When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote "Treasure Island" in 1883, he single-handedly invented the subgenre of pirate stories. Parrots on the shoulders of treacherous one-legged sailors, mutinies, maroonings on tropical islands, shipwrecks, muskets and cutlasses, treasure maps, 'X' marks the spot, and even the sea-dog climbing the rigging with a knife in his teeth all came from Stevenson's pen.
However, Stevenson himself acknowledged a debt to Edgar Allan Poe, who's 1843 short story, "The Gold-Bug" also told the tale of hidden pirate treasure. You will find most of what you need to solve this puzzle in "Treasure Island", though a little knowledge of Poe's story will help to get you started...
To solve the puzzle, you will have to crack the following series of ciphers:
- A. 3(85;);5(;‡*;‡;48-58)5(-6.48(;48*?928(‡1:85()28*3?**45†288*95(‡‡*8†
- B. WRRHDVBQRZOHWVSODBIDLUZKDWZDVFDSWDLQIOLQWPRVWOLNHOBWRVKULHN
- C. XIMMAGQIFMSGPNCIBKOOTFZUKDCQBMAGNAZLPWSQPCLGGCHKHMZTFGOTCPPDPTQF
- D. SMFKPCGTIESWNZXYMGHZEEWVVKGHLZFCUSMNQCBAXULGYFCCHHSCGROJPTUCSYOBZZED
- E. USIKETRZTVXASIWKFYWSNXZINTBMZZBCSOQVRLKCIWIIKAZVRHLYPZQST
The cache is not at the posted coordinates, but can be found at:
N 51° 16.( B*(A+C+D+E) - 2 )
W 000° 36.( A*(B+C+D+E) + 9 )
Congratulations on the FTF to =Andy_R.