Bram's Hollow
Chapter Seven

The wind coming off of the lake was cool and sweet on the nose. Isabelle had pulled Tobias out of Rotigan’s house bright and early to grab the first batch of honey cakes from Sloan’s bakery before heading lakeside to meet Derek. The shoreline was majestically picturesque. Isabelle took Tobias to the eastern end of the water by the patch of forest that he had driven through when they first arrived in Bram’s Hollow. By the edge of the lake were two fallen logs that made of a decent enough table and bench to eat breakfast at.

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As he and Isabelle ate Tobias filled her in on everything he knew about his dad and was Richter had told him the night before. Isabelle listened intently and when Tobias was finished with everything she was determined to help with the mystery.

“Do you think he has anything to do with the stolen amulet?” Isabelle asked.

“I have no idea.” Tobias picked at his honey cake. As it had been for the past few days the food filled Tobias’s stomach but he gained no satisfaction from the meal.

“Well, this may seem a bit obvious but did you ever consider just asking your mom about him?”

“I did when I was younger, but she always just ignored me or just changed the subject.” Tobias looked at the ground. “I could tell that it was a sore subject for her.”

They both sat quietly on the log. Isabelle finished her breakfast not sure what to say to Tobias who was looking forlorn and lost in thought. It wasn’t until Tobias saw the splashing in the lake that he was able to take his mind off of his father.

“Isabelle look.” Tobias stood up from the log and pointed out at the lake. Something was jumping out of the water; it looked human like but was moss green in color and had webbed hands and feet. “Please tell me you know what that is.”

Isabelle looked up and almost dismissively said, “Oh, them. They’re called Gillmen, they live in the lake.”

“Are they in the Beast guild like us?” Tobias asked.

“No, they are in the monster’s guild under Dr. Donavan.”

Tobias turned toward Isabelle who sneaking a bit of Tobias’s uneaten honey cake. “I don’t understand? What qualifies them as monsters and not beasts?”

“From what I understand,” Isabelle quickly swallowed the stolen bit of cake she was chewing. “Monsters are creatures that were created unnaturally.” She stood up and walked to the edge of the water. “Wolfkin and Changelings have existed for centuries breeding and evolving naturally. Gillmen on the other hand were created through mutation, thus monsters.”

“Seems kind of mean to call them that.” Tobias said as he joined Isabelle on water’s edge.

“I keep forgetting that this is all new to you.” Isabelle said. “There is nothing wrong with the being a monster, no more than being a beast or a spirit. Ogre’s are in the monster’s guild and Derek is one of by closest friends.”

“Speaking of,” Tobias snapped his fingers like he had just remembered. “Weren’t we supposed to be meeting up with him?”

“I completely forgot.” Isabelle giggled and headed off into the trees behind them. “Come on. We should probably find him before he gets mad.”

“Now that is something I have no interest in seeing any time soon.” Tobias said as he followed Isabelle into the trees.

Once inside the thick of trees Tobias lost sight of Isabelle. It wasn’t until he saw a small chipmunk scurrying across a tree branch that he realized that she had once again changed form to move through the woods easier. Between the close trees, the knotted roots weaving in and out of the uneven ground and the shrubs and dead leaves on the ground, it was a hard terrain to traverse. It was a matter of a few seconds before Tobias had lost Isabelle’s trail. He walked on through the trees and thicket as the ever thickening canopy darkened the forest floor. Tobias found the ground more and more uneven the trees harder and harder to pass. It was at this point that Tobias realized that the forest was stretching on much farther than it appeared when he and his mother drove by it before.

“Isabelle…Derek. Where are you?” Tobias’s voice was not much louder than a whisper. The dark forest filled him with a terrible sense of unease. He had the feeling as if someone or something was watching him. He walked on for few more feet before he heard a howl from just beyond his field of vision, he quickened his pace and shuffled past some more trees and into a small clearing. Sunlight managed to pierce the treetops enough to illuminate a small dilapidated stone well in the center of the clearing. The howling screeched through the air once again, Tobias turned away from the well and toward the origin of the howling . He walked backward until he felt the well wall on the back of his legs. In the distance shrubs and broken tree branches separated and snapped as a Tobias saw three figures begin to emerge from the darkness.

Fear danced up Tobias’s spin, he had no place to go but back into the trees and whatever was coming seemed unfriendly. The figures drew closer and Tobias had no choice but to run. He turned and stepped alongside the old well, catching his food on a loose stone tumbling over the side and into the well. Tobias’s back hit the side of the well tearing his shirt and gashing his back on his way down before splashing down into the dark, cold water below.

The water stung with its icy cold fingers piercing Tobias’s wounded back. Tobias paddled his arms to keep from sinking into the dark water. As he treaded water he heard three voices laughing from the well opening above. When he looked up Tobias could only see the shadowy silhouettes of three heads before they turned and vanished from view. Tobias felt around the side of the well hoping to be able to find something he could grip onto to climb out. After a few minutes he had managed to find a ledge just a foot above the water. The pain in his back made it hard for him to pull himself up and onto the ledge but after a couple of tries he managed to get out of the water.

The ledge was in actuality an opening in the side of the well. Tobias felt the walls to the opening, it was lined with stones and stretched back far into the well wall. Tobias carefully walked through the pitch black tunnel keeping his hands on either side of it to help guide him. He walked for several minutes before a small bead of light poked its way from behind the corner in the tunnel ahead. He inched his way carefully as the light drew closer. The dim flickering light of a wall hung lantern was the light in question. It hung just off to the side of an old wooden door.

Odd looking characters adorned the door. Tobias recalled seeing them before when he first arrived in Bram’s Hollow carved onto the gate. The door’s handle looked rusty and unused but seeing no other way of getting back to the outside Tobias had no other option but to open that door. It seemed strange how easily the latch freed itself from the wall allowing the door to pull open. Tobias expected the door to be stuck from what looked like decades of rust and nonuse. He retrieved the lantern from the wall and walked through the doorway into a large circular room.

Darkness surrounded Tobias upon entering to room, the only illumination emanating from the lantern. Shadows waved to and fro on the gritty floor though Tobias saw nothing in the room for the shadows to be cast from. Along the sides of the curved wall were several unlit torches. Tobias opened the side of the lantern and held it up to one of the torches, setting it ablaze. When he turned to light the second torch Tobias caught a glimpse of a pale face staring at him from edge of the darkness. Quickly he backed away as the face faded back into shadow. Fear started to encompass his entire body, his eyes shut and he dropped to his knees. Tobias could feel chilling outstretched fingers brush across his face and his back, moving in and out of the wound he sustained from the fall down the well.

Thoughts of death and darkness filled Tobias’s mind, he hadn’t felt this hopeless this powerless since the first time he saw…Jerome. Tobias forced his eyes open and made himself get back to his feet. He reached for the lit torch on the wall and his fingers gripped the wooden base. He reached out his torch bearing arm and the darkness was instantly filled with the pale grim looking faces of room full of Phantasms.

The crowd of shadow bound souls peered with empty eyes right at Tobias who chose to speak in order to break the silence. “I…I’m sorry to interrupt, whatever it was you were doing.” The face sat unmoving. “I got lost in the trees and fell down your well back there.” Still the face did nothing. “If you could just show me the way back to the surface?”

The crowd of spirits remained silent, they only watched as Tobias lit another torch on the wall. The unwavering faces gave Tobias the greatest feeling of unease. Being careful not to take his eyes off of the spirits he scooted across the wall toward the only other door in the room. Like the first door by the well this one also was carved with unrecognizable characters. Tobias grasped the door latch, opened the door behind him and backed out of the room closing the door quickly as to not let the Phantasms follow him out.

He leaned with all of his strength against to door for a minute in case the Phantasms attempted to force it open. Tobias held up the lantern and discovered that he was in another corridor though this one looked to be better constructed that the one that let from the well. Once he felt comfortable the walk away from the door Tobias ventured on in hopes of finding some way out and back to the surface. The corridor stretched for what seemed like a mile, the stone carved walls slightly curved from one side to the other making the cavern’s trail twist like the body of a snake. And though the path started to incline Tobias felt no closer to finding a way out. The gash on Tobias’s back started to throb, he reached back with his free arm and felt the wound that had finally stopped bleeding but caused him pain with every step that he took.

Almost a half hour of walking later and Tobias was still walking up the curving cavern to seemingly nowhere. But finally, after turning another wide corner he saw a light up ahead. This was not by any means daylight as the light was a sickly green in color. As it drew closer Tobias saw that the light was actually connected to what looked like a stone door frame. The green light, like a screen, filled the empty space within it.

Tobias looked into the green film of light and could see a stone set of steps ascending up toward a wooden door. The light was making a very low sound like wind and electric sparks. This make Tobias very leery about walking threw it even though it was the only way. He placed his lantern on the ground and retrieved a small rock by the edge of the cavern wall and threw it toward the stone frame. The rock passed through the green light as if nothing were there at all making a clacking sound as it hit the floor on the other side.

Still unsure of the effect of passing through the green screen of light Tobias gently tossed the lantern next. Just as the rock the lantern appeared unmolested. He stared at the light for a bit as he built the courage to hold up his hand and pass it beyond the barrier of light. As his fingertips approached the green barrier they grew warm and started to slightly tingle. When the hand passed through it faded instantly though now the sensation was now affecting his arm. Tobias held his breath and closed his eyes as he followed his arm threw the screen of light. The odd sensation passed across his entire body as it moved across the stone frame. When the sensation made its way to the gash on his back it caused Tobias to wince as it agitated the wound.

Once he was clear of the green light Tobias opened his eyes to find that he had in fact made it through with no seen ill effect. He trotted his way up the stone steps and approached the wooden door. Gently he cracked open the door and carefully looked out to see if anyone or anything were nearby. The walls outside the door were paneled with glossed wood, elaborate paintings adorned the walls and several gas lanterns lit the room well.

Tobias quietly exited the cavern and walked into the room, it was a large room filled with barrels of wine and beer. Dried meats hung from small hooks from the ceiling and baskets of vegetables sat on wooden tables. He carefully and lightly walked through the large pantry and out into the adjoining kitchen. The kitchen was quiet, no cooks were inside nor was anything being cooked on the large stove. Suddenly Tobias head heavy footsteps and mumbled voices growing louder and closer by the second. Tobias looked around for a place to hide before diving under one of the three large tables used for chopping and preparing food. Just as he squeezed between two large pots that were stored under the table he heard the kitchen door swing open. Tobias peeked out just long enough to find that Dr. Donavan had walked into the kitchen talking with a creature that looked to Tobias like some sort of man dragon. Its face was scaled in a light emerald color with striking red eyes.

“I’m famished.” Dr. Donavan walked straight for the pantry as she spoke with the dragon man. “I never thought that Wolfkin braggart would never stop talking.”

Tobias hid once again realizing that whatever that tunnel was, it led him right inside the Arcane Chamber’s castle.

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