My companions engaged the creature competently, using coordinated tactics to avoid its venomous attacks while landing strikes on its carapace.

Meanwhile, I analysed the riddle's clues more.

"Named for the small moon's memory"

This phrase seemed crucial. Combined with the references to night, hunters, and hiding glint, it pointed toward something specifically lunar in nature.

"Moon Crystal," I said aloud as my team delivered the finishing blow to the spider.

Again, nothing happened initially. Then the rumbling returned, more intense this time, and two sections of the floor opened simultaneously. Two Elite-rank beasts emerged, this time they were larger and more aggressive than the first.

"Two this time!" one of my team members shouted as they prepared for a more challenging battle.

I continued analysing the clues while they fought, realizing that we needed to be more careful about our approach to avoid spawning additional guardians with incorrect answers.

Clearly, wrong answers had escalating punishments, with the difficulty scaling based on the number of incorrect attempts. The pattern was becoming obvious, one wrong answer spawned one beast, two wrong answers spawned two beasts.

As my team members fought against the two beasts, I finally pieced together the riddle's true meaning.

"Moonstone!" I called out confidently.

Both of my team members paused mid-combat, looking at me with obvious concern.

"Are you sure?" one of them shouted while dodging a crystal spider's lunge. "If you're wrong again, three Elite-rank beasts will spawn. That's too much for us to handle - you'll need to step in and fight!"

I nodded firmly. "I'm certain this time."

They finished dispatching the current threats before gathering around to hear my analysis.

"Look at the clues, I hoard the thin winters of night in crystal teeth, moonstone captures and reflects moonlight, appearing to store it within the crystal structure. I weigh the small salt of paths, moonstone is often used by travellers for navigation and guidance. Hunters sleep with me under their tongue, it's a common talisman carried by hunters for stealth."

I pointed to the specific phrase that had provided the key insight. "But the crucial line is 'named for the small moon's memory.' That directly points to moonstone - a gem literally named after the moon itself. The entire riddle is describing the properties and uses of moonstone, not just any crystal or gem."

My team members looked shocked by the thoroughness of the analysis.

"That... actually makes complete sense," one admitted. "All the clues fit perfectly when you explain it that way."

"The pearlescent veins in these walls even match moonstone's appearance," the other observed. "We should have connected those visual elements to the riddle."

I approached the pedestal and spoke clearly: "Moonstone."

The word resonated through the chamber, and immediately the formation began glowing with soft, lunar light. The pearlescent veins in the walls pulsed in harmony with the central crystal, creating a beautiful display of synchronized illumination.

A grinding sound echoed from above as another section of wall slid away, revealing a staircase leading to the third floor. The moonstone riddle had been solved correctly.

"Well reasoned," I said to my team as we prepared to ascend. "Our approach is working clearly, we found the key to these puzzles."

We climbed to the third floor, entering a chamber with a distinctly different atmosphere. The stone here had a faint smoky scent, and seams throughout the walls glowed like smouldering coals, though the surfaces remained cold to the touch when we tested them. The contradiction between the visual warmth and actual temperature created an unsettling effect.

At the center of this level stood another pedestal, this one carved from what appeared to be blackened stone with veins of deep red running through it. The inscription was carved more deeply than the previous riddles, as if burned into the stone itself.

I read the new riddle aloud:

"I stand between ember and breath though I hold no blade. I am the seam that keeps hearth from hunger; my name is the ward of flame. Speak the compound forged to turn ash aside, in the tongue the old smiths used."

My team members immediately began discussing possible answers.

"It's talking about protection from fire," one said thoughtfully. "Something that stands between flame and... whatever flame might damage."

"A barrier of some kind," the other suggested. "But it specifically mentions 'the tongue the old smiths used,' so we need an archaic term again."

I studied the base of the pedestal and noticed new markings, a burnt notch combined with what appeared to be an older rune.

One of my team members suddenly straightened with obvious realization. "Wait - 'the ward of flame' and 'compound forged to turn ash aside.' It's asking for a specific protective term that smiths would have used."

He paused, working through the logic carefully. "Flameward. That's what they called protective barriers against fire in the old forging texts. It's a compound word, flame plus ward, exactly what the riddle describes."

I looked at him with genuine interest. "That's excellent reasoning. The riddle specifically asks for a compound term, and flameward fits all the clues perfectly. You've connected the smithing context with the protective function."

"Are you confident in that answer?" The other team member asked, wanting to ensure he had fully thought it through.

He nodded firmly. "Flameward describes something that wards off flame, it's a compound term like the riddle requests, and it uses the archaic language that old smiths would have employed. All the clues align."

"Then speak it," I said, stepping back to let him claim credit for solving the puzzle.

He approached the pedestal and declared clearly: "Flameward."

The word resonated through the chamber with a deep, satisfying sound. The coal-like seams in the walls flared brighter for a moment before settling into a steady, warm glow. The smoky scent intensified briefly, then cleared as mechanisms activated.

"Good job," I said to my team member who had solved the riddle.

A section of the wall slid away with the grinding of stone on stone, revealing another staircase leading upward. The flameward puzzle had been conquered through reasoning rather than guesswork.

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