Chapter 6: The Four Puzzles
The foursome headed through the exit of the labyrinth and down a long, darkly lit hallway. When they emerged at the end, they were in a similarly lit room with a pedestal in its center. In front of the pedestal, on the floor was written, in Latin: PUZZLE ONE, SOLITAIRE.
"Puzzle one, solitaire." Macable read, scratching his head. "What does that mean?"
The Professor inspected the pedestal, only to find that on it was a circular grid of small, deep holes. In every one of those holes, save for the center hole, was a stone peg.
Sir Kay laughed. "Is that what I think it is?"
The Professor nodded. "Yup… it's a giant game of solitaire."
"…Solitaire?" Asked Macable.
"…Really? You've never heard of it?" Asked Sir Kay.
"Solitaire is a game where you jump the pegs over each other." Explained The Professor. "Every time one peg jumps another, the one being jumped is removed. You keep at it until you have one peg left…"
"The only problem is how hard it is to GET one peg left." Said Steven.
Sir Kay began moving pegs as he spoke. "It's not too difficult really." He said. "All you have to do is look a couple moves ahead, you know, see where this move will take you. Do it right, and…"
He removed the last peg, leaving only one.
"Done." He smirked.
"…Showoff." The Professor muttered.
Before Sir Kay could reply, a door slid noiselessly open, revealing another room beyond. In this room, there was another pedestal, and on this pedestal was a picture. In front of the pedestal, on the floor was engraved: PUZZLE TWO: SQUARE OFF
As the foursome approached, they could make out what the picture was. It was a picture of a blue box, floating among the stars. However, just as they made out what the picture was, it scrambled into small squares.
"Oh… This is one of those puzzles." Said The Professor. "There's one space open, and you have to unscramble the picture inside the frame… What do they call those?"
"No idea." Said Steven. "Looks like it's timed though."
He pointed to an hourglass, which had already begun to pour sand.
"Hmmm… Looks like we have a minute." Remarked The Professor.
"No problem!" Said Sir Kay, grinning. "This puzzle is pretty similar to the last, actually. You just have to look a few moves ahead, and…"
He stepped back, the puzzle finished.
A door quietly slid open.
"…This picture looks familiar, doesn't it Kay?" Said The Professor.
"Yeah, isn't that…"
"No time to…puzzle over it." Said The Professor. "Macable and Steven have already moved ahead."
The two Timelords headed into the next room. There, Macable and Steven were already looking at the odd contraption on the pedestal in the middle of the room. In front of the pedestal, like the others, engraved on the floor were the words: PUZZLE THREE: TWENTY QUESTIONS.
"You're kidding, right?" Said Sir Kay.
The contraption on the pedestal was a rectangular box, with the words, in Latin, YES, NO, SOMETIMES, ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MINERAL, and UNKNOWN engraved on it.
"Hmmm… I guess we just ask it something." Said The Professor.
"Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?" Said Steven.
The animal engraving lit up.
A set of roman numerals next to the contraption moved, changing from the number twenty to the number nineteen.
"Careful!" Said Macable. "We need to use our questions wisely."
Sir Kay folded his arms. "Leave it to me." He said. "I was always good with this game."
He stepped forward. "Alright, is it bigger than a breadbox?"
YES
"Is it edible?"
No
"Is it a tool?"
YES…
And so on and so forth… until… sixteen questions later…
Sir Kay paused, thinking hard.
"Is it a… Sonic Screwdriver?"
YES
The door slid open.
"Amazing!" Said Macable.
"…I'm beginning to think that's your favorite word." Said The Professor.
"How did you even know what a Sonic Screwdriver was?" Asked Macable.
"Simple." Said Sir Kay. "I merely deduced it off of the questions I asked. A tool that isn't from this planet… emits sonic waves… I've… run into such a tool a few times…"
The foursome entered the final room. As soon as they entered, a large hourglass began pouring sand. They hurried to the pedestal. The engraving on the floor read: FINAL PUZZLE: THE CUBE OF XIBUR.
"The Cube of Xibur?" Said Sir Kay. "Never heard of it."
The Professor quickly inspected the cube-like object on the pedestal. He laughed. "Think about it." He said to Sir Kay. "What's Xibur spelled backwards?"
"…Rubix… Oh come on!"
"Exactly… What are you waiting for?" Said The Professor. "Aren't you gonna show off… I mean, solve this puzzle like the others? We've only got forty-five, forty-four, forty-three… oh you get it! We're running out of time!"
"Well, it's just…" Sir Kay spluttered. "…I've never been good with Rubix Cubes."
The Professor rolled his eyes.
Ten seconds later, the cube was placed on the pedestal, solved.
The final door slid open noiselessly. The foursome went through the door, headed for the final chamber. After a couple minutes of silent anticipation, they reached it… the book.
It was… enormous. The biggest book any of them had ever seen. It lay, shut tight, on a table made of stone. It looked old, the paper was yellowed, and yet… it had a certain air of… power about it.
Macable approached the book. "At last." He said, eyes transfixed on the book. "At last."
The Professor and Sir Kay stood back, watching Professor Macable quietly stroke the book.
"…Sir Kay…" Said The Professor. "Remember when I told you I would tell you who the traitor was in good time?
"…Yeah?... What, you mean now?"
"…Well, … It's good time."
