Returning To Dirtmouth

"What the hell is this?"

After managing to take the helmet off I was greeted by a very strange creature. It had pure white skin with a weird texture. It looked like it was some sort of alien creature. With pitch-black eyes, sclera and all. It had a proportionally huge head for the size of its body.

Honestly, it had a strangely dorky face. Or well, it would if the face didn't have a ton of stab punctures. I really messed this guy up, didn't I?

There was a bunch of orange blood all over the place. And if I was being a bit honest I was a bit uncomfortable with the whole murder scene I had created here.

So I quickly dragged the body over to a corner and pretended as if it wasn't there.

Turning around to look at the huge armor I decided that I wasn't gonna leave this behind. Even though my body was in a lot of pain at the moment I was willing to drag this thing down to the Stagway. If I was lucky I would encounter a couple of weak husks on the way I could whack with my nail to fully heal up.

I had no idea how the alien-looking creature managed to wear this armor since it was smaller than the armor itself. But I could figure that out in a safer place.

So I grabbed onto it and began dragging it behind me.

— — —

"Ghost! You're back! Are you ready to go back to….. Dirtmouth?" Ori asked. Trailing off at the end when he noticed the huge armor I was dragging behind me.

"Yup! I found what I was looking for! Do you have a rope or something we can use to drag this over to Dirtmouth?" I asked as I finally made my way next to the stag.

Ori gave me a bit of a strange look before looking behind him and answering.

"I believe there is some rope in one of the pouches behind me. Though, wouldn't dragging this armor behind me damage it?"

"Don't worry about it. This thing is indestructible! Or well, I am pretty sure it is. Once I am back at my new home I will figure out what to do with it."

Ori simply nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"In that case, I am happy to be of service."

— — —

The very first thing I did when I got to Dirtmouth is drag this huge chunk of metal back to my home.

Elderbug gave me a weird look when he saw me having to bring it through a window I had to break since it wouldn't fit otherwise, but at the end of the day, I had made it home. I was one window down but one indestructible suit of armor up. I think that is a fair trade.

And after the armor was safe inside the house the very next thing I did was jump into my bed to sleep. I was absolutely exhausted and full of pain. The very next day when I woke up I was greeted with a brand new window. Which was very strange but also neat.

Another thing I realized is that all of my leftover injuries were mostly gone by the morning. I wasn't sure how that happened but I wasn't complaining. It gave me more time to play with the armor.

Leaving the house I saw Elderbug resting on the bench nearby so I went over to greet him.

"Ah, Ghost, I see you finally woke up. I went to your house after I saw you bring that massive piece of metal in. But you were already asleep. Menderbug came over while you were sleeping to fix up your window. He is quite the quiet but efficient man."

"Menderbug?" I asked

"Yes, he is a kid who loves to fix things. If you ever damage a sign you can bet he will show up there to fix it. He lives in a small village down in the Forgotten Crossroads. I hadn't seen him in a while. So it is good to see that he is still healthy." Menderbug said with a small smile.

"Well, if you see him again, give him my thanks for fixing the window… Though I will probably have to break it again to take the armor out."

Elderbug gave a small chuckle as he heard that.

"Speaking of which. That is quite the surprise you gave me when you brought that thing over. I hadn't seen that thing in a long long time…" his voice turned a bit serious. "Tell me, did you take that armor from Hegemol?"

"Erm… Was Hegemol about this tall, with pure white skin, black eyes, a disproportionate head compared to its body, slightly slimy, two little antennae…." I was describing the strange creature nervously when I saw Elderbug let out a chuckle.

"No, no, no. That wasn't Hegemol… That was simply a maggot. To think that Hegemol's armor would be taken by a maggot. It makes me wonder whether he is still out there or if he has passed away." Elderbug said in a reminiscent tone

"Who was Hegemol?" I asked as I sat next to Elderbug.

Elderbug smiled before beginning his story.

"He was one of the Five Great Knights of Hallownest. They served directly under the Pale King. And they were this kingdom's protectors. To tell you the truth, I don't know much about them other than what they used to look like, their strength, and their names.

The only reason I recognized that armor was since I had seen a statue of it back when I was young in the City of Tears. I remember I used to marvel at it whenever I saw it… It makes me wonder where the Five Knights are now…"

Elderbug stared into the air for a few moments before turning to me.

"Kid, that armor may be too big for you. But do take care of it, it is a piece of Hallownest's history. And we are losing more and more of it as time passes."

I looked away for a moment before sighing.

"I cannot promise that… I might have to use part of it for the future… But I promise to make sure Hegemol's legacy is not forgotten."

Elderbug narrowed his eyes at me for a moment before he too let out a sigh.

"Well, kid, I won't stop you. I am too old to even try. But I will put my trust that you will keep your word." Elderbug stood up from the bench before walking back home.

I had a slightly sour taste in my mouth from his final words, but I knew I couldn't let the armor go to waste in a museum. I had no idea what metal it was made out of. But if it let the maggot become practically invincible it would be a waste to simply let it sit doing nothing.

Maybe by reforging it or combining it with my armor I would be able to wear it properly and do some good around Hallownest. Even though I had no idea what my mission was, all I had done so far felt like a step in the right direction. So I would just trust that this was all for the best.

Standing up from the bench I looked over to the shop that Cornifer had told me his wife ran. Back when I had first gone through here it had been closed. But now, the door was open and there was light coming from the inside.

Entering the shop I saw a woman with a bored expression sitting at the counter. She had two large antennae that she had seamlessly combined with her own silver hair to create a ponytail that split into two. She had well-defined muscles and a few scars on her skin which only added to her warrior image.

"Oh, are you here to buy a map?" She asked as she hid her bored expression with a smile.

"We have everything from maps to mapmaking supplies. And even a few custom pins for you to personalize your map for whatever you might need." She added.

"Oh, actually, I already bought the map from Cornifer… I was hoping to buy a quill and some ink. I caught him while he was in the middle of making the map of the forgotten crossroads, so my map was only halfway done when I bought it so I was just gonna fill in the last couple of spots."

At the mention of her husband Iselda smiled.

"Ah, so you have met him already. He really should be the one you should be dealing with. But since he is off down there charting the maps he left me here to run the shop. Let me take a look at that map." She said as she began pulling out a couple of supplies.

It seemed that the mere mention of her husband had put her in a good mood. And judging by the friendly way she had treated me it had raised her impression of me by a few notches.

"Are you Ghost, by any chance?" she asked as she began comparing one of the maps in her shop to mine.

And as she saw the differences she began to add some things that were missing.

"Yes, how did you know?" I asked as I saw her expertly draw some of the missing portions.

A smile appeared on her face as she continued adding to my map.

"Corny told me about you when he came to drop off some of the maps he had made. He will swing by any time he finishes an area before moving on to the next. He told me that you were a really nice kid. And that apparently you had put his portrait drawing skills to the test."

I scratched my head with a bit of embarrassment as I said.

"Yeah, that was me…"

Putting up the finishing touches she returned my map to me.

"I'm sorry about the sections of the map that are unfinished. But when Corny and I agreed to start this map-making business I made him promise to not get himself killed. So Any areas left unfinished are locations he thought were too dangerous to go to."

Looking at the map I saw that a large chunk of what was missing had suddenly been filled out.

"Oh, and don't worry about the additions, since you bought the map at full price, think of that as you getting what you actually paid for." Iselda said as she put away the other map she had.

"You said you were looking for a quill right?" Iselda asked as she began searching through some of her items.

"This will be 120 geo. I know the price is a bit high, but it is hard to find writing utensils of this quality here in Hallownest. And we have a very limited supply."

Taking out my bag of Geo I put down the coins for it before nodding.

"No problem, this will actually be quite useful in the future. So I will just count it as an investment."

I took a moment to look at the other things I could buy before deciding to leave them for later. I couldn't really afford to buy them at the moment, and I didn't really need them. So if I found myself with a bunch of geo in the future I would swing by and grab them.

I was about to leave the store before Iselda called out to me.

"Actually, Ghost. I have a business offer for you. I know it will drive my husband crazy if he ends up coming home to an unfinished map of Hallownest after all the work he has put in. And you seem quite strong yourself.

So in the future, if you end up going to some parts that were left unfinished on the map, you could add the final touches to it and then bring it to me so that I can copy it. What do you think about that? We could pay you depending on how much you have to map out."

I was already going to be completing the maps for myself, so I saw this as a win-win scenario.

So giving Iselda a thumbs up I told her.

"Deal! However, I have something other than geo you could pay me with. Cornifer told me you were quite good at wielding a nail. Isn't that right?"