Bram's Hollow

Tobias walked to the open doorway where Rotigan was waiting for him. He turned his head back toward Isabelle who looked into his eyes showing affection and concern. He didn’t want to break away, to go inside. His head was filled with enough mystery and revelation for one night. Tobias looked at Rotigan by the open door and could tell that this meeting had something to do with dark matters. Their journey to check Orlok’s ashes must not have gone well.

He had stalled long enough. Tobias took a breath and walked into Lycos’s chambers. It was a decently large room lit by several lanterns hung across the walls. The room reminded Tobias of Rotigan’s study very wooden with lots of books in shelves and lots of hanging tapestries depicting Wolfkin and other creatures such as Sasquatch and Wraglings and the like. At the far end of the room was a large hand carved oak desk and on the desk, looking completely out of place from the natural feel of the room, was an old, dusty, silver urn. Behind the desk were five paintings of five men one farthest to the right being of Lycos. Tobias guessed that it was the former heads of the beast guild. Sitting behind the desk was Lycos looking as imposing and hairy as ever. Standing in front of the desk, now turning to watch as Tobias entered was Isabelle’s parents, Bethany and Henry. Standing next to them was a man in torn black clothes with shoulder length black hair. Tobias assumed that he must have been Arthur as a human.

A few feet back against a wall covered in historical tapestries was Vivian, Tobias’s mother. Like the others she too was in her human form, there were four scratches on her arm just below the sleeve. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were flush. She had been crying.

As Tobias walked toward the far end of the room both Bethany and Henry nodded their heads to Lycos and walked past Tobias and out into the hall. As he passed Henry glanced at Tobias and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. Tobias continued toward the end of the room and headed for his mother. He wanted to give her a hug and give her some comfort from whatever it was that was making her so sad.

“Step forward Tobias.” Lycos said from behind his desk, his chest heaving as if he were holding in tremendous anger.

Tobias looked at his mother who nodded for him to do as he was told. He did just that. Arthur stood beside him and Rotigan walked to the other. They were there for support, he could tell.

“Now then,” Lycos’s semi formed fangs almost sparkled as he spoke. “I have had a long night, we all have.” He leaned forward in his chair. “I want to ask you some questions and I want you to be honest. I will not tolerate lying from the likes of you.” He gritted his fangs pushing out the words from a clenched jaw. “Do you understand me boy?”

“He had no reason to lie.” Vivian interrupted from behind her tears.

“I asked you to let me handle this Vivian.” Lycos held a hand up as he spoke.

“But he doesn’t know anything.” Vivian beckoned.

“You let me be the judge of that.” Lycos was shouting. It had solved the mystery of the muffled voices he and Isabelle heard earlier.

Vivian began sobbing once more and Rotigan broke away to comfort her. Lycos turned his attention back to Tobias. “No lies, you understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Tobias said as he stared at the old Silver urn on the desk.

The wooden chair creaked as Lycos adjusted his posture and sat up straight. His frame seemingly grew causing Tobias to fear the questions he was going to ask.

“Have you recently been in contact with your father?” The question hit Tobias like fifty foot fist. It had never really crossed his mind that his father would want to talk to him.

“No.” Tobias was mystified. “Is, is he here? Is he in Bram’s Hollow?”

“This is important Tobias.” Lycos said in a threatening tone. “When did you see him last?”

“Before I could remember, really. I think I was five last time I saw him.”

Lycos turned his head to the side slightly. He was mulling Tobias’s answer over. When he turned back to Tobias his face had turned stone cold. “I have no way of knowing if he’s telling the truth.”

“I think he told you all he knows Lycos.” Arthur said defensively.

“Do you understand what is going on here DeNack?” Lycos stood from his chair. “Do any of you?” He started to walk heavy footed around the room. “The amulet of Rymun has been stolen, and as soon as you bring the ashes of Orlok back Bram’s Hollow is attacked by zombies. Lycos stared at Vivian as he pointed at the silver urn on his desk. “There is a Necromancer out there whose goal is presumably to bring back the greatest threat to not only Bram’s Hollow but potentially to the humans as well.”

More tears streamed down Vivian’s cheeks, Rotigan put his burly arm around her and she buried her face into her shoulder.

“With all due respect Lycos,” Rotigan said as he comforted Tobias’s mother. “We don’t know if Lance is connected to any of this. Like the boy said no one has seen the man in over ten years.”

“You said yourself that you were attacked at Orlok’s tomb.”

“That doesn’t mean that it was Lance.” Arthur interjected.

“Then what about the note Vivian received from him?” Lycos was becoming more and more agitated. “Stop trying to defend the half-breed when he is clearly guilty.”

“Hey!” Tobias shouted out almost instinctively. He instantly regretted it.

Lycos turned to the already frightened teen his anger, it seemed, knew no bounds. “You watch your tongue boy. The only reason you were even allowed into Bram’s Hollow again was for your mother’s sake. But I can see now that you take more after your night walker father than I originally suspected.” Lycos look of anger shifted to something very close to hate. “You don’t even look Wolfkin.”

“Am I arriving at a bad time?” The voice came from the double doors leading to the hallway. Standing in the archway, pale and leather clad was Richter. His flowing white hair moved as if it were being blown by a light wind though there was none in the room. “I would hate to think that I am intruding on some sort of private affair.”

“Richter.” Lycos said as he turned away from Tobias with a snide look. “You have a lot of nerve showing your face tonight.”

“Why, whatever does my Chamber cohort mean by that I wonder?”

“The Hollow was attacked by zombies. This was your mess that you left for us to clean up.”

Richter walked further into the room. Tobias watched as Richter glared intently at the silver urn for a split second before replying to Lycos’s comment. “Well, you know zombies Lycos. No manner, always going where they are not wanted.”

“People could have died tonight.” Arthur said impatiently.

The vampire lord turned to what he considered an underling and talked dismissively. “Then you should be thankful that no one did.”

“Where were you and your rabble of nightwalkers during all this?” Rotigan asked intently.

Richter smirked. “That is between me and my guildsmen.”

Lycos, who was already impatient to begin with, had had enough of Richter’s cavorting. “Is Lance Gates one of those guildsmen?”

The question seemingly caught Richter off guard. He paused for a moment before answering. “If I’m not mistaken, we exiled him right after the mutt was born.”

Vivian pushed away from Rotigan, she was furious. “Don’t you dare talk about my son that way!”

“Calm your pack Lycos.” Richter said coldly. “I’ve heard nothing of Lance Gates since he left Bram’s Hollow. Besides I am here of Chamber business.”

“And what might that be?” Lycos suspiciously asked.”

“As if you didn’t know.” Richter pointed at the silver urn. “I have come for Orlok’s ashes. You have no right to keep them away from the undead guild.”

“Do you take me for a fool?” Lycos asked rhetorically. “I’m not about to handover the ashes of the vampire who almost destroyed the Arcane Chamber to the one person who would have everything to gain from his resurrection.”

“Resurrection is only possible with the Amulet of Rymun.” Richter cocked an eye at Lycos. “You know, the artifact you let slip out from under your nose.”

Lycos was visibly trying to fend off the urge to turn full Wolfkin.

“Besides.” Richter added. “I only seek a dignified resting place for my brother in blood.”

“Then you can take it up with the rest of the Chamber at council.” Lycos said sneering. “Until then the ashes stay where I can see them.”

The two guild heads exchanged untrusting looks before Richter turned away in temporary defeat. Just before walking out he glanced at the urn and then at Tobias then the vampire lord left the room entirely. Lycos stood silent as he adjusted his thoughts. His focus and anger had been pulled and strained that he had almost lost track of what he was doing before Richter had entered his chambers. Unfortunately for Tobias, he was able to recall where he had left off.

“As far as I’m concerned Lance Gates is the prime suspect.” Lycos turned toward Arthur, looking him deep in the eyes. “Tomorrow I want both the tall tree forest and the old forest searched for any trace of him.”

“Yes, sir.” Arthur said as he lowered his head.

Lycos switched his focus to Vivian who was red faces from all the anger and crying. “If you or your son hears even the slightest whisper from him, you tell me at once.”

“As you wish.” Vivian was too tired to argue.

“I want you to swear it.” Lycos extended his large meaty hand toward Vivian. She hesitated and took a deep breath but she grasped his hand and looked him in the eyes.

“I swear it.” She said coldly.

He held Vivian’s hand firmly for a few seconds as he looked for any trace of doubt in her face. When he was satisfied he nodded and released her hand.

“Now regarding your son.” Lycos said as he slowly walked toward Tobias. “As I see it, Tobias is no more a Wolfkin than his father was.” His eyebrows lowered and his upper lip curled in disgust as he spoke. “He has no place in this guild.”

“Lycos, you can’t be serious.” Rotigan said as Vivian did her best to fight the tears from returning.

“I am, the boy is a monster, and he doesn’t belong with the beast or undead guilds.” Tobias was numb all over his body. All he could do was stand there as Lycos berated him. “Furthermore I feel that he is a weakness that Lance could exploit and I can’t have that. He can pass the barriers to the Den of Souls for all I know he’s already enacting his father’s plans.”

“But,” Tobias fought to push out every word. “I didn’t know about any of this.” Now he was fighting back tears as well. “I don’t know anything about my dad. You have to believe me.”

“No I don’t boy.” Lycos spoke in an icy voice. “Now leave this room, it’s for beast guild business only.”

His numbness now began to tingle making him feel as if he were dreaming, a unrelenting nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. “I don’t understand. What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing.” Vivian said as she walked to her son. “This isn’t your fault.” She placed her hands on his shoulders and together they walked out of the double door and out of the castle.

The courtyard was now empty and the storm clouds had all but vanished from the night sky. Vivian and Tobias walked slowly out the gate and down the hill toward town. They didn’t say a word the entire walk. They didn’t know what to say. They were both tired from both the late night and the emotional exhaustion. After everything that happened that night, the joyful events of the day, the mother tree, Bibby and his moment with Isabelle by the lake seemed like such a long time ago. He felt as if he had just done a whole lot of growing up in the last eight hours. And he didn’t exactly like the way it felt.