Brad took a few steps back from the window and turned around. He crouched monkey style and put a fist under his chin to think. After a while of think and mumbling to himself, he turned back towards the window, then he turned to where the intercom was and gave his answer.
"Nothing."
"Are you sure you want that to be your answer?" asked the voice.
"Yes. Nothing is the answer to your riddle."
"…I see…Congratulations; you correctly answered the riddle Mr. Smith." A door opens in the room that Brad's mother is in. Brad can see his mother's head turn towards the ceiling as if someone was talking to her. Tears can be seen streaming down her face. After a few moments, she walks through the door and the door closes.
"Well now, we have a few options we can do now." said the voice. "As I have previously said, you get a little prize. One option is the option of pain. You are allowed to save someone that may or may not be involved in this game, but there is a cost for this prize. After your request, you will lose one of your fingers. Again, this person may or may not be involved. Another option is the option of freedom. You can save one of your fingers. I will release the hold that the ring has on your finger, but the person that just left the other room will have to die and you will have to watch their death. It is only appropriate to watch someone's demise that you caused. The next option is the option of knowledge. Questions can be asked about my game and me. Of course there is a limit to what you can ask. Let me see, I think I will limit you to three questions. I will generously make this free of cost. The last option is the option of food. You will be allowed to eat a meal that will calm you down and allow you to feel a little bit more comfortable. With this, it will also allow all of the people involved in your game to also enjoy a meal. This will come at the cost though. Every single ring on your finger will heat up, not enough to burn through, but enough to cause a slight but constant pain. Which option will you choose Mr. Smith?"
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"A riddle game." Shauny thought to himself. "Interesting. And what did he almost let slip… No, there is no time to worry about that right now. I need to figure this out, for my sister's sake as well as mine."
Shauny started to pace back and forth while mumbling the riddle to himself. "Hmm... touched by fire, I am bright........magnesium? No, that's too simple. It doesn't fit with the rest anyway. Come on, think, THINK!"
Shauny was beginning to feel panicked. He had constant thoughts that he needed to hurry and say his answer. He felt rushed and could not think clearly. After a few moments of pacing, he could not stand the tension any longer so he said the best answer he could come up with.
"Touched by fire......alive at night.....use me too much...........What about an old medieval torch?" Shauny crossed his fingers as he waited for the reply.
"Hummmm. In a sense, I suppose that could be the right answer. I am feeling generous at the moment. I think I will allow that answer." answered the voice. A door in the room opens and Shauny's sister is hesitant to go throw, but after a while of what looked like her listening to someone, she entered.
"The answer I was looking for was "candle," but in that time period you are talking about, a torch could be considered a candle. So I will have to say that you got the correct answer. There are few paths that can be taken now. The first path is the path of food. Every person involved in your game will receive a meal, but at the cost of raising the heat of all of your rings. It will not be enough to burn through, but just the right amount to cause constant pain. The second path is the path of knowledge. You can ask me a maximum of three questions about my game and me. This path will be free of charge. The third path is that of pain. You are allowed to save one person from this game. The person that you choose to save may or may not be involved. It does not matter if the person is playing or not, the cost for this path is that you have one of your fingers burned off. The fourth and last path is the path of freedom. You will be allowed to free one of your fingers from one of my rings. The cost for this path is the death of the person that just left. That and you have to watch the fate you have placed the person in. Which path will you walk Mr. Takei?"
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Arthur was left in silence to contemplate the riddle he was given. He walked over to the wall and leaned against it. He crossed his right leg over is left and started to shake his right leg.
"If I solve this riddle of yours, you'll let my brother go?" Arthur yelled at the intercom.
"Those are the rules." replied the voice from the intercom.
"Fine. Not like anything bad could come out of this."
He walked back to the window and put his hand on the window and started to think. "Hmmm. Insect, band....." Arthur then lowered his face and answered, "It's a Beetle. It's strangely simple for this kind of situation."
"A simple riddle for a simple man." shot back the voice.
"What are you trying…" but he stopped as a door opened up in the room his brother was in. His brother hesitated a moment, but after a few moment of what looked like listening, he entered.
"I believe that an individual picks his destiny, not the other way around. Here are the outcomes that you can pick. One outcome ends in a little freedom. I will detach one of your rings, but you will have to watch the man that just left the other room die. Take into mind that there will be consequences if you refuse to watch. A different outcome is one that ends in a meal. You and the people playing in your game will all be allowed to receive a meal, allowing everyone to calm down a bit and look at how they can survive this situation a little better. This outcome will activate every ring on your fingers to heat up. Not enough to burn through your fingers, but adequate enough to cause ongoing pain. The next outcome ends with a little bit more knowledge than you started with. Three questions may be asked about my game and me. I will allow the outcome to come without a price. The last possible outcome is one that ends in pain. You will be permitted to save someone, who may or may not be involved, from your game. This will come at the cost of one of your fingers though, so think carefully. Now, Mr. Douglas, which outcome would you like to pick?"
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Frank stared at his mother for a long, furious moment. Then he sighed and turning away to clear his head. He went over the question for a while. But then he saw the trick and he smiled to himself.
"No dirt at all. It's a hole."
Inside, Frank was praying that he got it right. It was going to take more than cockiness and sarcasm to get him out of this 'game'.
"It took you a little longer than I expected you to take, but I am pleased to tell you that you have correctly answered my riddle." A door opened in the room with Frank's mother. She looked up at a one of the room's corners and then nodded her head. She then proceed throw the door.
"Now…there a few positions you can take. Position one will allow for you know more about my game and me. Let us call this the position of knowledge. This position allows you to ask me three questions with nothing at stake. Position two will allow you to save someone's life, which may be playing, but then again, they may not. Unfortunately, this will need something else to be sacrificed. That something will have to be one of your fingers. We will call this the position of pain. Position three will allow you and everyone involved in your game to receive a meal. This one also has a sacrifice, but not as terrible as position two's. Every single one of your rings will heat up to a point where it will cause constant pain, but not so much to actually burn off your fingers. The name of this position will be food. Position four will allow you to save one of your fingers. I will release one of the rings that have a hold of one of your fingers. The price of this is watching the death, which you will cause, of the woman that just left the other room. So Mr. Flynn, which position will you set up in?"
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Cnix sits on the ground cross-legged to think. He begins to tap his fingers on the floor to create some noise so that it will drown out the nerve-racking silence. After a while of thinking throw the riddle, he finds out that that answer to the riddle is at the beginning of it.
"The third child's name is Billy."
"That is correct Mr. Blank. Here is the fruit of your labors." As soon as the door in the room opens, the woman dashes through. Funny think that there was no hesitation given the situation she was in.
"A few scenarios are possible at this moment. The scenario for food is first. Every player involved in your game, including yourself, will be given a meal to calm the nerves and fill the stomach. However, you must first pay the price of heating up your rings. The will not burn through your fingers, but cause a significant amount of constant pain. The scenario for knowledge will be second. I will allow you to ask me three questions about the game you are playing or about me, your choice. This scenario will not have a price on it. The scenario of freedom shall be third. This scenario will allow for one of your rings to be detached from a finger. This scenario's price is quite more expensive then scenario one's. You will have to watch the demise of the woman that just left the room beyond the window. The scenario of pain will be fourth. This scenario will save one person, who may or may not be involved, from your game. Although the price is not as high as scenario three's, it is still a heavy price. You will have to suffer the pain of having one of the rings burn through one of your fingers. Which scenario would you like to see played out Mr. Blank?"
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Javier continued to smile, but in truth, he was a little bit of a dilemma. He remembers someone telling him this riddle before, but he never really cared for the answer so he did not really listen to the answer. Normally he would have just let his friend die, but in this case, he would end up losing a finger. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what the person asked him the question. After a few moment of remembering, he chuckled.
"The answer to your riddle sh!t bag is really simple." Javier turned to face the intercom.
If you were the other spirit and I asked you where heaven is, where will you point me? Simple really. The truthful one will point to hell and the liar will also point to hell too cause he is lying about where his brother will point, which is heave, so he too will point to hell. You then go to the opposite door they point to." He then turned back towards the window to observe his friend.
"I deal with liars every day so I know how to work the truth out of them without them knowing."
"I am truly impressed Mr. Gonzaga. You have just answered what is considered the hardest riddle in the world. I really am going to enjoy playing with you. I cannot wait to see what you choose for your reward." A door in Javier's friend's room opens up. At first he was reluctant to go through, but he could be seen looking around the room. After a few moments, the man slowly enters the door.
"Now then, we have a few deals that we can make. We can make the deal of freedom, which I think you will enjoy, but that is just me. This deal releases one of the rings on one of your fingers. The only price you have to pay, which may not seem much to you, is the life of the man that just exited the other room. We can also make the deal of pain. I do not think I should present this one to you, but I follow the rules I set up. This deal saves the life of one person who may or may not be playing in your game, but your sacrifice will have to be one of your precious fingers. Like I said, I do not think you will pick this one. There is also the deal of knowledge. This deal will allow you to ask a maximum of three questions about my game and me, and I will charitably make this deal free of charge. The last deal we can make is the deal of food. Every person participating in your game will be given a meal to calm the nerves. The only price for this deal is increasing the temperature of all your rings, to a heat that will cause constant pain. Which deal would you like to make Mr. Gonzaga?"
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Greg tapped his chin lightly while thinking of the riddle.
"I know the answer to this simple riddle, is Ian worth it? He is always kind of annoying. Well, I have to answer the riddle correctly because I don't want to lose a finger. Even if the answer is illogical." Greg thought as he looked into the room that held Ian, one of his closest friends. He sighed and turned towards the intercom.
"Your riddle is simple and mindless. The woman is a minister."
"Please refrain from being a critic outside of work. It is quite annoying and unnecessary. Anyway, it seems that you have answered the riddle correctly." A door in the room with Greg's supposed friend in it opened. The man collected himself and calmly walked through the door.
"A few flavors can be tasted as a result of your answer. The flavors of food, freedom, knowledge, and pain are available, but only one can be tasted. The flavor of food gives the people playing your game, counting yourself, a delicious and calming meal. The only requirement that needs to be met is the increased temperature of your rings so that they cause a constant pain. The flavor of freedom removes one of your rings. The requirement need to receive this flavor is the death of the man that just exited the room you are currently gazing into. Of course you will have to watch the death of the man you chose to kill over a finger. The flavor of knowledge, which happens to be free of a requirement, allows you to ask me three questions about my game and me. The flavor of pain, which does not seem to suit your tastes, saves the life of one individual that may or may not be participating in your game. The requirement for this flavor is one of your tasteless fingers. Which flavor would you like to taste? The choice is yours Mr. Ruff."