The Hollow Beckons Chapter 2

In this third episode, Lady Alianor slips beyond Hawksmere’s ivy-choked walls into the sodden wilderness. Driven by desperation for her maid Bess, she braves mud, mist, and the judgment of every shadow. The path west grows wild and cruel, leading her into Thorne’s Hollow — a place whispered of in kitchens and cloisters alike, where silence presses like a hand against the heart. With every step the forest tightens its grip, until at last a sound breaks through the dripping gloom: the steady thump of a mallet. In the clearing, smoke coils from a charcoal mound… and there, she beholds the figure who haunts every whisper of scandal. The Hollow has revealed its keeper. But is he man, monster, or something in between?