Irredeemable

Capital

Morning came, or at least, what passed for morning came. It was still incredibly early, but the group hoped to use the head start to avoid any guards they may otherwise encounter. The plan had been formed the night before; split up a little bit, but not too much. They didn't want to obviously be a group, but losing each other presented even greater risks.

Entering the city, they did just that. To everyone's surprise, and simultaneous relief, there seemed to be fewer guards than normal. Yet, the further into the city they trekked, the more they started to notice, hidden in crowds, standing on balconies, and even pretending to be shop keepers. Something wasn't right, but no one could tell what; at least not yet.

When they reached the center of the city, Gravel turned to see the statue of the hollow knight. They were a vessel, just like them. Just like the others they hunted. They tried and tried to move on, to let go of their past, but they couldn't. Gravel was a monster. They always had a choice. They hadn't even chosen their own life over others, they had chosen the comfort of living in the palace over the lives of their siblings. Inge had made the right decision. Gravel had not. They were a monster. Nothing would ever change that.

It seemed Gravel's thoughts had slowed them down significantly. Looking around, they didn't see a single member of their group. They started to panic. Once again they had messed up something simple. It was their own fault. They may have seriously hindered themselves and the rest of the group when they eventually noticed. They needed to catch up to everyone else before they left the city. And so, they started running.

Gravel ran at as close to a full sprint as they could. Shoving through dense crowds of bugs, they created quite a commotion. Leaping into the air, they could just make out Vayne's head in the crowd. She was looking for something. Of course. They really had caused yet another problem. Surely Vayne was looking for them, what else would it be?

They reached her, finally, although she seemed surprised to see them. "Bud? What's up? We are trying to stay spread out, here."

Gravel was relieved to have not caused yet another problem, but now they had an unanswered question. Taking a piece of paper, they wrote down their thought in the simplest way they knew. "Searching?"

Vayne sighed. "Well I guess you can stay with me. It's not like anyone can see you in the crowd, anyways. Just don't stir anyone else up, alright?"

Gravel was slightly annoyed by being ignored, but decided it was probably best not to keep asking. Walking with Vayne didn't sound like a bad idea either, so they stuck around.

Not too far ahead, Vayne stopped. "Hey bud, you may wanna take a look at this."

Vayne picked the vessel up, allowing them to see. Nearby, Gravel could see a checkpoint with several stationed guards. Only one bug was allowed through at a time. Favian and Inge had likely already passed through. The guards weren't looking for them, after all.

The pair scanned the area for a way around. Finally, Vayne spotted something. "Bud, this way. Follow me." She turned and walked to what seemed to be an inn. Gravel was confused, but nevertheless followed.

Walking in, Vayne handed the inn keeper double what a room would normally cost and put a finger to her lips. He nodded his agreement to stay quiet. Gravel followed close behind as she walked up the stairs to where the rooms were. Walking to the farthest room of the hallway, Vayne opened the door and went inside. She opened the window and gestured for Gravel to go first.

The pair exited onto the roof of the inn, or at least the overhang that skirted the building. Walking slowly, they eventually reached the end of the inn. However, there was a problem. Standing on a balcony, around the side of the building, was a guard. Worse yet, said guard held what looked to be a large horn. He was very clearly a sentry, and would alert the other guards to suspicious activity.