The Ballad of Adler Young, Canto 2.5

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>Vernier: Goodness... It looks so... How to say this in a nice way?
>Adler: . . . Pfft. Heh. HA HA HA HA! The absolutely ridiculous sight moves you to uncontrollable laughter. Once you are done rolling around on the ground, you wipe the tears from your eyes and deal with the hiccups. You haven't had a good laugh like that in a long time.

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"Oh my," Vernier exclaimed. "That looks ... it's so, um ... it's very interesting."

I burst out laughing and could not stop. I cackled and guffawed and rolled on the ground until my sides ached and I couldn't breathe.

>Rebecca: Why is he laughing, does he not like it?

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"What's so funny?" Rebecca asked. "Do you not like it?"

"On the contrary," I gasped. "I wholeheartedly endorse this look for Burnside. Maybe we can even convince her to keep it. What do you think, Burnside?"

She continued to stand there and not say anything.

>Adler: You'll just have to take that as a "yes". This Burnside is much more agreeable. Now, back to business. Something about granting wishes.

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"I think we can take that as a yes until she says otherwise," I chuckled, wiping a tear from my eye. I hadn't had a good laugh like that in a long time. "Burnside is certainly much more agreeable this way. Now then, back to business. What's this about granting wishes?"

"Well sir," Vernier answered, "stories abound of magical elves granting wishes to people who can catch them and/or guess their name. It certainly could be a draw if you were able to play on this familiar trope."

"I don't want anybody trying to catch me," I remarked. "But the name-guessing thing is already quite familiar. I wonder where that idea came from? Why should knowing my name grant anyone the right to a wish?"

"I have no idea, but it is a widely attested piece of lore. If I had to speculate, I'd say the guessing game is a mild challenge to provide a sense of accomplishment and make the subject feel like they earned a wish. If you make it too easy, nobody will want it. Lysander could tell you a lot about marketing and how people will line up to buy an item that they would never take if it was offered for free."