'The Clockwork Cities weren't constructed here,' said Siy. 'They weren't actually constructed at all. The formation of the original World Congress, hundreds of years ago, occurred after a falling star smashed into the Pan and created this valley, Hox. On that falling star was a traveller from another world and his monolithic pet, the original Clockwork City.
'The traveller saw the squabbling humans, the unfocused jotunn families, the gnomes with their silly aspirations for mechanics. He even saw the koboms. He brought all peoples together at the meeting place at which we are standing. A congress for the whole world, eight representatives from eight races in a tower eight stories high, with him as a guiding councillor.
'The traveller taught the humans how to control the land, he taught the sprites how to make their forest homes wherever they went. He helped koboms overcome the beast inside them. To the gnomes he gave the rudimentary rules of Clockwork. To share his power equally, he even gave every race the most valuable gift he could – an egg from his pet.
'These blue imprints are part of the eggs that were delivered to every ruling class of every race. Some did not want the burden and brought the imprint back here. Others guarded their cities viciously. The kobom's city was lost first. I don't wish to judge but at the time it was thought that the visitor from the stars favoured koboms the least.
'For generations the peoples thrived, but eventually the traveller died, leaving the other eight members of the congress to elect a new representative for Clockwork. That did not go well. Finally, the nine congressmen decided that the power over all clockwork was too much for any one person, or group of people from this world to have.
'They left the original clockwork creature to the sands of time. This tower was abandoned, and only one Clockwork City remained functioning in the intervening period. The world is much poorer for it, but back then they thought it was their only chance.'
The sun was well and truly above the horizon now. Adrian was the first to speak.
'So we are standing in the mother of Clockwork? You will be able to bring back the Clockwork City, by doing what exactly?'
'Resurrecting her!' said Siy. He went back to the podium and held up the last two clockwork egg imprints. 'The essence of the “new life” she gave into the eggs should hopefully work the other way. Why else would this pedestal accept them?'
'An interesting tale, Siy,' said Dastardly, 'but how do you know all of this?'
'Some of it was kobom folklore,' Siy said. 'Most of it I gained from watching through the Shard. I had to, since my plan was to revive the first clockwork creature and control it.'
'What?' said Adrian. 'Why do you want to control it?'
'The thing is,' Siy smiled manically, 'watching the past through the tarnished Shard is very taxing on the soul. It has made me quite mad!'
He pushed the imprints firmly into the podium. As they touched it, the tower began to rumble. So fast it could almost not be seen, Siy grabbed a crossbow in each hand from somewhere in his clothes and pointed one at the freelancer, one at the knight.
'You've been a great help,' he said. He giggled, 'I've watched you all through the Mirror on your way here. Dastardly – you aren't very dastardly, I have to say, and Adrian – you are perhaps a little too smart for someone from the Clockwork City. I'm going to kill you now.'
'Not so fast,' said the freelancer. In the midst of Siy's monologue, he had procured the trick sword, set it on his shoulder and aimed it at the kobom.
'Did I miss something?' Siy laughed. 'You fired your last shot at that ogre on the deep road. I'm afraid I left my ship to wait for you here after that.'
'Oh yeah,' Dastardly said. 'I guess we're screwed.'
The tower started to rock back and forth before rising up beneath them. While Siy tried to regain his balance, both the knight and the freelancer had taken cover behind the representatives' chairs.
'What do we do now?' said Adrian.
'Alright, stay there if you want,' said Siy. 'Cowards.'
The tower was still rising as Siy walked to the edge and yelled to the milling crowds down below.
'Finally I can greet you all! Witness your new Congress, aka me, ready to take on the world!'
Now the tower started to tip slightly, the chairs sliding down the inclined floor. Siy scrabbled back to the centre of the room.
'I have an idea,' said Dastardly. 'Get ready to leave really fast.'
The freelancer faced the kobom.
'Here, wouldn't you like to know how this works?' He chucked the sword at Siy.
'I could find out how it works any day of the –' the kobom began. He picked up the sword. 'Actually, it is very interesting craftsmanship...'
The floor was getting steeper and steeper, tipping in the wrong direction for the adventurers to reach the stairs in time. Meanwhile, Siy had become engrossed in the sword and didn't notice that he was about to slide out the window.
'Please say you aren't going to save him!' Adrian said as he tried to climb forty five degrees of flat surface.
'I'm not going to let that sword go to waste!' Dastardly shouted back.
He slipped back towards the kobom and put out his hand.
'Give me the sword back, please.'
'AAHHH!' Siy said. He fell off the edge.
'You can't get away like that!' said the freelancer when he'd grabbed one of Siy's arms with his right hand. With his left arm he steadied himself on the cog-shaped wall which provided the barest of handholds with its teeth.
'No sword is worth the pain in the butt I'll be if I live!' said Siy. 'Better to drop me now and get it over with!'
'I'm considering it,' Dastardly groaned as his hand started to lose grip.
The entire structure shook violently like an earthquake, accompanied by a cracking BOOM! Dastardly's right hand shook free and Siy fell. Just in time, Adrian had joined him to grab onto the freelancer's left arm.
'No one could survive that fall, even with your gnomish boots,' said the knight. His voice echoed, the echo having a thick and dark feminine quality to it.
'No, it can't be you,' said Dastardly. 'I've avoided you my whole life!' He turned his head in the air to see a woman in a hooded cloak. She didn't seem to be standing on anything. The woman raised her head and the freelancer could see that her eyes had skulls for pupils.
'Now this is a long awaited meeting,' she grinned, but only a little. 'Your new friend Adrian here has danced with me on many an occasion, but you are right, Dastardly Medieval. You actively avoid me at every turn. The only reason you are in this mess at all is because you didn't want to owe a favour to a powerful man. The only reason you met the knight was that you didn't want Krotar to slice you open. You never went back to him, and you might not have a chance, now that you're close to me.'
'For someone who often works quickly you do talk a lot,' Dastardly said.
'Time slows down. How else could your whole life flash before your eyes?'
'I don't see anything of the sort. I'm only close to Death, not dying.'
'I have an ulterior motive for appearing to you at this time. I cannot say all I need to, but I will have another chance soon enough. There is work that my superiors need you to do.'
'What, you've got a boss?'
'Sure – though I don't work in circles like free will and grand plans. No, the superior I refer to is simply a senior in my line of work. Oh, looks like I'll have to see you later. I know I will.'
Time flooded back into Dastardly's world. In one instant the knight fell from the tower and the freelancer with him. But they hadn't died.
'You must be really happy to see old Plen T. now, hey Dastardly?'
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