In the deepest, darkest corner of the Invention Room, a set of eyes watched. They were a sight unseen, so to speak. The rest of the room was a distraction of shiny contraptions and several miniature dirigibles in various states of completion. Anyone setting foot in there would be too caught up in the wonders to behold to pay attention to their piercing stare.

A large wooden table dominated the center. Scattered about the top were numerous brass plates, steel and copper gears of all sizes, bolts, screws, and the tools to assemble them all. Cedar chests stuffed with gewgaws and rusty iron shelves filled with scraps of leather frippery lined the walls from floor to ceiling.

The tick-tock, tick-tock coming from the deepest, darkest corner would finally steal one’s wondrous gaze and draw it toward those staring, glaring eyes. With a shudder (and perhaps a slight shriek), any visitor here would never come out intact.

Not after the Inventor was through with them.