Secret of the Singing Key Part 4

The Secret of the Singing Key Part 4: The Ticking DreamStory Summary: Part 4, "e;The Ticking Dream,"e; thrusts Luena and Tamaia into a desperate race against time to save the Dream Weaver's Loom. The story begins in their normal bedroom in Willow Creek, where their peace is shattered by the arrival of a dying mechanical insect called a Chrono-Moth . Their fairy companion, Pip, translates the moth's distress signal: the physical gears of the Loom in the Clockwork Canyons have stopped due to a pressure backup caused by their actions in the previous adventure. If the Grand Gear isn't restarted, time in the magical realm of Floria will permanently freeze, destroying the waking world's ability to dream.After nearly being discovered by their parents during breakfast, the girls use the iron dragonfly key on the Great Oak, turning it counter-clockwise to open a portal to the harsh, industrial Clockwork Canyons . Upon arrival, the moth dies, and time completely freezes, leaving the massive mechanical landscape brittle and dangerous. They navigate a perilous, frozen canyon, encountering a frozen mechanical hound called a Coggart on a bridge made of giant clock hands. When the Coggart is accidentally dislodged, its kinetic energy causes a stadium-sized brass gear to fall from the sky in a terrifying, stuttering descent. Luena throws Tamaia to catch a massive iron chain to escape the collapsing bridge, and they swing to safety on the bronze landing platform of the Timekeeper's Spire .To enter the Spire, Luena uses her key's magical energy to briefly revive the dead moth, which acts as a key to unlock a massive steel vault door . Inside, they are hunted by three towering, gravity-powered Pendulum Knights as they frantically climb a frosted glass spiral staircase . Tamaia uses her silver Whisper Whistle to shatter a glass step with a high-frequency soundwave, sending two of the knights plummeting into the abyss .At the top of the Spire, they meet the Horologist, an ancient Timekeeper made of wire and clockwork. He explains that the Grand Gear's mainspring has seized and they must provide a "e;heartbeat"e; to restart it using the magic of the waking world. Using the dead moth as a conductor, Luena's key as a spark, and Tamaia's whistle to provide a steady rhythm, they successfully restart the massive engine of the Loom. With the bridge destroyed, they escape the Canyons by jumping directly into the newly flowing "e;River of Ribbons"e;—a magical stream of woven dreams—which carries them safely back to their beds in the mundane world .