Caiside approached first, which didn’t surprise Jigano at all. The ex-demigod was confident and bold in his approach to life and Guild work. He made an exemplary field agent – and a good friend. He had correctly deduced one of the totems and showed himself able to both take Amalia’s direction, and to offer gentle guidance to Sam. The Provost’s smile didn’t flicker as the first note chimed out, followed by the rest, but Isuma peeped an echo of the little tune, swaying happily to the music.
Samuel came next, finding his courage and stepping up with a greater surety than he’d shown all night. He might have been nervous and anxious outside of the Settlement, but he was a diligent scholar, patient and hard-working within the Atheneum itself. He had crafted a good riddle when put on the spot, though he had struggled with the totems. His reasoning had been close, though; he had simply focused too much on individual items and not enough on the bigger picture of how they all fit together. He was
good with details, though, and so Jigano wasn’t the least bit surprised when he confidently tapped out the same notes.
Amalia was last, and that
surprise the bard a little. She had been quick with the totems and proved herself equal to her colleagues in the riddles. Different minds had an easier time with different types of puzzles though, which was what made the Guild’s diversity so important. His smile softened a little as she came forward and repeated the tune a final time, much to Isuma’s delight. ”Count not the fingers,” he said approvingly, ”but the spaces between them. Well done, my friends!” He glanced at his notes, scratching down the final points, then raised his head again with a wry grin. He had already known what had happened, keeping track of things in his head, but now he had to find a solution to the conundrum facing him.
”You were all tied going into the task with the totems, but Amalia took a commanding lead there, finding the connections to four of the rhymes and sharing her knowledge with you both. A lead that Caiside overcame by solving the riddle of the chimes first. And Sam nearly caught up by solving it second,” he added, with a nod for the gentle bookmaker. ”But perhaps it is fitting that our wander-footed colleague wins this prize,” he added with a smile for Caiside, reaching into the box a final time to withdraw two small, oval mirrors.
”These were a gift to our Guild, and they will prove useful for our field agents who go out into the world to seek new lore – and find new trouble,” he chuckled, with a wink for Amalia. ”I’ve been playing with them a bit, and they reflect what the other mirror sees, no matter how far apart they are. No sound, but if we write what we want to communicate and hold the letter up to the mirror, we’d have an invaluable means of keeping in touch across long distance,” he explained, handing them to Caiside. ”Use them wisely, and in pursuit of lore.”
With a smile he clapped his hands lightly, looking at the three friends gathered with a grin. ”Now, who wants some tea? This seems like an excellent chance for everyone to catch up and get to know each other a bit better…”
Caiside receives: Two-way mirror: Two small oval-sizes pieces of mirror. Each item is magically bonded to the other, and reveals the reflection of its partner when looked into, regardless of distance.
Thank you all for participating in this Guild PQ! I hope you had as much fun playing as I did!
