**The Quest**
Once, in the green-valley kingdom of Zona, Princess Cecilia was known not only for her beauty, but for the way she spoke gently to every creature—bird, mouse, or minstrel. Her kindness was legendary, and legends, unfortunately, often attract the wrong sort of attention.
High in the craggy Long Key Forest lived an ogre named Grumholt: enormous, stone-skinned, and lonely. One moonless night he lumbered down from his lair, determined to steal someone who might sing him lullabies. So, with a burlap sack the size of a wagon, he snatched Princess Cecilia from the palace courtyard and carried her off before the guards could blink.
The kingdom erupted into chaos. Knights boasted and argued over who would ride to her rescue, but many found an excuse to delay. The few that attempted, returned, defeated and tired...Not from battle with the ogre, but from the arduous journey.
In a quiet hayloft at the edge of the royal stables, a peasant boy named Gabriel listened to all this with growing outrage. Gabriel had no armor, and no noble blood—but he had a steady heart, a sling he used to chase wolves from the sheep, and a stubborn belief that someone ought to do something.
So he packed a loaf of brown bread, a waterskin, and his magic compass into his satchel and set off at dawn, riding his trusty horse, Sable.
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**Challenge One**: The Cryptex of Wolf Lake
As Gabriel rode down the dirt road that led to the forest,He noticed a woman,wearing a hooded dark cloak. She approached. “You seek the princess...” A statement. “Yes”, replied Gabriel. The mysterious lady replied. “She is far away. You will have to endure many quests to find her. But beware. Muggles, hideous creatures inhabit this forest and all the land between. They will do what they do to hinder you on your quest”. She pressed a parchment into his hand. “This will be you first quest. Locate the cryptex that will show you the way.” Gabriel thanked the mysterious lady and proceeded on his way. As he approached Wolf Lake, he kept a wary eye out for Muggles. His compass now pointing the way, surprisingly, along the fence surrounding the preserve. As the needle pointed the way, he followed. The needle was pointing to a tree along the fence line. As he approached, he spotted a cylindrical object hidden inside the fronds. He glanced around cautiously, He couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. As he pulled it free, he gasped—“The cryptex”, forged from dark, weathered brass and encircled with light brass rings etched with letters.
A note, pinned to the cryptex, read:
Solve this, and it will show you the way.”
Gabriel turned the rings, running his fingers over the engravings. His mother’s voice echoed in his memory: “In puzzles, truth likes to hide in the obvious.” He examined the cryptex thoughtfully. “Hmmm,” he thought to himself. “Six letters.”
“Show you the way…” he whispered.
He spun the rings into place.
The cryptex Clicked opened.
Inside lay a scrap of parchment showing a crude map of the countryside, numbers, and a rhyme:
“Where wooden giants drink from the dawn’s first glint of red,
Your next clue sleeps next to an aqueous bed.”
Gabriel tucked it into his pocket, mounted his dobbin and set off on a long journey to his next quest.
_ _ _
**Challenge Two**: Sunny Lake
Hours later,parched and hungry,Gabriel came upon a vendor along the trail. He stopped,refreshed himself, and proceeded on his way. As the sun rose high into the sky,like a pearl above the trees, Gabriel stumbled into a clearing surrounded by towering Banyan trees—monoliths that radiated under the sunlight. Before him, a path to the lake. Wooden giants drinking from dawn, he realized.
He knelt beside the lake and nestled in the roots of a Banyan tree, lie a stone. Numbers appeared. Then a soft, gentle voice emanated from the lake:
“Speak the truth you seek.”
Gabriel’s heart hammered. He took a breath and said:
“I seek Princess Cecilia.”
The water rippled, a gentle voice emanated from lake. “You must first retrieve the wooden slab that holds the riddle to the code that unlocks the cage which holds the Princess and the final destination of the ogre's lair from the ancient Ent,a wise,old tree that has witnessed the passing of ages. To do so, Gabriel must travel further than he ever has.
**Challenge Three** The Code and the Final Path
Gabriel followed the path along a deep canal.
His compass needle swung wildly as he tried to maintain his bearing. He was trying to locate the Ent that held the secrets to the ogre's lair. There,on the edge of the canal, was a wise old tree. Nestled in the intertwined trunks of the Banyan tree was the clue to the lock and the location of the ogre's hidden lair. He must solve the fiendish riddle, then follow the coordinates
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**Inside the Ogre’s Lair**
With the knowledge of the riddle, Gabriel set off to >Long Key Forest, gloomy and oppressive, where sunlight fought to reach the forest floor. His magic compass pointed west to “The way of the Flamingos.From there, he headed north. His compass indicated a westward path at marker 36. Finally, he arrived. His compass pointed 164°. As he proceeded, he was faced with two cart paths. His compass pointed to the path on the right. After a short distance, Gabriel's compass pointed towards a foot path to his right. He passed an ancient stone and marble memorial to those that have fallen. He proceeded on. Gabriel was met with another fork in the path. His compassed again pointed to the right. He crossed a fenced pathway, probably to enclose the sheep the ogre stole from the kingdom. He was close. His compass pointed the way. There, ahead of him, was an enormous enclosure in the forest that breathed warm, sour air. Gabriel crept inside, heart thudding. The enclosure was lit by cracks in the canopy of trees where sunlight filtered down like radiant strings. At the far end sat the ogre Grumholt, dozing on a pile of rocks. His snores shook leaves off the trees.
Nearby, in a cage made of tree trunks, Princess Cecilia sat upright, humming a quiet tune to keep her spirits up.
Gabriel approached the cage, the door with a large lock. “Your Highness,” he whispered. “I’ve come to rescue you.”
She blinked in surprise. “But… you’re just a boy.”
“No one else came,” he said simply.
Cecilia’s expression softened. “Then I’m proud you did.”
But before Gabriel could enter the code to the cage’s lock, Grumholt stirred.
“WHO’S THERE?” roared the ogre, waking with a thundering jolt.
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**Courage in the Dark**
Gabriel stood his ground, though every instinct begged him to run.
“I’m here to take the princess home,” he said, voice trembling but loud.
The ogre stomped forward, shaking the ground. “GO AWAY. SHE SINGS. GOOD FOR SLEEP.”
Cecilia stepped forward in her cage. “Grumholt, you cannot keep me forever. I’m homesick.”
The ogre’s heavy brow furrowed. “But… Grumholt lonely.”
For the first time, Gabriel noticed that the lair was filled only with stones and silence—no companions, no joy. His anger faded.
“You don’t need a prisoner,” Gabriel said gently. “Maybe what you need is a friend.”
Grumholt froze, confused. “Friend?”
Gabriel reach down and, upon entering the code, unlatched the lock to the cage holding Princess Cecilia.
The princess stepped out.
Gabriel reached for her hand. “Let’s go.”
Grumholt watched, shoulders slumping like collapsing cliffs. “Grumholt… sorry,” he muttered.
Cecilia walked up to him bravely and touched his massive hand. “Thank you for not hurting me. If you let us go home, I promise to send someone who can visit you. Not a prisoner… a friend.”
The ogre blinked, surprised and hopeful. After a long moment, he nodded.
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**Home Again**
Gabriel and Cecilia made the long journey home. At the gates of Zona, crowds erupted in cheers. The king embraced his daughter with tears in his eyes.
“Name your reward,” he told Gabriel. “Land? Gold? A title?”
Gabriel shook his head. “I only wanted to help.”
Princess Cecilia smiled. “Then let your reward be this—you will always have a friend in me.”
And so he did.
Gabriel became the kingdom’s youngest hero, not because he was the strongest, or the bravest, but because he was the one who dared to care when no one else would. And deep up in the pine forest, an ogre named Grumholt waited each week for a friendly visit from the princess who once sang him lullabies—not as a captive, but as a companion.
And in that way, three hearts—peasant, princess, and ogre—were forever changed.
Congratulations to Ikolor and Radioman and Taurusgirl70 on the FTF!