Lately, I've noticed that the knight has been venturing into Hallownest's caverns. It disappears for most of the day and does not return home until it becomes so exhausted that it must sleep. It is not my intention to pry, but I cannot quell my curiosity. Perhaps I can aid my sibling in whatever task it has undertaken.
The knight had already embarked some time ago, but, with how quickly I can cover ground, I am confident that I will locate it. With haste, I make my way through the general areas of the Greenpath, the City of Tears, the Fungal Wastes, and Fog Canyon. Unfortunately, I do not catch a glimpse of the little one. If only I knew what business it had down here, then the vessel would be simple to find.
Even so, it is getting late and the knight should be returning to Dirtmouth soon. It would be easiest to just meet up at home instead of continuing this aimless search. With much of my energy spent, I travel back through the crossroads while checking some of the more remote paths on my way back. Much to my surprise, it is in one of these isolated corridors that I find the little ghost itself.
"There you are. I have been scouring the kingdom for you, Little One. If I may ask, what are you doing down here by yourself?"
It spared me a glance when I entered the room, but the vessel hasn't acknowledged me beyond that. Its attention appears to be fixated on the layout of this chamber for some reason. There are several large spires of rock that are covered in deadly spikes. They are lined up quite nicely and they increase in height the further back you go. While I could be mistaken, this structure does not seem natural to me.
"You have some sort of business here, Little Knight?"
It does not respond. Instead, with determination, it launches itself toward the tower of spikes. My stomach churns at the sight.
"W-What are you- Vessel!"
Before it can be impaled, the ghost swings its nail in a wide arc below it. The blade clashes against the spikes and the vessel is sent even higher. It soars through the air to the next tower and performs the same maneuver once again. Finally, it approaches the third and final pillar of spikes. This time, however, the knight swings too early. It lands on the bed of skewers and writhes in pain.
"Little Knight! Do not struggle, I will…help you, somehow!"
My adrenaline has peaked, and I prepare my silk and needle for a rescue mission, but…the entire rock is covered in spikes and is very high up. How can I manage to retrieve the ghost without coming to harm myself? This is a very precarious situation…
My frantic devising is halted when I see the little knight. Despite the agony it must be enduring, it has crawled its way through the spikes to the edge of the spire. It takes a quick look below before its body comes tumbling down. Fortunately, I am ready and waiting. I catch the knight before it makes contact with the ground and I anxiously lay it down.
Kneeling beside the little ghost, I can finally see the extent of its injuries. There are several punctures on its dark body. Shadowy trails of Void slowly leak from the wounds. Its mask has also been scratched up quite badly. I need to start treating the knight right away, but…how do I treat a vessel? I suppose we are similar. Regrettably, all I can do is treat their wounds as I do my own. I just…hope I am not making a fatal mistake.
"Please Little One, calm yourself as best you can. I'll do my best to patch you up, I promise."
In all honesty, I was trying to convince myself of those words as well as the little ghost. Injuries of this severity would not have bothered me like this in the past, but it has been a long time since I've had family in my life that I wished to protect. When it comes to the lives of those we love, occasionally, my emotions get the best of even me.
Before I can lend any aid, the knight puts its hand up and stops me. I feel a powerful force gather around us. The little knight tenses up and glows a bright white. With a sudden flash, the energy in the room dissipates and the little knight's wounds start to patch themselves up. Of course, the knight can heal itself using soul magic.
Fully healed, the knight gets to its feet and gives me a quick hug. It appears to be laughing…
"Hey, quit your laughing! I…just forgot that you could use soul in that manner. Yes, I may have, unintentionally, made this more dramatic than it needed to be. That is only because I was scared for your life, Little One! You should be thankful that you have one such as I to look after you!"
The little ghost must agree. It jumps into my arms without warning, catching me off guard.
"I know, I know. You have shown me that you are more than thankful. I did not mean what I said, I was simply…a little flustered. Though, I am getting tired of your tackling behavior."
The Knight jumps from my arms and stares up at the tallest tower. Why was it so reckless about getting up there anyway?
"You're not going to try that again, are you?"
It nods.
"No. I am not watching you risk your life with such negligence. If you must reach the top, there is surely a safer alternative."
It stares at me. It must be waiting for this alternative.
"Um, well…what about…this?"
I lift the little ghost up under its arms. With careful focus, I launch it into the air. Thanks to my skilled aim, of course, the vessel makes a perfect landing on the highest rock. I sigh. If only we had tried this earlier…Well, whatever is up there, it is now within reach. I certainly hope that it is worth all this trouble.
I stare up at the ceiling of the cavern as I wait for the knight to jump down. When I finally see movement, it is not the little ghost that is falling toward me, it is some unknown object. I am a bit startled, but I manage to catch the large, glass sphere. A large, glass sphere? Why was that tucked away in here? I set it down and peer inside. I see a…creature. It appears to be a baby grub.
"Oh no, it's adorable…"
I stare into its eyes and it stares back. It is overjoyed to see me for some reason. It jumps up and down as it makes cute, grub noises of happiness. The knight knew that this grub was located up there, hmm? Why was it up there? Why is it trapped in this glass jar? Who is responsible? Why trap a baby grub of all things? I don't understand.
The knight jumps down from above, draws its nail and breaks the container with a slash. The freed grub celebrates its new freedom and then burrows into the ground, leaving us two siblings by ourselves.
"Care to enlighten me about all this, Little One?"
The knight nods and pulls a map out from its cloak. I look over the vessel's shoulder and gaze at the carefully charted world of Hallownest. I am surprised at just how detailed this map is, but my attention is brought to several small, green markers littered around the kingdom. They are only a few and they are located in the Crystal Peak and the Queen's Gardens.
"These point to where imprisoned grubs are being kept, correct?"
It nods.
"We cannot keep them waiting in despair any longer, Little One. Lead the way to the nearest captive."
It nods happily.
Honestly, the little knight should have enlisted my help from the very beginning. We will have these cute, baby grubs free in no time at all. Though, I have to wonder how the knight has such accurate information on where the grubs are. I would think that only the one who imprisoned the grubs in the first place could know, but that cannot be the case. The knight is trying to save them, after all.
The next grub we find is in the gardens. Outside one of the rest area's glass walls, we scale lush, overgrown cliffs. There are sharp barbs on the tops of the buildings below us the entire time. Whoever the mastermind behind this operation is, they are clearly trying to deter all from saving these grubs. Luckily, my silk acts as a good bridge and allows the knight to get to the opposite wall. Eventually, after having to jump from one side of the chasm to the other, several times, the knight makes it to the top and finds the baby.
At the Crystal Peak we find the rest of the captives. The first is already in sight. The problem, though, is that there are two pits full of jagged crystals separating us. One would think that jumping across would be the obvious solution, but that would only be true if there weren't two patches of crystals above those pits as well. Factor in the extremely low ceiling and this becomes quite a conundrum.
"What kind of sick freak is responsible for this? Not only are they imprisoning harmless, grub infants, they keep them locked away behind death traps like this!"
The knight seems to be focused on the hazard in front of it. Even for one of the most reckless beings I have ever known, the knight is approaching this with caution, thankfully. After analyzing the area, I only have one decent idea for getting to that grub. The knight may not find it agreeable, though.
"Hold still for a moment, Little One."
With a lengthy piece of silk, I wrap one end tightly around the knight's body. I leave the rest of the rope to hang by my side. I pick the vessel up and begin to line up my shot…
"Alright, I'm ready. Don't worry about the crystals, just believe in your big sister."
Realizing that I plan on turning it into a projectile, the knight attempts to squirm from my hold. It is too late, however. With a powerful heave, the vessel sails through the narrow passage. It clears the crystals and hits the glass jar, shattering it. My aim was…too good, I suppose. At first, I feared I may have hurt the grub, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Once free, it flees underground with joy.
All it takes is a mighty yank of the silk rope to pull the knight back to my side. It seems cross with me.
"Oh, do not pout, Little Knight. That attitude does not suit you. Besides, you had no other ideas, hmm? My plan worked in the end and I did not let you come to harm. All went as planned, wouldn't you agree?"
Realizing it had no room to argue, the knight took out the map and resumed its search. Close by was another grub. It was trapped in a labyrinth full of metal, automated presses. The first few machines were easy enough to avoid. Good timing and quick feet were all that was needed. Once we reached the final hallway, however, it got a bit more difficult. The rate at which these final three machines operated was much higher than the others. On the other side, though, was a grub and a switch that, likely, turned these mechanisms off. What would be the safest way to that switch?
"Hold still for a moment, Little One."
From my words alone, the knight could tell what I was planning. It flailed about to try and escape from me. I failed to keep myself from laughing.
"I am being serious, though. You know this will work. Trust your big sister."
The knight crosses its arms and plops down so that I can tie the silk around it.
"That's a good little ghost."
After my plan succeeded again, and flawlessly I might add, there was only one final grub remaining.
This grub is imprisoned, as usual. What is surprising, though, is that it's out in the open. There are no traps or hazards to speak of. Warily, I draw close and inspect the grub. There is surely some sort of trick, no? As far as I can tell, however, the grub looks and acts like the others. Maybe the grubnapper ran out of time to devise their usual schemes. Well, there is no point in complicating things. With a swing of my needle, the glass breaks and the grub is freed.
"It seems that is the last of them. We should be heading- "
Just then, I hear an atrocious, deranged shrieking coming from behind me. It's…the grub? No, it only took the appearance of a grub. The creature's true form is that of a nasty parasite. It rushes at me in a frenzy, its movements are erratic, and I am almost caught off guard. Just before it can attack me, I hold my blade up and hold the fiend off.
"What an abomination you are! Not only do you mimic those delightful grubs, but you prey on those who would save them, like my little sibling. There will be no mercy for your kind!"
With a powerful shove, I create some space between us. It continues to scream and charge forward. I dodge its wild rush and, as it turns to face me, I throw my needle with all my might. The weapon makes contact with the creature's side, pierces its flesh, and pins its body to the cave wall.
"Hmph, for such a loudmouthed brute, it didn't put up much of a fight. Good riddance."
The knight finds a hidden passageway behind a nearby wall. How does it find them? Inside, there is another grub. This time, I am prepared for whatever trap they may try to spring on me. Cautiously, I break open the jar and observe. It does seem to be a genuine grub, though, something is…off about it. It doesn't express joy in its freedom like the others. Its movements are subdued. It does not even burrow away.
"I wonder why it will not leave this place. Do you think it is hurt, perhaps?"
The vessel pauses and nods with uncertainty.
"Well, we cannot abandon it here…Ah! What if we take the grub back to our home and let it live with us! I can nurse it back to health and help it grow into a grub warrior!"
On one hand, having a baby grub to watch after alongside my sibling might be complete chaos. On the other hand, these grubs are so cute…I cannot pass up on this opportunity to take one home with me. In response to my grand idea, the knight vehemently disagrees. It walks over to the grub, lifts it onto its shoulders and tries its best to carry it away.
"A-And why not?! Sure, the grub probably has a home out there but…Fine, you are right. It would be unjust to steal an infant from its family. It was a childish idea, I admit. Even so, we will need to take it someplace to heal, yes? Why not take it home for now?"
But the vessel does not listen. It struggles onward while carrying the grub.
"Would you, at least, allow me to help you? It may only be an infant, but the grub is larger than you. It is crushing you under its weight."
And so, my sibling and I carry the impaired, grub baby through the Crystal Peak and into the Crossroads. We pass the Black Egg Temple and the entrance to Dirtmouth, but the little ghost leads me further on. Our journey ends when we reach a long chasm full of platforms. The highest room on the far wall is where we are headed. I can hear…noises coming from within. There must be dozens of bugs inside, at least. Could this be the base for a group of travelers? Perhaps they are survivors of the infection? When we finally enter the room, though, I find that I am very wrong. Waiting inside is an old grubfather and a very large number of his children. Adorable, baby grubs are all over the place. I…do not know if my heart can take this. There are too many for me to handle…Gah, I must get ahold of myself! I am the princess of this kingdom. I need to start acting like it.
"Greetings, Sir. We found an injured grub on our travels. Is this your child?"
The grubfather is positively brimming with delight. It cheers and tosses piles of geo down to the knight and I. The child is helped into its nest by the father and, from what I can tell, every space in the room has been filled by a baby grub.
"Little Knight, did you recover all these grubs?"
It nods, seemingly proud of its accomplishment.
"I am a little disappointed that you shut down my wonderful idea, but I am also immensely proud of what you managed to do here, Little One. The future of Hallownest is in good hands with you around."