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Fall 17, Year 1

The invitation to the Wizard's Tower wasn't outside of the norm. Him (and Marlon) knowing Beep was a sapient creature was a nice change from how the other townsfolk interacted with the peryton. All of the visits (and gifts) over time must've shown Beep was trustworthy, because this visit, Magnus wanted to show Beep something! It started with a new potion that tasted like cotton candy.

"With this, you can begin accumulating mana from the world around you, allowing you to cast some minor magic."

Curiously, Beep seemed to already have that ability! The potion only made it much stronger, allowing him to draw in mana at an even greater quantity. How he already had that ability, something normal peryton didn't have, was a question for later. Normal peryton never cared about farming either, or interpersonal relationships. As they descended the stairs into the wizard's study (the basement), Magnus explained how he could now trust Beep with a Shrine that allowed him to cast illusions over himself. Such an idea came with the thought that Beep could disguise himself as a human to allow him to interact with the townsfolk easier. The language barrier would be a problem, but it was something they could work on while they fine tuned Beep's human disguise.

As soon as they rounded the corner into the reading nook, where the shrine was placed against one wall, the sound of hooves fell silent behind Magnus. As Magnus stepped closer to the Shrine of Illusion to give an example, he felt a shift in the room. Every light source in the room dimmed until they barely gave any light at all. A bitter chill ran through his limbs, prompting him to slowly turn around.

Beep was an odd peryton in behaviour alone in the time Magnus and Marlon had been observing him. (Barring the illusory antlers, but that was none of their business.) The only outlier was the incident over a week ago with the Stone Owl apparition, which Magnus had chalked up to a territorial display and a trick of the light over the deer's eyes.

This was no trick of the light.

A flash of adrenaline travelled down the wizard's spine as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The peryton had reared up onto his hind legs, but not in the way a deer typically would. It was into an almost bipedal stance, using a suddenly longer tail as a counterweight. The alula's of both wings shuffled as new claws grew through the feathers, razor sharp and glossy from their emergence. The same was said for the changing hooves, appearing to be shifting into something more hand-like. The glowing antlers, flickering as the spell struggled, cast dancing light across eyes of pure void. And a maw opened wider than thought possible. Something shimmered and shone around his neck, but the thick fur hid it's outline too much to determine it's shape.

Despite the peryton's more monstrous form, was he even a peryton to begin with?, he didn't seem to be aggressive. At least not towards Magnus. He was able to back up into the previous corridor while Beep hissed and made strange sounds at the Shrine. Something about it set off this creature. With some gentle words, Magnus was able to redirect Beep's attention away from the Shrine and to him. If he needed to, he could defend himself. That proved unnecessary, as once the focus was away from the Shrine, Beep returned to a quadrupedal stance, licking his lips (a stress response?), and the light returned to the room. As the room lit up again, the changes reverted and a normal winged-deer stood before Magnus. Almost as if nothing had happened. Only some ruffled feathers and messy fur to show anything had changed with the peryton.

"Let's just scrap the illusion idea, shall we?"

Beep bobbed his head in a nod, then trotted past Magnus with nothing more than the lingering scent of rotting eggs, pungent and unpleasant. A jar of alchemy ingredient must've gotten knocked over in the commotion. With a request to come by any time for tea and a chat, Magnus lost sight of the deer as he ascended the stairs.

What the actual fuck was that.

———

Things different from canon; (AU???)
Gramps never had an heir, or they never show/ed up.
Special new farm map; Frontier Farm!
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, so I’m learning as I go. (Please no spoilers if you play SVE)