231 replies to this topic

[Aziraphael]

And trains don't run on ladders. =P

Ahhh, yeeesss, but...

Spoiler for

...the ladder in this case refers to the formation of the tracks. While that may be sort of applicable to stairs, only the train fits the condition of running on steam as well

[Molly Mae]

Ahhh, yeeesss, but...

Spoiler for

...the ladder in this case refers to the formation of the tracks. While that may be sort of applicable to stairs, only the train fits the condition of running on steam as well

Spoiler for Yes, but...

...the ladder in this case might refer to a type of ranking system and the ship of steam might be a painting of a steamboat that took first place in an art competition.

Perhaps the ladder was meant to be literal while the ship and steam were meant to be metaphorical. There are many ways to see a problem, and with WoD's knack for multiple answers, I wouldn't be so surprised. =P

I feel like I'm in that WKYK skit--
"Yes, but my leg was here first.."
"And still I pee."
"And still I stand.."

Edited by Molly Mae, 12 January 2012 - 07:15 PM.

[Cavenglok]

Maybe something that allows people to climb said social ladder quickly? Like a hierarchical thing? Perhaps some sort of conspiracy involved with a painting?

[Wilson]

Spoiler for The solutions to the last of Sexton's clues would have to wait........

"Sounds like Mark turned white about the temples (6)". Chapels?
"I speak of a barrier brief, unknown, and weighty. (6, 6)" Bikini Attols?

[plainglazed]

Spoiler for , yes, the intermission is only over just...

I speak of a barrier brief, unknown, and weighty. (6, 6) - Walter Sexton

[WitchOfDoubt]

(rvc113: This is easily the longest chapter planned because of the nature of this story, but this group is going through it at lightning speed. There's nothing wrong with jumping right in late, anyway!)

Two more people arrived to the table, Cavenglok and rvc113, and they were at once seated in the remaining spaces. If more guests arrived, more places could be made.

---

The answer to the last of Sexton's tutorial clues finally occurred to Foreman and Ellis, though one of the more difficult early ones, involving "turning white about the temples" and some sort of homophone, remained unsolved.

Spoiler for Plainglazed's answer is correct because...

It's a composite clue:

I / speak of a barrier brief, unknown, and weighty (6, 6)

I = WALTER SEXTON

"speak of..." (spoken aloud).
"a barrier" : WALL
"brief": TERSE
"unknown": X
"weighty": TON

WALL + TERSE + X + TON.

The earlier one relies on what may be a Britishism. "Mark" is not meant here as a name, but as a mark on, say, an exam.

As for the riddles on Foreman's sheet, the guests found reasonable answers for both, though some debate remained about the second. However, if anyone was unsure of the riddle in the safe - and a few highly original theories were devised - the matter was settled as soon as they took a second look at the model railroad.

The tracks were glued down to the table, forming a loop that circled a green pyramid, which glittered and flashed with multicolored lights. At several locations, the track abruptly stopped and restarted, leaving a total of eight gaps. If the set were turned on as it was, the train would certainly go off the rails. However, eight boxes sat on the table, and inside of each was a hand-painted diorama of a train station, perfectly sized to fit in one of the gaps.

"Wait a sec," said Bill Jackson, picking up an envelope from the table and looking sincerely perplexed. "Where the hell'd this come from? I could've sworn this wasn't there before."

Stamped upon it was a seal, a mark of the Sapphire Witch:

The paper inside read:

Impossible journeys by railway train

Shall rattle your reason and baffle your brain.

The fourth of the eight hides a secret today;

Your traveling companions will show you the way.

But how did the letter get there at all? Of the staff, Mrs. Ye was still at the toybox, Lana was near the bookcase, and Samuel had left the room. Another two staff members, Jaime LaSalle and Celia Marquez, had arrived late, but each vouched that the other had nothing to do with the envelope. And none of the guests had gone near the train. Ocean Zweidler considered this carefully, but didn't voice her hunch, instead directing her attention first to the train, and then to the dioramas that would fill the gaps in the track.

Each car of the train was labeled in some way. The first showed a single tally mark, the second a pair of tally marks, and the third a triangle. The fourth was decorated with four-leaf clovers, and the fifth with hands. The sixth bore the image on an ant, the seventh a heptagon, and the last a spider. In other words, the cars were numbered, but no amount of searching found any keyhole.

The stations seemed more promising. The dioramas depicted, in no particular order:

* The Rijksmuseum and, rather stereotypically, windmills.
* A charming German town whose coat of arms shows two keys, a lobster, and a bear.
* A venerable university town, full of centuries-old libraries and Latin inscriptions.
* A bustling city center covered in Japanese signage.
* Skyscrapers, including the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.
* Michelangelo's David and the Uffizi Gallery.
* Sunbathers and surfers on a beach, with the Santa Monica mountains in the background.
* A grand royal palace and the Museo del Prado.

"Guess we'd better just put those stations in order," said L. V., "and turn it on!"

Edited by WitchOfDoubt, 13 January 2012 - 07:05 AM.

[SeaCalMaster]

Alright, so

Spoiler for The dioramas

The dioramas indicate specific cities; in order, they are
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bernkastel-Kues, Germany (Wikipedia claims it's well-known)
Oxford, England (maybe? This could be a lot of things)
Tokyo, Japan (this could be a different Japanese city)
New York City, USA
Florence, Italy
Los Angeles, USA
Madrid, Spain
We need to order them, somehow, although it's not clear how we should do so. The obvious choice is alphabetizing, which would make Los Angeles the 4th; however, I suspect there's something else we're supposed to see. Longitude, maybe?

Now that I think about it, longitude seems more likely given the seal. Where do we start, though? "(A) green pyramid, which glittered and flashed with multicolored lights" makes me think of the Luxor pyramid, but that's definitely blue.

As for the last cryptic clue,

Spoiler for

Grayed (sounds like grade). I'm glad WoD nudged me on that one; I'm usually not very good at these.

[WitchOfDoubt]

While the group was debating the answer, Professor Rinaldi, quick to tinker as always, simply guessed a few possible orders - to no avail. Neither alphabetical order, latitude, nor longitude play a role in this solution.

[Aziraphael]

The answer to the last of Sexton's tutorial clues finally occurred to Foreman and Ellis, though one of the more difficult early ones, involving "turning white about the temples" and some sort of homophone, remained unsolved

Spoiler for Turning White Around The Temples

Grayed (Grade)

[rvc113]

here my take on this, probably wrong though.

Spoiler for Long stretch

" impossible journey by railway train" is probably important too. i.e you can travel by train from New York to LA but not Amsterdam to Tokyo.
venerable university could also be Cambridge, or maybe Rome.
Finally, I knew of all the town but Bernkastel-Kues, this is a very small town without a train station. Probably important then.
In Europe, you could start or finish from/to any of these city except Bernkastel-kues.
Only place you can not start or finish by Train are Bernkastel-kues and Tokyo.