A Chaotic but Perfect World: In the Epping Forest

Riddles

With the same method, Dan and Emily exploded the wall on the east.
They happily returned to the wall after the rock hail stopped.
Selena laughed.
-We'll lose plenty kilos if we keep running around like this.
Oliver chuckled.
-That's a great exercise idea. Let danger come after you and, even if you're too lazy, you run.
Lisa entered the rock surrounded...room, I guess.
Again, there was a long marble stand and a white statue of an ugly old woman with wild hair, huge nose and thick, furrowed eyebrows.
Suddenly a pink laser like light flashed from the other statue's forehead to the forehead of this statue.
-Who the bloody hell is this old hag?
Camilla almost heaved up.
-Does anyone else think that all these statues are Hemsworth's relatives?
Tom asked.
-No, I think this is the statue of "what Hemsworth would look like if he was a woman". Let me tell you how. Ugly.
Marina joined Camilla's "trying to not throw up" game.
Lisa looked at the next riddle.
-"Silent and dark, where shadows trail,
By my son's side, where nuptial bonds prevail.
Gaze upon his left, a presence backed by kin,
Intertwined in secrets, it's her on whom eyes will begin."
She turned back.
-I think Tom's right. This statue is probably the mother of that other statue.
Oliver squinted.
-It seems that way. If that's true, then the next has to be on the left of that statue.
-But wait.
Serly interrupted.
-The left side might also be metaphorically. Since during marriage ceremonies the bride stands on the left side, the riddle's answer might be the daughter in law of this...old hag. If so, then the next wall can be any other place.
Tom sighed.
-That's true. According to the traditions, the bride stands on the left side. But that doesn't mean it's only metaphorically.
Marina nodded.
-Yeah, what if the statue of the daughter in law is on the left of that statue. Both metaphorically and literally.
-There's no other clue that suggests the answer might be something else. And the relationship between the mother in law and daughter in law is probably bad, because the riddle starts with dark and silent, where shadows trail. And there was a mention of secrets too. What, they married in secret or something?
Emily added.
Selena turned to Theresa.
-I think we should try the left of that statue.
After thinking, she hesitantly nodded.
-Fine. We'll try.
The team once again runs back and hides.
With a click, the wall between the riddles and puzzle solvers once again breaks, unleashing another marble long stand and white statue, but this time, the statue was of a young woman with a tidy bun, thin eyebrows, small nose and small lips. A beauty, unlike the recent statue.
A red laser like light flashed from the forehead of the old woman and the young woman.
Camilla went towards the beauty, and read the riddle.
-"Where the realm's dynasty prevails with might,
There stands a soul embraced by royal light.
By the king's mother, esteemed and known,
She takes her place, beside her, grown.
Radiating nobility as the kingdom's kin,
Tell me, dear soul, the one who stands at her right, kin."
Boris caressed his chin.
-If looking at it from the lense of tradition, the one who stood on the right side of the king's mother is the relatives of the family, in this case, if the one saying this is the "king's wife" and in the riddle it's saying "By the King's mother ", and according to the second statue, the third statue is the wife of the first, then the answer of this riddle is either the prince, or the princess, and if we look carefully, it said "she takes her place", therefore, the answer is the princess, the daughter of the first and third statues, and we must open the wall on the right of the second statue.
Selena chuckled.
-That was fast. Well done.
Oliver turned the statue's face to the right of the second.
-Then off we go to open the next wall.
For the third time, they escaped, destroyed the wall, and returned.
In a stone surrounded room, again, stood a long marble stand and a white statue of a woman with a large hooked nose, big eyes and thin eyebrows.
From the forehead of the last statue, a lavender light flashed to the forehead of this one.
Eve decided to read the riddle.
-"In the depths of a mother's undisguised woes,
A kinship tainted, an ungratefulness grows.
Beside her own mother, gnarled and untamed,
A serpent slithers, leaving hearts pained."
Jonathan sighed.
-A serpent...well, if we look at it symbolically, serpents are symbols of ungratefulness, betrayal, cunningness, and even of Satan.
-And in the riddle it said "beside her own mother", so it's on the left of the third statue. Because Satan is said to sit on the left throne. Besides, it couldn't have been on the right, the right is the first statue.
Mary added.
Tom nodded and turned the statue's face to the left of the third.
-Dan, Emily, get ready. That was meant for you too.
Selena said.
Again, after the rock stampede, they all return.
A murky green light flashed from the forehead of the mother and the ungrateful one.
He had gelled back tidy shoulder length hair, hooked nose, thick eyebrows, and a long chin.
Boris went closer to the statue.
-Slowly, the appearances are modernizing.
He searched for the riddle, and read it.
-"Listen, child, you've forsaken your destined role,
Opposite of a successor, departing the fold.
In defiance of tradition, against our sacred thread,
Your lacking green awaits, rebelling instead.
I am angered, seeking to keep our customs stayed,
Yearning for your legacy, green with prestige displayed.
Reject this rebellion, embrace what's meant to be,
Traditions' favor, green's vitality demanded by me."
He immediately furrowed his brows and reread the riddle.
-It makes little sense.
He turned to the rest.
-No, actually...
Serly started.
-Earlier, we understood that this man is evil, and the light's color aligns with that fact. The colors of the lights are symbolic. Pink meant motherhood, red hatred, lavender tender love, green ungratefulness and betrayal, so in this riddle, green represents these things. The tradition is probably being a serpent. Symbolically, of course. Opposite of successor... since according to tradition, the successor stood on the right side of the leader, the opposite side would be left, therefore, we should turn the head to his left.
Dan turned to Emily.
-Two walls in a single moment. But won't the statue break?
Sam shrugged.
-The other statues are fine and yet close to the explosions. Weird, but somehow they're fine.
Emily nodded.
-Then do it! Go! Go! Go!
Selena clapped.
The first drone exploded the wall of the evil man, while at the same time, the second destroyed the next wall.
The evil-hunters returned.
Another dirty green light flashed from the foreheads.
The statue looked a lot like Hemsworth, but judging by the old-fashioned clothes, it wasn't Hemsworth.
Theresa went and read the riddle.
-"In realms of realms, but not confined,
Forever beckoning, yet undefined.
Never traveled, forever untrod,
Present in thought, though silent and broad.
Elusive vista, paths yet unknown,
In tales unpenned and seeds unsown.
Turbulent whispers, echo from afar,
Unveiling fate beneath each star.
Untouched canvas, blank and primed,
Awaits the craft, the forthcoming timed.
Seek the key concealed beneath mystery,
Enlighten the cipher unseen, intrinsic yet blurry."
Marina's mind wandered as she pranced, her thoughts buzzing with curiosity and observation.
-Almost like it's talking about another universe or planet. But that's not "present in thought". At least not in the vast majority of people.
Selena agreed.
-True. Another thing that hints that it's not about anything like that is that line that said something about fate.
Oliver nodded.
-Then what's something that's not explored yet and has something to do with fate?
-The future, perhaps. No one has ever traveled there and you have to do something in the present to shape it, as said in the riddle, something about a blank canvas. And there's fate too.
Serly suggested.
Emily chuckled and shook her head.
-The first lines refer to something that exists in many realms, yet is undefined. This reminds me of the infinite potential futures contained within the Quantum Foam. The future has not been traveled or trod, yet it is present in our thoughts.
The elusive vista could refer to possibilities beyond the event horizon, where information is obscured but not destroyed. The turbulent whispers echoing from afar sparks images of quantum entanglement transmitting signals faster than light between distant stars.
The untouched canvas is highly evocative of the creative process and free will guiding existence along infinite probability wavefunctions within the greater Multiverse.
So, here's my theory. The riddle refers to Nonexistence - the infinite realm of unmanifest potential containing all futures, ideas and universes yet to be. It is the primordial Quantum Foam from which all spacetimes bud into being. The key is conscious observation, always blurry until the waveform reduces upon perception.
The group looked at her amazed, except Serly, who deadpanned.
-Emily, these riddles have to lead us to a certain direction and I do not think that Nonexistence can show a direction, but the future, on the other hand, can mean that the next is the wall in front of this statue. Besides, if Nonexistence is the answer, then the riddle is wrong, because a certain line in the riddle, which speaks of fate, has absolutely nothing to do with ideas or universes yet to be, and these are a part of Nonexistence. Therefore, I argue that the answer is the future, just a part of Nonexistence, but not Nonexistence itself.
Emily engaged in pensive murmuration.
-Makes sense. But what if the answer is destiny, and not the future. There are a lot of possibilities, you know.
Serly huffed.
-Will someone reread the riddle?
And Theresa did so.
-"In realms of realms, but not confined,
Forever beckoning, yet undefined.
Never traveled, forever untrod,
Present in thought, though silent and broad."
She stopped, because Serly said so.
-This whole part suggests that whatever the answer is, is undefined and yet forever beckoning, but destiny is stable. It can't be formed after your actions, that's the future, destiny is set in a rock, forever unchanging and whatever you do, you have no escape from it. But the riddle says not confined, forever beckoning, yet undefined, never travelled and forever untrod, is on your mind but yet silent and broad. And the future also shows a direction, which is the purpose of these riddles!
Emily mumbled something to herself, then finally agreed.
-Makes sense. Alright. Future is the answer.
Serly repressed anger, not so perfectly, and nodded.
-Then we're going to explode this wall and the one in front of this one.
Theresa stated.
Dan and Emily destroyed the walls and reunited with the rest.
A gray light flashed from the forehead to the other's.
She had wild untamed hair, bushy eyebrows, a big hooked nose, unnoticeable lips and small eyes, in short, she looked like the traditional hideous witches, the only thing missing was the mole.
Marina and Camilla burst out laughing the moment they saw the statue.
Dan went closer to the statue.
-Are you all sure this is a human? It kind of looks like an uglier version of a proboscis monkey.
His comment made the girls laugh harder.
-Hurry up, we already wasted a lot of time on the last riddle.
Serly commanded.
Selena nodded.
-She's right.
Dan looked for the riddle and read it after finding it.
-"Clock's realm, where moments swerve in play,
3:00 holds a secret endurance in a silent day.
Roofs uphold their place through sun's embrace,
Structured steps ascend, purposeful grace.
Signals align, celestial whispers reveal,
Intermingling geometry, profound and surreal.
Essence captured within guiding form's domain,
Binding elements harmoniously remain."
He quickly turned around.
-Huh?
Mary-Clara observed.
-Binding elements harmoniously remain. That means we have to find a common ground in these elements. Clock, roof, steps, signals and geometry. What do they have in common?
Sam spoke.
-They're all practical and everyday useful objects. How's that supposed to lead us somewhere?
Serly furrowed her eyebrows and arrogantly argued.
-They have to be symbolic, not literally. Also, don't forget about 3:00 o'clock. It said it means something secret.
He rolled his eyes in annoyance.
-If not literally, then they all have structure. I don't know what "Signals align, celestial whispers reveal" means, but the rest have structure.
Theresa raised her opinion.
-I believe signals meant that the hints are harmonious and can reveal the answer. It's metaphorical.
Lisa thought loudly.
Serly nodded.
-And geometry is probably the base, while 3:00 o'clock has something to do with it.
Selena chimed in.
-If geometry is the base, then all these objects, which also have structure, have something in common that is either shape, angle, degree, and whatever there is in geometry. The biggest hint is 3:00 o'clock. I believe that has nothing to do with shape. So it's the degree. But, since 3°...yeah, so it has something else missing.
Oliver cleared his throat.
-Allow me to illuminate this riddle. In the riddle, it said 3:00 o'clock, Selena, not just 3, therefore, I will argue, that we have to look at the clock's arms when hitting 3:00 o'clock and find out the angle, not 3°. As in for the rest, stairs, uhh...what else was there? Yeah! roof, and... geometry. First, geometry being the base is a possibility, which is highly likely. We have to find out what angle the objects all have and look which direction that degree leads to, on the compass. Whoever has architectural knowledge, I welcome you on stage, because this is your take.
He looked at Serly, smirking.
She couldn't hide her smile well.
-If I'm not mistaken, stairs have 45° angles. Traditional roofs also have 45° angles.
He smirked at Selena, happy he found proof that he's right.
-When 3:00 o'clock, the minute hand is straight on 12, making a 45° angle.
Boris added.
-And 45° angles indicates northwest.
Emily added.
-Which solves the riddle.
Sam chuckled.
Selena sighed.
-Oliver...well done. Now destroy the wall on the northwest and let's move on.
And Dan and Emily did so.