What is the importance of Dead Hollow in the novel, Willa of the Wood (Book 1)?

Dead Hollow is the home of Willa's clan. Located at the top of the Smoky Mountains, the hollow consists of a series of tunnels that run through an underground warren. The padaran rules the clan from the Hall of the Padaran, which had been painted with glittering birds centuries ago. Inside his private rooms, he hoarded a collection of human gadgets. Deep beneath the surface, there was a series of jail cells holding human children being prepped to enter into the slowly dying clan.