Mystara Riddles
by Sheldon MorrisSome of you here may remember a thread I had started several years ago on the WotC boards called "Mystara Riddles". In that thread I presented a riddle, often as if it was spoken by the object of mystery itself. In the end you are asked, "Who/What am I?" The person, place, or thing will always come from an official product such as a gazetteer, module, accessory, etc.
Well, that thread is no longer around so I have decided to resurrect it.
Of delicate visage,
and daffodil light,
though eyes can behold me,
there's lies in your sight.
Of flesh and blood,
No matter the form,
Same as my companion,
He of the one horn.
Skin of amber,
Hair of gold,
I lie in your path,
I lie in a hold.
A ring of green,
A ring of gray,
beyond to the world,
I know not the way.
Eight walls round about,
Silence eight windy sighs,
Overhead spans our roof,
Like seven crystal skies.
The outside lives in,
So here do I rest,
By my only companion,
Along with my chest.
You should find me benign,
But don't rally my ire,
A cloud will envelop,
Not an issue of fire.
So come past doom,
come past shadow,
I'll bid you along,
Come little goat's woe.
Who am I?
Answer: The gold dragon from module X2: Castle Amber, also known as Veronique Gaudin, from Mark of Amber
Breakdown:
Of delicate visage, [appears as a young woman]
Of flesh and blood,
Skin of amber, [she's an "amber-skinned woman"]
A ring of green, [the forest surrounding her]
Eight walls round about,
The outside lives in, [the forest being indoors]
You should find me benign, [alignment: lawful]
So come past doom, [two encounters before her is "#13 The Forest of Doom"]
and daffodil light, [she's "wearing a dress the color of yellow daffodils"]
though eyes can behold me,
there's lies in your sight. [she's really a gold dragon]
No matter the form, [a living creature whether in dragon or human form]
Same as my companion,
He of the one horn. [her unicorn friend]
Hair of gold, ["with long golden hair"]
I lie in your path, ["sleeping in the middle of the path"]
I lie in a hold. [she "does not know how to get past the Gray Mist. She will not leave the indoor forest"]
A ring of gray, [the gray mist surrounding the castle]
beyond to the world,
I know not the way. [again, she "does not know how to get past the Gray Mist"]
Silence eight windy sighs, ["a huge octagon-shaped building... turned into an indoor forest."]
Overhead spans our roof,
Like seven crystal skies. ["with seven domes... made of thick panes of clear glass that let sunlight filter into the garden forest]
So here do I rest, [she's sleeping]
By my only companion, [the unicorn]
Along with my chest. [umm... she has a chest full of platinum pieces]
But don't rally my ire,
A cloud will envelop,
Not an issue of fire. ["Note that since she is in a flammable forest, the gold dragon will breathe chlorine gas, not fire."]
come past shadow, [one encounter before her is "#14 Shadow Paranoia"]
I'll bid you along, [her encounter]
Come little goat's woe. the encounter after her is "#16 The Billygoat's Wow"]
A seed by the water,
Spouted up among nets,
Taken by a lone priest,
Shown books, made literate.
Twenty-eight circles,
I've seen them go by,
A priest of Halav,
No others as high.
Overhead it appeared,
Golden helm with a face,
Immortals must favour,
This rise with such haste.
Who am I?
Answer: Dagos of Xarda, High Priest of Halav
I know of one,
Who can never eat meat,
I know of another,
Who cannot take a seat.
Never to enter,
A place of indoors,
Or walking forever,
Never up on a horse.
One out of seven,
A word not be said,
Set a portion aside,
The spirits be fed.
Who am I?
Answer: I am a Hakomon!
I find myself,
Being set aside,
Only those of high rank,
Do I presently abide.
My own have forgotten,
My message, my words,
Instead I'm replaced
by others they've heard.
Yet there was a time,
I'd be heard and sung,
When all had known me,
Both in ear and tongue.
In Keep and Deep Land,
And earlier still,
There I was found,
The air I did fill.
I may be Immortal,
Of a lifeless kind,
For that which I have,
Is found in the mind.
My visage recorded,
Both precious and rare,
To those who do keep it,
Times of old are laid bare.
What am I?
Answer: I am the old Halfling language of Lalor
Breakdown:
I find myself,
My own have forgotten,
Yet there was a time,
In Keep and Deep Land,
I may be Immortal,
Now my visage recorded,
Being set aside,
Only those of high rank,
Do I presently abide.
[The hin have adopted the tongues of surrounding humans, retaining only a very few Lalor words. Only Keepers, Masters, and some clanmasters have enough knowledge of this old language to be able to converse in it.]
My message, my words,
Instead I'm replaced
by others they've heard.
[A language, and thus its words, have the purpose of conveying messages. The hin had mostly forgotten their own language in favour of languages used by others, mainly those of the humans.]
I'd be heard and sung,
When all had known me,
Both in ear and tongue.
[Referencing that in the past the general population heard (the spoken) and often sung language, again noting the nature of language being voiced and heard.]
And earlier still,
There I was found,
The air I did fill.
[The 'Keep' references Faerdinel Keep which was built when the halflings first made landfall in the region. The 'Deep Land' was their name for the territory that was once the Gentle Folk's land, after they had disappeared. Lalor was used even before these events.]
Of some lifeless kind,
For that which I have,
Is found in the mind.
[Lalor is immortal in the sense that it has no life to lose. It 'lives' only as a knowledge in people's minds; the written words are dead as long as no is able to understand their message.]
Both precious and rare,
To those who do keep it,
Times of old are laid bare.
[Its visage is of course the written language of which examples are scarce. Those that exist are carefully guarded by Keepers and generally tell tales of the hin's history.]
Two families of wealth,
Their coin did create,
The flow of my body,
Two houses regulate.
My mother did labour,
for twenty-nine years,
At one hundred and one,
She still passes my tiers.
Eleven feet tall,
With strength beyond measure,
Men and possessions,
On my back I endure.
What am I?
Answer: I am the Athenos Canal