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The “easy” in this quest’s name is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Between tracking down a spell scroll hidden in a pile of rotten apples, passing a DC 20 Wisdom check to impress a druid, and then figuring out an action riddle with no real hints, there’s more to it than it looks. Here’s the full breakdown on how to complete the Easy Riddle major quest in Esoteric Ebb and properly complete the Drunk Sphinx’s riddle.
If there’s any other guides or help you’d like for this game, hit me up on Discord so I can get to it!
An Easy Riddle — Complete Quest Guide
This quest has two distinct stages. The first is a spoken riddle you solve in conversation with Olzis. The second is an action riddle you solve the following morning by using two specific cantrips at the vault. Before you attempt either, you’ll need to acquire both cantrips, so start with those.
Getting the Cantrips
You need two cantrips to complete this quest: Dancing Light and Druidcraft. You can collect them in any order, but you must have both before the second stage.
Dancing Light — The Apple Pile (Lichhouse)
To the right of the stone slab where you find your cloak, there is a pile of apples. Approaching it triggers an interaction. The one you’re after is buried inside the pile, so you need to eat your way through it.
Select “Could I eat my way through this pile of apples?” to begin. Before you roll, you’ll get a preparation menu. Pick (Remove the bad apples first) and pass the Wisdom check. This reduces the upcoming Constitution DC significantly.
When you’re ready, select “Start eating.” This triggers an active CON check at DC 12. If you succeed, you eat all five apples with no consequences, gain +5 HP, and as you lean over feeling sick, find a Spell Scroll (Dancing Light) and 20 Crowns hidden in the pile. Your Intellect automatically memorizes the scroll.
Druidcraft — Nessan (Goblin Garden)
Find Nessan in the southeastern part of Goblin Garden. In the main hub of her conversation, you’ll see a large active check: [Active Check: WIS DC 20] Show your primal attunement.
This DC is steep, but it can be reduced significantly through the conversation itself before you attempt it. Talk through her dialogue thoroughly to stack as many hidden modifiers as you can.
If you succeed, you reach out, visualize the Strings of reality, and manipulate the acidity of the mushrooms in her bowl. They come to life. Nessan is highly impressed, you gain major XP, and you instantly acquire the Druidcraft cantrip.
Stage 1: The Wine Riddle
Head to the Drunk Sphinx tavern and speak with Olzis. Ask her for a riddle. She slams her barrel down and recites:
“Once I had the sun’s favor, my creed ‘cling close the wall.
Matured in shadows, I’ve witnessed empires rise and fall.
Once left in silence, now the life of the ball.
Yet I remain a draught of remembrance. A history’s thrall.
What am I?”
The answer is wine. When prompted, select “Clear your throat and tell her, ‘The answer is wine.'”
If you answer wrong: Olzis dismisses you but then offers you a quest anyway, citing that you have potential. This still advances to Stage 2.
If you answer correctly: Olzis is pleased and immediately offers you the quest.
Either way, she recites the second riddle and hands you a Tavern Key:
“Found within the ARCANE flare.
Twin tongues of flame that scorch the air.
Burrowed deep within the earth,
A PRIMAL String to show your worth.
Folk and gods in thronging herds,
A man DIVINE, alone, howls his words…”
She tells you: “The answer is not something you can speak. Return here alone, after sunrise, before the tavern opens.”
Stage 2: Opening the Vault
Return to the Drunk Sphinx the next morning, without any companion. If Snell or anyone else is with you, the quest will not trigger. Use the Tavern Key to get inside.
Walk behind Olzis and onto the stage where the vault door is. Then use your cantrips in this exact order:
- Dancing Light — this lights the torches on the stage
- Druidcraft — this opens the vault
The vault will open, completing the quest and sending you into the post-quest reflection where you choose your feat. You will also get the Deck of Many Things from inside, which is a whole guide by itself…
Notes
- The riddle’s answer (wine) can be deduced internally if you pass an INT DC 10 check during the dialogue, which confirms it with full reasoning
- You are allowed to ask Olzis to repeat the second riddle as many times as you like before attempting it. She never refuses
- The requirement to be alone is strict. Leave companions behind at the start of the morning before picking them up for the day
