Excerpt: Twisted Clockwork

“You wanna hear about the lake?” Ara asked, even though she knew full well that they did. “A’right. How about we go with old and traditional for tonight…”

Nicu didn’t miss her gaze flicking directly to the corner the bounty hunters had hidden themselves in. The ‘old and traditional’ version of the tale was… well, it was a bit creepy. Ara had obviously chosen it to try and scare the bounty hunters, but Nicu doubted it would work. She’d have to tone it down for the kids, after all.

“So… once upon a time…” She started speaking and immediately the tavern fell quiet, apart from a few hushed whispers. Somewhere, one of the local mages made the gas lamps dim, so that only the fire in the grate gave off any significant light. As much as he hated to admit it, Nicu did like listening to Ara’s stories. Even Tawno had torn himself away from his hotpot for a moment to listen.

“Hundreds of years ago, way, way back before Clockwork ever existed, there lived a man. He had a wife, a cat and two children. And he made clocks. Most people called him Tick Tock, because whenever they walked past his house, that was all they could hear.

“Eventually, people got annoyed with the sound of his ever ticking clocks. They told him to get rid of them, or leave. Well, Tick Tock loved his clocks. Even more than he loved the people of his town. So he and his family packed up and left. He decided to go and find a nice place to live where his clocks would disturb anyone.

“After weeks of travelling, he finally found a nice little valley where no one lived. He built himself a hut big enough for all his clocks and his family and moved in. He was very happy, because now his clocks didn’t disturb anyone, and he could be at peace.

“But that didn’t last long. One night, Tick Tock woke up, not quiet sure what was
wrong. It took him a while to work it out, but because he spent so much time working with them, he eventually worked out what it was. The clocks were ticking backwards. And he could tell. It may seem like it’s possible for any clock to tick backwards, depending on how you listen, but Tick Tock knew. He knew that his clocks were ticking wrong. He spent hours trying to fix them, but he couldn’t. In the end he gave up and tried to go back to sleep, the wrong ticking kept him awake.

“Eventually, he passed out and when he woke up again, the clocks were ticking forwards once more. He tried to tell himself that he had just imagined that his clocks had ticked wrongly, and went about his work once more.

“However, when he went down to the lake that afternoon to fetch a pail of water, he heard a voice. It was the voice of a woman and she sounded angry. ‘You’re clocks keep me awake all day.’ She said. ‘Cease their ticking at once or pay the consequences.’

“Tick Tock, however, said no. He didn’t know who this woman was, and this was his home. He’d already moved once for his clocks and had no intention of moving again. So he took his water and went home.

“The next night he was woken again. Once more, the clocks were ticking backwards, but this time, the hands were going backwards as well. Once again, he spent hours trying to fix them, and once again he failed. He went back to bed and only got to sleep when he passed out.

“The next morning, the clocks were working normally, but his children were upset. Tick Tock asked them what was wrong and they told him that their cat was missing. Tick Tock reassured them that cats went off on their own all the time, and that she would come back on her own.

“He went down to the lake again that afternoon, and once again he heard the woman’s voice. She sounded angrier this time. ‘Your clocks keep me awake all day.’ She snapped. ‘Cease their ticking at once or pay the consequences.’

“Again, Tick Tock said no. He had bigger things to worry about than this woman, and it wasn’t like she was the only one loosing sleep. He returned home with his water.

“That night, the clocks woke him again with their backwards ticking. This time, the hand were turning backwards, but at immense speed. So fast, in fact, that many of them snapped off. Tick Tock despaired and tried all night to fix them. This time he didn’t go back to bed. He passed out at his workbench, exhausted.

“The next morning his clocks were back to normal. Even the snapped arms were reattached. Tick Tock, however, didn’t have time to celebrate. This time, it was his wife who was frantic. Tick Tock asked her what was wrong, and she told him that the children had gone missing, just like the cat. Tick Tock told her that everything would be fine, and immediately set off for the lake.

“The woman’s voice greeted him harshly as soon as he stood at the water’s edge. ‘Your clocks keep me awake all day.’ She snarled, sounding more like a vicious animal than a human now. ‘Cease their ticking at once, or your children will pay the consequences.’

“Tick Tock demanded to see his children, but the woman refused. She told him to first destroy all of his clocks, and then he could see his children again. Tick Tock agreed and sadly returned home to destroy the clocks.

“When all of the clocks had been destroyed he returned to the lake. He told the woman that he had done it, and asked to see his children. She agreed and his children were brought up from the bottom of the lake, along with the cat, in a bubble. Once they were on dry land, Tick Tock destroyed the bubble and took his children home.

“He never heard the woman’s voice again. Over time people began to settle near by, and after a five years, Tick Tock finally gave in. For five years he hadn’t built any clocks, afraid that the woman at the lake would take away his children again. But now, with the new people around, he felt safe enough to try. He was old, but with his neighbours’ help, he built the Clocktower. It was his greatest accomplishment.

“The night the clock tower was completed, Tick Tock vanished.

“No one knew what happened to him, and over the years, as the town grew, it became known as Clockwork town in his memory. Yet even to this day, some people say that he still haunts Clockwork and every now and again, someone will be driven made by the sound of backwards ticking… And remember. Don’t have more than three clocks in your house, or the woman at the lake may come for you too…”

There was a soft round of clapping and the children giggled amongst themselves nervously. Nicu couldn’t help smiling uncertainly as he exchanged glances with Jankal and Rasae. They all knew the real version of the story. That the woman in the lake had never actually given Tick Tock his children back, instead keeping them for eternity until they became monsters; that Tick Tock had actually made the Clocktower as revenge against the woman in the lake, and that people were driven made by the sound of ticking far more often than what could be referred to as ‘occasionally’. Hence the asylum.

Not that anyone mentioned the asylum.