Excerpt from Alexan’s Third Journal, Tour of the Shadowed Depths

The trip through Linumbra’s Hollow Home had truly had many wonderful sights hidden away at unexpected little hidey holes. It was every bit what I had been told and truly I haven’t been disappointed.

Even in the deepest, most hidden of villages, what the residents of all the tree having been referring to as ‘The Heart,’ has been quite an experience! The Erlkin had a fantastic time regaling me with tall tales and feeding me all the rootbeer I could handle. I will remember this active and bustling place fondly.

Unnamed Tal

This time, Tal woke up in relative comfort.

He still hurt, the channels along his arms and chest still damaged from the glut of aether he’d dared to ingest. Aether he was still channeling habitually, although now he was only pushing a trickle. The mound in his gut still weighed upon him but now he was able to actually think.

[Are you still there?] Tal asked.

Nothing.

Tal waited.

...

For a moment Tal thought he'd heard a voice. If it had spoken, it wasn't strong enough for him to hear it.

Something new tugged at his awareness, tickling at his nose was the smell of something good, something savory and warm. Tal cracked open his eyes.

A simple room, with only a bed, small table and chair at the head. A small table at the foot of the bed upon which his clothes had been placed and folded. Nothing to decorate the walls but a single sconce with a slowly flickering candle to lend the room a soft light. There was only a single closed door leading outside. With no window, Tal could only assume he was still deep within the tree. The smoke of the candle wafted to the only other opening in the room, a tiny vent in the ceiling with some barely visible wood suggesting it was only big enough for a ratting mink to squeeze through.

Checking his state and his wounds, Tal realized someone had taken some effort to clean him up and tend to the weeping sores he’d inflicted upon himself. His back also felt cleaner, but shifting around told him he’d scraped up his back.

Tal turned slowly, bringing his feet to the edge of the bed and out from under the thin blanket. The bed was hard with only a thin mattress, but the straw mattress at home was arguably not much better. He carefully pushed himself to a sitting position, especially careful with his still tender hands.

The nodes in his shoulders and throat still hurt as well, the small cracked pits in his flesh leaking the clear fluid called pure blood. Fortunately Tal hadn't fallen ill. That was the second risk of pushing too much mana. Teachings held that pure blood was present even in people without mana because it was also to keep the body healthy and strong against sickness. Burning one’s channels could make a person very sick.

He hoped Nisk was well.

Tal slipped off the bed and stood carefully while taking a deep breath. On the table was a hearty vegetable stew with tubers and greens and the ever present mushrooms. Next to the bowl sat some fresh looking bread and even a small link of sausage. Next to the tray of food was a cup and a pitcher full of water. As much as he wanted to dive into the meal, he took the time to put his breeches and shirt back on, gingerly cinching his belt tight. That done he sat on the small chair to enjoy the fresh meal. He started off by slaking his thirst with a cup of water. It was cool and easy on his dry throat.

It smelled fantastic, but Tal was still nervous about how the food would hit his stomach. Eating slowly, the more he downed the better he felt about his health. There didn’t seem to be any problems, the pit in his belly weighing much less than before. Thinking back, Tal supposed his stomach hadn’t rebelled before when he’d eaten the worse food in the cell, but it had been hard to think straight at the time.

Feeling a bit better with some food in his stomach didn’t change how exhausted Tal still felt. After sopping up the last bits of soup with the bread he looked to the bed that looked as if it had been grown up from the floor.

But first.

Tal had been avoiding it. He’d seen it from the corners of his eyes when pulling on his shirt. He’d felt it clearly as the cloth brushed over the damage and he felt it every time he moved. His insides hurt enough that perhaps one could pretend it was the same thing, but that would be hiding. Tal sighed, then pulled his shirt back off.

Leaning back, Tal inspected the results of his efforts. Turning the palm of his right hand upwards, he inspected the trail of hardened flesh left behind by the glut of mana. It started at his armpit. The nodes there still leaked slowly. The fluid seeped very slowly now, clear with only a slight yellowish tinge. The flesh around it was black and seemed crusted over, but it wasn’t scabbed over. The skin had hardened into a brittle material that might crumble if he were to press on it.

From the nodes streaked branches of black that scattered down his arm. He had once seen Easil show him a trick. His father had used a gem fruit seed to hold an extra dose of wind mana, like one should, and then cast a spell of lightning. Small, controlled, Easil had placed fingers on two ends of a plank of wood and drawn the lightning from one point to another. It had burnt designs into the wood that looked much like budding plants.

Now that same design was on his arm, tracing all the way down to his hand. The center of Tal’s palm had ‘blossomed’ with the brunt of the dark mana he’d used. He preferred the design on that plank of wood they’d hung up for decoration.

Tal stood up slowly from the chair and moved to the door. He tried pulling on the handle only to feel it barely even budge when pulled or pulled.

“He- cough, hello?” Tal called his voice still rough from what he’d just gone through. He thumped lightly on the door with the meat of his fist.

Then waited.

With no answer seeming to come, Tal returned to the table and had himself another cup of water.

“Good, you’re awake and standing.”

Tal was proud of himself for not choking on the water. He finished his drink and gently set down the wooden cup. He turned around to see who’d spoken.

An Erlkin, one of the wardens, expression stoic and unchanging.

Tal had only seen them from afar, geared up in wooden armor padded with heavy cloth and held together with carefully concealed leather straps. His chest armor consisted of large scales of wood so infused with mana it was near pitch black. Added to the main chest piece were pauldrons and skirt segments to protect his upper legs as well. The warden’s helmet hung from his belt, open-faced with two guarded holes for his horns.

Horns that had been carved into wicked looking blades that grew straight up and gleamed dangerously on the Erlkin’s head. His hair was tied back into a ponytail and streaked with black and white.

“Yekchetal, yes?” His tone was nothing but professional. “You are able to move and talk?”

Tal still hurt, but his legs worked fine. “Yes,” Tal replied, his voice still ragged, “I think.”

The warden regarded Tal with a neutral expression and solid black eyes. He waved at the candle set into the wall, “Bring the light and come with me.” That said, he backed out of the room, turned and started walking.

Tal reached into the sconce, finding a metal fitting with a small hook for a handle. He pulled it out, stifling a flinch as the nodes in his shoulders tugged painfully.

The hallway was naturally made and carefully maintained. Tal could see the minute difference between twists of wood that had grown into place where branches and splits had been trimmed back. More holders were mounted along the walls, their shadows flickering as the air within the hall moved and playfully tugged at the light in his hand. His room had been located at the very end of a tunnel. While moving they passed several more doors that were virtually indistinguishable from each other, every one of them seeming unused.

The warden made no noise as he walked, which was a trick Tal didn’t understand. He could see the Erlkin’s hooves and he wasn’t wearing any sort of padding… although perhaps there was a soft glitter of aether if Tal squinted really hard? Easil would probably be able to tell him if there was a sound-deadening enchantment. Tal had a much easier time seeing the wispy smoke of dark aspected mana.

The thought of his adopted father put Tal in a somber mood.

“Do you know what happened to those who were with me?” Tal asked the silent warden.

“After interrogation, they were returned to Lisnail… unharmed.”

“Nisk was injured from channeling fire mana, is he well?”

“I am unaware, my concern is for the monsters in the roots, not the state of a single injured gnome.”

Tal couldn’t hold back the flash of irritation, “That ‘single gnome’ saved our lives.”

The sharpened horns of the warden flashed dully with reflected light as he turned his head. He inclined his head for a moment before facing forward again. His voice carried strong even as he spoke while facing away. “My apologies, I was disrespectful. While you may owe him much, I cannot answer your question.”

Mollified, Tal remained silent for the rest of the walk. They soon crossed an intersection branching off to both sides, each tunnel looking mostly the same as the one from which they’d come. Those tunnels remained in darkness and Tal couldn’t see very far down with only the candle in hand.

Not that any Erlkin who lived here needed light to function.

The hallway didn’t continue much longer until opening up.

Tal’s voice caught in his throat.

It was a deep glade. But not one so small and unforgotten as that in which he and his companions had hidden. That glade had been small, sized for a single large building with potential for a few small huts to be hung from its roots.

This glade was the size of a village and had been used for just that purpose. The roots spanning from wall to wall held numerous huts, some hung underneath, some perched above. Larger buildings had been created where the roots met, providing support for multiple floors and wider houses. Countless vines hung from the roots and the houses, more than a few growing fruits and bulbs for those who lived here.

The edges of the inverted globe that was the glade were lined with buildings as well, a few of them flickering with light and many of them lined with tiny balconies along their upper edges for the resident gnomes. More rings of houses surrounded the center in orderly rings. A few of the houses glimmered with firelight, but many remained in shadow for those who could see fine regardless. Tal wondered how many of these houses still held living inhabitants. More than a few seemed grown over with vines and stunted trees. It did not feel like a bustling community, it didn’t feel at all alive like Lisnail.

The center of the wooden cavern held only a single large tower. Much like the rest of the village, it had been grown where it stood, but with further care and skill. Only the natural bark and symmetrically-placed living boughs of the tree gave away its true nature.

A wide walkway large enough to hold a proper crowd surrounded the tower. What Tal initially assumed to be gaps in the perimeter were entries to ramps leading downwards into the lower levels.

The warden hadn’t stopped walking upon exiting the tunnel. Tal had stopped to admire the sight, but had to hurry to catch up as the Erlkin warrior left him behind. It wasn’t any surprise to Tal that he was being taken to the Tower.

It wasn’t just a part of the village, but rather the very core of this settlement. But from the bottom to the very top Tal couldn’t see a single window or opening.

“Where are we in the Hollow Home?” Tal dared ask, his voice soft.

“We are near the roots, in the place known as Linumbra’s Heart,” the warden answered. “You are honoured to be meeting the Grand Elder himself.”

“Oh,” Tal replied, unsure of what to think. It had never occurred to him that he would meet the Grand Elder of the Erlkin. Then again, with what he could remember from those strange dreams, perhaps he should have expected it.

Following the warrior, they departed the last ring of dark houses. They stepped out past the promenade, continuing onto a natural bridge leading to the tower. Tal wandered to the edge of the bridge while following so that he could look to the bottom of the hollow. He had seen the familiar blue and green glow, yet brighter and livelier with moving water. He'd only glimpsed the water before, Tal wanted to see it here.

Below were more buildings built into more spans of roots covering the gaps like what hung overhead. At the very bottom he could see the collected water that glowed with submerged life. Around the perimeter of the pool had been grown plots of land now filled with soil. He could see the rare individual working the earth to produce the food they would need. From one side a raised tunnel formed a waterfall with which to feed the bowl of the lower underglade. The water flowed lazily around the plots of dirt and lowest houses, eventually exiting another tunnel on the opposite side.

He wouldn’t be seeing where that went today. Curiosity as satisfied as it was going to get, Tal had to hurry not to fall behind.

The tower only became more intimidating as Tal approached, to the point that he would have to lean back to try and peer at the highest point where it met the roof of the underglade. The appearance of it being grown didn’t go away as they approached, Tal could only see it more clearly as they got closer, the natural grains of the wood and the long strips of bark only more apparent.

Even the grand doors at the front of the tower looked as if they had been carved from the wall in which they were set. Only the uniform shape of the grand entrance made it easy to spot.

The doors cracked open as if on their own. As they pulled away Tal could hear the creaking of the hidden hinges.

The inner hall was lit, the glowing lights shining softly and steadily along the walls. The acolytes of the tower didn’t use fire in this important and holy-feeling place, instead using what Tal assumed to be large gem fruit seeds to holding enchantments of light.

As they stepped through the door, Tal’s pace slowed to a crawl as he looked up. The tower wasn’t entirely hollow, the inner chamber shaped more as a cross with the four corners holding rooms and balconies all the way to the ceiling, railed walkways connecting each level of the corners. Tal felt as if he could see movement, but again the shadowed rooms defied his unaspected eyes.

“You have become distracted.”

Tal’s head jerked down as the Warden spoke and he flushed with heat. Tal hurried to catch up… and almost forgot to walk as he realized what he was looking at.

As he followed the Erlkin warrior into the vast chamber, Tal realized he could recognize both who and what lay at the center.

An elder Erlkin he had seen in his dreams, with the same forward-swept horns and grim expression, now tempered with more time than an Erlkin was supposed to experience.

And just past the elder who had turned to face Tal? A pedestal of wood so infused with mana it appeared as blackened steel. Atop that pedestal in a cage of twisted wood, a ball of impossible blackness that drank deeply of the light of the chamber. Barely visible through that eye-watering darkness, the faceted gem he’d seen in the dream.

End Chapter