Chapter 3 Part 17

Norwind hit the floor and rolled to the right. He instantly came up into a crouched position, ready to spring in any direction. He looked around to find himself alone in a room about thirty feet square with a wooden door showing the only way out.

Norwind was somewhat perturbed in the sudden disappearance of his comrades and the hall they had been in. He guessed that he had tripped a trap of some kind. It was probably a teleportation trap.

He tried to tell himself that it was not a lack of skill on his part. Magical traps were not his responsibility. It was Tyson's. But no one had thought about that until it had happened and then it was too late.

Norwind checked the room for gas vents, dart tubes, trip wires and pressure plates. He found none. That only left the door. Again, he checked for irregularities and found nothing. Still he was not ready to trust his findings. Where there was one trap, he reasoned, there was usually another.

He took a piece of leather and wrapped it around the door handle. Using his quarterstaff to push the door, he turned the latch with the leather rag. There was no sliding blade seeking to dismember him, no whoosh of poison darts springing from unseen guns, no hiss of gas, nor any trap doors to drop him onto spikes or to drop acid on top of him. There was only the door opening to reveal darkness penetrated only by what little light leaked in through the doorway.

Norwind chafed. He wasn't getting anywhere by just standing there, so he grabbed the torch from a nearby mount that was providing light and stepped through the door.

His steps echoed from distant walls telling him he was in a large room. He was tempted to put out the torch and use his heat vision, but if there was nothing warm in the room, he would be blind. The torch didn't allow him to see heat beyond a few feet. It was like trying to see a candle next to the sun.

Still, Norwind knew he was getting nowhere fast. So finally he decided to take a chance with his heat vision and use the echoes of his footsteps as a sonar to help him navigate. But before he could take any action, the lights came on revealing a large room.

The room was cavernous, with a door on the wall at the far end. That of course was only a minor note, for the major attention getter of the room was its other occupant. At first it appeared to be a large house sized lion, but the facial features were closer to that of a kindly old man. The creature resembled an entity that Norwind had occasionally run across before.

The giant sphinx observed Norwind causally. "It is not often one sees an elven monk," the creature said. The sphinx was easily fifty feet high and stood blocking the only exit on the far wall. "There is surely a story to be told here."

Norwind had dealt with sphinxes before. He knew their standard operating procedure was to ask the visitor a riddle. If the visitor answered correctly, he lived. Otherwise, the sphinx would try to eat him. Norwind decided to strike first. He bowed. "I am flattered that you know so much of my profession."

"Oh, ho!" the sphinx smiled with a human face showing huge teeth. The lion body rippled with laughter and the wings stirred restlessly. "You may be flattered, but it is you who are trying to flatter."

Norwind had wanted to try to distract the monster with flattery so that he could get past it to the door he had seen. The riddle game was intruiging, but he really didn’t want to wast the time to play it.

The sphinx noticed the monk's interest in the door. "You know that in order to get through that door you will have to accept my challenge," it said. "But if you want to just chat, we won't have to deal with riddles."

"What did you have in mind?" Norwind asked. Maybe he could bide his time until an opening presented itself. Either for him to bolt to the door or attack the monster itself. One could also win past the sphinx by victory in combat. Few survived attempts at that though.

"Your story, my good dweller of monasteries. How did an elf win the robes of a grand master?"

Norwind hesitated only a moment. An idea had occurred to him that just might work. It was an old, but very effective ploy.

Norwind started telling the story of his acceptance into the monastery. As he spoke, he tried to maintain his voice in a monotone drone-like pitch. It took great concentration and patientce. After a while, he began to wonder if his strategy was doomed to fail. But just as soon as the monk was about to abandon his plan, the effects were began to show. The sphinx had sat down upon its haunches and its eyelids were drooping.

After about a hour of constant droning, Norwind started to get hoarse and he knew that he would have to act soon or lose the opportunity. So, in the middle of a sentence, he sprung and sprinted towards the door. He was almost at the door when he heard the guardian move to intercept him. He reached the portal far ahead of the sphinx and grabbed for the handle. His heart sank when the latch caught with the familiar feeling of a locked bolt. Norwind turned around to see his opponent. The sphinx grinned and twirled a ring of keys on one claw.

"Just couldn't stand it, could you?" The sphinx shook his head in disappointment. "Here I had thought I had found a being who could control his curiosity and ignore that which I guard. But, alas, greed gets them all sooner or later."

The creature sighed. "Well, you have made an attempt to enter the sanctum so now I must issue my challenge. It is a pity, too, because I hate to see such a rare person die, but that is the way of things is it not?"

Norwind leaned against the wall. "I will accept your challenge," he said. He didn't really have a choice; since he had tried to get through the door the sphinx was not obligated to give him a chance at all.

The sphinx drew itself to its full height. "I am the sphinx Ardanostromorpheous. Hear me, O mortal, for thou desirest to pass me by. Answer then my riddle, lest ye die." Now the sphinx sat down again and spoke to Norwind. "Listen carefully and choose your answer wisely," it said.

“I've little strength, but mighty powers. I guard small hovels and great towers. But if per chance my master leaves, he must ensure he safeguards me. What am I?”

Norwind closed his eyes and tried to envision what would be so tiny and yet so powerful. It seemed to be a paradox, but of course that was the purpose of riddles to begin with. Likewise, the part about guarding small hovels and great towers really didn’t give him any useful information either. The last part of the riddle hinted that the thing was fragile or valuble.

Norwind ran a hand through his hair and studied at the sphinx. It seemed to be willing to sit there and wait for him. He supposed that as long as he didn’t make a move to get past the creature or escape, it would not attack.

He had almost managed to get by the creature. If only the door hadn’t been locked or if only he had the...

Norwind snapped his fingers. That was it, he thought to himself. The critical clue was in that last part of the riddle and then the second part confirmed it. In the last part of the riddle, it became apparent that it was a delicate thing having to do with leaving something behind. Then according to the second part, it was something that could be owned by both the rich and the poor.

The sphinx took note of Norwind’s expression. “You have and answer?”

"One moment so that I may organize my thoughts into a proper answer," Norwind responded. He thought for a moment then cleared his throat.

The sphinx again extended itself to its full height--this was a formal ceremony after all, and a mortal's life hung in the balance--and awaited an answer.

"The answer to your riddle," Norwind said confidently, "is a key."

"Bravo!" The sphinx applauded. "Though I shall miss you greatly, you have earned the right to pass through the door. I only wish that you could stay a bit longer." It unlocked the door and even graciously opened it in respect for the winner of the contest.

Norwind paused as he passed through the door. "You know, Ardanos, old boy," he said, "that was the best riddle I have heard in a long time."

The sphinx bowed and closed the door behind Norwind. He could hear the key in the lock again.

"Well done Norwind of the Order of Stars and Master of Philosophy," a voice said.