Night 62: Sphinx's Chamber

[fonichymn]

[From here.]

Another ornate room met her eyes, one with a low ceiling and a gold finish everywhere she looked. The focus of her gaze, however, fell on the centerpiece--the strange creature Renamon had referenced. It looked to be a hybrid, an unrecognized formation of animals she knew well, but for some reason, Tear did not believe it to be a product of science. The sphinx maintained an antiquated countenance, as if it had originated from a point far in Earth's past.

Nothing so old could logically be conceived by artificial means.

One might have expected the soldier to outright stare as she had with the tapestries. Tear, however, recalled the existence of riddles and stayed respectably cautious, even as she could not hide the wonder in her blue eyes.

Comments

[survives]

Leanne could only stare, struck silent, as the sphinx spoke. Logically, she'd known something like this would happen. After all, how else would it give them a riddle? But to actually see and hear a monster speak, it was hardly what she'd expected when she set off that night, to say the least. Still, maybe it was only to be expected. Even the most impressive of monsters in Basel couldn't hold a candle to this one.

If the very act of speaking hadn't been enough, the way it spoke would have convinced her of its intelligence. It seemed almost... tired of them, as if it simply couldn't stand to deal with anything like humans, but had no choice.

How many people had wandered into its lair before, she couldn't help but wonder. And... just how many of them had survived?

"Yeah." She nodded at Tear, her voice soft but no less determined. There was no turning back now.

[strayfag]

It talked. Ok. That probably wasn't the strangest thing that was going to happen tonight. He tried not to think about it, really, because there were a few more pressing things to think about.

Was he willing to bet his life on the ability to answer a question? Well, that was pretty simple actually. He was an information broker. He'd bet his life on less. Aside from that, he hadn't come down here expecting it to be easy going, and they'd all known what was waiting from the start. Renamon had picked a good team, unsurprisingly. No one else seemed ready to back out either.

He met Tear's inquiring glance, nodding once after Leanne's confirmation. "We're all in, then."

[diamondstorm]

...The sphinx's temperament didn't seem to have improved in the time since the Digimon had last seen it. In fact, if she was to comment, she'd likely note that it had gotten worse. Not for the first time, Renamon wondered if it really was trapped here in all hours. How long had it been down here? What did Landel have to hold the creature's will? None of the questions were worth speaking, in essence. Likely, the creature was under the same geis as Marc and those that had been through the third door, for starters.

The rest was simple deduction. There were a good deal of those who had contacted it. If those individuals were not able to sway it, it was not likely to be swayed. Or couldn't, at any rate, and pressing the issue again seemed to be something ill-advised for one's health.

At any rate, it was done speaking, and Leanne and Badou agreed for them. The Digimon only nodded herself, wordlessly placing herself with the rest.

[damned_monsters]

Two spoke agreements while the others watched, and that was enough for the sphinx. It gave a low growl and shifted a paw to gesture to the closing doors. The heavy thunk was obvious, as was the distinct click of a lock. They were not getting out easily now that they had accepted. "We'll begin, then. Do something different from the rest, perhaps?"

As it would. It diverted from its usual fare and spoke otherwise. "With a knife, cut open my head, then weep beside me when I am dead." It blinked heavy eyes. "What am I?"

A claw tapped once on the granite. "Four minutes, fifty-five seconds remaining."

[fonichymn]

Each person contributed their agreement, and their challenge went underway. Tear stared blankly at the closing doors before turning her attention toward the creature. If they were to be on a time limit, it was best to pay it as much careful attention as was possible. It would be unacceptable to let her focus falter for even a breath.

When the riddle finally came, her brows furrowed in deep contemplation, mind moving faster than was normal. Most riddles she knew held a specific pattern of being simple in the answer, but the line of logic to them was hardly clear. You had to think outside the confines of normal thought, much like interpreting Yulia's Fonic Hymns.

So the question was this: what could be cut open with intent and then cause one to weep at the act?

[survives]

It was almost as if her heart chose the moment the sphinx stopped speaking to beat even faster, if that were even possible, feeling almost as if it were trying to escape from her chest.

This was it then. Less than five minutes to figure out the answer to the riddle and Leanne couldn't even begin to make sense of it. Ohhhh, she'd known that would happen. But there was nothing to it. At the very least, she wasn't alone.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, frowning. Gruesome, that's how the riddle sounded, images of beheadings momentarily filling her mind. But it was probably safe to say actual beheadings didn't have anything to do with the answer... It probably didn't have anything to do with people at all, did it?

Eyebrows raised, she shot the others a glance. "Something you cut open... but you cry about it?"

[strayfag]

Badou couldn't help glancing over his shoulder as the doors closed behind them. This was it, then. He took a shallow breath and listened to the riddle. In retrospect, it wasn't that simple. It could be anything, considering how many worlds this place connected to or whatever, but he didn't think this thing would bother throwing them a question they couldn't answer. That was just pointless.

Alright. Word games. He met Leanne's gaze and shrugged. "I'd be crying at just about any head. That's pretty gross. Maybe the head of a family..? No, can't be... Some other kind of head?"

[diamondstorm]

With a knife, cut open my head, then weep beside me when I am dead. Honestly, that could mean for near anyone. Badou was correct. Wouldn't most, excepting some, shed tears over the dead? Especially if you were the cause of that death--and perhaps if it was a loved one--

But riddles were not that sensical, at least not that she had seen before. What was the riddle the sphinx used the last time she was here? She struggled to remember, the answer easier than the words used. "...Something rather than someone, maybe," the Digimon mused. "The last time I was here, it said something like... What runs without walking, has a mouth without using it to speak, a head that does not shed tears, and a bed unused."

A riddle the Digimon had not understood, and was not given the time to contemplate it. Sakura, however-- "The answer was a river. Perhaps this one is the same type."

[fonichymn]

"Some other kind of head" rang as correct in Tear's mind, but still, the answer remained elusive. It was not until Renamon's contribution that the soldier found an inkling of possibility, of potential. "A river," she muttered, bringing a hand up to her chin in thought. "That makes sense. So if we were to rephrase our riddle... What would have a head and make you cry cutting it open?"

A straightforward question but none too easy to unravel. Things that had heads were close to limitless. Filtering out people or positions given and including things that could be cut, well, all she could come up with was the head of a cabbage or a lettuce. And from her experience in cooking, neither of those caused crying.

Another thing did, however.

Tear groaned, unexpectedly, and the hand at her chin slapped against her forehead. "That is completely--" Idiotic. With effort, she bit her tongue. It wouldn't do to offend the sphinx. "...Onion. The answer is an onion. It has a head, and it is known to cause tears when preparing them."

[damned_monsters]

...Why did it even bother.

The giant creature let out an audible groan, not bothering to hide its displeasure. "How about this--" it started, reaching a large paw behind itself to rummage through things unseen. "The next time a group comes down here, they can offer the riddle, and I can solve it. Then I'll likely have more amusement than is otherwise afforded." It straightened, rolling its giant eyes. "Offer up a challenge. I have been here too long for this tedium."

As if to punctuate, the shield was then thrown at Tear's feet. "There; enjoy. Your trials only begin from this point forward."

With that final note, there was a creaking groan as the doors behind them opened again, and then the sphinx before them stilled, returning to stone.

[survives]

...Oh.

Leanne couldn't quite help a smile, quickly smothered, when Tear answered the riddle, feeling rather silly herself. An onion. Of course. And she'd been thinking of beheadings. It really was good that Tear had been able to figure it out, and quickly too. If it'd been up to her, she didn't think they'd have found the answer so soon.

Too bad about the sphinx though. Now that they no longer had the threat of the riddle hanging over them, it didn't seem so intimidating anymore. It probably had a lonely life, didn't it? Being stuck in this room all the time can't have been very nice.

Still, it had threatened them and Leanne, for one, didn't much like the idea of sticking around for too long, stone or not.

She turned around once the sphinx was done, moving briskly toward the hall.

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