The Ranch

Fairytale Maze (7)

The two groups look over the riddle together. In front of them, the path diverts into seven corridors, each has a sign above.

[Grimm likes coffee but not tea.]

[Grimm likes fall but not autumn.]

[Grimm likes seconds but not minutes.]

[Grimm likes tulips but not roses.]

[Grimm likes dark but not light.]

[Grimm likes one but not two.]

[Grimm likes false but not true.]

"Grimm should refer to the Grimm brothers." Kai starts with that clues and heads into his own direction.

"Should be another odd one out." Sherlock focuses more on the latter half of the riddle.

Kai and Sherlock start looking for a solution. The others can hear them mumbling about different algorithms and other complicated systems and patterns.

Seeing them so focused and serious, Theodore feels awkward. He's wondering if the answer he came up with is too simple. He leans over to Abel to confirm," Hey, isn't it just that?"

"Yeah. I don't know what they're mulling over." Abel shrugs at the two solemn guys that are definitely overthinking the riddle.

With renewed confidence, Theodore speaks up," Um..isn't it just T?"

""What?"" The two turn to look at the large figure.

"The first door says he doesn't like tea, but isn't it just the letter T? All the other words he doesn't like have T, except for one." Theodore points at the fourth door.

""...""

The others bypass the two and walk through the fourth door. Theodore pats them on the shoulders before following,"Don't overthink it, ya know?"

The last two individuals in the room look at each other.

"Simple-minded is best." Sherlock says, defeated.

"Let's go." Kai also feels resigned.

The groups spend the next couple hours completing a variety of riddles. Along the way, they discuss the maze as a whole, but the only one contributing to the conversation from Kai's group is Sherlock. The other three are relatively quiet, including the chatterbox Kai. Most of Victor's group are contributing, some more than others. They each talk about the types of riddles and puzzles they've gone through.

Both groups fairly harmonious on the way, excluding Kai who's saddled next to Tih the entire walk, but they're still not very familiar with each other.

Sherlock has been trying to relay a positive image of himself for the sake of leaving a good impression on Victor's group, but in Sherlock's eyes, they are still only potential members, nothing more and nothing less. To Sherlock, they still need to prove themselves for Sherlock to truly desire them as teammates.

So as of now, the only connection running between the two groups is Tih. The oblivious Tih that doesn't even think of the idea that they should get along or that he needs to be the bridge between them.

"The riddles don't seem to have a common theme, but the simulations have a common theme, fairytales." Sherlock concludes.

"You think there's a reason for that?" Victor feels like he's trying to go somewhere with that observation.

Sherlock shakes his head," I can't be sure, there not enough information."

"Maybe the guy's just a little eccentric?" Pierre is referring to the owner of the maze, the gamemaster.

"Maybe." Sherlock doesn't deny that as a possibility. Over the course of the maze, he's been made aware of the fact that overthinking can sometimes be a bad thing.

"There's another theme." Abel mumbles after listening to the space besides him.

"And what's that?" A good detective is alway open to others' ideas.

"Trust." He answers quietly.

Looking back on it, Sherlock realizes this is applicable all the puzzles they've been through. Theoretically, with the smaller riddles, a team needs to trust whoever came up with answer. What if two people came up with different answers? They might completely split up the team with different people going in different directions.

In the Alice in wonderland scenario, you needed to trust each other enough to want to risk yourself for your teammates. If a team has an unstable mutual trust, they might try to manipulate their way out of consuming anything or convince others to do it for them.

They're also unconsciously trusting the scenarios themselves. Recognizable stories with familiar characters causes one to fill in gaps and make assumptions on how to solve the puzzle.

The people that went before them gave the wicker basket to riding hood, because that's who had it in the story. They let down their guard, thinking the puzzle was as simple as that.

Though, Tih's solution was also fairly simplistic, but most people wouldn't come to that solution as an answer, because in the story, the wolf is the bad guy.

In the scenario, the 'villain' was just a pitiful, hungry animal, but our image of the story allowed for this misconception that the wolf was evil.

As they continue discussing this topic of trust, they're lead to their next puzzle.

This room is especially larger than the past two. The scenario contains a small forest. In the middle lies a house made of gingerbread and other sweets.

There's another plaque that reads: [The witch is hungry. Make her a satisfying meal before she returns home.)

They walk inside the house that only contains one room, a kitchen. There's a marbled-jawbreaker counter with many drawers. Looking on top of the counter, there's a chopping board with a partially chopped carrot, an uncut potato, and a sharp knife.

The walls hold many cabinets, some with locks and puzzles. In one corner sits a human sized birdcage made of real metal. There's two children, one girl and one boy, contained inside.

Behind the counter, there a fireplace with a large opening. A large black caldron hangs atop the crackling fire. There's some bubbling water boiling inside. The fireplace brick must be made out of some kind of non-melting sweet.