boxfullofzeroes | voicetest the voiceless

voicetest the voiceless

They're not dead.

Less dead than they'd felt, at least. Their shell doesn't normally take so long to reform.

Then again. Their shell doesn't usually break of their own violation as they ascended in a boiling rage, ate at least one realm, a god, and all the Godseekers.

(That last point is debatable, actually. There's some odd sense, deep under their...shell? Void? Wherever they once stored things like Isma's Tear, much deeper now...that the sea-mind is still there, sluggish and held in a stasis. They're already adjusting enough, and they don't seem to be dying or trying to kill them, so that problem is neatly sorted as 'for later'.)

They push their body to stand. Their horn clangs uncomfortably loudly against the grate they've apparently woken up beneath. They're somewhere in the Royal Waterways. A quick check of the map--or, not so quick, as it takes time to locate where it had been--shows they've risen about halfway through, closer to the City of Tears than the White Palace. They'll go to the Stag Station in the City Storerooms next.

So they think. Complications arise on the way.

The Infection is gone, leaving dead Flukes, Pilflips, and Hwurmps in piles enough it takes time to force their way past. Their body seems too small. No, their body is fine--there's something wrong with perception itself. That will take time to adjust to.

Then, they discover the Monarch Wings now stretch and warp when used, twisting around the nearest pipes after landing before the Knight forcibly calls them back. Shade Wings, they decide to call these.

Once they're high enough to hear the rain above, they realize a noise they'd ascribed to water running in the distance is, in fact, something swirling behind their mask. Many somethings. All the fragments of Siblings with enough self left, staring out from their eyes. It's disconcerting.

By the time they actually get out of the Waterways, they're using their Shade Wings to grip ledges and drag themselves up, with those holding onto things better than their own arms are with the Mantis Claw.

The Knight faceplants awkwardly onto the floor of the building Lemm's shop is in. If the City is the same as below, there's little left to try killing them in the area.

They'll just take a moment here, thanks.

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This puts him back in his place, taking smudges off the piece with a cloth-covered thumb and thinking hard. The right questions need to be asked!

"The... Defender," he says tactfully, "and the one whose armour you found in the Crossroads. And the Grey Mourner. That's three. What of the other two?"

Ogrim. They pat his name once for emphasis. The title of Dung Defender--and White Defender, they belatedly recall--isn't one they find insulting, but it's still a title. Nobody in Hallownest deserves to be known only what the Pale King dubbed them.

-Isma: a being of plant, not bug nor beast. She has a grove in the waterways growing above acid that Ogrim still guards. She seems to have died and melded with the plants growing along the walls for reasons unknown. Had something for acid resistance that I took from one of her vines.
-Dryya: seemed to be the White Lady's guard in the Queen's Gardens. She was slain by the Mantis Traitors, but killed an impressive amount first

Hegemol. He was the one with the armor. They tap the piece shaped like him, glad to remember at least one name that eluded them.

Edited 2022-12-02 23:00 (UTC)

He finishes the piece he's working on and sets it down, and sufficiently distracted he does not pick up another. The crowned ones are long accounted for, and he's accrued a small army of clean, lower-ranking pieces that he can't figure out places for on the board.

"Ogrim, then. Isma. Dry-...ya... Hegemol."

Lemm does not bother to write them down. As much as paper is useful for his current project, it's not something he's ever bothered with that much - mainly because it's hard to come by. There is a lot an experienced Relic Seeker can memorise on the fly without wasting writing material.

His attention is brought again to the piece with the twin Nails, and this time he's got context. He immediately reaches out to take the piece, scrutinising it closely.

"As closest to his companions I'd need to speak to the Def... to Ogrim." The realisation sets in. Lemm flags a bit. "...Somehow."

This isn't as important as discovering the Five. Lemm glances back up, genuinely asking.

"Does it never occur to you to share these things, Knight?"

Fortunately, they aren't going to bother keeping this paper with the names. There's nothing particularly sensitive to them on any of it.

I can still attempt it in your place. If his Charm alone causes such a problem, that'd likely be for the best. You'd need to provide the questions or a plan to what I should aim for though.

The Knight responds honestly, shaking their head.

Giving information/any communication but yes/no isn't habit. My mind wanders as much as my body on some occasions when it does.

"If his Charm smells like that-" No, no, come now. This is a Great Knight. Lemm's hands steeple in front of his face and he tries again. "I'll give you a list."

Lemm is... strangely amused by that next part? He fiddles with a gamepiece.

"Ah." For a stunted second he glances at a desk drawer, then plays it off by clearing his throat. "Well, you and I both. It's no one's business, hm?"

Truly. The idea of bringing them to meet directly would be amusing, but only for a very temporary moment. Not worth it.

The Knight can avoid too much writing from the very beginning with a list. The ease they've found with Lemm is unlikely to carry over, even with one as friendly as Ogrim.

(The look is somewhat noticed and fully written off. He must have projects in there.)

We try.
I can further, but won't make promises. There's a lot to find in Hallownest and I don't know much of its relevance. Questions work better.

"I'll be more proactive."

The questions are already piling up for one of their future question-and-answer sessions, but this isn't that, and anyway they're talking about the Great Knights and he is fascinated.

"Alright, let's try this angle: we're about to visit the Grey Mourner's old residence, surely that'll have answers for me soon enough. Hegemol's armour yet exists and it isn't far, who knows what that'll tell me. And Ogrim lives - which makes questioning a shockingly simple task."

He resumes polishing the rest of the set, since the Knight is about to be occupied with a pen if he has any say in it.

"But Ogrim is guarding the grove, is he? You'll have to tell me of Isma, then, unless I can convince him to give me permission...? What's so important in there? And what about Dryya? It sounds like you stumbled on a battleground, there, and that'd be educational! What of her armour, her weapons? Has Ogrim spoken of the others? They must have worked in proximity now and then, or they wouldn't be known as a collective Five."

I don't know. I believe he's guarding Isma herself. I was only able to get to her Grove after honorably besting him in battle. He guarded an acid pump that opened the route to it. I doubt he himself has gone inside.
Isma's last thoughts were of not having time, directed at Ogrim.

They're still going to be doing a little polishing of the pieces with their tendrils, though naturally with far less concentration. They'll stick to the simpler big ones that look like guards.

The Knight gives a description and sketch of Dryya's unique armor, making note that they hadn't seen a weapon. It may have been buried among the mantids' bodies, or otherwise lost in battle. Perhaps that's why she lost?
The White Lady is nearly blind. She once mistook me for Ogrim with the charm and spoke of Dryya as though she still survives, and was grateful for his apparent visit. She is a detached being otherwise and did not question his uncharacteristic silence.
She must have been fond of at least those two.

The Knight stops a moment. Ogrim would speak of the Great Knights, yes...and they're only now considering this could be a delicate subject.

I suspect they were fairly close. He knew them all and misses each, with Isma most.
He holds belief that they are all still alive and can bring the Five back together in the King's name, who he appears to not know is dead either. They tap the facts above about Isma and her grove. Their next line is not meant as unkindness: In denial and ignorant. He must have been guarding the Grove and nothing else for a great amount of time.

Edited 2022-12-03 10:53 (UTC)

For a while he's happy enough to read sideways as he finishes off the last few pieces the Knight isn't handling themselves. But the more they reveal of the Great Knights' personal business, and the White Lady, and Ogrim, the more sharply focused he becomes. Eventually Lemm sets down the cloth and seems content just to read, quiet and attentive.

"It seems the court and Knights were tight-knit." Very much so in the case of the two still haunting the Waterways, if he's interpreting the Knight's words right. "Especially to live in the Queen's memories that way! The camaraderie between the Five must have been something to behold. I thought so, with them labelled as one unit like that, but hearing the details - it's more than I expected."

Twiddling a beetle piece in both hands, Lemm gazes off into the middle distance and goes over the facts in his head.

"Not your place to impress the truth on him, then? No, I suppose not." Lemm draws his attention back to the Knight. "It's a terribly awkward thing. If my courier were anyone else I'd have no fear of asking the important questions, but... I'll have to choose my words carefully, won't I?"

Edited 2022-12-03 12:50 (UTC)

The Knight...isn't sure, now.

They'd wanted to. Isma's bowed body in the wall, and Ogrim awaiting not far but not close, had struck them in a way much else hadn't. Not yet. They still had much to do. The idea of writing hadn't even crossed their mind, and they couldn't have done much else but knock him down the dangerous tunnels to there. Destroying his sad hopes weren't worth it.

We might need to. I don't know if he's yet aware the Infection is over. But careful wording would be kinder.

Edited 2022-12-03 16:00 (UTC)

Lemm sighs and makes a small, exasperated gesture. This is going to be complicated.

"If we tell him it is, he'll likely want to see for himself. Finding Hallownest the way it is with no warning may be a shock." He glances over at the window. "Then again, he might find out on his own eventually! I wonder where that'd leave us for keeping up the pretence? Urgh, I'm not going to worry about it. He's a Great Knight and he's survived the plague all these years, he's clearly made of strong stuff. I'll just try to stay ambiguous."

With this dismissed, he shrugs and goes back to arranging pieces on the board. It's hard to know without instructions, but he's mostly just noodling around and not really trying.

"Either way you've given me a lot to think about. It's fascinating that the Great Knights were apparently so close. I wouldn't be sure where to start, but you've put that Grey Mansion in my sights, so I should thank you for that, as well."

Lemm verbalizes their concerns well, and comes to a fair conclusion. Ogrim...they can check in on Ogrim, after. To make certain he won't try the way of the Nailsmith.

They've had enough time to gather themselves. Taking a few rounds through all of Hallownest shouldn't hurt. Soon.

In response, the Knight dips their head.

If they were so close, I suspect it should hold clues. I still can't remember her name, although I know I've learned it somewhere. Maybe I can rediscover it there as well.

Wait. Now they remember how they found it, and this is far more amusing a subject.

I certainly found Hegemol's from a former Nailmaster in Greenpath. Paintmaster Sheo described him as mighty but soft-spoken. Perhaps you can learn some from him as well, but I suspect there will be some bias.

It might be somewhat rude to tease someone who can't even know to defend themselves, but they noticed even without the Nailsmith's similar presence in the same room.

Edited 2022-12-03 17:06 (UTC)

"I'll be keeping an eye out for a name as well. We'll find enough to build a picture of her. There's a lot you can tell about a bug from their home." Like, for example, that they've already forgotten that there's ink splashed all over their counter, because it's dried by now and is not an immediate problem.

"Every account's biased," he scoffs, about as flippant as it gets. "That's why you need to examine as many different angles as you can. Someone who knew of Hegemol personally is a more valuable asset than anything on my shelves." A brief glance up as he nudges the bell piece a little bit to the left, and he shoots the Knight a narrow glare. "Ah - stop lengthening the list of people I've got to talk to! I came to Hallownest so I could learn from inanimate objects, not chit-chat."

Lemm's experience would be woefully inadequate to pick up on the Knight's insinuation even with full context. He has none - and the Knight's expressionless mask has nothing to tell him about how he ought to be reading their words, so they're taken as plain as they stand. It's lost on him either way.

"Nailmaster to Paintmaster... I suppose when my account is completed I'll demand you call me Relicmaster, eh? A bit cocky of anyone, I'd think." Regardless of the things he didn't pick up, Lemm has absolutely no qualms about teasing someone who isn't here to defend themselves.

Edited 2022-12-03 20:55 (UTC)

I believe I qualify as at least partly animate. There it is, the Knight's first stab of humor about being a Vessel.

Paintmaster is apt. He's skilled at painting and just as skilled at making an absolute mess with it. Relicmaster would be too long and make you seem like a fake, excellent at forging them over finding them.

They tip the quill in their claws, thinking about something else. This is a visit. Only a visit. Telling him their mind wanders was completely true, though. They should make a point clear before one of them moves away from it, intentionally or no.

I'd like to give multiple options, but won't push you into interacting with any, if that's a concern.

"You're overanimate. If I put you on a shelf you'd knock the whole thing down with a Nail." It'd be scathing if it wasn't so matter-of-fact. "No, Relicmaster's not for me, you make a fair point. I won't be introducing myself that way any time soon."

Lemm may be privately conflicted about the next bit, but he's not under any false impressions. Stiffly, he makes himself as clear as he can.

"I'm a grown bug and my work comes first. Don't tread on glass around me, Knight." It's insulting, he wants to add, but he knows the Knight doesn't mean it that way and he manages to rein it in. With a sigh, he folds his arms behind his beard and tries not to look too apprehensive. "I don't know what impression I've managed to give you, but it seems it's an embarrassing one. Speaking to others won't crush me."

They pretend to consider that before conceding with a paw reaching to pat their Nail's hilt. They certainly would, if only because they'd never part with it, and the idea of him setting them on a shelf and it catching on everything around them is amusing.

The next few moments, they Knight is staring into the middle distance, the opposite of overanimate.

I don't think it will crush you. The impression I've found is that you don't like it. Simple, to the point. There may be layers beneath, but that's not their current point. I'm not intending disrespect or shame by noticing as much.

"I -" know! "- knnnnow. I know you don't."

He's slow to smooth out the irked note in his voice, but smooth it he does.

"It's the noticing that's got me thrown, 'm not used to it." He gives what he seems to think is a dismissive wave-off of this conversation. It may come across as more pleading than he hopes. "S'just habit - I don't like being examined. Just have to remind myself who's doing the examining and I'll get over it."

Lemm clears his throat and tries to tie off this mess as cleanly as he can.

"You'll introduce me to this Paintmaster sometime and there'll be no fuss. Sounds like another bug who doesn't mind you for company, anyway, so he must be the patient type." Take that.

They aren't certain if he means them, others they can point him towards, or anyone at all. Or even Lemm back to others. The Knight picks themselves. I'm observant and quiet. I notice much others would prefer I wouldn't.
And you're not the only who often avoids too much company, not even in this room. We're still here despite ourselves.

(They mistake wanting peace for disliking company.)

This point was still prudent to bring up, as the Paintmaster isn't alone.

That's true. He allowed me to pester him into teaching a Nail Art, and would likely prefer less obnoxious interruptions.
He's recently made a happy couple with the Nailsmith. I believe they'd welcome anyone interested in the gentler arts these days.

Their Nail gets another pat. The Knight isn't quite ready for that. Not yet. Certainly not forever, as Sheo would prefer. But they find they're not terribly against making a try.

Edited 2022-12-04 10:47 (UTC)

They're right about everything, and that's why Lemm doesn't have a good response. Right from the start, no one stumbles over that many relics unless they're looking for them, so he had some idea! Since then he's been shown time after time how deep their curiosity runs, and every example has his approval. It's just that when it's directed so sharply at him Lemm is left deeply, deeply uncomfortable - but it can be uncomfortable and a good thing. He just doesn't have the words to explain it.

"That we are." He can concede that point. "A lot of it's been up to you, though, and that's not a word of a lie."

It's somewhere close to gratitude. Pity he didn't include anything to say so.

Lemm is glad to move on. "I'll have to take you at your word that pestering him about a Great Knight's less than pestering him about a Nail. And don't you go calling Relic Seeking a 'gentler art'! History's got blades sometimes."

He has to be mistaken, or else they are. Lemm reads that second-to-last sentence again. No, he read it right. He sits there in silence for a second, squinting down at it. It staunchly refuses to make any more sense to him.

Another one? Or - no, he's not going to entertain that thought, it wouldn't do him any favours.

"...What's he like?" He resignedly taps Nailsmith. Might as well prepare to add another person to the growing list. At least the Knight can warn him what to expect.

It isn't calling up defenses or arguments. Once again, Lemm is allowing them here, and more evidence they're more than merely tolerated is still staining the top of their shell. It isn't taken as thanks, but neither is it taken as anything negative, and so they merely dip their horns.

Unless you're to bring one of those historical blades to him or trying to buy one off him, I think he wouldn't mind. Writing is an art of its own, though I don't know his opinion of historic transcription.

What is the Nailsmith like...? A broad query, but they already have some words to steal.

Soft-spoken and mighty, was highly skilled. He honed my own Nail from (pause, as their pride struggles with simple truth) an unfortunate state to something he considered the epoch of his Smithing. He's found a new calling after not knowing where else to go from there.

I'm still pleased with his work and glad he's made his way to Sheo. They match each other. I've only gotten to know him somewhat since. He was preoccupied with his work when I came by and primarily ignored my presence otherwise. He's far more relaxed and open when sculpting.

However, he doesn't seem to know much of the Great Knights. It seems he's spent nearly the entire Infection and before within his hut.

Edited 2022-12-04 14:15 (UTC)

At first he's just plainly resigned: there are similarities to be drawn, but only superficially, because this is someone else. The bottom falls out of this excuse very quickly and Lemm is left staring at the paper as something inside him untwists itself.

Worked on the Knight's Nail. The timespan there doesn't make sense any other way. Lemm suggested it and he'd been right nearby. They couldn't have taken it anywhere else. It had to be him. It has to be him they're talking about.

He breathes in slow and deep and lets it out in a long sigh, looking westward to the door for a little while. Then he locks his eyes back on the Knight's writing.

"That's news," he says weakly. "Good for him. May I see your Nail?"

The Knight is not expecting that response. They're still, staring up at him with concern, first in fear of his perhaps-migraine worsening, then in simple confusion.

Still, that's a request they're hardly about to refuse. Few are allowed the chance without being more than victim of it, but they know Lemm won't try to turn it back on them in attack or steal.

The Knight removes it from their back, holding the blade horizontal and steady between them. Even in the muted light of the City, the intricate, ancient patterns are beautifully clear. They've held this as far back as they can remember, a steady companion in the worst of times. The many fragments of Pale Ore they had to scour the depths of the kingdom for reforged it into something wonderfully deadly. They're proud of this Nail, and the Nailsmith's skillful work.

Lemm doesn't know much about Nails, neither wielding nor forging. Weaponry is somewhat of his weak spot, something thought of in the abstract in terms of how it affects a certain piece of history. Knowing a warrior picked a javelin over a club tells him enough without having to know what it was made of or how well-balanced it is or the proper way to toss a javelin without it going wide.

He knew the Knight got their Nail fixed, that he noticed. He hadn't thought...

He hadn't looked at it, not really, it was just an occasional blur of pale metal making a racket or being swung at things in the Knight's hand. He hadn't been interested.

Lemm studies the patterning and eyes the edges with no real understanding of what he's looking for. He finds it anyway. A fool could look at this Nail and know it was special. He leans a little closer and very lightly runs a claw across some of the detail on the flat of the blade, wary of how reverently the Knight is holding it.

"Well," he says at last, "he managed it, then."

Lemm takes his hand back, tucks it under his chin, and considers whether or not this is the kind of thing that'd come across wrong. With a glance up from the Nail to its wielder, he gets the feeling they'll understand.

Nevertheless his voice is small and uncertain. "He wasn't very well," he murmurs. "Down here. It's good to hear he's - that he - you've met him elsewhere."

The Knight makes a motion that could be considered a flinch. It wouldn't have been noticeable if they hadn't been holding an extremely sharp blade in the air. Carefully, they set it down. Still perfectly in reach. Perfect to admire. Perfect, and still not worth the life that it nearly cost.

So Lemm knows him. So the Nailsmith's--obsession was so clear for even him (and perhaps that's uncharitable) to realize.

The Knight had considered fulfilling that request. Abstained, of course. There was no benefit to a moment of beautiful cruelty when there was more than that hut in the world. But they had, staring at the back of his shell, listening to his reverent voice drifting over the sound of rain.

They will not mention this.

Slowly, they nod. Currently in Greenpath. Significantly more well than the last I saw him nearby. He realized he has much to learn outside of metal and weapons, and is glad to be taught.

Seeing the Knight react like that is a big tell. He doesn't need to explain what he means. They know. Obviously.

Lemm is still a little unsteady - in a way that perhaps the Knight would recognise if they were privy to this. He holds it together quite well, straying his other hand over the blade now, just... tracing. Admiring the craftsmanship, maybe, or else just anchoring himself.

"We weren't close and I doubt I cross his mind. But I'm glad you told me." There's none of the usual Lemm-like clip to that. It just is. "Anyway, I can scarcely believe this is the same shabby Nail that came wandering in with you that first time. I may not have thought much of his goal, but this really is a thing to behold."

He stops just short of trying to bargain. Lemm is already aware that's a non-starter.

"Been with you a while, has it?"

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