The Old Stag

"What the hell is wrong with this world…" One thing was the giant insects that want to murder anything they find. But now there are also gigantic worms with teeth all around them?

I was currently looking at a massive swarm of gigantic worms the size of buildings emerging from the ground and then moving to another hole. The good part is that they seemed to be ignoring me as they were too busy doing their worm things.

But that also wasn't ideal since I would have to try to maneuver my way past them without getting accidentally swallowed or smashed into the floor.

I spent a few seconds analyzing the patterns of their movements before I was confident enough to attempt to cross this obstacle course. And after waiting for the perfect moment I activated the aura around my legs and dashed forward.

Other than healing, soul seemed to be able to enhance certain attributes. I had discovered that if I covered my nail with soul it would become sharper. And if I infused soul on my legs I would be able to move faster.

Dashing through the worms I was able to weave and jump around them as they continued to exit and enter the ground. And after a few close calls where I felt the ground tremble beneath me, I was able to safely reach the exit of this strange worm breeding ground.

And as I made my way up I found a strange sign resembling an animal head pointing to a room nearby.

"This wasn't on the map." I said to myself before poking my head into the strange room.

It resembled a train station from the inside. And sure enough, there was even a bench inside.

Walking into this strange room I noticed a small box sticking from the ground that resembled a toll machine.

Looking into the bag of geo I had I decided to scoop up a few of the coins and place them in.

The machine suddenly made a *Ding* sound before quickly changing places with a bell. And the gate that was covering the entrance through the tunnels where the train should be also lifted from the ground until the tunnels were open.

"A bell? This is how you call the trains?"

I looked around at the abandoned station before wondering

"Are the trains even operational?" I asked myself before ringing the bell.

After waiting for a few minutes I let out a sigh.

"What a waste of geo…"

But just as I was turning around to leave I felt the ground under me vibrating. And in the distance, I could hear the sound of something approaching at a very high speed.

The station trembled as a massive beast approached at an incredible speed towards the station.

"Oh shit."

I quickly ran over to one of the corners of the station to hide behind it. And after trying to remain as quiet as possible the massive beast finally arrived at the station.

I was about to run away from here as fast as I could before I heard what sounded like an old man's voice.

"Hello? Hello? Did someone call me?"

I quietly peeked out my head from the corner I was hiding on only to be greeted by a massive insect resembling a rhinoceros beetle. With one massive horn above his head, and one horn just as massive on its thorax. And on its abdomen were what appeared to be two chairs strapped on top of it.

As I analyzed the absolute unit in front of me it spotted me.

"Ah! There you are! I had almost thought I had imagined it! It has been ages since I last heard the ringing of that bell. It has been so long that my body has become so stiff. I cannot believe it took me so long to get here."

The massive beetle seemed to have a friendly demeanor as it greeted me. And so I cautiously approached it and saluted it.

"Hey there… I am Ghost. And you are?"

"I am one of the stags that run these Stagways. We are proud to be the fastest method of transportation here in Hallownest…." The Stag exclaimed proudly before his excitement disappeared.

"Or well, it would be more appropriate to say that I am the last stag." The Stag said with a bit of a grim tone.

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that… Do you have a name?" I asked.

The stag took a moment to think before answering.

"I don't think I do. I believe so far everyone has called me by what I am, Stag."

Taking a note out of Elderbug's actions I decided to try to cheer up the stag in front of me.

"Well, I also didn't have a name until very recently. I don't know if you know Elderbug, but he says that names are quite important. Would you like me to give you one?" I asked.

The stag looked at me for a moment before tilting his head and answering.

"A name? I have never needed one before. But since you are the first customer that I have had for ages, and I am not expecting any new customers, you are more than free to name me." The stag answered with a slightly curious tone.

Let's see, the stags are practically this world's version of trains. What are some famous trains? The Orient Express is the only one that comes to mind. Let's see… Orient sounds a bit weird as a name. Orient, orient, ori…

"How about Ori? I asked him.

"Ori? I like it!" The old stag answered in a jovial tone.

"Then in that case, from now on I am Ori, Ghost's personal stag… Unless more customers appear. In that case, I am duty-bound to serve any and all customers that require my services." Ori said the first part with an excited tone before continuing in a serious and rehearsed manner.

Letting out a small chuckle I asked Ori.

"So, what are the places you can take me?"

Ori stiffened a little before answering.

"Well, at the moment, the only other station that is open is the one on Dirtmouth. However, once the other stations are opened once again I will be able to transport you freely anywhere you might require."

"I see… Well that will be really helpful. I will be taking that ride back to Dirtmouth pretty soon to get some supplies. I just have to find what I am looking for, and according to this map, it should be right above us."

"It will be my honor to be able to work at the Stagways once again. If you ever require my services and I am not there all you have to do is ring the bell at the station and wait for me to arrive."

Giving him a thumbs up and saying goodbye to Old Ori I continued on my way to the armor I was looking for.

From what I could see on the map it should be right above me. And just as I expected there was an entrance into another part of the cave right there.

Sneaking my way inside I spotted a massive person three times my size walking around aimlessly while holding a massive club in his hand. His body was covered with a layer of grayish carapace armor. And faintly behind his helmet, I could see a slight orange glow.

'A husk guard…' I thought to myself as I began to sneak around. Climbing through the walls so that I could be at a safe height above him.

I had been told that these people used to be the guards of the forgotten crossroads. Making sure to keep the peace and order as hundreds if not thousands of people made their way through.

'They are pretty dangerous. Even in their zombie-like state they still keep the strength they used to have in the past. If I get hit by that club I am going to get messed up.' I thought.

I debated whether to sneak past it or to fight it before settling on trying to kill it before it spotted me. I didn't want to ignore it and move ahead only to have it come rushing after me while I am in a bad position.

Taking a few moments to relax and focus my mind I waited until the husk guard was right below me. And as it made its way toward me I tightened the grip on my nail before covering it with the soul aura.

The guard must have felt the sudden appearance of soul as it looked up in my direction, but by then it was too late. I had already jumped down with my nail above my head, and when the moment was right I swung the nail down with all of my force.

The momentum from the fall combined with my own strength and the aura around the sword seemed to have done the trick as the nail pierced through the helmet directly onto the husk's head. Destroying it instantly and killing the guard in a split second.

The moment my feet touched the ground I instantly had to jump out of the way as the massive body almost crushed me during its fall.

When the body of the guard impacted against the ground it began to release a strange orange gas into the air for a few moments.

I looked at the orange color in the blood and on the gas before making a quick note on my head.

'Orange = Bad stuff'

So far every single enemy I had encountered had bled bright orange. And to add to that, the eyes of the husks that wandered around the forgotten crossroads also carried that eerie glow. Myla, Quirrel, Elderbug, Cornifer, and Ori didn't have this strange glow around their eyes. And they were the only people I had met so far that were not husks.

Picking up my nail from the floor I shook off the orange blood before continuing to make my way around this place.

I stumbled across a couple of other husks here and there, but due to their small numbers, I was able to easily kill them.

I also came across a couple of closed gates that blocked my path. But after looking around I was able to continue making my way up until I stumbled onto a massive room.

I looked outside of the entrance with some hesitation. I had a feeling that the room was dangerous. But my instincts were also telling me that if I wanted to find that armor I had to go through here.

After a few minutes of hesitation, I decided to enter the room cautiously. Making my way through it as quietly as I could. And just as I was about to reach the other side I felt something extremely heavy land behind me. The heavy fall caused the wall in front of me to collapse and trapped me inside.

Quickly turning around and grabbing my nail I couldn't help but yelp before dodging out of the way of a massive mace. A mace that struck the ground so hard that it made the entire place tremble.

'This is what I get for trusting my instincts.' I thought as I looked at the absolute behemoth in front of me clad in what appeared to be the armor I was searching for.