Home (Entry 91)

by Hayley Thomas

Dear diary,

Early morning on the eleventh of Edon, we broke camp and slipped once more into the winding arteries of the Lorewood. The forest was quiet in that unsettling Lorewood way — the silence never quite natural, as though the trees were listening, weighing each footstep we placed upon their mossy floor. But nothing troubled us. No tricks. No specters. No hungry hags.

By the thirteenth, the trees thinned and Hillfield came into view.

The gates, unsurprisingly, stood shut. Reinforced. Bristling with guards.
Exactly as the matriarch had promised.

We weren’t welcome — not as exiles, not as family, not as anything she’d care to name. So we passed Hillfield without slowing, letting the cold wind carry its rejection behind us. We’ll deal with the DelaRoost matriarch when the time is right…

Later that day, Ileas spotted a man sitting by the roadside — relaxed, almost bored, as though the Lorewood were a country lane and not a place where nightmares tend to nest. A stranger to us… but not to Ileas. The moment the satyr returned to the caravan, I knew something was wrong. His eyes unfocused, steps unsteady. Fear wearing the shape of confusion.

“Who was he?” I asked.

“My uncle,” Ileas answered — voice barely more than breath.

Yes. That uncle.

The one who had butchered our dogs for amusement and served them as a feast.

And now he claimed he had prepared grounds for us. Grounds “ready for use.” Grounds that would be “safe.” The kind of offer predators make to prey right before the jaws close.

There was no need for a council. No debate.

We refused, unanimously, with a disgust almost physical.

Whatever trap Ileas’s so-called uncle had set out there in the trees, we would not step into it.

We pressed onward toward Tarn.

A few hours later, we reached the familiar valley that should have led us to Rosebloom. Instead, we found a wall of thorns — towering, twisted, woven so tightly it looked like the forest itself had clenched a fist.

Rosebloom was sealed off.
Cut off from the world.

A chill crept down my spine as I reached for magic and sent a message to Sir Fynn.

Are you blocking our way? Or do you need help?

The reply came back sharp and cold, colder than the Lorewood air.

And whatever he said, whatever truth slithered through the connection in those few short words…
…it made the hairs at my nape rise.
Something in Rosebloom had gone very, very wrong.

“Leave me be! None are welcome in this doomed valley!”

I sent Fiachna soaring above the valley, her dark wings carving through the cold air. A few tense minutes later she returned, feathers ruffled, her mind full of the sights she had gleaned.

The news was worse than I feared.

The entire valley had been swallowed by thorns — not just encroaching, but devouring. Every house smothered. Every field strangled. Even the highest roofs had vanished beneath the twisting bramble. Only the spires of Sir Fynn’s keep still poked through, and even those were half-consumed.

Ileas muttered that it had to be his “uncle,” pushing us away from every path but the one he offered. But even as he said it, his voice trembled with doubt. And I… I do not believe this is Ileas’s doing. Not fully. Not directly. Something else coils beneath the surface, something hungry and ancient and foul. This reeks of a deeper corruption.

But speculation wouldn’t feed our people, nor shelter them. We had to get them somewhere safe. So we turned from Rosebloom—another hope smothered in thorns—and pushed on toward Tarn.

Two havens denied in a single day.
I felt my heart shrinking tight as a fist.

By the time we reached the outskirts of Tarn, dusk was clutching the horizon. But Tarn… Tarn hadn’t changed. The small homes, the winding dirt road, the familiar silhouettes against the fading sky — it was as though we had stepped back in time.
And then the villagers emerged.

One by one at first, then in clusters, calling our names, waving, smiling as if we had only been gone a week. As though nothing had changed. As though they had always believed we would return.

Warmth bloomed in my chest — fragile, unexpected.

These people had not forgotten us.
These people would never turn us away.

When we reached the heart of the village, Edward Colline stepped forward. Brother to Elsa — the same Elsa who had betrayed us so thoroughly in Keralon — yet none of her falseness showed on his face. Edward greeted us with open arms, genuine warmth, and relief that looked almost like joy.

Only then did the questions begin.

Quiet at first — unsure, hesitant — then spilling into the open as villagers gathered around. Why had we returned? Who were all these people following us? What had happened in Keralon?
It was soon clear that Tarn had been kept in the dark. Even Edward, informed and level-headed as he usually is, had heard nothing. No whispers, no rumors, nothing of the fall of Wolf’s Rest or the corruption spreading through the Briar Ring.

So we told them.
Piece by piece.

Enough truth to explain why we had come home, but not enough to drown them in the horrors we had seen.

And as we spoke — as the shock spread through their faces — the people of Tarn didn’t step away.

They stepped closer.

Their response could not have been more different from that of the Delaroost matriarch.
Where she had slammed her gates shut and cast out her own blood, the people of Tarn opened their doors without hesitation.

Within minutes they were organizing themselves — calling out instructions, gathering blankets, leading families to spare rooms, clearing barns, laying out bedrolls when the houses filled up. When space finally ran out, they set up a proper camp with practiced ease. Fires were lit. Pots were filled. Someone ran off to fetch herbs; another brought barrels from storage. Tarn had enjoyed a generous harvest this year, and they shared it freely, gladly, as though hospitality were a matter of pride.

It warmed something in me that had gone cold these past weeks.

Seeing that everything was already being handled with care and efficiency, we instead turned our attention to Edward — newly revealed as Tarn’s leader. He brought us up to speed on the state of the region, though the news was hardly comforting. Hillfield, he said, had swelled its garrison in response to escalating gnoll raids. A city already on a knife’s edge had now drawn more steel to its walls.

My mind immediately leapt to an opportunity.

If Hillfield was stretched thin, if gnolls were already snarling at their borders… perhaps there was room for diplomacy. Not peace, maybe not even trust — but an accord. A mutual shaping of hostilities. An alliance of convenience, to keep Hillfield occupied while we found our footing.

But the moment I raised the idea, I could feel the unease ripple through my companions. They weren’t ready — or simply unwilling — to entertain negotiations with gnolls. So I let the thought fall quiet. For now. There would be time later to revisit it.
That night, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, I lay down in a familiar room, in a familiar bed, with the sounds of Tarn breathing gently outside the window. The air smelled of woodsmoke and late-autumn earth.

And for the first time since Wolf’s Rest burned, I felt myself exhale.

Continue reading...

Entry one: The trials

Entry two: The bramble

Entry 3: Rosebloom

Entry 4: Hearts and Dreams

Entry 5: of ghosts and wolves

Entry 6: Hillfield and Deals with Fae

Entry 7: mysteries and pastries

Entry 8: The scarecrow ruse
6th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

Entry 9: A betrayal of satyrs
7th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 10: The fate of twins
8th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 11: Cursed twins
10th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 12: Loss and despair
11th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Hayley's rules to being a Witch

Entry 13: the price of safety
12th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 14: A golden cage and fiery tower
13th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 15: A trial by fire
14th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 16: Keralon
15th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Letter to Luke 1

Letter to Luke 2

Letter to Luke 3

Letter to Luke 4

Letter to Luke 5

Letter to Luke 6

Entry 17: I shall wear midnight
1st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 18: peace in our time
2nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 19: Caern Fussil falls
3rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 20: I see fire
4th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 21: Cultists twarted
10th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 22: Ravensfield
14th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 23: The Hollow Hill Horror
15th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 24: Burn your village
16th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 25: Ravensfield burns
17th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 26: There will be blood!
21st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 27: A happy reunion
22nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 28: The embassy ball
23rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 29: The fate of Robert Talespinner
24th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 30: A royal summons
28th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 31: of Dogville and Geese
29th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 32: A boggle named Pim
30th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 33: A deal broken
1st of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 34: The cost of doing what is right
2nd of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 35: A dish best served cold
9th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

entry 36: Cornu returns?
10th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 37: A letter from Amarra
11th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 38: The case of the (not) missing villagers
14th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 39: A curse broken
15th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 40: Into the Lorewood
18th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 41: Cabin in the Woods
19th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 42: Myrdin and Anaya
20th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 43: Into the Immerglade
21st of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 44: A tale as old as time
22nd of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 45: The truth
23rd of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 46: Luke's Ordeal
24th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 47: The festival
26th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 48: Trouble at the Cathedral
2nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 49: Quinn's court
4th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 50: onwards to Latebra Velora
5th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 51: Where is my cow?
6th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 52: Here be dragons
7th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 53: Dragon hoard with a side of scarabs
8th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 54: Leave the basilisks alone
9th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 55: Return to Ravensfield
10th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 56: The needs of the many...
11th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 57: Dreams of Sister Willow
12th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 58: wetlands be wet
13th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 59: Baron Perenolde
14th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 60: Talebra Velora and the lady Morenthene
15th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 61: Cypria
16th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 62: Dragon takes Knight
17th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 63: Return to Talebra Velora
18th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 64: Your presence is “requested”
19th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 65: I stand alone
20th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 66: A day of normalcy
21th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 67: Into the Neverhold
22nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 68: The Warg King

Entry 69: Chased by birds

Entry 70: Whitewail

Entry 71: Nimmerhold

Entry 72: The menagerie
29th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 73: To the library!
30th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 74: The people's tournament
First of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 75: Nimmerhold party
First of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 76, The return home
Second of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 77: A week of peace
10th of Mannan

Entry 78: The tomb of the First King
11th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 79: I had a dream
12th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 80: The ritual for Sister Willow
14th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 81: Trouble at the Briar Ring
15th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 82: My day as a crocodile
21st of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

The return of the twins (Entry 83)
22nd of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Earth and Sky (Entry 84)
26th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Wolf's Rest betrayed (entry 85)
30th of Mannon

The end of a chapter (entry 86)
first of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

On the road (Entry 87)
second of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

The Red Knight (Entry 88)
7th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Dear uncle… (Entry 89)
8th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Cut the bridge (Entry 90)
10th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Home (Entry 91)
13th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

A tale of two shadows (Entry 92)
16th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Home (Entry 91)

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