Bram's Hollow

Derek stepped with longs strides down the road. Isabelle transformed into her chipmunk form and scurried up his leg and onto his shoulder. Tobias followed but was preoccupied.

“What do you mean by night walker Derek?” He asked.

The ogre turned his head to answer but kept his pace. “The undead, you smell like em.”

“Maybe Derek’s nose is off today?” Isabelle tried to reassure Tobias to no avail. He was thinking back to Jerome and what he said, that he was his father’s uncle.

“My nose is good.” Derek said sternly as he continued down threw Main Street toward the winding road up the side of the hill leading the Arcane Chamber’s castle.

Four spires anointed each of the four corners of the dark stoned castle. Its walls stretched back into the mountainside as if the castle were the prow and the mountain a mighty ship. Away from the mountain, more toward the portcullis, stood a tall square tower adjoining to the rest of the castle. The protruding tower was nearly twice the height of the four spires and was topped with a spiked border. It was a perfect look out over Bram’s Hollow.

Tobias, Derek and Isabelle approached the castle from the west side avoiding the main road and the chance of coming across anyone who would have them turn back for home. They finally approached the wall just on the other side of the castle square. Tobias looked up and realized that the wall looked much taller than it did back in town. The wall was smooth and dark with no loose rock or ledges to grip onto making climbing the wall impossible.

“I don’t see how I can get up the wall Isabelle.” Tobias said.

Isabelle scurried in her chipmunk form from Derek’s right shoulder to his left. “Don’t worry I got a plan.” The small rodent then stuck her face into Derek’s large green ear to whisper.

Without hesitation Derek proceeded to grab Tobias by his shoulder and the seat of his pants. Panic gripped Tobias as he was picked up off the ground. The ogre planted its feet and grunted as he tossed Tobias high into the air. Fighting not to scream, Tobias watched as he soared up the side of the wall clearing it just enough to land with a thud on the top of the wall on an empty walkway.

Tobias checked himself to make sure he didn’t hurt himself on his ungraceful landing. He looked down the side of the wall only to find Derek looking up and waving. Tobias waved back to indicate that he was alright as a brown and red colored bird landed on his shoulder.

“You could have warned me he was going to throw me.” Tobias said to the bird.

“Can’t a girl have a little fun?” Isabelle said as she stretched out her wings to show them off. “What do you think of my robin?”

Tobias said nothing and instead playfully glared at Isabelle. After making sure that the walkway on the top of the wall was clear he looked over the other side of the wall to the castle square below where a small crowd of people and creatures were gathered. “Do you hear that?” Tobias said. “I think the meeting has already started.”

The crowd all faced a raised stone platform toward the rear of the castle square. Standing upon the slab were four individuals, the Arcane Chamber. Standing in front of the others, addressing the crowd, was a well-dressed but burly man. Tobias guessed that he must have been Lycos, the head of the beast guild. He was Wolfkin no doubt, his beastly furry appearance closely resembled the tapestries back at Rotigan’s house.

“This is a time for all guilds to stand together.” Lycos said to the mass. “Thought this act of treachery could be potentially dangerous to our kind. We must all stay united in order to find the parties responsible for the theft.”

The crowd began talking amongst themselves. Tobias easily spotted Byron to the side of the group. His large size made the others look like children by comparison. Toward the rear of the crowd stood Tobias’s mother Vivian and Rotigan both looking quite solemn. Isabelle fluttered her wings and perched on Tobias’s shoulder.

“There’s my dad.” Isabelle said a she pointed one of her wings to the people below to a blonde haired thin man in a long white coat. “He always dressed up for his meetings.”

Floating forward on the slab was a regal yet odd looking spirit. He was wearing a dark yet ornate cloak that hung just below his floating spectral feet. A pointed hood covered his face only exposing his nose and mouth.

“Who is that?” Tobias asked pointing at the specter.

“That’s Faust, head of the spirit guild.” Isabelle answered. “I think he is a shade, an unbound spirit unable to cross.”

The shade took Lycos’s place at the front of the stone slab. “One month ago it was discovered that the amulet of Rymun was taken.” A few people in the crowd grumbled their displeasure, Faust waited for them to quiet down before continuing. “Rymun the tormentor was a vicious ruler and a diabolical mind. His powers of necromancy gave him the ability to raise the bodies of the dead. Almost six hundred years ago he and his zombies came close to dominating the world.”

Tobias looked at Isabelle on his shoulder. “I never heard about that in school.” He said.

“Neither did I.”

Faust continued. “It took the combined efforts of the original Arcane Chamber to quell Rymun’s play at domination.”

Faust’s tale was then taken over by the only woman standing on the stone slab. Her body was a twisted amalgamation of stitchwork holding together large patches of flesh. Her face was stitched down the center on either side were two halves of two different faces. Her voice echoed like two voices speaking almost in unison. “It was then in the days after Rymun’s defeat that the four guilds were established with the common goal of keeping our kind a secret from the outside world.”

“Is that the Doctor?” Tobias asked.

“Dr. Donavan yea.” Isabelle answered.

“What is wrong with her face?”

Isabelle shushed Tobias as Faust continued where Dr. Donavan left off. “In his time Rymun created several enchanted artifacts. The most devious among his corrupt creations was his amulet.”

Tobias noticed the fourth member of the arcane chamber turning his head away from the others. He was a pale man with Bone white hair. He was dressed in black leather with gold trim and adornments. He looked, no older than twenty or so, but his eyes had to look of age within them.

“The amulet,” Faust continued. “is said to be able to restore life in an undead soul, even if they have been reduced to ash.”

“How can that be possible?” A voice from the crowed asked causing the others to raise their voices in contempt. Dr. Donavan, Lycos and Faust did their best to restore order to the meeting. The voices increased in volume until Lycos growled loudly causing the rabble to finally quiet down. A woman in the crowd, a pale and thin looking lady in a black dress shouted at the Arcane Chamber. “Why has this amulet been kept a secret? The power to restore life is not for you to keep for yourself.”

Lycos addressed the pale woman. “The amulet requires the blood of an innocent to work.” The crowd was now silent. “The most paramount of the four guilds rules are to keep our existence secret from the humans. That includes murdering one for personal gain.”

The fourth member of the Arcane Chamber, the pale man dressed in leather, walked off of the stone slab and back to the doors of the tower leaving the meeting. Isabelle pointed it out to Tobias. “Richter is leaving the meeting.”

“Why would he do that?” Tobias asked.

“He’s a vampire and head of the undead guild. The amulet could raise a lot of old vampires I suppose.”

“We are currently working to find the one who took the amulet.” Dr. Donavan said to the mass of people. “The location of the artifact was known only by a few. We are confident that the thief will be captured soon before they find a use for that amulet. We ask that if any of you know or find out anything about the location of the amulet or the one who took it to come to your guild head right away.”

Tobias and Isabelle watched the three remaining members of the Arcane Chamber as they entered the crowd and addressed the concerns and questions of the crowd individually. Lycos walked straight back toward Vivian and Rotigan. They were then joined by Byron and began talking. Neither Tobias nor Isabelle could make out any of the conversation but after only a few moments Tobias’s mother began to cry uncontrollably. Lycos looks as if he was being stern and not at all sorry for his mother’s current state. Rotigan comforted Vivian which made Tobias fell a little better. Though is killed him not to know what was bothering her so much.

“What could Lycos have said to her?” Tobias asked.

“I don’t know.” Isabelle chirped. “If you want I can fly down and see if I can hear any of their conversation.”

“Now that’s not a very smart idea.” A smooth yet stern voice said from behind Tobias and Isabelle. Tobias quickly turned to see Richter the vampire standing just a couple of feet away. “I don’t think this meeting was meant for your ears.”

“N-no sir.” Tobias stammered.

“Then you should leave for home at once, your ogre is waiting for you.” Richter’s voice was pleasant but cold.

Isabelle flew off of Tobias’s shoulder and headed for Derek below. Tobias looked at Richter who stared into his eyes. Richter smiled at Tobias. “I know you. You’re the Vivian and Lance Gate’s son are you not?”

“Yes.” Tobias answered without thinking as if he had no other option but to answer.

“I knew your father well.” Richter had a small smirk on his face. “Well, before he was exiled.”

Tobias’s heart sank. He strained to think of what question to ask Richter first. What could his father have done to be exiled? The question never made it to his lips however. Richter placed his white hand on Tobias’s back and shoved him off of the castle wall. Derek was ready and waiting below for him and made the catch with ease. As soon as Tobias had his bearings the portcullis had begun to open and he, Isabelle and Derek ran back for town to avoid being spotted.

He was quiet all the way home and said nothing about what Richter had told him. When they got back to Rotigan’s house Tobias thanked Derek and Isabelle who in turn asked him to go to the lake with them next day. Tobias agreed and walked inside the house. He sat in the living room pretending to read one of the books on Rotigan’s parlor and waited for his mother to return home. As he waited Richter’s words echoed over and over again in his head giving him far more questions than he had answers for.

After almost a half an hour both Vivian and Rotigan entered the stone bricked house. There was no trace of evidence that Vivian had been crying leaving Tobias with no reason to ask what was the matter. Why was she at the meeting? And why was she crying? Tobias wondered if it had something to do with his father. Whatever his father was and whatever he had done was something that Tobias was determined to find out. And starting the next day that was exactly what he was going to do.