Open Chronicles Untying the Knot: Riddles Beneath Alliria

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"Hmm" Garrick thought.

"Four letters. The end. The fifth. The boneless hand. The prey of the old woman's seat. And I came before you." Garrick puzzled.


"In fact, the hand that moves bonelessly." Garrick remembered the Achyra's reply to the answer 'four'. He thought back to his classes, and remembered that animals sometimes had parts that didn't matter anymore. Vestigial, his professors called it. His professors also said that before humans were born, they also had similar vestigial parts, that went away before a human was born.

"Achyra, is the answer a tail?" Garrick asked.

Harrier Caliane Ruinë Acteon Cass Seyda Cosmin Lowdust
 
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Caliane Ruinë Acteon Cass Seyda Cosmin Lowdust

The Achyra whirled toward Garrick Knight with, as ever, no expression. Her tail swirled and whipped up to drape itself over her arm. She manipulated the tail's metallic end. It split open, and she produced a brass key.

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"The fifth appendage, the boneless hand, the rocking-chair's prey, and that which came here before you - me - though your thought on vestigial tails is elegant. Know, o man, that this key will open any door. Loudly." The Achyra smiled with her eyes and paced away through a door that hadn't existed a moment ago.

She was, however, nowhere to be seen in the next chamber, whose only feature was a stained-glass window eight feet high. Light from behind it cast colourful shadows on the walls and floor.

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Six gifts I cast abroad to thee
The bloom for mirth, cool wind through leaves
The timber strong, the shelter wide
The precious stones my roots unearth
The soil I nourish and protect
These I scattered far and wide

FIND THAT WHICH HAS THE GREATEST WORTH​
 
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Caliane stood back to simply admire the beauty of the stained glass window whilst she mulled over the riddle. Everything was worth something to someone. A shipbuilder might value the timber over the branches for shade that the traveller would value. Lovers on a summer day might enjoy the blooms more over the rich soil a farmer uses to grow crops.

The greatest gift was the tree itself surely?

"The seeds from your branches so that more of you may grow?" Cali stepped forward to lightly touch the heart of the tree.
 
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Acteon wanted to leave after everything when the last riddle's answer was revealed. It was tail the whole time? That idle answer had drifted to mind but he figured it was nothing more than random fancy so cast it to the side. So much energy had gone into trying to figure out a deeper answer than what the riddle actually had. Did that make him just too smart or just too stupid for this? He was leaning to the latter as when the next door opened he went further in instead of heading back out.

The next riddle was a big stained glass window. It had light being cast out of it and was causing shadows to dance around. A quick once over of the riddle and he started to put some thought into it. That turned out to be fruitless as he was just getting a headache after how much effort he had put into the last one for no real reason. There was one answer that popped into his mind so he figured he would just go with it.

"The answer is the window, the gifter, itself has the most worth." Acteon said then went to rubbing at his temple with both hands. This was why he hated riddles so much.

Harrier
 
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After a sigh that the window wasn't the correct answer, Acteon decided to go with the Allirian answer number two for this one, "Is it the precious stones?"

Hopefully there was a healer in this group because Acteon was getting a headache already. Too many memories of his youth and too much overthinking for no reward to be had. He hated it. He hated all of it. Sure he got a nice dagger out of it, but the thing likely was cursed to kill the one stabbing others with it instead of the reverse or it would decay anything it touched making its utility very limited. Who in their right mind made this kind of place and why under Alliria?

Needless to say, Acteon was grumpy.

Harrier
 
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"Thank you." Garrick replied to Achyra as he took the key, and she disappeared as soon as she arrived. As a closet thief, a skeleton key was invaluable. Hopefully loud wasn't too loud.

But then again, Garrick wasn't that lucky.

He went into the room and watched as the angel and the Allirian came to the same conclusions he did. The tree, the provider. But nothing happened.

So Garrick thought more, and went up to the window, touching the orange-brown panels at the bottom.

"The soil a tree nurtures takes care of the tree in turn, helping it provide it's gifts throughout a long and healthy life."

Harrier

"
 
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"If not the gifter then is it the gifts that has the most worth?!" Acteon said in a voice close to a scream at the window. He was getting close to his breaking point with these riddles. Walking out was sounding great right now, but he had already come so far. Too much time had been wasted as it was and these rewards were all seeming to be special items. Maybe it would be somewhat worth it in the end.

Harrier
 
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"Nothing will have any worth you gods' forsaken melted sand!" Acteon yelled out when the window did nothing. He picked up a clump of stone or old mortar, this was underneath Alliria after all and the foundation was falling apart in places, then chunked it as hard as he could at the window.

Harrier
 
“Mirth and wind, timber and shelter, stones and soil,” Seyda whispered, reaching up to touch at the lead glass and trace the silver cames securing the individual coloured panes in place. A facsimile of midsummer light poured through its frame, cast by an unknowable source that was doubtless as magical as the progressive enigmas that followed one another chamber to chamber. “Find that which has the greatest worth… Scattered far and wide…”

He turned from the high panes and looked at the long, velvet shadows sketched across the stone flooring and the bare walls. Sometimes the trick was in the language of the riddle itself, though Seyda felt readily stumped. He stalked from the window and followed its furred reflections basking colour across the floor and walling. Boots touched over the now dimmed flower of mirth, stepped onto the whisking lines of blued wind, to the boughs of long timbre, the canopy of emerald leaf-blades, down its trunk to the twinkling sequins of stone-rooted gems, and over the soil bed aglow with earthen hues.

“Six gifts, cast abroad, scattered far and wide… The greatest worth,” He kept murmuring like a mantra, staring over the pewter and the etched lines that seemed to glow with their own dark light. “The window… It’s not the window itself, maybe it has nothing to do with the answer. It’s trying to point at something but gods help me, what?” He looked again at its cast of multicoloured shadows, to the light still aglow behind the window pane itself, trying to bend his wits over lines of thought he hadn’t considered. Worth… By definition, it could mean something of explicit material value. Worth… Something worthwhile? Something deserving? Blooms and cool breezes, timber, shelter, stones, soil, wonderous things when they were enjoyed. Seyda paused and looked up through the window, tapping fingers over his breastbone.

“…Us?” He mouthed soundlessly.

Harrier
 
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As Seyda tested each of the spots where the window's elements illuminated the stone, he got extremely lucky: he tested the flower of mirth first. The relevant stone sank a hair below the rest of the floor. Around the time he made his final and wildly erroneous guess, the window swung aside on counterweights. It revealed a passageway and, on a slim pedestal, the source of the light that had made the stained glass glow. It was a delicate silver blossom marked with patterns of tiny pearls and diamonds. Its glow faded the moment anyone touched it.

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Underneath the flower was a letter.
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This is Dvali's Bloom, a Dwarven relic of the Age of Wonders. You have passed the final question, either by fate's hand or because you understood that she who built this challenge prized trickery and mirth above all. Shelter, security, good land, good rest - there was no objectively right answer, and that was a small part of the joke. Just like hiding the key in the Achyra's tail, or getting someone to pucker up to a demon's corpse or talk to a window.

You now have the Knife of Lover Death. The legends are true. Each person killed with the knife takes a week off the owner's life. But with enough force behind a stab, the blade's point can pierce through virtually any armour or embed itself in solid rock.

You also have a decoction of gristo eel, the so-called zombiefish that dies very slowly. A drink of it will keep you alive for a time despite horrific wounds. You will, however, grow a temporary third eye somewhere on your head.

And you have the Betrayer Key, which will open all but the most heavily enchanted doors - loudly.

Most important and powerful of all is Dvali's Bloom. It is a pure expression of the Fourth Law of Magic. It allows any willing person to die - instantly, irrevocably, and painlessly - to return any one person from the dead. All it takes is a willingly given drop of the donor's blood, and some fragment of the dead person. Place the flower atop both and the effect is almost instantaneous: the donor will fall dead and their body will rearrange itself permanently as the mortal vessel of the person they mean to resurrect. This is a great treasure that can do much good in the world. Will you sell it for beer? If so, enjoy.

I have more to share. You may leave by the ceiling trapdoor above you, or press on if you desire to keep playing.

- Harrier Wren, necromancer, exiled Maester of Elbion
 
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Garrick watched as the flower emerged from the passageway.

"Not bad man!" Garrick put his hand onto Seyda's back. "Remind me to get you to help me with logic 321 when we get back to Elbion." He said, walking with the other student towards the flower.

"Creepy" Garrick said. Looking at the descriptions he felt that he by far got the least creepy item of the bunch. "You know . . ." Garrick extended his words before pulling his mouth closer to Seyda's ears, bringing his voice to a whisper. "I know a couple of good fences, if this sort of stuff gets to you. Be glad to introduce you." He said and gave the man a wink before going farther into the crypt.

"You coming?"
 
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"You just lashed out at a window," Cosmin remarked as flatly as ever from his perch against the back wall, not yet realizing Seyda was in the process of cracking the riddle. It only took a moment for everything to turn out alright once more- A riddle solved, a trick of the light touched, and yet again, a new prize revealed. This one had a note, too!

Two long strides carried Cosmin to the pedestal, and it wasn't a split second before the note was in his hands-- Seyda's prize, however, remained where it had been left for him. Three blinks passed before the young man's gaze had crossed the note in its entirety, committing its every stroke of ink to memory.

Leaving the paper behind, Cosmin would turn down the passageway and continue onward with the riddler's signature still pulsing in his head. Harrier Wren-- He'd heard the name before, in hushed tones, behind closed doors. If there was a chance- even the faintest specter of a chance -that the forsaken Maester lurked deeper in the catacombs, he would need to be the one who finds her.

Harrier
 
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The throwing of random debris turned out to be the answer. It was the answer to solving the riddle of calming Acteon down a bit. Then the annoying riddle of the window was solved by that kind of homeless looking elf, Seyda . Thank the gods. Lady Luck was smiling on him once again. A letter was under the item and after the contents were read, he felt like yelling out a cheer of joy. This hell was finally over.

Not even waiting a little bit, Acteon just went straight for that ceiling trapdoor mentioned in the letter. As he did this though his mind went over to the description of the dagger he had won. So it was truly cursed. He had suspected as much after touching it, but the risk and rewards of it were not unacceptable. A week for the ability to by pass any defense for a kill? It made for a great last resort. Sometimes someone had to die and this at least ensured no complications got in the way.

And with that on his mind Acteon escaped one of his personal hells.... He hated riddles even more passionately now than before.

Harrier
 
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For those who opted to go on, the hallway turned and slanted down into what had been a spiral staircase. Some immeasurable force had pulverized it and left behind a treacherous helical ramp. There was no rhyme nor reason to the damage. Presumably, Harrier had been working with what Alliria's undercity gave her. Or maybe she'd just wanted to keep them on their toes.

The next level down started with a long, narrow chamber like an archery range. Three stone talismans sat on pedestals nearby. Three identical but empty pedestals dominated the far end of the chamber. Each talisman weighed about ten pounds. One had the mark of a tree, one a stylized flame, and the third a simple and universal symbol for water.

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ONE, said an inscription on the floor.

Seyda Garrick Knight Cosmin Lowdust Caliane Ruinë
 
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Caliane raised her shoulders in a half shrug, she had nothing better to do with her time and she was enjoying testing her mind rather than her physical strength. She followed the others onwards down to the next level whilst humming a tune. It was probably a good idea the other fellow was heading out he had seemed a bit stressed after the last few riddles and she didn't want to take the risk with a Riddler.

As they entered the next room her gaze ran along the icons on offer. It seemed like a no brainer to head for the fire emblem given her affinity with the element, though she did give pause to wonder if that would mean she would be dealing with the opposite of that gift. Water had never bothered her before, and though she was still in recovery she was confident she could battle any water that might come her way. Reading the instructions she hesitated before picking it up.
 
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Garrick arrived at the next room, joined by the fire-haired angel, an assortment of pedestals, and a trio of weighty stones. Each stone had been carved with a symbol, one of a tree, another with a crackling flame, and another symbolizing the waves of the ocean. The inscription on the floor said to "Keep calm and carry one." Garrick noted that the winged woman picked the fire stone.

Part of Garrick wondered if the test involved only taking one stone from the pedestals due to the choice of words, but decided there was little risk in attempting to pick up one of the stones. Sure, these trials were incited by a Necromancer, but they hadn't tried to kill anyone.

Yet.

Garrick looked first at the tree, then the water, and decided the selection was largely a personal choice. His thoughts went to the beginning of the semester, first class of "Intro to Measure Theory". Maester Vladakov mentioned that some students would find this class the easiest they'd taken, while other star pupils would find it their most challenging because "Those who make waves can so rarely learn to read the ripples". He had enjoyed Measure Theory so far, and decided to pick up the water-marked talisman, cradling it in two hands. From there he'd make his way to the other side of the room.

Caliane Ruinë Harrier Seyda Cosmin Lowdust
 
When Caliane Ruinë and Garrick Knight picked up the fire and water talismans, the talismans acquired a glow - but a glow that vanished with a sound of hissing steam. The glow disappeared first around the fire, then around the water.

Between one blink and the next, both talismans teleported back to the pedestals where they'd sat.

From the timing and distance and such, it wouldn't be hard to intuit that only one talisman could be carried down the room at a time.

Seyda Cosmin Lowdust
 
"Hunh." Garrick said as the Talisman teleported out of his hand and onto the talisman. "Must be some powerful stuff here if there's teleportation." The fifth law prohibited quick travel on a large scale, but a moment's lapse for a small teleportation was not unheard. Still, it usually represented great power.

"That sounded like steam. Water and fire put together. I'd wager we can only move a single stone at a time." Garrick said to Caliane Ruinë. "I'll get the water." He said and lifted the stone from it's perch, then marching to the other side of the the room and placing atop the pedestal closest to it's original pedestal.

Harrier
 
The water stone teleported out of Garrick's arms and back to the pedestal once again. Frustrating. A glow, the sound of burning, and the water stone traveled back.

Order obviously mattered, as did balance. The water put out the fire, and the fire burned the tree. But when the winged elf picked up the fire nothing had happened. But she also didn't start traveling. Perhaps it had something to do with the radius.

Garrick decided to assume the light left the Tree first because it had burned, in a metaphysical sense, and that the fire needed go first.

"It seems the Fire must go fist." Garrick said to Caliane Ruine, and let her move the fire piece.

Harrier
 
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