The citizens of Avon are a strange sort indeed.
Their ways are very tricky, so my words you should heed.
On the dark side of Avon live the citizens of Tragedy,
their grief causes them to lie without remorse.
The light side is the home to those of Comedy,
these people, only words of truth, can endorse.
Be wary traveler, as they carry no mark.
There is no way to visibly tell the light from the dark.
You may choose one partner to help see you through,
together you will brave Avon and maybe find Shakespeare too.
Be sure to choose the best and someone you trust if you do,
for if he is deemed unworthy, then so judged are you.
Citizens of Tragedy will always lie. Citizens of Comedy will always tell the truth. Also, after the game has progressed, there will be a third type of citizen. Citizens of Shakespeare's Stage will always alternate between telling lies and telling truth, but they can start off doing either.
The point of the game is to identify every citizen you meet as belonging to either Tragedy or Comedy, as well as deciding which way you want to go. If you can't identify ALL the citizens for the round, and choose the correct direction to go, you'll be "Lost in Avon". If you and your partner disagree, that's really bad. As long as either one of you is disqualified, both of you are, so if you decide to choose a partner, make sure it's not only someone you trust, but someone you can get along with.
There will be certain checkpoints where you will be allowed to stop, and still get a reward. Consider it "Bronze Medal" "Silver Medal". However, if you get lost in Avon, your reward will be the lost in Avon icon. You only get these check points if you decide to stop. A few points about this: deciding to stop can happen at any time, so if you feel like a riddle is too hard, or you can't seem to solve it, you can say you'd like the checkpoint reward instead of answering. Also, if your partner decides to accept a checkpoint reward, you can continue without them with no penalty.
Send me your answers in a PM. In order to be accepted as correct, it needs to BOTH identify all the citizens in the riddle by their towns, AND specify the direction you'd like to look for Shakespeare in. There are wrong answers for the second part, but there might be times when there can be more than one right answer.
Before we start, send me PMs telling me you'd like to participate, and also let me know if you're in a pair or not. You don't have to send two PMs if you're in a pair, only if one of you decides to leave. Once again, if your partner leaves Avon without getting lost, you can continue on your own.
If we already have 20 people, and you'd still like to join, you can ask a mod to sponsor you. If they like you, they'll agree to take your PMs and keep track of your answers.
Now that you're prepared and ready,
let's see if you can't pass the test.
Choose your partner and hope they're steady,
Let's find who's Shakespeare's Best!
Avon Adventurers:
1. Meikeru and Mrlucky77
2. Time and Lan
3. Herro
4. krazy13kitty and NorthofNirvana
5. Naked and Devoth
6. Ithiliel and Cynic
7. Subete
8. Royale
9. Drawinq and Pierce
10. loltastic659 and Snowknight
11. Symphon
12. Shadowfox31
13. Chihaya
14. Woohoohelloppl and Andy-Buddy
15. Minisoda and Gage
16. Wolfo
17. Waveord
18. Everwanderer
19. Hal9666
20. psyal
One more time, for clarity's sake, Tragic people will always lie, Comedic people will always tell the truth.
Round 1:
Upon being taken to Avon, you are approached by two men.
You ask from which towns they hail and get these replies.
The man on the left says: He is tragic.[RIGHT]The man on the right says: He is tragic.[/RIGHT]
The man on the left says: I am a truth teller.[RIGHT]The man on the right says: According to him, I am comedic.[/RIGHT]
You ask where to find Shakepeare.
The man on the left says Shakespeare is on the left path. The man on the right says he is on the right path.
Round 2: (This one is tricky, and it's also colorful. Be sure not to make any assumptions, work only with what you know.)
You follow the path, and eventually you come to an open field. There are two people at a sign in the middle of the field. They're wearing matching outfits of different colors. They're bickering among themselves over nothing and appear to be getting nowhere with each other. "Pardon me," you say. They turn around simultaneously saying, "Oh!" You get a look at the sign for a moment. It has four directions. Northerly, Westward, and Eastish. You came from the direction that is labeled "South-bound". You explain that you know they either lie or tell the truth, and that you're looking for Shakespeare, then ask for their help. These are their responses.
Blue Man: He is comedic.
Red Man: No, HE is comedic.
Blue Man: He would tell you that he is tragic!
Red Man: You've some nerve! Why don't you help this person then, if you're so much better! You there! Ask him for help, I'll not say another word to him!
Blue Man: You're looking for Shakespeare? Well, any way is good really, since no one knows where he is. Just as long as you don't go Northerly!
The Blue man goes to the Red man to apologize, but they just end up bickering again. They keep arguing while they head of in the direction off "Eastish"
Round 3:
You leave the field heading Northerly. The cool morning air is refreshing as you walk. Eventually you see two men in gentleman's attire walking in the opposite direction as you. You hear their banter as they approach.
First gentleman: Here here! Look at this fellow. Terribly out of place, don't you think?
Second gentleman: Quite. Seems to be a foreigner of some sort.
First gentleman: I say! You don't suppose he's here looking for Shakespeare do you?
Second gentleman: That bard who's gone missing, you mean? I suppose it's possible.
Your eyes perk up when they mention Shakespeare.
First gentleman: Well he's certainly heading the wrong way. He should have turned Eastish by now.
Second gentleman: Are you daft? He should continue on his current path if he knows what's good for him.
You try to talk to them, but they don't make any indication of stopping, even as they pass right by you, saying,
Second gentleman: Don't listen to a word this duck says. He's tragic, and he'll lie right to your face.
First gentleman: My dear lad, don't listen to a thing that comes from his mouth. He thinks I'm tragic? He's the one who's tragic! Some nerve of him, calling me tragic.
Fourth Round:
Following the First gentleman's advice, you turn Eastish and begin to make your way down a new path. It isn't long before you come to a swamp. The water is thick and green, and you're not sure you can cross it. Thankfully, you see a ferry not far off. You make your way to the small dock. There's a sign that reads:
Due to unforeseen complications, no ferries are being taken across the marsh.
You look down the dock and see a small boat with a pale man dressed in rough brown canvas. He's large and humpbacked, and he swings a lantern back and forth, mumbling to himself. You interrupt him from his pouting, "Pardon me, why aren't there any more ferries?"
"What?" he calls in a gruff voice, "Because that dang bird took my paddle! He stole my paddle and now I can't paddle! Imagine that."
"A bird?"
"He's sitting on his bush, and laughing about how he took MY paddle! I bet he's doing terrible things to it, like poopin' on it. That's all good for nothing birds are good for."
"Well...where is he?"
"CAN'T YOU READ?"
You look again, and see a second sign that you didn't notice before. This one reads:
Bird. ->
You head off in the direction mentioned on the sign. Soon enough, you find a small, relatively unused, path that leads into some old swamp trees. The path is very narrow, and not easy to navigate. After following it for some time, you emerge in a very small grove. There's a stone in the middle large enough to sit on, facing one large dead tree. Emerging about halfway from the bottom of the trunk is a winding dead branch that seemed like a grotesque arm. Sitting on the arm is a small owl, who seemed to be sleeping.
You sit down on the stone and clear your throat to get his attention. He awakes with a start, "Who? Who? Who?" He ruffles his feathers and looks around, "Oh. It's you. I suppose you're here about the paddle?"
"Why yes. I am. But...how did you--"
"The ferryman used to come here as a boy, and listen to me tell stories. When he became too large to fit, he came to resent me. I heard him blaming me for taking his paddle, and he's come here every day cursing me over it."
You look around, trying to find the paddle so you can continue, but the owl speaks up, "I don't have it, of course. I never took it in the first place. The paddle is still with him. It's in the boat even."
In order to pass this stage, you need to identify both the owl and the ferryman as tragic or comedic, and find out where the paddle is.
[SIZE="4"]Fifth Round:[/SIZE]
As you leave the ferry, you tell the ferryman that he should really go and apologize to his friend. He turns the ferry around right away saying, "I won't! I hate that bird. I don't care what he thinks of me, and I'm never going to apologize"
You continue on your path as, for the first time, the path becomes paved. It's shoddy cobblestone work and there's a lot of spots that aren't paved, but it's still a sign that you're getting close to civilization. You're so distracted by this that you don't even notice the two guards and the gate until you bump into the door. A green knight and a black knight guard a door. They each hold an enormous key that stands on the ground like a halberd. The door also has an over sized keyhole to match.
"Hello?" you ask, "May I pass?"
No response.
"Could one of you unlock this door?"
There's no response for several moments. You turn around and sit, contemplating your impasse. Suddenly, the the green knight lifts up his key and slams it on the ground, then announces, "It's good manners to knock when you want to open a door." His voice sounds hollow, as if it's echoing inside the suit of armor.
"Oh," you mutter. Then, standing up, you turn and knock on the door. Nothing. Then you pull and push the handles. It won't budge. "It really is locked," you think aloud.
Just then, the green knight slams his key on the ground, "My key unlocks the door!"
"Oh," you turn to him, "Would you please unloc--" The black knight slams his key, "MY key unlocks the door!"
"Well?" you ask, "Whose key is the right one?"
"MINE!" they both announce, pounding their keys against the ground.
"That just can't be!" you explain, "One of you has to be lying. Which is it?" For the first time, the two knights break their posture. They look at each other for a moment, then look forward again. The green knight pounds his key and exclaims, "He would tell you I'm comedic!" The black knight pounds his key and exclaims, "He would tell you I'm tragic!"
Then they both raise their keys with both hands and face you, asking, "Who's key would you like to use?"