Halloween Vault 3D Entries

Day #14: MythandLegend || The Last Riddle

Given Prompt: The Escaped Monster

Chosen creature: Sphinx

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"You are killed and find yourself in front of 2 doors: one leads to heaven and one will lead you to hell for eternity. There is an identical troll at each door."

I chuckled nervously, looking at the Mythical creatures in front of me. Hermes... he had done it again! I knew he always worked hard to keep his pets alive, but just how does some creature break free every month?

Last time, it was Cerberus. The poor creature's heads were in continual disagreement and kept biting one another – it had to be forcefully put to sleep after Zeus dragged Hades out of the gloomy Underworld.

Hermes just went "Tee hee!" because, apparently, he believed it was a cute response that was welcomed in dire situations.

In short: it ended with Athena smacking him and he had passed out clean.

Today's creatures, the most well-behaved, were the Sphinxes – who needed new riddles every day to remain relaxed.

And they neither looked happy nor relaxed, unfortunately for me.

I should've had refused coming on a quest to this town, which was always flooded with Mythological creatures, just because I lived in previous town. I didn't know how to solve riddles!

I wished I could go "Tee hee!" too, but they looked serious.

"Death. Doors. Trolls." I nodded my head.

I was just a mere, thin Demigod – thanks to a certain chaotic God who kept releasing his pets to see everyone suffer. What would the three Sphinxes get out of me?

...I was done for.

"Instruction One," the first Sphinx said, "You can ask only one question and you can only direct it to only one of the trolls."

"One question. One Troll."

"Instruction Two," another said, caressing her wings, "One troll will always lie to you – regardless of your question – and the other will always tell you the truth."

I sobbed internally. Oh, that Hermes. What kind of riddles had he fed them?

"Lies. Truth," I halfheartedly replied. They had a peculiar habit of waiting for you to process the information before continuing.

The Sphinxes probably had these rules: Don't respond, die. Get the answer wrong, die. If you're alive, die.

Then came the dreaded last portion, delivered by the largest Sphinx who was undoubtedly looking down upon a mere Mortal like me: "And only the trolls themselves know which one lies and which one is honest. What is the only question that will ensure you passage to heaven?"

I gulped. "...I'll ask, 'Which door is the safest?'"

She smiled creepily, showing me her sharp teeth. "...Soon, when you see those doors after you die, ask any Troll, 'If I were to ask the other troll which is the door to Heaven, which one would he point to?' After the troll answers by pointing to one of the doors, you must simply take the other."

Behind, I saw Hermes – mortified – probably mouthing the answer, but... 

I was no longer there to decipher his lip movements.

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Total word count: 494 words.

Phew. I barely managed.

I struggled to keep it under 500 words, to be honest. And I know why.

Reading 'Trials of Apollo: The Tower of Nero' [Book 5] by Rick Riordan recently has filled my mind with fresh myths, legends, and heroes, so it's to be expected I had a lot to say, but I think the riddle was particularly long.

I had first thought of having just one Sphinx, but three is some kind of magical number in Greek Mythology, so we ended up with three Sphinxes!

It was really fun.

And for some reason, my mind didn't allow me to cut this sentence - In short: it ended with Athena smacking him and he had passed out clean.

That sentence has quite some charm in it. Athena cannot be bothered by things like pets and Hermes.

Not to mention, Zeus dragging Hades out of his den (the Underworld) or the part about Hermes saying "Tee hee!" had their own feel.