231 replies to this topic

[Morningstar]

Spoiler for Second Key

Using the reverse of Seaton, I find that the playfair cipher gives:
TO KC SF LI NO

So onward to Kansas City, San Fran, Long Island, New Orleans.

EDIT: I kind of figure that one answer will typically favour 55.

I'm a bit confused, and I think you guys are too smart for me.

Spoiler for question

Why 55?

[Morningstar]

@ WoD No, we will never stop thinking!

[Thalia]

Spoiler for The spectre from the tutorial

ghost?

[Molly Mae]

I'm a bit confused, and I think you guys are too smart for me.

Spoiler for question

Why 55?

Spoiler for Why

55 is Ford-Seaton

[Molly Mae]

Spoiler for @WoD

I want to assume that the youtube links are just for mood/theme, but I kinda wanna confirm. Normally I wouldn't ask for clarification in this thread, but I don't have access to youtube from my typical connection.

[SeaCalMaster]

Well, that was complicated.

Spoiler for Purple!

If you take the artists for all the records, their first letters spell out "Hope brings an answer." Using "hope" as the key for the Playfair cipher gives "eulbdnader," which is "red and blue" backwards.

[Aziraphael]

Well, that was complicated.

Spoiler for Purple!

If you take the artists for all the records, their first letters spell out "Hope brings an answer." Using "hope" as the key for the Playfair cipher gives "eulbdnader," which is "red and blue" backwards.

Spoiler for SeaCalMaster: Where did you get...?

I got very close to this, but where did you get the 's' from 'answer'? I had Dionne Bromfield down for 'Mamma Said'... (also was thrown by Vanessa Carlton doing 'Twighlight' lol) :S

[WitchOfDoubt]

The Witch mulled over Molly Mae's answer. TO followed by four pairs of letters could be made into a journey for any number of letter pairs, and the Humans had already won an amber using a similar strategy, and two would be far too generous.

"Hmm," said the Witch. "No, this answer may be a valiant attempt, but it is not sufficient at this time."

That Molly could not hear the music would not be too problematic. Although the title of the last mood piece, "Hope", had been a clue, that was an exception, not the rule. But the presence of 55 in that name, which Molly had aptly spotted, was no coincidence. "Ah, so you see it already! Ahaha!"

Noticing Morningstar in the vicinity, the Witch offered a seat next to Molly Mae. "You say you'll never stop thinking? Hmm... we shall see." Then, noting Thalia's progress on the tutorial clues, the Witch gloated, "Indeed! This is a magic that allows a ghost, a spectre, to appear from nowhere! Now, the remaining clues...?"

At last, SeaCalMaster approached the cipher answer that the Witch had crafted, and was immediately offered a set between Thalia and Wilson. But Ms. Cox was not satisfied with this answer. "Don't speak to soon!" she said. "The riddle isn't solved until the safe is opened, 'purple' is not part of the answer, and the safe has a microphone lock!"

"True, true," said the Witch. "Complicated or not, another step remains to open the safe. Ah, Aziraphael, welcome. Do sit opposite Thalia, if you like. Now, Bromfield covered 'Mamma Said', but the Shirelles - "

But before the Witch could finish, the room shook wildly, agitating the plates, silverware, and Dudeney. It was as if the aftershocks of the earthquake in the story even affected this place, or the whim of some fickle machinery were undermining the foundations of its existence.

"Is everyone well?" asked the Witch, trying to hide considerable discomposure. Everyone was, though Dudeney was a bit rattled. The Witch readjusted the mask carefully. "It seems this venue is a little unstable. Is it not fortunate that I called an Intermission just before that last tremor?"

"If you're saying 'magic' told you this place was gonna start shaking apart," said the boy at the head of the table, "You're totally full of it." He returned to reading a typed page in his hand.

---

Meet the Pieces (Part 7 of Many)

Batsheva Ellis

Age: Not telling

Occupation: Painter, Sculptor, Dancer, Acupuncturist

Quote: "Does anybody say, 'I'm gonna think inside the box on this one?' Maybe they should! What if you're an ant living inside the cardboard walls of the box, and everything inside and outside those walls is 'outside the box,' because it's not part of the tunnels in the cardboard you've made into a home for your ant family?.

So I think the answer is 'an ant.'

Why so surprised? What, you thought I was gonna get it wrong?"

Background: Born to a Manhattan lawyer and an architect, Batsheva was raised in a family that, on the spectrum of Judaism from Orthodox to Reform, fell somewhere around 'Not Christian.' From these beginnings, she proceeded to go to college, change her major more often than her hat, and graduate with a 4.0 GPA and a "Bachelor's of Something or Other." In spite of her family's fears that she was too unfocused to make a living, she managed to prosper, surmounting countless barriers by ignoring them.

Some members of the Club think that she uses a constant stream of surreal patter to help herself think, and that what she says has nothing to do with the brilliant answers that generally follow. Others argue that she communicates her thoughts very clearly, but in the language of her home planet.

Sample riddle:

Several Club members had gathered around to hear Batsheva Ellis's latest riddle - an easy one, by her admission.

"I've got one. Flying takes a lot of energy! Right? It's a big drain of flying animals, like hummingbirds, bumblebees, and vampires."

This was entirely par for the course for an Ellis riddle.

"So, let's suppose that, in order to fly, a vampire needs to drink one person's blood every hour. And one hour after a person gets drunk from, they turn into a vampire themselves, with the same hourly blood-drinking requirement.'

"I don't think," said Kenichi, "that there would be any humans left."

"It's a really big city! Anyway, suppose a single vampire goes out hunting at 12 PM. What's the total number you have six hours later?"

Edited by WitchOfDoubt, 11 January 2012 - 12:52 PM.

[Aziraphael]

Good job I was never any good at math!

Spoiler for Well, exponentially...

There would be none, as Vampires die in exposure to direct sunlight, which there would be at Midday!!

[Morningstar]

Spoiler for question

Do vampires even fly?

Edit: Typo.

Edited by Morningstar, 11 January 2012 - 02:10 PM.