Vessel

Tribe of the Wastes

Cutting back through the crossroads was much easier, as I only stepped on ten to fifteen tiktiks this time. As expected, the knight eventually reached the entrance to the fungal wastes.

Leap dashing was relatively easy, so I made the jump on my first attempt. Falling through several layers of fungal wastes on the other hand, was about as difficult as you would expect.

The acid seemed much more abundant than I remembered, but I guess it was probably just at my scale now. On one occasion I nearly jumped straight into a pool of acid, because a sporg popped out of the ceiling right in front of me.

I did the smart thing, and ran for my life. Several explosions later, I noticed that the knight had stopped ahead of me. Hopping behind a rock, I peeked over it to see what made them stop. As soon as I saw her, I knew exactly where we were. Before the knight, stood Cloth.

Cloth warned the knight about the mantis village below, before they walked off towards the village. Not being able to stop myself, I walked over to Cloth. She seemed surprised to see another vessel, but still remained friendly.

"Hello there, little one!" Cloth exclaimed.

"Be careful, there's a village below, filled with warriors! Perhaps I should pay it a visit. I've been itching for a good fight!"

Knowing what was going to happen made several things difficult, knowing that there was nothing I could do to prevent it, but Cloth especially, was a story that got to me. Being unable to do anything, I simply wrote "Thank you" on my notepad. Then I followed the knight.

Shortly, the first signs we were nearing the village, attempted to stop the knight. Unfortunately for the mantis warriors, the knight was much more mobile, with spells on their side. Needless to say, the knight won.

Walking into the village was a bit like getting off the plane in a new country. The native Mantises were by no means, friendly, but they tended to avoid the knight. Of course, every now and then, a Mantis would challenge the knight before being cut down.

Reaching the Mantis Claws, was relatively easy with the knight cutting a path through every mantis in the way. After getting the claws, I knew exactly what to do next. Using the claw, I climbed up to what was easily the most important lever in the village. Smacking it, I triggered some extra struggle for the poor knight.
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As an intermission, there are exactly 420 words so far, excluding this message. Moving on!
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The massive trap door in the middle of the Mantis village opened, revealing a deep, sprawling city. Upon discovering the door was open, the knight did the predictable thing, and jumped in.

I followed them into the pit, preparing mentally for the epic showdown that I was about to witness first hand. The knight, however, had absolutely no idea what they would face.

Fighting through shocked Mantises seemed almost easy for the knight. Although it probably only appeared that way. Vessels were supposed to be able to keep fighting until they died after all.

At long last, the knight slid down the long wall, to the deepest layer of the village. Close behind, I jumped and hid in some grass.

The knight semi-casually walked forward to have the mantis lords slam the door to deepnest shut. As I prepared to eat my imaginary popcorn, a rustling caught my attention. I turned just in time to see a mantis warrior slap me with their long forearm. The hit threw me forwards a good bit. Standing up, I realized where I was standing. The knight drew it's nail. The walls slammed down. Looking up in terror, I saw the mantis lords stand.

Sorry! It's another cliff hanger! I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner, but I make no promises. :)