The Mystery of the Missing Pint (A Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys FanFiction)

Chapter Six: Riddles

"Paper?!" Brenda's face reddened.

"What's it say?" asked Nancy, taking the folded paper from Ned. She unfolded the page and read aloud, "It says 'You have reached the end of your quest. Congratulations on working together to find the treasure. There is one more part to this hunt: Find the origin of the treasure if you seek its pleasure.' That's all it says."

"It's another riddle," Bess said, "But what's the answer?"

"Isn't it obvious? The origin of the treasure is where we found the chest- the fridge," Brenda said.

"But that seems too easy," George said, "Let me see it, Nancy." Nancy handed her friend the note.

"The treasure's origin," Ned thought allowed, "is where the treasure is from. I think Brenda is right. The treasure was from the fridge."

"I don't trust that," Deirdre said, "George said it's too easy, and it does seem too easy. If the treasure had been on the fridge, why wouldn't it be in the chest?"

"It makes sense that it would be the fridge, but it does seem too obvious of an answer," Bess said.

"But what else could it be?" asked Ned.

"What do you think the answer is, Nancy?" George asked.

Nancy had her thinking face on. She concentrated on the wooden, living room floor. She began to pace between the front door and the coffee table, mumbling. "The origin...the origin...the origin..." she repeated over and over. "Find the origin of the treasure if you seek its pleasure," she put the pieces into words, hoping that something would click, "We started in the kitchen, and we finished in the kitchen. The treasure chest was on top of the fridge the whole time...or was it?" She looked up, smiling. Her friends looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Brenda asked.

"Where did we start our game?" Nancy asked, hands behind her back. She stood confidently, feet apart and chin up, in front of her semi-circle of friends.

"In the kitchen, like you said," George said.

"No," Nancy held up a finger, "Look at the first part of the note. Bess read it again for us."

George handed Bess the note and Bess read, "From the beginning it says 'You have reached the end of your quest. Congratulations on working together to find the treasure. There is-"

"Stop," Nancy said.

"What about it?" Ned asked, "Are you saying that's part of the riddle too?"

"No," Nancy said, "but doesn't the second sentence...remind you of anything?" All the friends shook their heads. "We started our quest in the basement!" Nancy burst, "The note says 'Congratulations on working together' It's talking about when we compromised to find a game that we would all like to play. We 'reached the end of our quest' when we worked together to make up the game and find the chest. Now to find the treasure we have to work 'together to find the treasure'."

"So the treasure is in the basement?" asked Deirdre.

"No," Nancy smiled again, "We didn't start in the kitchen; we started in the basement. We didn't end in the kitchen; we will end where the origin of the treasure is."

"I don't understand," Bess said.

"The origin is where something is from," Nancy explained, "Where did the treasure start?"

"The top of the fridge," Ned answered.

"Wait," Brenda said, "Now you're talking in riddles, Nancy."

"Nancy asked us where we started our game," George thought allowed, "We answered the kitchen, but really the answer was in the basement. Now she's asking where the treasure started. We would answer by saying the kitchen again, but the answer is in the basement."

"George, what are you saying?" asked Deirdre, "How did the treasure start in the basement?"

"That doesn't even make sense," Ned added, "Treasure doesn't start."

Nancy smiled at George and nodded her head. George went on, "We made the treasure up when we made the game up...in the basement. So the treasure's origin is...in the basement?" She turned to Nancy.

"Close, very close," Nancy answered, "You're almost there. Keep thinking, George. Remember the rest of the note, the end of it."

Deirdre took the note from Bess and read, "'There is one more part to this hunt: Find the origin of the treasure if you seek its pleasure.' That's the last line."

"Okay we covered the first two lines earlier, now this line..." George thought.

"Don't forget the part about seeking 'its pleasure'," Nancy prodded.

"We are seeking its pleasure, aren't we?" asked Brenda.

"But, it means that there is pleasure to seek," Ned put together what Nancy and George had been saying, "So it's not just the treasure that we made up when we were making up the game. And it's not just the treasure of working together either. It's something."

"So where did the treasure come from?" asked Nancy.

"Let's retrace our steps," suggested Bess, "What happened first?"

"Brenda and I wanted to play inside," Deirdre said, "so we said that we would play an active game if we could play it inside."

"We all said something that we like to do," Ned added.

"And then we made up parts for everyone to play," Brenda said.

"And Deirdre couldn't think of a part for Nancy, so George said we should make it a treasure hunt so that there was a puzzle to solve, which is what Nancy said that she liked to do," Bess remembered.

"Deirdre pointed out that we couldn't let one of us hide the treasure, so then-" Nancy trailed off.

"Your mother!" George yelled, a wide and triumphant grin spreading from ear to ear, "Nancy's mother is the origin of the treasure. She must have it!"