Discuss The Scribe here

[mith]

puzzle link

[What if...]

Translations:
F'LB INA BFDIRBBZ QRUNFDIR CIFQGFBQ; F RIFZG RINR'Q RIB UBOPUA...
I’VE HAD EIGHTEEN STRAIGHT WHISKIES; I THINK THAT”S THE RECORD…
JUFBZAQ, NSSHNVA; RIB OPKBAX FQ JFZFQIBA.
FRIENDS, APPLAUD; THE COMEDY IS FINISHED.
JPU RIB HPLB PJ DPA, KPZRUBQQPU!
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MONTRESSOR!
RINR CNQ RIB EBQR FOB OUBNK QPAN F BLBU RNQRBA.
THAT WAS THE BEST ICE CREAM SODA I EVER TASTED.
FR CPZ'R EB N QRXHFQI KNUUFNDB; F ONZ'R NJJPUA N ONUUFNDB.
IT WON’T BE A STYLISH MARRIAGE; I CAN’T AFFORD A CARRIAGE.
DP NCNX. F'K NHUFDIR.
GO AWAY. I’M ALRIGHT.
F QIPVHA ZBLBU INLB QCFROIBA JUPK QOPROI RP KNURFZFQ.
I SHOULD NEVER HAVE SWITCHED FROM SCOTCH TO MARTINIS.
HBR VQ OUPQQ PLBU RIB UFLBU NZA QFR VZABU RIB QINAB PJ RIB RUBBQ.
LET US CROSS OVER THE RIVER AND SIT UNDER THE SHADE OF THE TREES.
WPQBSIFZB...
JOSEPHINE…
BFRIBU RINR CNHHSNSBU DPBQ PU F AP.
EITHER THAT WALLPAPER GOES OR I DO.
RINR CNQ N DUBNR DNKB PJ DPHJ, JBHHBUQ.
THAT WAS A GREAT GAME OF GOLF, FELLERS.
APZ'R AFQRVUE KX OFUOHBQ!
DON’T DISTURB MY CIRCLES!
FZ RINR ONQB, CINR FQ RIB TVBQRFPZ?
IN THAT CASE, WHAT IS THE QUESTION?
F'K DPFZD PLBU RIB LNHHBX.
I’M GOING OVER THE VALLEY.
DPA EHBQQ ONSRNFZ LBUB!
GOD BLESS CAPTAIN VERE!
BLBZ FZ RIB LNHHBX PJ RIB QINAPC PJ ABNRI, RCP NZA RCP AP ZPR KNGB QFY.
EVEN IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, TWO AND TWO DO NOT MAKE SIX.

Edited for update.
CV, though I don't see any immediate importance, is it M or W?
Hmmm. I've hit Daedalian...



[This message has been edited by What if... (edited 05-15-2003 02:43 PM).]

[Lucky Wizard]

I notice that these seem to be last words. In particular, the Old Farmer's Almanac (which rules) says that Humphrey Bogart's last words were the scotch/martinis quote.

Montressor is a character in a story by Edgar Allan Poe. I've never read anything by Poe, so I can't give more specific info on the quote that mentions him.

Some others sound familiar, but I can't place them.

[The Cruciverbalist]

Uh-oh. I could have sworn I fixed that bug in quote #9, but I must have sent the wrong copy or something. To fix it, replace the first letter of the ciphertext of that quote with a W.

[Pi]

So, what do we do now we know they are famous last words and who they are by?

[ZutAlors!]

Yeah; definately last words. I recall a couple:
(inv):#9 (Josephine) is by Napoleon.
#10 (wallpaper) is Oscar Wilde
After some serching:
#2 (friends, applaud): Beethoven
#8 (cross over the river): Stonewall Jackson
#11 (golf): Bing Crosby
#12 (circles): Archimedes
#15 (Captain Vere): Billy Budd
#16 (six): Leo Tolstoy

[Legion]

They are:


Dylan Thomas
Beethoven
Fortunato
Lou Costello
HAL
HG Wells
Humphrey Bogart
Stonewall Jackson
Napoleon
Oscar Wilde
Bing Crosby
Archimedes
Gertrude Stein
Babe Ruth
Billy Budd
Leo Tolstoy

[Galto]

Legion, you JUST beat me to the punch! I have the same list as you... and the Internet Explorer history of Google searches to prove it! ;-)

- Galto

[mole]

I think we should add the introduction to the Hunt somewhere. It, for instance, tells you what to do with these puzzles.

For everyone working on them here, the goal of each of the eight puzzles is to find a "mage" who will help you get home. The answer will be the name of the mage you are looking for.

[This message has been edited by mole (edited 05-09-2003 12:48 PM).]

[mikeamok]

taking the first letter of each person's last name - TBFCHWBJBWCASRBT - and using the same cipher on them, gives REJOICEWECONQUER. the first mage is therefore Pheidippides, the messenger who spoke those words after making the run from Marathon to Athens, and right before dying. i think.

[The Cruciverbalist]

Yep, that's right. Nicely done!

Here's the intro I gave the Hunters:


You open your eyes, and realize that the ceiling staring back at you is not a familiar one. You sit up, and your eyes slowly adjust to the dim light of your new surroundings, what would appear to be some kind of stone hallway. After a few seconds of thought, you come to the conclusion that waking up this morning was very likely a big mistake.

Oh, sure, the day started out fine. Hopped out of bed, got dressed, sat down at the computer for another day of Internet bliss. And then… whatever happened… happened, and here you are.

You have no idea how you got here, or indeed where “here” is. What you do know is that “here” is very low on your list of places you’d like to be, just below a truck stop restroom and just above the inside of a wood chipper. And that “here” is dark, the only light source being a few candles mounted here and there on the dull grey walls.

You have a million questions going through your head at this particular moment in time, which outnumber the answers available to you by roughly a million. You decide that whatever answers this place offers are not likely to be found by sitting on the floor, and it would thus be in your best interest to get up. After a few painful tries, you manage to achieve something that generally passes for a standing position. You heave a sigh of relief, and lean on your sword.

Your sword?

Alarmed, you glance down at yourself. You are indeed holding a sword. You also appear to be wearing chain mail; this is more than likely a contributing factor to your recent difficulties in standing up.

Well. You now have a million and one questions going through your head.

This number increases by a great deal a few seconds later when a loud “BWOMP!” sound and a ball of smoke disturb the stillness of the hall. As the smoke clears, you utterly fail to see a mysterious figure in front of you. You’re somewhat surprised by this; loud “BWOMP!” sounds and balls of smoke are almost always accompanied by a mysterious figure. It must be a rule written down in some book or something.

Instead, all that materializes is a small scrap of parchment with some writing on it. You read the note:

Welcome to the Grey Labyrinth!

Unfortunately, this great realm has come upon hard times. The land’s eight Mages, people real and fictional, living and dead, who have been placed in charge of keeping the Labyrinth in order, have all disappeared, and we have descended into a state of chaos.
You have been chosen to search the Labyrinth and bring back these Mages. To do this, seek the aid of the inhabitants of this Labyrinth, for they alone know the identities of the Mages. Once a Mage’s identity has been revealed, you may summon that Mage simply by speaking his or her name aloud. Remember, only when all eight Mages are recovered will you have succeeded.

Good luck!

You sigh. This has “long day” written all over it.




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This sig is currently undergoing construction.

[CrystyB]

since this is solved, could the one with the arrows be posted next?

[simkin]

what method did you use to translate the coded message?

[Timo_Tuokkola]

It's a basic substitution cipher. Not as difficult as most you'll find on the grey labyrinth, but a lot of fun to solve all the same.

------------------
One of the things Ford Prefect had always found hardest to understand about humans was their habit of continuously stating and repeating the very very obvious, as in It's a nice day, or You're very tall, or Oh dear you seem to have fallen down a thirty-foot well, are you all right?

--The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[What if...]

MPQBSIFZB is what the puzzle now reads, which I'm guessing is wrong. If anyone will fix it...

------------------
O.K., so how did I screw up this time?

[nearsighted]

I'VE HAD EIGHTEEN STRAIGHT WHISKIES I THINK THAT'S THE RECORD..
FRIENDS, APPLAUD THE COMEDY IS FINISHED
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MONTRESSOR
THAT WAS THE BEST ICE CREAM SODA I EVER TASTED
IT WON'T BE A STYLISH MARRIAGE I CAN'T AFFORD A CARRIAGE
GO AWAY. I'M ALRIGHT
I SHOULD NEVER HAVE SWITCHED FROM SCOTCH TO MARTINIS
LET US CROSS OVER THE RIVER AND SIT UNDER THE SHADE OF THE TREES
JOSEPHINE..
EITHER THAT WALLPAPER GOES OR I DO
THAT WAS A GREAT GAME OF GOLF, FELLERS
DON'T DISTURB MY CIRCLES
IN THAT CASE, WHAT IS THE QUESTION
I'M GOING OVER THE VALLEY
GOD BLESS CAPTAIN VERE
EVEN IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, TWO AND TWO DO NOT MAKE
SIX

[Lucky Wizard]

nearsighted, go to http://www.greylabyrinth.com/Forums/ubbcode.html and scroll a quarter of the way down. Then use some information you learn from the page linked to read Reply 1 and some other replies.

In short, you just reposted something that had already been mentioned.

[What if...]

Maybe he tried to read it, but he's nearsighted...

------------------
O.K., so how did I screw up this time?

[The Cruciverbalist]

Looks like glpics is finally back, so the next puzzle will probably be up pretty soon. And sorry, CrystyB, but the one with the arrows won't be until after this next one and the two after it.

[This message has been edited by The Cruciverbalist (edited 05-21-2003 02:30 PM).]

[CrystyB]

np. I'm patient!

[The Cruciverbalist]

I don't want to sound impatient, but this puzzle's been solved for 2 1/2 weeks, and the next puzzle is one of my favorites. Will it be up soon?

[visitor_hj62]

I found most of the references for the people last lines, from dylan thomas down to tolstoy. the only one that is if'y on my list is marriage-carriage. is it hal from 2001?

and, another thing. Are the first four lines "my pen ... if you say so" also famous last words. if so, i can't find them at all.

email fpasoabd@yahoo.com

[The Cruciverbalist]

Read responses 6 and 9 in this thread. The invisible parts can be highlighted by either dragging your mouse over them or pressing ctrl+A.