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The light burned your eyes as you opened them.
Under your sandals the hot sand warmed your feet as you stood at the entrance of a pyramid. The air was hot, as the Sun rose on the horizon. You were amazed at the scenery.
The stone entrance of the pyramid opened the sound of stone scratching against the frame snapping you out of your thoughts. Determination drove your muscles as you entered into the darkness. The cool air welcomed you with its gentle hug, soothing your Sun warmed skin. Behind you, the door slid back into place.
Your way was suddenly lit up with torches. The further you went in, the more lit up in front of you, the ones you left behind snuffed out quickly, as if someone blew them out.
You didn’t need to walk long, before you reached another stone entrance. This one opened like a double-winged door. Behind them laid the beast you were expecting to meet.
The feared, benevolent Sphinx, Tenna, the great (what a narcissist). His large lion-like body, adorned with shiny jewellery, laid on what you assumed to be a giant cat bed, stuffed with pillows.
You slowly approached him.
Tenna watched you with a smug and amused smile, his screen radiated with interest. Next to him sat the prince of your kingdom, whom you were sent to rescue.
Prince Mike, dressed in a golden bowtie and some nice metal bangles. He looked up at you, his yellow and pink eyes shone bright, gave you a smile and a gentle wave with his mic hand, then resumed to playing with the ball of yarn in front of him. The poor thing... oh, the horrors he must’ve lived through...
“Ah!” Roared Tenna, as if he just noticed your presence. “An invader dares to approach me. What business do you have, mortal? Wish to steal my treasures? Slay me, perhaps? If you try, you’ll pay a grave price. Leave now, and I shall forget your foolishness.” He let out a menacing laughter at the end of his threat.
You cleared your throat before speaking.
“Sphinx!” You pointed at him, with your best attempt at looking angry. “You have abducted our beloved prince. I’ve come to rescue him. Let him go, or...” You pondered for a moment, choosing your words carefully. “... or I’ll... make you regret not doing so.” Nailed it.
The prince gave you an encouraging thumbs up. At least you assumed he did, you couldn’t really see his hands.
Tenna waved his paws, playfully mocking you. “Oh my! I wouldn’t want that, now would I?” He sat up, a snicker slipping through his fangs. “So, I have a proposal for you, invader!”
You straightened your back, trying to seem confident. “I’ll do whatever it takes to see his majesty home safely.”
Tenna’s mouth curled into an intimidating grin. His fangs flashed dangerously. A shiver ran down your spine.
“Bold words, but I like it!” He twirled the golden necklace that adorned his neck between his claws. “See, I have filled this pyramid with mind-breaking, soul-crushing puzzles. Many have tried solving them before you, but no one has succeeded. If you do, I’ll let your precious Prince free. Fail even one of them, and you shall meet a dire fate.” He rolled the last syllables of his tongue his with a growl, baring his teeth. You swallowed.
“Or...“ The sphinx continued. “You may offer me something of equal value to the prince.”
You blinked in surprise. “And what would that be for example?”
Tenna hummed. “Your freedom.” His tail slithered on the cat bed seductively. “You see, it’s a lonely existence in this huge pyramid. Company is always nice. And I understand that your home needs its prince. You, however, a mere commoner wouldn’t have that much of an impact if you were missing in the big machinery that is this kingdom.” You felt a bit offended at his reasoning, but you knew he would be right. “So, stay here, in the place of the prince, and I’ll have no reason to keep him.” He rolled onto his back, gazing at you with a playful smile. “Make your choice~”
You had a feeling that he only put this option on the table to tease you. This would be too easy and considering his nature, it might be a trap. Even if it wasn't, you would still miss your home. “I will not give up that easily! I’ll solve any riddle or puzzle you put my way.”
Tenna snorted. “Well then. You shall- wait, what did you say?” He laid back onto his belly quickly. His tone sounded genuinely surprised. You cocked an eyebrow.
“I’ll accept the challenge. I want to solve your puzzles.” You repeated. His antennas drooped, his mouth turned wobbly.
“You... do?” He sounded like he was about to sob. “That’s... great... I worked hard on these puzzles... I’m glad you want to see them...” He sobbed. His size also started to slowly decrease. In the end, he was only as big as a kitten. “Why would anyone want to stay with the evil, cruel villain anyway? Who only wants a bit of love?"
You were so confused. “Are you-?” You approached his small, curled up form. “Hey-“
In a sudden, he grew as big as an actual lion. You fell onto the pillows in shock. “WELL THEN!” He roared, looming over you. “Face my trials! And don’t forget, fail even one and-“
From the corner of your eye, you noticed a white beam appearing at the doors of the room. Not long after, a figure appeared.
“Good dayeth!” He greeted. You knew this man. He was a known troublemaker. “Had I heardeth it righteth? The owner of this estate is looking for... a consort, mayhaps?”
You heard the irritated growl in Tenna’s throat very clearly.
“Who let this guy in? Why is he here?!” He grumbled, his screen turning redder by the second. In fact, his whole body started to turn red. Rouxls, not bothered by your shock, started to approach you three. The prince was looking at the scene in amused interest.
“I heareth, that this peon hast forfeited their righte to your heart. Whicheth means, that since I offered minest-“
“IT DOESN’T WORK LIKE THAT!” Two angry voices echoed in the room.
“MY HONEYES!? THOU TWO ART HERETH TOO?” Rouxls cheered. “But, I haveth moved on. Still, mine feelingst art still haunting mine heart for thoust-“
“Enough!” Tenna roared so hard, the room shook. Like an angry cat, his back arched and his claws were out. The hair on his back stood. “Get out! You are not supposed to be here! You are not a challenger!”
For a few seconds, silence filled the room.
“...well then.” Rouxls muttered. "Can I beest?”
Silence returned.
“What?” You and Tenna muttered together.
“Oui. I wanthe to solveth thine puzzles!”
You didn’t know what to say.
“I, the Duke of Puzzles, shall solveth the mysteries that layeth beneath this here pyramid! If I succeedeth, I shall have thine hand!” He finished his speech with a bow.
Tenna didn’t answer right away. It looked like he was thinking the offer through. “Alrighty!” You looked at him, baffled. “If the Duke of puzzles wishes to participate, so be it. Whoever finishes my puzzles, shall receive their wish.”
The moment he finished, a door to the left opened. “May your wits be sharp as my claws!”
Without hesitation, Rouxls ran into the darkness the door covered. Once he was out of sight, the door closed and another door on the right opened. You stood up to go through that door, but Tenna blocked you.
“Good luck!” He said, teasing your chin with the end of his tail as he circled around you. “Prince Mike counts on you. He's trembling in fear.”
Looking back at the captured, you could see just how scared he was with the way he drank milk from a martini glass (where did he get that?).
The first chamber had a seemingly easy puzzle. It was a simple “fix the picture” one. Of course, it had Tenna’s face on it. It was cut up in 9 pieces, and from the looks of it, the one in the middle looked to be in the right position. You rotated the pieces the right way. A celebratory jingle was heard as soon as you finished.
On the clear picture, Tenna was depicted poking his tongue out. Cheeky bastard...
“What a handsome face. Get too mesmerised, and you’ll surely stay here frozen.” Tenna meowed from the shadows. Not a second later he finished, a door opened. You walked through. In the hallway to your next puzzle, you saw images depicting the sphinx and his story.
In one scene, he was drawn with a muscular humanoid torso, flexing his muscles. You couldn’t see how it fit there.
The next room had a much more interesting looking puzzle.
The pair blocking your path was dressed in fine clothes and jewellery.
“Greetings, brave challenger! I am Lanino, spirit of the Sun!” Lanino greeted.
“Pleasure to meet you!” Elnina snickered. “I am Elnina, spirit of the rain. To pass through here, you must answer 3 of our questions. Fail even one, and you’re done for.” A loud thunder rang through the room.
“Are you ready, challenger?” Lanino asked.
“Yes.” You replied with confidence. A little jingle rang through the walls.
“Correct!” Tenna’s joyous voice roared. The pair before you looked around, baffled.
“THAT COUNTED!?” They asked in unison. Tenna snorted. You wondered if he was actually present somehow, with how close he sounded.
“Well, it was a question that was answered. Though, Elnina was supposed to say “riddles”, but we work with what we have.”
The weather girl whined, realizing her mistake.
“It’s okay honey-drop.” Lanino cooed. “Your intro was magnificent.”
Elnina looked up, a faint blush blooming on her cheeks. “Really? You thought so?”
“I did.” You cut in, before Lanino could. The jiggle was heard again.
“EY! THIS IS CHEATING! THE QUESTION WASN’T EVEN FOR YOU! You just ruined a romantic moment, you know that?” Lanino scolded you. You looked at him with a grin.
“I do.”
The final triumphant jingle rang. The door behind the pair opened, the stone scratching against the sandy floor loudly.
"This is pretty easy so far." You snickered. Lanino and Elnina pouted as you walked past them.
"You're on a roll, challenger!" Tenna cheered as you walked through the dark hallway. "At this rate, I'll have to put some extra obstacles in the later puzzles."
You looked all around. "Where are you anyway? Are you speaking through the walls?"
Tenna chuckled. "Magic~"
You stepped foot in the 3rd room. At first glance, you didn't see anything special. It was organized like a simple storage room. However, there wasn't a door to the next room. It was a dead end.
"You can't go to the next room, if there's no door, right?" Tenna mocked. With that, the door you just walked through closed behind you. "Thus, you're bound to stay here, trapped for eternity!"
You were starting to get scared.
"But, if you give up now, I'll let you out! But then, it'll mean that you failed, and the prince will stay. Don't worry, you'll get to be my personal servant!"
You didn't let your determination die now. You knew that there must be a way out.
You began to examine everything. The pots and jars, some were filled with water, oil or honey, the chests (either empty or full of sand), the walls (those had lots of interesting paintings, with Tenna naturally). So far you managed to find what looked like the handle of a key under one of the pots.
"This will take some time for sure." You sighed, feeling tired from your searching. You decided to sit by a wall, letting yourself think of your next steps (and what to have for dinner when you get home). With a higher pitched, soft thud, your back hit the painted stone.
"Wait..."
Not only was the thud higher pitched, but the material felt much lighter too. You knocked on it a few times. It sounded hollow. Could it be the door you were looking for? You tapped around the wall, to estimate how big the hole behind it might be. Sadly, it seemed too small, but regardless, it might have something you'll need to progress.
Though, how will you open up the wall? There wasn't anything that looked strong enough to break through the material.
"Great." You huffed, looking around the room. Your sight returned to the painted walls. That's when you noticed something interesting. There was a figure, pouring what seemed to be water at plants, that were painted right at the bricks that hid the hollowness. "The jars..."
Quickly, you grabbed a jar that had water in it. You slowly started to pour the contents at the plant pictures. Slowly, they started to dissolve, but so did the stone they were painted on. Once the stone fully deteriorated, you peeked into the small hole it covered. There was a small wooden box inside. You took it out. Gave it a few gentle shakes. It sounded like it held something made of metal. Possibly the other half of the key!
Sadly, this box was locked. What made it even more complicated was that it didn't have a visible lock.
"Another dead end for our dear contestant!" Tenna cheered. "But at the speed you're going, you're really impressing me! Mike! Toss a Honey-Cake for them, please!"
Suddenly, a plate of the pastry was set onto one of the crates. You instead turned your attention to the wall behind it. The figures depicted a scene with a magical rock, seemingly used to open a treasure chest.
"Mike! Please don't assist them!" Tenna scolded. You swear you could hear him pout. You set the plate aside and opened the crate. Unsurprisingly, it was full of sand. But now, you were inclined to see if there was something under it. Since it was small, you could pick it up and pour the sand out. There was something in it, alright.
It was a snake. A cobra, to be precise. You felt your blood freeze.
"Ey, I wasss sssleepin' 'ere!" It hissed. You muttered out a frightened apology and offered it the honey cake. Begrudgingly it accepted it and slithered away into a crack.
"Wow... that was scary... WHO LET THAT COBRA IN?!" Silence followed Tenna's shout. "Also, why was a cobra in there? Where did-"
Suddenly, a large beam of light appeared in the room. A canned gasp was suddenly heard.
"Ah! Mine attempts hast failed." Rouxls moaned, clearly disappointed. "But I stille haveth more tricks upeth mine sleeves!"
"Ey! You're not supposed to be in here! Go back to your field!" Tenna growled. Rouxls clicked his tongue.
"There weren't any rules thate saidst I wasn't allowed to enter mine enemy's field. But even if there was..." He straightened his posture. "I maketh mine own rules anyway! For I AM-"
A trapdoor opened under Rouxls feet. Curiously, he looked down.
"...dang it."
Without another sound, he fell into the darkness.
"What a bother." Elnina sighed.
"Good thing we have these levers." Lanino joined.
As the trapdoor closed back up, a small stone appeared on top of it. You lifted it to the box in your hand. You heard a faint click, then scrambled to catch the now suddenly opened box. As you suspected, it held the other half of your key. You used the honey you found to glue the two parts together. Now, all you had to do was find the hole it was supposed to go into.
"Oh-oh!" Tenna mocked you, again. It was starting to get a bit annoying. "You have the key, but not the door. And just when things were starting to look up..."
Suspicious at his choice of wording, you looked up. Lo and behold, was a small keyhole in the ceiling.
"Oops." Tenna mumbled, probably into his paws. Elnina let out a small snicker. You heard faintly Lanino scold her playfully. With all your strength, you pushed the larger chests and crates under the keyhole, allowing you to climb up on them to reach it. With a swift twist of the key, a faint click could be heard. The wall opposite to the one you came through began to collapse. In a matter of seconds, it was all gone. It hid another long hallway, lit with torches. Its walls painted.
You continued your journey. From the corner of your eye, you swore you saw something move, seemingly following you. Each time you looked back, you saw nothing but darkness, and the walls surrounding it.
"Oh my! You're almost at the last puzzle! But alas, it will be the hardest of them all!" Tenna's roar echoed through the hallway.
Finally, you arrived at the last room.
Which was a near perfect replica of the one Tenna greeted you in.
"For your next challenge..." He said it with a low growl. "You have to find me~"
Your last bit of energy seemed to seep out of you. With his power, Tenna could shrink to the size of a grain of sand if he so wished.
"You have until sunset!" A small clock appeared in the middle of the room. The time of when the sun would set was written on it. Looking at the handles made you groan. You had an hour left.
Just what you needed. The idea of simply giving up started to tease you, but you were so close now.
You started to search everywhere. Under the pillows. At the walls. Anywhere you thought he could hide. You had no luck.
Just when all your hope began to dissolve, the ceiling opened. With a loud scream, a familiar blue figure fell onto the cat bed.
"GAH! I hate crocodiles!" Rouxls whined. His pained eyes looked at you. "Oh. Thou art herest also." He grumbled.
"Your task is to find me. You have about 20 minutes left." Tenna announced.
"I JUST GOTTE HERETH!" Rouxls cried. You sighed, defeated.
"Doesn't matter. I've been trying to find him all this time. It's over. He won." You closed your tired eyes. The snapped back open when you felt Rouxls' grip on your shoulder.
"All puzzles haveth a mean to solve them! Cometh now! Thou need to save thine prince, I need to secureth the power of seconde in commande!"
You cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I..." He coughed. "I mean be his newest man. Of course."
By some weird force, Rouxls' "dedication" inspired you to continue. You two searched through everything again. No luck.
"We only have 5 minutes left. What should we do?"
Rouxls sighed. "Welleh... it seemest thereth are puzzles that have no solution." He sat down next to the big standing mirror that was in the room. "Mine dreams... shattered..." He sighed.
You sat to the other edge. Rouxls looked at you. "Before we perish, I wish to apologizeth for the serpent trick. Not that it would've actually killed thou. I only meanst to instil fear in thine heart."
You offered your hand. "Apology appreciated." Now Rouxls cocked an eyebrow.
"Dons't thou mean 'accepted'?"
"I thought I was going to die, man." You shot him a glare. He shook your hand, pouting.
"2 minutes left!" Tenna cheered.
You don't know why, but you looked into the mirror behind you. You saw how clear it was that you were exhausted. What a day...
"Is that..." You heard Rouxls mutter. You directed your eyes to him, humming. "IT'S HIM!" He shouted. You straightened your back.
"Where!?"
Rouxls pointed to the mirror. "I can see him! On thine... back?"
You blinked in disbelief. You looked where he was pointing. There he was, Tenna's big dumb smile, waving a paw at you two. How did he get there?!
"CONGRATULATIONS!" He cheered, his voice seemingly everywhere. Your back felt his weight as he jumped out of the fabric, now sitting in front of you. "Juck, I hate being in 2D." Tenna muttered. He cleared his throat before continuing. "You solved the puzzles!"
You heard the cheer of many celebrate your victory.
"As promised..." Tenna continued. Next to him, the prince descended to the ground from the ceiling (how did he get there???). "The prince is freed. Good job, challenger!"
An irritated cough came from your Rouxls.
"And of course... you have my hand, oh Duke of Puzzles."
Rouxls was glowing at the way he was addressed. With a thud, the smaller hand of the clock was thrown at his foot. Rouxls stared at it.
"Uhm... " He blinked. "This... isn't what I wanted."
Tenna shrugged. "Well, you wanted my hand. The clock is mine, and in turn, so are its hands. It's important to specify. I would know, I write the contracts."
The twitch in Rouxls eye was so big, you'd easily believe he was trying to wink. "Gah!" With that, Rouxls left.
"Heh, talk about a sore winner." The crowd laughed at his joke. You cleared your throat.
"Sphinx, it is time for me and the prince to leave. Farewell!" You turned to the door. Just as your fingers slid against the knob, you were tugged back, by a claw hooking into your clothes.
"Who said 'you' could leave?" The sphinx looked at you with an amused grin, resting his big head on his paw. You looked at him, shocked.
"I... I solved your puzzles. We agreed!" You tried to object. The beast before you clicked his tongue.
"Yes, we did. Regarding 'freeing the prince'. We never said a word about me letting 'you' leave, however."
You turned your head to Mike. He was already behind to door, waving happily at you, before closing it. You looked back at Tenna.
"You bastard." Your tone was tired. He chuckled at your insult. Before you knew it, he picked you up with his mouth, biting into the collar of your clothing, bringing you back to the cat bed, like a momma cat would do with her kitten. He set you down gently and laid next to you.
"So... how did you like it?" He asked, tail slithering around. You let out a tired sigh.
"It was pretty good. You should do villain roles more often. You look good in them"
You just managed to catch the blush starting to bloom on his screen. "You flirt." He swatted a paw at your compliment.
You put your head onto a pillow. It was so soft, you were eager to just close your eyes and let sleep take over. Your body was enveloped by warmth, as Tenna lifted his front leg over you, trapping you under his fluffy body, curling his big tail around himself. At last, now you were certain that his whole get up wasn't a really detailed costume.
"Gosh, you're heavy." You mumbled. Tenna set his head next to yours, with the screen turned off. He was already snoring. You snuggled into his fur, doing the same thing.