The Marrow Walkthrough

In Hollow Knight: Silksong, after making her way through Moss Grotto and Bone Bottom, Hornet finds herself in The Marrow, a charred region with a lake of lava and ancient structures scattered around. She has to traverse through the area, unlock some new abilities, and face off against the Bell Beast to be able to continue her journey towards the Citadel.

How to Reach The Marrow

The Marrow technically begins after you visit Bell Bottom village. But the area name doesn't appear for the first time until you have opened the door for Sherma and reached the large lava pit. This walkthrough picks up from here. For a breakdown of the rooms before this, check out the last section of our Moss Grotto walkthrough.

Note that as you progress through this area and back into Moss Grotto, you'll begin to find Side Quests known as Wishes, which are useful secondary tasks Hornet can complete during your adventure. The Wishes that can be started and progressed in The Marrow and Bone Bottom include the following:

Task	Description	Area Task Is Obtained	Quest Type	Reward	Complete?
The Lost Fleas	Seek fleas across the lands of Pharloom and guide them to the Flea Caravan.	The Marrow	Side Quest	N/A	The Lost Fleas
Berry Picking	Sweetnes! Sourness! Bitterness! I need it all with hastiness! If you have the precious fruits, come to me in Mosshome and share all you have!	Mosshome (accessed via The Marrow)	Gather Quest	Druid's Eye (Tool)	Berry Picking
Bone Bottom Repairs	A lotta repairs to be done around here, but I need more materials! All I wish for is some shell shards so I can get to work. Not asking too much, am I?	Bone Bottom (accessed via the Wishwall after defeating the Bell Beast)	Donate Quest	N/A	Bone Bottom Repairs
Garb of the Pilgrims	Those mad, violent pilgrims who haunt the great path... we could make use of their shawls here in Bone Bottom. And felling them would surely be a mercy!	Bone Bottom (accessed via the Wishwall after defeating the Bell Beast)	Hunt Quest	Rosary String	Garb of the Pilgrims

Jump to a section:

• Reaching Shakra
• A Brief Diversion Into Mosshome
• Boss Fight
• Towards Deep Docks

Reach Shakra and Obtain the Map

While not explicitly stated, your first objective in this region is to reach Shakra, one of the NPCs in the game.

From the large spine extending over the lava lake, jump ahead and kill the Skull Scuttler.

Continue to the right and jump down to the platform suspended in lava. Another skull bug will pop out.

Defeat it and jump up to the platforms above.

Continue and jump to the left one more time and defeat the next new creature. These flying bugs are called Caranids, and aren't too threatening.

They simply fly around, and when they spot you, they will fly slowly in your direction. Aerial hits and hits while they are close to the ground will push them back, and they take three hits to kill. You can find another bug by the next platform.

Ahead, you will see a giant chain holding up a wooden platform. Jump onto it, and the chain will lower, dropping the platform and allowing you to jump up to the next area from the ground level of this room.

Jump up to the ledge just to the left of the platform you just dropped. Here you will find another of the large Skull Brutes to kill. This one can be tricky, as the room you have to jump is limited. But, there is a space on either side of the ledge to jump and avoid its charge.

Continue left and over the spike pit. Jump over the chasm below, as this just leads back down to the start of The Marrow. Chances are, another of the slow-flying bugs will spot you and fly down to you.

Kill it and then proceed to jump up the platforms, looping back right.

In the ceiling, you will see an opening. Jump up to proceed deeper into The Marrow.

Continue left and then jump up to the platforms. You will see a shaking platform in the middle of the air. These are scattered throughout The Marrow and will disintegrate briefly after you stand on them, so you have to jump off of them quickly.

Jump onto it and then up to the left. Jump up once more and kill the slow-flying bug.

Proceed to jump to the right once more.

Then ascend to the large spine embedded in the wall. Be careful, as there is a large skull bug patrolling along the vertebrae. However, if you wait until it walks all the way to the left, you will have enough room to jump to the platform and fight it.

Proceed through the door on the left, and you will find a table with an item to interact with. This is the Shard Pendant - one of several Tools you can equip at benches across the land. These are active or passive buffs and abilities that can be equipped onto a Crest in specific slots based on their color.

Shard Pendant

• Red Tools are offensive traps and attacks that have a finite amount of resource, which can be recovered at a Bench by drawing from Shell Shards in your inventory. The first equipped Red Tool can be deployed by holding Up and pressing R1/RB, while a second Red Tool can be used by holding Down and R1/RB.

• Blue Tools are passive bonuses that can bolster Hornet's Health or Silk Spool in various types of ways, and do not need to be activated.

• Yellow Tools are utility changes that can alter how certain mechanics work - negating elemental hazards, or making it easier to obtain currencies and collectibles.

The Shard Pendant is a yellow utility tool, but we won't be able to equip it until we reach the next bench.

Exit the room and continue climbing upwards. Kill the slow flying bug and then jump up to your left.

Finally, climb up to the vertebrae above and continue into the next room before exploring further upward.

In here, you can find a small cavern leading downwards. However, there are rocks in the ceiling that will fall on you when you step on platforms, requiring you to be fast on your feet.

Jump down to the first platform and quickly jump to the second below to avoid the first falling rock. On this platform, you can find a new enemy type.

These spiky shell bugs are called a Kilik, and will stop moving every few seconds and release seven daggers from their shell, preventing you from dealing damage or getting close. To defeat them, you want to land one or two hits, back away, and when the daggers retract, go back in for another hit or two and then retreat again. They take four hits to defeat.

Once defeated, continue to the right and jump across the platform quickly to avoid the falling rock. Kill the second of the spiky shell bugs and continue right.

As you jump down, two more boulders will fall from the ceiling, so quickly sprint to the end of the cavern.

Here you can find a Frayed Rosary String, which you can break to obtain a chunk of Rosary Beads.

Head back to the left to the last chasm you crossed and jump down.

The Marrow Secret Room 1

Hit the wall on the left several times as you head down to break it, revealing a secret room.

In here, there are a few spike pits on the floor and some of the same spiky shell enemies - one on the floor and one on the ceiling. You don't want to be caught out and trapped by both of them, so try to wait until the one on the floor is near the first spike pit and kill it first.

The one on the ceiling can be killed easily by attacking from the left and right. If you attack from below, you will likely be caught by its daggers.

Continue to the end and smack the plate of Rosary Beads three times. Grab them and then return to the entrance of the room and continue heading down.

Jump to the platform on your right and jump down once again. The path to the right leads to a locked door which can't be opened yet.

Instead, jump to the left onto the cliff with the small signpost. Continue into this room, and you will meet Fleamaster Mooshka.

Mooshka and these traveling bugs have lost some fleas, and they can't continue unless they find them.

You can offer to accept this quest by choosing 'Yes' when asked to promise the Wish for The Lost Fleas quest. These lost flea locations are scattered throughout several nearby areas and can be collected as you explore, so it is worth saying yes. You won't be able to complete this quest until exploring a few more regions, so keep an eye out for these Fleas as you explore.

While here, you can also speak to Grishkin and Varga, who are traveling with Mooshka.

On top of that, they also have a bench you can sit on and save at. Here we can equip our first Tool: Shard Pendant by pressing the touchpad (PlayStation), View button (Xbox), Minus button (Switch), and I key (PC).

As the Shard Pendant is a yellow tool, it can only be equipped in the yellow slot on Hornet's base crest.

Leave this room and jump down to the platforms below. Kill the spiky Kilik bug on the ceiling. Finally, jump down through the gap in the floor.

Continue to the right and jump down to find yourself back in the main room at the base of The Marrow.

We now need to return to the top of the area to continue, so progress back to the left and upwards, using the platforms. Return to the tall vertical room full of crumbling platforms where you first found the Shard Pendant, and this time keep ascending upward.

When you reach the main vertebrae at the top (which leads to the dark room), head upwards once again. You will see some final platforms to jump up to on your left.

Continue left into the next room and jump down. Here you can find a statue with some Rosary Beads. Hit it three times and grab the Beads that drop.

Progress left and kill the skull bug ahead before hitting the switch, which will lower a platform above. By now you should be hearing what sounds like singing, coming from somewhere off further left. You'll want to find its source.

Climb back up to the higher level in the room and jump across the platform you lowered. You can then hit the switch at the end to drop the next platform, opening a trap door in the floor.

Heading down will just take you to the beginning of The Marrow, and there is nothing of interest there. Instead, continue to the left to find some Rosary Beads by a corpse. Note the strange copper rings also found around as the singing becomes louder.

Jump up and to the left, and you will finally meet the source of the singing: Shakra, who will greet you by drawing her weapon. But, she can see Hornet is also a warrior and decides to befriend her.

Shakra is an important NPC who will sell maps of areas throughout the game and upgrades to show additional points of interest on your map. You can buy all of these with Rosary Beads.

Shakra's initial inventory consists of:

Item	Rosary Bead Cost	Description
Mosslands Map	40 Rosary Beads	These overgrown caves offer little challenge to a skilled warrior. A place for reflection, perhaps.
The Marrow Map	50 Rosary Beads	Crumbling roads built upon the shells of ancient buds. All of Pharloom rests upon these fragile foundations.
Quill	50 Rosary Beads	With this quill, you can add any new areas you discover to the maps that you own. We pluck these quills from Golpeni hunted by my tribe. Their hollowed shafts make the perfect charting tool.
Compass	70 Rosary Beads	Track your location throughout these winding lands with a bone compass. Each member of our tribe can craft them. I would pass you mine, for a small price.
Bench Pins	60 Rosary Beads	When traveling in unfriendly lands, it is important to remember safe places to camp. These pins will mark benches and other rest spots on your map.
Shell Marker	40 Rosary Beads	You can use these to mark places of importance or reminders on your map. These markers I have modeled after the sheen of my own shell. Perhaps you will think of me when you use them.

You want to buy all of these upgrades as soon as possible, as every one is helpful. But, by now, you should have some Rosary Beads, so grabbing the Mosslands Map and The Marrow Map are important initially, as is the Quill, since Shakra's maps aren't fully complete, and you may find yourself needing to fill in the blanks quite often.

If you have enough, also purchase the Compass, a Yellow Tool which will show your location on the map when equipped. It can be hard to work out your position without it until you become familiar with the terrain, but you'll have to sacrifice the Shard Pendant or Magnetite Brooch's ability while using the Compass, so choose wisely!

Compass

Your map of the current region can be opened while walking with L1 (PlayStation), LB (Xbox), L (Switch), and Tab (PC), or you can view the larger map of Pharloom in your main inventory menu.

If you don't have many Rosary Beads, then don't worry, there is an easy Rosary Bead farm just ahead.

A Brief Diversion Into Mosshome

Technically, we can't explore much more of The Marrow, and we need to take a small diversion into Mosshome in the Moss Grotto.

Some sections inHollow Knight: Silksong flow directly into others, and you only visit them briefly before returning to the area you originally came from. Therefore, throughout this walkthrough, we have chosen to include small sections of the game, such as this one, in the region where they make the most sense for progression through the main story.

Jump to the left, past Shakra and jump down to find some shells in the wall you can destroy for some Shell Shards.

Continue to the left to find some loose Rosary Beads.

Proceed by jumping to the platform above those beads. In the next room, you can find a pilgrim bug who seems to be cursed by the strands of Silk flowing down in this area. This type of Pilgrim Groveller will shuffle around the ground until it spots you, and then leap towards you in an arc movement.

It will take three hits to defeat, and you can push it back with attacks or jump over the leap. The best time to attack is after it has jumped, as it takes a few seconds to recover.

Unlike the more primitive bugs you've encountered, the cursed Pilgrim enemies will drop Rosary Beads, and this area in Mosshome is an effective way to farm them. More on that later!

Continue to the left to find another pilgrim enemy, the Pilgrim Pouncer. These will jump towards you and roll. They take three hits to kill, and the best method to defeat them is to bait them into a jump and then run in the opposite direction, landing hits as they recover.

Continue to the left and defeat another of the leaping pilgrims. At the far left, you can jump up and collect a few Rosary Beads from a chain hanging from the ceiling by hitting it.

Just above is another new enemy type, an Aknid. These bugs will charge at you in a line, directly at your position, whether they are level with you, above you, or at an angle. They can easily be avoided by a simple jump over them, or to the side, and take three hits to defeat.

Jump upwards and then continue to the platform on your right.

Here you can find another two pilgrims to defeat. Push further to the right, and you will find a bench you can sit on and rest. Flick the switch to open a pathway back to Shakra, who is just below you and to the right.

On this bench, you can equip the Compass tool if you have already bought it. It will show your position on the map. However, this is a yellow utility tool, so it will replace the Shard Pendant we have already obtained.

Farming Rosaries in Mosshome

While here, you can buy any additional upgrades for the map from Shakra from the Rosaries you found earlier. You don't need to buy every single item just yet, but if you want to clear out her stock now, use the Bench to respawn the Pilgrims in the previous room, and clear them out to farm enough beads to buy all that you need.

Go back to the area to the right of the bench and jump up through the gap in the ceiling.

If you head right, you can find a mysterious bug tied up in silk on the wall, but we can't free it just yet. Instead, continue to the left to re-enter Mosshome.

As you push left, you will meet another new pilgrim enemy. The Overgrown Pilgrim will fire an acid ball at you and constantly jump backwards, making them a real pain to deal with.

With your limited movement right now, it is best to stay on the ground, wait for the pilgrim to shoot its acid ball and then move forwards and land a few hits.

You will also find another of the rolling Pilgrim Pouncers; you can either fight it first or after the acid-spitting pilgrim. Finally, on the far left, you can find another pilgrim.

Flick the switch by jumping up the platforms in the middle of the area. On this platform, you will fight another of the pilgrims who spit acid at you.

This one is tricky to defeat as it is on a platform you have to jump to. The best trick is to actually take a hit and continue forward using your momentum to reach the platform. This will cause the pilgrim to fall off the ledge, and you can defeat it.

Jump down and continue to the left. In the next room, you can see some platforms to the left, but they are quite tricky to reach right now. Instead, jump down.

Enter the room just on the right to find some Rosary Beads you can collect.

Continue down to find an elevator. Stepping on it will bring you back to Bone Bottom.

However, continue to the right first across all the platforms and then look down. You will spot an Aknid bug holding a green item. This is a Mossberry, one of which we originally grabbed in the Moss Grotto. This one is a little tricky to obtain, as you have to land hits on the Aknid as you fall.

Ideally, wait for the Aknid to fly near Hornet on the platform and attack just as you fall off the platform. Once on the ground, run to the left and climb the elevator and repeat this until the Aknid dies. You can then grab this Mossberry from Bone Bottom as it falls.

Mossberry 3

Finally, use the elevator and continue to the right into the next room.

Here you can jump up to find a large number of Rosary Beads.

Mosshome Secret 1

Just below the tray of Rosaries, drop down and strike the lower left wall to reveal a Secret Area. In the darkened room beyond you'll see a glow in the distance.

Approach, and you'll uncover a collectible upgrade called a Spool Fragment. This Weaver artifact is designed to collect and hold Silk, and once you accumulate two Spool Fragments, you'll be able to increase Hornet's maximum Silk by an additional spool!

Moss Grotto Spool Fragment

With the Spool Fragment collected, you can move left to find a large pressure plate, which opens a shortcut above leading to the first Mosshome room. Use it to return back the way you came toward the top of Mosshome.

Kill the pilgrims, whom you previously fought, if they have respawned, and jump up to the platforms in the middle of the area.

Continue upwards and into the room on the right to find some Rosary Beads. Finally, jump through the gap in the ceiling.

Mosshome Secret 2

Directly on your left is a secret, breakable wall that can be destroyed with four attacks.

Continue through to the left and pick up the Choral Commandment from the corpse. This is a key item is one of many forgotten Relics, described as "Order issued by the Citadel. The once gleaming seal has worn with time. A relic of Pharloom's past, interesting to collectors of historical items." We can't use this yet, but someone will pay handsomely for it later. For now, return back to the right.Moss Grotto Choral Commandment

In the next room, you will find another pilgrim. Defeat it and jump to the right to find a sign with some lore on it. "Weaver of Pharloom. By grace you warded. By thread you healed. For your favour eternal, we offer our song."

Push further to the right and defeat the two bugs. Here you can find another collection of silk which can't be destroyed yet.

So, instead, jump up and to the left. This platform has some secret traps on its floor, which will pop up after you stand on them for the first time.

Look closely for strands of rope marked by small shards to tell where a trap is. Once activated, they are shown by some dirt emerging from the ground, and the screen will rumble. You can avoid them by jumping just before they emerge.

Continue to the right and avoid the additional traps here, killing the pilgrims on the way. In the top right corner of this room, you can find some more Rosary Beads.

Loop back to the left and jump across the platforms.

After jumping, you will find a large ancient Weaver Altar you can inspect.

Doing so and binding will grant you Hornet's first Silk Skill. These are active abilities that can be used with the Silk you gain in combat and exploration, much like Binding. They are activated with R1 (PlayStation), RB (Xbox), R (Switch), F (PC).

This statue gives you the Silkspear, a high-damage horizontal attack that throws your needle forward. With this, you can now destroy the large strands of Silk in the environment.

Silkspear

Continue to the left and use the Silkspear attack on the silk ahead.

This will open up a path, and as you jump down, several traps will spawn once you hit the rope. So, sprint to the right. Grab the Frayed Rosary String from the corpse and attack the rope in front of you to lower the object, creating a shortcut.

Before we leave, continue all the way to the right and use your Silkspear attack again on the silk. It's worth noting that if you lack the Silk to trigger the skill, you can simply attack the strands with normal needle strikes to gain Silk from it directly. The path down leads back to the central room in Mosshome and an item you can grab from a corpse.

Instead, take the path to the right. Here you can find a bench and speak to the Moss Druid. This is an NPC who will ask you to promise a wish to them and take on a small sub-quest: Berry Picking.

They will ask for three Mossberries. You should already have three of them if you have been following this guide. If not, there's one more very close by.

Mosshome Secret 3

Head back the way you came and drop down to the level below. Drop all the way to the lower floor and move right past a large urn to find a hidden passage.

In this darkened area, you can spot the glow of an Aknid, who flutters around the room holding a Mossberry in it's mouth. Defeat it to gain the berry.Mossberry 4

Return to the Moss Druid with your new berry. If this is your third Mossberry, the Moss Druid will reward your efforts with a new Tool for completing her Wish, the Druid's Eye. This Blue Tool allows you to regain Silk when taking damage.

Druid's Eye

Berry Picking

Note that if you already got the two Mossberries in Moss Grotto, and have now given her two more, she'll give you Rosaries for each berry after the third. If you can find allseven Mossberries, she'll even upgrade your Tool!

Return to the Marrow and buy any remaining upgrades from Shakra. If you don't have enough Rosary Beads, simply sit on the bench nearby and re-run through Mosshome to farm them until you have enough.

Now, return to the beast embedded in silk just above and to the right of where Shakra is. Use your Silkspear to break him free. Unfortunately, he's gone into a bit of a frenzy, and will immediately attack!

Bell Beast Boss Fight - How to Beat, Strategy, and Tips

• Recommended Tools: Druid's Eye

The large beast can look fairly intimidating, but he's not that much more powerful than the Moss Mother, and only has a few basic attacks - but you'll also need to be wary of environmental hazards that will begin to appear.

In essence, the Bell Beast's main move is to simply charge at you after digging upward from the bell-strewn floors. Look for the rumbling ground to know where he will dig upwards, and stick to the opposite side to await his charge.

Once the Bell Beast emerges, he'll begin by performing one of two charge attacks:

By default, he will burst out and run along the ground at you. You can counter this by jumping up and using your dive attack to repeatedly slam into him from above and bounce upward and away.

If however, you hear the Bell Beast growl as the earth rumbles, do not jump. Stay near the middle of the room, and wait for the beast to emerge. It will leap through the air as it bursts out, and land on the opposite side of the room.

Once it lands, it will be prone for a moment before digging back into the bells, giving you a moment to slash at it, or hit it with your new Silk Spear skill.

After taking enough damage, a new variant will emerge in his tactics, which always comes when the ground shakes in the middle of the room. Stand to one side, and wait for the Bell Beast to burst out. It will send to large chimes into the air to slam down on either side, and then roll outward. Since they hit right next to him, don't try to engage, and instead either use your Silk Spear or keep your distance and jump over the chimes.

The Bell Beast will sometimes follow one of his burrows from the center by shaking the entire room. At this point, just like with the Moss Mother battle, keep your eyes on the ceiling above.

Shafts of light and dust will clue you in on where several large chimes are about to drop. Unlike the Moss Mother battle, these large chimes will bounce once after hitting the ground, so you'll need to keep your distance and be ready to dodge both bounces.

For the rest of the fight, other large chimes can occasionally fall from the ceiling -- usually when the Bell Beast either bursts out of the ground, or lands after a leaping charge. Just be sure to steer clear of any dust falling from above.

Don't get to greedy with your hits, and simply dodge and counter his charges until the Bell Beast is defeated. Hornet will not kill it, and instead it will retreat into the ground.

Bell Beast Defeated

Once the Bell Beast is gone, you'll be able to grab your first Silk Heart, by scaling the room you are transported to. You can hit the switch to move the platforms up. The Silk Hearts regenerates a single spool of silk whenever you run out.

Silk Heart 1

After claiming this reward, walk to the right side of the arena, and the Bell Beast will reappear. Now docile, you'll find that you can fast travel to any other Bellway that you've visited, including the one in Bone Bottom at the edge of the Moss Grotto!

Before you continue east, use the Bellway to travel back to Bone Bottom and speak to Flick, who was building something in the town. He will tell you that the Wishwall is up, and here you can grab Wishes (side quests), with the wall updating throughout the game.

If you haven't already spoken to the Moss Druid, you can pick up Berry Picking here, alongside two additional quests: Bone Bottom Repairs and Garb of the Pilgrims.

The former requires you to donate 200 Stone Shards on the spot to help Flick out. You should have enough of these by now, so hand them over to help him with his next creation in the town.

Garb of the Pilgrims is a hunting quest, requiring you to collect garbs from the pilgrim enemies throughout the game. Completing the quest will give you a Rosary String. This can easily be done by farming the enemies in Mosshome, to the left of the Bellway in The Marrow. 12 garbs are needed, and you can respawn the enemies by sitting on any bench.

Once done, return to Bone Bottom to hand in the quest at the Wishwall. Consider using the rewards from these quests to buy the Magnetite Brooch from the nearby merchant, and start saving up to buy his other wares before too long.

Bone Bottom Repairs

Garb of the Pilgrims

Magnetite Brooch

Additionally, you can now find Shakra on the ledge above the Wishwall in Bone Bottom. If she isn't there, you can summon her by hitting the ring stuck to a post. She will also have a new upgrade: Bellway Pins. This costs 60 Rosary Beads and will display all Bellways on your map when purchased.

Towards Deep Docks

With the Bell Beast defeated, now travel back to The Marrow via the Bellway and continue to the right.

In the next room, hit the switch to ring the bell and spawn a bench. This will also open another room to your right.

Head through and climb the disintegrating platforms above, killing the few bugs on the way, including the giant Skull Brute.

Continue upwards and jump through the gap in the ceiling.

To your right, you can find a room which seems to have an area above, as well as a lore tablet. It may be worth marking on your map with one of your pins once you gain the ability to climb walls.

We can't reach the area above yet, so instead, continue back to the left. Hop over the first platforms with the spikes and continue left until you are forced upwards.

Avoid the Beastfly at the end of the corridor, as you can't fight him on the disintegrating platforms. Instead, climb up and wait for it to come to you.

Continue across the platforms up and to the right, defeating the large skull bug on the way.

Ascend further using the platforms and killing the bugs along the way.

Keep jumping to the right across the platforms.

Once you reach the next large skull bug, jump down but don't walk forward too fast. Simply fall slightly off the edge of the platform.

You will land on a disintegrating platform, so immediately jump to the right to find one of the Lost Fleas for the caravan. If you fail, you will need to climb up this whole area again, although the enemies won't be an issue.

Hit it to free this Lost Flea, and it will find its way back the caravan!

The Marrow Lost Flea

Now, return all the way back to the start of the second section of The Marrow, where you initially started jumping up after ringing the bell.

If you hit the switch, you can open a shortcut that leads back to the first section of The Marrow. With that open, head through the doorway on your right.

Jump across the platforms, killing the pilgrims on the way, and jump up to the ledge above to find another pilgrim.

Jump back down and across the platforms above the spike pits in the cave.

To the right you can find a cave with some tempting Rosary Beads and some skulls. However, the skull at the end will turn into a charging Skull Brute when you get close, forcing you to run back out.

You can kill this bug by staying close to the ledge edge so you can jump to safety, hopping back over to land a few hits as it walks away. Simply repeat this until it dies. Alternatively, you can use your Silkspear to kill it with one use and a few regular hits. At the end you can find some Rosary Beads to collect.

Climb up to the left to find some shells you can destroy for Shell Shards, before proceeding to the right into the next room.

This next section of The Marrow has a number of parkour challenges that can be tricky to master at this point in the game if you aren't familiar with Hornet's diagonal down attack. The Wanderer's Crest can be found later in the game and it returns Hornet's down attack to a pogo-style attack like in the original Hollow Knight.

The red bulbs can be used to bounce and extend Hornet's movement, but her down attack in the air makes this trickier than you may think.

Before we deal with the parkour, jump to the bottom and defeat the pilgrim. Attack the orange smoldering rock on the wall and run away as it will explode.

Continue down the path that has just opened up and attack the second orange rock. However, as soon as you attack run all the way back to the left to avoid the series of explosions that will be set off.

Attack the wall four times to obtain some Craftmetal, which can be used later on to buy or craft some of your Tools.

The Marrow Craftmetal

Return to where you fought the pilgrim and climb up the ledges on the right.

Defeat the flying Caranid and continue up and to the left.

Now, it is time to learn how to master Hornet's down attack. The hardest thing to learn about the way her down attack behaves when parkouring is that you need to trust her momentum. At this point in the game it is less about aiming while platforming and more about consistently landing the attack and carrying yourself forward.

Therefore, you don't need to worry about undershooting or overshooting your jump, so long as you hit the red bulb. Simply jump, down attack on the red bulb, and continue moving forward. You will land on a ledge or cliff.

Additionally, try to remember that a down attack will hit southeast or southwest of Hornet's position at a 45 degree angle always. If you remember this from the get go you will struggle with parkour a lot less.

After you do this with one bulb, you will need to do it on three bulbs back to back. This is a little more daunting but once again trust the momentum.

So long as the bulb is at a 45 degree angle southeast of Hornet (which the momentum of Hornet will always put you at), just move forward, and repeat the same attack with the same strategy twice.

If you need to practice, you can do this on these bulbs or the bulbs lower down in the room. Remember, don't try and overthink your positioning, let momentum do the work for you.

Defeat the bug at the top and then jump down, attacking the orange rock in the wall on the way down. Next, defeat the bug at the bottom and parkour back up to the ledge.

You can now jump into the cavern which has opened in the wall. Here you can find a statue with some Shell Shards that drop once you destroy it.

Climb back up to the top and jump up and to the right this time.

The Marrow Secret Room 2

Go through the gap in the ceiling and continue upwards. Here you can find some Rosary Beads and a door which you can break on the left.

Parkour across the spike pit (take some time below to practice if you still haven't nailed it).

At the end you can find some more Rosary Beads and a path heading down.

At the bottom, you can attack the Treasure Chest to open it revealing a huge amount of Rosary Beads.

With everything collected return to the base of the area where you destroyed the yellow rock in the wall halfway down.

Continue to the right and go into the next room. Jump up and hit the switch on the ceiling to lower a central pole and some platforms which you can use to jump across to the other side.

Go directly into the room on your right to find some Rosary Beads encased in a bell. Hit it three times to release them.

Jump down the platforms you spawned in the previous room and into the room on your left. This leads back to the original room with the first parkour challenges. Along here you can find a small Skull Scuttler to kill if you wish.

Otherwise, exit back out and continue downwards.

The room on the right leads to a difficult fight against the skull ant miniboss. We suggest you ignore this for now and progress towards the Deep Docks as the area past him is extremely hard without some upgrades. If you do want to fight him, you can read our breakdown of the fight here.

Instead, exit the room and continue downwards.

The Marrow Secret Room 3

Just under the doorway to the Hunter's March, you can spot a small ledge along the way down to the next room. If you walk to the right, you'll find a small secret alcove here, which hides mounds of Rosary Beads you can collect!

To the right you can find a mysterious room with a sign that indicates a jail. Head inside and rest on the bench.

Now, climb up and jump to the top on your left where you can see a bug sitting. Destroy the gate by attacking it three times and then fight the hostile Pilgrim Guide.

This bug is quite deadly as every hit takes two health pips. His downwards swing is also quite wide. But, you can use your Silkspear to dispatch him quickly or land one hit and move away, repeating this strategy.

With the enemy dead, speak to Grindle behind the other door on your right. He won't say much until you break open the door by attacking it. Once you have broken the door, he will reveal he is a thief but not much else. You'll be seeing more of him as you explore Pharloom, and he may end up having info or items that are worth your while.

If you return here after a bit of exploring, Grindle will offer to sell you tasty secrets with you in exchange for bigger amounts of Rosaries. Most of his secrets involve hints at locations of treasure further into Pharloom, but none of it is really necessary to pay for. However, he does mention that the next area known as the Deep Docks has a locked door, which may relate to the Simple Key sold back in Bone Bottom...

Jump above and grab the item on the table. This is the Straight Pin Tool. This is your first Offensive Red Tool, and it will send out small daggers straight out in front of you when used.

Straight Pin

You can equip this on the bench in the room. Keep in mind that all Red Tools have a limited number of uses and are replenished with Shell Shards -- but only when resting at a bench or respawning after death. So, you can't use them constantly, but you also don't want to leave them unused, especially when you have reached a maximum amount of shards in your inventory.

Once done, exit and continue downwards.

At the bottom of the area you can find a spike pit with platforms you can jump across. Continue right to find a hole in the ground.

Jump in and kill the big skull bug on your right in the next room, alongside the smaller skull bugs below it. Directly on the left you can find some Rosary Beads which you can collect.

Jump all the way to the bottom and continue left.

Here you can find a platform on rails that links back to the original room in The Marrow, acting as a shortcut. If you want, you can run back and save on a bench while you are here.

Otherwise continue to the right and jump across the platforms embedded in the lava below, killing the bugs along the way.

Shortly after killing the first bug, you will find a new enemy type, a Smelt Shoveller. These bugs with bells on their heads are only vulnerable from the sides, and downward strikes will bounce harmlessly off them. They have one attack, which is a short stab and take four hits to defeat.

These quick jabs are easy to get caught by so it is best to bait an attack and then run back in, land one hit, run away, repeat.

Continue to the right to find another enemy with a bell on its head. The Flintstone Flyer will fly around and throw exploding fire balls that bounce at you. They are best attacked from below when they get close, trying to get them trapped in areas with low ceilings or other platforms.

Note that before the flint bombs detonate, they can be attacked with your needle to send them sailing back the way they came, and you can volley the projectiles back into the attacker, or just out of your way.

Kill the third bell bug and continue to the right. Once you enter this room you will officially be in the Deep Docks, the third main area of the game.

The Marrow

The Marrow / Mosshome Checklist
Wishes Completed
Berry Picking	Bone Bottom Repairs	Garb of the Pilgrims
Tools Collected
Shard Pendant	Compass	Druid's Eye
Magnetite Brooch	Straight Pin	---
Bosses Defeated	Spool Fragments	Lost Fleas Found
Bell Beast Defeated	Moss Grotto Spool Fragment	The Marrow Lost Flea 1
Silk Skills	Silk Hearts	Relics
Silkspear	Silk Heart 1	Moss Grotto Choral Commandment
Craftmetal
The Marrow Craftmetal	---

Up Next: Deep Docks Walkthrough

PreviousMoss Grotto and Bone Bottom WalkthroughNextDeep Docks Walkthrough

Top Guide Sections

• Differences and New Features
• Essential Tips and Tricks
• Walkthrough
• Boss Guides and Boss Order

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In This Guide

Hollow Knight: SilksongTeam Cherry

Initial Release: Sep 4, 2025

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