Location: Dirtmouth
It had taken the Scouts along with Seer a day to return to Dirtmouth, due to the need for rest and the trip itself. What they saw when they returned though was bizarre to say the least. What looked like a circus tent but more…. edgy. Music could be heard emanating from one of the tents.
"A nightmare troupe" Seer whispered.
"A nightmare troupe?" David asked.
"Nightmare troupes feed off the flames left by dying kingdoms, their arrival tends to signify a kingdom going into its death throes but… For as much as I hold Hallownest in contempt, it isn't a dying kingdom by any means. They are usually called by lanterns, sometimes goulding others into lighting it if they want to recruit them for their ritual.
"Wait, was that the thing we lit back in the Howling Cliffs?" Chris asked.
"Unfortunately yes, I suggest we avoid this troupe like the plague, though they may try to actively involve us"
"Alright, so when we move back into town, just pretend the circus still isn't in town" Chris said.
The group made their way down the bridge that connected Dirtmouth to King's Pass. The Scouts were vigilant, on the lookout for any troupe members that may try to involve them in some satanic bullshittery. Troupe members were pretty easy to spot, they had very distinct costumes, basically avoided anything red.
As the group got closer to the tent, with every intention of passing it by, maybe the troupe wouldn't notice them. Of course that was silly to think, their height and outfits made them stand out like a sore thumb, and soon enough, a troupe member began approaching them. The group started walking faster, hoping to avoid the traveling edge lord circus member.
Suddenly, in a puff of red flame the figure disappeared, and reappeared in front of the group. It was that human from the Howling Cliffs.
"Hello my friends" The crimson clad human said in a welcoming tone, bowing at a 90 o angle.
"If I didn't know better, I would say that you were trying to…. avoid our show"
"Uhm.. we were just.. Uhm.." Matthew stuttered
"Busy" Seer piped up.
"We are very very busy, and have to go somewhere, so, if you would not mind.."
"Nonsense!" The crimson clad human exclaimed in strangely friendly manner.
"I am sure there is enough time for you to witness our performance"
"Sir, you have no knowledge of our schedule, time tables, plans, or interests. I would appreciate it if you were to move along, and let us get on with our journey" David said in a flat monotone voice.
The crimson clad human stepped back a bit at this, this was strange. Humans usually jumped at the opportunity for entertainment in their bleak boring lives, why were these ones so resistant? Had the Pale King actually found out the value of humans and recruited them? If so, more… subversive methods could be used to secure this most valuable resource.
"Hmmm, you baffle me humans" The crimson clad human stated.
"Human?" Seer wondered aloud.
"Oh that's just the name of our species" Matthew stated
"Speaking of which, where do you come from? I would like to know the state of other human populations"
"Populations?" The scarlet clad human said giddily. "You mean there are more humans here?!"
"You say that like you aren't human" Chris said questioningly.
"Let me guess, the height gave it away" The crimson clad human said in mock surprise.
"Well... that and the feet" Chris said.
"Hmmm, right… bugs don't have feet, makes you wonder how they remain upright doesn't it…" The crimson clad human said chuckling.
"Heh, well, my name is Xym, and I assure you, the troupe means no harm, and we would be honored for you to see our performance. Whatever this old moth told you… well, stories of us nightmare troupes tend to be exaggerated"
"Well Xym, I thank you for your offer, but we really have no time" David said
"Very well, however before you go, what was this about there being a population of humans here?"
The group remained silent for a moment, it was clear to them that humans held some level of importance for these troupes, for what they did not know. However, revealing the location or even existence of the bunker to a possibly malicious force didn't seem like an intelligent decision.
"We are travelers, we move from place to place, and have had contact with various human settlements on our journeys, when we reached Hallownest, this nice old moth offered to assist us with translation with her enchanted crystals" David said.
Xym looked more closely at Seer, and then at the crystal around her neck.
"You didn't tell them, did you?" Xym said in a mischievous tone.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Seer said defensively.
"You may have fooled them, but know I know that I know about your Old Light. As for you, you must tell me more stories of your travels, the troupe is quite… interested in performing at human settlements"
With that, Xym walked off, the group let out a collective sigh of relief, and continued forward on their journey.
Xym entered the stage, the look of shame on his face covered by his smiling theatre mask.
"Master!" he called out.
In a burst of smoke, his master, Grimm appeared.
Xym kneeled down so that he wasn't towering over the troupe master.
"I-I am s-sorry master… I failed to ge-" Xym was interrupted by Grimm embracing them.
"It's ok Xym, it's ok, you did fine," Grimm said in a reassuring voice. In all honesty, Xym did very well, he located humans, and got them to light the lantern. Job well done.
Grimm learned that engulfing human souls in nightmare flame caused a sort of… bond between them and troupe masters. He did not care, if the price for the advantage that humans provide was instinctually being a bit parental of them, then that was a price he was willing to pay.
Grimm let go of Xym, and stepped back slightly.
"We have time to capture these humans, though we must be quick about it. We cannot afford other nightmare troupes catching wind of this." Grimm said
Location: Deepnest
The last week had been quite eventful for Herra. The news of the giant had certainly helped in that. At first she relished the thought of the pale bastard getting his due, but the news that poured in kept painting a worse and worse picture. A giant literally turning sentries into nothing but a paste of gore simply by barreling into them. How it collapsed buildings by running through them, and how it punted a watcher knight with seemingly little effort.
Herra had to admit, for as much as she thought the bugs of Hallownest soft and pathetic, she really couldn't see anything they could have done to stop it. That was the problem, what if the giant ever came to Deepnest? What could they do? That was what she was trying to find out.
Herra sighed in frustration, if there was one thing the bugs of Deepnest hated most, it was the feeling of being helpless. This giant made them feel that there was an enemy that no matter how well prepared they were to stop it, could just bust through a wall at any moment and slaughter the denizens of the Distant Village.
Hornet had been of great help, practically and emotionally. She had been looking for as much information on this giant as possible. According to the vessels, it was just a really large sibling, that information didn't really matter to her. It didn't matter if it was from the void or not, as it seemed to not give a damn about the Shade Lord, seeing as it threw explosives in his face.
Herra laughed when Hornet told her this. While Herra had nothing against the Shade Lord in particular, she did like it when the gods got knocked down a peg every now and then. It brought her satisfaction when the deities had to struggle like the lowly mortals that they put themselves above.
However, the information that did matter was the fact that this giant had made off with another sibling that Hollow had recently 'rescued'. To use more accurate language, kidnap. The giant was reported to be carrying the white clad figure that matched the vessels' description when it emerged from the Waterways.
This brought hope to Herra, as long as they didn't do anything stupid with these new creatures, they may just be ok. Granted that they don't get caught in the crossfire somehow.