Not Quite the Twelve Days

Brian and his group - along with William's, Brian noticed with chagrin, who must also have managed to solve the previous puzzle-were ushered in to a great hall, where they were introduced to the men awaiting them there: one Warren, standard issue dried-up councilor; and one Earl, a brawny thug - apparently a deluxe model, as he was well over seven feet tall. Brian remarked to himself that the breeding stock in this kingdom must be quite specialized.

Warren took a frail step forward and addressed the assemblage. "As our selection process has continued far longer than expected, and has gone on into the Christmas season, we have decided to introduce themed challenges." He swiveled back to the broad wooden doors of the hall, which were just then opening, and swept his thin arm upward as dramatically as he could muster. "Behold!"

The crowd held its breath, watching the empty doorway, and after a moment, two servants struggled in. Strung between them were enourmous interlocking links of gold.

"Oh, dear," someone muttered in the back of the crowd. "Not another chain problem. I hate the chain ones."

Warren was indignant. "No-they're golden rings, curse you! Five golden rings. Please. Be patient. We've gone to great expense."

Just as the two lugged the chain to the far wall, a cacophonous squawking erupted from the doorway, and in sped three hens. They struck a pose together beside the rings, wings over one another's shoulders, and their chattering settled into a murmur, from which occasionally rose a barely intelligible "Sacre bleu!" or "C'est la vie!"

"Three French hens! Wonderful!" fawned Warren.

"That's Freedom hens, thank you very much," came the voice from the back. Warren glared around furiously, but found no culprit.

Next came four calling birds in perfect formation, six geese that quite amazingly managed to keep a-laying continuously as they hurried in and mounted into a neat pyramid, two turtle doves that took a tortuously long time to arrive, and three more French hens. The latter stood stiffly, glaring over at the other hens, seeithing with some kind of provincial enmity.

"Oh, they've lost their little berets," lamented Warren, though he still appeared quite pleased with the production. "Oh well. There you have it, everyone! Notice, if you would be so kind, the sequence of numbers that our cavalcade represents. This will be the basis for your challenge. Now-over to you, Earl!" He then slinked, giggling, back behind the rapidly expanding heap of goose eggs.

Earl herded the group of challengers into a line, then stood at its front and glowered down it. "You are now to meet the challenge. From this point on, any one of you sorry lot who lets out any word but the right one will be defenestrated, forthwith, and I'll just move on to the next challenger."

The first in line, flustered, began, "Defenestrated? But I don't know what that-" and before he could continue, Earl had picked him up by the back of his neck and heaved him out of the window.

"Of course, I'm happy to lead you in the right direction," said Earl, with a grin. "Now then. The challenge to be met is this: guess the next number in the sequence."

The woman in front looked frantically over the menagerie before her, stammering, "There could be any number of answers! You haven't given us enough infor-" and was thrown out the window.

"Oh, yes I have!" thundered Earl. "Dim, this lot. Doesn't listen. Now, who's next?" That challenger was trying to not to be noticed by hunching himself nearly fetal, but he failed to escape Earl's heavy gaze. "Guess the next number in the sequence!"

"Seven?" the man whispered. He was met with such a menacing smile that he immediately scurried himself to the window, and leaped out.

"NO, actually," said Earl after her, "NOT seven." Earl was gradually becoming more gleeful, and louder. Whirling back to the line of challengers, he bellowed, "GUESS THE NEXT NUMBER IN THE SEQUENCE!"

And it was Brian now at the front. He didn't seem too shaken, though, as he strutted forward, looked Earl in his eyes, and gave the right answer.

What was it?

Solution