< The Archive | Homes N Hollows | Alex Home >
Chandler's Grotto, the Motley's Hollow, started off as a private little resting place for Sonja that she found before there even was a Motley. It was hidden under Chandler's lake, a series of underground caves, some of them positively infested with thorns and uninhabitable. Others looked very inhabitable, and in fact showed some sign that at one time very distant they in fact had been lived in. Now all that remained of whomever had lived here was a few broken belongings and bits of shattered furniture, and the Hedge itself was well into the process of reclaiming the area for its own. The Hollow itself was accessible from a passage at the bottom of the lake as well as a small opening into the local hedge that emerged in the thorns (but reasonably near to a path).
Eventually Sonja shared knowledge of the Grotto with her motley, desiring and needing their help if she was ever going to truly claim the place. Everyone lent a hand in everything, but Mary helped most in clearing out some of the infested chambers while Alex devoted his efforts to connecting the Hollow to his House via a newly attuned door. Timmy was by far the most helpful, assisting Sonja to keep the Hollow hidden and well-protected and doing what he could to make it a bit more comfortable to live in. The furnishings are still quite meager, but with a bit more help from Mary and Alex, the Hollow will be quite the luxury.
Related Links- The Family
Hollow Size 3
The Hollow is, at this point, quite a large cave system that is in the process of being laid out like a home. A few more rooms might be able to be reclaimed, if the Motley wished, but it'd be a bit tricky without affecting the security of the Hollow - plus, the entire thing is empty enough as is, and adding more wouldn't help.
Hollow Amenities 3
Oh how have the years changed how the Hollow's innards look and treat its owners... Now a bed with all silken sheets and a feather mattress filled with the down of baby fire and thunderbirds is in Sonja and Melinda's shared bedroom with the other Master bedroom only slightly less comfortable. The library is complete, if mostly empty except for the shelves, a wonderfully crafted fireplace, and a number of comfy, deep cushioned chairs and a small couch that Melinda and Sonja often occupy together. But this is only the beginning, as Sonja is starting to work on getting the ceiling of the Library replaced with a sort of mystical one way window so they can look out and let sun and moonlight enter as desired. All sorts of numbers of fae devices and toys litter the Hollow. The bathroom has a deep hot spring bath, and another normally cold water spring that passes through a den of salamanders which can be excited to heat it serves as the shower spraying from the wall to run down into another crack.
Hollow Doors 1
The Hollow currently boasts three doors, two into the world (Alex's House, and the Bottom of Chandler's Pond) and one into the Thorns. Each has its own key, and similar care would no doubt be taken with any further doors.
Hollow Wards 3
One of the main benefits of the Hollow is its nature as an almost-reclaimed part of the Hedge before Sonja found it; by being careful not to cut back the hedge TOO carefully, they've been able to keep the Hedge low profile and make sneaking in more than a little difficulty. Plus, they're much more familiar with the safest passages than any intruders. A bit more controlled growth could easily make this an even better disguise-slash-defense.
The central area of the Hollow, referred to as the Lounge, currently consists of a vaguely circular room with rungs cut into the stone wall leading up to a circular depression filled with water which should unceasingly fall down to the floor below in a deluge due to gravity, yet consistently fails to do so. The rungs have become secondary with the growth of what Sonja calls the Heartvine. This thick vine grows straight up, it's roots drinking deep of the water and it's thorns similarly impressive and spiraled downward. This unusual setup acts as a natural staircase. This is the main entrance of the Hollow, leading up to Chandler's Lake, and contains a small bench painstakingly carved by Timmy but is otherwise fairly barren. Three other chambers are accessible from this one, those most were once blocked off by Thorns they now lead the way into the Living Room and Kitchen. Sonja's Master Bedroom is also accessible from the Loungue, as is the other Bedroom.
The Bedrooms are nigh identical, and are joined by the Bathroom. There are rough plans of building a more firm divide between Bed and Bath, but for now, a small curtain suffices. Sonja's Bedroom is in slightly better condition than the other Master Bedroom, mostly due to having a decent enough bed (though not as nice as Sonja's bed at Alex's house) and a few bits of furniture that give it a slightly lived-in appeal. The secondary currently consists, mostly, of an empty chamber of some size with a small bedroll. This is also where Mary buried Alex's collection of guns, and doubles as a storage area, containing a few tools and other odds & ends. The secondary bedroom contains a small passage up into the Hedge, though its mostly impassable at the moment, filled as it is with Thorns.
The Living Room is another centrally located room, just next to the Lounge across from the Library. Once fully infested with thorns, Mary spent more than a little time clearing away this room, but a few roots still creep in now and again and have to be pruned. Other than a few throw pillows and a table, this room is pretty barren. The area that lives in Timmy's mind as the Library, on the other hand, has been developed to a much larger degree. It's primary feature is a number of (mostly empty) bookshelves, just waiting to hold the grand archive that the Motley will no doubt accumulate. The acoustics of the room make it perfect for meditation. Timmy has a number of other grand designs for this part of the Hollow, but for now, they mostly live in his mind. He's currently in the midst of constructing a staircase up to the Sitting Room which is otherwise only accessible by a long sloping passage.
The Sitting Room overlooks the Library, as it were, though Timmy has been nice enough to construct a Handrail to keep anyone from falling as well as a few chairs (little more than antique looking wooden things; finding good padding has been difficult). This area also serves as the main exit from the Hollow into the Hedge, through a sloping thorn-infested passage. Unlike the passage in the secondary bedroom, however, this passage can be safely navigated - particularly if you know the trick to it, as all members of the Motley do. Others will find it slow going and are more than likely to prick themselves.
The Kitchen contains a small black doorway that leads to Alex's Garage. There isn't much in the way of utility here, and the area is mostly named as such because Mary spent so much effort clearing the thorns away from this room that she considers it hers and it might as well be a Kitchen. So far, the room is pretty barren except for cubbards, another small table, and a small fire pit perfect for roasts and what not. The chimney is still somewhat thorn infested, but that doesn't pose a huge problem, and even helps to diffuse the smoke helping to keep the Hollow hidden from anyone who might be looking for it. A small pantry contains a few extra odds and ends, mostly imperishables, that Mary doesn't want to keep anywhere else.
Layout- Lounge (exit), Master Bedroom, Second Bedroom (potential exit), Living Room, Library, Sitting Room (exit), Kitchen (exit). Minor Rooms- Bathroom (between the two Bedrooms), Meditation Chamber (in Library), Pantry (attached to Kitchen)
Exiting through the sitting room leads into the Thorns directly, though a path can be seen vaguely nearby. While the initial exit to the world seemed to lead to Brookline, this area of the hedge seems to be near the Stony Brook State Reservation (Map) far south of town. A few gateways exit to various parts of the Reservation, including one in the dugout of a ballfield. Where exactly the other exit, if it could be convinced to behave, would lead to is unsure but occasionally those sleeping in the second bedroom report hearing the sounds of a wharf or dockside area in the early morning.
Stryck Wiki