Danny continued his journey through the dark forest. Looking everywhere for Dash's missing arrow and determined to bring it back, trying to avoid getting into more trouble with his foster brother. As he jumped over to the next rock, he was unaware that he had caught the attention of a wolf.
The wolf looked at Danny now in hunger while chewing on a bone. He grinned at the sight of new meat. He looked at the bone he was chewing on in disgust, before spitting it out and began to quietly stalk his prey.
Danny pushed away a branch as he continued on, but when he let go, the branch hit the wolf right in the mouth and whacked him away. Danny stopped for a breather and looked up, he suddenly smiled as he saw stuck on a tree branch was Dash's arrow.
He changed into his ghost form and began to float up, just as the wolf was about to sneak up behind him and take a bite out of his leg. Danny continued to float up and landed on one of the branches, he then proceeded to climb up the tall tree.
The wolf stood ready at the bottom of the tree, with his mouth opened ready to eat him if he fell. Danny stepped on a branch and almost fell since it snapped, luckily he was still in his ghost form and managed to float himself back onto the tree. The broken branch fell right into the wolf's mouth.
The wolf spat the branch out and continued to follow Danny as he climbed along the branch closer to the arrow, keeping his mouth opened ready to eat his meal. Danny reach out to the arrow, but suddenly the entire branch snapped and with a yelp, he fell right through the roof of Clockwork's house and landed right on the chair, just as Clockwork predicted.
Clockwork coughed as dust filled the room. Danny straightened himself up and changed back into his human form as Clockwork said after the dust cleared, "Well my boy, you did drop in for tea after all. Just as I predicted."
He chuckled and looked at one of his watches and then said, "Hmmm….but you're a little bit late."
"I am?" Danny asked, confused.
Danny looked at all the contraptions and amazing things in Clockwork's house as Clockwork got up and filled a teapot with hot water.
Clockwork then introduced himself, "Yes. Anyway, I suppose you're wondering who I am. I am Clockwork. Master of Time and ghost sorcerer. And you are?"
"Oh…I'm Daniel but everyone calls me Danny or sometimes even just whelp." Danny answered.
He then saw Jason standing so still and said as he poked him, "What a perfect stuffed skeleton bird."
Jason was now taken aback and spoke offended, "Stuffed?! I beg your pardon?!"
"He's alive and he talks?" Danny said amazed.
"And certainly a great deal better than you do!" Jason snapped, before flying back to his bird house already disliking Danny.
Clockwork poured a cup of tea and gave it to Danny as an apologetic gesture to give to Jason as he said, "Oh come now Jason! Come and meet Danny properly. He didn't mean what he said. You must forgive him, he's only a boy."
Jason poked his head out and said grumpily pretending that Danny wasn't even there, "Boy? Boy? I see no boy."
He went back inside his house, but not before snatching away the cup and closing the small door. Danny then said, "Yeesh! I'm sorry for causing that."
Clockwork chuckled and gestured for Danny to sit back down as he said, "That's alright."
He then said quietly, "He's much too sensitive."
"Sensitive? Huh? Who? What, what?" Jason asked offended again, poking his head out hoping it wasn't him Clockwork was talking about.
Clockwork laughed a little as he took his seat and poured Danny a cup of tea and then poured himself one. Danny took a sip of the tea before asking, "Um…how did you know I was…."
"Coming?" Clockwork cut in, knowing what he was asking. "As I mentioned before. I am the Master of Time and ghost sorcerer. A ghost wizard in a way. I have the power to control time, see into the past, present and future. Even centuries into the future!"
Danny looked at Clockwork in amazement as he continued, "I have been there and I have seen all these things."
He picked up a small model train he had made and placed it on the table and explained what it was, "This for example, is a steam locomotive."
He poured a little bit of tea into the back of it and placed the lid on. Steam began to come out from the pipe of it and Danny watched in amazement as it began to move. He grabbed it and turned it around, allowing to move right back to Clockwork's side of the table.
"Now that won't be invented for hundreds of years." Clockwork said.
"So that means…you can see everything before it happens? That's incredible!" Danny said with awe.
"Really? You can see everything Clockwork?" Jason challenged with a smirk.
Clockwork frowned at Jason for a moment before admitting, "Well…not all the time everything. I'll admit I didn't know who to expect for tea this afternoon, but I did know it would be a half-ghost boy and as you can see, I did figure the exact place and spot he would drop in."
"You're really clever Clockwork." Danny complimented.
"Thank you. Now, would you like some sugar in your tea?" Clockwork offered.
"Yes please." Danny answered.
Clockwork clapped his hands and commanded, "Sugar."
Suddenly, the sugar pot picked up a tea spoon and began moving towards Clockwork. Clockwork then scolded the sugar pot, "No! Guest first, you know that."
Sugar pot stopped and immediately hopped over to Danny and began placing some teaspoons of sugar. Clockwork then said as he got up and began grabbing a few books, "Just say when Danny."
"When." Danny said to the sugar pot and it immediately hopped over to Clockwork's cup and began placing sugar in his tea.
"Now, have you had any schooling before Danny?" Clockwork asked as he continued to grab some books.
After swallowing one of the cookies, Danny answered, "Actually yes. At the moment, I'm training to be a squire. I'm learning the rules of combat, swordsmanship, jousting and horsemanship."
Clockwork at first nodded in approval, before shaking his head and saying, "No. Not that! I mean a real education."
The sugar pot continued to put sugar in Clockwork's cup, overfilling it as Clockwork came back over and was continuing talking to Danny, "Subjects like mathematics, history, biology, natural science, English, Latin, French…."
He then finally noticed the amount of sugar being placed in his cup by the sugar pot and started shouting in annoyance, "When! When! Blast it all! WHEN!"
The sugar pot immediately stopped and hopped over, hiding behind the tea pot from Clockwork's wrath. Clockwork muttered as he wiped away the sugar, "Impudent piece of crockery!"
He calmed down and was about to sit down, when he noticed his chair was too far back. He moved his finger and his chair immediately moved back over and he sat down.
"Now Danny, you can't grow up without a decent education." Clockwork said as he opened one of the books. "So, I'm going to be your tutor."
Danny then realised something and asked Clockwork, "What time is it anyway?"
Clockwork looked at his watch and answered, "It's four o'clock."
Danny then got up and said, "I have to get back home to the castle. They'll want me in the kitchen."
"No problem then. I'll just pack our stuff and we'll be on our way." Clockwork said as he pulled out a carpet bag and opened it up.
He then floated in the middle of the room as he pulled out his staff and said, "This is where the fun begins."
He tapped the staff on the ground before speaking in a loud clear voice, "Higitus Figitus zumbabazing! I want your attention everything!"
Everything then turned as if they were looking at attention to Clockwork, making Danny almost jump in shock. Clockwork then spoke again, "We're packing to leave. Let's go."
Sugar pot was about to come first when Clockwork stopped it and said, "No! Not you. Books are always first you know."
The books suddenly began to float around the room and began to head towards the carpet, back in a straight line, truly amazing Danny at the sight of Clockwork's magic at work.
CLOCKWORK
Hockety pockety wockety wack
Abracabra dabra nack
Shrink in size very small
We've got to save enough room for all
The books began to float down and as they did, they shrunk in size and went inside the carpet bag.
Higitus Figitus migitus mum
Pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!
A pile of books that Jason was standing on top of, suddenly floated right out from underneath him, causing him to fall off. He looked at Clockwork annoyed, this was clearly one of his least favourite spells that the Master of Time has performed.
The tea set and crockery was the next to go in line. As the tea pot floated over the sugar pot, it knocked off its lid. Danny picked it up, but the sugar pot floated over to Danny and snatched its lid and spoon out of his hand before racing back to the line.
Alakafez, balakazez
Malakamez, meripides
Hockety, pockety, wockety….
The sugar pot cut right in line in front of the tea pot and whacked it back, before everything seemed to pile up in traffic jam against each other.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Clockwork commanded, before floating up to the sugar pot and scolding it, "See here sugar pot, you're getting rough. That poor old tea set in cracked enough."
He floated back over to his spot. Sugar pot hit the tea pot in annoyance before floating still, waiting for Clockwork's orders to move again to continue the packing.
"Now then. Let's start again…" Clockwork said and was about to, when he seemed to have forgotten where he was up to with the spell.
He then looked at Danny and asked, "Where was I boy?"
"Uh…hockety, pockety?" Danny guessed.
"Aha! Yes of course." Clockwork said before continuing with the spell.
Hockety pockety wockety wack
Odds and ends and bric a brac
Packing's almost done!
More and more of the items in the house continued to float over to the bag to get packed. Jason floated to his bird house and went inside closing the door. He suddenly felt his house move and shrink, he quickly phased out of it just as it shrunk down into the bag.
"YOU BUMBLING BLOCKHEAD!" Jason snapped at Clockwork.
Danny quickly turned intangible, allowing the items to phase through him so he wouldn't get crushed or hit by the floating furniture as Clockwork finished the spell.
Higitus Figitus migitus mum
Pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!
Higitus Figitus migitus mum
Pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!
The last item floated inside and the bag closed. Danny, Clockwork and Jason now stood in the middle of a now empty cottage.
"That was amazing! What a way to pack!" Danny said in amazement.
Clockwork chuckled as he picked up the bag and began to head out of the cottage, with Jason flying behind them. Danny followed behind as they went outside.
Clockwork stopped at the doorway and said to Danny, "Now, listen boy. Don't get any foolish ideas that magic will solve all your problems. Because believe me, it won't."
"But Clockwork, I don't have any problems." Danny said, both of them unware that the same wolf that tried to eat Danny earlier was hiding in the bushes, waiting to chomp down on the boy.
"Oh nonsense! Everyone has problems from time to time. The world is full of problems." Clockwork said as he closed the door to the cottage, unaware that as he changed into his elderly form, his beard got caught in between the door and now he was stuck.
He pulled tight, trying to get his beard unstuck as he said, "Oh there! You see what I mean?!"
When he finally pulled his beard free, it wrapped around his staff and head, tangling it up. He pulled his staff away in annoyance and when his beard pulled back, it became now a ball of fluff on his face. Danny covered his mouth, trying not to laugh out loud as Clockwork neatened his beard and changed back into adult form.
As Danny changed into his ghost form and flew behind Clockwork and Jason, walking through the forest, the wolf began to follow after them.
"Everybody butting their heads against a brick wall." Clockwork continued. "All muscle and no mentality. Do you want to be all muscle and no brains?"
"I….guess not. I don't have much muscle though. Only a little bit." Danny answered.
"And that's all you need then. Just keep developing your brain, wisdom, knowledge and all that. That's real power." Clockwork said as they flew over a small chasm, just as the wolf was about to leap and bite Danny on the head.
However the wolf missed and almost fell into the chasm but fell on the hanging root of the tree and whimpered as he hung there.
Clockwork flew over the small ravine and waited on the shore for Danny to catch up as he said, "So tomorrow we'll start a full schedule. Eight hours a day. We'll have six hours for school room and two hours for study period."
Danny stopped for a moment, but then accidentally slipped on the steep hill and slid down it before skipping across the ravine and coming to a stop. He caught his breath and tried to explain to Clockwork, "But I won't have the time. I have page duties and my foster father is very strict about his schedule."
Clockwork scoffed at that and continued on with Danny following behind him. The wolf yelped as he slid down the hill and slid right under the water of the ravine, hitting the bottom of the rock as he came to a stop.
Clockwork began flying up a hill phasing through a boulder as he said, "Well, I'll have to a word with your foster father. There's got to be a few changes made."
"I guess so." Danny said as he stepped on the boulder and then continued to fly behind Clockwork up the hill.
The boulder shook and began to roll down the hill just as wolf was wearily walking up it. As soon as he saw it rolling towards him, he immediately turn back around and dived back into the ravine. The boulder bounced right over his head as he re-surfaces and only a small stone hit his head. He turned and glared at the sight of Clockwork, Jason and Danny heading up the hill and began to climb once again.
"How do you ever expect to amount to anything without an education I'd like to know? Even in these bumbling, backward medieval times, you have got to know where you're going." Clockwork continued as they came to a stop at the top of the hill. "You must plan for the future boy, you've got to find a direction."
He then came to the realisation that he didn't know where Danny lived. He turned and faced Danny and asked, "By the way, what direction is this castle of yours?"
"It's North, the other way." Danny answered, pointing the other way.
"Oh. Well then come on. Let's pick up the pace." Clockwork said and began to fly in the other direction.
Danny and Jason began to follow behind as the wolf finally made it to the top of the hill, panting heavily as he was out of breath from chasing after Danny, Jason and Clockwork. He continued to pant and pant, until he gasped in shock as he saw Clockwork, Jason and Danny heading off in the other direction at the bottom of the hill.
Panting once more, he decided to give up and fainted from pure exhaustion.