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*"I know enough to know I don't know enough."
I blinked and looked at the floor.
Were the rumors true?
What could this mean?

My nerves were oddly settled as he handed me my tea.
This tea had a fragrance so familiar, yet so.. exotic.
I couldn't quite place it... The steam rising from it was.. hypnotic.

"What do you know, Lazarus?"
I asked after a moment of silence.

"This child is a key, of sorts. He knows yet not of his power.
Some figure him to be the fountain of youth incarnate.
Others wish for him to be a clairvoyant seer, mailable unto their ends.
I'm not certain, but I've had dreams of this child since I was but a boy."

Lazarus paused and ran his fingers through his beard.
He sighed an unsettled sigh, heavy with burden.

"We set out tomorrow to find his family.
We must ensure that he fulfills his destiny,
whatever that may be.
We must be careful, though.
There is sure to be a terrible darkness seeking this child as well."
 Oct 2014
Tryst
Spoiler alert.  The original poem is followed by the solution.


"Why Mr Holmes! Come quick! The vicar's dead!"
"Dearest Lestrade! Another killer lost?"
"The Reverend Green alas was killed in bed,
The frightened Mrs White mirrors a ghost!

Mrs Peacock is in quite a shock,
The Colonel Mustard is attending her;
Motive remains unclear, although the clock
Was stopped at six, when Mr Black was here

He burned the mail, perhaps it held a clue,
The man then ran, and no weapon was found;
Miss Scarlet who was sleeping, slept right through;
Such a tough case, so care to stake a pound?"

"Lestrade! To take your cash would be a crime!
One wonders why the clock stopped at that time!"


Who murdered poor Reverend Green, why and how?

CLUE: the solution contains 15 words.

CLUE:
    “I say old chap, those kids in Baker Street
    They’re running and a skipping: SHOO AWAY!”
    “Dear Dr. Watson, rest your weary feet!
    Perhaps you’ll learn something from childish play!”




SOLUTION

"Why Mr Holmes! Come quick! THE vicar's dead!"
"Dearest Lestrade! Another KILLER lost?"
"The Reverend Green alas WAS killed in bed,
The frightened MRS White mirrors a ghost!

Mrs PEACOCK is in quite a shock,
THE Colonel Mustard is attending her;
MOTIVE remains unclear, although the clock
WAS stopped at six, when Mr BLACK was here

He burned the MAIL, perhaps it held a clue,
THE man then ran, and no WEAPON was found;
Miss Scarlet who WAS sleeping, slept right through;
Such A tough case, so care to STAKE a pound?"

"Lestrade! To take your cash would be a crime!
One wonders why the clock stopped at that time!"


The solution is a simple skip sequence (hinted in clue 2), every sixth word is taken to obtain the solution.

*THE-KILLER-WAS-MRS-PEACOCK
THE-MOTIVE-WAS-BLACK-MAIL
­THE-WEAPON-WAS-A-STAKE
---------------------------------------------
I knocked.

A minute passed.
The slight chill bit mercifully
at my cheeks and down my spine.

Silence.

I knocked again,
somewhat more frenzied,
now ever so lightly shivering.

Silence.

I tried the handle:
it was locked.

It was cold.

So cold.

"What a strange thing,"
I murmured to myself,
"that a cabin would be here,
unattended,
in this surreal place.
Could this be a dream?
Perhaps a vision?
No.. I must be awake... right?"

A creaking then came
from within the cabin:
"Patience," boomed out
a voice both deep and distant,
"all shall be made abundantly clear in due time, mortal."

Had I awoken something
better off left dormant?

My heart felt as if it were racing and standing still at the same time.

A faint glow now emanated from the window in the door.
It flickered with the rhythm of a candle in mild wind,
but was persistent enough to stay aflame, nevertheless.

The glass was too foggy to discern a figure within.

A metallic rattle
echoed within my now startled mind:

The handle slowly turned,
and, for some reason,
I had the tenacity
to simply await it's opening:
Somehow, I was eerily calm.

"Hello," said a voice
that alone had more character
than anyone I'd met
in all my vast travels.

"Do you take your tea
with cream or sugar,
or just leaves in some water?"

Inquired the figure
cloaked in white
who I could only fathom to be
the Oracle I presently seek.

— The End —