The next few days passed in no time at all. Vulcan and Kallen reread the letter over and over, but still weren't able to solve the riddle. Lillia and StellaLuna spent most of their in the village, either shopping or trying to gather intel about Gabriel After-Frost and the upcoming archery contest. But for the most part, everyone took it easy, relieved to have a few days to themselves.
"Well everyone, we have one more day before the contest." Lillia sighed as she dropped her shopping bags on the ground. "I bought us dinner for tonight, and breakfast for tomorrow. Kallen, how is the riddle going?"
"Not great." Kallen frowned as he stared at the letter in his hands. "I'm surprised its taking this long to solve it. If you ignore the part about my mother tying herself to a firework, what we're looking for is literally just something that can soar really fast, but can't fly at all on its own."
"Do you think the reference to Roselei's stunt was some sort of hint?" Vulcan wondered aloud. "What if its just literally a firework? They fly pretty fast, but they need to be launched by someone. Or in other words, they can't fly on their own."
"I don't know, I think that's a bit of a stretch." Lillia sat down beside Kallen and Vulcan. "Phoenix was never any good at riddles and puzzles. Leaving the answer to the riddle in plain sight is something he would never think to do."
"What if he had help writing the riddle?" StellaLuna suggested.
"You mean it might've been someone else's idea?" Kallen asked.
"Well, I suppose that is a possibility... " Lillia pondered the idea for a moment. "But I don't really think anyone helped him."
"What makes you say that?" Celty joined in on the conversation.
"Simple. Phoenix always just had to do everything on his own. He hated having help from people, even if it was his friends who were trying to help him. There was only one person who he would accept help from... but that person... well, they weren't the brightest."
"Ah, I get it." Kalln made a small nod. "Man, not being able to solve this riddle makes me feel so stupid."
"Yeah, I'm feeling pretty dumb too." Vulcan sighed.
"It seems like the answer should be so obvious, but my mind goes blank whenever I try to think of something." Celty frowned.
"Are you guys still trying to solve that riddle?" Gideon had just returned from the forest with Fenris. The two of them had gone fishing, which was going to be part of the night's dinner.
"It's a hard riddle, alright?" Kallen frowned.
"I'm not judging you, I'm just saying that it must be frustrating to have spent so much time on this." Gideon said as he sat down. "Fenris, go put the fish over there."
"Okay!" Fenris dropped the fish down next to Lillia's shopping bags before sitting down with the others. "You still don't have an answer?"
"No, but I suppose it's alright." Kallen sighed. "We'll figure it out eventually, right?"
"Well, yes," Lillia began, "but we don't have all the time in the world. Sooner is preferable. I don't want to pressure you, but we really should solve that thing as soon as possible."
"I agree." Gideon nodded. "Anyways, I think its about time for dinner. Shall I get a fire going?"
"Yes, and thank you." Lillia helped Gideon start a fire, before grabbing the shopping bags and the fish. "Stella, would you like to help me cut the vegetables?"
"Of course!"
"Vulcan, can you go gather more firewood?" Gideon asked as he started gathering what was left of their kindling.
YOU ARE READING
Disappearance of Roselei Hawthorne
FantasíaRoselei Hawthorne, the world's greatest witch, is supposedly dead. Refusing to believe what he is told about his mother, Kallen Hawthorne must seek out clues to try and solve the mystery of his mother's strange disappearance. Accompanied by his adop...
