Open Chronicles Untying the Knot: Riddles Beneath Alliria

[Harrier]

OOC: Even if you can't solve the first puzzle right off, hop in and talk it through IC if you like.


Deep beneath Alliria, the necromancer Harrier Wren concealed a unique magical artifact behind layers of challenges, puzzles, and riddles.

You have passed through a secret door and find yourself in a stone chamber. It has only one feature of note: a strange body, long dead and petrified.

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A plaque on the pedestal reads:

I crave the greeting and the parting
The passion and the chaste
The breath of life
The start and end
Of every true embrace

SHARE WHAT I SEEK​

 

[Seyda]

“Share what I seek…” Seyda whispered.

In the dry, funerary air, his voice carried no farther than a hands breadth. The bare walls, all white stone and smoothed despite great antiquity, refracted strange glows of light. That boddy with its elegant grotesquery somehow complemented the chambers’ dusty austerity. Seyda didn’t find it ugly. Just otherworldly, inspired by someone or something, or maybe just born out of an artist’s fancy, made to look like a desiccated mummy miraculously hanging in the air without thread or string. The professor’s at St. Ninians were going to have kittens soon as they learned of this.

…If ‘It’ allowed. Seyda dared to run a hand over the plaque again. The text had been smooth-bored against still shining copper. No chisel had touched the metal. His fingers counted thousands of very tiny grooves where the metal felt melted. He stepped back, looking up into the body’s anubian head-dress. …If that was a head-dress. What stumped him was should he decipher its riddle, what then? How would he ‘share’ it? Just speak it aloud? Seyda wiped at the dust beginning to cling to his lashes and sat down on the broad stones planted in the earth.

His mind turned the catechism over. It felt hinting at something… fundamental. Maybe powerful. And probably simple. Seyda grinned ruefully, wishing he had one of the villages Wise Ones on hand. They knew everything and made certain you knew it too. He could already feel well-calloused hands cuffing the back of his head. You pinhead, he thought, every good story has the nefarious riddle solved before long. But he wasn’t the hero of anything. Only a boy, with an old sword, dirty clothes, and a belly that felt raw more oft than not. The hanging, knobbly body seemed to look right over him.

“…Is it ‘love’?” He murmured, scratching his chin. “Nah, can’t be.”

Harrier

 

[Harrier]

The corpse's eyeless head turned fractionally to face Seyda.

"Share what I seek," a voice whispered from nowhere - a reiteration of the inscription's final line.

 

[Acteon Cass]

There had been some rumors floating around Alliria for days of some strange place. It had a riddle or puzzle or insane sculptor's latest project within it. The rumors also stated there was treasure for sure to be had if someone could just figure it out. A few had attempted it, failed, and moved on claiming it was some elaborate game of fools. Regardless it had caught Acteon's attention. Potential treasure in Alliria was also worth investigating and it was not as if it would take much of his time.

What the sellsword found was a strange statue, some weird riddle, and Seyda all in the room. Acteon decided to ignore his competition and focus on the riddle. No point in sharing the glory or getting friendly with a stranger just yet. He might not even be here that long.

His ambers flowed over the riddle a few times to memorize it then his brain went to work. It reminded him of his time as a youth. The tutors his father hired all seemed to be of the mind making him do riddles and puzzles would sharpen his critical thinking or some other none sense. He had found it pointless then and was already finding it pointless now. It was just a series of opposites all strung together.

.... But Acteon already had an idea in mind of what it could be. Each line dealt with social interactions and ended with a call for an action. There was a specific interaction he could think of that roughly fit the lines, so he figured he might as well give it a try. He walked up to the statue and gave it a kiss.

Harrier

 

[Harrier]

Seyda

Acteon Cass planted a kiss on the inhuman and slightly animated corpse. Its ribcage hinged open, a double door of bones and leathered skin. Inside was a dagger whose bronze or brass grip took the form of a robed, curvaceous woman with a veiled skull for a face.

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This was the Knife of Lover Death, fabled for the price its wielder accrued. Each person killed with the knife took a week off the owner's life. But with enough force behind a stab, the blade's point could pierce through virtually any armour or embed itself in solid rock.

The strange corpse crumbled to dust once the treasure was removed. Its pedestal crumbled too, revealing a plain staircase.

The next stone chamber was empty except for a stone table and a lantern that glowed without flame.

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The glow came from a cylinder of translucent yellow quartz inside the lantern's cage. Beside the lantern, a plaque on the stone table read:

Black and white
Bond and free
All men are one colour

SEE WHO YOU ARE​

 

[Cosmin Lowdust]

The leathery drawl of the corpse's ribs creaking open was met with an all too familiar sound of stone scraping against stone. The secret entrance opened, halted, and closed once more, leaving an utterly placid looking man past its hind. Cosmin Lowdust blinked once as the body crumbled to dust, revealing what was clearly the route further not a moment later.

"Oh. Convenient," he mused to himself, stepping forwards to descend the now bone-dusted stairway. "Thank you, gentlemen," came his voice from below, calm as ever in the newly revealed chamber. The room before him was rather bare, that much is certain, and it took but a moment for his eyes to fall on the second riddle.

"Black, white, bond, free, one colour, yes, yes, see who you are," his voice hung on that final sentence. Hmph. That made his initial thought feel a touch guileless, but it was worth a shot nonetheless. Unpinning the clasping brooch of his robes, Cosmin delicately pricked his finger and prodded a drop of his blood onto the flameless cylinder.

"Don't suppose anyone has a hand mirror?" He asked without all the sarcastic levelness of a not-quite-question, watching his blood run a tiny rivulet down the lantern's side. A pity.

Harrier Seyda Acteon Cass

 

[Harrier]

When Cosmin Lowdust touched the cylinder with his fingertip, the glow spiked at that exact point. Once his finger broke contact, the extra glow vanished and the smear of blood produced no effect.

 

[Garrick Knight]

Garrick arrived fashionably late, as was his custom. Seemed he missed quite the curvaceous dagger. Garrick was a bit disappointed as he got a closer look however. They say beauty is only skin deep, save for those who seem to missing skin. Garrick shrugged, letting the previous puzzler pilfer his prize peacefully.

"Come on man, there's more treasure to be won." He said with a pat on the back to Seyda, a young man who appeared to be a student like he. Perhaps not at Elbion, but he recognized the occasional feeling of upcoming midterm dread anywhere.

The next chamber was empty, save for aging stone walls and what appeared to be a glowing yellow rock. It was affixed in what seemed a lantern, with the riddle "Black and White, Bond and Free, All Men are What Color?"

Garrick turned to Seyda.

"All men are what color? Well, let's see, I'm looking at you, and you're white, but then I look at me and I'm . . . . well let's say coffee." Garrick paused for a moment, thinking "But you're not coffee, and I'm not white, so it can't be either of those." Garrick paced a moment.

"But, I bet if I took a dagger to your throat, you'd feel the same thing I would, were circumstances flipped." Garrick snapped his fingers and went to the lantern.

"Fear." He brought his face to the lantern, and gazed directly into the yellow quartz.

Harrier
Cosmin Lowdust
Acteon Cass

 

[Harrier]

The tip of Garrick Knight's nose happened to brush the yellow stone cylinder. The light glowed brighter at that point, just for a heartbeat, much as it had when Cosmin had touched the cylinder.

Seyda Cosmin Lowdust Acteon Cass

 

[Seyda]

Seyda paced the length of the small rock plinth, rubbing at his neck scruff. Save for the heat-etched plaque, another slightly bevelled plate of burnished bronze, the plinth was nondescript, with precisely hewn spartan lines carved, chiselled, and sanded to an almost limestone bright finish. Atop it, the lamp softly hummed with its strange lambency. It was fashioned out of what might have been meteorite iron, the way light caught and refracted off silvertine flecks imbedded deep in the smoothed alloy. Seyda remarked to himself its three-piece assembly and its almost vestigial bottom oil well that was doubtlessly empty. The close air tasted like coins and made the small hairs on his forearms jump and dance. Magical aura, best as he could guess.

Yet, when Cosmin and Garrick brushed close enough to contact the lantern housing, the crystal slowly turning inside the casing briefly hummed brighter. Seyda edged in closer, looking from plaque to lantern to crystal, his thoughts grinding against one another. “See what you are… Is it asking for the answer? Or is it inviting us to see?”

Bracing himself, Seyda reached and clenched both hands around the lantern’s well, holding tight. Chances were, he hazarded, there’d be a contact glow and mayhap nothing at all.

Harrier
Cosmin Lowdust
Acteon Cass
Garrick Knight

 

[Harrier]

The moment Seyda grabbed the stone, it burned brighter where his hands touched it. The brilliant glow made his fingers translucent and red, as any bright light will do. But the sullen red glow radiated farther, casting mottled bloody shadows that snagged on the outline of a heretofore-unnoticed stone door. The door slid into the floor on a counterweight.

At the heart of the lantern, the cylinder melted away, leaving Seyda holding an unusual bottle.

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A label depicted a three-eyed gristo eel, notorious for its ability to stay alive despite severe damage - or, more accurately, to only die a piece at a time. In fact the label was tanned gristo skin, including a desiccated eye that blinked creakily.

The gristo concoction would temporarily confer the powers of the eel, at the cost of temporarily growing a third eye. Anyone who doesn't know why a sudden third eye is a liability has never had a third eye.

The door revealed the next chamber. Inside sat an unusual being.

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"Welcome, travelers. My compliments on solving the first two puzzles. I, the Achyra, will give you the next riddle. I am the end, the fifth, the boneless hand, the prey of the old woman's seat, and I came before you."

Cosmin Lowdust Acteon Cass Garrick Knight

 

[Acteon Cass]

When the ribcage opened up, Acteon smirked. Seems his little hunch was correct. What was revealed was a dagger, a fancy dagger. He placed his hand inside and took hold of the hilt. Drawing it out, he felt something unnatural about the blade. It was unnatural in the way he was. It had to have been cursed. That would be a mystery for later however as the corpse collapsed and the way to the next riddle was revealed.

Acteon hide his new prize inside of his clothing and moved on. The next room had a lantern and another riddle, shocker. A couple of new people had joined them however, which got a raised brow from him. Did they show up for the spectacle and now that they knew real treasures were involved were keen to actually give it a try? Likely. This was Alliria after all and any sort of success was always met with others trying to replicate it.

This time around Acteon stood back and let the others sort things out. He hated riddles when he was younger and needed a bit of a break from them. Certainly these were already more rewarding than the ones his tutors made him solve, but it didn't change the loathing in his heart for such things. However the love for shiny treasures and potential coin was the greater driving emotion today.

The one who had been in the first room when Acteon arrived, Seyda , got the answer correct this time. Good for him. It revealed a potion, although he couldn't say what it did. This caused another room to reveal itself. Raising a brow and marching forth, Acteon began to question how deep this series of puzzles was going to go on for. Who made such an elaborate thing underneath Alliria of all places? Seemed more fitting to Elbion or Mothal if you asked him.

To his surprise, the next test was given by some kind of being rather than some text. Acteon smiled to the being, but was already sorting out what had been said. They were always so cryptic and pointless. This was why he hated riddles so much. Waste of time when profit could be had in so much easier ways. But he had already sunk this much time into it so too late to back out now.

This new riddle was throwing Acteon for a loop. So many little things came to mind, but nothing seemed to fit well. He racked his brain hard. At first he thought it had something to do with birth or strictly female related but it all just did not work with over half the lines. Then he thought something about spirits, but what did they have to deal with the fifth and the old woman lines?

After a bit Acteon just sighed. He called out to the Achyra, "Is it time?"

Harrier Garrick Knight Cosmin Lowdust

 

[Harrier]

Acteon Cass

"It is not," said the Achyra solemnly, adjusting her seat on the long spines protruding from her gracile lower legs. Her tail flicked irritably but her masked face remained impassive, of course.

 

[Cosmin Lowdust]

Cosmin progressed into the next room, nodding along in the wake of Seyda's solution. At the realization that this next chamber wasn't quite so empty as the last two, however, the amateur diviner found himself hanging behind the motley gathering of rather rugged individuals.

After another lapse of momentary silence, the young man cleared his throat in order to gather the Achyra's attention. "It's 'E'. Came before you, 'I will give you the next riddle', give... E," he concluded with a shrug, attempting to talk through the barest bones of his logic.

 

[Harrier]

Cosmin Lowdust

The Achyra shook her head.

"It is not, human."

 

[Cosmin Lowdust]

"Well 'T' makes little sense for the rest," Cosmin mumbled to himself before lapsing into quiet thought, brow knitting closer as he concentrates. It's clear that the young man's mind is of one track, and for the moment, it is thoroughly stuck on the subject of letters.

 

[Harrier]

Cosmin Lowdust

The Achyra gave a mocking little laugh. "Since you love letters so much, human, know this: you seek not one, but four."

Garrick Knight Acteon Cass Seyda

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane had been keeping quiet whilst the others proceeded and spoke through the other riddles. She was in no real rush, nor did she have a particular need to get the treasure. It was more a game to pass away a few hours. She was leaning against the wall thinking over the latest riddle. Her large cloak covered her apart from her arms which were folded over her chest. She chewed her lip thoughtfully going through each section. Finally she piped up from the shadows:

"Is it an Hour?"

 

[Harrier]

Caliane Ruinë

The Achyra straightened up in respect, but remained in her strange squatting posture, tail flicking.

"Avariel, truly I tell you, it is not."

 

[Acteon Cass]

Acteon hadn't really paid any attention to what everyone else was doing. All he focused on was thinking about what the answer to this riddle could be. He had attempted time, because it was what this riddle was costing everyone right now, but that was not it. So he sunk into thought and just kept his eyes on the being before him.

After a bit of not coming up with something, Acteon just threw up a wild answer based on what the riddle giver looked like to him right now. "Is it four?"

Harrier

 

[Harrier]

The Achyra hissed at Acteon Cass. "Tell me how four can be the fifth or the hand that moves bonelessly or the victim of the old woman's chair."

 

[Acteon Cass]

"Stop sitting like the number four with so much word play for four and I might not wildly guess as much." Acteon responded then went back to his serious thinking.

Harrier

 

[Harrier]

The Achyra stood to her full height, compound legs unfolding delicately, and loomed over Acteon Cass.

"Bah. 'E' was a better guess, little mortal."

 

[Cosmin Lowdust]

"Sitting like the number four?" Cosmin repeated in quiet disbelief. There they were, in an underground crypt, accompanied by a mythical riddle-giver... And this man's really sticking with 'Four' as the hill to die on?

"It's lateral thinking. Talking this through might be our salvation," the young man continued, turning towards and fully addressing the group for the first time since his arrival. "The hand that moves bonelessly- A clock, yes? But an hour- Fair guess, mind you -wasn't it, nor was time. That's not to say these are the wrong paths, of course, just not the proper way stations."

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane pushed off from the wall and manoeuvred herself to be in between Acteon and the Achrya, gently laying her hand on the man's chest. Considering the creature had already given away what she was she saw no need anymore to hide her wings and they spread out a little to act now as a barrier between the two.

"Peace please Achrya, he did not mean to cause you offence," Cali bowed her head in a respectable manner to her. Those who dealt in riddles often dealt in tricks and she wasn't keen to see what nasty surprises might also guard the treasures herein.