The Plane

with the word itself.

“Okay, listen. For the following riddles, you try to follow lines of thought similar to this one. Grammar. Wordplay. Maybe symbolic connections. And I'll try to stay closer to the direct meaning. That way we have independent lines of thought, at least mostly. If either of us thinks her way is or isn't going to work, she should tell the other. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

The next few seconds were painful, but Cold told herself that it was foolish not to utilize them. Somehow. Even if all she did was trying to calm herself.

“Time is running out. I'll submit... and... a tree of souls stands amidst a field of flowers. How do you climb the tree?”

A tree of souls. What did that mean? Was it a metaphor? A murderer of sorts? Should she even think about it that way, or was that her task, with the way she had chosen to split the riddle? But she had to do it here. Or should she ask? No. No. Think.

For a few moments, Cold had to fight back panic. They hadn't had a lot of time for the first riddle, and so far she hadn't made any progress.

For what could it be a metaphor? What did souls represent? The... personality? A creature with multiple personalities? But she didn't know any creatures. She knew the concept of different animals, even races, but she didn't know any of them. Maybe just an undefined creature?

Climb it. How did you climb something with a split personality? Or a murderer? Was climbing equal to overthrowing? How did you overthrow a murderer? By being one yourself? That wasn't applicable at all.

And the field. A field of flowers. What did flowers mean? Was it innocent people? Was the tree murdering flowers? Were the souls defeated flowers?

It didn't make much sense. This approach didn't seem to work. Maybe something else entirely? A literal tree in a literal garden? Maybe...

“I'm not getting anywhere. I think we have to give up my approach for the riddle.”

A crushing sensation of fear hit Cold upon hearing that, but she tried her best to ignore it.

“Alright.”

Maybe... what had she been thinking? The garden.