A series of challenges for a family-friendly Halloween themed adventure. In order to complete this cache you MUST not only solve the first puzzle to know where to begin, but you must follow directions and come prepared to solve a different puzzle in the park. Enough information is provided in the story below to help you identify the puzzles and to enable you to search for what you need to solve them.
Part One – Trick or Treat
Shhhhh. Be quiet. Be very, very quiet. Quiet enough to hear the wind shimmer through the leaves as they float to the ground outside your grandfather’s study. Listen to the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hall. Filled with curiosity, you go over to the clock, turn the small key in the front glass panel, and open the door. The ticking is noticeably louder now. Careful – don’t touch the pendulum as it moves back and forth. You see something different in the shadows near the top of the pendulum. Reaching inside, you can just touch the edge of a rolled up piece of paper. You carefully work your fingers up a little bit higher until you can tug on the paper gently. It eventually slides out and down, and you pull it out of the case.
Hmm. The paper is yellowed with age, and brittle. It has been there a while. You try to read it, but the shapes on the paper don’t seem to mean anything. You have seen something like that before in an old mystery story. You go over to the bookshelf and pull out a book of stories by Edgar Allen Poe. You flip through the pages and find the odd code you remembered. Then you skip a few pages to find out that the odd symbols that were used in the story turned out to mean this: A good glass in the bishop's hostel in the devil's seat twenty-one degrees and thirteen minutes northeast and by north main branch seventh limb east side shoot from the left eye of the death's-head a bee line from the tree through the shot fifty feet out. You look back at the book and the piece of paper in your hand. You go sit down at the desk in the corner and start working out what the symbols mean on the paper in your hand.
Part Two – The Royal Co-Op
After a bit of work, you end up with something that seems like a set of directions. Looks like a trip is in order, but with a beginning like this you should probably expect the unexpected and try to be prepared. Maybe there will be more challenges along the way. More codes from famous mystery stories? Is that going to be a Thing here? Wasn’t there a Sherlock Holmes story that had some kind of secret code? Probably a good idea to check that out before leaving for your destination. What else should you bring? Bug spray? Tweezers? Flashlight? Gloves? There could be an ick factor where gloves could be …. handy. Not a bad pun, under the circumstances. GPS? Sunblock? Fresh batteries? With the rising sun, you gather your equipment and drive toward your mystery destination. You park, and find a path that seems to go in the right direction. Not as scary as it might have been, you think to yourself. Seems like a friendly place where people come together and try to get along. Even so, probably a good idea to keep to yourself and maintain a low profile while you scope out the information that will lead you onward.
Part Three – The Court of the Dancing Jacks
The Co-Op turned out to be a friendly place indeed, giving up its secrets without too much trouble on your part. And it left you with another promising lead to follow, although things seem to be taking a wayward turn that could lead you beyond the fortress battlements and into the Wild. Odder still, you hear …. something a bit strange. Sounds seems to come and go like fog. Bagpipes? Horses? Horns? Then an odd reflection catches your eye, and the sounds fade as you confront the next challenge. Clearly your Elementary sleuthing has paid off, and you work out what you need. Your gloves can stay in your pocket, at least for now.
Part Four – The Dark Path and the Druid Table
With new information in hand, you ponder before you wander. Maybe it would be a good idea to look for a better way forward, even if it seems backward. You have choices to make, and choosing carefully will ease your journey. Not every hard path is difficult, even if the way is dark. Near journey’s end, you will need to tread carefully as you search for the Druid’s Table. Things rustle around you. It is hard to tell if you hear voices in the distance, or whispers coming from nearby. What you seek is where you are looking, so be persistent. Eventually something small catches your eye and you find the small scroll you need to complete this adventure.
Part Five – The Land of the Fallen Kings
With your final destination in hand, consider your choices. The way of the Wild beckons through the Dark Forest. But the shortest path is not always the best, as you have seen. Make your choices as best you can to reach the final location, where you will wander among the fallen. Be mindful of those around you that rest, and those that frolic. Watch your step and search carefully. Your final search is for a container that has been carefully placed to protect its secrets, and it is filled with small rewards for those that find it.