Everyone grew tense upon hearing the rough chanical voice.
"As I see it, this is what’s supposed to save us," Aran smirked and waited for the chanism’s voice to speak again.
At that mont, the rough chanical voice echoed once more:
[You have three chances to solve my riddles. First: — you shout brightly. Second: — quiet as a rock. Third: — only when you realize the first two were awful, like the constant urge to say: "Yes!"]
"..."
The six people looked around in confusion until Aran laughed and shouted:
"Bring on the riddles!"
Royal shook his head and said:
"Looks like our trials inside the castle are just beginning... Anyway, according to the chanism? We have three chances to answer its riddles: on the first one, we must answer loudly. On the second, we must answer quietly. On the third... I think we can speak in any tone, but we must give a clear answer."
"And what if we get all three wrong?" Yulan asked nervously, glancing at the approaching wall of spikes.
"We die," Lin replied simply.
"Then let’s try to answer them correctly..." Egro tried to ease the heavy atmosphere.
The rough chanical voice was heard again:
[First riddle: "What knocks? What rumbles? What do we hear? What do we see?" — what could it be?]
The six people instantly fell silent, deep in thought.
"What knocks? What rumbles? What do we hear? What do we see?.. Thunder? Doesn’t quite fit... Stones? Hail? Snow? All are valid options, but naturally, only one is the correct answer..." Royal pondered.
"Any guesses?" he asked.
"It’s clearly sothing that falls..." said Silia.
Suddenly, an idea ca to Egro, and he suggested:
"Maybe... It’s falling drops of water? They knock, they rumble when many fall... We can see them and, of course, hear them."
"That really could be it," Royal nodded to Egro and asked the others: "Any other ideas?"
The others shook their heads, realizing that while many phenona could fit the riddle, only one answer would be accepted. And Egro’s suggestion made sense — simple and natural.
"Then, I shout," Royal looked up and yelled: "It’s falling drops of water!"
Then ca a long silence, which made a few people tense up, until finally, the rough chanical voice declared:
[Answer is true. "What knocks? What rumbles? What do we hear? What do we see?" — correct answer: "falling drops of water". You have passed the first riddle of five.]
After its words, a translucent blue platform appeared over the abyss and quickly solidified, allowing them to walk across it safely.
It covered about 1/5 of the chasm, which ant they had to solve four more riddles to pass this trial!
The six quickly stepped onto the translucent blue platform, wide as a car, and listened for the next riddle from the chanism.
And it ca:
[Second riddle: "This distorts a person. It grows with them. It is loved and used, for to them — it is their shield." — what is it?]
Everyone froze upon hearing the second riddle. It was clearly several tis harder than the first.
"Distorts people, aning... What can distort a person, yet remain sothing they love? Love itself? Bad habits?" Royal thought aloud.
"Their goal or ambition?" Lin muttered.
Aran smiled and nodded.
"That sounds right. Honestly, this riddle has many possible answers... but if we narrow it down, we might end up with five or six main options."
Lin looked at him and asked:
"If you were the one answering, what would you pick?"
"Haha, that’s a fun question," Aran looked back and continued: "I think I’d say: an excuse. It fits best."
"It really does fit," Lin nodded.
At that mont, Royal asked:
"How many ideas do each of us have?"
Silia looked back and saw the spiked wall getting closer and closer, so she turned to Royal and answered:
"Let’s each give one answer. Mine is: consciousness."
Everyone nodded and began listing their guesses one by one:
"An excuse," Aran smirked.
Royal snapped his fingers.
"Bad habits."
Egro scratched his head and said:
"Arrogance."
Royal gave Egro a strange look, but Egro only shrugged.
"I think it’s lies," Yulan suggested.
Silia nodded and looked at Lin, asking:
"And yours?"
"Purpose. My answer is: purpose."
"You think purpose can distort a person and also act as their shield?"
Lin sighed and said nothing, only nodded.
Silia looked at everyone and proposed:
"We’ve gathered quite a few answers. Let’s pick the main ones to use."
"I suggest we keep lies, excuse, and bad habits," Royal proposed.
"What about arrogance?" Aran grinned and asked.
Royal scoffed coldly at Aran and replied:
"We’ll need to align the third answer with the previous two anyway. These three options are the most likely, and we can decide the final based on them."
"So what will you say first?"
"Excuse," Royal smiled and shouted: "Excuse!"
Silence followed.
Then the rough chanical voice rang out:
[Answer: "Excuse" — incorrect. You have only two attempts left.]
Royal sighed and began to speak loudly:
"Well, that didn’t work! Now we have to say the second answer! Speak loudly, so the chanism doesn’t mistake a stray word for the answer!"
"What’s your second pick?!" Aran asked.
"I’m thinking: "Bad habits", and then: "Lies". I feel one of those is the right one!"
Aran burst out laughing and shouted:
"Then hurry up already!!"
"But I must warn you!" Royal looked at everyone and continued: "The chanism didn’t specify a tone for the third answer! I suspect any spoken word after the second answer might be taken as the final one! So be silent if the second answer turns out wrong!"
Everyone nodded in agreent.
Royal gave a serious nod and finally said in a quiet voice:
"Bad habits..."
A deathly silence fell.
Then ca the rough chanical voice of the chanism:
[Answer: "Bad habits" — incorrect. You have only one attempt left.]
Royal’s face twisted, as did those of the others, but no one panicked. They waited calmly for Royal to give the final answer.
"If we think about it... Excuse and Bad habits — they give birth to self-deception... Which ans..." he smiled and said confidently:
"Lies."
Again, silence.
Everyone froze, waiting for the chanism’s response.
Then, after a mont, the rough chanical voice rang out:
[Answer is true. "This distorts a person. It grows with them. It is loved and used, for to them — it is their shield." — correct answer: "Lies". You have passed the second riddle of five.]
Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
They did it.
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