The Hollow, also known as the Inn for Travelers and Adventurers is a mystical inn hidden deep in the Merrywood Forest. It is protected by magic, preventing any curses from entering.
Biography[]
Chaos tells Evangeline Fox that The Hollow had been enchanted to stop him from entering. If he tries, he will be killed. It was enchanted before the fall of the Valors. An an unintended result of the enchantment, the Hollow is safe from not only the selected threat, but from all curses, which kept it unchanged through time.
Time is different in the Hollow. Just a few hours in the Hollow is equivalent to days outside. This results in any injured people brought there to heal quickly.
The Merrywood Three, made up of Castor Valor, Lyric Merrywood, and a mysterious Archer, later revealed to be Jacks, lived in the Hollow. Aurora Valor also had a room there. Beneath a tree near the Hollow, Aurora had a secret room. Inside were recipes, books, and ingredients for magic spells. Evangeline and Lala find the room when looking for Aurora, and Jack's second heart.
The magic that made the Hollow seem merry and safe came from the Mirth stone, one of the Valory Arch stones. Evangeline finds the stone in the clock in the entrance. When she removes the stone, the entire building and surroundings changes. It loses its light and pleasant feelings, becoming dark and cold. The pet-size dragons around the Hollow no longer wish to be near by when the stone is removed. The stone prevented the curse of the Merrywood Forest from reaching the inn.
Jacks is also known as Jacks of the Hollow. Before bringing Evangeline, the last time he had been in the Hollow was right after he became a Fate.
Inn for Travelers and Adventurers[]
The Merrywood Forest is gray and covered in snow, with no light entering through the skeletons of the trees. On the outskirts of the Hollow's land, the trees start to grow green leaves. The further you go, the more leaves appear on the trees, until the canopy becomes full, with a light dusting of snow atop the leaves. Sunlight breaks through the trees, and blue birds chirp between the branches.
Along the road, there are flowers of yellow, pink, and mermaid teal. Reaching the inn, Evangeline spots an aged sign that reads Welcome to the Hollow! More carved signs are dotted along the path, pointing to various places. The rooftop of the inn is covered in enormous, cheery mushrooms. They have red caps with tiny dragons dozing on them. There are flowers the size of small children with bright-colored petals in every shade. Evangeline believes they perk up at the arrival of her and Jacks. There is also a lake to the side of the inn.
It is warm inside the inn, smelling of spiced ciders and fresh-baked bread. It has a sense of home on Evangeline, even though she has never been there. A brightly painted clock towers near the entrance door. Next to the clock, carved into the wall is the words Aurora x Jacks. Candles glitter and fires burn in hearths around the inn. Next to the inn's entrance, past the clock is a tavern. There are fairytale images covering the closed doors on the second floor, such as a rabbit wearing a crown, a knight holding a key in the shape of a key, a pastry goblin tossing sweets, and apothecary jars full of candies.
Up three flights of stairs from the entrance stands a pair of old glass doors. They open to an even older arched bridge leading into a cluster of trees. Snowbirds chirp along the bridge, and the cold weather doesn't reach it. At the end of the bridge is a rounded door tucked inside a tree's branches. Through the door is a loft, warm without any candles or fires. There are many windows, and the room is bright with sunlight. The branches of the tree make the walls.
There is a bed in the loft, which appears to be made from a pile of old, faded and soft quilts. Etched into the wall near the bed is a height chart with names to recognize who the heights belonged to. Aurora, Lyric, Castor, and Jacks. Near the top of the chart, during the final year of the recordings is written the Archer.
The Tavern[]
There is no innkeeper in the Hollow, and no staff in the tavern. Food is automatically placed on the tables spread in the dining. The food and drinks change every hour, but the cycle repeats daily. The cycle is logged on the colorful clock in the inn's entrance. Instead of numbers, it reads the courses served.
The tavern serves meals and desserts such as dumplings and meat, fish stew, mystery stew, toast, porridge, honey pie, brambleberry crisp, and forest cakes. The drinks it serves are tea, ale, beer, mead, wine, and cider.
The tavern is just as welcoming as the rest of the Hollow, filled with wood accentuates and candles. When Evangeline visits the tavern, she is welcomed to the tables already set with the hour's meals.
A wall of windows in tavern opens out to a view of the Hollow's lake. It appears to be filled with stars. There is a separate, triangular window with the same view, for an individual guest to look out. The dragons on top of the inn and around the lake were affected by the Mirth stone, too. They became confident to enter the tavern. When Evangeline is left alone in the inn, a dragon finds its way inside, and becomes her companion until Jacks returns. When Evangeline removes the stone from the clock, the dragon suddenly urges to leave the inn, scratching at the door to be let out.
The Rooms[]
The room with the door decorated in the image of apothecary jars full of colorful candies contains a bed decorated with pillows in the shapes of sweets, wrapped taffy, gumdrops, fluffy marshmallows. The wardrobe and desk in the room are empty.
The door with a knight holding a star-shaped key was full of stars dangling from the ceiling. The quilt on the bed and the carpets on the floor are covered in stars, as well. The wardrobe, although empty, has star-shaped handles.
A bathing room on the third floor holds a copper bathtub, is reminiscent of the clock in the entrance of the inn. The tub has jeweled handles and a faucet that can pour out different colored waters with varying scents. These are pink honeysuckle, lavender rose, green pine needle, and silver rain.
On the fourth floor, Evangeline finds a wardrobe full of dresses. They make her think of butterflies in gardens, as well as the feel of holding someone's hand. The base of the wardrobe holds boxes of gloves and ribbons, and a small, locked book. It had been the property of Aurora.
"Property of Aurora Valor
Do not read unless you wish to die shortly thereafter.
I have cursed this book!
Cease your reading if you value your life.
This includes you, Castor!"
Notable Inhabitants[]
- Aurora Valor (Formerly)
- Castor Valor (Formerly)
- Lyric Merrywood (Deceased)
- Jacks
- Evangeline Fox (Temporarily)