Page 144 of I Ran Away to Evil
It lives as long as elves or fae,
In time, its name will fade away.
What am I?”
CHAPTER 86
Miss Gerda Did Not Disappoint
Keith
“Treant?”
“Ancient Tortoise?”
“Wyvern?”
“Wraith?”
“A lizard wizard?”
“Gorgon?”
“Dragon? Ah, we already said that. Drendil did too, didn’t they?”
Keith was the one offering the answers, as he was the only person not under the influence of the spell. If Henrietta guessed incorrectly, then she’d be attacked by the magic, and if she guessed correctly, it would break the spell, and it was possible the Drendil army would take the opportunity to turn around and attack.
Miss Gerda shook her head at each guess. When Henrietta had an idea, she spelled the word in the air for Keith, and he asked for her.
Keith scratched his chin. “You said that you gave them a hint? What was the hint?”
“Wait, don’t tell us!” Henrietta cried, covering her ears. “Keith!”
“What?” He raised an eyebrow. “I can’t imagine a Master class like your knight commander doesn’t have points in Intelligence, or at the very least someone at his side who’s solely there for their Intelligence stat.”
“You have Intelligence eighty-five! No one in the entirety of Drendil has over sixty, and they work in the tax offices, not the army,” Ria countered. “Shouldn’t you be able to answer this riddle in your sleep?”
“Do you know how many answers I’ve come up with for this riddle? Seven hundred and ninety-four.” Keith could think of even more that fit partially. His mind easily compartmentalized the possible answers for each line of the riddle.By cross-referencing all creatures with a high risk at birth, a leathery skin, who lived long, and who could be purchased at a market or a guild across the continent … there were just too many that fit. His innate skill lay in complex magical formulae, memorizing, placement, and comprehensive deconstruction of mana networks. Not solving children’s riddles.
“We should narrow it down with the second riddle, or we’ll still be here long past when the army crosses back over the border.” Keith tried to say this gently; he knew how much fun a good challenge was. Any other day, he might have relaxed and just stayed here guessing riddles until sunset lit the horizon. But he was itching to get back. “So, Miss Gerda? The second part?”
“Its birth is laborious, it can be bought,
Its flesh is leathery, all over taut,
It lives as long as elves or fae,
In time, its name will fade away.
You need the light to see it clear,
But time in sun, its greatest fear.
It dwells inside and underground,
Fire burns its body brown.”
“Well, that didn’t help.” Keith was still left with two hundred and forty-five possible answers after processing the new data. “We’ll need the next hint.”
