Cornifer

"I'm a cartographer by trade, and I'm working on mapping this area right now. Would you like to buy a copy of my work so far?"

- Cornifer

Cornifer is an NPC in Hollow Knight. He is a cartographer and is working on mapping the entirety of Hallownest.

Lore
When Cornifer was first hatched, he wandered off right away, leaving his siblings and his mother behind. He later moved to Dirtmouth with Iselda as soon as he could.

In-game events
Cornifer is first encountered in the bottom of the Forgotten Crossroads where he sells Maps and advises the Knight to visit his wife Iselda's shop up in Dirtmouth. Her shop is unlocked when Cornifer has been listened to or when the False Knight has been defeated or skipped by leaving the battle.

Cornifer can be found in every zone he sells a map for. Scattered papers on the ground lead to his location and his humming can be heard from a few rooms across. The only location where he does not hum is in Deepnest, where he is visibly afraid for his life and does not want to give his location away to the beasts. Upon listening to him within Ancient Basin after buying a map for that area, he states that he doesn't want to worry his wife, Iselda, and should head back up to the shop soon after a short rest.

Once all maps are bought or once all his maps are available in the Dirtmouth shop, he can be found in the map shop, sleeping in a loft bed.

Maps

 * Map for Ancient Basin:
 * Map for City of Tears:
 * Map for Crystal Peak:
 * Map for Deepnest:
 * Map for Fog Canyon:
 * Map for Forgotten Crossroads:
 * Map for Fungal Wastes:
 * Map for Greenpath:
 * Map for Howling Cliffs:
 * Map for Kingdom's Edge:
 * Map for Queen's Gardens:
 * Map for Royal Waterways:

He leaves after the Knight has progressed enough in the area (usually by defeating a boss) or has defeated all three Dreamers. He leaves a letter for the Knight stating that his map can be purchased from Iselda in Dirtmouth:


 * "Sorry I missed you! If you're feeling lost, why not pop up to our store in Dirtmouth and purchase a map of this area? Available now for an excellent price! - Cornifer"

He cannot be met in the Resting Grounds and always leaves this letter in the Stag Station of the Resting Grounds instead. Cornifer also never leaves a letter in Deepnest.

Locations
Cornifer can be found in nearly every area, selling his maps. He permanently moves to Dirtmouth after every map is bought or once all maps are available in Iselda's shop.

Trivia

 * Cornifer was designed by William Pellen.
 * Cornifer can be found in two different locations within Deepnest, depending on which entrance the Knight enters from.
 * He has a unique greeting dialogue if he is listened to for the first time in Deepnest.
 * Cornifer's name does not appear on the bottom of the screen, not even in subsequent encounters, unless he is listened to again after his initial dialogue. After listening again, he introduces himself and his name appears.
 * Iselda refers to Cornifer with the personal nickname of "Corny".

Корнифер Cornifer Cornifer Kornifer