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The Witch's Epigraph: Prologue


WitchOfDoubt
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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.

Edited by WitchOfDoubt
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Lock #1 = 2711

Lock #2 = limegreen

Alternate guess for Lock #2 = greenroom

Anyway, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with green... or 'lime'

Edited by revathiest
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I was going to edit my last post, but I got to it too late.

Lock #1 = 2711

Lock #2 = limegreen

Alternate guess for Lock #2 = greenroom

Anyway, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with green... or 'lime'

I wanted to offer my explanation

The letters that are a different color, when considered with the letters that are normal represent morse code. When I translate the code, I find the following:

AZURECYANLIMEINDIGO

Of the 4 colors indicated, Azure, Cyan, Lime and Indigo, only 1 is not blue. Being that it doesnt fit, I keyed in on LIME (a shade of green). LIMEGREEN has 9 letters as indicated on the digital display, therefore, it is my guess.

The greenroom guess is just because of the indication that part of a previous guess was partially right (restroom/toilet).

Edited by revathiest
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very nice catch re the Morse code revatheist! now naming the colors of the asterisks - Indigo, Lime, Lime, Orange, Green, Indigo, Cyan, Azure, Lime of which the first letters spell ILLOGICAL - the nine letter key to the second part of the first safe. Also like BobbyGo's go at this last part. Seems like it may be a better fit overall.

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very nice catch re the Morse code revatheist! now naming the colors of the asterisks - Indigo, Lime, Lime, Orange, Green, Indigo, Cyan, Azure, Lime of which the first letters spell ILLOGICAL - the nine letter key to the second part of the first safe. Also like BobbyGo's go at this last part. Seems like it may be a better fit to an overall theme.

bah! i JUST made that connection, then came and saw this post...

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(Apologies for the delayed response. I wanted to write the next puzzles in their entirety before posting this update. If you're having trouble reading the first post, please use this link:)

=====

Meet the Pieces (Part Two of Many)

Louis Vuitton Ford-Seaton

Age: 30

Profession: Lounger and dilettante, or so he claims.

Quote: "Call me L. V. What does it stand for? So awesome you asked! It stands for 'Lovin' Volcano.'"

Background: As the heir to the Ford-Seaton fortune, L. V. has never had to work a day in his life - though he must have some other source of income, given the sheer amount of money he burns jetting around the world. Sandy-haired and flirtatious, L. V. sounds and acts the part of a stoned surf bum.

Don't be fooled. He's a member of the Club in excellent standing for good reason.

Random Fact: Won a Forensic DNA Analysis championship.

Sample Riddle:

L. V. places a Diamond Express credit card on a table and waves over a few guests. "Well, I say!" he says in an ironically bad British accent, "This plastic rectangle reminds me of a puzzle. Okay, okay, I'll cut the accent. How many credit cards can you lay flat on top of it without letting 'em overlap each other? Here are the rules.

Numero uno: They're all 3.4 by 2.1 inch standard-size credit cards.

Numero dos: To count as being 'on top' of the Diamond Express, a card has to, like, cover up at least a little bit of it.

Numero tres: The cards you put down can't overlap each other, and they gotta be sitting flat. No making some kinda wacky pyramid dealio.

Come on, dudes and dudettes! How many can you fit?"

----

Answer Key for the First Safe

The sheet of paper with Ocean's profile had been hidden in the mouth of a gargoyle at the right side of the front door; its riddle fell swiftly. The answer was, indeed, a reference to the very first words the guests saw.

But that was little more than a distraction compared to the first safe. As its opener, Ocean was given the honor of unsealing the envelope inside. It contained a sheet of paper with two stories, the very sheet you are reading now. She read over it with some confusion. Why did the other story say that the beach bum did it? That was totally false! His answer was ridiculous - what did his mother have to do with the safe?

Her answer, in contrast, had been entirely well-grounded. She started by solving the Morse code on the page (which matched the flickering lights in the men's room), giving her a list of colors. She then matched the colors to the asterisks on the page, and found that their first letters spelled out the answer.

Ignoring the story below, she read the account aloud, then followed the instructions it gave to proceed to the Foyer of the Club. It was time for their challenge to begin in earnest.

---

The sheet of paper with L.V.'s profile had been hidden in the mouth of a gargoyle at the left side of the front door, and posed one of L. V.'s favorite party riddles. As the opener of the first safe, L. V. was given the honor of unsealing the envelope inside. It contained a sheet of paper with two stories, the very sheet you are reading now. He read both stories aloud, not even blinking when it began with a bogus account of how Ocean had been the first to open the safe. Why would Dad make the answer to one of his puzzles a word like that? It was almost like saying, "Hey, guys, my riddles make no sense!"

Hey, at least they got it right in the second story! His answers were way better. Everybody in the Club knew him and Dad, and it was obvious that he was going to inherit everything, right? So of course the riddles were meant for him. It's not as if this story were being shown to strangers. They wouldn't have a chance.

No way they'd guess the year Mom met Dad - two years before he was born - or her name.

Still... weird that the writer knew that either he or Ocean was gonna solve the first safe, though. Shrugging and ignoring that story above, he led the rest of the guests to the Foyer, following the instructions on the page. He'd solve the puzzle below later.

A Clue Towards L. V.'s Answer

DALMERE NEGRE

TEFASY GARONE

QUESORITU

PALO

ONNE RENGE

GANBERIUE

=====================================================================================================================

The sheets of paper end here, for now.

Did you solve all of the riddles in this thread? Are you sure? There are always more riddles. For example, did you notice the hidden words in the Sphinx's Decalogue, found by taking one letter from each Commandment? It's a trifle, but worth considering.

If you are confused by that last story, perhaps it will become clear in the next thread.

Signed,

The Witch of Doubt

Edited by WitchOfDoubt
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Cards stacked = 6 for lying flat. I can't get a seventh in my head.

The clues are colours.

DALMERE NEGRE = Emerald Green

TEFASY GARONE = Safety Orange

QUESORITU = Turquoise

PALO = Opal

ONNE RENGE = Neon Green

GANBERIUE = Aubergine

@WoD: Should I be using PHOE to find Truth? =P

Edited by Molly Mae
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(Molly Mae:

Those anagrams are absolutely correct! Nope, you shouldn't be using any arrangement of the letters in HOPE. There's a more direct use of the colors that goes back to the first post.

Well done on finding the hidden words in the Decalogue. This clue may come in handy later.

Plainglazed:

Here's an alternative solution:

cardfun.png

Good work!)

The last major riddle of this thread remains uncracked, however. What were L. V.'s answers to the safe puzzle?

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(Congratulations! The riddles of the first thread have been solved. You have unlocked the first Witch's Banquet.)

Banquet of the Prologue

A figure in a blue riding cloak gently laid a hand on the Club's front door. Though it had surely been locked, it opened before the magic of the Sapphire Witch in an instant. Passing by the newly installed ticket booth, through the foyer, and finally into the study, the Witch opened a door and was greeted at once by Dudeney, ever the loyal butler.

"Annabel. It has been some time. I trust you're well?" said Dudeney. In truth, ten years had gone by since the day of the inheritance challenge and the ruinous scandal that followed. All the same, Dudeney would ever be the Witch's friend.

Dudeney was one of the Witch's first Animates, imbued with human personality and character by the power of magic. Old-fashioned, perhaps, but he would always have a place in Annabel's heart. "As well as could be expected!" said the Witch. "And yourself?"

"Alas! Nobody has fed me for years. Still, it is to be, as you say, expected," replied Dudeney. Though the portly, squat little fellow still bore himself with dignity, his outer vestments showed signs of neglect. The black ribbon he wore was faded and worn, and half of the buttons at his breast had their sigils worn off. "In the year 2021, it is a miracle that I even exist at all. I shan't complain if I'm given few opportunities to serve. My joints are creaky with age."

"Ha! Rejoice, old friend!" said the Witch, laughing. "Tonight, you shall have a banquet, for our mystery is being re-opened! Come, let us begin - just like old times. You can take down my dictation while you eat."

And so the butler feasted through the night with a clashing of teeth and clattering of utensils.

Edited by WitchOfDoubt
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(There are many riddles in this thread, one of which is hidden message in the Sphinx's Decalogue. This is what Molly Mae solved. The solution is plainly visible in your last post.

If you wish to check this answer, you should return to the Decalogue and solve the code, which has a ten-letter answer.

The code's answer only makes full sense if you consider what came immediately after the Sphinx's Decalogue in the first post - a series of asterisks, which led to more answers.)

Edited by WitchOfDoubt
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