Chapter Thirty-Seven: Shadows at the Gate
A month passed like a slow-turning wheel.
The Hollow thrived in the uneasy peace. The walls had grown higher, stronger, bristling with watchtowers where wolfkin patrols stood guard day and night. The forges burned hot under the care of the dwarf master, tools and weapons now flowing steadily into every hand that needed them. Goblins built new homes with practiced discipline, elves expanded the hunting ranges, and humans—those few who chose to remain—found their place among the others.
At the center of it all, Kael stood not as a distant figure of dread, but as a leader who walked among them.
To his right, Lyria—bow always strung, eyes sharp as ever, her reports from the forest now the backbone of their intelligence. She had become his shadow-scout, the unseen eyes and ears of the Hollow.
To his left, Thalos—iron-backed, tusked grin fierce as he drilled wolfkin and ogres alike, shaping them into soldiers who could hold their ground against any foe. He was more than Kael's shield. He was his stone.
The three of them formed a triangle of power the Hollow depended on. Where one faltered, the others balanced. Together, they were unyielding.
The Council in Session
The longhouse smelled of smoke and parchment as the council gathered. Kael sat at the head, Lyria and Thalos flanking him. Around the firepit, Fenrik leaned on his spear, the dwarf master hunched with a cup of ale, and Elria represented the humans who had chosen to stay.
"It has been a month," Fenrik growled, "and still no retaliation. No scouts. No soldiers. Nothing." His ears twitched uneasily. "Humans are not this patient."
The dwarf master snorted. "Or maybe they are. A kingdom doesn't move like a raiding party—it schemes, it plots. Silence could mean they're weaving a net around us."
Elria's voice was quieter, but no less firm. "Or it could mean they're listening. The man Kael sent back may have carried his message truly."
Lyria's eyes flicked toward Kael. "I doubt peace is that simple. But… it's strange. Too quiet. They're not acting as I expected."
Thalos rumbled agreement. "If they mean to fight, why wait? They should have come with fire and steel weeks ago."
The debate rolled on, sharp words sparking across the chamber. Kael listened, crimson eyes steady, letting the tide of their opinions flow before he spoke.
"Perhaps," he said finally, "their silence is an answer in itself."
Before anyone could reply, the doors of the longhouse slammed open. A young wolfkin soldier stumbled in, chest heaving, sweat plastering fur to his forehead.
"My lord—!" he gasped, bowing low. "A caravan. Coming from the southern road. Dozens of wagons. Guarded. And—" his voice cracked with disbelief— "a royal carriage at the rear."
The council chamber erupted. Voices rose in shock, outrage, suspicion.
Lyria was on her feet, bow already in hand. "A carriage? Here? That's not war—it's diplomacy."
Fenrik snarled. "Or a trap. They come with gifts in one hand and poison in the other."
Thalos' fists clenched, knuckles cracking like breaking stone. "If it's the king himself, I'll split him in two before he steps foot inside these walls."
Kael stood slowly, the weight of the moment pressing down on him like a mantle. His voice cut through the chaos.
"Enough."
The chamber fell silent. His crimson gaze swept across them all, fierce but controlled.
"They come to us, not with swords drawn but with banners raised. That means something. Whether it's peace or deception, we will not greet them like savages."
His shadow stirred faintly along the floor, dark tendrils whispering in the firelight.
"We will greet them as a people who have built something worth defending. As a nation."
Outside, the Hollow stirred like a hive as word spread. Goblins scrambled to clear the streets, elves climbed the walls to watch, and wolfkin tightened grips on their spears. The sound of drums—hooves, wheels, armor—echoed faintly from the southern path.
For the first time, Kael felt not the weight of a battle to be fought, but of a kingdom to be recognized.
The forest would never be the same after this.