Enter The Marrow by heading east from Bone Bottom. Find Shakra to buy the area map, use the Quill to record explored rooms when Hornet rests, and progress Silkspear in Bone Bottom before taking on Bell Beast. Taming Bell Beast opens fast travel; from there, The Marrow connects onward toward Hunter’s March and Deep Docks.
Enter The Marrow from Bone Bottom
The Marrow is in Pharloom’s lowlands, east of Bone Bottom. Its roads and routes cross the remains of ancient bugs; Shakra describes the region as “Crumbling roads built upon the shells of ancient bugs. All of Pharloom rests upon these fragile foundations.”
Before committing to a long route, orient yourself around Bone Bottom and look for Shakra. The map and useful finds make it easier to track branches, but this is not a room-by-room or guaranteed-completion route: some rewards depend on challenges, wishes, or act progression.
Get the map and make it useful
Buy the map from Shakra
Shakra sells The Marrow map for 50 rosaries. The map helps reveal the area’s layout, but it does not automatically keep every newly explored section current.
#1 Best Overall
![Hollow Knight: Silksong Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51mOgOC8xEL._SL160_.jpg)
- Discover the fallen insect kingdom of Pharloom! Explore mossy grottos, gilded cities and misted moors as you ascend to the shining citadel at the top of the world.
- Engage in lethal acrobatic action! Wield a huge suite of deadly moves as you dance between foes in swift, beautiful combat.
- Craft powerful tools! Master an ever-expanding arsenal of weapons, traps, and mechanisms to vanquish your enemies and explore new heights.
- Solve shocking quests! Hunt down rare beasts and solve ancient mysteries to grant the wishes of the downtrodden and restore the kingdom’s hope.
- Face over 200 ferocious foes! Beasts and hunters, monsters and knights. Defeat them all with bravery and skill!
Use the Quill and optional markers
Explore rooms, then rest so the Quill can record newly explored sections on the map. A Compass is an optional orientation aid: equip it at a resting place to show Hornet’s position. Bench pins and shell markers are additional map tools for marking rests and points of interest. They are conveniences, not prerequisites for progressing through The Marrow.
PC Gamer recommends buying Shakra’s mapping items early and notes that you can return if she leaves the area. If you prefer to save rosaries, prioritize the map and decide whether the Compass and markers are worth their cost for your play style; check their prices in-game.
Rank #2
- Hollow Knight: Silksong is the epic sequel to Hollow Knight, the award winning action-adventure.
- Journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts and uncover secrets tied to your nature and your past.
Prepare for Bell Beast
Progress Silkspear first
Bell Beast becomes fightable after you bind Silkspear in Bone Bottom. If the encounter is not available, return to Bone Bottom and advance that progression before searching The Marrow for another way to trigger it.
Defeat and tame Bell Beast
Bell Beast is the central early boss in The Marrow. Defeating and taming it opens fast travel, making the area’s Bell Station and onward journeys more useful. The available area guide confirms the progression and reward, but does not establish room-by-room combat tactics; use the arena’s openings and adjust to the boss’s attacks rather than relying on an unverified move-by-move script.
Rank #3
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Explore a vast interconnected world of forgotten highways, overgrown wilds and ruined cities.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!.Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favourites and make your journey unique!.An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation..
Explore the main finds and side branches
A broad Act 1 route outline passes through the Bone Bottom shortcut, Mossberry, Moss Druid and Druid’s Eye, Bell Beast, Bell Station, a Flea, Craftmetal, an encounter called “Skull Ant” in the video, Straight Pin, and a bench route toward Deep Docks. Treat this as a route scaffold rather than an optimal or exhaustive order, and check local prerequisites as you go.
- Flea: A notable rescue target in the area. The route outline includes one after Bell Station.
- Craftmetal: A useful material listed among The Marrow’s finds.
- Straight Pin: A notable item on the route outline, reached after the Skull Ant encounter in that sequence.
- Memory Locket: Listed among area finds; its exact room-by-room acquisition directions are not established here.
- Other rewards: The area reference also lists Silk Heart, Tool Pouch, Frayed Rosary String, and rewards tied to Loddie’s challenges, the Volatile Flintbeetles wish, or Act 3. These are not all guaranteed on a first pass.
Choose where to go next
Hunter’s March
The Marrow has access toward Hunter’s March. Its eastern entrance is guarded by a Skarrgard mini-boss, so expect an encounter before treating the route as clear. A timestamped video calls an encounter “Skull Ant,” but that name should not be assumed to mean the same enemy as the area reference’s Skarrgard.
Rank #4
![Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nXCF+sf5L._SL160_.jpg)
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
- Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favorites and make your journey unique!
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
Deep Docks
The route outline includes a bench route toward Deep Docks. This is a useful onward option after exploring The Marrow; the available route description does not establish every room or prerequisite, so follow the map and signs in your current game rather than treating the video sequence as a guaranteed path.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this guide does—and does not—confirm
The area references establish the eastward entry from Bone Bottom, Shakra’s map and its 50-rosary price, the Quill’s rest-based updates, Silkspear as a prerequisite for fighting Bell Beast, fast travel after taming it, the named area finds, and the directions of onward access. They do not settle every collectible’s exact requirement, detailed boss tactics, or patch-specific changes. In particular, check challenge, wish, and act conditions in-game before expecting conditional rewards.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
