The man with silver hair passed a sign that read, "Warning: Dog Marriage". He did not dare think much of it. The cliff ended there, but the marked path continued a dozen metres away on the other cliff.
"Well," he said, then leaped into the air, crossing the chasm with no effort. He floated calmly onto the snow on the other side. Two white anthropomorphic dogs wearing black hooded robes and holding huge metal axes marched up to him in formation. They finished each other's sentences:
"What's that smell?"
"Where's that smell?"
"If you're a smell..."
"Identify yoursmellf!"
The man facepalmed. He now knew what had sparked off the human-monster war: bad puns. Mystery solved. He'd have to write a book about it. The dog executioners made a big show of sniffing the area all around the man before attacking him. Their metal axes bounced off his shoulders with a BING! and a BANG!
"More Royal Guards, hmm? I hope your necks don't stretch, too."
While they continued whaling on him with their axes, he pet them both at the same time.
"We... we are being pet!" they said together. They looked at each other, then at their axes which, at this point, were chipped and dented.
"We did not eliminate," the husband dog said.
"Yet we are being pet," the wife dog said.
"Furthermore, it is the intruder who pet us."
"Does that mean we are good or bad dogs?"
"Petting is an absolute good, therefore we are good dogs."
"I like being a good dog!"
The married dogs dropped their axes to better enjoy being pet. They made little noises while wagging their tails. The man stopped after a while, causing them to whine. Nonetheless, they continued wagged their tails.
"A new world has opened for us," the husband dog said.
"An intruder who pets dogs. Amazing!" the wife dog said.
They picked up their axes, held paws then walked away. The man shook his head then continued along the path.
888
The man with silver hair contemplated the switch puzzle before him. It wasn't so much a puzzle as it was a needlessly complex gate key. The gate in question was a wall of metal spikes. He could jump them, but the tall skeleton was behind them, watching him with eager anticipation... so the man walked over all the switches. The spikes receded. The tall skeleton applauded.
"DID YOU LIKE MY SPAGHETTI? IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?"
"I don't eat, so all of it is left for you."
"WOWIE, I'LL SAVE IT FOR LATER!"
The tall skeleton sprinted off to the next puzzle, which was a more complex switch pattern. The man calculated the correct path in an instant. The spikes receded.
"YOU GOT IT IN ONE GO! YOU'RE REALLY GOOD AT PUZZLES!"
The man smiled, tapping one finger against his helmet. "I'm the coolest."
"WE HAVE THAT IN COMMON! I AM ALSO A COOL DUDE!" he said with a thumbs-up, then scampered away, his red scarf flapping.
888
Up next was a tile puzzle. The tall skeleton launched into a long explanation about yellow, purple and green tiles. There were probably other colours, too, but the man didn't listen that long.
"Excuse me Papyrus, the tiles are gray and white."
"OH! I FORGOT TO TURN THE COMPUTER ON!" The tall skeleton fiddled with a rectangular metal box that had a grid of unmarked buttons. He gave up after a few seconds. "IT SEEMS THAT THE POWER IS OFF!"
"The forest fire must have cut a power line. Would you like me to fix it?"
"NO, NO, I TRUST ICE WOLF AND THOSE REBELLIOUS TEENAGERS TO DO THEIR JOBS. TRY THE NEXT PUZZLE INSTEAD!"
The tall skeleton ran off, his red scarf flapping.
888
The man with silver hair walked past the stretchy dog knight he'd pet earlier. There were a dozen snow-dogs with very long necks built around his sentry station. The dog knight was patting snow onto another one, ignoring the man. Relieved, the man saluted an anthropomorphic faun slouching near the sentry station.
"Hello, sir."
"You're the intruder who burned the forest, huh?"
They turned to look at the smoke rising in the distance below the cliffs.
"Sans burned it."
"Pfff, that lazy guy couldn't burn a hotdog. Don't fight in town, okay?"
"I'll try not to."
The next puzzle increased the complexity of the switches by surrounding them with slippery ice. The man was in no hurry so he glided over the ice in an X pattern, performing little pirouettes with his hands held in an arch over his head as he skated.
"Just watch me Toriel, my dancing will get me so much treasure!"
The walkway extended, so he skated through the thicket beyond, emerging on the other side with a snow-dog on his head. He shook it off like a lion shaking its mane in winter.