Open Chronicles Untying the Knot: Riddles Beneath Alliria

[Garrick Knight]

Garrick turned his gem across it's azimuth, and the net moved above Caliane Ruinë's head.

Interestingly, that was not enough.

Garrick's grip on the gem tightened, and the net expanded. He stopped somewhere between a third and a half of the coins from hitting her.

 

[Ezra Archiva]

"Okay, I'll just pretend that the whole rumbling thing isn't happening. Something that the rich don't know, and is a friend to the strong and poor..." He tapped his foot in thought, idly rubbing his pained pate.

"Hammer. That's it, right? A hammer." He said, a bit of hope in his voice that quickly faltered as 50 coins practically bombarded the winged woman.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane squeaked before wrapping her wings around herself creating a cocoon of soft feathers. Except the wings were pure muscle - it hurt a lot less for the round metal to hit them than it would her flesh. Once she was sure it was over she slowly unfurled them and scooped the coins up in her trusty boot with a childlike smile.

"Guess the boot is going to be handy after all - thank you," her eyes flicked to the mage.

 

[Harrier]

Ezra's guess transformed the riddle on the door.

I AM THAT WHICH BRINGS YOU BACK AND LEADS ASTRAY
THAT WHICH OBSTRUCTS AND CLEARS THE WAY
THE LABOUR OF UNKNOWN RESULT
THE SPUR, THE GOAD, THE GADFLY
THE TITAN WHO MIGHT FALL TO THE FIRST STRIKE OR THE HOPELESS HUNDREDTH​

A hammer thudded among the coins that hadn't been secured yet. The hammer was unusually ornate.

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Its purpose would become apparent rather quickly. An impact would crack or shatter virtually anything - but also belch flame in the user's face.

Caliane Ruinë Garrick Knight Seyda Grayhorn Ezra Archiva Urberus Cosmin Lowdust

 

[Cosmin Lowdust]

The clatter of a maul hitting the ground was enough to spur another wave of brain-melting headache, but it would seem the fun had not yet passed. Another riddle, the same door, same coin-flinging hallway... Fingers crossed it had forgotten any previous grievances...?

"Brings you back, leads astray, obstructs or clears, so on... Huh. You're the tides. Waves."

 

[Ezra Archiva]

Ezra breathed out a sigh of relief as his head was, for once, left unscathed. His eyes landed upon the incredibly ornate hammer, one side of which seemed to constantly spew flame. He stepped forward, grasping it with his hands as he lifted it up. "This seems..." He looked it over, impressed with the craftsmanship. It was gilded and intricately designed, a work of art in its own right. "...Impractical."

Regardless of the fire-safety hazard such an item posed, Ezra continued to hold onto it, using it as a staff. Glancing to the others, he said, "What? It's still cool looking."

Reading the inscription, he pursed his lips in thought. "I'm going to be honest, I have no clue." He shrugged. "I don't suppose the answer's a riddle?"

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane was not entirely sure she was happy to see hammers were now falling from this opening in the ceiling, the coins had been plenty enough for her. Shuffling her wings a little she took a breath and then asked, eyes on the roof above them:

"A door?"

 

[Grayhorn]

Grayhorn took his prize then followed the smart ones into the next room. He could not read what was written on the wall and so just stood there mutely as they all began to name off things. Then the coins began to fall and he watched them curiously. He had heard Alliria was a city of coins but did not think it was literally made from coins. Interesting.

As they all tried to guess the correct answer to the riddle and none of them had read off the riddle, Grayhorn began to pick up the coins and hand them to those who had made the guess causing them to fall. He didn't keep a single one for himself.

Grayhorn still did not know what the riddle was even after it morphed so just continued to make sure everyone got their coins from before.

Harrier Caliane Ruinë Cosmin Lowdust Ezra Archiva Garrick Knight Seyda

 

[Harrier]

One coin apiece bounced off the respective buttocks of Cosmin Lowdust and Caliane Ruinë.

When Ezra Archiva said 'riddle,' a small mountain of coins - at least a couple of hundred - dumped themselves on him. The door opened to reveal...

OOC/ to be continued after i get these crazy kids to bed

 

[Harrier]

...an underground roadhouse. They'd come in through a hidden door under stairs. There were other entrances and other patrons. Other than being a good three stories below ground, it seemed a normal kind of place.

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Was it another puzzle? Or just a spot to rest and spend some of those free-flowing coins - a prize, in its way?

Oh look, a plaque far above the head of the dwarven bartender.

I AM THE HEARTH AND THE DOOR
THE GIFT OF THAT WHICH HATH, BEYOND WHAT THOU DOST PAY
THE PRIVILEGE OF HE WHO NEEDS NOT ASK, BUT SHOULD
​

Grayhorn Caliane Ruinë Cosmin Lowdust Ezra Archiva Garrick Knight Seyda

 

[Ezra Archiva]

A ward quickly flashed over Ezra's head, one which shielded him from the falling mountain of coins that abruptly descended upon him. As the last of the coins fell to the stone floor, he remarked, "I guess I got it." He waved his hand over the pile in front of him, causing the gold to gracefully float upward and move towards his pocket.

As he did so, he noticed the komodo handing out the coins to those who dropped them, not taking a single one for himself. He sighed, lifting up a small portion of the mage's own horde and sending it his way. "Hey, you got one right too. This is your gold too."

Not checking to see if the gift was accepted, Ezra walked to the next room. He immediately came to a pause when he saw the roadhouse, filled with patrons and ale and normalcy. "Well, this is unexpected." Normally, roadhouses are, you know, beside a road.

Regardless, he peered at the plaque, trying to read its riddle. "I am the hearth and the door, the gift of that which hath, beyond what thou dost pay. The privilege of he who needs not ask, but should..." He recited to himself as he read it, trying to think of an answer. "Generosity, maybe?"

 

[Harrier]

The dwarven barkeep grunted and gave them the eye. He provided a vampiric-looking fellow with a portion of generic stew, crusty bread, and ale, as was tradition. Nothing else happened following Ezra Archiva's guess.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Cali was famished and she sat down at the bar with a grateful sigh, her wings whilst not seriously hurt felt a little bruised after the weight of the coins. Dwarves didn't have a history of getting on particularly with with the Avariel race, their sky battles were the stuff of legends, but she decided to take the risk, resting her chin on her hand and gazing up at the riddle thoughtfully.

"A Welcome?" a small tilt of the head before putting the boot filled with coin on the bar next to her with a thud.

 

[Grayhorn]

The komodi looked at Ezra Archiva when he attempted to hand over the coins and just blinked. Grayhorn had not earned coin. He had not guessed on the riddles. That was the point right? That was why the coins fell. So instead of taking the coins he just let the one who had earned them keep their coins.

Grayhorn did say however, "Thank you." Then he walked into the next room.

What Grayhorn saw got him feeling a bit more at ease. He was in a short human drinking room and there was a short human behind the counter. This was familiar for him and he had not realized how cold he was feeling before until he was now in this room. While everyone else began to read the riddle, which he ignored like the other scribbles he could not understand, Grayhorn walked over to the hearth. He listened to when the riddle was spoken. Now he could partake too.

Nothing came from the guess by the nice human and the pointy eared human with wings said something. Grayhorn thought it smart. It even gave him an idea for his own answer. As he stepped into the hearth, literally walking into the flames, he said, "Hospitality."

Grayhorn settled himself into a spot not directly on the coals but in a corner where the flames licked him warm.

Harrier Caliane Ruinë

 

[Harrier]

The dwarf glanced at Grayhorn and did a double take. Since his occupation of the fireplace didn't appear to be bothering other customers, however, the dwarf grunted unhappily and left him at that. He tossed Grayhorn a key. "So you're the one to win Harrier's room," he said. "Hospitality indeed. It's nothing much, just a safe dry bed downstairs, yours unless you sell or swap the rights to it."

He corralled the others with his eyes and smacked a note down on the bartop.

You've passed the training.
Should you desire the real thing,
meet me in the Bhathairk undercity in three weeks' time.
Cordially,
Harrier Wren, exiled Maester of Elbion

Cosmin Lowdust Seyda Caliane Ruinë Garrick Knight Ezra Archiva Urberus​

 

[Ezra Archiva]

Ezra, confusedly, returned the coins to his own coin purse as they were denied by the Komodo. Fair enough, he supposed. It meant all the more for him.

As Grayhorn received the prize - a key to Harrier's room - and decided to take a seat on the coals, oddly enough, Ezra decided to take a seat at the bar and read the note. His eyebrow raised as he read it, repeating, "Hold on, this was training?"

He glanced at the others, holding the note so that they could all see. "Apparently there's some more riddles waiting for us in three weeks in the underground of Bhathairk, of all places." He shook his head, letting the paper drift down to the bartop once more. "And apparently this Harrier person's going to be there too."

Looking back at the bartender, he asked, "Some ale, please." Gesturing to the rest, he added, "I'll pay for any of theirs if they want, I need to spend this on something after all."

 

[Grayhorn]

The key that the komodi had won found itself inside of the coals. This happened because Grayhorn was so shocked at having gotten a second riddle right. Was he smart? He was certainly feeling smart right now.... But then he remembered the key in the coals. No, he was still as smart as he was before. The smart ones were still those who could make coins rain from above.

Grayhorn reached into the coals and fished around for the key. Ash, sparks, and small bits of coal began to get scattered all over the place. Most of this mess found itself outside of the boundaries of the hearth. He found it however and so walked out with a toothy grin of pure joy as he held the clearly hot key out for everyone to see.

With his clothes either burned away or in the process of it by being literally on fire, aside from the sword he had won earlier, Grayhorn walked into the room now ablaze. Nothing was covering him aside from the flames. In one hand he held his sword by its hilt and in the other he held out the key. Ash and soot covered his hands and feet.

Oblivious to his state, Grayhorn said cheerfully, "Key. Look. Key."

Harrier Ezra Archiva Caliane Ruinë Garrick Knight Cosmin Lowdust Seyda Urberus

 

[Cosmin Lowdust]

Cosmin awaited his allies' answers, knowing that either their 'first strike or hopeless hundredth' would reveal the path ahead. What he hadn't expected, however, was for the path ahead to be three weeks and several hundred miles of travel away. The stool beside Ezra was quickly filled by a rather forlorn diviner, half-slumped into the seat with his head just barely propped up by his hands.

For a night's effort, he had grown several crowns richer, many bruises wearier, and no closer to meeting this banished Maester. "Suppose I'll take an ale, as well," came Cosmin's shaky answer to his fellow mage's offer. Shaky fingers slipped open the box which held the young man's focus, flicking out one, two, three cards across the bar. The six of Pentacles and Swords greeted him, both reversed; Unrequited charity, unfinished business, all fairly accurate.

The most interest visage to greet Cosmin's gaze, however, was that of the Hanged Man. He, too, sat reversed, fists propped behind his back with one leg swung behind the other. His face read of frustration, a roadblock on the path ahead. There were two knocks against the table, the second much firmer than the first. "Bugger," too, a muttered curse under the diviner's breath as he shuffled his cards away.

"I don't suppose any of you are looking to form a caravan," he drawled a moment later as he looked across the assembled riddlers, gaze lingering a moment on the sooty Komodi. "... Perhaps after purchasing some new clothes for the adventure? It's a long road to Bhathairk, after all, but charming Portal Stones is a talent of mine."

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

There was a hint of frustration to her sigh - the right line of thought but the wrong word how irritating. But she was pleased for the komodi anyway and gave him a proud smile. He seemed so happy, so that was something. Her eyes flicked briefly over the note one of the men held up and she tilted her head to the side trying to picture the place on the map she had given a glance over in the guildhall, but it wasn't screaming out to her. Either way walking and caravans sounded like a horrible idea for her wings. As everyone else was ordering drinks and the dwarf was making a note of just how many were needed she nodded at him when his eyes landed on her to indicate she would also take an ale. "And some stew, please."

"I'm not so good with the whole 'walking long distances' thing," Cali said almost shyly; she didn't want them to take offence at her gentle answer of no. "But I look forward to seeing you all there when you reach it." Perhaps she would pick up a few hunts along the way, explore a bit of these new lands.

 

[Garrick Knight]

"You're welcome." Garrick said to Caliane Ruinë as she thanked him for using his magic. The student was careful with his language. Other students might have said 'No Problem', but Garrick didn't want to diminish the act. Others might have said 'anything for you', but Garrick was only so forward. Push too hard and it was no longer legitimate.

At arriving at the roadhouse Garrick took a seat, eyeing the last riddle. Before he could hazard a guess the price, a room at the inn, was won by the Komodi. Garrick laughed. It had been a grand ole time.

"I'll make my own way there." Garrick replied to Cosmin Lowdust as he sat at the bar. With a Portal Stone being a days ride from Elbion, and another days ride from the exit. The only issue would be finding Bhathairk's Undercity, but Garrick supposed that was part of the challenge.

"Ale, and keep it coming." Garrick told the bartender, before tossing a boot to Caliane Ruinë. "Perhaps that'll turn the walk into a simple jaunt." He didn't really have a use for the one boot, so might as well exchange it for a favor, or at least a favorable memory.

 

[Ezra Archiva]

Ezra raised an eyebrow as the cards found their way onto the bartop, laid out by the frustrated diviner. He was never one for divination or the reading of cards - conjuration was far more his style - but he looked over them nonetheless, trying to decipher their meanings from the vague artwork scrawled upon them. Judging from the quiet curse that soon left Cosmin, they were probably negative. "Consulting the cards for what to do?" He asked as the foci of divination were once more returned to their container, adding, "What do they say?"

The mage placed a small pile of gold on the table, enough to pay for each order as well as a tip, the coins dancing through the air as they lifted out of his pouch and landed on the bartop. "A caravan sounds fine with me, it'd help make it a bit less boring than it would be otherwise." He figured a diviner would be good at figuring out how to get into the undercity as well, which would certainly make the journey easier.

Ezra followed Cosmin's gaze, landing squarely on the suddenly nude Komodi. "I really hope Harrier left some clothes in that room," he murmured to himself quietly, eagerly awaiting his drink's arrival.

 

[Cosmin Lowdust]

Cosmin hummed in thought at the gathered crew's various answers. Garrick's refusal was probably for the best- A duo of sorcerers might be better off without the odd couple. "Ah, yes, right," he called in response to Caliane, offering her a weak, put on smile. "Wings. A fair excuse... Oh, and my friend," he addressed Ezra in turn, "The cards are, uh... Mercurial, shall we say? This time, they've offered me nothing I hadn't already gathered for myself."

The diviner shrugged his meager pack off of one shoulder, fumbling through it a moment before withdrawing a scroll case and unfurling its contents. Across the bar now laid a map of Epressa, covering the vast expanse of land tracking from the beak of Eaglehead out towards the furthest expanse of the Ixchel wilds. Blue marks have been added after the maps initial creation, ticking off Portal Stones both newly rediscovered and aged in their use.

Taking a compass in hand, Cosmin went through the process of hastily calculating their adventure's course, pushing thoughts of the nude Komodi away all the while. "Seems to me that we're about eight days east of the nearest Stone, and another four from there until we reach our destination... Of course, that's as the crow flies. As the pack-mule staggers, however, I'd set us to a conservative two-week ride."

Quickly rolling his map once more, the young man began to shove it back into his over-stuffed bag. "I trust you all know the adage about 'safety in numbers', yes? If you insist upon sticking out on your own, by all means, go ahead. Just don't make yourselves easy targets, alright?"