"Why don't you ask him what's going on?"

Chance didn't think of himself as very passionate about religion, but even he could see that this place was nothing short of a blessing.

They'd nearly died in their fight against those fly… things, he knew that much. They couldn't go on much further in the broken and tattered state they were in. They needed to rest and heal up. And, almost as an answer to their prayers, what did they find in the next room but a steamy hot spring and a bench?

Maybe the universe may not hate them as much as he originally thought. Maybe. It certainly wasn't rolling out the red carpet for them.

The bench wasn't the epitome of comfort, but to Chance, he felt like he was lounging on fluffy clouds as he leaned back, stretching his legs out as he tried to catch his breath. His struggles in the battle before had already taken their toll; all that was left to do was to heal. Though, it wouldn't hurt to speed up the process a bit.

One of the sturdy bottles was brought forth from the bag, uncorked, then a generous portion of the blue goo spread… everywhere he could. Everything hurt, everything ached, everything begged for relief. About half the bottle was used, but only brought relief from the pain. The angry burns and nasty bruises remained on his flesh. Chance's brow furrowed; where was the miraculous healing? What… did the stuff have a horrible shelf life, or perhaps the healing effects weren't as potent the more it was used?

An interesting and detrimental idea in theory, but in practice, a literal pain in the everywhere. Another issue to add to the list of stuff he would need to figure out in the future. Perhaps Dirtmouth had a library he could use? But that was for later.

Still panting, he wearily looked over at the Knight. It had declined to join him on the bench and instead had leapt into the hot springs with a splash. Its head bobbed at the surface of the water as it swam around, kicking its small legs in the water. As skillful a warrior as the Knight was, sometimes Chance really couldn't see him as anything else but a restless child.

"Glad to see you're at least having fun," he mumbled, hints of a smile creeping onto his features. A sudden thought occurred to him; maybe there was a way to add to the jovial mood. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, turning it on.

68% battery, and the time and date had progressed. Aside from that, nothing had changed. He'd have to start conserving battery, though, since he doubted he'd find a charger anywhere in Hallownest. Luckily, what he wanted didn't require much energy. He opened the music app, tapped a random song, and turned off the screen with the music still playing through the phone's speakers.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he drowned himself in the soft strums of a guitar.

"My, my, hey hey…"

Chance let the tempting melody sweep him away from the bench, from the spring, from the hell that had been their adventure so far. It ferried him along the dark stream of his subconscious, the notes his boat without a rudder. Even without an accompanying memory, nostalgia and bliss swept through him, easing his burdens, almost convincing him everything would be alright. Almost. Just as quickly as the bliss came, it surrendered to his weariness and pain. His fear. The damn orange sickness flowing through his veins. Corrupting him-

He clenched his eyes, the lovely song battling against his poisonous thoughts. The venom of his mind slowly but surely beat back the music, chipping away at it.

"It's better to burn out… than to fade away…"

But just like that, the poison diminished. Shattered, as if frozen to crispy ice, then annihilated by a vicious hammer. Chance slumped back onto the bench, hand on his forehead. What had his life come to? Running around underground with bugs? Wielding a blade with the dexterity of a child? A choky laugh escaped him. Yes, he was sitting in an underground hot spring, its water flowing from the mouths of monolithic stone statues near the edge of it. To add another few dozen missing puzzle pieces to the puzzle, the faces of said statues were quite similar to the Knight's. Damn it all, what would be next? A-

Several pokes into his side brought him back from the abyss. Yet again. There wasn't any point in checking who it was. The Knight and its signature poke were quickly burning itself into his mind; he'd grow used to it very soon.

"Hey," Chance greeted. "You need something?" The Knight only grabbed onto one of Chance's hands and gave it a tug. It pointed a tiny hand towards the hot springs.

"O-Oh, do you want me to-?" The Knight nodded. Chance sighed, but staggered up from the bench anyway, leaving his phone behind. It wouldn't hurt, and who knew, maybe it would even be good for him.

As he stood at the edge of the hot springs, Chance faced a miniature conundrum; he'd rather not soak his clothes, and he definitely wasn't about to strip them off in front of the Knight. He settled on the compromise of merely taking off his shoes, socks, and soaking his travel-weary feet in the hot water. Rolling up his pants to his knees, he slowly lowered into the near-boiling liquid. He grimaced from the intense heat at first, but let out a delighted sigh as he grew used to the temperature. This was comfortable; he could stay here all day.

A glance was cast over to the Knight. It had leapt into the springs again, but after seeing Chance only dip his feet in, it had climbed out of the water and sat beside him, trying to achieve the same result. However, the small bug seemed melancholy, as though bored by the relaxation as opposed to its own chaotic splashing.

A nice silence surrounded the two. The secret to a nice silence, however, isn't the complete lack of sound, but rather a pleasant white noise filling the void. It could be anything, like a fan, or the constant pitter-patter of rain. For them, however, it was the quiet gurgle of the miniature waterfalls from the aforementioned statues, with the distant warble of a guitar emanating from the bench.

"Say, uhh… could I ask you a few things?" Chance asked, breaking the silent spell. The Knight turned to look up at him, giving him its attention as it nodded. Remembering their very one-sided conversation from before, he was reminded that he could only ask yes or no questions. Unless the two of them put their heads together and got creative, they were stuck with binary questions.

"So…" Chance had so many questions he wanted to ask, but tried to settle on a good starting point. "Do you have any idea where we're going?"

The Knight thought for a moment, then nodded. It hopped up and raced back to the bench where Cornifer's map had been left. It unfolded the paper, the wide parchment looking comically large in the Knight's small hands, before going back to the hot springs and showing it to Chance. He held the edge of the paper while the Knight pointed out a specific mark on their map: the large, monstrous face in the middle of the Crossroads.

"...Oh. I get it," Chance said. "Cornifer specifically warned us against going there… so that's exactly where you're going to go next."

The Knight nodded. Chance really, really hoped it knew what it was doing. The alternative of them just following the metaphorical trail of blood for no good reason was too insane to even consider.

"Hey, uh… Do you mind if I ask something, er… kind of personal? It's been bothering me for a while." The Knight tilted its head as it folded up the map but slowly nodded a moment later.

Chance steadied his breath, heart gaining speed. "What… are you?"

The Knight tilted its head in the opposite direction. Chance gushed internally at how adorable it was, but kept a straight face for his question.

"Like…" He spent a few moments trying to pick the right words. "Are you a he, she…? They… ?" The Knight didn't answer, as while Chance was trying to phrase his question, it had discovered the joys of kicking the water from the edge of the spring, small splashes rippling through the water.

"...It…?" Chance offered hopelessly. He'd been referring to the Knight as 'it' this whole time, but the more he thought about it, the more derogatory it sounded. (He wanted to use the word 'dehumanizing', but seeing as how he was likely the only human in Hallownest… 'debugizing'? ...Nah.) He decided to refer to the Knight as 'they' from now on, unless he happened to get a clearer answer. For their part, the Knight simply shook their head. How illuminating.

Ok, next question, and this one was going to be far more difficult. "What's your name?"

As he spoke, the song on his phone ended and had moved onto the next one, filling the cavern full of hushed whispers. The Knight had stopped their splashing and looked up at Chance again. Their expression remained unchanged, but Chance couldn't help but feel an air around them of… sadness?

"Do… do you not… have a name?"

The Knight looked down, unwilling to meet Chance's gaze. They almost imperceptibly shook their head. Chance could've sworn they were about to start tearing up.

And then the drums filled the room.

As the soft singing of the song drifted over from the bench and towards the hot springs, the Knight perked up, turning their head towards the source of the sound. They stood up and cautiously strolled over to the bench, as though it could lash out at any moment. Chance, unsure of what was happening, followed behind them. The Knight finally reached the bench and hopped up onto it, before reaching over and picking up Chance's phone.

"Don't say that you love me!"

As the cacophony of brass echoed around them, the Knight kicked their feet a little, as they did back in the spring. But this time, it was in tune with the rhythm of the song. Their head rocked from side to side, too, as they fell into the groove of the music.

"Just tell me that you want me!"

Chance couldn't help but 'dance' along with the Knight as they rocked back and forth to the beat, bobbing his head slightly from behind the Knight as he peered over their shoulder to look at his phone.

And the soft singing grew and grew, before erupting into a shout:

"TUSK!"

The Knight leapt up suddenly and spun around while standing on the seat of the bench, wildly shaking the phone in front of Chance's face. He stepped back, surprised by the abrupt reaction, his eyes darting back and forth between The Knight's dark eyes and the phone.

"What- What is it?" The Knight pointed to the phone, then to themselves, and then back to the phone. Chance's eyes widened as the gears in his head began to turn.

"A-Are you… This song, you… You want this to be your name?" Chance blinked.

A vigorous nod.

"You want your name to be… Tusk?"

Another nod, this one much longer and energetic.

"Well… Tusk it is, I guess." The Knight- no, Tusk- hugged his waist from over the back of the bench with a tight, adamantium grip. Honestly, as far as bugs went, the scene was nothing short of adorable. Chance smiled and pat Tusk on the head as he gently pried his phone away from their tiny hands, the clamor of drums and trumpets reverberating triumphantly off the cavern walls.

"D-Don't say thatcha louve me, da da da, dananaa~"

Chance and the newly named Tusk had healed enough where they could keep stumbling through the crossroads, with Chance singing what he considered his companion's new theme song like an overjoyed drunk. And he was drunk, drunk off the inexplicable giddiness he felt from having bonded closer with his partner. And with the benefit of not having to worry about a pesky hangover.

Tusk skipped alongside him, swaying to the tune of Chance's off-key singing. Not wanting to waste battery, Chance had turned off the music and had instead kept imitating the sound from memory as best as he could. These caverns were cold and ominous in contrast to the inviting hot springs, but their chants filled the crossroads with a certain warmth, and shallow promises that everything would be alright in the end.

Up and through the crossroads they travelled, breaking open more of those odd Geo mushrooms, and weaving through the rubble of a broken kingdom. Though, Chance noticed that there was much less rubble, and far more spikes, flies, and worms. He used the term "worm" lightly; these weren't small, itty bitty worms that you would bait fish with. No, this was Hallownest, where every little thing had to be deadly. And little was an adjective that simply did not apply to its fauna.

In contrast to small, pink, squishy wrigglers from back home, they were massive, easily several times taller than him. They were covered entirely in spiky, dark gray-greenish chitin, a pulsating maw of teeth crowning their front. They would burst out of the ground periodically, showering anything nearby with the debris of such a violent entrance. The only saving grace afforded to the pair was their rhythmic bursting, and that they only burst out from one spot as opposed to moving about.

Aside from the hellspawned worms, no other trouble was afforded to the two. Granted, Chance's definition of trouble had changed from "Oh lordy we're under attack by flies" to "Oh god avoid the worm avoid the worm AVOID THE WORM-". In short, the smaller fauna had lost much of its psychological edge. Even now, those infection slinging flying fucks were few and far between- the only ones they encountered were quickly cut down by Tusk.

Before too long (and after a brief upward climb), they finally found themselves back within the crossroads proper, if the re-emergence of the ever-present rubble was to be trusted. Though the arch they stood under was in good shape, if he was being honest. Not just the arch, either. Indeed, the bricks under their feet were actually still in a cohesive formation, forming a smooth, if rustic, road. And the cherry on top, the crème de la crème had to be the ornate, blue sign at the side, an arrow coming from the circular body pointing inward of the arch. Oddly enough, the figure imprinted on it was a simplified… something. If he had to guess, the simplified caricature of a head. The only real striking feature of the symbol was a very large horn that branched out from the top of it.

Not that he had long to admire the sight. While Chance stood stupefied, Tusk continued climbing up the shaft, nearly leaving him behind. He'd have to check this place out later, if he got the chance. He climbed up the shaft as quickly as he could, even though his climbing speed paled in comparison to Tusk's.

"H-Hey! W-Wait, Tuh… Tusk, hold up…" Chance called, but Tusk kept on with their ascent. Chance had no choice but to follow them up, beating back more hostile creatures along the way, until they both finally reached a plateau. Tusk attempted to run along, but Chance managed to pull his upper body over the ledge and call out,

"Slow down!"

Tusk froze, before turning slowly on their heel to face Chance as he rolled over the ledge and collapsed onto the solid ground. He took a few deep breaths, exhausted from Tusk's little climbing race, but he eventually sat up on his side and pointed at the small bug.

"H-Hey, I get you're eager to keep goin', but do you even know where we are? 'Cause I don't."

"Wh-What, so we missed it?"

Chance was flipping around through Cornifer's map, trying to figure out where the hell they were. That was the hot springs, then from there, they kept going… and then went… up? Yeah, up. Right past that ominous knight-thing Tusk wanted to meet.

Tusk couldn't keep their eyes on Chance, instead staring at the cavern floor, as though ashamed by the trouble their enthusiasm caused. The map flipped every which way in Chance's hands as he tried to comprehend where they were and where they should go next.

"It looks like the only real path is… back down," Chance groaned. "We gotta go all the way back. Shit."

A long pause and a tilt of Tusk's head hit him with realization.

"Uhm… D...Did I say that out loud?" Chance sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Ahah, umm, s-sorry about that. Just… just, ah, pretend I said nothing, alright? Don't, uh… don't pick up any, er, 'choice words' you happen to learn from me." He didn't know Tusk's real age, but if they were as much of a child as they seemed, he didn't want to be responsible for teaching them to swear.

"...oohhhh, brmy my mhmdr, pl nd slnght…"

Chance blinked, looking around the cavern. Did he hear something? Tusk noticed it as well, perking up. They crouched into a fighting stance, anticipating an enemy.

"...brmy my fmthmr wmth hms ys sht tght!..."

It almost sounded like… singing? The voice was muffled, and he couldn't make out any words. But what he could make out was the direction of the voice, and it sounded as if it was coming from one of the passages up ahead. He took a tentative step into the mouth of another opening, with Tusk following behind him.

From the old Crossroads, this place felt like a whole new world. It was like stepping into the inside of a crystal geode. The dull, grey stone walls were replaced by vibrant, pink crystals, softly pulsing with a warm glow. They jutted out from almost every surface(save the floor), cluttering the whole area with their sharp spikes. Decrepit, wooden beams, lashed together with rope adorned some parts of the wall, acting as supports.

Idly, he broke a smaller crystal with his nail, shattering it into small bits like a small child would shatter an icicle. They fragmented crystals were warm to the touch, sending small tingles down his hand. It felt familiar, yet also so alien... They could prove useful, though.

A few of the more intact pieces slipped into his bag. He double-checked to make sure nobody saw him do so, and onwards they went.

The singing grew louder as they travelled deeper and deeper into the crystallized caverns. As they closed in on the source, the words of the song became clearer, the rhythm reverberating off the crystalline walls as they pressed on.

"...bury my sisters, two by twoo...!"

Idly, Chance's mind went to the idea of Sirens. Was the singing coming from one such specimen? An odd, crystalized one, perhaps. Definitely female, either way, though not… alluring enough to be a siren. Or maybe the crystals themselves were singing? Probably not, but there was something… strange about crystals. Even by Hallownest standards. Granted, not an active malevolent strange, but a more passive variety. Definitely tingly, however.

Dropping down an incline, they found the source of the singing. The source was not a siren, or the crystals; rather, a small-ish, round bug with a lumafly mining helmet atop her head, and wielding a pickaxe. Furthermore, the bug was hacking away at the crystalized wall, each strike from the tool spraying a small smattering of shards at their feet.

"...and then when you're done, bury me toooooo!"

Her song ended on that note, the ethereal sound hanging in the air for a moment. She finally stopped her rhythmic mining, bringing the pick to a resting position, and turning to face them.

"Ha ha ha, do you know that one? It's one of my f-favourites! We can sing something else if you like. You start singing and I'll join in. I bet you have a b-b-beautiful singing voice! Ha ha ha!" She sounded jovial, but Chance picked up an odd repression, of sorts. Is she ok? She didn't even seem surprised or shocked at two other beings just waltzing in on her singing, as if she was expecting them.

"Well… I do have something, if you're up to it," Maybe humoring her for now would be the best idea.

"Ha ha ha, of course! P-please, after you." Definitely strained. She tightly grasped her pickaxe, shifting slowly from leg to leg. Quickly, Chance withdrew his phone and opened the music app.

She wanted music? Well, it was time to show her music. Soft strums of a guitar echoed off the crystal walls, followed by a heavy base, and then by joyful rhythm.

"Your perfect vision… Of the life we had…"

The ebb and flow of the tide on an overcast beach filled Chance's vision, and suddenly he could feel himself there, his toes digging into the soft and moist sand as a cool breeze rushed into his face, whipping his hair around wildly. The salty fragrance in the air as he took a deep breath, the shudder as the frigid water rushed up to his ankles, only to fade away into a sea of black and green…

"Prompts my conviction… That my love will bring you back…"

He almost didn't notice when the small miner dropped her pick onto the ground with a metal clang, and she started dancing. It was a simple dance, a side-to-side rocking with swaying arms, but soon Tusk joined in with her as well. The two bugs, both barely reaching up to his waist in height, circling around Chance to the groove of the music. The pink glow of the cavern seemed to reflect and echo the rhythm, their soft glow pulsing to the beat, as if contributing to their little concert, making it all the more immersive. They let the music wash over them like the waves of the ocean, drench them, drown them…

"But when I reach out… You seem quite calm..."

"I-I never introduced myself, have I?" the miner suddenly spoke up, her timid voice cutting through the music. "I-I'm Myla. Who are you?"

"I'm Chance, and your dance partner is Tusk," he smiled. Myla laughed with joy as she and Tusk spun around his legs, letting the music take them away together.

"Still my impression, lingers deep within your soul, in your soul…"

"But when you look 'round, see me standin' there…"

The trio was exhausted from their dance, and were resting against the crystal walls, smiles plastered on all their faces. Chance couldn't help the giggles bubbling up, causing Myla to laugh in turn, causing him to laugh, trapping them in a seemingly endless cycle of amusement.

Tusk could not laugh, but Chance was sure that if they had a voice, they'd be in fits right now.

"W-Whaha, whahat…" Myla struggled to compose herself. "W-What was that? T-That… music box thing! I-I-I've never seen anything like it!

May as well tell her the same story he told Quirrel. "I, hah, picked it u- heh-, picked it up on the road," he laughed. Their dance left them all in a strange high, the pink crystals around them clouding their vision in a haze that only contributed to their funk.

"I-It's incredible... " Myla whispered. "I-I've never heard such beautiful music! Where did you find it?"

Chance wiped his brow. "Ah, well, we were climbing up here from the crossroads, and I uh, stumbled onto-"

"I'm only wonderin', if by chance do you still care…"

The haze vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Wait! We were going to that knight's symbol… thing, weren't we?!" He stood up quickly. Tusk followed suit, suddenly standing at attention. The cure for his disease had to be found. Whatever lurked there might be his only lead, and as fun as it was, dancing in a crystalline cave wouldn't fix him.

"Aw, l-leaving so soon…?" Myla sadly said. Tusk rushed over to her and wrapped her in a tiny embrace. Chance gave a somber smile as he knelt down and patted the miner on her back.

"Don't worry. We promise to come back sometime, we just have some… important things to attend to first." Myla looked up at him, but her eyes widened with shock when they crossed his.

"And though I had to… see somebody new…"

"Y-Y-Your eyes-!"

"Don't worry," Chance said hurriedly, though he couldn't force a smile anymore. His face was just a dull grimace. "I'm gonna fix this. I'll cure myself, we'll come back here, and all three of us can dance through the night. How's that sound?"

Myla looked doubtful, but slowly, a sad, small smile crept onto her face. "Promise?"

"Promise," Chance confirmed without hesitation. Without anything else to say, he rose up and turned to leave. Tusk gave a final wave to Myla before rushing off back the way they both came. For a reason Chance couldn't explain, the crystals seemed to glimmer differently now; they were still the same rose-pink as always, but there was a new light within them, something that defied nature. Something as brilliant and warm as a rising sun.

"Don't be mistaken, I'm still dreaming about you…"

Chance shook his head and steeled himself. He'd keep his promise.

"About you~"

Chapter name and summary are a reference to Tusk by Fleetwood Mac.

Other song references in this chapter include:
My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Catalina by Allah-Las

As we said in the last chapter, this new upload is a lot shorter, only around 4k words. I think we're still going to try to shrink chapter size down even moreso, but this is a good start.

What do you think of the name Tusk? I know the most popular names for the player character include Ghost and the Knight, but Chance has no real reason to call them Ghost, so we needed a new name. Just as we were planning to upload this chapter, we got the idea of naming more characters without a proper name by this theme, so feedback on this(and/or about any aspect of our story!) would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all for your continued support, and we hope to see you in the next chapter!