in the Mountains with the rest of the guild members and even several members of the Castle Town guild, and First Slash Clan. Their parent organisation, The Order of the Knights of Pythagoras, had received two reports in a week about a monster near Pelican Town, one of which claiming the Adventurer's Guild was allowing it to roam freely as a threat to the town's safety. The guild members of all three guilds started trying to figure out who it could've possibly been, since Beep was extremely careful about being seen by strangers. (Even the two former-Joja employees turned Movie Theatre employees barely saw Beep, despite them working in town.) As the conversation went on, Beep quickly realised who at least one of them could've been. Leah's ex-partner. While they had chased off Beep (by throwing rocks at him), they'd definitely seen that Beep wasn't a normal deer.

With one source confirmed, in the end it didn't matter who it had been to report Beep to the Order. What did matter was the Pelican Town Adventurer's Guild was being audited. A representative of the Order would be arriving anywhere within the next several days. Marlon, Gil, and the other local guild members were expected to give their full cooperation in removing the threat, and the following survey of the town and mines to confirm the monster population was being kept in check. (Krobus would be hiding with the other shadow people deeper in the mountains, safe from discovery.) Marlon explained the procedure for everyone; how this monster they were going after was deemed a "maximum level threat" due to the vicinity to a town, the fact it had been nesting nearby (the report also mentioned how the monster had been living on an abandoned farm for four years now), and it's encroachment into town on a near daily basis, and that they needed to be extremely careful or risk harm to themselves and the townsfolk. As he said this, Beep was laying on the floor, nibbling at an itch on his wing.

If the three guilds had had time, they could've carefully brought up finding an intelligent monster, one who had integrated into a town and was helping them. (Krobus was too delicate of a situation, and Marlon confirmed he'd keep Krobus a secret when he came to get Beep earlier, even from his own Guild.) It would've started with an Order representative they trusted, and a cautious introduction. A slow process to keep Beep safe and show he wasn't a threat to anyone here. Instead, now they had their hands tied. If it got out they had helped Beep escape, they could all lose their jobs, or get in huge legal trouble. Even if Beep stayed at the First Slash's guildhall for the duration of the audit, it wouldn't solve the problem of another report being sent if Beep was seen again, and that would only lead to more problems.

The Pelican Town Adventurer's Guild, First Slash, and Castle Town guild had all heard by now that Beep would be leaving soon. That he had found a migrating flock of peryton to travel with to find his original herd. (A cover story for Beep's return back home.) Beep had originally left the date of his 'migration' vague on purpose, but with a new threat to his safety, he felt the need to confirm he would be gone by the first of the Summer.

Even if he failed to return home, this place was no longer safe for him.

For now, Beep would be laying low. Sticking to Avalon Farm, and the forested areas. The plan of telling the townsfolk that Beep would be leaving to migrate was put on hold, since they didn't know who had filed the second report and they didn't want them to follow up with another and lead to a surprise visit from the Order. Only once a "secret source" (Krobus) confirms Beep has left, will Marlon wait a few more days to declare that the guild activity on and around Avalon Farm most likely caused "the monster" to flee. The townsfolk will have to live with no closure, and that Beep just disappeared one day. The consequences of the action of one person in their community.

Once the meeting concluded, the First Slash and Castle Town guild members gave their farewells. Lance specifically kneeled down to give a hug around Beep's neck, and wished him luck on his journey. Camilla gave a terse "good luck" and warped away. Marlon said he'd try and give Beep a heads up if he was able, but he couldn't promise it. Worse comes to worse, and they meet during a hunt, Beep should fly away as fast as possible. They had limited aerial offence, no bets on the Order representative, but it would be his best chance at getting away. Beep nodded his understanding, then left to the warp to his Nexus across the stream.

Beep had been a passive listener, since tapping morse code with his hoof took a while to communicate with, but once he was safe and in a private place, the realisation of what happened hit him like flying into a wall. The panic attack was sudden. This was bad. This was very bad. This was very very bad. Someone in town hated him enough to want him gone. No, not just gone. Dead. He'd spent four years here, and he'd done something to warrant such a drastic response from people he'd consider friends. Not knowing who it was hurt the most. Most of the people here were overjoyed to see him, a handful were neutral, but he could only think of a couple who were outright cold to him. Could it have been one of them? It didn't matter anymore, either he was going home, or he was leaving this valley forever. As much as he was scared, as much as the uncertainty terrified him, he would get through this. And should the worst happen, he still had an ability he shared with his demon mate. Sure it would fucking suck to return home in such a way, but-

That was it. That was where he needed to go!

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Sorry for the long story bit on this one. It got a bit out of hand and I don't feel like editing it down. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Things different from canon; (AU???)
Gramps never had an heir, or they never show/ed up.
Stardew Valley Expanded; new maps, new NPCs, new events, a LOT of new stuff.
The new “Farmer” is just a Weird Ass Deer. NPCs will respond/react accordingly.

This is my first time playing Stardew Valley Expanded. Please no spoilers if you play SVE.