The Hollow

Smith

He woke to the sound of children thumping about. Who knows where they were, but it was startling how eighty pounds of little boys could shake a building so. The sun was already up, so he rolled out of bed, chugged some water, washed in his basin, and dressed for the day. He wound his way through the hallways to the brightly decorated common room where a number of people were already eating. Casey was bussing dishes around while Phylo laughed uproariously, at a joke of his own, no doubt. Nom smiled at the scene, then dampered that just slightly when he saw the trio of travelers at the table, eating apple pie. Ahden and Dev were wearing street clothes, Omega looked much the same as last night.

"Don't worry," Casey called across the room, "we saved you a slice!"

He made his greetings and sat down to pour a coffee. The pitcher was empty.

"Sorry mate," said Ahden sheepishly, "It's been awhile since we had the luxury of coffee."

"This lot says you have business?" began Phylo. "Pity, I was going to offer you some hours at the forge, but one man's loss is another's gain, eh?" He raised his mug in cheers.

"In a year or so you'll have more help than you need in the shop," Nom said, smiling and gesturing at Phylo's two sons tumbling around out in the hallway.

"Too true. Well, I'll leave you to it then." Phylo rose and gathered some items for the day. "Dev, when you stop by later for your gear, I'll show you that hammering technique."

"Thanks!" Dev gave a short salute and Phylo was off, leaving Nom with the trio, and Casey still managing the house. She brought Nom a slice of apple pie, some eggs and cheese, and a cup of tea. He smiled his thanks and gobbled down some breakfast as Ahden began speaking.

"So it's true that you're the Senex?," Ahden asked. "We've been through so much to find you. Can you help us find the darkseer?" Casey gave a sharp look over, then disappeared to anywhere else with her boys. Ahden took notice of that and continued more softly, "In all our journey we haven't found out anything about them, but people around here seem to know. Is it a person, a title, a relic? All we know is that you're supposed—"

Nom held up a finger to cut him off, and chewed his pie thoughtfully. "Girl, what do you see?"

Omega looked around the room.

"Goggles off," he prompted.

She tentatively pulled her goggles up over her hair. Her closed eyes were surrounded by lighter circles contrasting with the heavily tanned skin on the rest of her face. She cracked one eye open. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Mostly the same." She pulled her goggles back down.

"That's why I wanted to talk here. The vitality of this family keeps darklight at bay. We can talk openly."

"How do you know that, about the family?" asked Dev.

"Just a hunch: fewer bad things happen under this roof. Before we unravel all your questions, let me ask: why do you even have them? Most people we see traveling through here are on their way to looting the Hollow. Not bad work if you can handle it. Most cannot. A different type through here preys upon those others, trading in fake charms, omens, and magic, and very real robbery. A rarity are the questors, not those who fancy themselves as such, but the ones seeking to fulfill a dire need. And that type, my friends, are the most trouble." He punctuated the last few words by softly pointing at each of them in turn.

"We were told about you, or rather the Senex, by a farseer on the western coast," Ahden answered, "far south of Whithom."

Nom raised an eyebrow at the mention of a farseer, and noticed a cloud darken Dev's expression, but held his tongue.