Early into your first winter in Stardew Valley you might get a short cutscene when leaving your farm. You will spot a mysterious looking character walking around, who runs away after you spot them. This starts the quest A Winter Mystery, which tasks you with tracking them down. While the quest isn't too difficult to complete, it does unlock an important tool. Here's how to finish this snowy quest.
Starting on Winter 1, you can trigger the cutscene by entering the Bus Stop area to the east of your farm between 6 AM and 4 PM. You will see the mysterious figure, who will run away towards town. You can track them by following a series of footprints in the snow, which will lead you to a bush between the Community Center and the playground, just north of town.
The mysterious figure can be found in this bush near the park and Community Center.
Approach the bush that the footprints lead to, which will cause the mysterious character to come out of the bush and give you a new tool, the Magnifying Glass. The Magnifying Glass unlocks Secret Notes, special notes that you can find randomly while doing certain activities.
More Stardew Valley Guides:
Secret Notes can be found while doing specific activities in Stardew Valley. These notes are distributed to you at random, but they provide different bits of information. They can tell you about villagers' likes and dislikes, give you a map to secret items, or provide knowledge to complete hidden puzzles. These notes drop as an inventory item, but once you read them by using the note while holding it, they will move to a special menu tab.
Secret Notes have a chance to drop while doing the following activities:
Source
A Winter Mystery
Starting on Winter 1, you can trigger the cutscene by entering the Bus Stop area to the east of your farm between 6 AM and 4 PM. You will see the mysterious figure, who will run away towards town. You can track them by following a series of footprints in the snow, which will lead you to a bush between the Community Center and the playground, just north of town.
The mysterious figure can be found in this bush near the park and Community Center.
Approach the bush that the footprints lead to, which will cause the mysterious character to come out of the bush and give you a new tool, the Magnifying Glass. The Magnifying Glass unlocks Secret Notes, special notes that you can find randomly while doing certain activities.
More Stardew Valley Guides:
Stardew Valley Traveling Cart Guide
Stardew Valley: How To Make Pale Ale
How To Get Clay In Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley: Should You Pick Bats Or Mushrooms For The Cave
Secret Notes
Secret Notes can be found while doing specific activities in Stardew Valley. These notes are distributed to you at random, but they provide different bits of information. They can tell you about villagers' likes and dislikes, give you a map to secret items, or provide knowledge to complete hidden puzzles. These notes drop as an inventory item, but once you read them by using the note while holding it, they will move to a special menu tab.
Secret Notes have a chance to drop while doing the following activities:
- Chopping Weeds
- Defeating Monsters
- Chopping Trees
- Fishing
- Digging Artifact Spots
- Mining Stone
- Stumps, Logs, Boulders, and Meteorites
- Giant Crops
Source