"Prince, Ser Oswell Whent is by Prince Rhaegar's side. We sworn brothers of the Kingsguard always keep in touch."
Ser Gerold cleared his throat, avoiding the Prince's knowing gaze.
"Is that so?"
Daeron would have to be an idiot to buy that.
Oswell Whent didn't even try to hide it; everyone knew he was a die-hard Rhaegar loyalist.
Yeah, right. You two are going to end up dying together at the Tower of Joy anyway, Daeron thought.
Seeing that the Prince wasn't buying it, Ser Gerold flushed slightly and moved to take his leave.
"Ser," Daeron called out. "Remember what we talked about last time?"
Ser Gerold froze mid-step.
"Ser," Daeron continued, "I'm heading to Dragonstone. I plan to explore the Dragonmont to see if any dragon eggs were left behind."
Ser Gerold looked conflicted. He sighed. "Prince, please forgive me, but I must remain silent on this."
It had been over a hundred years. Bringing up the past now would likely just cause trouble.
"Ser, you misunderstand."
"I'm not ordering you; I'm asking you to help me contact Lord Leyton."
Daeron was adamant that there was a dragon egg in the Hightower. "You know that every Targaryen king has strived to bring dragons back to the world."
"Yet here we are today, and the Royal Family doesn't have a single egg."
"That doesn't make sense, Ser."
Ser Gerold was caught between a rock and a hard place, unsure how to answer.
Agreeing to contact his family would be tantamount to admitting the Hightower was hiding a dragon egg.
But refusing...
As the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, he had to admit Prince Daeron had a point. It was disgraceful that the Royal Family had fallen so low they didn't possess even one egg.
"Ser, whether there's an egg in the Hightower or not, becoming pen pals with Lord Leyton couldn't strictly be a bad thing, could it?"
Daeron tried to ease the man's burden.
Ser Gerold took a deep breath. "Prince, please allow me some time to think."
At this point, refusing outright would be rude.
Daeron was content to wait.
Both the Hightower and Dragonstone were potential loot drops for dragon eggs; the order in which he checked them didn't matter.
He had secured the City Watch and cleaned up a third of King's Landing.
Now, he couldn't rush things.
Tomorrow was Spring 25, a big day for strawberry harvests.
Another batch would ripen on Spring 26.
Summer was approaching, and he needed to return to the Dragon-Tongue Farm to prepare for his first summer season.
"Ser Jon, I have a mission for you."
Before leaving, Daeron specifically sought out Ser Jon Darry.
He hadn't brought him along for last night's operation because the Kingsguard represented the King and couldn't be involved in that sort of thing. The City Watch business was better left to Alliser Thorne.
"Prince, what are your orders?" Ser Jon straightened up, looking eager.
Daeron instructed him to stay in King's Landing and, using his status as a sworn brother, persuade Ser Gerold.
Ser Jon accepted the mission happily.
---
On the way back to the farm, Daeron pondered his future plans.
First was the trip to Dragonstone.
This journey was mandatory. Not just for the Dragonmont, but because he wanted to see his big brother, Rhaegar, and talk to him.
Communication was the best bridge, after all.
Rhaegar before and after the "Year of the False Spring" were like two different people. Daeron wasn't sure what to expect, so he needed to test the waters.
Oh, and the letter mentioned some good news.
His sister-in-law, Elia Martell, was pregnant.
"My little niece, Rhaenys Targaryen, is about to be born."
Daeron was going to be an uncle.
He needed to visit Elia, whom he had never met. His father, Aerys, was paranoid to the point of madness and never gave his children a chance to meet the Dornish princess.
everyone claimed it was "for the good of the family."
But Daeron absolutely intended to get to know his sister-in-law, the Princess of Dorne.
aside from family matters, there was the end of Spring and the seasonal transition to handle.
With the harvest from the 25th and 26th, he'd have the funds he needed. The farm's development couldn't wait any longer; he had to construct the necessary buildings.
Summer was coming right as he planned to leave for Dragonstone.
Before departing, he needed to craft enough Sprinklers to ensure his crops would grow and ripen even while he was away.
King's Landing to Dragonstone wasn't far—a round trip was only two days.
But since he was visiting family, he might stay for ten days or even a couple of weeks.
"I need to prepare gifts, too."
Daeron was thinking everything through carefully.
His little chestnut mare trotted over a flat stone bridge, entering the Prince's territory.
"Huh?"
Daeron caught a glimpse of something yellow by the roadside. A daffodil.
An old farmer never ignores a forageable item in his line of sight.
Pop.
He picked the daffodil, and its nature as a special crop was revealed as it emitted a warm glow.
Daeron looked closer. "Gold Star quality!?"
Following the gold-quality crops, forageable items were now hitting gold quality too.
He had been so tied up with other matters, focusing on fishing and mining, that he hadn't paid much attention to foraging.
Now that he had some free time, he should scour the area before Spring ended.
Pop... Pop...
Stopping and starting along the way, Daeron found a forageable item every so often.
Daffodils, Dandelions, Leeks...
"I need to collect all four types for the Community Center Bundle."
Daeron picked another Silver Star daffodil, planning to save it for the offering alongside the Winter Root—or "Snow Yam"—that Davos had turned in.
Suddenly, he froze mid-motion.
Daeron's eyes went wide as the realization hit him. "But there's no Community Center here. Without the old building, I can't find those little apple guys. How am I supposed to complete the bundle?"
The "little apples" were, of course, the special race from Stardew Valley—the Junimos.
Junimos were adorable, round, and stout, looking like colorful apples that had come to life.
You gave the bundles to them.
Only when the Junimos were happy would they give you the bundle rewards.
"Besides the Junimos, I haven't even learned the 'Forest Magic' yet."
Daeron's expression turned serious.
The "Forest Magic" here wasn't some wicked witch's spell, but a special potion brewed by the Wizard in Stardew Valley. After drinking it, the farmer gained the ability to understand the Junimo language.
Daeron opened his system interface and checked the Bundle tab.
Sure enough, the text was a mess of gibberish—he couldn't read a word of it.
He had actually realized this a while ago. After all, there were no minecarts or buses outside the farm either.
But this was a different world; he couldn't expect everything to be 1:1.
However, he had the items ready and the Bundle menu existed. If he was stuck because he didn't have the magic or the Junimos...
That had to be a problem he could solve.
"Maybe I need to find a witch."
Daeron thought it over cautiously.
The Red Comet had arrived early, bringing a tide of magic to the world.
Since the special crops and vitality system synced up with the Stardew Valley panel, maybe Junimos and witches were connected too.
"I'll have to find an opportunity to test that theory."
Daeron made up his mind.
He didn't know any forest witches personally, but Cersei had a contact.
There was a certain "Maggy the Frog" in the Westerlands.
---
Dragon-Tongue Farm.
Woof, woof, woof!
As soon as Daeron got home, his puppy, Doro, caught the scent of his owner and came running, tail wagging furiously.
"Good boy. I missed you too."
Daeron crouched down, rubbing the little pup all over.
Awoooo...
Doro rolled over to expose his soft belly, making happy, comfortable noises.
Man and dog played for a good while.
Daeron felt his mood settle. He let go of the dog. "Alright, go play."
He had work to do.
Doro was a good dog; he nuzzled the farmer reluctantly before running to the porch to lie down, wagging his little tail.
"Good dog."
Daeron gave the dog's head one last rub before going inside to check his chests.
10 Clay, 100 Stone, 5 Copper Bars...
These were the materials needed for a Silo.
[Silo]: "Allows you to cut and store grass for feed."
By choosing the Meadowlands Farm layout, he had started with a coop and two chickens.
Combined with the blue grass that provided better saturation and boosted animal friendship, going for a ranching build early on was going to be very smooth.
The Silo was an absolutely essential building.
The blue and green grass on the farm was growing like crazy; two chickens couldn't possibly eat it all. It covered half the farm.
According to game logic, he needed to scythe the green grass and store it in the Silo as hay.
Without the green grass crowding it out, the blue grass would grow even thicker.
This was all planning for the future.
"Build Silo!"
Daeron tossed the materials into the shipping bin. The panel brought up a holographic view of Dragon-Tongue Farm, allowing him to place the building.
He selected a spot and clicked confirm.
Thud!
With a muffled sound, a foundation roped off with wooden planks appeared next to the coop.
That was the construction site for the Silo.
Daeron checked it and nodded in satisfaction. "100 Gold fee, two days construction time, and the Silo will be ready for inspection."