WitchOfDoubt

(A typo has been found: "a hapless guest left once" should read "a hapless guest once left". Neither phrasing is relevant to the solution, but the grammar was distracting. The Witch duly apologizes for this lapse.) The first arrival at the gate, whom we'll call TheChad, was nonplussed by the page and the safe (was this a riddle? a scavenger hunt?), but made an attempt nonetheless. Neither combination was accepted by the safe lock. The second arrival, hhh3, hazarded a truly wild guess, but this wild guess contained part of an answer that the safe lock could accept. Edited by plainglazed at WoD's request - see strikethroughs above.

(Note: Even if the entrants in the story are not supposed to work together to solve this, you probably should use teamwork. "Do you think you can solve this alone?" is a taunt, not a suggestion.)

Inspired by When the Seagulls Cry (Umineko no Naku Koru ni) The difficulty of this opening is Fairly Simple. Would you care to give it a guess? PROLOGUE: The Sphinx's Decalogue I. A fair riddle should require no highly specialized knowledge that the readers cannot easily obtain. II. Any fair riddle must contain the information needed to solve it, and no "false clues" that mislead. III. It should be clear what the answer had to have been in hindsight. IV. The worst riddles contain outright false clues. All clues in a riddle should be explicable in light of the answer. V. If the answer is "Nothing" or "I can't guess," it is not a fair riddle, but rather an anti-riddle. VI. A literal, trivial answer to a question is scarcely an answer at all. The chicken must cross the road for an actual reason. VII. Riddles that rely on spoken homophones should be told in speech or not at all. VIII. A truly fair answer must be as simple as possible and expressible in a few words at most. IX. Obscure or improbable puns must not be required for a riddle's answer. X. If any player's answer neatly fits every single clue of a riddle without breaking these rules, it is a correct answer. * * * * * * * * * This is a riddle of riddles and a mystery of mysteries, a challenge of locked safes and sealed rooms. Do you think you can solve this by guessing? Do you think you can solve it alone? Do you think I'll confirm your answers? Do you think I'll underline or bold every riddle for you? Don't be absurd! If you demand fairness, feel free to wait for it. You'll starve first. If you demand confirmation of your answers, confirm them yourselves. If you demand the truth... good luck. Without hope, the truth cannot be found. Signed, The Witch of Doubt The First Safe: The Hapax Club is a museum of riddles. There are no placards distinguishing the exhibits from the fixtures or, for that matter, from the staff and visitors. This is meant to encourage an all-consuming curiosity among its patrons. Is the flickering light in the men's lavatory delivering a message? Indeed, but it took two men a rather long time to be fully sure it is; a puzzle like that can be easily missed, though we all know of it now. As you see, a person must look beyond surfaces here. (On the other hand, a hapless guest left once her purse on a pedestal on a busy morning, and by noon, seven people had come up with solutions for it. ) Eleven days ago, the proprietor of the club announced his retirement. All of the treasures and mysteries held in those blue-painted halls and scarlet-curtained chambers would pass to whoever could best a final challenge. See the guests filtering in, new riddlers and old! As each one enters, they are given a sheet of paper, the very sheet you hold in your hands right now. They're not to discuss the contents until they've solved the entrance examination. The club must have standards, after all. The first safe has two locks. The first is a prime example of a 4-digit number lock. The second is a digital display, which reads - - - - - - - - -, attached to a scanning pad, on which shapes (presumably letters) can be drawn with a stylus.

I know the traditional answer to this one, but let me give a different one.

Definitions aren't neutral. If someone has defined a special word for a "stupid Ruritanian", but hasn't defined similar words for other nationalities, and hasn't defined a word for a "smart Ruritanian," their definition says something about their worldview. Nimrod's definitions aren't wrong, but they imply deep wrongness, a willingness to complicate definitions unnecessarily. And the dodge that "we're doing that by saying they change color" doesn't hold, because we don't actually define color in a time-dependent way. Another way of looking at this: a meter is based on the circumference of the earth. What on earth are Nimrod's units based on?

Maybe "purchase" here means something like... Nah...

I think Thalia's got it! What about...

We have a correct answer! But first, let me offer one last audio clue. And if you haven't gotten it yet, I recommend looking at the clues to other players I posted on page 2 of this thread before you give up: Lots of good guesses - Prof. Templeton was on the right track - but the correct answer goes to The2ndShepherd, with a triumphant first post! For those who are still uncertain, here's a quick gloss on the riddle: Thanks to everyone who tried it!

None of the above two guesses are correct. That said, here is a clue for everyone:

Hmm.

(I've given clues to the people who have posted since my last visit. Please ONLY peek at the clue you've earned. If you want a clue, make another guess!)

Maybe:

Nope. Try focusing away from spiritual, metaphysical, and religious matters.

Nope. Don't be misled by the surface reading.

Nope! The title is actually relevant to the answer.

Another: Well-constructed!

None of the above; keep trying!

Oh. Ohhhhh.

Thalia's got it! (Inspired by this actual epitaph for a conductor:

I'm not sure what the Joes are, but...

Ask each guard:

Trying to mimic the sound of a traditional Victorian riddle: I abide with the dear and departed above, At the start of a breath, and the closing of love. I've the power to separate heart, soul, and mind -- Beware! As you meet me, Death follows behind!

More guesses:

Hmm. I wonder if the idiom referenced in this riddle is too obscure. Oh, well.