OK - Is it just me, or does a bit of Dan Brown's cover for "The Lost Symbol" look a bit like something from Dar?

Hi Gamepro,

Axl and I were e-mailing back and forth, and it sounds like we're in agreement. We don't really see an incentive to continue on.

1. We don't know what the prize is. All that was said at the very beginning was "small prizes". We've put in an awful lot of time and effort to not really know what we're working for.

2. The clues have gotten more and more vague as we've progressed. Looking back, and trying to see it as someone who hasn't solved the clues yet, clues 1 - 7 had all the information needed to complete a solve. However, once Drado enters the picture, the coded text is in there but the information needed to decipher the clue is missing. Unless you know how the clue is supposed to work, I don't think you would have any idea on how to start.

3. It used to be fun. There used to be a sense of accomplishment. That isn't there any more. Now, it feels like we're trying to read your mind.

4. There is no end in sight. We're on clue 11. How far is this supposed to go? And with them becoming increasingly vague... again, please refer to points 2 and 3.

Like Axl, I think I'm going to have to withdraw from your hunt. It just isn't fun any longer. I do hope someone saves poor Drado from the king and himself someday though.

Hi Axl,

I'm back. Still really tired, but feeling much better than yesterday. I'm at lunch right now, so I don't have much time to write. I know you know of the letters, dots, dashes, and box of numbers within the main text. However, the clue says: "look high and low and all around". Did you find these too?

Above the main clue (within the instructions and above), there is hidden:

- Treasure Hunt For Everyone
- Everyone Can Discover Something New
- 3
- 9

And at the very bottom is hidden:
- Create a at

I don't know how that would be helpful...but there has to be a reason for it, right? At least the 3 and 9 which were very deliberate. I read your e-mail, and you understand perfectly what I was saying about the Quinary. (I'm also unsure about the math, but as of now, that doesn't seem to be a big deal with Dar - on a side note, "dar" is in the answer key...) The quinary doesn't come up with anything USEFUL, but it's something. I am in no way ahead of you on this. I just have a bit of familiarity with "The Secrets of the Alchemist Dar". But that hasn't been solved yet (not that I know of anyway), and that is supposed to end this September I believe (after two or three years, I can't remember). Winner or no winner, again this is assuming that the game is still even on (there was some legal issues between the Publishers and the Author...not a lot of information has been shared about what is happening with that).

OK - I see where you are coming from. With the last puzzle getting Drado out of the Dungeon, all the information was there, but there were no hints telling us how to use what where. It was pretty much guessing "I think this stone needs to be used with this number/roman number string, and I think this is how the numbers should be broken" type of thing. There was nothing hinting at WHAT to do. I feel a little different about this clue. We're stuck, but at least we've got this:

***There is a puzzle that has sun and moon symbols on it. there are 26 letters involved, with a box that only holds 25??
- That is a pretty nice allusion to the playfair cipher with 26 letters (meaning a combined i/j). Now, the question is how to find the keyword. And what is the coded text?

***And another that needs a certain kind of light to see, but i am "blind" as a bat you see.
- The other puzzle must be the Hieroglyphs (unless it's the hidden letters, numbers, morse, etc.). So, what would be a certain kind of light that could work with the computer? In the Alchemist Dar, you have to hold two pages up (one on top of the other) and hold it up to the light. Separate, the pictures don't make sense, but overlapped, you can read words. But, for an online hunt, I don't see how we could do that. Or what we would hold up in front of it?

***Answer Key: Use the key to find your answer's answer.
- Although this seems pretty straight forward, I wouldn't be surprised if there is more to this once we solve the others. So the first step is to complete the other puzzles, before we move on to this one.

So-
1. Figure out the key word and coded text to use in the playfair cipher.
2. Figure out what the certain kind of light is that we have to use with the Hieroglyphs (which I'm still a little shaky on)
3. Figure out what to do with the hidden words (possibly could have just forgotten to change their color) and numbers (the 3 and 9 were deliberate) from the instructions.

Yep, I summed up, but I'm still a little foggy today. That's about the best I can do right now... Plus, it helps if I can separate things into individual tasks. It doesn't seem so daunting then :)

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to check in before you tried those...I tried the morse words and blind, as well as the straight letters. If you're right about the playfair cipher (and I'm pretty sure you are), we probably have to use the version where I and J are in the same box. That way, we still keep all 26 letters in play (as opposed to dropping the Q). Out of curiosity, what pairs are you using to find the letter? I was trying the suns and moons since, with quinary, there would be 5 different types (even though only 4 were used). The suns and moons were in pairs, except for that little one all on it's own at the end...

I haven't even started with the hieroglyphs. I'm wondering if there are any other letters or numbers that we are missing somewhere? I tried to go to a couple of the old clues to see if there was a "3" at the end of any of them, but the sites are down. It looks like it's all of Freeweb....

Has it seriously been 11 weeks? He really can suck us in, can't he? And just when I'm ready to give up and throw in the towel, he does it again! He's a genius - granted, an evil genius - but a genius none the less.

"Complete" was in quotation marks? That really makes me think I was right about him creating a new puzzle as soon as we solve one, so that there is no real end. It's like on the movie "National Treasure" -

Scene 1:
1: And the treasure?
2: No, no. But we found another clue that led us here.
1: Yeah, and that'll lead you to another clue. And that's all you'll ever find, is another clue. Don't you get it, ***Rachael and Axl?***

Scene 2:
2: I can explain, but I don't have time. It was necessary. And you saw the cipher.
1: And that will lead to another clue, that will lead to another clue! There is no treasure. I wasted years of my life. And now you've destroyed yours. And you pulled me into all this.

I'm scared too, Axl. Gamepro doesn't put things in "quotations" without a reason... I wish I had an answer to that question for you...

Axl - I'm not feeling very well today (and last night), so I'm not going to be working on this until I feel better. I just wanted to give you a heads up so you know I didn't disappear on you. I'll check back in as soon as I feel up to it. Good luck!

You're very welcome, Drado. Now, could you please do Axl and me a favor and stop getting yourself into trouble?

Axl,
Playfair sounds good...so...what would be the keyword...hmmm, I've got another few minutes of my lunch break to look and see. Hopefully I'll have something (anything!) for you when you wake up, so that I can feel like I contributed something to this one :) Good night, sleep well!

I really should keep working, but I'm taking a quick break to get absorbed in this...again...

First - You pretty much did solve it. But I'm willing to admit that we make a pretty good team :) Especially with Gamepro's guiding hand.

1. I really can't wait to try and decode the dots and dashes, as well as the hidden letters.
2. I'm happy I was able to help with the suns and moons. They are Quinary in the Alchemist Dar...but Gamepro might have another use for them...guess we'll see. I really wish I could win that blue fairy ring...but I'd have to win the red one too, just to be able to afford the taxes so I could keep the blue one...*sigh* that is assuming the game is still on anyway.
3. Maybe :) It also said something about 26 letters, but 25 in the box? Did that make ANY sense to you at all?

I'll have to do some Egyptian research, I guess. Did the Morse give any hint as to what to do? Especially with the strange decoded letters at the bottom? Or with the 10, 1 and 0's that were hidden?

And a hidden 3 after the title at the top (I don't know if that's on purpose, but unlike other previous clues, there are no brackets showing where the clue begins and ends...).

OK, now it's REALLY time to get to work. I'll check back in during lunch.

There are also hidden letters.

Good morning Axl. Thanks for reminding me of the way you thought the numbers should be broken. That was my missing link :)

Okay, the next one. (Is there even a last one, or does Gamepro create a new one as soon as we solve one, so that we never really get one step closer to the end? That would be evil, Gamepro...)

Here are my initial impressions (I only have time to write the thoughts down, no time to actually work on this yet):

- There are dots and dashes within the words - Morse?
- The suns and moons are a direct pull from "The Secrets of the Alchemist Dar". In there, it seems they are Quinary (base 5 numbers):
* 0 = A white sun - ○
* 1 = A black sun - ●
* 2 = A left facing black moon - Left Crescent
* 3 = A right facing black moon - Right Crescent
* 4 = A left facing white moon - Moon
- Did you notice that there are invisible numbers and that in these instructions, it says "Use Exact Case" instead of "lower case"?
- "Blind" was in quotation marks. I don't know if that's a reference to the hidden numbers that we are "blind" to, or if that's a cipher or something we'd have to use.

Okay, that's all for my initial impressions. I better get to work. I'll do what I can on this during my lunch break.

PS: WAY TO GO AXL - you solved that last one all on your own! I'm going to have trouble keeping up with you! Talk to you later.

Okay - like Axl, I should really be asleep. And I'm on my way right after this.

I think Axl will have earned the award, should we ever get to it. I've been able to solve the first two clues (THANK YOU GAMEPRO!) But that's it. I think Gamepro fried my brain with all the other ciphers... But Axl already has the solve. I think I know all the letters it should be, but I don't know how to make the third clue match up with the letters I think they are. (For those curious, I think those three letters should be: V, E, and S)

Okay, bed time. Maybe I'll do better once I'm all refreshed in the morning. Good night everyone!