"You are sailing on a ship which gets stranded in a storm... and you land on a small flat island with an area of about one hundred square kilometers ... The island has a tribal population and some cannibals... The Tribal King captures you and issues the following order."
"You must speak one sentence... If the sentence is true, then you will be thrown to the cannibals for consumption... If your sentence is false, you will then be thrown to our pet dogs for their consumption... What sentence saves your life?"
After the long question, Angela slowly retreated to catch her breath while she looked at the shaman with confidence. As for Five, he was doing his best to maintain his poker face.
The Shaman frowned. It was not the first time he was asked this type of questions; in fact, whenever the shamans of the different tribes would meet, they would often ask themselves this type of questions to prove to themselves who was the superior one.
"This is just the first question, right? I can get it wrong and it won't affect our deal?" asked the Shaman.
"Yes... But a really wise person would naturally be able to answer all 3 questions..." said Angela.
As he heard the harpy, the shaman felt that he had been trapped. This was just the first question, but it was already that difficult?
The Shaman quietly racked his brain until he finally came up with an answer. After repeating the answer in his mind to make sure he was right, he decisively looked at Angela.
"My answer is: You will feed me to the dogs!"
"That... Correct..." answered Angela.
'Yes!' screamed the Shaman in his heart. He was relieved as he got the confirmation of the harpy. While the first question was benign, he was able to save his face. Even Five was impressed, not everyone would have been able to answer the first question.
It was the correct answer as it was neither true or false. If it was true, then he needed to be sent to the cannibals but the sentence was stating that he was going to be sent to the dogs. On the contrary, if it was false, he needed to be sent to the dog but that was precisely the statement which made it true.
"Then... Should we move to the second question?" asked Angela.
"Yes! Remember your promise, if I am able to answer..."
"Yes, I know. Please ready yourself for the second question," said Angela.
She waited for a few seconds to calm down before asking:
"The second question goes as such."
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"After a few years, you have come to know that there is a treasure chest buried somewhere on the island. You've already made friends with the tribals, so you're not captured, but while you're finding your way to the buried treasure you come across a fork in the road. Two tribals guard the way forward. One way goes to the buried treasure, the other to the cannibal's colony."
"You already know that there are two types of tribals: some always speak the truth, some always speak lies. The two tribals are one of each type. They tell you to ask just one question, they will both answer your question. What question do you ask to figure out the correct way?"
The Shaman's eyes immediately shone. He had heard a variant of this question before! It came from the old fart of the Rhino Tribe and at that time, no one was able to answer! He remembered this riddle very clearly and quickly answered:
"The question I ask is
The Shaman was confident in himself and soon, Angela nodded, "Yes... That's the answer..."
"Haha, this old me is not that easily fooled! Come on little girl, this is the last question and the one that counts!" confidently declared the old man. After having correctly answered two hard questions, it was normal for his to get a boost in confidence.
"The third and final question goes as such."
"Again, after a few years, you come to know that there's an even bigger treasure on the same island. That treasure is on an ancient tower a thousand meters high. You again come across a fork in the road, one way leads straight to the tower, and the other way leads straight to the cannibal's colony. This time, the tribals are standing near the fork, and you don't know what type of Tribal they are. They can all speak the truth, or all may lie, or some might say the truth and some may lie. You're allowed to ask as many questions as you want."
"How do you find the correct way?"
Hearing the question, the Shaman quickly answered, "That is easy, right? It is similar to the last question where you can ask where the other... No, wait... It does not work this way..."
His voice soon died out as the Shaman wore a serious expression. This riddle was different from the previous one, the fact that both might be lying or saying the truth completely offset the previous answer.
The Shaman was deep in thoughts; clearly, he did not want to lose! "Maybe I can ask... No..."
Unfortunately, the shaman was not aware that he had already fallen into Angela's trap! On the side, Five was sighing for the Shaman; if he did not stop going into that direction, he would definitely lose. At the same time, he was secretly rejoicing, not only because Angela had secured herself a teacher, but also because it was quite entertaining to watch people struggle on the riddles that he already knew.
A few minutes of silence went by before Angela said, "Mister... You need to give an answer..."
The Shaman frowned, during the last few minutes, he had been racking his brain about this riddle but had yet to find an acceptable answer! He did not want to admit it, but it seemed that he had been tricked by the harpy.
"Are you sure you were even able to answer that question? It does not even look feasible to me..." asked the Shaman, trying to find a way out.
"I am sure I did... You can ask Master if you want..." answered Angela.
Five swiftly nodded, he was not lying, Angela had indeed been able to answer the question. However, it was all because she had avoided the trap! Compared to the Shaman, when Angela heard the riddle, she only heard the third question! At that time, Five was telling the riddle to Ariel and Alice but Angela only came into the room when it was time for the third question.
It might seem benign, but it actually completely changed the sense of the question. The first 2 questions were there to not only give confidence to the person but also to lead them into tunnel visioning! Since Angela avoided the first 2 questions, to her, the answer was quite obvious!
The Shaman's heart sank, he really could not figure out the answer. "Can't I get a few more minutes, it is not appropriate to rush people like that or else, they will not be able to demonstrate their abilities," said the Shaman.
"Oh... Okay... I guess... I thought wise people did not need to think and could give answers instantly... It's alright, everyone is different..." calmly answered harpy. Giving more time was indeed dangerous but considering how deep the shaman had already fallen in the trap, it was highly unlikely that he would come up with an answer.
'D*mn... No need to rub salt in the wound!!!' swore the Shaman to himself but he quickly focused and resumed thinking about the question.
As time went by, the Shaman looked more and more agitated until eventually, Angela asked, "Is it okay now? I hope you won't go back on your words..."
"Who do you take me for? I admit that I am not that wise since I am unable to answer this question but I will never spoil my reputation!" said the Shaman.
"Oh... As long as you confirm that you will take me as an apprentice... I will give you the answer..." continued the harpy.
"As long as it is a genuine answer, I can swear that I will take you as my apprentice! But I will only teach you to craft, you won't learn anything about our tribe's rituals!" declared the Shaman. As he spoke, he felt his heart sink as he tried to hide his annoyance.
Angela thought for a while, finding his promise acceptable, she nodded. Five let out a smile, it looked like the harpy had succeeded; it was time for the grand reveal. Inside, Five was wondering how the Shaman would react; would he casually accept the answer or would he blow up and cause a stir?
"Alright... The answer is simply: You raise your head and look up..."