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  [Dungeon]

  “Which creature who lives barely gazing on stars,

  walks on four at the morning dawn scars.

  On two does it stride as the baking sun warms,

  the light from the noon sun it ever does scorn.

  On three in the evening as the twilight doth bring,

  an ale, a death and song they all sing?”

  The sphinx asked, her velvet sultry tones and poetic words enchanting, & distracting.

  I pondered for a moment, four legs… two legs… three legs. Perhaps some form of animal that goes through metamorphosis then. Tadpoles had no legs, then two legs as they began to morph then four legs once they were a frog. So, not them but something similar.

  As I thought about the riddle, I realised I had been silly, an ale and a song were indicative of one of the sapient races, a song could be birds, but an ale was a product of civilisation and thus it excluded all other animals.

  I looked back over the sphinx, she had settled down to watch me as I puzzled it out; intent it seemed to wait for however long I needed.

  After thinking for a while, I had nothing, there was no sapient animals that I could think of that morphed in such a way.

  Four legs…

  Plenty of animals walked on four legs, wolves, cats, horses, cows, many, many options, not helpful.

  Two legs…

  Again, plenty of animals walked on two legs, birds, all of them, humans, dwarves, elves even the beast-men walked on two legs often.

  But three legs…

  No, there wasn’t anything that I knew of that walked on three, in fact the only thing I could think of was the sentry golems that I had seen in the store. No insects or bugs that had wandered in and nothing I had seen thus far walked on three legs.

  Tripedalism didn’t seem very efficient a design, so I had to approach it less literally, then that third leg could be anything that helped the creature get around.

  What other clues were there?

  Barely gazing on stars, the sun it does scorn, an ale a death and a song.

  Dwarves were the first thought I had, but it didn’t quite fit, that was until I had a breakthrough. Crawling as a baby, walking as an adult, and assisted walking using a stick or support for three legs.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  One of the adventurers, Jackson I thought his name was – the big one - had used his big axe as a brace to walk around with, especially on the ice floors. Morning, noon and night representing the lifecycle then it would make sense.

  Tricky sphinx.

  “A dwarf, who is born a baby underground, never seeing the morning rays and crawling on four legs, who grows up beneath the mountains without the sun and lives on two legs and then whose aging bodies use assistance to walk as their life grows thin. A dwarf” I answered her. Her neutral expression growing happy at my answer.

  “Well done, master, an easy riddle solved adeptly. Perhaps you do hold some hope after all. We shall see… what do you require?” she replied.

  “Thank you, lady sphinx,” I said cautiously. She could evidently see my presence floating around her as she tracked me with her head, and though I didn’t feel threatened, I was certain she could cause all manner of chaos in my dungeon if I upset her.

  Especially, when I was unable to act directly because of the adventurers’ interference with my mana. Oh yes, she could cause trouble, I had best be polite, she could be good company I supposed, she was certainly intelligent enough.

  “I am building a dungeon, the likes of which I am sure will have never graced this world before. Sweeping caverns and floors of impossibly intricate design that will bring adventurers from across the world to challenge me, and, I hope, many, many deaths to quench our appetites. I want you, a beautiful sphinx to challenge them to a test of wit, so that only the worthy – and not some of the brutish morons we can expect to turn up – will get to enjoy all we have to offer.” I saw her form a slightly pleased expression, time to up the flattery.

  “A test I’m sure that plenty will fail, time and time again, for there is nought as sharp of wit as you, and when those bumbling buffoons fail, then you can have the pleasure of sharpening your claws in them, gutting them… feasting upon them…” I told her, the vision I had for this place, living grandly in my eyes.

  Her high-pitched laughter broke my visions like a pane of glass, and I came back to reality. To my smaller dungeon, I may have made progress, but I was sure I had a long way to go.

  “A nice vision master, but can you pull it off? Can you do that which you say? After all, if wishes were fishes, we’d all eat for a thousand years. Master, will I be hungry?” the sphinx replied, seemingly questioning me.

  “Lady Sphinx, you shall be happy and fed on the bodies of the adventurers too weak to fight you and too stupid to solve your riddles, of that you have my guarantee. I have had my first delvers already and the guild is sure to be arriving at our doorstep soon. Come, let me show you the dungeon, I would have you see the worlds I have created, to prove what I say is true and that we shall be desired strongly from all around.” I replied, nervously, yet trying desperately to keep it out of my voice.

  The sphinx dipped her head in acquiescence, and I guided her up through the dungeon. It wasn’t hard for her to navigate it, flying making the process a lot easier. Nor did anything wish to challenge her. I was glad, though I could control everything in the dungeon, it took an active will and I was sure I would need it for dealing with her. Something told me this was only the first step in her tests for me. I was sure she wasn’t done yet. ‘Master’ only in name I thought to myself.

  I showed her the gently waving grasses of the forests and woodlands that were my early levels, of the insects and bugs, of the voles and mice and of the wolves and cats and eagles. I showed her the trees that were as tall as the tallest of trees that the surface dwellers had seen and the bountiful treasure that was but waiting to be found.

  I showed her the harsh winter that loomed over the ice levels, the yetis wrapped in their warm coats, disguised as one of the many snow drifts, the ice phantasms, and the orcas. I showed her the ice run and the mirrors and the synth cat that had driven the adventurers from my core.

  And then I showed her the fire and heat, the dry desert and grand temple, the gorge, and the would-be volcano for my boss level.

  And when I finished showing her all that I had done I asked her to be a part of my world, a part of the dungeon.

  “What do you think lady sphinx?”

  “It is… ok… a good start but not the masterpiece that you said would draw people from faraway lands. Not even a guild at your doors yet. No, you have a lot of work to do… master.”

  “You’re right, I do have lots to be done, truly there’s so much to do and so little mana and time in which to do it. But what say you lady sphinx, will you join me?” I asked, hoping she would agree, I wasn’t sure what would happen if she didn’t.

  “Very well master, I shall join you… for now, we will see if you have what it takes eh…” she replied, slowly thinking over her words.

  “I’m glad lady sphinx, but I can’t keep calling you that… if you are joining me, I must think of a name for you…”

  She growled, turning to glare at me…

  “You think you have the right to name me?” she spat out.

  “Of course not, my lady, just to suggest a name to you” I replied cursing my stupidity.

  “You’re all right dungeon, if you can solve my riddle, I shall let you suggest a name for me to consider, remember I am a cat, a queen amongst the lowly creatures, the name you suggest must be fitting, or else I shall be most upset.”

  “Of course,” I replied nervously.

  “Two bodies have I,

  yet joined into one.

  The more still I stand,

  the faster I’m gone.

  What am I?”