Tuesday, April 17, 2018

riddle - That's a story for another time


I'm a fan of nested puzzles, and especially puzzles that tell a story. I'm finding that I am quite good at them, so I'd like to post this one for the community. I wish you all the best of luck!





Once upon a time, inside a kingdom quite grand; a child was born, with fire in hand.



The name he was given, the King sealed away; keeping it from him, in a room full of rain.


His fire his will, his heart's desire; it must never go out, or he will expire.


The rain is a problem, as you will find; the poor boy needs help, from you and I.


The road we will travel, is rough indeed; from mountains that move, through fiery seas.


Ahead we will find, some tasks to complete; four of a kind, each quite unique.


The first is a triad, they have what we need; a room full of tridents, contains what we seek.


The battle will rage, for quite some time; but when we win, the first letter we'll find.


For now I must leave you, don't worry, don't cry; the rest, well...






Notes and Hints


The correct answer will have the first letter to the child's name, explains how they found it, and can explain how this story relates to it's title.


Hint #1: As the child grew older, he would often travel the roads near his home. One day, he encountered an old hermit who spoke of his wondrous travels. He had been nearly everywhere and had created a map of the world, though no one believed him. He told the child a tale of sorts in which he encountered a village of serpents that referred to themselves as the Taniwha. He stated that the Taniwha worshiped the King of Serpents who had been forced into servitude by the King of Men. They were unhappy with mankind due to this unholy fact, and enslaved the hermit for eighty days. They took the hermit to their King for trial and he permitted the hermit to live; under a single condition. Deliver a message to the boy with no name.



Where a line has been crossed, you'll find your name; the King of Serpents, should never be tamed. Search if you may, you'll have to fight; the King of Man takes all, especially in fright.



The child thanked the hermit for his message and continued back home for supper. He couldn't help but wonder, if no one else believed the hermit, why should he?


The Entire Story




I will update this section each time a new part to the story has been posted so that you can access each part quickly.





Answer




Is the first letter T? I was lead to think this at first by the use of triad, tridents, time all used when talking about the first challenge and how to get the first letter. The hint of "where a line has been crossed" really enforced my suspicion that t may be the letter since that is how you write a letter t. Upon more thought a capital T has three points or ends linking to the prefix tri- and a lowercase t has similar shape to a trident, but I can see how I might be just grasping at straws there. As stated by antonellashiavoni, the title relates to the last line of the story, basically saying we will get the rest of the hints for the other letters another time.



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