Damian considered each part of the riddle, and took Rose's idea into account. A weapon stout, a priceless jewel, the beat of life, a farmer's tool. Well, let's see, if we go with a deck of cards, you have the House of Clubs, a weapon stout, the House of Diamonds, a priceless jewel, the House of Hearts, the beat of life, and the House of Spades, a farmer's tool. Yep, Rose has it. Coming out of his thoughtful stupor, Damian looked at and nodded to Rose. "You have the House of Clubs, a weapon stout, the House of Diamonds, a priceless jewel, the House of Hearts, the beat of life, and the House of Spades, a farmer's tool. I am in agreement with Rose on this one. Guys?"

@Zarkun@YipeeXD@Joshua Tamashii

Zephyr
Grand Magic Games

At the next question Hunter answered instantly which opened the door like that and let them proceed onward. It caught them by surprise but hey Ammy was right they all brought something. So when asked the next question Zephyr listened to it and when he asked for a repeat and they did he just snapped his fingers. "Watermelon. They are green white then red and the seeds make more so they are the babies." Zephyr said looking at the rest of his team with a dead serious face.

Phoenix Wing Team B
@Zarkun@Jangel13[@Amaya Tamashii@J8cob]@cirusarvennicus

Before there could be any more discusion, the voice said "Correct. Move on" When the group had moved on, the Voice said "riddle four: I am strongest when you see me as round, but I am often viewed in other forms. I lift & drop the sea with my tremendous strength, and a man with a name like 'powerful bicep' was the first to tread on me.

What am I?" The voice seemed to be amused.

Sasha
@Silver Fox

Sasha smiled kindly at Karn, and said "lets do this together, then shall we? First there is thunder, but no lighting paid this debt. It doesn't say anything about clouds, does it? Nor if it comes from the sky. Glowing Rain pours down...And snow fills the sky." She looked to Nolan, and grinned, "Ash, right?. A mountain resets after an eruption So can you guess what it is, Karn?"

Michael

Michael stared at Prince in absolute shock. He wasn't too sure what he was to say to that. If he was meant to say anything, or if he should just let it go. "Uh. Uh. Uh..." He cleared his throat, as if that would help, his face going to purple. "L-l-love and l-l-l-life...K-k-k-k-kitty p-p-puh-people?" So it wasn't a curse, that made Prince this way? Kitty People actually existed? That actually intrigued Michael. And how could you make kids out of magic? "m-m-m-my c-c-c-choice?"

Had Michael ever had a choice in anything like this before? It seemed that he had never had a choice in who he had liked before. And the last time had just been horrifying. And then there had been the girl that just hadn't left him alone. Gabriel had taken her, giving Michael time to flee, unable to explain that he really wasn't playing hard to get, he just simply wanted to be friends. The girl had assumed he was playing around.

He looked to his brother, wide-eyed now, and it seemed dangerously close to passing out. Gabriel smiled, "You probably already know that Micky has trouble with words. What he means is, keep trying"

Lazarus

He had remained quiet since the start of the challenge, but it was probably time to speak up. "Glowing rain could be referring to the reflection of light off of hail. However I believe you're right. It's ash. It fits the bill." His arms remained folded.

Shujin
His team was pretty good at these. However when this riddle came up he facepalmed. He knew the answer. In court it was the high judge's favourite riddle. "The answer is watermelon. I can confirm that as 100% definite."

When they arrived in Crocus, Trinity had been astounded by the city's beauty. And the smell, oh, there were flowers everywhere! However, there wasn't much time to stand and gawk, they had to move quickly to get through the games before everybody else.

The young lady had been a little impressed with her teammates, answering all the riddles so easily. They were already on to the fourth! As she stood with her team, she considered their latest puzzle, rubbing her chin with thought before she came up with her answer. "The moon! It changes phases and commands the tides. I'm not sure about that last part, though..."

@Demous
Ariel was thinking and watching the lacrama when Sayuri pointed out she was being a bit distant. Her Water magic took hold and she frowned slightly before sighing. "Oh uh, I'm sorry Sayuri. I'm just a little occupied." Turning from the games she focused on her friend and ran through her head what was said earlier. Was it a good idea to bring up her father? Hard to tell, maybe Sayuri wanted to vent. "What happened with you and your father? I'm all ears if you feel like talking."

Captain Salem stood up, placed the cat in his chair, and smiled after Aurora said she was up for it. "Well then I will be watching from here with Sara. We will be cheering you on by firing magic mortar rounds that burst into a firework color of the team and individual colors for each of you!" Captain Salem's smile grew even wider. "NOW! Get your asses out there and win this for Pirate Lord!" With that Soren actually cheered and Merlina gave a giggle then everyone filed out of the bridge and went to the deck.

Soren stood there first and over looked the prelims area. "Well we are a bit late but they will have to deal." He said in almost uninterested voice. He honestly could care less what the announcers or the anyone else thought about their lateness but they did have to make it down to the field in time and start answering those damned riddles. He smirk though, if it was one thing that Soren loved almost as much as cooking it was riddles and puzzles. "Alright everyone gather round. I will be teleporting us to the field." Soren had figured out some time ago while training that he could us his Contain magic around himself as a shield of sorts but he accidentally discovered that by manipulating the sphere that contained him that he and others that touched him could teleport short distances. It left him a little drained but not so bad that he couldn't solve a few riddles. The team gathered around him and each put a hand on Soren. Soren extended both arms outward and hands making each palm face the outward as well. A sphere formed around them, runes on the sphere glowed bright colors and the top and the bottom half began to spin opposite of each other. In another second anyone who had been watching them would now see nothing, as if they had just winked out of existence. Soren willed the sphere to appear before the House of Riddles and it did in the next second. Soren shook off the slight dizzy feeling and then looked back up at the ship right before entering the House of Riddles. "Come along everyone lets get this done."

Up on the ship as soon as the others had left Blair transformed back into her human form. "Well I hope they win it. Still can't believe you put that girl in the team instead of me. Actually I can't believe you let Aurora go either. Salem turned to her as she sat in his chair from where she had transformed. "You know better than to shit there and I hope you aren't questioning who I picked for the games. Plus I would have thought you might want to spend some quality time with me." He laughed a little as he pulled her up, kissed her cheek and then moved her to sit himself down. Blair pouted a little as he did but smiled when she got a kiss from him. "Well you know I love spending time with you." She said with a smile. "Well good then. Now lets see how they do in the prelims." Blair sat on his lap as Sara brought up a screen that displayed everything that Team Pirate Lord would be doing. She also fired the first mortar for the team as they appeared in the field and entered the house. The mortar firework exploded high in the air and displayed the guilds emblem. It then shifted between the colors of the team's emblems and fizzled out as the last person entered the house.

In the house each of them entered and the first room was empty. A voice then spoke the first riddle.



Soren and Merlina thought for a second, talked to the others, then agreed upon something. Soren was about to speak but them Aurora spoke ahead of him, but they hadn't discussed it with her.

"Has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth that never eats..." Aurora trailed off into thought as she listened to her teammates talk though the riddle, trying to figure it out. A bed, of oysters? No, oysters eat... What about run but not walk? Running, runny nose? That makes no sense... But I've never heard of a walking nose. Aurora laughed a little at her joke for a second, but then started thinking seriously again. "What about running water?" She said quietly to herself, then louder to her team. "Running water, like a river! Rivers have mouths where they flow into a lake or sea, and the riverbed is the bottom!"



A door opened and the team moved on. Soren glared at Aurora a little and Merlina bumped in as if to say Hey she got it right so hush. Mostly he was just annoyed but the next riddle played and he then payed attention.



It took a minute but then Aorura broke the silence. "This one's a lot harder, do any of you know?" Aurora tried to think through it the way she did the last one, but she didn't have anything to work with because nothing came to mind.

Soren smirked cause he knew the answer right off. The answer is Coal. As a chef I should know. He said smugly. "It is black when you get it, becomes red when you burn it, and when you get done using it becomes white." They all waited for a second then the voice spoke again.



The team again moved on.



As soon as the riddle was read Aurora spoke ahead of Soren again who had lifted his finger and was about to exclaim the answer but dropped it as soon as she spoke."Oh, it's a tongue! I think I've heard that one before..."



They moved on and Soren was steaming a little but shook it off as they entered the room and the riddle was spoken.



Aurora out loud spoke to the others, but couldn't come up with the answer. "A picture maybe? No, a picture of a town could still have people in it..."

Merlina giggled at Soren and the others expressions of confusion and smiled as she spoke the answer. "Why its a map you sillies. A map can show all of those things with out with out the second."



The team did so and everyone gained more confident.



Everyone including Soren looked at Aurora for the answer on this one and she began to think."Walk on the dead? No thank you." Aurora suppressed a shiver and tried to focus on the riddle. "Alright, what's silent if you walk on it while it's alive? No animal I know, unless... It's leaves! Dead leaves dry out and crunch when you step on them, but won't when they're alive."



The team began to answer the riddles one after another and moved to each room as they did.



Malice brushed her hair aside and smirked. "Why the moon of course its a sphere in the sky with different phases and to us we see a different shape with each phase while its true shape is a sphere. Its also only seen at night."





"Could two riddles in a row be the moon? Well, this one would be the new moon probably. Lunar months both start and end on the new moon."Aurora again spoke out loud and almost got it wrong for the team, but Malice corrected her.

Malice tapped her chin then looked at the door. "A new year. You start a new year but end an old one as well." Malice said with a tilt of her head.

For a moment they weren't sure which one that voice was going to take until...





Aurora began and turned to the team. "The biggest hint is that if it drinks it dies. It's good to water a plant but not a fire, unless you need to put it out."

Malice smirked yet again. "Fire, you can only feed it as water will kill it. That and it being in camps was a dead give away." Malice said with a confident smile.

Merlina pouted for a second and looked to Bel. "We should have been able to get there Bel." She produced an emerald flame in her hand and then snuffed it right out as they moved to the next room.





Aurora thought for a second but again couldn't come up with anything."Taller than trees, has roots, and doesn't grow? I'm stumped."

No one spoke and Soren even didn't know the answer then there was a guess. Malice hesitated on this one out of all of them and spoke up finally. "A mountain?"



Finally they entered the last room of the prelims and the finally riddle was asked.



Aurora spoke with confidence and wasn't far off from the truth of the answer. "I can see it, but no one else can? An illusion or a dream! In most cases only you can see your dreams."

Malice tapped her head. "Thoughts, just like I thought this was too easy."

Both of them answered and Soren stepped in. Both would have to be correct I would think so lets hope that either works. They waited for a second that felt like ages.



Everyone moved outside and saw another team there as well that seemed to be arguing a little. Suddenly another explosion rang out over head and the team looked upward as they saw their emblem in all their colors.

"Alright everyone we have done our Captain good,but there is a whole lot more we got to do to win this. So lets give it out all. For Pirate Lord! He shouted the last bit and they all joined in and then waited there till the next thing was going to happen or be announced.

@Caits

Karn gave a coo sound as he listened to the others, tilting his head a little as Sasha spoke to him and he hummed a little. Ears twitching at the answer the others mostly thought it was and he slowly nodded in agreement. "Mhmm yeah... Ash makes sense. I think. So... A Nolan?" he agreed with a cheerful chirp.


@Caits

The tall feline watched Michael with utter amusement, listening to the stutters as and watching the desperate look for help from his twin brother. It was a minor surprise that Gabriel spoke saying to pretty much keep trying. Prince smirked a little in amusement as he looked to Michael. "Dearie me my lovely blue flower, you're uncertainty thorns my delicate heart. But love is stubborn and I shall keep trying to win your delicate heart." the feline chuckled as he patted the top of the shy twin's head before ears perking at the announcers.

"Awe, it seems Pirate Lord passed as well. Such a speedy bunch." he chuckled.

Sayuri Takashi

"Hey no problem. The games are interesting to watch. Hoping we do well and supporting our teams is important," she smiles slightly, "Well it's not something that'll tear us apart. I don't think anything really can at this point. To you it'll seem like a normal parent thing. While I was out training and doing jobs I got into contact with one of my dads friends to see if they could help with my training. Well for some reason my dad refuses to let me. It confuses me because he's always encouraged me to learn new magics and become more powerful. Now, without giving a reason, tells me not to. I know he has them but won't tell me. So I'm extremely irritated with him right now," she leans the chair back and laughs, "Four years since we last fought and it's over something small..."

@t2wave

The team from Rider's Blade proceeded into the second room. They knew this would be an easy task since Lucus and Sigurd had spent most of their early lives studying, Krystal knew a little this and that and could put two things together, and Delsin learned a lot in his travels as a bounty hunter. The only one they worried about was Pyrrha, who was more of a warrior then a anything else, and didn't really like thinking things through. With this ine mind, they were not surprised to hear the same voice as they entered the second room.



"So an object, likely with three parts, one of which moves, possibly between the two bodies that are joined together. It just has to somehow move while standing still." Lucus said.

After a few minutes of thought, Krystal snapped her fingers.
"An hourglass. It has two bodies of glass joined together and sand travels between them while it's standing still after you flip it." She said. In response, the door in the room opened up and they were allowed to proceed to the next riddle.



Once again, Lucus was able to piece this one together easily.
"Music, since it has sharp notes and flat notes. How the bee ties in, I do not know, but music is a natural part of life." He said, causing the door to open and let them on through to the next riddle.

What starts with an E ends with an E but only has one letter?

This one actually stumped everyone. They had no idea how to decipher it. Sigurd and Lucus began talking about ideas with each other when Pyrrha spoke up.
"Doesn't an envelope carry a letter?" She asked. The room seemed to accept this since she did say the answer, causing the door to open and everyone on the team to look at her in shock"What... what?!"

Laughing, the other four led the way into the next room and to their next riddle



"A hummingbird." Delsin said instantly, causing the door to unlock."Funny little critters those things. Do you think they actually make any noise without their wings constant humming?"

"That's like asking it fairies really exist. No one really knows." Sigurd said, leading the way into the next room.

[center]If you look on my face you will find many numbers but you won't find a 13 any place.[center]

"A clock." Everyone said at the same time, even Pyrrha, who managed to smile at this and find it rather amusing.

"How many do you think are left?" She asked

"Should've be that many more. We should be out of here soon. Least I hope so." Krystal said just as the voice spoke again



Sigurd got this one after a few seconds of thinking
"Chess Pawns. There are eight of them on either side of the king and they are the first to charge forward and defend him." He said.

"You must play a lot of that game." Delsin commented, leading the way this time.



This one was another one that stumped them all. They took their time to solve this one. In fact, none of them could get it and began just saying things that came to mind. Pyrrha began burning up and had to be help back from kicking the door at one point.

"The hell are we supposed to answer a riddle, when the riddle makes no sense!" She shouted

"Maybe the answer is a riddle." Lucus said calmly. When the door opened behind him, everyone face palmed themselves before proceeding into the next room.



Everyone found this one easy and gave the unanimous answer of "Life" before going onto the next room, hoping they all would be this easy given how the one before had been,



"Time, it has to do with time. What part of time changes everyday?" Lucus muttered, trying to think.

"Hours, minutes, and seconds never change. Maybe the date?" Pyrrha said.

"The date can get repeated every hundred years or so, depending on how you right it. It might be something different." Sigurd said

"Not to mention the date didn't always exist. It has to have always been there. Like a tomorrow or a yesterday." Krystal said.

At the last word, the door sprang open. Expecting another riddle at the other end, the team walked through and found themselves outside the tower and in the middle of a crowd. They spotted a few teams nearby.

"Wait... if those are some teams there then that means..." Pyrrha started.

"Then we passed. Question is whether we made it into the actual games or not." Delsin finished, looking around and raising a hand anyway. Might as well soak in the moment while it lasted.

@YipeeXD@Silver Fox@Caits
NOLAN
....Were Lazarus and Karn really that stupid that they couldn't had guessed what the answer was after Sasha had walked them through it? In that moment Nolan felt sorry for Sasha for wasting her efforts on two thick headed people. Perhaps it was time for him to give the answer even though Sasha had already knew what it was already. "While it does involves ashes, you both are mistaken. The rain that doesn't make anything wet is lava so it would be a safe assumption that the answer to this riddle is really a volcano." He took his pipe out of his mouth and tapped it upside down so to let the burnt tobacco fall to the ground.

FERRIS

"Yikes Jessie! Your words cut deep." He laid his hands on his chest as if he was sliced right there by a cold blade. His attention was brought to Iron Enigma accomplishing the preliminaries. There were only a few guilds left that can earn a spot in the games now. Many had given up simply due to the challenge being too much for them. "It looks like things are going to wrap up soon! Who is going to earn their spot in the games?!

There were several seconds before any kind response was given, and the members of Dragon Fang's team were suddenly afraid that they may have been wrong. "You are correct. Proceed." The door in front of them opened up and Ammy once more took the lead, guiding them to and through the next door. The voice spoke again, just as disembodied as ever.


Ammy didn't wait, a sense of foreboding settling in on her after the time they'd taken on the first three riddles. "That is quite simple, a secret. For a secret is no longer a secret once others know." The door in front of them swung open with another correct and once more the team moved on. The next door decided to mess with them and change colors though.


Hunter got it this time, a bit of vehemence in his voice as he spoke. "A promise. I should know from personal experience." The white door swung open and the group pressed onwards, the sense of foreboding falling over all of them. The next door was back to orange, and the group wasted no time going through it.


Even Ammy had to think for a moment, considering everything there was before picking the best option. "A window, because it's the only thing that makes sense." Another disembodied correct echoed through the room and once more Team Dragon Fang moved on to the next room where the voice gave them their next challenge.



Once more, Hunter surprised everyone with what he could know. "Your breath! I mean, as strong as I am, longest I've ever held my breath is fourty-five seconds." With another correct, the group moved on to the next room.



Ammy snickered quietly, an uncharacteristic thing for her to do. "The letter M. Once in the word minute, twice in the word moment, but never in the phrase a thousand years." The door swung open and they moved on to the next room. Ammy had been keeping count and they were nearly finished.



Ammy once more spoke, though she didn't provide an explination. "Words." The door opened the team proceeded on to the last and final room. The voice didn't cut straight to the chase this time though. "Welcome to the final room on your quest through the House of Riddles. Should you answer this wrong, you will be eliminated."

Hunter grinned and thrust his fist into the air. "Then we won't answer it wrong, you freaky voice." The voices response? The riddle.



Shujin, who hadn't spoken since the third riddle, quickly shot off the answer, with no explination as to how he knew. "Your back." The voice gave it's final correct and allowed them through, Hunter rushing out to the center of the arena and letting loose a Jade Dragon's Roar straight up into the air that somehow took on the shape of the Dragon Fang Guild Crest before fading. Ammy and the others followed close behind, smiles abound. They'd secured their spot in the Games and now they could prepare for the rest.

sasha

Sasha was amazed that even after walking them through it, they had gotten it wrong. Well, she had tried. They had taken a long time in each riddle, so she figured it was time to speed things up, if they wanted to get into the games, fortunately, nolan was good at the riddles too.

She smiled at him and nodded, as the voice said "correct. Move on"

She did so, and this time when the voice asked the next riddle, she answered right away. "congratulations. Keep on going. This thing is long and slim,
And works in the light,
It has just one eye,
And a painful bite."

She looked to the others and then said simply "a needle. I hate sewing"

The voice has an amused quality to it, as it said "correct, move on!" she smiled happily, and moved into the next room. she figured if the voice was still letting them do this, then they still has a chance, but she worried and wanted to get through the rest of the riddles quickly.

Many feathers to help it fly,
a body and a head,
but it's not alive,
you determine how far it goes,
you can hold it in your hand,
but it is never thrown.

Again, Sasha looked to her team mates and said "I think Trinity would have for this one easily enough. And easy for me, Arrow!"

They moved on. Four more to go, Sasha was eager. She liked these riddles and was glad she could contribute to the games, even sloghtlt.

A response to a mistake,
That when offered is suspected,
In desperation it is expressed,
The truth is apparently rejected.

Sasha blinked. The only thing she could think of was "excuses. The truth is always put aside with an excuse"

"very good. Three more to go. You better hurry on along"

Sasha nkdded, leading the way to the next room.

"Metal or bone I may be, many teeth I have and always bared, yet my bite harms no one and ladies delight in my touch. What am I?"

Sasha actually laughed, "a comb"

With each correct answer, Sasha grew more confident. There was only two more, they could do this!

From house to house he goes, A messenger small and slight. And whether it rains or snows, He sleeps outside at night. What am I?

This one stumped Her for a few moments, until she chances to say "a street or road?"

"you don't sound so sure" the voice replied.

"a street or road" she said again

"correct. One more"

Sasha seallowed and moved up to the next room.

First think of the person who lives in disguise,

Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.

Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,

The middle of middle and end of the end?

And finally give me the sound often heard

During the search for a hard-to-find word.

Now string them together, and answer me this,

Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss

She had to ask the voice to repeat it twicd mkre before she was confident in her answer.

"a spider"

"very good! Congratulations, Phoenix Wing A, you have made it into the games!"

Sasha looked to the others and grinned.

announcer Jessie

"oh we! Cutting it close there! Let's see, that's Frnezy plant, Iron Enigma, Pirate Lord, Phoenix Wing A, the riders....that means there's three more spots left! What's going on dragon Fang? Phoenix Wing B? You better hurry on up!" Jessie said energetically, grinning and looking to Ferris, just missing Dragon Famg completing the challenge.

michAel

Michael really didn't know what to say. He squirmed, and spluttered, blushing terribly, and tried to focus, but couldn't. "I-i-i oh. I'm o-only s-s-seventeen, and y-y-y-youre asking a lot"

Gabriel chuckled "we'll be 18 on six more days, Micky!" Gabriel enjoyed tormenting Michael.

Yes by all means just answer the riddle" Angelo said not wanting to get kicked out in the first round like this, it was a freaking game and Angelo was getting frustrated Angelo didn't know what else the answer could be since he didn't exactly have time for riddles when he was growing up so how would he know? Angelo was a powerhouse not the intelligent one of the group.

Lazarus

They stepped out into the open, seeing other teams. That meant they had made it into the games. This was shortly confirmed by the announcer. He adjusted the pelt around his shoulders. "Looks like we've got some tough competition, especially if we weren't anywhere near first in this one." He saw Shujin, before deliberately looking away, his whole persona shrinking. He wished he didn't have to compete against him in anything in the games.

Shujin

Dragon fang also emerged from the house of riddles. Shujin was pleased he had got the last one right straight away. It felt good to not just be all brawn. His eyes met with Lazarus' and his blood boiled. He knew Lazarus would be in the games, but he hadn't prepared himself fully for having to face him. He wanted to compete with him at some point, but at the same time, he feared what might happen. Though Shujin was trained to bring down wizard criminals, Lazarus at the time of his crimes was on a whole other level.

@Caits@hatakekuro

"Ohhhhhhhh! You're so smart Ashy!" Karn chirped as the Ash God Slayer, humming as Sasha started blasting through the riddles. He cheered as they made it through and he climbed along Nolan's shoulders happily. "Wow! That was fun! Icy and Ashy are best riddlers!" he said cheerfully with a purr.



"Mhmmm if I'm asking too much, then you should say no. I'll ask again when you're eighteen. After I decide on a gift." Prince chuckled in amusement as Gabriel also seemed to be enjoying teasing the shy twin. Thinking for a moment, the feline grinned cheerfully as he glanced toward the Guild members running in the games.

"Mikey, can you show me your best cheer? You two Gaby." he asked innocently.

Michael
@Silver Fox

Michael spluttered, having no idea what to say to that, and more, he doubted things would suddenly change in six days time. Michael was just never too sure about...these things. And He was never sure if Prince was joking or not, despite two months of knowing him.

He swallowed, and looked to the lacrima, at the teams gathering on the top of the building. Even before Prince spoke up aboout cheering, Michael gave a yelp. He was thrilled that his guild had gotten through.

He looked over to Prince, "I'm not dancing around and cheering" That would just be way too much attention.

Gabriel chuckled, "Well, looks like we're rivals in the games!"

Announcer Jessie
@hatakekuro
Jessie returned her attention to the games, grinning and jumping up and down, "OH OH LOOK! DRAGON FANG GOT THROUGH! TWO MORE SPOTS! PHoenix Wing team B seems to be getting close, and there's four or five others coming along too!" She gave a giggle, "This is really starting to heat up, and gives as an idea of what kinds of things we can expect! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?"

Mayt was standing in front of the Train Driver, doing all he could do not to punch the man in the face. "So." "Yes." "You're telling me." "Yes." "That the train broke down, for no apparent reason?" "Yes." Mayt crossed his arms, looking thoroughly vexed. The train conductor sighed, this having been the seventh time through this. "How long a walk from the nearest town, exactly?" "Two days or so in either direction along the track, walking." "Really?" "Yes, really really." "And when is this train going to be repaired?" "No clue, but there should be people her soon... Ish... To get everyone to the next town, and fix the train." "I'm going to find the engineer who built this train, and threaten him, then make sure no one ever does any jobs for him ever." "Not going to beat him up?" "Can't do that, in a... Fucking moral ass light guild. Can't beat the living hell out of someone unless they threaten me first... You sure there's no more beer?" "Did the drinks run out?" "An hour ago, sorry... I really shouldn't of drank as much as I did." Mayt rubbed his head, and shook it after a moment. "Can you please try to get them here faster, I'm already going to be late." He rubbed his eyes, and turned around. Starting to head back to the car he was staying in. "I'm sorry sir, but the engineers have no idea what's wrong. I assure you, we'll get you and everyone else to their destinations as soon as possible." Mayt just waved his hand. "Tell me when I'm sober, alright?" He went back to the car he was staying in, and passed out pretty quickly in a seat after muttering a few choice curses to himself. Why the hell was he even drinking? Not to mention why did he pay for such a fancy ride? Stupid stupid stupid... He thought to himself as he drifted into temporary unconsciousness.

Mithera's tails flicked back and forth rapidly, and any masseuse worth their hands would see that she was tense as hell. Her eyes were trained on Iron Enigma. She's clearly terribly anxious about them. What are they doing here? Why are they here? They have no reason to be here! Oh god I wish I could talk with Melina right now. She would occasionally take off and move over a few inches in her anxiety. She hopes Karn wouldn't see her like this, he already had enough on his plate with the games. Those had to be stressful as hell. She shivered all the way down her body. At least, if they were here, they couldn't be after Melina. Or maybe they thought Melina was still with Phoenix Wing, which meant everyone there was still in danger! Mithera shivered again, and launched herself onto Master Jarvis' shoulder. "M-master Jarvis... Who's back at the guild?"

The disembodied voice answered them almost immediately after Trinity spoke. "You are correct. Proceed." Damian lead the way out of the room and into the next, where the the voice gave their next riddle.



Damian thought on it and looked towards Rose. This one didn't sound familiar to him and he knew lots of five letter words that it might apply to.

"Its short...the word is in the riddle...think about it short is the word that becomes shoter with just two added letters." she said having to think about it for a few mintues. it clicked when she figured five letter words in their meanings. "It has to be short that is the only word that I can think of that comes close to fitting." she said.



Damian went to agree, but was cut off by the disembodied voice saying correct and letting them through. Following Rose, Damian sighs when they get to the next one. He didn't mind keeping his mind sharp, but this was ridiculous. Still, he listened carefully.



Damian grinned and stepped towards the door as he spoke. "Foot steps. As you take more steps, you leave more of them behind you." Their exit swung open with another correct and Damian lead the way to the next door.



He looked to Rose once more, letting her take this one.


"Wisdom." Trinity spoke quickly and out of turn, getting ready to move through the door and to the next riddle. "We need to move faster, I bet our other team's already done." She moved with urgency, taking steps two at a time and jogging at a minimum.



Damian followed close behind to the next room, growing anxious. Time was ticking down against them, he could feel it.



Damian, too anxious to wait, gave the answer. "E. The letter E." He then glanced at Amaya. "Sorry, getting a bit antsy." He lead the way to the next room, which they were provided with the next riddle quickly.



He turned to Rose, waiting to see what she thought.



"it's fine I been trying to calculate how long we been in here, oh and the answer is today...we need to hurry cause who knows who's already passed I hope the other team finished" she said to her team putting her hands on her hips.



Damian nodded in agreement with Rose as the door swung open and lead the way through. If he was right, this was their last riddle and he lightly elbowed Trinity. "This one's all yours." He finished speaking just as they reached the last room and the final riddle presented to them.



Damian turned to Trinity and nodded, knowing this whole thing was riding on here answer.


"Weightless... hear and feel, but cannot see?" Trinity pondered the riddle for a moment, rubbing her chin before she found an answer. The young lady, with a voice unconvinced, offered her answer, "the wind? The only thing I can think of. Were these supposed to get harder as we went?"




The last door opened with another correct and Damian and the others walked out, seeing that they hadn't been too late and thrusting a fist into the air. He knew they were probably one of the last teams out, spotting the other Phoenix Wing team among a couple other guilds, but he didn't care. They made it into the games! "Way to go, guys! We made it!"

Angelo cheered happily "yes we are still in this!" Angelo said grinning happy they got through the stupid riddle challenges and can final move forward to what Angelo did best and that was fight. Angelo knew that he could trust the others to handle the riddles so now it was Angelo turn for them to put their trust in his and Damien's fighting abilities and with them working together was no opponent they couldn't beat down...