Chapter 624: Hauke’s Puzzle (Part Two)
"Quit while I’m ahead?" Hauke said, frowning at the shopkeeper’s underhanded seeming offer.
Looking at the puzzle in front of him, placing the seventh rod would certainly be a challenge. The puzzle already looked complete with just six pieces, and it seemed like the whole thing would collapse under the weight of the seventh no matter where he added it. Whoever had designed the puzzle was clearly a master of their craft, and Hauke had nothing but respect for the distant master who had produced the puzzle.
For a moment, Hauke paused, wondering if the shopkeeper was actually trying to do him a kindness instead of encouraging him to stop short. He still had plenty of silver in the purse that Ashlynn had given him, but there were only so many hours left before they would need to leave the festival to attend the evening’s banquet.
If he spent all of his time here, holding everyone else back while they watched him, then too much of their limited time would slip away because he was too proud to recognize when a puzzle couldn’t be beaten.
Hauke had listened with complete focus when Ollie recounted his experiences in the trial to become the Cypress Witch. The young Frost Walker might not face exactly the same lessons or tests in his own trial when Lady Ashlynn received the seed she was waiting for, but Hauke would take any information he could in order to prepare himself for his own trial when the time came and Ollie’s lesson about recognizing his limits had struck a note with the young Frost Walker.
But, looking at the puzzle in front of him, he wasn’t entirely convinced that it couldn’t be beaten. He’d studied each of the pieces carefully before beginning, visualizing the completed structure just the way Eraric had taught him and working backwards from the conclusion before he picked up the first piece of metal. He might not have perfect confidence that he could hold all the pieces still enough to place the final rod, but as long as he went slowly, he felt like his odds were very good.
"Didn’t you say that the prize for this puzzle is a silk rug that the Ancient Clan uses to bask in the sun’s warmth?" Hauke asked, glancing briefly at the beautifully embroidered yellow and green rug hanging in the back of the shopkeeper’s stall. The pattern was simple, resembling the ripples of sand on a beach after the tide receded, and it looked very soft and comfortable to lie on.
"That’s right," the shopkeeper said, looking at the gathered crowd who were eagerly waiting to see if Hauke could win the grand prize. "Properly, rugs like this sell for at least twenty-five silver tails, but you’ll get it for just seven if you can complete this puzzle. This one was woven in Crystal Lake City, where the summers are so miserably hot that the people of the Ancient Clan spend half their days lazing about and doing nothing because it’s too hot to even move," he explained. "But friend," the man added in a quieter voice. "I have only seen three people beat the puzzle of seven rods in the past ten years, and I’ve traveled to more than a dozen great cities west of the mountains. The satchel is still a good prize for your friend, isn’t it?"
"The satchel is a good prize," Hauke agreed as he renewed his focus on the puzzle in front of him. "But the rug is better for my friend," he added. "Sir Ignatious worships the light of the sun and its warmth, but he can never bask in its rays again. He’s trapped, unable to see the beauty of a sunrise or its warmth on his skin," he said in a voice that grew quiet.