The next day came, and the day after that, and the day after that. The four continued to make their way through the fields, refreshed and a little cleaner for their short stay at the Academy. For the most part the fields did not really change so there was no real indication of progress any more. As ever, they had to trust that Leukos knew where he was taking them. The first clue that they were nearing human habitation only came on their fourth day after leaving the Academy.

It came at night, by the light of the fire, at bedtime, but only after a lot of conversation. The four sat down as usual with the bits of kindling they had picked up during the day and built their small fire. After their evening meal, they were sat around it, talking.

“Leukos,” said Anthē, “do you have any ideas for how we can pass the time? It’s been four days now and there’s not been much to see in Sadeh…”

Leukos looked around for a moment, troubled, as if searching for an answer to her question. Then he said cautiously “I’m afraid I’m not too good at coming up with original ideas. We could try...riddles?”

“Oh, yes, let’s do that!”

“Riddles?” asked Zantheus. “What is a ‘riddle’?”

“It’s like a puzzle, only with words,” said Anthē.

“How do you mean?” Zantheus did not understand.

“Well, you need an example,” said Anthē.

“Ok, I’ll give you an example,” said Leukos. “Listen carefully, here’s a riddle:

 

Often strong, never weak;

Often whisper, never speak;

Often howl, never complain;

Often moan, never explain;

Often whistle, never sing;

Often bother, never cling.”

 

After a short pause, Anthē said “That’s easy.”

“What’s the answer then?” said Leukos.

“Wait. I want to see if Zantheus gets it.”

Zantheus’s brow furrowed. “I do not understand how it works.”

“You have to guess what the words are, what they mean.”

This did not help him.

“Could I hear them again?” asked Zantheus, embarrassed to be joining in with this childish game.

Leukos recited the riddle again.

They all looked at Zantheus. Nothing.

“Oh come on Zantheus, don’t be dim!” said Anthē. “Think about it. What whispers, but never speaks? What gets called strong, but never weak?”

“I...I do not know,” confessed Zantheus, almost timidly.

“Come on! How about the last line? ‘Often bother, never cling.’ That’s a complete give-away! You must be able to get it from that.”

Zantheus could only stare blankly at her.

“It’s wind!” Anthē said at last. “Wind, Zantheus!”

“Yes, well done Anthē,” said Leukos before she could continue her tirade against the knight. “Perhaps you have a better riddle for us?”

“Of course I do,” said Anthē with confidence. “I have several.”

“Well then, would you care to share one of them with us?”

“Ok. I’ll start with another easy one. It’s quite similar to yours actually.

 

What has a mouth, yet cannot speak,

And has a bed, yet cannot sleep?”

 

“You’re right,” said Leukos. “It is very similar. They both use the same trick.”

“Do you know the answer then?” Anthē asked him.

“Yes.”

“Don’t say, let’s see if Zantheus gets this one.”

Once more all eyes fell on the knight. He was not enjoying this game of riddles, so far it had made him look very stupid. He searched for an answer, but none seemed to come.

Anthē seemed to be enjoying his discomfort. “It’s really not that hard Zantheus. Think about it. What has a mouth, but does not speak?”

“I do not know...” said Zantheus. He thought some more. A moment of inspiration came to him. “Tromo?”

Tromo shook his head, as if even he knew the answer.

Anthē laughed at him. “Does Tromo have a bed but never sleep?”

“I suppose not... So that is the wrong answer?”

“Yes it’s the wrong answer!” said Anthē.

“Though not a bad guess,” said Leukos. “Indeed Tromo does not seem to be getting much sleep lately. Maybe we can make up a riddle about him later. But this one really should be easy for you to get.”

They watched him. Nothing happened.

“It’s a river, Zantheus!” Anthē said eventually, her impatience getting the better of her again. “A river has a mouth, yet cannot speak; a river had a bed, yet cannot sleep.” “That was not fair…” said Zantheus as comprehension dawned on him. “You did not give me enough time…”

“Shall we try another one?” said Leukos.

“Alright,” said Anthē. “This one’s slightly harder, so you’ll have no chance of getting it,” she said teasingly to Zantheus. “Listen carefully:

 

He runs and never once looks back,
His past is bright his future black;
He lingers over hills and seas,
His passing veils the standing trees.

She’s known him since the world was made,
Her dance with him will never fade;
She treads the skies her whole life long,
Her journey trails behind a song.”

 

“I like that one,” said Leukos.

“You know the answer to this one too?”

“Yes.”

“You know the answer to all of these riddles!”

“Yes.”

Zantheus was determined to crack the riddle. He concentrated as hard as he could. This time Anthē allowed him a longer silence, but eventually she said “It’s not like the other two. It’s a bit more straightforward. Shall I tell you the answer?”

“No, do not tell me,” said Zantheus. He thought some more. After a little while, he gave up and complained, “This is still unfair.”

“Why?” asked Anthē.

“This riddle involves a ‘she’. I do not know any other women, so I am not in a suitable position to come up with the answer.”

“That’s irrelevant,” said Leukos. “It’s figurative. Metaphorical. Like the statue in the Academy was meant to be. ‘He’ and ‘she’ are not actual people.”

“Ah, so they are not actual people, that makes it a lot easier…” said Zantheus.

Anthē put her hand over her face in a gesture of disbelief.

A little more thought, and Zantheus was close. “Well, it’s something to do with opposites then. Opposites. The sun and the moon?”

“Very close!” said Leukos.

“What is it then?”

“Dusk and dawn,” said Anthē.

“That was basically my answer!” said Zantheus.

“Well, you were close...” admitted Anthē.

“Maybe I am getting better at it,” said Zantheus. He was warming to the riddle game. “Try another one on me.”

“Tell you what,” said Anthē, “I’ll tell you one I made up myself. I’m quite proud of it actually.”

She paused to allow her grandiose statement to take effect, but Zantheus only said “Continue, then.”

“Fine, I will. Leukos won’t know this one.”

“Don’t be so sure,” said Leukos.

 

“You don’t notice I’ve come until I’m gone,

I can seem short when really I’m long;

My creeping calm and stillness brings

Shows of strange and hidden things.”

 

Zantheus’s brow furrowed once more. He thought long and hard. Anthē smiled, thinking that he would not be able to guess it. She did not even look at Leukos, she was enjoying watching Zantheus struggle too much.

But in time, he got it.

“Sleep!” he burst out after a while. “Sleep is the answer! You do not notice sleep has come until it has gone, when you wake up. And it can often seem short even when you have been asleep for a long time. And the ‘shows of strange and hidden things’, that must be about dreams!”

“Yes, well done Zantheus,” said Anthē, with some disappointment.

“Try another one!” said the knight, gloating.

“Um...” said Anthē “I can’t think of any more at the moment… Hang on… I can only think of a very short one.”

“The length does not matter, I will guess it all the same,” Zantheus declared.

“Ok. Here it is. Listen close.

 

“Once you know my secret, see;

You’ll think of me quite differently.”

 

Zantheus’s smile dropped. “What, is that all?”

“Yes.” Anthē’s smile had returned.

“That is all of it? There is no more information?”

“That’s all. No more information.”

Zantheus sat back. He thought about it. No ready answer presented itself. But unlike the other riddles, there were not even little clues to mull over in his mind, as he had done for the others. All he had was the riddle and then...nothing.

“It is too difficult!” he said. “I need more information to guess.”

“No you don’t,” said Anthē.

“It’s quite easy really,” said Leukos.

“Oh, Leukos!” said Anthē. “You know all the riddles, it’s so annoying!”

“You’ll see it in an entirely different light once you get it, Zantheus.”

“Shh!” said Anthē. “Don’t give him any clues!”

“In what way is that a clue?” asked Zantheus.

“My lips are sealed.”

Zantheus thought and thought. Tromo yawned.

“I give up,” he said at last.

“A riddle, Zantheus!” said Anthē. “It’s a riddle!”

“Yes, I know it is a riddle Anthē, I was trying to guess the answer.”

“No, you don’t understand!” she said. “The answer to the riddle is: ‘A riddle!’” She beamed at him.

Zantheus thought about it. And suddenly he thought of it and saw it in quite a different way, just as the riddle said.

“That was unfair,” he said.

“Nothing’s unfair in riddles,” said Anthē. “You’re not meant to be able to get it easily. That’s the whole point of that riddle, anyway!”

“I have another one,” said Leukos, unexpectedly.

“Let’s hear it,” said Anthē.

“I just made it up, so it’s not very good. But have a try:

I will follow you everywhere

With my searching curious stare,

I will stalk your every move

My loyal faithfulness to prove,

I’ll see you through until the end

And on this fact you can depend,

But nothing will you hear me say,

Ever silent will I stay...”

 

“Hm, that is tough,” said Anthē.

“I am sure I will be able to guess it...” said Zantheus.

They looked at each other. Instantly a riddle-solving contest began. They each racked their brains, going over every word in their heads. But no answer came.

After a little while, Tromo became agitated. He started to fidget, and went up to Anthē where she sat and started to tug at her arm.

“Not now, Tromo, I’m thinking!” she said irritably, her eyes staring at the ground as her thoughts whirred. She looked at Leukos. She looked at his writing. She forgot the riddle for a moment and thought about how odd he was. Why was he always writing? And why did he not tell them what he was writing? Was he ever going to let anyone read what he was writing? Read... Hang on...

“I know!” she said. “A reader! It’s a reader, someone reading about characters in a book!”

“I suppose it could be...” Leukos mused. “But no, that is not the answer I am looking for.”

“Oh,” said Anthē. She had been so sure. “Stop it, Tromo!”

Tromo was still tugging at her arm. Finally he got her attention. He started gesturing at himself with one hand, pointing at his chest over and over.

“What is it?” Anthē asked him.

“Tromo!” said Zantheus.

Tromo turned around, but this time with a smile.

“Yes, very good, Zantheus,” said Leukos. “It’s Tromo. Tromo’s the answer to the riddle.”

“Ha!” laughed Zantheus. “I won!”

Anthē cursed under her breath.

“One more, to settle the score?” said Leukos.

“Yes, another,” said Zantheus, back to being smug.

“Go on then…” said Anthē.

“This is one of my favourties,” said Leukos.

 

“I spy the future from the past,

Present from first until the last,

May range all realms of time and space

And tread all leagues of day and place,

See into every secret thought,

Catch each one quick as it is wrought,

Bring persons close to ruin or joy

For all to see: This is my ploy.”

 

The contest resumed. But once again the two competitors failed to see the answer immediately. This time the silence was the longest that it had yet been.

Anthē was the first to hazard a guess. “I’m not sure, Leukos,” she started hesitantly, “doesn’t it have to be some sort of...all-powerful person?”

“Not necessarily…” said Leukos. He had a very big, cheeky grin on his face which they had never seen before.

More silence. Anthē spoke again. “But, I mean, who can do all of that stuff? You’d have to be very powerful to know the future, or travel anywhere you wanted and all of that.”

“Do you give up?”

“Yes,” said Zantheus and Anthē at the same time.

“It’s quite simple really,” said Leukos. “The answer is: A storyteller.”

Zantheus and Anthē thought about this for a moment.

“I see,” said Anthē. “I suppose a storyteller can see the future from the past, and go to any time or place, and see into people’s thoughts… Good one, Leukos. Give us another one.”

“Sorry,” said Leukos abruptly, “I’m out of riddles for the moment. I’m going off to sleep.” He said this, but what he might as well have said “I’m going off to write, and try as you might to stay awake and see me fall asleep, you will never manage it.”