The Runaway: A Stardew Valley Story

Testimony

Gussy

Lenny pours me the finest beer that Rowdy Howdy has to offer. It tastes like piss on hot asphalt. What does it take for a man to get a good bottle of wine these days? I still smile and offer him a wink along with a generous tip.

"Your lady friend is waiting at table nine," he says smoothly. "You shouldn't keep good company waiting."

"Your service is above and beyond," I play along.

Table nine is one of three enclosed sitting areas in the darkest corner of the bar.  It's been reserved for my personal use since Joy went missing. I have a few other discrete meeting places that I would frequent during my employment for the Hornsby family, but no one else despises the Joja Corp as much as Lenny.

He lost a sister and unborn nephew to their shotty knock-off of a whirlpool foot bath. The product short-circuited and electrocuted the mother and baby. Lenny's brother-in-law sued, but wouldn't you know, Joja Corp not only won the lawsuit but was able to turn around and sue the widower for defamation of something-something-stupid-as-hell. Lenny's brother-in-law later died of a heart attack from all the stress.

So, yeah, Lenny's place is always safe.

"I hope you tried the IPA," I say as I near the table, "it's brewed in Stardew Valley."

"A Bloody Meredith is more my taste."

A sour feeling catches at the memory of how this code started, but it's proven useful time and again. You never know when an informant might be compromised.

The woman seated in the dim booth wears a headscarf and big rose-colored glasses. In a poorly lit dive like this, it's almost possible to miss the tell-tell corners of her eyes pulled slightly more to the side than most citizens of Ferngill. The dead giveaway that Lin Poole is of Gotoro descent.

"Nice to put a face to the name." I extend a hand across the table as I slide in.

Lin doesn't shake my hand. She clutches a handbag in front of her. White knuckles tighten around the premium leather strap. She does, however, nod approvingly in my direction.

"Yes, it is a relief to get this over with."

"Then, we can get started, if you like?" I pause long enough to dig through my coat pocket for the recorder. Lin starts to nod again, but when she sees the recorder, she goes stricken.

"No, put that away," Lin hisses.

"Mrs. Poole, if you want to go on the record, I need physical proof of this conversation. When this goes to trial—"

"Yes, when this goes to trial, my husband and I will testify," Lin says firmly, "but you have no case yet. Our word will mean nothing without evidence. I love Derick too much to watch him be thrown into the lion's den for nothing!"

I shake my head. "Please, you promised you had something that would help this case. How could the word of the governor's daughter not be enough?"

Granted, Governor Charles Maddison doesn't have the same pull he did when elected. If it weren't for lifetime service, I assume he would have been cast off as a joke had he run after marrying Lin's mother, an immigrant from our nation's only enemy. Most citizens of Gotoro want peace as much as we do, but their government maintains control through militant leadership. Some Ferngill citizens forget to separate the people from their rulers when they choose their prejudice.

Lin Poole only shakes her head dismissively. "Cold hard evidence is what you need, and I know the forces you are up against — my family is a joker among the kings and queens of this game. If I testified today, my husband would be the only person who suffers in all of this! You need a paper trail." Lin drops her voice, "You need the kind of information someone has to kill to get their hands on."

"Well, I'm not ready to go that far just yet."

Behind the pink glasses, brown eyes hold mine steady and are filled with meaning. "You don't need to if someone else already has."

My eyebrows raise.

"You don't mean Mia Gibbens, do you?"

Lin looks away as if that's all the answer I need.

"No one has been able to find her," I press, "and believe me, I've tried."

"This is all the help I can give until you have a real case, Mr. White," Lin says as she pushes a single piece of paper across the table. "I will make contact with you when Mr. Poole and I are ready to go public. Until then, it is best that you look elsewhere for any resources you might need. Good day."

And then Lin Poole gets up to leave the Rowdy Howdy in a trail of echoing heels on old hardwood.

Did anyone else know the name of the region Stardew Valley is located inside? I did not until Google so kindly obliged lol. Anyways, happy Friday! You guys are the best readers ever!