The Hollow Watchman

The abandoned clocktower loomed over the silent district, its skeletal frame jutting into the night like the last remnant of a forgotten era. The rusted hands remained frozen at an indiscernible time, marking an absence rather than a moment. Fog coiled around its base, slithering between the cracks in the worn stone path that led to its entrance.

Elias and Leira stood at the edge of the square, their gazes fixed on the tower.

Leira exhaled. "This place has been abandoned for decades. If the clue is leading us here, whatever we're looking for must be hidden deep inside."

Elias stepped forward, the parchment still clenched in his fingers. "Then we find a way in."

The heavy wooden doors of the tower were sealed shut, their iron reinforcements rusted but sturdy. However, the structure itself had not been maintained for years. Elias circled the perimeter, his eyes tracing the decayed stonework until he found what he was searching for—a collapsed portion of the outer wall, its rubble forming a narrow gap just large enough for them to slip through.

With careful movements, they entered the tower.

Inside, the air was thick with dust, the scent of old wood and forgotten time clinging to the silence. The grand chamber at the base of the tower was littered with remnants of its past—broken gears, shattered glass, and wooden beams collapsed from the ceiling above. The great pendulum, once a symbol of the city's relentless march forward, now hung still, swallowed by darkness.

But something felt wrong.

The silence was too complete.

Elias tightened his grip on the vial in his coat, the dark liquid swirling within as if responding to his unease. "We're not alone."

Leira's fingers hovered near the hilt of her dagger. "I feel it too."

A whisper, faint and stretched, curled through the chamber.

"You seek the unseen path."

Elias turned sharply, his eyes scanning the darkness. The voice had no source—no presence, no direction.

Then, the clock's gears groaned.

High above them, deep within the tower's hollow core, something moved. A faint glow flickered along the walls, casting twisting shadows across the stone floor. The air grew colder, heavy with unseen weight.

Leira's breath hitched. "The clock… it's moving."

Elias followed her gaze. The hands of the clock had begun to shift, inching forward with agonizing slowness. The rusted gears moaned in protest, forced into motion by something unseen.

And then—

A chime.

Not the chime of a broken mechanism, but a sound that resonated beyond the physical. It rang through the chamber, vibrating against their bones, pressing into their minds like an ancient force being stirred from slumber.

The parchment in Elias's hand burned cold. His gaze snapped downward. The ink on the scroll had changed, new symbols crawling into existence as if written by an unseen hand.

Leira stepped closer, her voice barely a whisper. "What does it say?"

Elias's pulse quickened as he read:

"The key lies in the echo of time. When the twelfth chime fades, take the path unseen."

The tower's chime rang again.

Twelve times.

And then—silence.

A passageway, once hidden in the crumbling stone, yawned open before them. A stairwell, descending into the darkness below.

Leira swallowed. "I suppose this is our invitation."

Elias exhaled, tucking the parchment away. "Then let's not keep our host waiting."

With that, they stepped into the unknown.

To Be Continued…