The vessel thought about the place they had wound up in. It was very clearly nowhere in Hallownest. Or anywhere near it. Or anywhere far from it. It was as if they had fallen into another world. They had never seen anything like it. In all directions, endless swamplands rolled. The closest analogue they could think of was Isma's grove, though the water was far more habitable. Actually, so far there hasn't really been any acid. It was nice, though it hadn't posed any danger for a long time due to the effects of Isma's Tear. Still, the stench that acid brought with it borne of both the fumes and its lingering victims was never fun. Rather than acid, this terrain was covered in water. It flowed in great channels across the land. It saturated the very earth everywhere. With every step, the ground sank just a little. The Vessel is light, so they never sank far enough to cause worry. Even so, this place would not be hospitable to most bugs. Bugs drown easily, even in shallow water. The spiracles in their sides continually pull in air, and should they become covered in water, they'd suffocate in their shell. The Vessel, a being that walks the line between being alive and dead, doesn't actually need to breath. As a result, they can swim just fine, light enough to float across the surface and kick along.
Even more bizarre than the terrain was the life that inhabited it. The Vessel had seen many different kinds of bugs, from corpses to eggs, from maggots to wyrms, from weavers to mantises to moths. Hallownest had a staggering diversity of creatures that called it home. And yet, it paled in comparison to this swamp land. There really wasn't any other conclusion than that the majority of creatures were simply not bugs. There even seemed to be multiple categories of the not-bugs, with just as much diversity within each category. There were thousands of living beings all coexisting together in this environment. Nature truly had run a beautiful course.
However, despite other non-bug creatures making up a majority of the animals the vessel noticed, there were also bugs. But they were different, too. They were small. Really small. The Vessel was one of the shortest bugs back in Hallownest, and yet these could fit in the broad spot of their claw. They certainly made a lot of noise given their size, only quieting if the vessel drew too near to whatever reeds or bushes the bugs were hiding in.
The Vessel marched onwards through the swamplands. Organic debris floated in the water. They follow along the banks of the water a long distance. As they trekked through, they thought about their current situation. While staggering beautiful and grand in size, something was troubling them. They had yet to meet a single sentient creature. Not everything in Hallownest had a mind, but there were always plenty of mindful beings to meet. It was actually more common than not. However, every creature here was a beast of the wild. They ran only on instinct, the only social organizations presumably being mates and close family, if even that.
As the vessel trotted slowly along near the water's edge, something that looked like a log started to drift towards them. The vessel continued. As far as they could tell, the infection was not present in any of the creatures here. Their eyes, though different from the dark mask holes of Hallownest, did not carry that distinctive orange glow. There was no infectious dust carried on the wind. There certainly aren't any warped and bloated monstrosities, twisted by the Old Light. No creatures had attempted to attack The Vessel at all.
This fact had begun to put The Vessel's senses at ease. Enough to be slightly less wary of their surroundings. They moved slowly along the bank before coming to a downed tree. It was familiar to some structures back in Hallownest. It blocked their path down the beach. It was too twisted for them to jump over. They decided to wade through the water to get around it, as it only protruded over the river a brief distance. Just out of view in the murky depths just near them, something large shifted its weight. Typically, it would be a lot pickier about what it struck at, but something in the far back of its mind niggled it to attack. The vessel plopped down a few inches into the water and began to wade when it lunged. An enormous full-grown alligator roared out of the water. The Vessel barely had time to react before the enormous set of jaws clamped down around their head.
With the prey in its jaws, it began to clamp down and drag the poor creature under the surface with it. The Vessel felt its shell nearly shatter under the immense force. Cracks began to form, and void floated out onto the water. This one bite hurt as bad as some of the Grey Prince's Attacks. Their head would have broken under the impact right there if not for their quick reflexes. Their body dissolved into the dark essence of the Void for a brief moment as they dashed out of the rough teeth and powerful jaws. The alligator seemed confused. Prey had never pulled out of its jaws before. The closest it was aware of was the limb it had caught being torn off, but never a full escape. It looked up out of the water. The Vessel was focusing, white particles zipping around in orbit before being absorbed. The Vessel was now back at peak health. It turned towards the swamp beast and then leapt onto an overhanging tree limb.
Normally, if prey escaped the alligator, it would dive off into the depths and lay in wait elsewhere, hoping for a new hapless victim. But that same deep feeling pushed it onwards. It sunk for just a moment. Then, with the full force of its body, it rocketed forward and jumped out of the water. Its full body length managed to fly up out of the water. It snapped onto the limb where the Vessel was, shredding it with its momentum before tumbling back into the swamp.
It was confused once more. It was certain that the strange creature it lunged for was on that exact branch, and all it got for its trouble was a mouth full of log. It looked up before seeing the dark creature on a pair of glittering wings. Did it have those before? Why was it walking if it had them?
The Vessel had seen the swamp beast rip out of the water, unnervingly fast. They had just managed to take off from the branch they had perched upon before it was splintered. Maintaining their position in the air with the monarch wings they assessed the situation. The swamp beast probably couldn't chase them far onto the shore, but they also couldn't avoid the water in an environment like this. It was clearly very dangerous, and they didn't want to be on edge always if this thing was lurking in the water. They made up their mind and decided to make their play. They drifted as they fell towards the shore.
The alligator tracked its movements and was becoming annoyed. It let out sharp air, a warning hiss. It pulled under the water again as the creature moved onto the shore and stood there. Just at the edge of the distance it could charge out. It was tiring and wanted nothing more than to gnaw on the stupid bones of this bizarre creature. It tensed up, preparing to strike. If it could not grab the creature with this last lunge, it would be forced to give up. As strong as it was, alligators are not known for their endurance. With only a brief twitch as a tell, it roared forward out of the water hissing the whole way. It pulled itself along running best it could onto the shore. It practically dove at the Vessel.
The swamp beast was predictable. It had done nothing but pull back, twitch, then lunge forward at great speed. As soon as the vessel saw its muscles move subtly, it jumped straight up. The swamp beast looked tired more than anything. Its eyes rolled upwards to track the vessel as it plowed into the sand where they once stood. The vessel finally counterattacked. As they fell from the arc of its jump, the vessel drew their nail and struck at the back of the swamp beast's neck. Something wasn't right. It roared in pain and thrashed wildly. It had tough plating certainly, but it was weaker than the shells nails were made to pierce. However, with it moving so wildly, a clean cut was impossible. They then pogoed off the beast one more time, less of an attack and more of a choice to get height over it. At the peak of their jump, gaining even more height with the monarch wings, they pulled within themselves. They called upon the dark void that fueled them, made them, defined them. They shot downwards like a meteor, the descending darkness being the last thing the swamp beast ever knew.
The alligator crumpled under the impact, splitting open. The carcass was a mess, a feast for the vultures. The sand underneath them gave way, a small crater forming around them. It quickly filled in with water. It looked like a morbid shrine. A resounding boom filled the area.
"Jerry, I love you, but for the love of God, can you shut the fuck up about your lucky catfish skeleton?"
Two men in swamp gear were canoeing down the river, fishing poles in hand. The older of the two was an inch or two taller, and a good deal rounder. The younger, though only by a year, was as lanky as a tomato vine. They had been out for hours. One was frustrated because they hadn't caught anything for dinner. The other was frustrated because the first wouldn't let him look for his good luck charm.
"Tom, I'm telling you that we ain't gonna catch shit cause I couldn't find my bone!"
It had been several long hours. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. A cooling breeze refused to blow over them. And they were each stuck with only their brother? It was enough to drive a saint up the walls. One of them chucked a beer can into the river. "Well shit Jerry, maybe you outta just catch another catfish and skin it! Then we'd have dinner and your stupid charm!"
"I am telling you, that bone was one of a kind! Grandma-ma gave it to me! It has to have some kinda family magic running through it-"
"Bullshit, she spit that shit out after choking at lunch four years ago you dumb shit!"
"I'll knock your last two teeth in for that one- "
Before their argument could continue any further, a rolling thud came from a few hundred feet to their right. The argument stopped dead in its tracks. A new curiosity overtook them as they tried to figure out what it was.
"You heard that, Jerry?"
"I couldn't hear shit else, Tom."
"You thinking it was lightning?"
"Storms ain't due for another couple of hours, can't even see 'em on the horizon yet. I'm thinking it was a sinkhole caving in."
"Sinkholes don't make sound, stupid."
"Sure they do! The water rushes in and it sounds like a little bitty waterfall!"
"That wasn't exactly a little bitty sound."
"What, you gonna tell me it was a swamp gas explosion?"
"Hell, it just might've been. I wanna go check it out."
"Tell you what, I bet the fish don't bite any worse over there either. I might even pull a swamp-gas-explosion-good-luck charm outta the muck!"
The two paddled their canoe. They had to row a long distance. The sound had seemed a dull thud, like a large rock impacting the water. As they paddled around curve after curve, they slowly realized whatever it made the sound was a lot louder than they had originally anticipated. Still, all the fish were strangely absent from the area, as though something had spooked them from the water.
"Jerry, you see that?"
"The weird black smokey dust shit?"
"Yeah, that. It's everywhere man, it's gettin' on my brand-new overalls."
"It's getting a bit thicker around this bend. Almost as thick as you!" A loud smack and a sharp cry of pain follow the remark.
"Damn Jerry. That shit hurt my head. Wait wait wait, what's that- "
The canoe rounded the final bend in the river. They had reached their destination. Dark residue floated in the air around them. On the opposite riverbank was the flayed corpse of an alligator. The poor creature had its entrails blown several feet all around. It was a nearly perfect circle.
"Oh my God Jerry it's a satanic ritual, they blew that poor thing open with dynamite I'm telling you."
"Tom, do you think we should take it home? It'd be a waste to let the corpse be picked over by just the vultures. Grandma-ma knows how to make good gator bites."
"And bring the devil into our home I think the fuck not! Let's get out of here, this was a mistake."
"Hold on, hold on, let me get my phone out, I'm taking a picture for the pastor to see."
The two men snapped several pictures of the gator. The poor thing never stood a chance against whatever had ripped it apart. The men did not see something in the corner of the photos, out of focus and grainy. A something that looked like a small child wearing a horned helmet.
The Vessel was wandering around away from the remains of the swamp beast. They didn't want to loiter around it. While it probably wouldn't get back up and start trying to bite them again, a few trips through Deepnest had made them wary of corpses. Even if the corpse was in hundreds of pieces.
They were pacing in a small circle. The Vessel was perplexed by something. While fighting the swamp beast, they had not collected so much as a drop of soul. Their reserves were low, enough for only a single heal. The swamp beast could not be soulless, it was animated and with life. And yet the vessel gained nothing from them. Perhaps they could try using the dream nail on other creatures to gather some? The vessel certainly hoped that the lack of soul gathered was an anomaly. Suddenly, their concentration was broken. Something like a large body pushing through water sounded from the riverbank. Wanting to ensure that the swamp beast had not actually reanimated, they readied their nail and moved towards the edge of the mangroves. Oddly enough, despite sounds coming from this direction, the dead swamp beast was still dead. However, something over the water caught their attention immediately.
For the first time since the vessel had arrived here, they saw sentient life. They had no idea what they were saying, but they were clearly saying something. They also wore clothes, were carrying some kind of pole weapons with hooks on the ends, and they were in a boat. They must need a boat to survive in this environment. There were some gondolas moored in the canals of the City of Tears, it makes sense that not-bugs would need them in a similarly wet environment. The vessel was deep in thought, not noticing until the boat had turned around that the two sentient not-bug creatures were leaving.
Quickly, the vessel jumped, dashed, and used the monarch wings to land on the back end of their boat. The closer one to them was rather large and filled up the bench they were sitting on so much that the vessel couldn't see around them to the other individual. Their back was turned to the vessel, and they were chatting away with the other. The Vessel decided to take this opportunity to unsheathe the dream nail, draw it back, and strike the large sentient creature. Words sounded through dream essence, filling the vessel's mind with the thoughts of the other.
"Good lord I'm starved … If Jerry makes mentions my weight again … I wish he found his good luck charm"
They were certainly foreign words, but the meaning carried through. The Vessel began to grasp English as a language. They drew no soul, but that observation was pushed aside. The Vessel couldn't communicate with them now, but they drew closer with the strike of the dream nail. As usual, the target hadn't even realized his mind was being pried into. They drew back and struck once more. The same thoughts flowed through, but a deeper grasp of language moved underneath. And so, the vessel struck again. And again.
The vessel used the dream nail on Tom who was none the wiser. This carried on for nearly an hour. When the vessel finally stopped doing so, they had about a kindergartener's level understanding of the English language. They could communicate, if in a stunted manner. And so, the vessel decided it was time to make contact, to finally meet the person whom they had been invading the mind of for quite some time.
"I'm telling you Jerry, today has sucked."
"Tom, I've been with you for nearly eight hours. I know."
"Yeah, I know you- hey. What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, Tom."
After seeing what could only be described as a satanic ritual in the Everglades, the two men had given up. They were just going to paddle back to their truck and buy a sack of burgers on the way home. Disappointment and unease filled the air between them.
Tom had felt something poking around at the back of his mind, but he paid it no heed. Then, the poking moved to the back of his head. He once again paid it no heed, mosquitos really are a nuisance. Then poking moved to the small of his back, and he got annoyed with this poking sensation. He heaved his arm upwards and smacked it hard down the length of his back with the intent of crushing whatever insect was chewing at him. The poking sensation left.
Suddenly, a small kick pushed off the rear of the boat behind him. Before he could even turn around, something fell between him and his brother. It looked like a child in a mask, but something was off. Deeply off. Something deep within him screamed at this intruder.
The Vessel and Tom stared at each other for a moment that lasted longer than an eternity. Tom blinked. He blinked again. He started to crane his head to get a better look at it when the thing that had landed in the boat suddenly moved its arm up towards him, offering the equivalent of a handshake.
Tom promptly let out a very shrill scream, and his brother jolted at the sudden noise and nearly pitched overboard. He flipped around it caught sight of the bizarre child thing. Something in the back of his mind scream at him to put as much distance between him and his brother and the thing as possible. Without hesitation, he lifted the fishing pole that was mounted in a holder on the side of the boat as the vessel turned around to see him. He pulled it back behind his head and swung forward with enough force to put an MLB player to shame. The strange thing weighed very little and was sent a long way onto the opposite bank where its horns became embedded in the sand. Without even a word, Tom and Jerry paddled with great haste to get back to their truck.
The Vessel was currently stuck upside down in the sand. They were alone with their thoughts. The only thoughts they had at the moment were that the interaction probably could have gone better. They shook in place and used their nail to right themselves. After a moment, the sand released its grip on their horns, and they fell face first onto the beach. It was a good thing that they had managed to keep a grip on it even after being struck with such force.
The vessel did not blame the men for striking it. Vessels were always an unnerving bunch, and there hadn't been a single insect even close to their size in this entire swamp. It wouldn't be hard to imagine that they had been taken by surprise. Even so, their reaction certainly hurt. They quickly used the last of their remaining soul reserves to return to peak form. It wouldn't do to wander around injured. Unfortunately, there just didn't seem to be much, if any, Soul to be gathered in this world.
The Swamp Beast gave the vessel none. Striking the large being in the boat gave none. There wasn't even residual soul in the air or plants like what could be found in some parts of Hallownest. The land was barren, animated by some other force. They would have to make do with no spells and only healing with extended rest. Not ideal by any means, but they had pulled out of worse. Regardless, they trekked on.
They were uncertain why they continued to move forwards. Originally, they had been compelled by something deep from their creation to contain the Infection. A deep drive, pulled onwards by something greater than themselves. When they had first exited the wastes, it was all they were. But as they traversed Hallownest, it transformed. That drive was supplemented and warped. They still at all costs wanted to end the infection plaguing Hallownest. But once they learned the darkest secrets of the bottom of the world, they reflected on those they had met. They gained a reason to fight the Infection. They wanted to spare those they loved and had befriended on their quest.
But now? What now? They were nowhere near Hallownest. They didn't want to casually shirk off what they had dedicated and sacrificed so much towards. And yet, what else could they do? They were as far away from Hallownest as they could possibly be. If something brought them to this land, surely something could bring them back. And whatever that was certainly isn't in this swamp, so they march on. Perhaps aimlessly, but with purpose.
The vessel's journey lasted a long time. The dual disks of light in the sky made many of their rotations. It was a very continuous and reliable cycle, which was welcome. Many of the beasts of this land built their habits and lifestyles around it. It makes it easier to plan out their travel. Walk slowly at dark and avoid the water, there are more swamp beasts out then. Travel quickly when its bright out, most creatures that are active then are plant eaters. Following this routine, they managed to avoid attacks and conflicts with the many beasts of the swamp.
Eventually, they found something. The terrain had been becoming somewhat less boggy, and the dirt had turned fully solid. Everything was moist, but the water seemed to have drained as the terrain slowly sloped upwards. It seemed to meet a crest at a hill a few hundred lengths in front of them. Curious at this terrain formation, they hastened. Reaching the top, a strange sight met them.
Stretching to the horizon in both directions, uniformly wide, and unnaturally painted was an enormous slab of black rock. It had white lines painted running down the sides, and a pair of yellow lines running down the middle. They struck at it with their nail out of curiosity. It gave no reaction aside from a chunk the size of their head chipping off. It was simply an enormous rock. However, rocks do not form this way through nature. It must be a path of some kind, made by more of those sentient beings. Its scale is truly impressive. Though unlikely, they did not want to accidentally activate some hidden rune or trap along the length of the pathway. So, they followed it from the shade of the trees.
They traveled for most of a cycle, the bright disk in the sky moving many degrees along its arc. Eventually, something crested the horizon along their trek. It was a building of some kind. Well, two. Sort of. There was a very boxy one, short and stubby. Far different from the rounded and smooth structures of Hallownest. It carried some text which they could not decipher. They recognized each of the symbols that composed it from the larger being's mind, but not the meaning of their use. Surrounding the area were several posts. Most of them had lanterns of some kind in them, and one was different, with a swiveling piece of glass on it. The other structure in front of it was a good bit taller, but it lacked walls. It was a roof suspended by several pillars in the middle. Two machines with hoses coming out of them sat at the base of the pillars. Truly, a bizarre structure. Hopefully someone was home.
The Vessel approached from the direction of the lowering bright disk in the sky. There was a single machine sitting in front of the boxy building. It had four wheels, so presumably it was a vehicle. It reminded them of the trams throughout Hallownest in a way, but this one had a flat section in the back with a few items in it, with a small cabin that could probably only sit a couple in the front. In the back of the machine, they saw an object that glinted with unrested metal, standing out amongst the old pieces of junk resting there. It was a scroll! Or something similar. It was made up of similar material to silk scrolls, and could most certainly be written in. It was bound together with a long drawn out and spiraled piece of metal. They drew their quill forward, from their map set. They removed the dried ink and began to open the notebook. They could use this to communicate with whoever was in the building! Or the next sentient being they meet if no one was there.
On the cover of the bound scroll, there were symbols whose meaning escaped them, "T-A-X-R-E-P-O-R-T-I-N-G". Weird. On the several pieces of scroll material, there were a bunch of numbers written. They ripped them out so they could access the clean scroll material. They wrote the few basic words they knew, "Hello. Who are you?". With that question, they could hopefully grab someone's attention and allow them to parse meaning as they thought of the answer to their question. The spied thoughts could help build their understanding of the language further.
They walked around to the front of the building. They brandished their nail. They weren't expecting a fight. It would be fairly unobvious. However, it pays to be wary. They looked up before trying to find the door. The text on the front read "Gas 4 Cheap". What does air have to do with low costs? Where does the number four fit? Pushing the strange text aside, they looked at the front. It was mostly glass window pieces, allowing views of merchandise to be seen. So, it's a store. A strange place to put one, so distant along a path. They looked at the front for a long while before realizing that the door itself was also made of glass. Peering through, they saw another one of the sentient beings, sitting behind a counter to the side. No others were in the store.
They tried to push the door but couldn't, it was latched somewhere. They couldn't reach the handle. Well, they would certainly have to apologize for this. They drew back their nail and shattered the door in.
Wilson was sitting behind the counter, staring off into the distance. He had just finished an episode of the show he'd been watching when his phone died. He could charge it at home once he got to close the gas station at sunset. So, he zoned out thinking about how it was strange that-!
A loud crash suddenly filled the convenience store as the glass door shattered inwards. He jumped backwards out of his chair, nearly falling onto the floor. What the hell had happened? As he looked over the counter, he saw what appeared to be a child in a costume waving a pointed crowbar or bat or something. It was strangely shaped. Either way, this kid had just destroyed store property and is now waving a weapon at him.
As if second nature he ripped a shotgun out from under the counter and quickly pointed the loaded weapon a foot in front of the vandal and pulled the right trigger of the break action. It vaporized a series of tiles. The child froze, he felt for a moment that he had overreacted, but he couldn't back out now, weapons were drawn. He then shouted with all he could muster despite his oncoming panic, "Now you get your ass on out of here or I'll be forced to drop you! Don't you make me!"
The child froze up, as if in thought. They tilted their strange mask helmet thing towards him, before turning around and hightailing out of there. Wilson ran around the counter and out the ruined door to see the unnaturally fast child bolt into the swamplands. He couldn't catch them now. He looked up and to his right, the CCTV camera was rolling and had caught the incident. He could report the incident to management and the police.