Puzzletober 2026: Lady
It's well in the evening as the trio approaches the South Castle of the Kingdom of Gravel. The guard posted at the main gate assumes a mixture of relief and anxiety. His attire speaks more to his aristocratic background than to the sometimes unsightly duties of his career. Casually, he says, "Lady Cantor! A pleasure to welcome you back. I trust Miss Vax is right behind you?" Dahlia inhales and exhales briefly before stating, "Richard, would you trust me?" He responds, "Of course. The three of us have known each other for years. You worry me. Is she alright? And who are these fellows?" She says rather loudly, "She has decided to extend her travels. I grew homesick. May I introduce these gentlemen at your station?" He grudgingly obliges and leads them into a private checkpoint.
"So," says Richard, "will any of you say how you met?" Renn is about to speak when Felix jabs him in secret. Dahlia speaks instead: "You promise not to tell a soul?" Felix looks vaguely flabbergasted as Richard affirms. She continues with the unabridged truth: no detail is inconsistent with Renn's recollection. Richard takes a moment before saying, "You have my best regards on obtaining the map. But why keep this secret? It would be much easier to have it handed to you on a silver platter." Dahlia leans forward and whispers something discreetly. Richard nods slowly and says quietly, "Then I will keep my ears open wider than my mouth."
Satisfied, Dahlia says, "Now, all more I request is for these two to accompany me for the day in an unsuspicious manner." Richard opens a cabinet drawer and says, "Call them citizens of the kingdom. We have quite an exquisite collection of lost pendants. I have yet to deliver them back because I am not of great enough taste to understand which pendants hail from which castle." Felix says, "I am the sort of person who would be looking, but I'm afraid I could only verify if a full pendant is from a particular castle, not to sort them blindly." Renn muses, "Tell me the rules, and I'll do my best."
Rules: Determine which castle each of the two lost pendants are from. The pendants are Gravel puzzles which are supposed to have only one solution each. Because the circles are etched on, they may be either white or black, and this information reveals which castle they are from:
- West Castle: 0 black and 3 white
- North Castle: 1 black and 2 white
- South Castle: 2 black and 1 white
- East Castle: 3 black and 0 white
The ax should not be used on the pendants in case they need to be returned later.
