Bram's Hollow

The stone brick house was dark and quiet inside after Vivian and Rotigan had left. Tobias cleaned up and changed clothes but soon found himself wondering aimlessly around the house waiting for Jerome. There were far too many questions that needed answers and Tobias was eager to finally hear them. Every so often he would take a break from pacing and look out the window hoping to see the sky darken as it did the first time he encountered his Phantasm of a great uncle.

After nearly three hours of waiting his stomach was panging viciously. Tobias headed into the kitchen but saw nothing that roused his appetite in the slightest. He thought about returning to his pacing but instead decided to look around Rotigan’s house. Aside from the many tapestries that adorned the walls there were also lots of books nestled away in smaller shelves throughout the home. Most of the books were classic works of literature, in fact Tobias wondered if the book could be valuable since they appeared to be quite old. It wasn’t until he checked the small shelf of books in the study that Tobias found anything that referenced the guilds or the Arcane Chamber at all.

One of the books that caught his attention was entitled Dissention of the Remnant written by someone named Samiel Baxter. This book was unlike the others since this one was large and hand written on the interior rather than printed. The book appeared to be a history of the Arcane Chamber. Tobias eagerly flipped through the pages looking for any reference to either his father or of Orlok. The search took him all the way to the end of the book where Orlok was listed as the head of the undead guild almost eighty years before. Unfortunately there was no other information since every page after was torn out.

Tobias feverishly rifled through every shelf and drawer in the house trying to find the missing pages of the book with no success. It wasn’t until he heard a knocking at the front door that he finally called off the search. The rapping on the door was light but constant. Tobias suspected that it was Isabelle on the other side of the door. And though he was right he did not anticipate the tight hug she would give him when he opened it.

“Are you alright?” Isabelle asked before Tobias could say a word.

“Um…Yea.” Tobias didn’t quite know how to take the almost unwarranted affection. “I’m fine.”

Isabelle gave another, harder squeeze before letting him go. “What happened to you in the forest? I just turned around and you were gone.”

“Yea, I must have gotten turned around in the trees.” Tobias then began telling Isabelle about the forest, the dense trees the well and the three shadowy heads laughing at him after he fell in.

“So you ran into him too?” Tobias was surprised to hear this from Isabelle.

“Yea, who are they?” Tobias asked.

“Docherty.” Isabelle sounded slightly disgusted as she spoke. “Man, that guy is a jerk.”

“Who were the other two?” Tobias asked.

“Docherty, all three of them are Docherty.” Isabelle noticed that Tobias was clearly confused. “He’s a Triune, three of the same person.”

“Oh, you mean triplets.”

“There not brothers, they’re all Docherty.” Isabelle explained. “Triune are one mind and one identity that are shared by three identical bodies.”

Tobias scrunched his face trying to understand the concept. “So you ran into them or him too?”

“Yea, the guy is a jerk. Luckily I had found Derek by that point and Docherty knew better than to make Derek angry.” Isabelle dwelled on her words for a second before changing the subject. “Anyway, I came to invite you over for dinner, since your mom had to leave.”

“That’s nice of you Isabelle, but I think I’ll just stay in.”

“Oh, come on.” Isabelle was pouting. “You’re all by yourself and you haven’t been to my house yet.” At this point Isabelle was trying her best to lure Tobias in with a cute yet sad look on her face while saying “Please?” The look seemed to have worked since Tobias nodded in and walked out the door with Isabelle.

On the way to Isabelle’s house Tobias continued telling her about his morning. He told her about the well, the Den of Souls, and overhearing Dr. Donavan. Isabelle was perplexed when Tobias told her about his encounter with Lycos and after that finally his mother when he got home.

“Why would Lycos become so angry with you like that?” It appeared that Isabelle understood as little about what happened as Tobias did.

“It had something to do with my dad. Whatever he was, it sure made Lycos mad that I might be like him.”

“And you still have no idea about what you father was?” She asked.

“No, or anything about why he was exiled.” Tobias tried to shake the confusion and look for the facts. “I think it has something to do with Orlok or rather his ashes.”

“Orlok?” Isabelle asked.

“That’s what my mom and Rotigan were sent for.” Tobias was a little surprised that Isabelle didn’t recognize the name. “I found a book at Rotigan’s house. It says that Orlok was the head of the undead guild some eighty years ago.”

“Really? I’ve never heard the name before.” Isabelle and Tobias passed the tree stump where they first met and proceeded threw Isabelle’s yard to the front door.

The exterior of the house was half covered with vines and the grass in the yard was slightly overgrown. Shrubs and wildflowers grew out of the foundation of the house and a small apple tree seemed to be growing into the side of it. None of this made the house look shabby or neglected but rather it gave an earthy feel. It was as if the house was trying to blend in with nature instead of trying to stand out from it. When Isabelle opened the front door Tobias found the interior to be quite surprising. It was natural but not at all dirty. The furniture was made of wicker and sculpted logs the coffee table was a highly polished piece of quartz.

Isabelle walked Tobias into the kitchen where her mother was at the stove stirring a large steaming pot. She was a thin woman, her strawberry blonde hair up in a bun to keep it out of her eyes as she prepared dinner. He wasn’t as exotic looking as Isabelle, her ears weren’t pointed and her eyes seemed normal.

“Hey mom, I brought Tobias with me.” Isabelle grabbed a couple of slices of carrot off of the cutting board and offered one to Tobias who politely declined. Isabelle’s mother whipped her hands on her apron and turned to meet her dinner guest.

“Well, hello there dear.” Isabelle’s mother gave Tobias a strong hug.

Tobias again didn’t know what to think about the affection from a stranger. “Well, uh…hello ma’am.”

“Oh, call me Bethany you silly boy.” She finally let go and returned to her simmering pot. “Dinner is just about done Bell. Will you please get your father?”

“Bell?” Tobias looked coyly at Isabelle who he saw blushing before turning away and walking out of the kitchen.

“I’ve been calling her Bell since she was a baby.” Bethany lifted the pot off of the stove. “Come along Tobias, time for dinner.”

The table in the dining room was wood like Tobias suspected it would. The top was made of planks that made it look like a fancy picnic table. The legs of the table were tree branches that had little done to them in the way of reshaping. Bethany placed the pot on the table and gestured for Tobias to sit down. Isabelle walked to the table and sat next to Tobias, something that he found odd since she had to move a chair from the other side of the table to do so.

Isabelle stirred around the contents of the pot and let out a breath of anticipation. “The stew smells amazing, don’t you think?”

“Yea, I guess so.” Tobias hadn’t really noticed the smell of the stew until now. It was not unpleasant though he could tell that we wouldn’t really enjoy it.

Bethany returned to the table with a stack of bowls and spoons. She quickly set the table as Isabelle fetched a pitcher of water from the kitchen. Everyone sat down with the noticeable absence of Isabelle’s father.

“Henry, it’s time for supper.” Bethany said loudly without shouting.

Light footsteps danced across the floor approaching the dining room. It both startled and amused Tobias when a small pig trotted in and leapt up onto the empty chair at the table. The pig stood up on its hind legs placing the front two on the table and then spoke. “Smells great my dear, I’m starving.”

Both Isabelle and Tobias laughed out loud at the talking pig. Bethany was playfully annoyed. “I would prefer to have a nice dinner with my husband not a piece of livestock.”

“It was just a bit of fun my dear.” The pig said as it transformed into a balding slender man with a bushy, brown mustache. Like Isabelle he had light green around his eyes, dark skin and pointy ears. He looked across the table and spotted Tobias. “Ah, and you must be Vivian’s son.”

“Yes, sir.” Tobias said respectfully as Bethany ladled stew into everyone’s bowels. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I feel like I already had.” Henry blew on a spoonful of the stew. “The way Isabelle has been talking about you.”

Once again Isabelle was blushing. Tobias pretended not to notice and moved his spoon around in his dinner. The stew was thin and filled with bits of corn, onion, green peppers, potato, and leeks. What Tobias didn’t see was any meat. It was then it dawned on him that they had to be vegetarian considering their oneness with nature not to mention their thin body frames. Tobias ate his stew and complemented Isabelle’s mother on its flavor. In reality it tasted okay but still left him wanting, a feeling he was becoming sadly accustomed to.

The talk around the dinner table was quaint, Bethany asked Isabelle about her day and Henry talked about his work with the beast guild keeping track of the local animal population. After a bit of chit chat, the conversation turned toward Tobias.

“So, Tobias,” Bethany said as she dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “How do you like it in Bram’s Hollow so far?”

“Well, it’s been a bit of an adjustment.” Tobias said “I mean, I only really found out about Bram’s Hollow on my way here, everything else Isabelle has been nice enough to fill me in on.”

“That certainly is nice of Bell.” Bethany said though all Isabelle could do is take a drink of her water and try to cover her face in response.

“She has an amazing ability. I’ve never seen anyone who could change into an animal before.” Tobias said.

Henry nodded as he swallowed a mouthful of stew. “Isabelle certainty has come a long way. She only started shifting a year ago. I remember how excited she got the first time she turned into a chicken.”

A small spray of water shot out of Isabelle’s mouth, she was completely embarrassed by her father’s story. “Dad, please stop.”

Henry started laughing at his daughter’s embarrassment. “Come on sweetheart, it’s a cute story.”

“Please don’t tell it.” Isabelle pleaded.”

“I didn’t know you could turn into a chicken.” Tobias said quizzically.

Isabelle looked down, refusing to make eye contact with Tobias. “I don’t anymore.”

The dining room went silent for a solid minute. The kind of silence that was so quiet it was loud. Isabelle and Tobias awkwardly poked at their bowls of vegetable stew as Bethany glared sternly at Henry from across the dinner table. Tobias wondered about the reason transforming into a chicken could be so embarrassing but decided to leave it alone for the time being.

“Well,” Bethany finally broke the silence. “If you would like to stay here tonight Tobias we have an extra room made up for you. I know it must be a little frightening staying in a strange house all by yourself.”

Isabelle shot a hopeful look at Tobias hoping he would accept the invitation. “Oh, well that’s nice and all but I’ll be fine at Rotigan’s.” Tobias said as Isabelle frowned. “Besides I have my great uncle Jerome looking in on me.”

“Jerome?” Henry asked as he dropped his spoon on the table. “You’ve seen Jerome then?”

“Yes sir, he helped guide my mother and I to Bram’s Hollow.”

Tobias looked at Henry, his light demeanor had faded and his face became bleak. “I would not consort with a spirit like Jerome if I were you Tobias.”

“But why not, He’s family after all.”

“I understand that, it’s just,” Henry paused to think of the right words. “He hasn’t been known to be the most trustworthy.”

“What are you talking about?” Tobias started to become agitated.

“Please, Tobias I mean no offense.” Henry tried to lighten the tension by smiling, it didn’t help. “It’s just that, well he’s a Phantasm.”

“So?” Snapped Tobias.

“One doesn’t just become a Phantasm, only a cursed soul becomes a shadow bound. It is a punishment.”

“A punishment for what?” Tobias asked urgently.

Henry cleared his throat. “For treason against Bram’s hollow.”

Tobias listened as the words washed over him. It was one more unanswered question, one more relative dishonored. He said nothing, but Tobias rose from the kitchen table and walked out of Isabelle’s house and headed back to Rotigan’s.