Eiran and his chamberlain stepped onto the cement path and walked for kilometers until they reached a stone tablet.
In the distance, on either side of their tablet, stood other tablets.
"Those belong to other candidates," she pointed at the distant tablets. "You must learn and solve what appears on the tablet, and the city will send a boat to take us inside. You have only three attempts!"
The tablet resembled a stone wall slab. Plain and empty one moment, then it is divided into small tiles, each bearing runic symbols—a chaotic mix of animal depictions and mysterious signs.
Beneath them appeared normal meanings and common alphabet that he recognized. There were one hundred runes, each with its meaning, but some looked extremely similar. A slight curve here, a shallow depression in the carving there, or a single dot differentiated them.
