Ticking Thing

“	TICK TOCK TICK TOCK TICK TOCK went the metal thingamajig.	”
	— Book 4

The Ticking Thing is one of the King's Lost Things. It is a compass/clock/timer/lie detector/and any other handed device. The Ticking Thing has a wooden dragon top.

History[]

How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse[]

During the events of Book 4, the Ticking Thing was in the possession of the Hysteric Tribe. Specifically, it lay in a small, iced casket alongside the mythical potato, being held by the frozen corpse of Norbert the Nutjob's father, Bigjob. It is unknown how he came into possession of it.

Hiccup and Camicazi infiltrate the Hysteric Great Hall on Freya'sday Eve on a 'Quest for the Frozen Potato'. A potato is the only known cure for the fatal Vorpentitis, which Hiccup's friend Fishlegs may have contracted. Camicazi is able to steal the potato with her superior burglary skills, but is unable to resist taking the object next to it: the Ticking Thing. Its removal sets off a chain of events that ultimately has the two children pursued by angry Hysteric warriors.

How to Ride a Dragon's Storm[]

At the beginning of the Intertribal Friendly Swimming Race, Old Wrinkly set an alarm on the Ticking Thing for three months, five days, and six hours and instructed Hiccup to return at that exact time. Shortly after the start of the race, Hiccup, along with his friends, was captured by Norbert the Nutjob. The Hysteric explained that he intended to travel to America and needed the Ticking Thing to do so. He was about to kill Hiccup when the boy argued that he was the only one who could read the Ticking Thing, so Norbert let him live. Every day of the journey, Hiccup would read the Ticking Thing and set the course of the ship.

At one point, he planned to escape by lacing everyone's food with Dragon Nip. Hiccup took the Ticking Thing from Nobert and tied it around his wrist. However, during his escape, Hiccup was chased by a pack of Polar-Serpents into a cave, where the Ticking Thing hit the eyelid of a sleeping Leviathorgan, waking the dragon up. Hiccup rushed back to the ship, returning the Ticking Thing to Norbert and pretending nothing happened.

When the ship was very close to America, Hiccup tricked the Hysterics into fighting each other. Upon joining the fight, Camicazi quickly snatched the Ticking Thing from Norbert and gave it back to Hiccup. The kids were eventually saved by the Northern Wanderers and returned to the Archipelago. As the time was getting closer to the three months, five days, and six hours that Old Wrinkly set into the Ticking Thing, the object began to tick faster and faster. Hiccup managed to get back just in time and placed the Ticking Thing on the judges' table, where it made a loud sound upon the time reaching the deadline.

Physical Appearance[]

“	It was a beautifully made, strange little object, slightly smaller than the potato. The front was transparent and hard, like ice, and behind it were all these rune numbers set in different circles, and at least seven arrows, all different colors.	”
	— Book 4

“	He opened up the back to see if it was a tiny nanodragon making the ticking noise, and found inside nothing but lots of delicate metal wheels that all seemed to be moving.	”
	— Book 4

Functions[]

The Ticking Thing has many arrows that have multiple different functions. According to a drawing made by Hiccup, it can work as a compass, work as a lie detector, tell time, function as a timer for up to three months, five days, and six hours, help crown the King of the Wilderwest, and has several other functions which currently remain unknown. One of these is most likely something to do with weather, like a barometer.