Greko looks at the old guy and feels a sense of vigor at hearing himself being called a child "Well let us prance right on through then" Greko does a little two step as he says the word prance "No sense continuing to dawdle with the elderly....Would you like us to leave you some easily chewed food for your help? I have some soft pastries here in my bag you can probably eat with your one tooth" Greko says unironically without blinking and in a sincere tone. 

Quote from JFCapps >>

At the top of the hill, once Urgl has cranked the cable long enough for Engewook to reach the summit himself, the old Gnome disembarks his 'chariot' and has a quick look at Thea.  

"My my, why...what are you, young one?"  He says, tiptoeing to look up at the alicorn sprouting from her forehead.  "That is amazing, and beautiful.  Is this a curse?  A blessing?  Where has such a growth come from?"  

 
(Apologies on my delay.)

Wide violet eyes blink and Thea blushes when she realizes she's being addressed by Engewook. "Oh, umm." Her cheeks deepen further while she glances up at her horn, albeit a bit cross eyed before looking back to the gnome. "I'm still learning... but I'm an Alicorn..." She answers his first question, reaching up to touch it. "A part of me died that day..." Thea pauses a moment, chewing on her lip. "Revealing who this... I am, and the magic that courses through me." She shares. "So, if I'm honest, I've wondered the same thing, whether this a curse or a blessing..." She brings her hand back down. "However, what ever it may seem at any given time, the reality is, I need to eventually accept and embrace who this.. I, am."

Lady Kaede's heart hammered against her ribs. Engewook's words painted a terrifying picture. A test of purity, judged by beings who peered into your very soul? It was a daunting prospect, even for a samurai forged in discipline. Yet, beneath the surge of fear, a flicker of resolve ignited. The path to the Oracle, to potential salvation for her people, lay beyond those statues. Glancing back at Princess Zelda and Thea, their worried faces a stark reminder of what was at stake, Lady Kaede straightened her posture. She would face this challenge. A lifetime of service, of selflessness instilled by the Bushido code, fueled her confidence. Perhaps, she thought, a warrior's heart, honed for duty and the protection of others, might just be considered "pure" enough by these enigmatic guardians.

Lady Kaede, her expression a mask of steely determination, turned from the imposing statues and began her descent. With a curt nod to Engewook, she beckoned for the party to follow. Her movements, though purposeful, were measured, radiating a quiet confidence that instilled a sense of cautious optimism in her companions. As they navigated the treacherous slope, the weight of the Sphinxes' scrutiny pressed down on them all, but with Lady Kaede leading the way, they pressed onward, hope flickering in their hearts.

"I don't believe time is a factor.  If it was, someone would have slipped through before Atreyu surely.  Unless you mean something I'm not understanding.  Ah, you young people nowadays, always talking in riddles!  Why, there was a young many here just before the conjunction that called something skibidi!  Could you imagine such a thing?  Anyway!"

He scratches a skinny finger through his scraggly chin.  

"Multiple people at once?  Only once or twice.  I think the triplets are still laying down there holding each other!  Well, their skeletons anyhow, where their bodies were left.  Yes yes, dark I know.  Ah, now there is an interesting question!  We are all flawed creatures, Master Rum.  Having a pure heart and pure intents doesn't mean there isn't something lurking deep down in all of us.  Just look at Urgl..."  

He squints at Greko.

"What's that?  Chew my food?  Nonsense!  Urgl does that for me."  

But he brightens back up as Thea begins to speak.  

"Oooh...an alicorn!  Wow, that is impressive!  Though I admit I don't understand this business about dying.  Aren't unicorns, alicorns whatever, aren't you immortal?  Isn't that part of the whole deal?  Or...wait..."  

He scratches his head and shifts his jaw around, letting his lone tooth get a different view of the world for a moment.  

"Is that even the same thing?  Beats me!  You're as close to such a being as I've ever been.  You know, Urgl, she knows quite a bit more about these things like this than I do, of course!  Maybe, if you survive your visit to the Sphinx Gate, you can talk to her!  Maybe she'll know something?  Or maybe not!  Who knows!  Ah, oh, but, young miss..."  

He watches as Lady Kaede begins her descent.  

"Well, at least one of you is ready."  

"It was not a riddle, Professor. I just thought perhaps the Sphynx Gate is waiting for the right time. When the need is greatest", Rum replies. "It was just a thought. I could perhaps have attempted to pass through 5 years ago, and I would have failed, but today my need is greater".

He also turns to see Lady Kaede start to make her way down the slope.

"It seems our time here is over. Many thanks for your insight, Professor. I will do my best to return and tell you what I can from beyond the gate", he says confidently, placing his paw over his heart and bowing his head to the old gnome.

With that done, he looks over to Greko to see if he needs help with the journey down.

Greko watches Kaede descend ready to take on the first gate. Greko wonders a moment about the gate. He snaps to seeing Rum staring at him. "Yes, yes help Greko down..." Greko begins to climb on Rum's back

Rum steps back as Greko looks to be climbing on him, “Friend Greko, I am not mule. Perhaps you need to transform into something a little smaller?”.

Greko smiles "Of course of course....Good idea Rum good idea..." Greko shifts into a cat climbing on Rum's shoulder 

     Judal bids his farewell to this strange gate-watcher and then treks down after the others.  It is curious, this gate.  It seems a pure heart is key and yet it is said there is darkness in all of us.  Perhaps that darkness is best shunted to the spleen... Or the colon?  Whatever, the gate surely has it's own way or judging and if there is no way to know how it judges then there is nothing for it but to stride through and to await it's decision with head held high and a steady stride of confidence.

Rum allows Cat-Greko to climb up on his shoulder, and turns to follow the others down the slope, easily navigating the path and catching up.

"It is a shame we no longer have the ability to contact Atreyu. I would have liked to hear from him about the next two gates".

Thea blinks a few times. Those were a lot of interesting thoughts, and a lot of maybes but Urgl might know more. And was he going to say something else? Though when the group would start heading for the gate, she’d peel away and trot to catch up. She might accidentally step on someone’s heel.

Engewook is still scratching his chin as Rum begins to climb down, followed by the other Remnants, one by one, descending the steepest side of the slope.  It takes the old Gnome a moment to realize that Rum is getting away.  

"Oh, I see what you mean!  What an interesting question!  I erm, perhaps!  I hope!  We shall see what happens I suppose!"  

The Gnome looks both delighted and terrified as he watches them go...

Princess Zelda steps up to the edge and watches them go, and for a moment looks unsure.  It's Engewook, however, that makes the decision she is struggling with.  

"You wait here, young one."  He says to her gently as the AURYN Chosen descend...and then begin to cross the desert...

The two Sphinx's tower hundreds of feet above them as they draw close, and strange radiance glows around them, as though the enormous golden statues are generating their own light.  

Before the heroes are the corpses of those who came before.  Armor litters the ground.  Swords.  Magical implements and even courtier regalia.  It seems that the Sphinx Gate has no qualms about whose life it cuts short.  

The Sphinx's don't move, don't stir in anyway whatsoever as the party approaches...

The closer they got, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. The Sphinxes, bathed in their own otherworldly glow, loomed like silent gods. A metallic tang, a faint scent of blood and ozone, pricked at Lady Kaede's senses. The scattered remains were a grim testament to the unforgiving nature of these guardians. Her heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs, a stark counterpoint to the unsettling stillness surrounding them.

Despite the fear, Lady Kaede held her head high. She had faced death countless times before, and this would be no different. But the challenge here was unlike any she'd encountered. These Sphinxes judged souls, not just skill on the battlefield. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the unwavering determination that burned within her. A lifetime of service, of selflessness, of protecting those weaker than herself – surely that counted for something in the eyes of these enigmatic guardians. She wouldn't let fear paralyze her. For the sake of her companions, for the sake of her people, she would press on, head held high, and face the judgment of the Sphinxes.

Rum approaches the sphinxes, with Greko presumably still riding his shoulder in cat form. Looking up, his keen eyes scan the statues as they radiate the strange glow, and then move down to the corpses littered below.

"There is no expectation here, fellow Remnants", he says without taking his eyes from the corpses. "In truth, although my hope is that all who attempt to pass are worthy, that we only need one of us to achieve our goal".

He glances around at the others at this point.

"Believe in yourselves, and I will see all who wish to cross on the other side. The rest we will see on our return", he says with a confident smile.

"And may the Great Dragon protect you all", he adds finally, holding a paw over his heart and bowing his head to the others. After he does this, he takes the time to focus himself on the challenge ahead.

"You coming like that?", he asks the cat on his shoulder, as he makes to walk toward the Sphinxes.

Greko meows and stays on Rum's shoulder

     Judal strides forward steadily but casually.  His mind races but that is not atypical for him, he's always jumping from one thought to another much like a dog in a field of squirrels.  It occurs to him to wonder what an Invisibility spell would accomplish, or if one were to Misty Step past the guardians but these thoughts are not dwelled on for long for surely such would not trick the Sphinx...  What about Command?  Could they strike down one who walked past not of their own free will?  Or course they could, guards guard against all, motives matter only after the fact, if at all.  

     He also eyes and wonders about the scattered remnants that lie between the guardians... What kind of power and coin must lay in the sand there?  Not enough to win or buy passage past the gate, obviously, but has nobody thought to claim the fallen treasures for other means?  A simple hook on a rope would seem enough to grapple and drag such precious items out of the field of danger...

     But Judal's mind is just as much on other items, for it is not fear nor guile that his mind if focused on for it is not really focused on anything at all.  He ponders Greko-cat riding upon Rum's shoulder and starts composing a bit of a humorous ditty about the cat and the kitty.  Judal thinks about Lady Kaede, so proud and arrogant and so carefully hiding her inner turmoil.  Malenia also drifts through his thoughts and he wonders if she too plans to cross?  He's chosen not to look behind until he has passed the gate.  So Thea and Violet as well?  Are they all traversing the gate?  The thought that surely so many cannot have been struck down if it was so easy to get past that they would all accomplish it.

     Judal's mind also goes to what he has to snack on and what comes next and if the Crooked Snake is visible in the night sky here or if they are too far from home to see that constellation.  The one thing Judal's mind doesn't think about is failing...  Perhaps due to training.  Perhaps due to arrogance.  Perhaps due to being too shallow to actually be introspective enough to contemplate his own faults.  He may have the train of thought of a small child with ADHD and a pure sugar diet at a carnival during firework season...  But Judal never once touches on failing...

Realizing that the Princess wouldn’t be joining them, Thea would turn back for a moment. She’d simply take her hand in hers, give it a gentle squeeze in a wordless goodbye, for now, and then gives her a hug.

Thea then trots to catch up to the others, taking up the rear, which is pretty common for her. First her violet eyes look up at the unmoving pair of Sphinx in awe and curiosity as she approached. Her mind did wander, wondering whether she fits in along with these sure, steadfast warrior adventurers. But she was here, this far. There was no sense in turning back now. “Oop.” As if to cut off her thoughts, she trips over some regalia. “Sorry…” She fumbles as if apologizing to what she tripped on or who it belonged too. Catching herself, she dusts some sand off and does a small adjustment of her attire. She scurries a bit again to catch up, padding along to face her judgement.

One by one, the Ardent Remnants begin to move forward, walking together as a loose group toward the Sphinx Gate...and one by one...they suddenly realize they are all alone between the two enormous statues...

With a slight bow to the sphinxs (sphinxi?) Lady Kaede proceeds to walk though the gate a few paces, before turning around and waiting for others to hopefully follow. 

Cat Greko looks around from atop Rum's shoulder....He bats Rum in the head a few times but with no response he jumps off and scurries ahead....He sees Lady Kaede and meows at her