The Clockwork Tithing

The Clockwork Yuletide

Chapter 1

The first snows of winter fell softly on the cobbled roads of Bosphorus City, gently blanketing the streets in a soft powder that, while beautiful at first, would soon turn into an unpleasant slush of ice and mud within days. Detective Augustus Dascalu marched towards the gates of the city dressed in the typical working class attire, wearing a white buttoned overshirt under a red vest, however his gray frock coat was now swapped with a woolen winter coat that continuously saw more use the closer the season of cold and darkness crept in, until now that the snows were in full bloom. He carried a teddy bear in one hand, and his shillelagh cane in the other. He was accompanied by two men. One dressed in starkly contrasted light, natural colors, but topped with a woolen white cloak. He wore a headdress of juniper twigs and holly, whilst carrying a large oaken staff that was decorated with sprigs of mistletoe and holly branches. The sagely man brushed fresh fallen snow from his thick chestnut beard, as they walked down the byway that split from the main road.
The other man, Augustus' brother-in-law Oliver, was a massive, hulking coal miner standing a whole head above the other two, and built completely of muscle. His thick, bushy mustache began collecting heavy layers of frost as they walked.
"Auggie, would you care to explain why you're only bringing a teddy bear to an exorcism?" The druid chuckled.
"Oh come now, Rowan." The detective grinned. "I have a few things with me, but you are my heavy hitter today. Why bring juniper sprigs and sanctified water, when you have a walking herald of the Fey and Nature itself?"
"Hmmmm" Was the druid's only response.
"Come on Auggie." His brother-in-law said with a tone of both curiosity and admiration. "You always have something up your sleeve. That's why my husband dislikes you so much." He chuckled. "So what is the bear for?"
Augustus smirked. "Do you remember the ghost girl that Eliza and I met in the graveyard? Well she inhabits this bear. I bring her on spiritual cases to help learn more about whatever spirit we come up against."
His companions looked at him puzzled for a moment.
"Auggie..." The druid looked his friend in the eyes worriedly. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Yeah Rowan, I was worried at first too. But she shows no sign of degradation, and she is very sweet, and helpful with cases."
The snow began to fall harder as they walked, crossing the boundary between their world of industry and civilization, and the harsh, unforgiving wilderness beyond.
"Reason for leaving the city?" The gate guard asked monotonously as he sat behind his desk, without looking up at the three individuals before him, interesting as they may have looked.
"Trade with the migrant village of Tomari." Auggie replied.
Both of his companions glared at him, but the guard waved them on without ever looking up.
"Don't look at me like that!" Auggie barked at his friends. "We are trading with them. They get one less angry spirit, and we get the reward promised for its expulsion."
The two other men groaned with begrudging acceptance as they continued their journey.
Their trek led them through a peaceful patch of the Sheerwood forest with chirping cardinals and bluebirds, singing a jovial chorus for their new audience. Squirrels danced and played amongst the trees as they strolled through the cheerful early winter landscape.
However, as soon as they crossed the liminal threshold beyond the forest, the very atmosphere changed. Suddenly the birds could no longer be heard, and the winds began to pick up. The road, and their nearby companions became quickly obscured, as they fought to find their way, and each other. As Auggie held his hands up to obscure his face, and when he looked around, his companions were nowhere to be seen. Augustus turned to run towards where they should've been, taking two steps before stopping. Something is off about this. He thought.
The wind began to pick up even more, until a blizzard swept through the region, and the winds howled like a banshee on a quiet night, and the snow and ice hit their faces like tiny razors. Then suddenly a voice, feminine and alluring, whispered directly into his ear, with an eerie, spectral tone that was both enticing, and frightening.
"They were taken away,
On a cold winter's day."
Auggie cast a worried look into the winds. "Who was taken?" Despite the violent winds, it felt deathly silent.
Silence echoed deafeningly through the violent ice and snow.
"We can help you pass on." The detective called out. "Just tell us what you need." He looked around worriedly, yet seeing nothing.
All other noise was drowned out, as her words hung in the air for a moment.
Suddenly a grotesque, gnarled spectral hand reached out from the dense snow, and grabbed onto Augustus's arm. Searing pain shot through his arm, as a chilling sensation so cold that it burned, seared into his arm. As his senses returned, he heard Amira's voice coming into focus, echoing from the bear he held. "Run father! She has you turned around. Run back the way you came!" 
Auggie shouted as loud as he could above the winds. "Guys if you can hear me, follow my voice! I'm going to shout things only I would know, so you know it's me!"
In the distance, he heard faint calls from two different directions, and hoped that was his friends.
"Rowan!" He shouted. "The time we had to answer the riddles of the Sphinx, and I said I knew the answer to the riddle, and it ended up working? I was definitely talking out of my ass! I just said the first thing that came to mind!"
In the distance he heard a garbled "If I find you before the ghost does, I'll kill you myself!"
Well, that's definitely Rowan. Auggie thought with a chuckle to himself as he trudged through the snow.
"Ollie!" The detective called out. "I know your husband secretly hates me, and doesn't want you helping us on cases because we always seem to find trouble. But I appreciate your friendship despite that!"
As they each trudged through the blizzard, they suddenly burst through the wall of ice and snow, into a clearing. A blanket of snow still covered the ground, but it was a soft, and inviting texture, compared to the harshness of the freeze they came from. Four rows of cottages, each built with a distinct Eastern influence, stood before them. A few villagers peaked out of their windows, but all cottage doors were closed and likely sealed shut.
"As kind as your words were, the kobold incident was most definitely your fault. Although the ogre was mine, so we are even." Oliver smiled under his bushy mustache, and slugged Augustus on the shoulder endearingly, nearly throwing him to the ground.
"You three!" A voice called from the window of the first house. "Come here. I will let you in!" They looked at each other hesitantly, then took off running towards the door to the cottage. The man, a stout and older farmer, answered the door, and immediately threw a bucket of nearly scalding hot water at the travelers, and waited a moment before saying "please, do come in!"
Stunned, the three men stood there, blankly, before Rowan shouted "what the hell man?"
"Come inside!" The man insisted. "I will explain everything."
The three men stepped over the threshold, each equally angry and confused, and the man handed them warm blankets and ushered them towards his fireplace. "The ghost you face is called Yuki-onna. She is a ghost that has suffered in the ice and snow for so long, she has become one with it. She is now a being of pure elemental fury. However, she is dispelled by hot water, and it melts her the same way it melts ice."
"Well thank you for the help. As painful as it was." They all shared a chuckle at Auggie's words. "By the way, what is your name?"
"Takeo." The name said. "My name is Takeo."
After a few moments of silence, they all heard a soft, gentle knock at the door. "Please let me in. It's very cold." A little boy's voice called out from the other side of the door. Each man's stomach churned within them violently.
"Father, I don't think that's a person," Amira whispered from her teddy bear. "I don't think it's a ghost either. I can't sense anyone just outside the door."
Again the voice called out. "Please let me in! I'm so cold!"
Rowan looked to the man. "Boil more water. And I need salt, a feather, and either dirt, or some earthy herb. Like sage, thyme, shiso, or something like that. Can you find those?"
Takeo looked at him, puzzled. "I can look."
Augustus looked at his friend and nodded. "How long do you need me to keep her distracted while you prepare the expulsion?"
"Can you buy me five to ten minutes?" The druid asked.
"Five, yes. Ten, depends on how many pieces you want to carry me home in." He chuckled.
Oliver looked concerned for a moment. "What does that leave me to do?"
Rowan smiled and handed him a small runed bone knife. "If anything comes through that door other than Augustus, you slash it with this. It won't kill her, but it'll disperse her enough for me to finish the incantation."
Oliver looked puzzled. "But you can't stab a ghost."
"She cannot cross the threshold of a home without being invited in either. But if she manages to gather enough energy for that, then this is our only hope. It won't stab her though. Just disperse her for a few moments."
Auggie took in a deep breath, and donned the violet hued welding goggles that helped him to see into the spectral realm. "Alright gentlemen, wish me luck, and try not to take your time Rowan. I want to be home for Yuletide in one piece."
With that he stepped across the threshold, and into her realm. "Oi!" He shouted into the clouds of ice and snow, the mark on his arm now a vibrant bluish purple. "If you're so cold, come give us a hug!"
The air was silent for a moment. The atmosphere slowly became thicker, and heavier, until it felt downright oppressive. So much so, that Auggie could feel the evil presence in his gut, without actually seeing her through his goggles. Then, as the deafening silence became almost unbearably hostile, he heard a tune carried on the wind, so faint, it was almost imperceptible. It's tune so sweet and enchanting, Auggie felt himself pulled towards the melody, almost supernaturally. The words began to grow in pitch, until it was no longer impossible to deny their calming melody on the wind.