...isn't the nice dream Goddess also a teensy bit mad? Or are all of her masks as nice as the Riddling Knight?
Ah, well, what is freeing an Eldritch Elder God or two between fellow adventurers.
Hmm. Some of Zora Alishanda's masks are terrifying nightmares, little different from the evil spirits she made them to fight. Since she's not actively controlling them, they're… well, you remember what Nietzsche said about those who fight monsters, right?
So, what you're saying is that Elys needs enough ranks in dragon breath so that she can crack the moon?
Hers is the drill that will pierce the heavens!
I love the Riddling Knight!
The Riddling Knight: "Thank you! I'm very lovable, I know!'
Vote tally:
##### 3.21
[x] Answer the riddle.
No. of votes: 1
Nevill
-[x] A sword!
No. of votes: 1
Nevill
[x] Say something else (write in).
No. of votes: 1
Nevill
-[x] My turn! Immediately engage her in a riddle contest.
No. of votes: 1
Nevill
[x] Can I see you again? How?
No. of votes: 1
Nevill
[X] A road
No. of votes: 2
Tascion,
Zam
[X] Yes
No. of votes: 5
Tascion,
Bommelom,
Hye,
veekie,
Zam
-[X] Always moving, my steps unchanging. When tracked, I am seen to walk in circles, but when free everyone sees what I do. What am I?
No. of votes: 5
Tascion,
Bommelom,
Hye,
veekie,
Zam
[X] Will you tell me your story?
No. of votes: 2
runeblue360,
Zam
[X] With the answer (Clock, thanks to runeblue)
No. of votes: 1
Bommelom
[X] How do I get out of here?
No. of votes: 3
Bommelom,
Hye,
veekie
-[X] I mean, how can I wake up?
No. of votes: 3
Bommelom,
Hye,
veekie
[X] Will you tell me a story?
No. of votes: 3
Bommelom,
Hye,
veekie
[X] What is your daughter like?
No. of votes: 1
Bommelom
[X] 'A clock.'
No. of votes: 2
Hye,
veekie
-[X] 'What do you receive, but cannot lend out - Yet is used by all you know?'
No. of votes: 2
Hye,
veekie
Welp, thanks for the votes, guys. On to the next chapter!
*
Fables and Reflections
Mischief was bubbling up within you. 'I have a riddle,' you said in a sing-song voice. 'What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, and has a bed but never sleeps?'
'A river. That's an old one,' said the Riddling Knight, smiling fondly. 'Oh, you want to get in a contest of riddles with me, Elys? All right, then. What can run from village to village, from city to city, and from one country to the next, and yet never move?'
'A road,' you said immediately. 'That's an old one.'
'Oh, you think you're ready for tougher challenges? Very well, here's another: a painted face, hands without bones. My oldest brother was made of stones. What am I?'
'A clock,' you said, after a moment's thought.
She gave a nod.
'My turn. Always moving, my steps unchanging. When tracked, I am seen to walk in circles, but when free everyone sees what I do. What am I?'
'Time,' said the Riddling Knight, looking amused. 'Maybe it wasn't the best idea to use that one immediately after the answer to my riddle was a clock, you know?'
'Hey, I thought of it before you said anything!' you protested.
'All right. Do you have another?'
'What do you receive, but cannot lend out – and yet it's used by everyone you know?'
'Your name,' said the Riddling Knight. 'Hmm. Any more questions you want to ask?'
'How do I get out of here?'
'This is a dream. You only have to wake up.'
'I mean, how can I wake up?' you hastened to clarify.
'When your body is ready, you'll wake up. Either because you're well-rested or because someone's poured a glass of water over you.' She gave a catlike grin. 'Sleep while you can, is my advice to you.'
'If I need to wait until my body is rested, it might take a while' you said, pointedly ignoring the other option. 'Will you tell me a story, in the meantime?'
'Very well. I'll tell you a story I heard from a goblin, one of the Dream Guards, a while back. He told me about Dharta Thennir, the forest of shadows, an autonomous province within the Avanni Empire which is home to many goblins. For thousands of years, goblin tribes have lived in the shelter of the great forest, which provides them with food and everything else they need. They consider it to be a sacred place. However, in recent years, the population has grown beyond what the forest can support. The goblins need living space, they need money, and they need wood they can use to build. Good quality lumber is greatly sought after and can be sold for a high price. Thus, large areas of forest have been cut down. Within a few years, maybe the great forest of shadows will be reduced to only a little copse.'
She paused, taking a deep breath. 'Now, I was going to tell you a story: a story about two goblin men who were working in a sawmill in one of the northern regions of Dharta Thennir. One of them, Greshap, was a sawyer whose job was to cut logs into smaller pieces which would then be further processed. The other, Danfel, worked as a guard, making sure that nothing was stolen from the facility. In the past, they'd had a problem with people stealing small tools and selling them on the black market. One evening, Danfel saw his friend, Greshap, leaving the sawmill with a wheelbarrow full of wood shavings. He thought that this seemed suspicious. However, when he stopped Greshap and sifted through the pile of wood shavings, he couldn't find anything. So, he let him pass. On the next day, the same thing happened again. And several more times after that. Finally, Danfel could no longer contain his curiosity. "Come on, Greshap! I know you're not just helping to get rid of the rubbish,' he said. "What are you smuggling?" After some hesitation, Greshap confided in him, but not before he'd sworn him to secrecy.'
The Riddling Knight turned her gaze on you, bright and inquisitive. 'What do you think he said?'
'Um. This is kind of like a riddle, isn't it?' you asked, answering her question with a question.
'Life is a riddle and so is everything in it,' the Riddling Knight said in a vague, pensive voice. 'But some of the answers are easier to figure out than others.'
Did Elys manage to figure out the answer to this latest 'riddle'?
[] Yes (write in: the correct answer)
[] No
'I enjoyed that,' you said politely. 'But I was hoping to learn more about you. Will you tell me your story?'
'Haha! I don't have a story, not really. I'm not exactly complicated,' she said with a roar of unconvincing laughter. 'If there are wrongs in need of righting, villains in need of smiting, and innocents who need to be protected, that's where you'll find me. That's all there is to it.'
'But… what about your daughters?'
A spasm of pain twisted her expression into a grimace. 'Oh. Yes, I mentioned them to you, didn't I? Well… that was a long time ago. Nothing I can do about that now.' She gazed into the distance, a faraway look in her eyes.
Out of nowhere, you heard a man's voice. Hanan's voice. He was standing beside you, shaking ash out of his pipe. 'She can't answer your questions, Elys. Her memories are incomplete. Scratch away the surface, you'll find there's nothing underneath. She's only a dream. A fragment of the goddess. A mask.'
If the Riddling Knight thought there was anything odd about his sudden appearance, she didn't say anything.
'How can she be a mask if there's nothing underneath?' you asked. 'She seems so real.'
'Once, she was one of the masks my goddess, Zora Alishanda, liked to wear. Just a bit of fun. A way for her to interact with mortals without being overwhelming. Now, my goddess is lost to us, hidden somewhere out of reach. Her masks carry on as they always did, like she made them to do. Just bear in mind that when you talk to them you're not talking to a complete person, only a fraction. Ask them too many questions, pry too deeply into who and what they are, you'll only cause them pain. So, beware.'
'There was a demon in my dreams, tormenting me. That's why I was getting ill,' you explained. 'But she saved me. She said she'll protect me from now on.'
He crinkled his face in a smile. 'While you're asleep, I'm sure you could ask for no better champion. But now it's time to go, Elys. Your mother and sister are waiting for you.' He offered you a gnarled and ash-yellowed hand. 'Let's go, shall we?'
'Give me a moment,' you said.
He gave a little shrug and began repacking his pipe.
You ran over to the Riddling Knight and flung your arms around her, though you were careful not to injure yourself by pressing too hard against her armour. 'Thank you for all your help. You're a lovely person. I hope to see you again,' you said.
'Going so soon?' She smiled, though it was edged with sorrow. 'I'll be here when you need me. Have a nice life, Elys.'
Letting go, you turned and ran back to Hanan.
'I'll give you one last riddle before you go,' said the Riddling Knight. 'One foot on a silver track, I carry my house upon my back. What am I?' She snickered. 'I suspect you won't have any trouble with it, considering how easily you've solved my riddles so far, but I don't much want to delay you. So, what's the answer?'
How did Elys answer?
[] With the correct answer (write in).
[] "I don't know."
[] "No time for riddles! Bye!"
[] Say something else (write in).
What will Elys do now?
[] Leave the dream and go back to reality.
-[] Thank Hanan for his help.
--[] Mom will pay him.
---[] Call Mishrak and get him to carry you home.
----[] Ask Mom how her trip to Truinon went.
[] Do something else (write in).
