@DeadmanwalkingXI, after testing them on some friends, I tweaked my two to be a bit better:
I grow a fluffy beard but have no mouth,
No shield but stand in a phalanx with my kin,
Guarding the road of roads,
I am so weak a child can slay me,
Yet I can lift men and heavy stones,
Who am I?
Note on clues:
Line 1: Reeds have little hairs that grow to disperse their seeds through wind. Quite distinctive when you've seen them, like a less extreme version of cattails.
Line 2: Reeds grow in thick clumps all standing straight, pretty self-explanatory.
Line 3: "The Road of Roads" is a kenning for river which is in the riddles Odin gives to King Heidrik.
Line 4: A reed can be broken by a child.
Line 5: Reed baskets and reed boats go back centuries and would be known to the Norse as they were to most Eurasian cultures.
Note: A lot of people were getting "mussels" or a bearded axe so I tweaked the mention of the beard. The mention of "grow" makes it clearer that the beard is not a permeant state. Mouth also felt more natural than eyes as it's right next to where beards normally are.
Beginning as a foundling in the muck,
Trained in the school of hard knocks,
Plying my trade diving into the salt sea,
I can earn my weight in gold,
Yet few men wish to receive me as a gift,
What am I?
[...]
Please use these amended versions for any riddling we're doing.
Isn't people getting misled a good thing?
Makes them get lost and not get the right meaning. Halla is playing for the lives of her friends and neighbors here!
Hmmm, @Imperial Fister, could we request an arbiter, so that if the answers to a riddle are ambiguous, or someone tries a "what have I got in my pockets" trick, there's someone to rule?
Either an external arbiter, or if he's not willing to agree to that, which he won't be, then someone from our crew who swears on their honour, name and family to be impartial?
I realise this seems like a waste of time, but I have just thought of an incredibly sneaky plan here.
Isn't people getting misled a good thing?
Makes them get lost and not get the right meaning. Halla is playing for the lives of her friends and neighbors here!
That's true, but to my mind, the perfect riddle should be both fiendishly difficult, but be also obvious when you see the answer?
I'm not claiming to have achieved that, but I guess there's a spirit of fairness in play?
Anyone can make an impossible riddle just by making very ambiguous descriptions which fit a lot of different things, but that's not sportsmanship to me. Given this guy can kill us pretty easily, I think we don't just have to win, we have to win fair and square.
Exactly, so we might reasonably be able to claim that we don't want this to happen to either party, especially us!
The giant might agree out of a sense of humour if we request someone from our crew, because why not, what are they going to do about it if he does decide to cheat...
...then we dress up one of our crew in a broad brimmed hat, travelling cloak, and staff, and give him names like "Uncle Travel-Far", and "Odd the Far-Seeing".
Then the giant will start to wonder if this is all a ruse, or if Odin actually is on the ship with us.
Spoiler Alert: It is like 60% likely to turn out that it actually is Odin, because he likes to get the last laugh on people, and pull long cons, he is the guy at the end of the heist movie who reveals how everything was part of his scheme all along.
Isn't people getting misled a good thing?
Makes them get lost and not get the right meaning. Halla is playing for the lives of her friends and neighbors here!
Hmmm, @Imperial Fister, could we request an arbiter, so that if the answers to a riddle are ambiguous, or someone tries a "what have I got in my pockets" trick, there's someone to rule?
That's true, but to my mind, the perfect riddle should be both fiendishly difficult, but be also obvious when you see the answer?
I'm not claiming to have achieved that, but I guess there's a spirit of fairness in play?
Anyone can make an impossible riddle just by making very ambiguous descriptions which fit a lot of different things, but that's not sportsmanship to me. Given this guy can kill us pretty easily, I think we don't just have to win, we have to win fair and square.
Sure, but imho the beard misdirection is part of the difficult but obvious in hindsight.
But in the end, your riddle and if you prefer it that way have fun with it.
[X] Challenge him to a game or contest of your choosing
-[X] Specifically, challenge him to a contest of riddles
0~0~0
Striding forwards, you meet the Jotun's gaze with eyes of steel. Amusement flickers beneath the hunger as you stand tall and proud in the face of death.
"My name is Halla Skyfire, leader of this felag," you plant a shoe on the railing and lean against your knee, "and I challenge your right to our food."
"Oh?" Heklr's eyes narrow and widen at the same time, "On what grounds, o' Daughter of Ash?"
"You haven't earned it."
The false laughter breaks the would-be silence over its proverbial knee as Heklr stares at you. A smile creeps across his plump-chiseled-gaunt face as he chuckles.
"I haven't earned it?" He repeats as he taps his chin both strong and weak at once. "I suppose you indeed speak a certain truth. Tell me, then, what manner of contest or wager will decide our hungered fates?"
"A game," the world hinges on your words. You take a deep breath and don't blink, "of riddles."
Silence falls and breaks against the frozen waves as Heklr himself throws his head back and laughs.
"A duel of riddles, according to the all chaining laws of the oldest land!" The words echo and bounce as if shouted in a cave. "Very well! I accept these terms, Daughter of Ash, save for but one condition," dread turns your blood to ice, but the fire of your heart melts it just as swiftly, "when I take victory, not only will I leave with a leavened feast, but your life as well!"
You grit your teeth, resisting the fearful tremors dancing up your spine, "That's not fair."
"Oh but it is!" Heklr smiles, revealing row-after-row of perfectly square teeth, "For I do have a right to your food, the same right that made the very ground upon which you stand!" The Jotun raises his open-palmed fist to the sky as manic sanity flashes in his eyes. "The oldest right that's ever been, the right of strength above all!"
You swallow, knowing in your heart that he speaks truth—you can accept and potentially live or you can refuse and surely die. Squaring your shoulders and clenching your jaw, you furrow your brows as you meet his gaze. "I accept your terms and offer you choice of first riddle, as is custom."
As you voice your acceptance, the chains of fate fall across your shoulders and his. In that instant, the presence of all those around you fades from your senses. In this moment, on this stage, there are but two motive actors—you and him.
"I shall be giving the first riddle of our match," Heklr's smile slides up the side of his ever-shifting face as he spreads his arms wide. Speaking at a steady, rhythmic pace, he chants his riddle;
Pissed-in, christened biggest of the lot.
Who am I, stopped by rock?
What is your answer?
[ ] Write in
0~0~0
AN:
Riddle Duels have certain rules. You must answer or you will be forced to forfeit. All riddles must have an answer and be answerable with the given information. The duel goes until someone answers incorrectly and are, therefore, the loser. The duel is arbitrated by the Norns.
This is not a true death situation, just to let you know.
No moratorium. Answer whenever you are ready. I will close the vote once an answer is given.
@Imperial Fister so, just to be clear, does any use of Reward Dice give you a peek at our options, or could we use one to confirm a guess before locking it in without that? Just a 'yes or no' kinda thing, no actual hint?
Because I worry without that decision paralysis sets in and we have a problem.
The sea seems possible, but this is vague enough there may be more than one answer. On the other hand, if there's more than one answer, maybe a generic one works.
@Imperial Fister so, just to be clear, does any use of Reward Dice give you a peek at our options, or could we use one to confirm a guess before locking it in without that? Just a 'yes or no' kinda thing, no actual hint?
What about the Ocean? All sewage ends up there some way, and its pissed in constantly by various creatures.
It's also stopped by the Bedrock.
And it's the biggest body of Water there is on the planet.
I'm going to assume there's some translation handwaves going on for a Jotun to say "christened".
The thing that comes to my mind is a section of the Prose Edda or Younger Edda (Skaldskaparmål) regarding Thor and the jotuns Grid and Geirrød (also transcribed: Grithr and Geirrothr).
The relevant bit is that on the way to Geirrød, Thor has to cross a river, but finds that the river is rising quickly just as he's trying to cross it, threatening to drown him. He looks upstream and finds that Geirrød's daughter Gjalp is standing there pissing in the river with great force to make it flood. (Jotuns are very big giants sometimes. Also: Writers have no sense of scale. ) Thor picks up a big rock, throws it, and to be slightly euphemistic about it, Thor quips about plugging the river at its source.
In Norse mythology, the Vimur is the largest of the Elivagar rivers that were formed at the beginning of the world.
In Skáldskaparmál 18, part of the Norse Edda written by Snorri Sturluson, the Vimur river is mentioned in the tale of Thor and Geirrod. Thor needed to cross the Vimur on his way to Geirrod's abode. The force of the river threatened to sweep Thor away. Geirrod's daughter, Gjalp, tried to drown them by urinating in the river and causing it to rapidly overflow. Thor hurled a rock into the river, effectively stopping the flow. This, together with the help of a rowan tree, allowed Thor to cross the river.
The relevant bit is that on the way to Geirrød, Thor has to cross a river, but finds that the river is rising quickly just as he's trying to cross it, threatening to drown him. He looks upstream and finds that Geirrød's daughter Gjalp is standing there pissing in the river with great force to make it flood. (Jotuns are very big giants sometimes. Also: Writers have no sense of scale. ) Thor picks up a big rock, throws it, and to be slightly euphemistic about it, Thor quips about plugging the river at its source.
I want to say wtf norse mythology, but finnish mythology has three sky maidens milking themselves to produce all the iron in the world, so i would just be calling the kettle black.
I'm going to assume there's some translation handwaves going on for a Jotun to say "christened".
The thing that comes to my mind is a section of the Prose Edda or Younger Edda (Skaldskaparmål) regarding Thor and the jotuns Grid and Geirrød (also transcribed: Grithr and Geirrothr).
The relevant bit is that on the way to Geirrød, Thor has to cross a river, but finds that the river is rising quickly just as he's trying to cross it, threatening to drown him. He looks upstream and finds that Geirrød's daughter Gjalp is standing there pissing in the river with great force to make it flood. (Jotuns are very big giants sometimes. Also: Writers have no sense of scale. ) Thor picks up a big rock, throws it, and to be slightly euphemistic about it, Thor quips about plugging the river at its source.
I like it since it ties in with Norse Mythology. I don't know how far Norse general education goes in terms of the Water cycle and bodies of water.
The question though is wether the answer to the riddle is this Gjalp or the river in question. Or something else?
So much for the decision paralysis
) Thor picks up a big rock, throws it, and to be slightly euphemistic about it, Thor quips about plugging the river at its source.
