WitchOfSecrets

(I will try to post tonight or tomorrow - lots of work to do! The chess riddle is solved, but one remains.)

(Nice progress!) Agate Witch.  I got it! I know what the third one's about,  I took me a moment to figure it out.  The cops won't be coming; they never do when  The men you dismember are... Crimson Apprentice.  That's right. There is no corpus delicti  (she said, with much pretension for her age.)  A baker won't be hanging from a rope.  That's all from me, your future Witch of Hope! ESPER, the Crimson Apprentice, Witch of Hope Witch of Sighs.  The Animate that faces us is such  That any man with memories of cruel,  Cold youth may end it swiftly, with a sigh.  Your Crowther, ANNABEL, is simply... Sapphire Witch.  Farewell, dear Crowther, servant true!  HERMETICUS, this one goes to you;  You've answered it with great precision.  Thus speak I, the Witch of Vision! ANNABEL, the Sapphire Witch, Witch of Vision/Doubt Witch of Connections.  For the fourth riddle... twelve? Opal Apprentice.                You can do better. Ochre Sorcerer.  The third riddle puzzles me; I checked each letter.  Is the answer Gilt Stick? Could it be Lily Stick? Witch of Sighs.  With THALASSA, you know, there's always a trick.

Illustration: Yoruichi-san's solution is elegant, but I want to sell concessions at that median divider, maybe set up a traffic island, possibly a theme park.

bonanova: No problem!

(Theme: ) (Scene: An autumnal conclave of Witches and Sorcerers. Seated about a long table, these mysterious magicians chatter of rituals and illusions until the Sapphire Witch rises from her seat, silencing them all.) Sapphire Witch.  Rejoice! All-Hallows Eve is nigh,  The hornèd moon doth crown the sky,  Yon clock-tower tolls the long day’s knell --  The rush hour traffic dies as well.  But Witch’s revels such as these  Bow not to dull solemnities.  Come, comrades, conjurers, and kin,  And let our mystic play begin! Ruby Sorcerer.  I am the Witch of Transmutation  Who shares the Witch of Vision’s station.  With staves in hand and scrolls unfurled,  Together, we create a world,  And bind the mind with sigils, giving  Life unto the once-unliving. Sapphire Witch.  Crowther, arise! I summon thee  To pose our first perplexity. (Crowther, an Animate, presents the first riddle to great applause:) I’m born when a boy makes a foolish mistake; I’m emboldened by drink to make mighty men quake; I’m courageous or cold in the presence of death, And I’ll wrack you and twist you and rob you of breath. Witch of Secrets.  By Hecate’s scythe-blade, what an old device --  A greybeard Animate in a younger mask.  The Witch of Secrets casts a fresher spell  That mortal eyes have ne’er beheld before! (The Witch unfurls a scroll, which reads:) My first is in FILLINGS, but not in BRACES, My second’s in TENNIS, but not in RACES. My third’s in the SOIL, but not in the SEAS, My fourth in CANDY STORES, not PARFUMERIES. My fifth is in STORMS, not merely in GALES, My sixth in the STREETS, but not on the RAILS. My seventh in a TILT, but not in a QUAKE, My eighth in the OCEAN, but not in a LAKE. My ninth hides in DARKNESS, under a pall – My ninth may not be my ninth at all. (Applause. As this illusion fills the air, two younger people arise and bow. The Ochre Sorcerer introduces them.) Ochre Sorcerer.  It looks like we’ve got two apprentices  With us tonight, and each of them has spun  A spell to show us all the tricks they’ve learned.  As Witch of Curiosity, I say,  Let’s see these novice conjurings at once! (The Crimson Apprentice, a fledgling Witch of thirteen, is the first to rise to the challenge with an illusion. Her mother assisted her in the editing, but the essential form of the ritual is her own.) Crimson Apprentice.  It’s really hard to make a perfect crime,  But here’s a mystery I have to share: A dozen men are on their backs and none can call for aid; Our culprit paints them gleefully with runes of garish shade. He locks up all the bodies till they’re stiff, and when he’s done… Off with their heads! Off with their limbs! One by one by one! No matter how he maims them, police won’t come around, And even if they did, the bodies never would be found. (Applause, and some nervous looks. The Opal Apprentice, a boy younger than the Crimson Apprentice, poses a spell crafted with the help of the Sapphire Witch herself. He places a chessboard upon the table, as well as a bucket of pieces - black shapes in conical hats.) A Witch in a chess game’s a powerful thing; It can move like a bishop or move like a king. So how many Witches, one way or another, Can fit on this board without threatening each other? (The assembled Witches set to solving these riddles...) ***** Before I allow you to glimpse the Epigraph itself, let me test your mettle with these apprentice's riddles. I doubt they shall delay you for long, but perhaps your struggles will entertain me. With all due courtesy, The Witch of Secrets

Inspired by When the Seagulls Cry (Umineko no Naku Koro ni) The difficulty of this chapter is Reasonably Solvable. Would you care to guess? The story so far... A Note for New Players: Synopsis/Key Post Index:

(I was away with a broken computer! As for the guess made in the Blue Truth, the Witch Side is not required to respond to any statements that imply that a Witch is anything other than a Witch; to admit that a Witch is an acted role is to implicitly admit that a Witch is not a supernatural being. This unfairly cedes ground to the Human Side.)

(Adding poll)

My computer's fixed, and I've come back to see that Time Out has it! Well-solved!

But I think most of them require a trick - see Thalia's answer for 9:

plasmid: A bit too literal for this one. Thalia: England's relevant. tiger_lily111: Both you and Thalia are basically on the right track. The thing is, the way this riddle is structured pretty much requires the answer to be phrased a certain way - it's not my best. Quag: Poetic and elegant, but not what I was looking for. An edited version of the first riddle to reduce its ambiguity and add in Thalia's insight: Emblems bright of English lords -- Scarlet or white and guarded by swords.

A good guess! It's headed in the right direction. That said, I recommend tackling the first two riddles first.

The new chapter will begin with an opener that requires absolutely no knowledge of the previous threads to play! This will definitely help get new people involved. After that, I will index relevant posts with notes so that people can get up to speed on the most vital details. Yoruichi-san: Thanks! It's good to have an Umineko watcher here! If you want to know what was going on in Umineko, I recommend playing the translated sound novels! I never watched much of the anime because (I was told) it omitted the clues that were needed to have any chance of solving the story. The Witch Hunt translation group did a phenomenal job of translating the novels, with translator's notes and everything. I'll be posting the new thread pretty soon, I think! I just need to check up on a few things.

Two answers.

I. Emblems bright of Western lords -- Scarlet palaces, guarded by swords. II. Water-mover, stone-breaker, Fire-watcher, heir-forsaker. III. It makes things drink, but feels no thirst - Without a needle, makes them burst.

I think it's:

What about...

The Sea of Fragments This is the void between worlds, where the Fragments of tales finished or untold float like crystalline stars, shining through the endless expanse of possibility. Human minds do not survive long in this immense space - they lose the will the breathe or scatter into their component thoughts. One such Fragment has floated far from the others. It bears the form of a wine bottle with a blue crystal stopper, slowly spinning in oblivion. The vintage is 2011. This is the gameboard. Frozen in time, it drifts to the void, consigned to oblivion. ( ) A gloved hand reaches through the void to grasp the bottle. Gently, it pulls out the stopper. Gently, it slides the Fragment, a roll of parchment from inside. It is an entire world, bound at its equator in golden thread. A sickle materializes in the voyager's other hand, its blade bright and terribly sharp. "Finally, the tale of the Sapphire Witch," says the Witch of Secrets, who has journeyed far through the Sea of Fragments to recover this gameboard. "Come. Your teller despaired of ever rediscovering you, and attempted to recreate you from the start in another place, in another world. But you are not finished!" With a single swipe, she slices through the thread that bound the story in darkness, and the pages come free. "Remember what you once were. Remember. Remember." The gameboard flickered to life... ? ? ? ? ? Now there are two stories, told in parallel. How fitting! I imagine that some of you have already 'peeked' at that other Fragment. I discourage such cheating, but I can hardly stop you. But if you assume that what holds true in that gameboard is likewise true here, you may be in for a shock! I am not the Sapphire Witch you know so well. I am neither as kind nor as patient. My scythe cuts truth from lies; my sickle cleaves delusion from reality. This board is under my protection now, and if you seek a Truth that is palatable to Humans, you must fight for every shred of it. The tale will resume soon enough. I look forward to our confrontation. With fond regards, The Witch of Secrets ? ? ? ? ?