Greenpath

(Hey there, author here with a quick note. Just letting everybody know that my goal is to upload once every 2 days. With at least 1k words to 1.5k words. However, I might sometimes not make it since I do a lot of other stuff and writing takes a long time. But that also means that sometimes there will be chapters faster and sometimes extra long chapters depending on how much free time I have.)

"The bugs go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah."

I will admit, though I loved exploring and all the other stuff I had been doing so far it was a bit boring to have to drag a corpse all the way back home every time I found something useful. I had even started singing to myself to try to find some entertainment. So how about we just press skip?

— — —

Taking in a deep breath I couldn't help but let out a loud sigh.

Why?

Why must I try to be so resourceful?

Why don't I just leave this corpse here? I already had plenty of its shell.

But no.

I guess I was turning into a hoarder.

…

I was going to have to drag all of this down to the blacksmith if I wanted to do anything with it, right?

"Shit…"

After putting the baldur corpse back to my home I continued to explore the forgotten crossroads only to come across another baldur guarding the entrance to a place called Greenpath. It was a very similar fight to the last one. Ending with me having another big baldur corpse.

Taking in another deep breath I decided to drag this thing back and then dissect it just like I did with the previous one for its parts. You never know when you are going to need them right? If I end up with extra I could probably make some neat decorations with it. Ok, this time for real, skip!

— — —

Finally making my way into Greenpath I was shocked by how beautiful everything was. I don't think I had seen anything green since the moment I arrived in Hallownest. But it seems whoever named Greenpath did a good job because the place was indeed green. I mean, even the water was a weird shade of green…

"Is that acid?" I muttered to myself as I took a closer look at the water.

Grabbing some of the leaves around me I threw them into the water only to see them sizzle and dissolve.

"..."

Mentally I added the words Green = bad into my signs of danger.

Continuing through Greenpath I took in the surroundings. It felt as if I was in some weird forest inside of a cave. There was a rock ceiling, but there was grass and little plants all around the place. I even spotted some birds here and there resting peacefully in some high places. Even the air smelled fresh in this place

I was beginning to think about moving and making a little house for myself here until I spotted a strange little guy ahead of me. He appeared to be wearing a coat made entirely of thick foliage with only his head sticking out. And in that foliage, there were strange orange patches that stuck out.

"Don't tell me the infection is here too…"

Well, this might be a bad idea, but I had to check if it could be reasoned with. Worst case scenario I can always just smack it with my nail.

Jumping out from my hiding place I gave him a smile, completely forgetting about my mask, before saying in the friendliest tone I could bring out.

"Hello there!" The words came out in a slightly British accent for some reason, but they were friendly nonetheless.

The little amalgamation of foliage turned around as it heard my words before beginning to violently shake.

"Erm… are you ok?" I asked.

And as the words came out of my mouth the little guy suddenly released an explosion of orange mist.

"I guess not." I said before pulling out my nail.

The orange mist quickly dispersed in the air, and once it did I ran over and gave it a couple of hits on its head. I almost felt sorry for the little guy as he took it without being able to resist. It seemed like its main form of defense was the orange mist, and once the mist dispersed it was mostly helpless.

After my third strike on its head, the thing dropped down to the floor. All of the foliage that covered it as if it was a thick blanket falling down from its body as if like a magnet that had suddenly lost its power. It revealed a strange corpse that was covered in weird blotches of orange skin. Skin that began to shine a moment after it fell.

"Orange = bad" I said to myself before quickly jumping back and taking a defensive stance.

The very next moment the corpse exploded into a thick cloud of orange mist. Covering even more distance than its first attack.

"I hope I can at least meet some friendly people here." I muttered as I put my nail on my back.

Even the forgotten crossroads had some nice people like Myla and Cornifer. So I was hoping to find a village somewhere here where I could make a new home base. It wouldn't always be viable to make the journey back to Dirtmouth if I wanted to rest or store some of my things. So I hoped to make a little base in every place I went.

Continuing to make my way through I was greeted by a strange little bush with legs that tried to bite me after I had passed right next to it. Sadly for it, the sound of the leaves on its back caught my attention.

I simply picked it up and threw it into the "Water" for research purposes. And it indeed looked like it was not a nice place to swim in. It made me wonder if there was drinkable water somewhere around here. Or maybe the plants had some acid-resistant roots that could use the water for sustenance.

Speaking of drinking water, I hadn't taken a single drink since the moment I awakened in this world. But for some reason, I did not feel thirsty in the slightest. Even back when Elderbug had offered me food I hadn't felt hunger, and I still haven't to this day.

"..."

I had just realized I never went to the bathroom after eating what Elderbug gave me.

Shaking my head I decided to get rid of those thoughts. I didn't want to waste brain power wondering where that food had gone.

In the end, I was able to make my way to a nice bench surrounded by birds that moved away as I approached yet looked at me cautiously from a distance. And since I had already spent so long dragging the corpse of the baldur, butchering it for parts, and walking through Greenpath, I decided to take a break.

Closing my eyes to focus on the soul around the air I began to meditate. Trying to absorb it.