No Emotions to Feel

Ch 14 : Fading Town

Quirrel and the vessel looked around, somewhat awkwardly. There was no one in sight, and the town seemed mostly abandoned. Quirrel took a moment to rest at the intricate bench under a lumafly lamp and, having given up on convincing his restless companion to sit, watched the vessel check the nearby doors.

After a couple minutes, Quirrel got up and stretched, "I think I'm ready for travel again, are you sure you don't need rest?" the vessel looked to him at his comment and nodded, joining him in standing next to the bench.

"Is there anyone in this town?" he eyed the well further down the path suspecting it of a way forward, but would rather ask a local just in case. 'yes and no' the vessel signed, 'one shop not open yet, few close residents not at home, rest is empty or unchecked'

"Alright," Quirrel walked towards the well and looked down it, "I can see a road down there, so this must be our way into the kingdom?" He prepared to climb down, until a signature tug on his wrist stopped him.

The vessel didn't look right. Not that he could exactly tell due to the blank mask and stance it bore, but Quirrel knew something was off. The tug had been just a bit harder than normal, they took just a little longer to let go, they looked just a smidge stiffer, and their body was just slightly turned in a way that suggested they were reluctant. Details so small that honestly to an outside viewer nothing would seem off.

"what's wrong?" It stared at the well for a split second longer before raising its hands to sign, 'go ahead, I have to check something in town'

Quirrel looked at the vessel in confusion, just moments ago it seemed happy by his side. Did they want to split up? "I can wait for you if you'd like" he hoped he hadn't assumed too much of their kindness, "I don't mind"

The vessel shook its head, 'you crave travel, my search might be too long' one more glance was thrown at the well before focusing on Quirrel, 'we will meet again, for certain'

He wouldn't admit that he was very disappointed. He knew it was selfish to want a full journey with them though, and had known from the start. Despite the flickering part of him that wanted to never let the vessel disappear again -why would he think that? he had just met them-  he focused on the moment.

"Despite the possible expanse of caverns ahead, I somehow don't doubt that" he chuckled, "you seem true to your word, and I'm sure a fellow traveler like yourself will end up in similar locations as I"

There was a long pause before he moved, steeling himself for whatever lay below. Giving one more nod and smile to the vessel, earning a nod in response, he jumped down the well.

The vessel watched as he surveyed the path and area below, then disappeared from sight as he walked away.

It turned and walked back to the center of Dirtmouth, ignoring the odd tug at its chest when Quirrel left. It turns out the Stag Station was locked, so it would have to find another way to contact the palace. It walked deeper into the town, the well and bench no longer in view. It followed a blurry destination, the memory being a small sentry station it once visited with the knights.

In its distraction it nearly clipped the edge of the doorway to the building, stopping to stand automatically awaiting a verbal cue. But there was nothing. It looked up at the sentry station, and took a step back. It was completely abandoned.

It looked as though it had been cleared out, though in a rushed manner. All the weapons, equipment, and armor was gone. Half of the shelves were hanging broken off the wall, and the few visible chests were open and scattered.

The vessel stared, frozen still at the sight of the ruin. First the King's Pass, then Dirtmouth, and now the sentry station. No matter how empty the town may be, a location tied to the royal knights would never undergo such abandon.

Something had happened, but how long ago could it have been?

It walked into the remains of the building, looking for but not expecting anything new. Halfway across the last room, it stepped on the edge of something wooden. It stepped back and crouched down, having to brush away a thick layer of dust to find the item. The vessel's hand nudged an object, and what it picked up was very familiar.

The vessel held up a charm notch, probably dropped by someone during the rush to leave. It looked around the room one more time, but it was as empty as the last. It left the building and started heading back to the well, pocketing the charm notch as it went. Another path to the palace would be needed.

The vessel looked down the well before jumping down, unaware of the figure wielding a broken nail landing in sync with a silent thud in the King's Pass.

The game has begun

Note: I am so so so sorry for the late chapter! Honestly even with an increased work load I have no excuse at this point. It's literally been months. Bad news is that I'll need to change the update schedule to just once a month. Good news is that I finally gave myself the push I needed, and can actually get the chapter done on the day!

If you haven't already, please vote on the 'Your Choice' chapter! (LaurenKorbus and Winged_vessel_Eye thank you for voting!)

Updates (for at least now) on the 16th of every month, see ya soon!

Extra Note (2 days after this original chapter)  I just completely changed the end of this chapter! I realized I was heading towards another plot hole so I had to fix it real quick. (also when I opened up this story to edit it was #1 for #hollowknight, how the heck?! thank you guys so much)