PICK LEaf

gretEL ITAly

boatmAN WINteria

My guess would be Arawn?

*1. Name me the magic

Never cast by its users.

The team got its name wrong

The monk made them the losers.

2. Name me the spell

That defeated McGrew.

He did a wild jig,

To let a dungeoneer through.

3. A tool of Fidjit's or

To break frozen ground

Or to make a choice

What word have I found?

4. Oakley's coat is made of these,

Their name precedes mold.

Green they grow on branches,

Then brown in times cold.

5. A white-clad dungeon maid,

A child in all but name.

Foolish and shallow,

But pretty all the same.

6. He charmed the ladies,

He sang news as a song.

A long-haired troubadour,

To what nation did he belong?

7. The fare for his services

Is silver and gold.

He ferries travellers

Across Dunswater cold.

8. Level 3 its location.

Aesandre its Queen.

Cold is its climate.

What place do I mean?*

Once all eight riddles are solved, study the answers, and see if you can spot the clues to the hidden character's identity.

The answers to the riddles were a red herring of sorts - the clues were in the riddles themselves, not in the answers, which is why I said you didn't need to answer the final one. (It's also why I said, "After all five riddles, you should be able to guess the character", instead of, "After all five answers..." etc.)

The common theme in the questions is that they all have a number in them; -

The first riddle included the number 6. The sixth letter of the alphabet is F.

The second riddle included the number 15. The fifteenth letter of the alphabet is O.

The third riddle included the number 12. The twelfth letter of the alphabet is L.

The fourth riddle included the number 50. The Roman numeral for 50 is also L.

The final riddle included the number 25. The twenty-fifth letter of the alphabet is Y.

Simples!

I wrote it before your clue, but spent those valuable 13 minutes trying to make myself 100% certain. Unfortunately I haven't succeeded. But your clue verifies my approach.

When you say, "Bat, 11, Christmas, Bull, Silver. Ah, that well known character, BECBS" why do you assume the answers to the riddles have anything to do with it? (For that matter, why would I include the clues in the answers to questions that are that easy to solve?)

I'll give the answer on Monday if no one has it by then.

As I said before, you didn't need to get the final answer - that should serve as a clue as to what you need to be focusing on. At the moment, you're thinking on quite the wrong lines.

Anyone else want to offer an answer? It's only fair someone else gets a turn before Pooka has another go.

Ah, that well known character, BECBS.

Personally, I think it's Merlin. I'm not sure how all the clues fit, but they all ring vague bells (apart from Christmas, which is the one slapping me in the face shouting "Merlin" over and over again).

Okay, here's the final riddle;-

*Quick as mercury,

Yet 25 years on.

Lethal to a wolf,

It's the squire's icon.*

From this point, you should be able to guess who the hidden character is; you don't actually need to get this riddle right.

*Follow the dart,

To the bovine ring.

Hit dead centre,

50 points will bring.*

*Preceded by the first woman,

A new year at halfway.

12 days to its number,

What occasion, pray?*

Eleven?

Here's the second...

*Running the great race,

15 miles have I done.

Tell me how many

Miles still to run.*