Open Chronicles Riddles of the Fae beasts

[Urchin]

»Incorrect, it is stone, «

Urchin raised an eyebrow in confusion at the answer. "Uh?" he asked, frustrated. "But fire dun make stone smaller." Unless of course the stone was coal... But he didn't think water had much effect on coal. In the end though, the unicorn explained that it was the effects of sun he was explaining, rather than of fire. And of course, the sun was made of fire.

"Oh, okay," the lad accepted defeat reluctantly. "Well, ya got me with that one. Never would've guessed that." He then reached into his pocket and withdrew a little pocket knife. He'd used it to cut his hair many times before, though not particularly evenly. This time was no different. He figured he'd take a lock from the back since it'd be less visible that way, taking the red curls in his hand, he held them out to the unicorn, not exactly sure what he intended to do with them.

"Hey, ya got any more riddles like that?" the lad asked hopefully. He really wanted that magic coin.

 

[Niðþern]

»I mentioned not fire as it does not make trees grow taller like the sun,« briefly corrected the unicorn, nodding his head before lowering his hand to Urchin's palm and coiling the lock of hair around his horn tip like a thread.
Taglocks were powerful magical links, and people should take care of not having them fall into evil hands. All things considered, both ended up with each other's hair in their 'pockets' now.

»Indeed there are many more riddles like that, but if you fail again, what do you put up for stake?«

Urchin

 

[Urchin]

»I mentioned not fire as it does not make trees grow taller like the sun,«

"Oh yeah," Urchin remembered. He had created the idea of fire himself, since the sun was made of fire... No wonder he had gotten the question wrong. His own fault, he shouldn't have gotten so side tracked and distracted. Still, even if he had been thinking of sun rather than fire, he doubted he would've guessed the right answer anyway. It was a particularly tricky riddle.

»Indeed there are many more riddles like that, but if you fail again, what do you put up for stake?«

"Uh... I dunno," Urchin replied, thinking to himself about what he had to offer. "What kinda stuff do unicorns want? Ain't really got much on me... 'Cept these mushrooms." However much those hallucinogenic mushrooms were worth, he'd be willing to risk them in the hopes of gaining some kind of magical item. Question was, did unicorns like to get high? "Could always go back to the city an' get ya summin' else," the lad suggested. "Sugar? 'Orses like sugar, right?" Of course, Niðþern was a unicorn, not a horse... But who the fuck didn't like sugar?

 

[Niðþern]

»I'll accept the mushrooms, « nodded the unicorn. »Your mushrooms for my coin. «

For a good minute, the unicorn would think before turning his head back to Urchin. He might have had another riddle in mind before realizing he had trouble wording it precisely, but a different one at the back of his mind shall fill its place.
»If you hit me, we both remain unhurt. If you stand in my way, I go around you, If you block my path I carve my own. Who am I?«

 

[Urchin]

»If you hit me, we both remain unhurt. If you stand in my way, I go around you, If you block my path I carve my own. Who am I?«

"Hmm..." Urchin mumbled to himself. Now, with the previous riddle, it took him ages of pondering to come up with an answer, and even then he was very unsure of his answers. This riddle had the opposite problem. He could think of plenty of answers and all seemed to fit the riddle perfectly. Essentially, the rules applied to absolutely everything that wasn't solid. "Guess it could be either water or air. Either o' those right?" He certainly hoped it was one or the other, because if not he had just wasted two guesses.

 

[Niðþern]

The unicorn observed Urchin as he pondered before a smile formed on the fey beasts' long face as an answer came from the youth.

»It is correct, the coin belongs to you now, « the unicorn finished with a subtle chuckle.
Standing up, he slid the coin towards the edge of the boulder where it fell onto a blanket of moss before Urchin.

The small item vibrated with weird magic if one was able to sense it. But all in all, it felt rather 'attractive', more so than any other coin of its type. By appearance alone, it was a single 'crown' coin of the purchase value of two cows and an ox.

 

[Urchin]

"Yes!" the boy declared excitedly. He wasn't actually sure which of his answers were the correct one, but either way, he got himself a magic coin, so he was pleased. When the unicorn knocked the coin into the moss, Urchin was instantly fascinated when he leant down to pick it up. "Wow," he whispered to himself. "It's real shiny. What's it do?" he asked curiously. After all, there wasn't much use in a magic coin if it didn't do anything magical.

"Dun s'pose ya got any more riddles, or magic stuff?" Urchin asked hopefully. "Though... I feel kinds bad, this game is pretty one sided. Feel like I should 'ave some riddles fer you. Lemme see if I can think of any. You can 'ave my mushrooms if I get it right." Urchin had always had a fondness for riddles, and particularly tended to remember the ones he managed to solve. He searched his brain for a good one and decided on an old poem he had heard as a child.

"A dark, silent stalker,
I creep on the ground,
I follow you everywhere,
Without making a sound,
But you might just catch me,
If you turn around."

 

[Niðþern]

The unicorn snorted and nodded his head in approval of further gaming.
» I shall offer you some seeds in turn. «

The unicorn began to ponder as he thought. As Urchin began to explain, his mind wandered to many things.
little rodents perhaps? Your backside? Or perhaps most likely one's shadow. But one can't quite catch a shadow, neither would it relate to turning around. He began to think further. One's scent? Can't be caught either. Maybe one's back could fall into that category.

»Shadow. « He finally decided after some thought.

 

[Urchin]

» I shall offer you some seeds in turn. «

"Oh, cool," Urchin replied... Though that didn't really seem like much of a prize when compared to a magic coin. "What... Er... What kinda seeds?" Perhaps if he planted them under a full moon then they would grow into a giant beanstalk that led to a giant's sky castle with lots of loot.

»Shadow. « He finally decided after some thought.

"Yeah, ya got it right!" the lad declared, reaching into his pockets for the mushrooms before holding them out to the unicorn. "Here ya go... Dun eat 'em all at once though, or you'll be seeing purple leprechauns fer the rest o' the week... Got any more riddles so I can win 'em seeds?" he asked hopefully. "I... Dun really got nuthin' left on me ta trade though." Though he wouldn't object to a trip to the city to grab something that the unicorn might like.

 

[Niðþern]

»Mushroom spores, « the unicorn nodded his head in reply to the inquiry. » But it seems like the mushrooms will be mine this time. «


» I suppose you could trade anything else on your kind.... maybe your name or your breeches. «
Urchin

 

[Urchin]

» I suppose you could trade anything else on your kind.... maybe your name or your breeches. «

"My name?" he asked, sounding a little hesitant. "Ya mean like... My real name? Dun s'pose a nickname would do?" He was far more reluctant to divulge that information than most. Zilvra had advised him against sharing that information unnecessarily. Names had power, she said, and sharing your true name gave that person some measure of power over you... Still, even without her advice, Urchin had more reason to hide his identity than most.

Still... This was a unicorn, after all. The purest, most majestic beast on the face of Arethil. Surely the creature wouldn't mean him any arm. "... Alright, ya got yerself a deal."

 

[Niðþern]

The unicorn found it interesting that URchin would truly offer his name when his breeches would be a fair and just equivalent to the spores. Yet a deal is a » deal.«

»Then tell me, what is the next riddle for me? «

 

[Urchin]

»Then tell me, what is the next riddle for me? «

"Oh, I thought it were your turn," the lad replied. "Well, I guess I already got a whole bunch o riddles, so it's only fair. Uh, 'ang on a sec an' lemme think o' one."

Urchin knew quite a few riddles, but they were all relatively easy, and he didn't particularly want to part with his name, so he wracked his brains for a more difficult riddle. One that hopefully the unicorn would struggle with.

"I got one!" he finally declared,

"No lover gave to me a ring,
Of silver, or of gold,
And yet another ring appears,
For each year I grow old."

 

[Niðþern]

The answer would be a tree, most surely. Though it almost seemed unfair to learn the boy's name, something so powerful when all he had to lose here were some mushroom spores.

Perhaps he'll have to spice up his own end of the bargain the next turn.

»Geode? « he pretended to ponder for a moment.

 

[Urchin]

»Geode? « he pretended to ponder for a moment.

Urchin breathed a sigh of relief that the unicorn had guessed wrong, not even imagining that he already knew the answer and was just keeping him on his toes. "Nope!" the lad declared happily. "Two more guesses!"

 

[Niðþern]

The unicorn pouted, pretending to think very hard.
»Bread, « bread has layers, it also looks like rings when cut, it makes the guess seem realistic, no? Or maybe the unicorn was just hungry for manfood.

 

[Urchin]

Urchin smiled and shook his head. "Nope, one more!"

 

[Niðþern]

The unicorn furrowed his brow in a deep think. »Onions «
-They have layers, like an ogre.

 

[Urchin]

Urchin was extremely pleased to have "outwitted" the poor unicorn. Indeed, he felt very, very clever and did not for a moment suspect that the creature was simply going easy on him.

"No, sorry, it's a tree!" Urchin replied happily. "Ya know, 'cos when ya cut a tree down they got rings on the inside, an' ya can tell 'ow old they is because they got a ring for 'owever many years they been around. Real interestin' ain't it. So, if a tree is an 'undered years old, it gots an 'undered rings in the middle... Ain't sure 'ow they figured that out, but it's real interestin'. Wish there were a way for figurin' out 'ow old peole is." Urchin's mother had never been particularly good at keeping track of his age, and as such, Urchin could only guess at how old he was based on his appearance... Which was a rather inaccurate method as he had always been particularly short and scrawny for his age.

"So... Ya wanna play some more?" Urchin asked hopefully. "Or... I dunno... Maybe we can just talk. Ya think maybe ya could tell me a bit about unicorns?" the boy had always been absolutely fascinated by magical creatures, and was excited to learn as much as he possibly could about them. "Are there a lot of ya about, an' yer real good at hidin'? Or... Ya know... Are ya nearly all gone now?" From what the lad understood, the poor, majestic beasts had been hunted to near extinction due to the magical properties of their horns.