the sorceror's staff

[silverwolf]

laren

"That of cource is a man at birth a man middle aged and a man with a cane." i said with a smile. "i have a question.don't humans taste bad?" i asked with a smile.

 

[The GrandMage]

The Manticore

"Man is the correct answer. You move on to round two. And in fact, yes, humans taste horrid. I can barely stomach you foul creatures. And just look at me! Grey! Drab, ugly, bland, grey! I'm supposed to be a vibrant, radiating red! This environment has only done me harm. I hope you at least can help. Foul little thing that you are..."

The Manticore, which had been grimancing, grinned, and poked the little man with a claw before laying down on his side. "Riddle number two! I am greater than God, more evil than the Devil, the rich don't want me, the poor have me, if you eat me you will die. What am I?"

 

[silverwolf]

laren

'well why are you here.are you like stuck here or something and if so how do you get released.And the answer is nothing."
'I wonder if i can help this poor creature.' i thought as i waited for the next riddle.

ooc: now heres where i lose it.

 

[The GrandMage]

The Manticore

"Actually, I am stuck here. And I'll get released just as soon as someone answers all seven riddles. Now, It's time for your third riddle!"

The Manticore moved around, laying on his stomach, much like a cat. He sized the other up, and let out a loud yawn. "Inside a room is either gold or silver. There is only one in it at a time. The room has two guards. One will always lie, and the other will always tell the truth. By asking only one guard one question, how will you determine what is in the room?"



OOC: If you're really having trouble with these, and they are quite common and easy, try searching www.riddles.com, using the 'search' option.

 

[silverwolf]

laren

ooc:"i guess i really suck. i can't even find it at that site you told me about.whats that riddle called.ou and um what do you think of my enders game idea

 

[poohlive]

Garret walked in, smiling politely. He saw what was going on.
"Oh, hi everyone," he looked around, "I don't see any deer in here."
He lowered the bow, nervousness now on his face. He couldn't believe he had just embarrassed himself like this, it was certain this creature was going to kill them all.
Unless his riddle was going to be solved.
This might be interesting.
Garret knew he couldn't leave now. He had to stay and watch this thing through. He took off his leather pouch, putting his stuff away.
"You ask one of the guards what the other guard would answer if you asked him which room held the valuables. This way, whatever the guard answers, it's a lie, and you pick the other room."
He put the pouch on his back.
"Is that right? It's been so long since I've heard childhood riddles."

 

[silverwolf]

laren

"be am i glad you came i thought we were gonners.Well next riddle."i said smiling

 

[The GrandMage]

The Manticore

The monster gave a hard look at the second one to attempt his riddles. "Shut up you. Once you answer another riddle, you can talk. Until then, keep quiet."

He turned to the third, and newest person. "Thank you. Riddle number four, Thirty men, and women two, gathered for a festive do, all quite formal, black and white, soon all began to run and fight. Two stayed back, both quite afraid, while the others fought and played. Peasents fell, royalty too, but still was the matter of those two. One looked around, saw no escape, and promptly did fall dead. The question that I ask to you, what call did his enemy cry, that made this valiant coward die?"

 

[poohlive]

Oh great, a rhyming riddle. He hated these, cause it was made as a rhyme for a reason. Words. The whole thing behind riddling was the wording, if things weren't worded specifically, riddles would hardly be in existant at all. In fact, the whole key to riddling was to word it so weirdly, that the common thing in it was so disguised you wouldn't see it until you lost.
Garret wasn't losing though.
He had no clue what the answer was. Was it a fight? A roman thing? The two women were important? Were the guys fighting for the woman?
No, no stop. This was ridiculous, he had to examine the whole riddle. Thirty men, two women. thirty two people? Cards? A deck of cards? No, the math didn't add up.
Ok, thirty two people.
Two stayed back. So, thirty fought, and two sort of watched. Did the women watch? Was it the women whom they were fighting for?
He'd never heard of a fight that consisted of two women.
Peasents and royalty... so it was a war. A war consisting of only thirty two people? That made no sense, women weren't supposed to go to war, and royatly hardly ever went to war. This riddle didn't make any sense. He was just pulling his leg.
This was the ticker though, one of them said something, and the other one just died. So, a war of thirty men and two women, consisting of royalty and peasents, all of them dying except for two, and then one of them has two say only one thing and it's over.
Oh my god.
Garret smiled, letting a calmness finally come over his nervous brow. He took out a cloth rag, wiping all the sweat off of his face.
"The man cried checkmate. It was a game of chess."
It made so much sense.
He winked to the other man, who didn't look like he was doing too well himself. The questions were definitely getting harder though.

 

[The GrandMage]

The Manticore

With reckless abandon, he threw the man he'd been holding into the silent one, and crouched in front of the other. He was grinning. Perhaps things would get better? Perhaps this one would solve them all. "Correct! A game of chess! Quite right, quite right."

The monster hopped a few times, looking quite absurd, and then settled himself back down. Riddles, riddles, which to use?

"For your fifth riddle-A great monster lurks. It devours all, beasts, plants, and bugs. It splinters steel and grinds up rock. It destroys kingdoms and kills men. It is sometimes called a father, yet it has no children. No matter how wary you are, it can sneak up on you, although you many kill it every day. What is this monster's name?"

 

[poohlive]

Garret looked at the thing, seeing it dance with delight. It was a complicated riddle, he admit, but there was no need for dancing. At least, not yet. The way he figure it, the riddling had almost begun.
He listened carefully at the next one. Oh great, now a monster. A monster of all destruction, killing everything from people to rocks.
Why would a monster want to to kill bugs and grind up rocks though? Monsters usually had some sort of quota or something. There was a reason they did this.
He threw his head back, forgetting the cardinal rule. It wasn't a regular monster, it was a trick to make him think it was. In truth it was something else altogether. What was it then?
Sometimes called a father... sometimes called a father. What was sometimes called a father? Was it God? God did take men away, and the animals too, but he didn't do anything to the rocks. No, that wouldn't work. Good guess.
You kill it.
Wow, you kill it. This is very interesting. A father, that you kill every day. Come on, this should be so obvious. It was a concept, something that was more like a physical thing than a monster. It was sort of like the way...
"Shit," he smiled huge, looking at the monster before him.
"Oh, oh no. Shit isn't my answer, no. My answer is time. The monster's name was time."
He wondered what kind of prize he got if he won. Certainly the riddle master got a horse or a bag of gold or something. Don't count your chickens before their hatched though. He'd wait, to be honest he hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Not every day you meet someone who can actually stimulate an inteligent conversation.

 

[Chelsea_Rose]

OOC: Hi, can I jump in? I noticed you lost your female player!!

Name: Elanor
Race: Human child

 

[The GrandMage]

The Manticore

He continued to jump around. "Quite right! Quite right! Only two more to go! Hurrah!"

He settled himself down, acting with some sense of decency. He let out a small cough, and lay down. He looked at the person, and gave a small laugh. His look then turned very serious.

"For riddle six-and this is a long one-If I were you, and you were me, and he was you, and I be he, and you were them, and they were I, and he were you, and I were Tim, and George was Jack, and Jack was he, and if so your name was Alice, then you would be he, and he would be me. If light was black, and black was white, would not the light be dully white. If turtles were hares, and hairs were turtles, would not dolphns swim through the horses. If you were I, and I were you, what would your name be? "

 

[silverwolf]

guildor

ooc: yeah you can join in just give me some history to your charecter.But i woulld love to have another player.

ic: Jeese these riddles get harder every time.I have no idea what my name would be but this guy seems to know quite a bit so i'll let him take this one.I wonder if the manticore will tell a riddle i know.

 

[poohlive]

Ooc: Where did you find that riddle? I have never even heard anything like it before. This is going to be a complete guess.


This made no sense.
He sat down, hard. His ass throwing pings of pain throughout his body. He didn't bother moving though, he just sat there, thinking.
If you were me, and I were you and he were them and they were me and Bob was Frank and Judy's toroise's were in the horses.
What kind of riddle was this?
It just didn't make sense.
He tried to follow some sort of pattern. But there was none. Some deduction, like in the other riddles. Where, if you found out the thing, then it all made sense. It didn't though.
He had heard a riddle, quite silly once, where all the information was pointless except for the first sentence. It started off, You are the carriage driver, and then talks of passengers and things, getting on and off, heavy math, and it ends up talking asking the carriage driver's name.
His name of course, was you.
This didn't do that either. All the information seemed pheasable, all part of the continuing riddle. Yet, the riddle itself didn't made any sense.
Perhaps it was just a simple questions. What is your name. None of the rest of it made any sense, so just that part had to work.
"My name is...."
He drew it out, as if he were saying something he did wrong to a parent.
Something stopped him though.
It just didn't make sense.
He could easily take all of the stuff from the riddle, and substitute it with.... This is crazy, what is your name?
Wait.
That's it.
He hadn't seen it before. Random patterns. Maybe it didn't make sense because it wasn't supposed to make sense. It was supposed to be contradictory and not make sense. It was, in essence, the very thing that it was trying to get the name out of.
"Chaos, my name is chaos."
His stomach lurched at the thought. Perhaps the simplest answer was the best. Chaos explained the riddle, but the end sentence was clear as day. If you were I, and I were you, what is your name? If we are both the same person, than the name would obviously still be mine.
"WAIT! Or it could be Garret..." he furrowed his brow rubbing it confusingly, "The answer has to be either my own name, or Chaos as explained in the riddle."
He was so unsure of himself. This was like a horrible game of roulette, where his own mind could free him, but if he lost, he lost more than just his money... he lost everything.
He glanced over at the other two, looking at him as if he were their savior.
"I don't not know. It is either my own name, or Chaos. Gods be stricken, I can not decide which..."
Maybe, upon hearing his ideas they might have some of their own.
(I was up for three hours searching the net for that riddle. Didn't get close. I asked groups of people in chat rooms. Even e mailed it to a few "master" riddlers. It wasn't until 4 in the morning, when I was in bed did I narrow it down to those two choices, and I still don't think either is right. Damnit, man, I'm only human)

 

[The GrandMage]

The Manticore

He was not happy. The riddle, in itself, was a load of useless information conceling the answer. Everything started off with 'If', in order to confuse you. Of course, the answer was also hidden in there. You simply had to clear away the clutter. Then, a lengthy riddle would turn into-If I were you, and you were me, and if so your name was Alice,... everything else was clutter. It made little sense, and the entire point was to confuse people.

Poisonous sting at the ready, he looked from person to person, the back to the man he hope'd to save him form this torment. "I need an answer. Now."


OOC: Actually, I made that up. Sorry. I was feeling particularly nasty. Feel free to just grab the answer from thin air.

 

[silverwolf]

guildor and laren

we both look at eachother and nod."well my frien i am not sure but i would gueschaos though i leave it up to you." guildor said to garret not wanting to have to fight this horrible beast.

 

[poohlive]

Ooc: No, it was brilliant. Here I was expecting some ellaborate play on words, and I totally missed the obvious. Reminds me of a story. Wizard and Glass? By Stephen King. One part is about a train that is suicidal and is going to kill these people unless they can stump him with a riddle. Well, they keep pulling out there genius riddles, and he keeps answering them. Finally, it takes one of the stupidest riddles in the world to stop him.
Ok, let's see if I can change this.


Garret could tell that neither answer was correct. It seemed as if his two friends weren't helping very muh either. Why would they come all this way and be stumped on the third question? They must not have thought this all through.
Then again, he mustn't have either. Here he was sitting on the ground, being stumped by if I were you and Jack were Jill and horses with dolphins coming out of there asses like to swim in the light... blah blah blah.
"Sirrah," he said, looking up at the beast before him, "Might I hear the riddle one more time."
(I'm going to talk for your character real quick, just to repeat the riddle)
"If I were you, and you were me, and he was you, and I be he, and you were them..."
He pictured two man. One was him, another some guy right next to him. So, they switched, and then a third person, and then they swtiched...
Damnit, that makes even less sense than the riddle. Garret was losing it.
"... and they were I, and he were you, and I were Tim, and George was Jack, and Jack was he..."
It had to be all useless information. Like so many riddles. It was meant to trick, to disguise the true answer in it's web of deception. If that were true at least one part of it made sense.
"... and if so your name was Alice,"
LIGHT BULB!
There is was. The one diamond in the rough. Of course he had missied it earlier. It was stuck right after all those other names. This thing was a tricky trickster, he had to admit.
"The name," he said, finally able to relax, "Is Alice."
He fell to the floor. Still conscious, but mentally exhausted. It was getting harder and harder to even sit up straight. Only one more to go.
If he barely got the last one... what would this one be.
Garret silently cursed the stars he was born under and awaited the final riddle.

 

[The GrandMage]

The Manticore

The monster grinned, and danced a little jig. "Yes! Yes, that's it! You're soo close! Only one more to go!"

The Manticore took on a quite serious look, and laid himself down, checking that each of them was within reach of his poisonous sting, and sighed.

"Lastly, There is a crime, that if commited, is not punishable. Although, it it is attempted and failed, it is punishable. What is the crime?"


OOC: Brilliant, huh? Why thank you. I think my ego just grew.

 

[poohlive]

oooohhhh
Yes.
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes.
This riddle had stumped him years ago. He was but a small boy, and at a local fair there were many riddles that if answered would give the person many prizes.
He had almost won his own horse, and this riddle had stumped him. It had stumped him then, but he had learned the answer.
Now, it was finally his.
"Good sir," he said, bowing to the Manticore, "You are beaten. The answer, of course, is suicide."
He began jumping up and down, laughing and screaming, along with the beast before him. He had done it, he had won.
"What have I won? Gold, Jewels? Women? Please tell me it's women. You have no idea how long it's been... but gold's good too. I can buy women with gold, or silver. What is it? What is it?"
His eyes took on an ecstatic greedy look.

 

[The GrandMage]

The Manticore

He grinned happily, and then sombered, looking at the man before him. "Gold, jewels, women? Why good sir, you have just released me from imprisonment. You win not only your life, and the lives of those other two, you win passage through the Valley of Splendors."

The creature bowed. "But of course, if these things do not please you, you have also won my service. You are my lord for as long as you may live."

 

[silverwolf]

guildor

"i'll be right back um gotta get someone." i leave to go and get sorian."it is beaten thanks to a someone in there now what was i supposed to get." i asked acting stupid.

 

[poohlive]

Ooc: could you describe your character?


Garret felt dissapointment enter his heart. No women, no money, why in the hell were they trying to get past this thing? It seemed like a waste of time to him.
Splendors? The valley of splendors? That had to be good, didn't it? The valley of splendors, had to have something to splendor at in there.
He nodded.
"Ok then," Garret looked at the now loyal subject at his side. He'd always wanted a kick ass monster by his side for all time. Was it possible for him to ride it? He'd have to buy an alterred saddle.
"Well, if we're going to be on a master/subject relationship I'd like to at least know your name. What do people call you besides Manticore?"
In the back of the cave, he was hoping to get a glimpse of the valley. Women, gold, jewels, and ale. Those were all the splendors he needed.

 

[silverwolf]

guildor

ooc: well you see guildor is special.i will describe him as he is now but later on the description will change severly.something to do with magic in the family.don't wantto give it away thou
name guildor
age 25
race half dwarfe half human
history. parents died and was running the farm.
equipment axe and a wand given to him by his mother.

ic heading back not waiting for the wizard i speak to garret "good sir i o u my depessed gratitude thou i have nothing to offer you.But a few gold pieces."with that i hand him the gold.

 

[The GrandMage]

The Manticore

The monster had changed from the giddy creature almost out of imprisionment, to a proud creature that would scare most grown men. Its lion-like body was about the size of a horse, and peeking through the mane was a roughly human face, with a large mouth full of sharp teeth. Its tail, a gigantic scorpion sting, was held over its back, ready to strike out. It's body was a grey color, with the sting a deep metalic silver. As they reached the far end of the tunnel, the monster ran out into the sunlight.

The Valley of Splendors was mostly a beautiful, woodlike valley, with few creatures inhabiting it. The main path through the valley was made of gold and silver coins collected from the Manticore's victims. Of course, being a monster, he had no clue what it was, only that it was gold in color.

It turned back, basking in the sunlight as the others went out to join him. "My name, is Larlairian. Welcome to the valley of Splendors."


The Wizard

He glanced up as Guildor reported, and then ran off. "Get the scroll! In the tree! The one growing from the boulder!"

That said to the fading form of the man he was considering less to be the hero, but maybe a strong support, he turned back to his drink.