Myla the Miner

"Ohhh, bury my mother, pale and slight,

bury my father with his eyes shut tight!

Bury my sisters two by two,

and then when you're done, let's bury me toooo!"

I snuck my way around the mines until I encountered a girl with a miner's hat and a worker's outfit mining away merrily.

From what Elderbug had told me I had expected to find nothing but monsters below the town. But so far I had already met two other people that seemed to be quite friendly.

Sure, with the zombie husks all over the place it was bound to be a bit dangerous. But nothing someone with some experience couldn't handle. When I go back I should let Elderbug know that maybe things aren't so bad down here.

There is a pretty big chance that the people who used to live in the town are probably just lost somewhere inside. Or at least I hoped that was the case.

Making some noise not to startle the girl in front of me I saw her pause mining for a moment and turn around to face me. And as she noticed me she gave me a bright smile.

"Hey, stranger! Are you here to do some mining? There is plenty of ore for both of us! If you join me we can both sing songs together!"

I let out a small chuckle before answering.

"Sorry, I just heard the song and I got curious. I don't think mining is for me."

The girl wiped the sweat off her face before placing the mining pick on her shoulder.

"Are you sure? I have a feeling that you have a great singing voice! Haha! And well, to tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind a bit of company. I have been mining here by myself for a long time. But hey, I love the mines. You can work all day here and when you are tired you can even sleep in here."

I could feel the slight amount of awkwardness coming from her voice as she gave me a few quick worried glances.

I guess the common theme in this world is that people are quite lonely. I mean, I had a very small sample size, but so far I was three for three. Quirrel may not have said it explicitly but I could tell by the way he behaved while teaching me that he was also a bit sad.

'Could it be that that's my mission?'

My silence as I thought must have worried the girl in front of me as she began stuttering.

"Oh- uh - so-sorry I guess I haven't introduced myself. Erhm- I am Myla! And mining is really fun! And well- even if you don't like it you can just stay and sing you know."

Noticing her distress I just gave her a thumbs up.

"I could get some practice wielding my nail. So I wouldn't mind spending some time in here to keep you some company. The mine is big enough that I can practice without disturbing you. And maybe you could teach me some of your songs. Oh, and also, I guess I forgot to introduce myself.

Nice to meet you Myla, my name is Ghost."

It really would help if I knew what my mission was. But for now, I guess bringing some happiness to the citizens of Hallownest is a good start. Maybe she could teach me a thing or two that will be helpful in the future.

Hearing my response Myla's face immediately brightened as she began nodding furiously.

"Ni-nice to meet you! Feel free to practice anywhere you want."

— — —

"Can you teach me another song!" Myla said in excitement as she sat next to me with her pickaxe by her side.

At first, we were both working hard doing our own thing, but eventually, the conversation got hard to hear between the sound of a pickaxe striking the pink crystals and the sound of my training. So we both decided to take a small break to listen to talk to each other.

I couldn't remember a lot about my past life, but from time to time memories of things would just naturally appear in my head. And well, it seems like I was quite good at remembering songs since every time Myla asked for another one a random song would appear inside my brain.

"You know, I actually just remembered a song that is quite fitting to our location. It is called Crystal kingdom."

Removing the mask from my face I took a moment to try to remember the lyrics before opening my mouth.

"Pulled from my home inside a cloud

Lost to the dark I drift alone

Now I'm returned beyond the shroud

Ever to reign upon my throne

Here in my Crystal Kingdom

I saw beyond the omniverse

Far past the places we should see

But for my vision I was cursed

Torn from my home and family

Lost to my Crystal Kingdom

Saved from the darkness by my child

Locked in a cage of glass and steel

But my true love remains in exile

Beckoning me to break the seal

Into this Crystal Kingdom

Kept from our children, lovers, friends

Subject to laws we did not make

This is where separation ends

And souls of the lost will come awake

Enter this Crystal Kingdom"

(Look up "Crystal Kingdom Taz" Usually I am not one to put lyrics in a chap but since they were so fitting to the world I added them.)

As I finished the song I could see Myla's eyes sparkling. She was fully entranced by the song. And when she realized I was staring at her expression she blushed slightly and looked away.

"I really like that song…" Myla said with a bit of embarrassment.

Looking at the nail that was resting next to me made me realize just how much time I had spent here.

"Hey, Myla… I think it is time for me to leave. I still have a lot left to do on the outside."

Myla's smile instantly dimmed as she heard my words.

"Oh…"

Since she had taken off her helmet I quickly ruffled her hair before standing up and grabbing my mask.

"Don't worry though. I will be back when I get the chance. Do you live in Dirtmouth? I think I will be stopping there every once in a while."

"Well... I used to, but I live in the mines now. It is safer than having to travel through the forgotten crossroads with all of the husks. I can get pretty much anything I need here." Myla answered as she looked down at the floor.

"Well, in that case, I will drop by the mines too. Maybe by that time, I will have remembered more songs and stories."

Myla nodded shyly before telling me to wait for a moment.

She rushed to a pile of her stuff and dug around it for some time until she pulled out a necklace that had one of the pink crystals.

Rushing back to me she placed it in my hands before saying.

"Here… I made this a long time ago. And well, since you are the first person to come and visit me in the mines I think you should have it. That way even while you are out adventuring I can still accompany you." She said as she reached inside her shirt pulling out another necklace that looked exactly like the one she had given me.

Giving her a smile I put the necklace on and hit it underneath my armor so it wouldn't get damaged.

"Thank you, I will keep it safe," I told her with a smile which only led her to become even shyer.

"Stay safe." She told me before reaching for her pickaxe.

"I will try my best."

— — —

Remember that thing I said about husks not being able to jump properly? Well, turns out I was wrong.

Some of the husks did nothing but jump to try to land on you. And I was in a bit of a bad spot as I had to juggle my focus between the 10 husks around me.

At the moment I had three different horned husks charging at me, five of the normal husks running towards me while wailing their arms, and two husks that were jumping all over the room.

Rule Number 3: When possible avoid fighting groups. And if you find yourself fighting a group, don't.

Quirrel was right, I was not going to come out ok if I continued to try to fight all of them at once. One of the leaping husks had already landed on me while I was trying to attack the flailing husks. And that had caused me to allow one of the horned husks to stab me with their horns.

"The hell is wrong with this armor. First, it gets dented from an insect's bite and now it lets the husks horn through."

Ok, I had to think quickly.

Looking around the room I noticed the platforms the leaping husks had used to ambush me. I could use them to lower my enemies to only two for a moment.

Pushing back the husk on my back and pushing back the husk that was currently stabbing through my side I leaped from the ground onto the platform.

But I didn't get a moment to organize my thoughts as I heard the two leaping husks jump right behind me.

Grabbing the nail tightly I quickly turned around and hit one of the husks while they were still in the air before they landed sending them back to the ground. And drawing the knife Elderbug had given me with the other hand I stabbed the other straight in the face as it prepared to jump at me again.

I felt the rush of soul enter my body and I immediately focused on the wound on my side trying to heal it. And thankfully it was enough to stop the bleeding but not enough to heal the armor.

Looking down at the husks I noticed that the one I had struck had fallen on its head which caused it to die. And as for the rest, they were helplessly looking at me as they pathetically tried to jump.

"It's over Husks! I have the high ground!" I shouted in excitement as I finally felt safe.

With the two leaping husks I could finally use the advantage that came from my ability to jump high.

Grabbing the nail with both hands I jumped down and landed on one of the horned husks with my blade pointed at them causing my nail to pierce through its stomach without a problem. And before the others could surround me once again I jumped once again.

And let me tell you, having the high ground is one of the most advantageous things there is around. No wonder Anakin lost.

I was able to jump and swing my nail in the air dealing damage to the husks on the floor. And all they could do is try to run and catch me. But before any of them could get close enough I would leave the ground and jump above the group. Allowing me for a relatively simple yet slow victory.

Once the group of husks was all dead I finally had time to think and heal properly. Focusing my soul I was able to even heal the armor that had been broken through. But I had also gotten the chance to notice something.

My blood was pure black. Compared to everything else I had seen which had strange orange blood.

'I wonder if Elderbug, Quirrel, and Myla also have orange blood.'

Putting that down on my mental list of things to check I continued to make my way through the tunnels and roads to explore the rest of the Forgotten Crossroads.