DRX - Mirrored Embers - 0/16

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#322

Records

You find yourself in a maze of tapes, floppy disks, and all other sorts of means of collecting information. On a table in the middle of the room, you find a skeleton that pulses with an infernal energy. It’s hunched over at a table with broken electronics presumably meant to allow for the accessing of information. Several papers on the floor are scribbled over with ‘ARE WE SO BLIND TO THINK OURSELVES IMMUNE TO CONSEQUENCE?’ Something definitely happened here, and it gives off an eerie vibe as a result.

  • Papers:

From: The Professor

The stars will be aligned soon. Our sigils will hopefully protect your people as you attempt to dissect information from the falling star. Do not forsake the artifact we gave you to withhold its power and focus it. Or else you will likely meet your doom as it tears your reality apart.

  • Skeleton: Upon inspecting the skeleton, you find that a heart like object in the middle of their chest is beating. Maybe you could figure out what it does with careful observation? (Requires an INT% roll)

Heart Burn (Weapon) - Causes an explosion within 20 seconds when set on fire. +20% kill chance when detonated.

  • Going back the way you came sends you to another room

BIG DEETS
Tape/Floppy Disk playing

At the beginning of all normal tapes: Upon playing the tape/casette/floppy disk, a video roars to life. You immediately see the visage of Arctic talking, with the background indistinguishable.

(Play these in order)

Case Log: ████ All of the other participants in this ‘game’ appear to have been effected in a manner such that they are acting out in uncharacteristic ways for children at that age normally. This doesn’t seem to purely be the conditions provided by the game. There seems to be a much darker force at play. My current theory proposes a ringmaster whipping the circus animals (us) into action for the amusement of a crowd. I’ve already fended off attempts on my life from Arthur and Alicia, of whom I had profiled from the start as individuals of reasonable mental stability.

Case Log: ████ I don’t know what to say. I have recently found and played a tape containing me talking to myself about this game. A brief overlook would tell me that the game mentioned by myself is at least fairly similar to the one I’m currently in. There’s much to be discussed and discovered here. For possible future incarnations of me, I propose that we use this method of recording in order to pass information along so we can ascertain the truth of the predicament we find ourselves in. As a note, we likely should only add information if it contradicts an earlier theory slash finding, or adds a substantial finding that’s useful for us.

Case Log: ████ In accordance with the current plan, I’ve found out several things and created a few theories to test at a later date. If I’m going to keep coming back, then it’s at least worth it to plan for the future. Methods of recording information seem to only be transferred between sessions (?) in highly magical areas, such as the halls of non-euclidean geometry or (as I theorize) the towers at Feybrook. If you don’t know, check the painting in the Entrance Hall of the castle. As for areas that you wouldn’t already know about at this point that will show up…there’s another castle. It’ll appear from the clouds the second the fourth execution takes place. It defies a conventional understanding of reality, leading me to think that we aren’t on a physical plane of existence.

Case Log: ████ I give up. The previous Harleck is right. We aren’t on a physical plane of existence. We are in a simulation, doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over ad infinitum. To any future Harlecks, there is more evidence leading to the confirmation of a theory I had about there being a person with influence over the simulation among us. But that’s for the rest of you to figure out. I’m going to kill someone and leave this place. There are suits that were suddenly conjured out of thin air that allow for undetected murder. At least merciful oblivion will yield better results than trying fruitlessly to win an impossible fight.(edited)

Case Log: ████ I’ve found that, after reading these, I tend to engage more with the philosophical side of our predicament. To what end did a cruel god cast me and several others into a maze of their own making? For their own enjoyment? For the advancement of science? As an accident? I’ll not know the truth without answers. And I will seek answers until I breathe my last. My current suspect for the one controlling the cameras is ████. ████ has been acting in an irregular manner, at times acting as if knowing the culprit in each case yet deliberately sabotaging the trials themselves. Why is ████ doing this? I do not know. I’ll confront them on the roof of the castle.

The words Harleck spoke are seemingly impossible to determine. Why could this be? You don’t know.

Final video

This next video is entirely different from the others. You see Harleck’s body, laying limp on the ground next to the side of the castle. Harleck’s head is a bloody mess, and so is the rest of his body. Next to his body is a figure cloaked in shadow, utterly impossible to determine despite the feed being visible anywhere else.

“Harleck. This will never solve anything. You will never solve anything. The truth of everything is that we were all placed here like rats to help accomplish the prideful plight of a manchild. It is simple as that. Do not try to find me. Do not record anything. There is no point. I will not harm you, but everyone else will. And, as you have come to know, my influence is wide and reaches deep.”

Any future videos after this point will follow this format

Upon playing the tape/casette/floppy disk, a video roars to life. You see Harleck [death method]. Subliminal messaging shows messages such as “Learn or break”, “Give in”, “For your own sake”, among others of lesser note.

Death methods:

  1. Strung up from the edge of the broken ramparts
  2. Drawn and quartered, but with nanotech robots taking the place of horses
  3. Shoved from the Senate Gallery to the Senate
  4. Bleeding out after being stabbed by hundreds of individual needles
  5. Impaled by multiple spears
  6. Crushed by falling rubble in the senate
  7. Hung up and roasted to a crisp
  8. Tied on top of an iron grill and slowly roasted
  9. Ripped open by a hook which was tied to a cinderblock
  10. Turned into a bomb by an unknown ritual
  11. Died to frostbite
  12. Killed by AREADBHAR
  13. Eaten by the dragon
  14. Stoned to death
  15. Had their internal gravity flipped upside down, causing their body to cease functioning
  16. Shot by a gun disguised as a banana
  17. Skinned alive with the point of a compass
  18. Force fed sludge until their stomach bursted
  19. Electrocuted
  20. CRUCIFIED
  21. Killed by a heavenly light coming from the sky
  22. Insides turned to mush by an energy beam
  23. Consciousness hooked up to a mainframe, causing the body to go braindead
  24. Scientifically disproven, thus ceasing to exist
  25. Stabbed in the Castle Entrance
  26. Shot through the neck by a Kunai in a smokescreen
  27. Impaled upon the roof of the Castle
  28. Vaporized by a laser
#323

In Posterum

As you enter this area you are immediately onset by several columns that give off the impression that this is a temple of some sort. There are 3 corridors that extend off into different directions. This appears to be but an antechamber for what is to follow. There are torches upon the walls and statues of various dead people.

Statues:

There’s a statue for Queen Elizabeth, Jeff Bezos, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Moses who’s holding a beyblade launcher, and Friedrich Nietzsche.

Queen Elizabeth is pointing straight back where you came from
Nietzsche is pointing directly deeper into the area
Moses is pointing to the right chamber
Lorenzo is pointing to the left chamber

#324

Left Chamber

You come across several things held aloft by stakes, a device of some kind, and two murals on the left and right walls depicting famous sacrifices in history. There is a blank wall directly across from where you entered. You also see a typewriter, seemingly connected to the wall across from you.
You see a mural of Joan of Arc being burned at the stake titled Joan of Arc.
You see a mural of MLK Jr having a gun pointed at him while a song was playing in the back titled MLK Jr.

Upon checking what each of the parts is, people see:

Pair of chained legs
A bench of iron
A fire under it
The figure of a man seemingly debased
A man holding a lance
A man shoveling coals
Several different figures of people seemingly jeering
A man on a horse, giving a disdainful look

Typing on the typewriter and pressing enter sends the message up to the mural in words of fire

If correct: A bell rings as you feel a rumbling take place. Saint Lawrence’s mural becomes visible.
If incorrect: The very word itself implodes. You feel a wave of shame wash over you.

Solution

Saint Lawrence

A bell rings as you feel a rumbling take place.

#325

Right Chamber

You come across a stadium. It has a semispherical shape, but you aren’t quite sure what it’s for. To the side, you can see stands for a…game of sorts? What even is this? There are podiums on two sides of the room with cupboards.

Stands - beneath the stands is a sniper rifle and a LEFT-SPINNING BEYBLADE

Cupboards - The cupboards contain beyblade launchers with beyblades attached. Upon launching one a bag of stones will appear in the center of the arena.

The bag has ten stones. Each stone has a letter on it, as well as an image.
(randomize the order of stones, DO NOT give it in the order I’m listing it here)

  • A stone with a picture of a golden calf, and the letter S
  • A stone with a vein carrying blood, and the letter A
  • A stone with a grand canopy bed, and the letter Y
  • A stone with three people, two adults and a child, and the letter D
  • A stone with a bloody knife, and the letter E
  • A stone with two people holding hands, and the letter S
  • A stone with a golden coin, and the letter T
  • A stone with a person standing on a house, looking at another house, and the letter I
  • A stone with a beautiful woman, and the letter N
  • A stone with a house and an ox, and the letter Y
    the solution is to say the word “DESTINY” out loud

upon completion of the puzzle, rumbling can be heard

#326

Posterum Reward

You enter a chamber vaulted on all sides with pillars, dominated by a gigantic flame in a titanic bowl. An ornate metal pathway leads above the ceramic bowl, the flames coursing around it by magical means, and at the center of this infernal walkway is a ginormous anvil, surrounded by a red aura.

There is a bucket to the side of the room with a set of blacksmith’s tools and a pair of bellows . The rest of the room is dominated by piles of gold, silver, nickel and platinum.

Bellows:

  • are a magical item.
  • Have the following inscribed into them:

Suck it, Fates. I got them to this place early. The Ultimate Inventor is going to fuck you and your plans up with these. Well, unless they’re the Mastermind. But I find that unlikely, based on evidence. – Conrad

  • The bellows can be compressed once every hour, which causes them to emit a short, sharp burst of magical fire.

Ultimate Anvil:

  • geyde sounded like he had some ideas for this, so I’ll defer to him on that?
  • beneath it is a piece of paper with the following written on it:

The reality inside the Mirrored Embers is spread even thinner than it is in the rest of the university. Don’t quite trust what you see; everything in here is a metaphor. Trust in us, though. We’re going to save you from Timoleon’s mistakes. - Alfred Abode

Blacksmith’s Tools:

  • A metal hammer, a pair of tongs, charcoal, a whetstone, and a pair of heavy gloves.

Piles of metal:

  • Each is comprised mostly of raw ingots, but each contains one unique thing:
  • gold contains a single cup
  • silver contains a single necklace
  • nickel contains a single knife
  • platinum contains a comically large spoon with the inscription “GUESS WHAT THE SPANIARDS WOULD DO WITH THIS IN THE 1700s”

if the spoon is dropped into the drowned forest, it transforms into a suit of armour. Wearing this suit of armour gives the player -10% chance of being murdered by things a suit of armour would protect you from.

#327

Forward Chamber

As you walk into this chamber, you find that it’s much less grand than the antechamber would suggest. You see a typeset piece of paper on a desk, a couple of shelves containing antidepressants, cold medicine, toothpaste, and essays of what appears to be meta-analyses of different branches of philosophy. The desk appears to have a few compartments to it.

You find a typeset piece of paper with the title INDEX LIBRORUM PROHIBITORUM.*
Alciphron (p. 1)
Candide (p. 3)
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Gibbon (p. 1)
Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (p. 17)
De l’esprit des lois (p. 4)
The Political History of the Devil (p. 13)
Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (p. 6)
Lettres provinciales, by Pascal (p. 11)
Contes et Nouvelles (p. 16)
All works of David Hume (p. 7)
Zoonomia; or The Laws of Organic Life (p. 7)
Principles of Political Economy (p. 8)
Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle (p. 26)
Het volkomen huwelijk (p. 2)
De l’Allemagne (p. 1)
Lettres philosophiques (p. 9)
De originibus et usu perpetuo potestatis legislatoriae circa sacra apostolicorum regum Ungariae (p. 9)
Émile, ou de l’éducation (p. 2)
At the bottom of the paper is a series of eighteen handwritten lines, arranged in a row.

the solution is to write “ANDWEHAVEKILLEDHIM” in the blanks at the bottom of the paper

Upon completion of the puzzle, rumbling can be heard

Public: a couple of shelves containing antidepressants (7), cold medicine, toothpaste, essays of what appears to be meta-analyses of different branches of philosophy

Compartments: A flintlock pistol, and several dissertations written by existentialists

#328

“It’s time for the truth of the third murder of the Ultimate Hunt…”

The critical truth of this murder is that it was in fact planned and executed between the cases of Alex Bracknell and King Arthur. The Blackened, drilling into the chemical storage case in the Chemistry Lab using an electric drill taken from the Research Roof, discovered various chemicals- but most notably, they discovered a bottle of sodium cyanide, which they took for themselves. They then travelled to the Obelisk’s internal chamber, and noticed an empty pedestal there. At this point, a plan formed in their mind.

Taking a blank paper note they had found in the Senate and a pen from the Chemistry Lab, they wrote a false label for the cyanide, referring to it as a “Brilliant Potion” which would greatly increase the intelligence of anybody foolish enough to drink it. Leaving it on the pedestal in the room, they hoped to make it seem as if it were what was hidden inside of the mysterious pillar. And so, the murder weapon lay there, acting as bait that wold hopefully create a mysterious death that nobody would be able to trace back to the Blackened.

The killer’s plan stood in wait while the class unravelled the mystery of King Arthur’s suicide, and in the period after the trial, the Ultimate Witch, Matilda Martell, wandered into the Obelisk Chamber. There, the victim noticed a mysterious liquid with a label that promised greater intelligence. Leaving their glitter on the pedestal, they took the murder weapon, and planned to drink it in front of others later, for whatever reason. The reasoning behind why the victim chose to dramatically swallow the liquid in front of other people is irrelevant- all that matters is that as exploration of The Tomb’s Halls of Non-Euclidean Geometry were underway, they drank the cyanide.

Five minutes later, the poison asphyxiated them, leaving the dead body of Matilda Martell in the same room as Arthur Townsend… and the Blackened. With glee, the Blackened realised that their plan was successful, and they had succesfully killed the Ultimate Witch without having to lift a finger. Nothing except careful analysis of handwriting could expose them, which thankfully did not occur until it was already too late.

That’s how you did it, wasn’t it…

Sonja Erikkson, the Ultimate Toxicologist! @Jane

#329

Monkeuma polymorphs their head into a TV display. It shows a prerecorded message Jane wanted to make during the trial.

(In CH2 I found out I tested some poisons on my little brother’s pet rabbit, so I updated my character from ‘shy kindhearted nerd’ to ‘idk a douche I guess’)

(Apparently I had to move to Britain after that, and was originally from Iceland)

(This is probably going to be harsh because of that)

That’s exactly what happened! It’s that [dummy]'s own fault for shoving any liquid they found down their throats, like a little baby!

Besides, what’s wrong with testing a few poisons? I test them on animals, I get punished and disowned! I test them on humans, and it’s murder!! How else am I supposed to test them!?

I don’t know about y’all, but I’m glad I was forced to participate in this game! I wish I could’ve tested more than one poison, but at least I’ve learned some new ones!

And I’m sure Monoluna wouldn’t mind me testing out my poisons on the crazed animals in that weird non-Euclidean basement, right, Monoluna!? I know I’ve technically already graduated, but it doesn’t seem like the world can appreciate the science of a freak like me. At least, not YET!

ooc

I’m disappointed that we had two trees, but I hope the trial was still fun.

I tried to help as much as I could without like actually making it super obviously me, because this killing method is kind of lame.

I realized this about 3 hours into CH3, and came up with a more gamer plan, which was going to involve alcohol, but the potion was already gone when I went to the obelisk to take it back :joy_cat:

I think there still was enough evidence to reasonably come to the conclusion that it was me, if you ignored the social stuff.

College is starting up again next week, so I basically had to kill now or next chapter (or replace out, but weh), and MM trials don’t really seem fun to me anyway.

Sorry for taking away a majority of this chapter, that definitely wasn’t my attention. I hope people still have enough WiM to get the game not canned (but more importantly, solve puzzles! I’ll be watching, probably).

(also, ily kat)

Jane out.

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#330

Reverse Corridors

Reverse Sun Corridor

You pass through a large set of doors with some sort of inscription on two bronze circles. You step into a corridor encrusted in yellow gemstones that glitter with blinding light. Touching the side of the wall for a moment, you pull your hand away, realizing that the stones are hot to the touch. As your eyes adjust to the sparkling light, you notice that there are a few objects lying on the ground: a lantern, and a golden ring.

The lantern is an ordinary lantern. The golden ring initially appears ordinary. However, it begins to have effects after being worn or carried on one’s person, unless the bearer has some sort of anti-despair effect:

  • 24 hours: You begin feeling pervasive thoughts of killing your classmates whenever your mind is not otherwise occupied, although you can push them away if you try.

  • 48 hours: [whenever you enter a room with another person] For a moment, your thoughts flash to the possibility of killing [name].

  • 72 hours: The possibility of killing to escape this killing game distracts you to the point that you cannot think of anything else. It now costs an additional 1 AP every time you move to a new location, unless you are doing it for the purposes of carrying out a murder.

Inspecting the bronze circles reveals that there are two interlocked circles, which look like this:

cipherdisklarge

cipherdisksmall

The smaller disk can be rotated, while the larger disk is fixed.

Reverse Moon Corridor

You pass through a large set of doors with some sort of inscription on the outer edge of a polished copper circle. Inside the room, you find a barren and dusty corridor, the walls of which seem to be made of anorthosite. The floors of the room are covered in a thin layer of white dust. Though the room is largely sterile, in the corner of the room, you see an oval shape, covered in a white sheet.

Beneath the sheet is a mirror. Inspecting or looking in the mirror reveals that A = s is engraved in the mirror’s frame. Additionally, looking in the mirror causes any participant who looks into the mirror to see a vision of themself killing a randomly chosen classmate, who may be living or dead. (In fact, the mirror is showing scenes of previous time loops.)

Reverse Blade Corridor

You pass through a large set of doors with some sort of inscription on the outer edge of a polished copper circle. Inside the room, you find a corridor that seems to be made entirely of razor blades, save for a thin path down the center of the room. On the floor of the room, you see a dagger, as well as a message written in dried blood.

The dagger is a fairly ordinary weapon, but can be used as either a ranged or a melee weapon.

The message reads A = u.

Reverse Star Corridor

You pass through a large set of doors with some sort of inscription on the outer edge of a polished copper circle. The interior of the room is made of polished obsidian, with melted silver poured into indents throughout the room, seeming almost to spell out words. You see an astrolabe lying on the ground.

The melted silver message reads A = o.

Reverse Earth Corridor

You pass through a large set of doors with some sort of inscription on the outer edge of a polished copper circle. Inside, you find a room crawling with thick vines; you can scarcely move without tripping. The vines on the wall seem to be twisted into unnatural configurations.

The vines are twisted into the configuration A = h.

Puzzle

Inspecting any door reveals the ciphertext message (the plaintext is given for clarity). Each room has some sort of inspectable object that reveals the key to decode that room’s cipher.

Moon: Combine each inverted element - bvqgyin nsbh yiunopnf nxnqnip (A = s)

Blade: Bring them to the fountain, oriented towards the sky - aqfyg vbrh vj vbr sjdyvufy, jqfryvrt vjWuqti vbr ikp (A = u)

Star: Under the moon’s light, recite these words: - xnmuy etu fkkn’j brlte, yupreu etuju Wkymj: (A = o)

Earth: “As it was, so it shall be again.” - “hr ds Whr, ru ds rvhww yx hihdm.” (A = h)

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVQXYZ

hyjexqivdzowpmualtrsgbfnkc

In order to solve the puzzle, it is necessary to take some sort of object (chips off the walls count as object) from each REVERSED corridor, bring them to the REGULAR fountain during night, and say “As it was, so it shall be again.” Doing so causes the fountain to shift around, revealing a hidden compartment.

The fountain rumbles and shifts, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside, you find what seems to be a diary, written in a strangely familiar hand. Several of the pages have been ripped out. Alongside the diary is a photograph and a metallic dart.

The photograph shows fifteen smiling students, standing next to a Feybrook University sign. Looking at the photo, you realize that it depicts all of you save for DatBird.

The diary reads:

Day 1: I can’t wait to start at Feybrook University! I’m so excited to finally unlock my full magical potential. I met the other fourteen students in my class this year. All of them seem nice enough, although some of them are a little weird.

Day 2: So, apparently some of the seniors have decided to play a prank on us. They’re pretending that we have to be part of some sort of killing game or something. It’s obviously ridiculous, but some of the other students seem to really believe it.

Day 5: Someone died today. Pushed off her dorm roof. Apparently she was a toxicologist? I didn’t really know her, but now I have to figure out who killed her. I can’t believe someone is taking a prank seriously enough to kill over it.

Day 7: We were able to find her killer, but … even so, none of us are really happy about it. I hope someone sues the school over this. They would deserve it, for not calling off this freshman hazing ritual.

Day 15: I don’t know what to do. People around me keep dying, and I feel like I can’t do anything to prevent it. It feels like someone is just being pointlessly cruel for their own sake. I busted my way onto the Reverse Castle’s floor today and just sat there for hours not doing anything, not even crying.

Day 21: I can’t bear to go on like this. I’m going to escape from this game, even if it costs someone else their life. I have my target picked out, anyway. They already tried to kill someone, so I figure it’s not much loss to the world if they die. In case I don’t make it, I’m leaving this dart in here, in case you can do something with it. Apparently it’s enchanted with some sort of concealment ritual. It takes up the same amount of space as a normal item, but no one will be able to find it from searching your person, unless it’s covered in blood.

As you touch the dart, you become aware of the following property:

Dart of Deception: This dart takes up a regular item slot, but searches of your person will not find the dart, even during deadly life, and even if it is not in a private slot, unless it is bloodied.

#331

Reverse Entrance Hall (by Geyde, transcribed from DMs)

As you enter the Entrance Hall, you are struck by the majesty of the room. A magnificent painting of the town’s landscape covers the walls, but it is unburdened by mist. You can see four towers at each edge of the panorama, each backdropped by large hills.

Every part of the room glistens with a vision of a long-dead past, except for the strange, modern-looking secretary’s desk dwarfed in the cneter of the room. There is a baguette on the desk, and something strange… scratched into it. A filing cabinet is attatched to the desk.

An office chair sits behind the desk.

The portrait is of Lord Henry, holding a glass of wine

Because this is his castle

The first time you leave the room, you receive the message: Henry’s eyes seem to watch you as you leave.

Searching behind the portrait reveals a secret passageway to the Sun Corridor.

#332

Reverse game room

As you enter the game room, you see a sign that says FEYBROOK LIVE-ACTION ROLEPLAYING CLUB. MEETS FRIDAYS AT 7. Inside the room, you see many strange and unusual objects. In one corner, you see a pile of what seem to be mock weapons and armor; in another corner, several boxes filled with costumes; in a third corner, miscellaneous props. The fourth corner is empty.

Items:

Mock weapons and armor:

  • four blunt wooden swords, with scabbards

  • four sets of doublets that have been filled with some sort of padding [these doublets give a +5 percent chance to survive murder attempts that involve making a physical attack, and can also be worn during murders to avoid getting blood on your clothes]

  • A long wooden staff

  • A pack of zip-ties

Costumes corner:

The costumes seem to be divided into four boxes, each containing a unique costume. The boxes are labelled Helita Dragonslayer, Angayassë Taras, Tav Rivi, and Morkreg.

Helita Dragonslayer: The box contains a simple black shirt and leggings, in a modern style. Additionally, it has replica chainmail armor and a helmet. [the chainmail provides a +20 percent bonus against murder attempts; however, it is quite heavy, so wearing it incurs a 1 AP penalty per move action]

Angayassë Taras: The box contains a long brown dress that seems to have been incompetently hand-sewn, a green cloak, three embroidered sky-blue scarves, and a pair of lace-up boots.

Tav Rivi: The box contains a brightly red tunic and pants, a yellow bandana, a bag of safety pins, and tall socks that look long enough to reach above the knee.

Morkreg: The box contains cardboard that has been painted to look like plate armor, a leather bag, and two identical grey turtlenecks.

Props corner:

The props corner contains a roll of painter’s tape, several empty glass bottles in various shapes and sizes, a lyre, a clay model of a squid, a coil of rope, and a set of theater masks.

#333

Cottage

As you enter the cottage, you see a sign that reads “Timoleon Silverheart.” The cottage itself seems to be a single room. In one corner of the room is a kitchenette, with a stove, a sink, and a cabinet. There’s a table with a single chair in the middle of the room, with a folder and a computer tablet on top of it. In another corner of the room is a bed and a dresser. In the final corner of the room is a metal safe.

Cabinet:

  • The cabinet has two plates, two bowls, two sets of silverware, a carving knife, a can opener, and a pair of kitchen shears.

Bed:

  • The bed has a sheet, a blanket, and a pillow.

Dresser:

  • The dresser has five changes of clothes. On top of the dresser sits an analog clock, a lamp, and a photo of a middle-aged man with two children.

Table:

Inside the folder, you find several documents:

  • A typed note, reading:

Dearest Timoleon,

I must admit to some concerns about your proposal. While it’s true that your candidate displays a strong resolve, I fear that her volatile and irregular temperament may render her unsuitable, due to the difficulties of predicting her actions. I have attached several documents demonstrating what I mean. Your comment that she invariably refuses to negotiate with ███ ██████████ is noted; however, I do not believe that this outweighs the other concerns.

Ever yours.

  • A photograph of Alison Henderson, impaling [the first player to discover the folder, unless that player is Marl himself] with a metal baton while grinning gleefully. A note in the corner of the photograph reads #65

  • A letter, with #27 written across the top, reading:

Look, I’ve heard your demands, and I know you’re threatening to kill us all if we don’t go along with it. But I’ve thought long and hard about it, and I think that the only way to win is to refuse to play. I’ve convinced the others of us who are still alive to all sit together in the dining room until the time limit runs out.
Your move.
- A. H.

  • A poster, written in Sharpie, with #103 written across the side in pen, reading:

ENDING THE MASTERMIND WILL END THE GAME
MEET IN THE TOWN SQUARE
BRING A WEAPON

The handwriting is identical. A note in a different hand, paperclipped to the poster, reads “We don’t know where she got this idea, but it doesn’t seem to be true.”

Booting up the tablet, you see the following image:

polishpuzzle
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There seems to be an option to enter a passcode. However, instead of a text field, there’s the option to enter an emoji.

[the solution is to enter the :house: emoji or any reasonably passable variant]

The screen unlocks, leaving you in some sort of file tree. You see three documents, entitled “Timoleonsnotesv1,” “Timoleons notes v78,” and “Timoleonsnotesv754.” Would you like to read them?

v1:

Magical potential can’t be fully unlocked here, and everyone knows it. In order to properly train our young Ultimates, we must devise some other alternative method. I have sent my collaborators several proposals; however, I believe the Knot to be the most promising.

v78

There seem to be several flaws with the Knot. However, I remain convinced that it is possible to reverse the effects of the corruption. For the sake of all Britain, I will ensure they are safely returned!

v754

i’ve failed

i’m so sorry

if you read this, i tried my best. it wasn’t enough. i know you can never forgive me for this but i’m still trying. i think this message should transmit. please, if you read this, know that someone cares. know that no matter what happened, i never gave up on you.

Metal safe

Inspecting the safe, you hear a sound start playing. The safe itself seems to have a four-digit combination lock, with each digit being a number between 0 and 9.

[solution: it’s literally just Morse Code. The answer is 3472]

Inside of the safe, you find a book entitled Split Second with no author listed, a book entitled The Cookie Monster by Vernon Vinge with a handwritten note stapled to it reading THIS MAY HELP, a one-sided metal die inspired by a Moebius strip, a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem, and a wristwatch.

Reading The Cookie Monster gives the standard +1 int; reading The Split Second teaches the reader a ritual. You learn of a ritual requiring a piece of paper formed into a closed loop that allows you to manipulate the flow of time. Once per game, you may use it to manipulate the flow of time, re-rolling a failed roll for no penalty. This cannot be used if you are dead (for example, due to a failed roll).

#334

Tarot Cards and Hemlock in here.

#335

REVERSE ROOMS

3-A - Ramparts Floor
3-B - Research Floor
3-C - Pedestal Floor
2-A - Game Room
2-B - Chemistry Lab
2-C - Biology Lab
1-A - Drawing Room
1-B - Dining Room
1-C - Library
1-D - Ruined Tower
Entrance Hall
Sun Corridor
Moon Corridor
Star Corridor
Earth Corridor
Blade Corridor

#336

crossed off means done

#337

Reverse Library

You encounter what could only be described as the crown jewel to a sybarite’s collection. The setting feels distinctly macabre. The library itself is impossibly large when compared to its counterpart, lined with shelf after shelf of damned text. An incorporeal being, which you recognize as the spitting image of TrustworthyLiberal, is carrying a book with them titled 7131-D. Various tables, strewn about formulaically between shelves, contain replicas of various torture devices seen throughout history. Off to the side, there’s an eerie sight. 16 test tubes, containing the bodies of all of the students. They are connected to an absurdly sophisticated machine, adorned with meters and other tools you don’t even understand in the slightest.

Books:

All of the books contain various deaths throughout all the 7131 cycles.

While reading this book, you begin to see the past as though you were right there the entire time. You see the body of [random player other than themselves] [random death method from the list].

  1. Strung up from the edge of the broken ramparts
  2. Drawn and quartered, but with nanotech robots taking the place of horses
  3. Shoved from the Senate Gallery to the Senate
  4. Bleeding out after being stabbed by hundreds of individual needles
  5. Impaled by multiple spears
  6. Crushed by falling rubble in the senate
  7. Hung up and roasted to a crisp
  8. Tied on top of an iron grill and slowly roasted
  9. Ripped open by a hook which was tied to a cinderblock
  10. Turned into a bomb by an unknown ritual
  11. Died to frostbite
  12. Killed by AREADBHAR
  13. Eaten by the dragon
  14. Stoned to death
  15. Had their internal gravity flipped upside down, causing their body to cease functioning
  16. Shot by a gun disguised as a banana
  17. Skinned alive with the point of a compass
  18. Force fed sludge until their stomach bursted
  19. Electrocuted
  20. CRUCIFIED
  21. Killed by a heavenly light coming from the sky
  22. Insides turned to mush by an energy beam
  23. Consciousness hooked up to a mainframe, causing the body to go braindead
  24. Scientifically disproven, thus ceasing to exist
  25. Stabbed in the Castle Entrance
  26. Shot through the neck by a Kunai in a smokescreen
  27. Impaled upon the roof of the Castle
  28. Vaporized by a laser

Machine / Test Tubes

The bodies appear to be in perfect condition, with no signs of decay. They appear to be at peace. You feel a sense of foreboding whilst staring at the tubes.

The Machine itself has many components that you can’t quite wrap your head around, assisted in large part by its utter lack of labels. You can make out a few things though. There are 5 vials of sorts imbedded into the machine, corresponding to 5 lights above them. 4 of them appear to be filled with blood. The first, second, and fourth have green lights above them. The third is a searing red.

Torture Devices

There is a Judas Cradle, a Wooden Horse, a Pear of Anguish, a Garrote, a Knee Splitter, a Breast Ripper, and a Brazen Bull that has an opening seemingly big enough for a person.

The Brazen Bull cannot be opened from the inside. It has a Wand of Disintegration in it.

Wand of Disintegration (Artifact Magic Weapon) - In order to activate, one must say ‘Pulvis et Cinis’. Immediately once the word is said, a blast will fire from the wand, disintegrating any humanoids caught in its path before stopping after either 1 KM or once the blast hits a wall. The wand will immediately shatter afterwards.

#338

Reverse Drawing Room

The drawing room has ugly magenta wallpaper and a matching, equally ugly rug, embroidered in green thread, with an empty brick fireplace on one side of the room. Four stiff armchairs are positioned around an oak end-table, which has a steel safe on top of it, which looks far more modern than the rest of the room. In the far corner of the room, you see a glass curio cabinet.

Rug:

Inspecting the rug, you notice that the green embroidery spells out words, or something like words. TEBNCWTE AIRTOAHP PGIHNBEL THCEDOFA HTKSRVIC EHIEOERE.

Solution: The puzzle is a simple transposition cipher, which translates to TAPTHEEIGHTHBRICKINTHESECONDROWABOVETHEFIRePLACE.

Fireplace:

The fireplace itself is completely empty (it doesn’t even have wood in it).

Tapping the eighth brick in the second row above the fireplace reveals a hidden compartment containing a hairpin. Equipping the hairpin raises LUK by 5.

Curio cabinet:

The curio cabinet contains several shelves full of eclectic items. You see a small glass sculpture in the shape of a six-toed foot, a single china cup, a fossil of some kind, a small sketchbook open to a drawing of a glacier labelled “Vatnajökull,” a snowglobe, and a crocheted Cthulu.

Safe:

Upon inspecting the safe, you find a hand-shaped indentation, a strange symbol that resembles two squiggly lines, and the letters A.H.

[Opening the safe requires using specifically eevee’s handprint. When the safe is opened, it contains:]

You find a cache of letters, all written in the same handwriting save for one. They read:

Dear Alicia,

The people at Project Jormungandr asked me to write you a letter or something, and they’re the ones giving me a place to stay, so I figured I would go along with it, even though I’ve never been much for letter writing. But I guess I don’t have to tell you that … anyways, I’m not really sure why they want us writing these letters, seeing as they apparently don’t like it when you all in the Knot kill people, but I assume there’s a reason.

Anyways. Hi. There’s 964 of us, apparently we escape just under one in seven times – that’s a little low, apparently we tend to get killed off early because we’re more of a loner than other people. I was the sixth Alicia to escape, but the first to escape after Project Jormugandr figured out that they should actually put us somewhere. I check up on the first five sometimes, five is few enough to be manageable in a way that 964 isn’t. Two of them got plastic surgery so they’re not obviously the same person and became professional snowboarders, although they’ve obviously retired decades ago. One of them is teaching history to fifth-formers in London. One of them picked the flute back up. And one of them is a computer programmer now, for some reason.

I don’t really know what else to tell you. Good luck, I guess?

Yours Truly,

Alicia #65

Dear Alicia,

Don’t trust the people with Project Jormungandr. They’ve been trying to say that your run is different, that you can escape by exposing some sort of truth about the person behind this rather than by killing, but they don’t have any proof of that. We have to look out for ourselves rather than for other people. The safest thing to do is to find an untraceable killing method and get out. It worked for nearly a thousand of us, why not you? I recommend poison, it’s harder to trace than a direct attack.

Yours Truly,

Alicia #143

Dear Alicia,

It makes me sick to write this, knowing how many of us are murderers, but I owe it to you and to the people trapped with you to prevent that from happening to you. My greatest regret is killing Alex Bracknell in my iteration. The fact that she was trying to kill me doesn’t excuse it. Nearly every day, I think back on that night and try to imagine what I could have done differently – I wasn’t trying to kill her, I swear, I just wanted to knock her unconscious – but there’s no way to get around the fact that I made the choice to take a living human’s life. Please, whatever you do, don’t make the same mistake.

Yours Truly,

Alicia #514

To Alicia:

My Alicia asked me to write this, apparently she doesn’t like writing letters. In any case, apparently we’re supposed to give you advice or something? I’m not entirely sure what the purpose of this is, but I hope that I can be of some assistance to you.

I probably ought to explain my relationship with Alicia, so that you can understand the context from which I am writing this letter. In our iteration of the Knot, Alicia and I managed to carry out a true double kill, in which we simultaneously became the Blackened while killing only a single person, used that to falsely present a facade of innocence, and escape.

I must say that, should you go this route, you may not find the outside as hospitable as you wish. Although the scientists at Project Jormungandr look down on us for being willing to go to such extremes to kill, even though they have never faced the tests that we do in the Knot. Know that whatever choice you choose to make, Alicia and I will respect your decision.

Sincerely,

Sonja Eriksson, Iteration 1072

Post Scriptum: I am told that one of the more curious axes on which Sonjas vary is the spelling of our name. While I find it odd that so many Sonjas choose to reject the j in our name and substitute an i, I assure you that the correct spelling is Sonja, and that all alternative spellings are merely the fancy of the “Sonia” who chooses to use them.

Dear Alicia,

Whatever you do, if you find a “Brilliant Potion” that supposedly enhances intelligence, don’t drink it. Sonja’s used it as a murder weapon in three separate runs so far. It’s poison and you will die.

Yours Truly,

Alicia #2585

Dear Alicia,

I don’t have any useful advice for you, but if you do manage to escape, I just want to recommend that you take up the flute. Sadly, writing a letter like this doesn’t allow me to send you a recording, but it’s really fun, and you’re me, so you’ll like it too. Plus, I ran a survey of all the Alicias and the ones that play flute are nearly 2 points happier on a ten point scale!

Yours Truly,

Alicia #3289

Dear Alicia,

Did you know that our family has a predisposition to lung cancer? I didn’t either, but at the very least Alicias are more than three times as likely to develop it as the general population.

Anyways, good luck with the murder thing.

Yours Truly,

Alicia #4419

Dear Alicia,

Apparently none of the other Alicias have actually bothered to make sure you know it’s us, which is really dumb, since you don’t know whether our handwriting is fakeable. (It’s probably not! But you’d be stupid to believe that from a random pile of letters that have a vested interest in you believing that it’s not.) Anyways, here are some things that no one else knows:

  • When you were seven, you stole Emily Johnson’s diary and didn’t give it back for nearly a month.
  • You always told Mom that you liked chocolate ice cream best, but that wasn’t true. Strawberry is way better.
  • The first person you ever had a crush on was Robin Sinykin when you were twelve.
  • The password to your email account when you were a kid was C@rrot$112.

Yours Truly,

Alicia #5287

Dear Alicia,

As the two Alicias who made the most progress on reconstructing Timoleon’s project notes, we’ve decided to share with you what we’ve discovered. The people at Project Jormungandr say that this is a mistake, but I’m not so sure I believe them. Maybe it is a mistake, but it’s not like anything they’ve done has brought you any closer to leaving the loop.

From what we could find, Timoleon chose us – the fifteen of us – for a reason beyond just the fact that we were Ultimates. Project Jormungandr says he was preying on vulnerable people who didn’t have many other options, but I don’t think that can fully explain it. My theory is that there’s something special about the effects of stress on the brain, that makes people more predisposed to becoming the Ultimate Mage. All fifteen of us were under extreme stress when we were younger, and this theory also explains why the Knot turned so violent.

With that said, from what I’ve heard from interviewing other escapees, it doesn’t sound like that stress is bringing anyone closer to becoming the Ultimate Mage. Whether it’s an impossible goal, or whether we’re just going about it wrong, is hard to say.

Yours Truly,

Alicia #5955 and Alicia #6263

Dear Alicia,

Apparently I have to send you a letter since I have the best number.

Yours Truly,

Alicia #6969

#339

Reverse Chemistry Lab

Compared to the other labs in the school, this lab seems strangely empty by comparison, albeit not completely so. The only furniture in the room is a single lab table, with a storage cabinet underneath, and a metal cabinet in the back, which has a note attached to it. Various reference diagrams hang on the wall: a copy of the Periodic Table of the Elements, a diagram of the Solar System, a comparison of plant and animal cells, and a calligraphic representation of Stoke’s Theorem.

Lab table:

  • Contains the shattered remains of a broken beaker, a roll of packing tape, a Bunsen burner, six Erlenmeyer flasks, a box of test tubes, a book of several common chemistry experiments, a thermometer, a pencil, and a pair of lab goggles.

Cabinet:

The cabinet appears locked from the outside, although no specific locking mechanism is visible. It can only be unlocked by pressing down on all four of the top corners simultaneously, which requires at least two people; it is reinforced against other techniques, such as drills. The inside of the cabinet contains five elixirs, all of which are labelled:

Elixir of the Sun

When consumed, causes the drinker to glow with a bright light for the next hour. During this time, they may only make true statements, and anyone who hears these statements will intrinsically understand them to be true. The Mastermind will be able to lie through this potion’s effect. This potion will fail if consumed within forty-eight hours after a player dies. Anyone who touches this potion’s container will know that it has this effect.

Elixir of the Moon

When consumed, meditate upon a specific question. You will receive a truthful vision that is at least vaguely related to the question. This cannot directly reveal the identity of the Mastermind or a Blackened.

Elixir of Earth

When consumed, the drinker becomes able to climb on walls for the next 12 hours.

Elixir of Blades

When consumed, the drinker’s dominant arm transforms into a sword for 1 hour. At the end of the hour, it reverts to being a normal arm, with any blood/injuries/etc. being reflected in the arm.

Elixir of the Stars

When consumed, all negative effects currently afflicting the drinker are cured, including poison.

The note attached to the cabinet reads:

This cabinet is a MASSIVE issue. Like, what do these numbers even mean?
259
15.999
20.1797
40.078
14.0067
183.84
114.818
26.981539
15.999
20.1797
244
32.065
1.00784
15.999
20.1797
50.9415
167.259
88.90585
58.933195
222.0
167.259

#340

REVERSE ROOMS

3-A - Ramparts Floor
3-B - Research Floor
3-C - Pedestal Floor
2-A - Game Room
2-B - Chemistry Lab
2-C - Biology Lab
1-A - Drawing Room
1-B - Dining Room
1-C - Library
1-D - Tower
Entrance Hall
Sun Corridor
Moon Corridor
Star Corridor
Earth Corridor
Blade Corridor

#341

Reverse Dining Room

The Reverse Dining Room looks more like something put together by a fifteen-year-old with an unlimited budget than like something that would exist in a castle. The room itself has three small circular tables, each with five chairs, covered in three checkered tablecloths (red, blue, and yellow). Instead of food, the plates on each table seem to have strange objects. Against one wall of the room is an ice cream machine, and in a nearby corner is a potted cactus.

Red table:

The place settings on this table seem to consist entirely of plates, with no silverware, cups, bowls, or anything else. Furthermore, none of the plates have food on them. Instead, they have:

  • A tarot card displaying the King of Pentacles
  • A small lump of clay with the word truth carved into it
  • A single arrow
  • A wallet, filled with £50 notes
  • A small candle with a lock of hair wrapped around it

Yellow table

The place settings on this table seem to consist entirely of plates, with no silverware, cups, bowls, or anything else. Furthermore, none of the plates have food on them. Instead, they have:

  • A magnifying glass
  • A knife [inspecting the knife reveals that it can fold up. While folded up, it will appear as “some sort of metal oval” to inventory checks]
  • A snowball, which despite the temperature in the room isn’t melting
  • An empty phial
  • A mass of tiny metal objects, which seems to move as you look at it

Blue table

The place settings on this table seem to consist entirely of plates, with no silverware, cups, bowls, or anything else. Furthermore, none of the plates have food on them. Instead, they have:

  • A Pokémon Yellow cartridge
  • A chipped Attic bowl
  • A top hat
  • The complete score to Bach’s Symphony Op. 8 No.2 in G major
  • A wrench
objects explained

It’s the Class Roster, but in physical form and more subtle than a literal list of names and talents. Dat’s talent is missing because he’s never been there before.

Ice cream machine

The Ice Cream Machine dispenses ice cream! It has the following settings:

  • Flavor (Chocolate, Vanilla, or Birthday Cake)
  • Toppings (Sprinkles, Hot Fudge, or Gummy Worms)
  • Container (Cup or Cone)

[ice cream counts as Good Unhealthy Food.]

Potted Cactus

The cactus’s pot contains dirt, which can be used for e.g. Arctic’s ritual, as well as a cactus, which can be used as a very bad murder weapon.