The fading surface town above Hallownest, between Howling Cliffs and Crystal Peak. Hub for Elderbug, Sly's shop, Iselda map shop, Bretta's cottage, plus the Grimm Troupe tents.
Dirtmouth is the starting surface town above Hallownest. Per the wiki, it is "the first town on the way to Hallownest, located in the valley between Howling Cliffs and Crystal Peak." It is where the Knight first arrives after breaking the King's Pass stone door.
The buried lede is the disappearance. According to the wiki, Elderbug describes it: "our town's fallen quiet you see. The other residents, they've all disappeared. Headed down that well, one by one, into the caverns below." Every rescued NPC returns to Dirtmouth; this is the only town that grows over the course of a run.
The wiki specifies the town starts with one resident (Elderbug) and gains up to 10 more across the campaign. Bretta and Sly return after rescue. Iselda and Cornifer set up the map shop. Tiso, Zote, and Cloth cycle through. The Grimm Troupe sets up two tents on event trigger.
This guide covers the King's Pass entry sub-area with the Fury of the Fallen charm, Sly's shop and the Nailmaster's Glory reveal, Iselda's map shop unlock conditions, Bretta's cottage Mask Shard, the graveyard Confessor Jiji cave, the Crystal Peak lift, the locked Stag Station, the Grimm Troupe tents, and the Elderbug end-state dialogue.
Fading surface town above Hallownest, the run's home base.
Sly sells charms, keys, and Mask Shards.
Iselda sells quills, pins, and pin markers.
Pre-King's Pass door; the town gate is sealed.Per the wiki, Dirtmouth is "initially introduced as Dirtmouth, The Fading Town." It is the only inhabited surface location in the game; everything else of consequence sits in the Hallownest ruins below.
According to the wiki, the town "used to be a bustling town during Hallownest's golden age, being a respite for travellers to and from the kingdom." Once the Infection spread, "all entry points into the kingdom were sealed... Dirtmouth's old well remained as the only way to enter Hallownest."
The wiki specifies the old well is the canonical entry point into Hallownest proper. Every former resident descended the well one by one; "few of them ever returning." The Knight's descent down the well is the first major plot beat after arriving in town.
Per the wiki, King's Pass is "a set of desolate tunnels going through the cliffs west of Dirtmouth. It used to be the main entryway into Hallownest." The Knight enters the game at the far west end of King's Pass and walks east through the tunnels.
According to the wiki, the pass holds the Fury of the Fallen charm in a chest, plus 5 Geo Deposits and 1 Lifeblood Cocoon. The charm is one of the earliest damage-build options in the game; +75% nail damage at 1 Mask remaining.
The wiki specifies three Higher Beings lore tablets in King's Pass. The third reads: "Beyond this point you enter the land of King and Creator. Step across this threshold and obey our laws. Bear witness to the last and only civilisation, the eternal Kingdom. Hallownest." It anchors the opening tone of the run.
Grab Fury of the Fallen on the King's Pass run. According to the wiki, the chest sits on the upper platform of the second corridor. In practice, the pickup adds 15-20 seconds to the opening; it pays off in every Pantheon attempt later.
Per the wiki, Sly is one of two former Dirtmouth residents who return after rescue (the other is Bretta). Sly is found unconscious in the Forgotten Crossroads with Hollow Knight Bee nearby; speaking to his sleeping form sends him back to Dirtmouth, where he opens his shop.
According to the wiki, his inventory covers progression essentials: Mask Shards, Vessel Fragments, Simple Keys, Elegant Key, Lumafly Lantern, and the starter charms Stalwart Shell, Gathering Swarm, and Heavy Blow. Total stock cost is roughly 8,000 Geo across a full run.
The wiki specifies a late-game reveal: Sly is the Great Nailsage. After learning all three Nail Arts (Cyclone Slash, Dash Slash, Great Slash) from the three Nailmasters, returning to his shop triggers his true-identity cinematic and the Nailmaster's Glory charm reward.
Per the wiki, Iselda "opens a map shop next to the station when a Map has been purchased or False Knight has been defeated." She is married to Cornifer the cartographer; her shop sells the second half of the mapping system.
According to the wiki, her inventory is small but critical: Quill (one-time purchase to let Cornifer's maps update in real time), compass charm, pin markers (grub, bench, spa, vendor, Stag, tram, whispering root, dream warrior, totem), plus the simple map pin set.
The wiki notes Cornifer himself moves into the shop permanently after his final field mapping trip (Distant Village). His sleeping form on the counter is the in-game confirmation that the mapping project is complete; in practice, most players see this in the late mid-game.
Per the wiki, Bretta returns to Dirtmouth after rescue from her trapped cottage in Fungal Wastes (southwest sub-area). Her returned cottage holds a Mask Shard (1 of 16 in the game; 4 Mask Shards = 1 permanent Mask).
According to the wiki, her diary entries shift dialogue based on major rescue beats. Saving Zote from the Vengefly King or from the Deepnest webs makes her dialogue pivot toward Zote as the subject of her affection. Saving him twice unlocks the Grey Prince Zote dream fight.
The wiki specifies Bretta's cottage is one of the 47 statues in the Hall of Gods; the Grey Prince Zote summon lives inside her cottage. Beating Pantheon of the Knight also unlocks the Eternal Ordeal Zote arena through her dialogue.
Per the wiki, east of town "is a graveyard which leads to a stone door barring a cave, requiring a Simple Key to open." The graveyard is maintained by the Gravedigger NPC, who patrols the tombstones with no fixed dialogue.
According to the wiki, Confessor Jiji "can be found in that cave in normal mode." She sells Shade recovery for 1 Rancid Egg per summon; her service is the only in-game way to recover a Shade across distance without manually walking back to it. The Steel Soul Mode variant replaces her with Steel Soul Jinn.
The wiki notes the lift directly above the graveyard "goes up to Crystal Peak, but the lever to activate it is by the mines' entrances." The lift is one-way until activated from the Crystal Peak side; in practice, the first run through always uses the Stag or foot route.
Per the wiki, "after the Grimm Troupe's quest has been started, two large tents appear in Dirtmouth, shocking its inhabitants." The trigger is lighting the Nightmare Lantern in Howling Cliffs after picking up the Troupe Pin from the dead acolyte.
According to the wiki, the larger tent "contains a grand stage in which Grimm offers the Knight a Charm, Grimmchild. This tent also hosts Grimm's fight." The smaller tent belongs to Divine, who turns Leg Eater's Fragile charms into Unbreakable variants for a Geo fee.
The wiki specifies the Nightmare King Grimm dream fight is reached by Dream Nailing Grimm in his sleep at the back of his tent (after beating his main fight and lighting every Troupe flame). Banishing the Troupe instead via the Howling Cliffs Nightmare Lantern replaces them with Nymm and the Carefree Melody charm.
Dirtmouth is the campaign home base and the source of every rescued NPC arc. These spokes pick up the threads around the town and the broader Grimm Troupe quest.
Game data and screenshots adapted from hollowknight.fandom.com, used under CC BY-SA 3.0. Original content remains the property of the wiki contributors and Team Cherry.