231 replies to this topic

[Morningstar]

Whoa, lots of posts at once!

@ WoD When this thread is finished, can you post a link to the next one because a lot of people didn't know there was another thread.

[Thalia]

Thalia:

Spoiler for help if you want it:

The words in the decalogue can be found using the built-in clue of each having it's own number.
(to my knowledge, the Ten Commandments were never numbered, there were just ten of them - this was my clue)

WoD said taking out letters in each one right? I understand what the 10 letters are but can only find where a couple of them are coming from. Are these common words or should I pull out the dictionary? Unless I misread the part about taking out a letter. . .

[SeaCalMaster]

Hmm... what if we arrange the dioramas like this:

Spoiler for

Konichi Nakamura - Chiba
Ocean Zweidler - Bernkastel-Kues
Alicia Tressler - Madrid
Nat Viers Foreman - Amsterdam
L. V. Ford-Seaton - Los Angeles
Walter Sexton - Oxford
Batsheva Ellis - Manhattan
Otto Rinaldi - Florence

[WitchOfDoubt]

(Morningstar: Will do.)

(Thalia: What I meant was that you need to assemble the answer one letter at a time, using one letter in each line. They are common words.)

---

Perhaps the Witch spoke too soon, for SeaCalMaster had unveiled the second answer to the train puzzle.

Spoiler for Second answer to the train problem

Konichi Nakamura - Chiba
Ocean Zweidler - Bernkastel-Kues
Alicia Tressler - Madrid
Nat Viers Foreman - Amsterdam
L. V. Ford-Seaton - Los Angeles
Walter Sexton - Oxford
Batsheva Ellis - Manhattan
Otto Rinaldi - Florence

The trick was realizing that the aliases given to the characters all played into a numbering scheme:

1 in Japanese.

2 in German.

3 in Spanish.

4 in Dutch (and English).

5 in Roman Numerals. (Also, 55).

6 in Latin.

7 in Hebrew.

8 in Italian.

The trains, too, were a hint - the double clovers on the fourth train hinted that the number "4" could be found twice in one name, and the pair of hands on the fifth train hinted at L. V.'s "55." As soon as the duel was over, the results of this answer would be known.

Undeterred by this coup, Dudeney reconstructed the locking of the study.

Locking up for the Night

In order to save the security guards a trip, the librarian always made the last check of Dudeney's room, along with the other rooms nearby. Last evening was no different. One by one, she went to the rooms, locking and shutting the doors. None of these doors were unlocked until the discovery of Dudeney's remains the next evening. No human was inside any of these rooms when she locked up, and all of the Red Truth from before still applies.

One more thing: When the librarian locked the door, the ribbon was still there!

Of course, this can be explained with magic. The culprit summoned Ms. Cox to act as an accomplice. With her magic, even a mere human could walk through locked doors!

Can the Human Side explain this sorcery? We shall see!

 

The boy took the first strike. "Ms. Cox is a spare key!"

The Witch countered easily, taking off the blue rose. "Didn't I tell you already? There were other keys to that room besides the one the librarian used, but none of them were involved in this mystery!"

Which of the humans would strike next?

Edited by WitchOfDoubt, 17 January 2012 - 03:45 AM.

[Thalia]

((Thalia: What I meant was that you need to assemble the answer one letter at a time, using one letter in each line. They are common words.)

Spoiler for

So if I understood Molly, the letters spell "answers are"
A 1 fair-fir
W 3 what-hat
A 6 road-rod
N 7 spoken-spoke
E 10 every-very
S 2,4 clues-clue
Is that what you are getting at? Still looking for two Rs and an E.

[WitchOfDoubt]

(Wow! I see the misunderstanding. But it's nowhere near as complicated as all that. It's a close relative of the "first letter of each line" school of hidden text.)

Edited by WitchOfDoubt, 17 January 2012 - 04:13 AM.

[Thalia]

Aziraphael's comment just hit me over the head. *Deletes sticky notes and a couple of files*

[TheChad]

Here's a guess
The disappearing ink ribbon has to do with water and the rain storm.

[WitchOfDoubt]

Aziraphael struck hastily, even before the scene was fully reconstructed:

I guess the librarian took the ribbon out to replace it with a new one, and simply locked up and went home.
There's no mention of the librarian being shocked at the ribbon's absence, only Ocean...

The Witch took a clean swipe and removed his rose:

The librarian is not the one who removed the ribbon, nor was it removed because it had run out.

TheChad tried a different approach, an outside-the-box attack that would either corner the Witch or eliminate an environmental factor. Either way, it would improve their position:

The disappearing ink ribbon has to do with water and the rain storm.

The Witch parried and took his rose:

The ribbon was gone well before the storm. Its disappearance is related neither to the storm nor the earthquake!

Finally, the boy swung to return both sides of the table to the game:

"What happened to Dudeney wasn't really murder, right? Maybe that's why that other Witch could twist things and say 'Dudeney wasn't killed as a result of being an Animate.' So maybe this isn't really a theft, either!"

His rose came off in a hum of Red, and all the other roses returned.

"This was a real theft," declared the Sapphire Witch. "The ribbon was actually stolen!"

[Aziraphael]

Spoiler for the Witch's fondness for dodging questions:

[blue]It has been repeatedly stated that 'no human being hid in the room'. This prompts me to ask if the emphasis here is to indicate that no living beings are hidden in the room, or simply that no human is hidden there?.[/blue]