[center][h3]Team Frenzy Plant - Indigo, Zander, Hyun, Demetri, Xyster[/h3][/center] The soldiers of Frenzy Plant had not expected the qualifying round of the Grand Magic Games to be a ladder of riddles, but when the time came they approached the structure without hesitation. Mere strength alone and the ability to kill did not define a true warrior; those were the lots of the simple thug, and the mindless barbarian. It took cunning, strategy, and a sharp mind to take command of a battlefield and ensure both the survival of friends and the accomplishment of objectives, which this team had, if not individually, at least collectively. The five piled into the first floor chamber, quiet and ready, and listened as a voice seemed to well up from the walls and in a lyrical, composed tone, relay the first puzzle. [b][center]My first is simply a vegetable, delicious, round and green. My third and fourth are sound asleep, as plainly can be seen. My fifth is fifty, clear enough for any riddle-setter. Two of my second stacked on their sides will give my final letter. Now that my second has my parts, fit them together well. You see me now before your eyes; it's plain for all to tell.[/center][/b] A few seconds passed before anyone said anything. [color=3FFF00]"Lettuce is green and round,"[/color] mused Xyster, [color=3FFF00]"but hardly delicious."[/color] The resident cook and food-expert chimed in with his own two cents. [color=E32636]"It is a pea. And here I thought I would not be useful, heh."[/color] Demetri grinned, and his smoldering hands burned with a satisfactory crackle. One step closer to finding the answer, all thanks to his little hobby. Indigo, with her extensive knowledge of written material, chimed in next. [color=007FFF]"Third and fourth are Z. The only word with both a p and two z's in it in our language is 'puzzle.'"[/color] As a testament to her quick thinking, the doot slid open, and the team advanced to the next level, confident in the ability of their blue-eyes bookworm to carry them through, whatever happened. [center][b]A cloud was my mother, the wind is my father, my son is the cool stream, and my daughter is the fruit of the land. A rainbow is my bed, the earth my final resting place. What am I? [/b][/center] Three voices, those of Hyun, Zander, and Indigo, responded at once. [b]"Rain"[/b] Hyun in particular scoffed at the second riddle as the crew began moving again, hardly given any time at all to rest on this floor. [color=8E4585]"Hardly a challenge."[/color] [center][b]Thirty men and only two women, but they hold the most power. Dressed in black and white, they could fight for hours. Who are they?[/b][/center] Zander stroked his chin pensively. [color=E0115F]"Not quite so easy. My first instinct would be some sort of ceremony, perhaps religious. That numbering, though...with such a set amount, it's got to be some sort of sport, or other game."[/color] Emerald-green eyes, twinkling with mischief, stared at Zander from Xyster's disembodied head a moment later. Beneath them, a toothy grin cut from nearly ear to ear. [color=3FFF00]"Uh huh...though only two people ever play it at the same time. It's a chess set."[/color] Zander, who'd been on the brink of saying so himself, instead thanked her, and led the way to the next floor. [center][b]I am a box that holds keys without locks, yet they can unlock your soul. What am I? [/b][/center] This time, most of the group was stumped. Thoughts of chests, wallets, drawers, and matchboxes floated through their minds, but it was ultimately through Indigo's that the right answer passed. Three frustrating minutes after the question had been posed, the Librarian offered, [color=007FFF]"A piano?"[/color] The door swung open amidst hearty congratulations, and the soldiers moved on, hoping that they'd just left the toughest question behind them. They could only hope that they were making good time compared to the other guilds. [center][b]I am sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but I am nobody’s fool. For there is no language that I can’t speak, though I never went to school. What am I?[/b][/center] For a while, though Demetri and Hyun were silent, the chamber was alive with voices. Xyster, every well acquainted with individual parts of the body, insisted that the answer was 'tongue', even calling it out several times. Zander was exceedingly torn between that reply, Indigo's 'communication lacrima' and his own 'echo'. In the end, mercifully, they chose the right one, and were able to label that particular riddle a close call. Far more time than they would have liked was spent on that one. [center][b]I am, in truth, a yellow fork From tables in the sky By inadvertent fingers dropped The awful cutlery. Of mansions never quite disclosed And never quite concealed The apparatus of the dark To ignorance revealed. What am I? [/b][/center] Almost instantly, the entire group could agree that the answer was 'lightning'. Though the middle lines were somewhat hazy, the riddle's beginning and end were dead giveaways to the Frenzy Plant soldiers. [center][b]Adored by few, feared and hated by many. Mistress of the entire universal reason, master in the art of numbers. Some may have solved many of your mysteries, but there are still many of them to find. What are they? [/b][/center] [color=007FFF]""It must be science."[/color] Indigo was adamant. [color=007FFF]""Mysteries are discoveries, and science is based on reasons and numbers. There can't be any alternative."[/color] She crossed her arms, waiting for a rebuke. Surprisingly, the reply came from cunning-deficient Demetri. [color=E32636]"But people do not fear or hate science. Maybe they hate all the equations and such, but surely not the...all of the principles, and things? I do not know."[/color] At that, the Librarian snapped her fingers. [color=007FFF]"Of course, equations! The thing I hated more than anything in my education, the thing so annoyingly present in everything from Social Studies to Science: arithmetic!"[/color] [center][b]The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it?[/b][/center] Though the room itself was not bright, the soldiers could see the answer plenty clearly. 'Darkness' was an easy guess, accepted without argument and employed to gain another level. Morale was high. [center][b]I can make you feel lighter, or cause your death. Some are afraid of me, but I'm also loved by many.[/b][/center] This one proved challenging. Even after four minutes, the only good answers the group could turn up were 'hunger', 'drugs', and 'flight', and neither of those budged the sealed door a smidgen. Quitting, however, was not even a remote option for the intrepid wizards, and all bent their minds to the task. After discovering that there was no penalty for getting multiple wrong answers, they fired away, though not without a good guess in mind. Mercifully, it did not take very long for Hyun to suggest 'water' and allow the group to ascend another level. [center][b]What is it that is deaf, dumb and blind and always tells the truth?[/b][/center] Again, the 'mass attack' method proved useful, though this tenth and final riddle took less time than the first. Up until 'a mirror' was guessed, the best answer given was 'a dictionary', but when the true answer had been thought up all could grudgingly admit that it made sense at face value. As the door swung open, they realized that despite their collective fretting, they'd made good time. They'd been cooperative and objective the whole time, with only interspersed arguments and zero outcries of frustration or bafflement. They'd worked just as they were supposed to--as a unit. Proud of their group accomplishment, the triumphant team passed through the final door and traversed its accompanying staircase to find itself basking in sunlight on the roof of the challenge tower. Xyster tossed her head up into the air, sounding a shrieking victory cry that echoed around the grand stadium.