What WAS that? She did not understand. She knew, deep inside, that she wasn't supposed to feel these things. That this was part of why she was a failure.
They weren't exactly blockable, though. They lingered, affecting her thoughts and actions, never truly fading.
She sat there for a time, wiping away the strange drops of shadow running down her mask. Why was it leaking like that? Were her emotions too much for this hollow shell? It made no sense to her.
Nothing did.
There were a couple squawks, and buzzing down were more of those flying things. Vengeflies, her mind thought, one of the many new words surfacing.
They died just as easily as the others of their kind. Killing was easy and comforting, and Whisper felt those weird emotional twinges fading back into nothing.
She climbed up that metal door and saw the tunnel leading on from there. She started running down it, killing a couple more bugs as she went.
She didn't know how long it took, but suddenly the tunnel opened wide into a massive shaft, filled with platforms hanging from rusted chains. Chitinous barrels and carriages littered the area, abandoned long ago. Buzzing all throughout the shaft were small, fat bugs that bounced off the surfaces mindlessly and seemed to serve no purpose.
Directly across from her, Whisper saw a strange tunnel, with strange green matter rising from the ground and covering the walls. A crisp, warm scent wafted from the open door, and Whisper felt drawn to it. There was a strange power here, and her staff hummed hungrily.
Carefully leaping across the platforms, and swiping away any of the fat flies (Gruzzers, her mind supplied) that buzzed towards her, she reached the other side. As her feet landed on the green matter, she was astonished by how soft it was. It was a weird sensation, but also…comforting?
Looking down the corridor, she noticed the plants steadily grew thicker. Near the entrance, there was an overgrown sign, with some of the dead lying around it.
Whisper noticed that she could still barely read the sign, and looked closely at it.
"The Pilgrim's Way
Travelers of Hallownest, descend through verdant wilds and fungal groves to the city at this kingdom's heart. There all wishes shall be granted, all truths revealed."
Wishes…truths…these were the things Whisper wanted. She wanted a voice to sing with. She wanted to know the truth - of why she had been created, and why she had been thrown away. If these things were truly waiting in that city, then she certainly had to get down there.
Plus, there was that strange urge inside her, to delve deeper, hunt more, claim more power. And so far, she had no reason to even consider fighting it.
Eagerly, she walked through the grass, over a stone bridge stretching over a misty, hissing expanse. But at the other end of the bridge…
There was a large overgrown plaza here, with a doorway leading into the next part of their caverns. Unfortunately, though, it was entirely blocked by a large armored bug curled up in its shell. When it sensed her presence, though, it unfurled to reveal a large, angry head and claws, the eyes filled with the same burning orange light.
Whisper knew that this was going to be another tough fight, especially looking at how thick the armor plates were. She felt a strange soaring feeling in her body - a thrill to fight a challenge, to test her skill against a stronger bug and prove victorious.
As she readied her staff, the bug (Elder Baldur, her mind said) reared up and started spitting gooey orange globs of steaming venom. One splashed by her feet, dissolving a bit of her cloak. Whisper knew that if one hit her directly it would hurt as much as the spikes - if not more so.
She ran around the globs, racing towards the Baldur with her staff raised. But when she got close, it curled into a ball and her staff bounced harmlessly off its plates. She swung at it several more times, but the shell was completely impervious. Feeling a burning anger, she smacked it a bunch more, but none of them proved even a tiny bit more effective.
After hitting it a bunch Whisper stopped, finally recognizing she couldn't brute force this. She wondered if she could trick it into opening up again so she could hit the vulnerable interior.
Carefully, slowly, she stepped backwards, waiting impatiently for it to open again. Once she got a fair distance aways, it uncurled and resumed spitting at her. She immediately dashed forwards at it, but right as she reached it it slammed shut again.
Several times she repeated it, coming from different directions and angles, but every time she failed. She was getting very frustrated now. What she wanted was beyond that doorway, but this stupid bug was barring her path and refused to die.
Finally her rage grew too much. With a silent scream, she threw her staff at the Baldur, where it bounced off uselessly once again. Picking it up, she whirled around and ran out of the hallway, and returned to the platform room. If she couldn't go that way, she'd simply find an alternate path down.
She knew that the general direction was down, could feel it in her very being as it pulled at her. She just needed to find that path down.
She started climbing down the platforms, the chains rustling and creaking as she clambered down them. The Gruzzers continued bumping around the room, seemingly clueless of her existence. However, if one hit her it would probably hurt, not to mention the risk of being knocked off the chains.
But finally, she reached the bottom, where she noticed a hole leading into the next cavern below. She heard some humming coming up from it, which made her feel those same emotions she had felt when she couldn't sing with that mining bug.
She figured it was worth investigating though. And if it wasn't she could just murder whoever was singing. It was a cheering thought, and she lightly jumped down the hole, landing in the next room.
It was rather spacious in here, and Whisper noticed there were what appeared to be four doorways. Two of them were blocked by fallen rubble though, but underneath them were two more open passages.
Her eyes, however, felt drawn to the bug in the room near her, the one who was humming his own tune.
It was an unusual song, echoing through the caverns around him and accompanied by an odd scratching. The bug was short and squat, surrounded by large sheets of some strange material marked with strange images. The bug was wearing a pair of shiny round things atop his proboscis, and a large brown container filled with curled bundles of that material was strapped to his back. He currently had one of the sheets propped on his lap, upon which he was scratching away at with a strange rod. It left trails of black on the sheet, and Whisper realized it was making the markings on it.
But what were they for?
The bug noticed her presence, and stopped. "Hmm? Ah, hello there. Have you come down to explore these beautiful old ruins? Don't mind me. I've a fondness for exploring myself. Getting lost and finding your way again is a pleasure like no other. We're exquisitely lucky, you and I."
Whisper noted that he was using a lot of big fancy words. Not entirely something she liked, especially as she was still struggling with basic ones.
He was quiet for a moment, as if waiting for something. Was she supposed to say something back? Did other bugs do that? She supposed those voices were meant for something. She tried to summon a voice again, but there was nothing but the whispering.
He shrugged, although Whisper noticed that he seemed a little tense now. "I'm a cartographer by trade, and I'm working on mapping this area right now. Would you like to buy a copy of my work so far?"
Whisper tilted her head quizzically. Buy? That was an unfamiliar concept to her. She sensed the word meant something significant though. An exchange of sorts. But what would he want? And what would she receive?
She looked under her cloak, and noticed a pouch that had escaped her attention so far. It seemed to rattle and clink with some odd objects, and opening it she noticed some strange round trinkets. They looked like shells made of silver - something she had seen embedded in various rocks here and there, but nothing she had paid any mind to before.
She scooped up a decent-sized handful, and the bug's eyes brightened. "Ah, excellent! For this first map I only need 30 Geo. It looks as if you have more than plenty to satisfy that requirement!"
He plucked out the required number as Whisper stared at him, then rolled up one of his many sheets and rested it into her hand. She looked at it, marveling at the image. She realized with astonishment she could see the platform room and the path up into the town, as well as the room they were currently in with a very ugly and simple version of the bug's face. These markings could show her where things were!
She also noticed there was a spacious chamber on the map, just down the nearby passage from here. In it there was another face - a face Whisper could sense was dangerous. Something tough to fight. A little thrill went through her at the thought.
"A map can be a useful thing, but it alone won't show you where you are.", the bug explained, "If you've not the head for directions, I suggest purchasing a compass from my wife, Iselda. She's just now opening our new map shop in Dirtmouth, selling all sorts of useful things to wanderers like yourself. She'll even sell some of my old maps from time to time. I pop back to see her whenever I finish mapping an area. She's always so excited to see me."
Whisper got the odd sense that that last part wasn't entirely factual. Something about the way his voice shifted. She wasn't sure why.
"Oh, by the way, I haven't introduced myself, have I?", the bug said, "Yes, I should apologize for that. When you spend a lot of time by yourself, with just your own thoughts, you forget the niceties of conversation. My name is Cornifer, and I've always loved exploring the world. Why, when I was first hatched I wandered off immediately, leaving my brothers and sisters and poor mother behind! That's why as soon as I could I moved to Dirtmouth with my wife. A huge unending kingdom to explore right on our doorstep. Who could resist?"
He noticed Whisper still standing and staring. "You really are an unusual little one. Anyway, I'll let you return to your travels. With a little luck, we'll meet again. Be safe and farewell!"
He turned back to his maps and continued scribbling away, and Whisper sensed the conversation was over. Once again, she did not lift her weapon against a talking bug. She was starting to sense a pattern there.
In her mind, she noted that talking bugs were friendly and not to be murdered. Bugs that didn't talk were to be murdered.
With this simple distinction made, she felt a warm feeling inside her. She knew instinctively that feeling was wrong, that she shouldn't be thinking and making decisions like that. Yet she ignored that thought. Something she also shouldn't be doing.
She turned and looked at the map again. She looked down at the floor below her. Her path marked, she gave a pleased nod and leaped down, slipping silently down the passage as Cornifer resumed his humming above her.*