HOTEL LEX - FLOOR 5 (29/?) (Patreon)

You bolt toward a door labeled 'workshop.' You hear the Baron laughing as the sound of wood splintering and metal clanking rings throughout the tower. You push aside an open door to reveal a large ornate room with lathes and benches of all kinds. You knock over a chair in your haste and run along the length of the room to the opposite side where a giant curtain hangs. You swipe aside the fabric to reveal a larger opening filled to the brim with gears of all shapes and sizes. You see broken pieces of wood and metal leaning against the wall and a giant table with what looks like a globe at the center. You peer upward to see more planets following some celestial path. There are notes and writing over everything with yarn strung between them, a few lines connecting up and out of sight. It was almost as if someone had made a conspiracy board but you don't have enough time to figure out what it meant. There are ladders and platforms on the sides of this room and you spot an exit higher up in the study. Suddenly, a wind-up toy mouse enters the room through a hole in the side of the wall. It notices you and squeaks loudly before retreating the way it came. You quickly peek into the opening and see an intricate rail system for the scrapwork toys to traverse through the clock tower.

"P-Percy, we have to keep moving!" Emmett urges, his head constantly peeking over his shoulder.

You agree, but you feel that having something to defend yourself is ideal. You're not even sure where you can escape to. You don't see any exits or pathways leading downward— and since the two people currently feuding for your soul or body are at the entrance, you might be backed into a wall. You tell Emmett that fighting is in your best interest somehow and to find anything to use. He nods quickly before searching the room. You turn back to the mass scattered about.

"Little toys, I do no have the patience to play hide and seek," a metal speaker on the wall announces with the Timekeeper's voice.

The commotion outside seems to have died down and all you hear are the heavy gears turning inside the tower. From the speaker, you assume the Timekeeper got the upper hand on the Baron and is now looking for you. Each ticking second fills your body with trepidation as at any moment, the Timekeeper could come crashing into the room.

Your eyes sweep across a variety of shapes and materials stacked in piles everywhere. Nothing stands out against the background of brass and wood except... You rush over and pick up a clockwork gun of sorts. Its short barrel suggests a pistol and the dial against its side indicates a pressure system. You hold onto it, looking for ammunition to load the gun and find nothing that fits into its jagged slot. Emmett is digging through a pile of scrap in a hurry to find anything. Another mouse enters the room, this time squeaking loudly as if announcing your location. More mice stream into the room and they all collectively squeak in excitement.

"We've got to go, P-Percy!"

> Push upwards into the scaffolding.> Squeeze into the railway system.

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