Still in Search of an Exit (Aftermath)

[L'lanmal]

Featuring:
The Cheshire Man 4
The Cruciverbalist 3
LoudmouthLee 3
CrystyB 2
Jedo the Jedi 2
mathgrant 2
mole 2
Fuldu 2
Trojan Horse 2
Uraj 2
Duke Gnome 1
Eykir 1
referee 1
mith 1
Persona 1
mikeamok 0

Puzzles by catagory:
2 Geography
2 Games
1 Self-referential
1 Music
1 Chemistry
1 Mathematics
1 Computers
0 Art

(I wanted to have an art puzzle, but couldn't come up with a good one.)

[L'lanmal]

Consciousness jolts you, and you find you aren't in your bed. Surprised and disoriented, you stand and peer at your surroundings. You are in a nearly featureless blue cylinder, though seemingly lopsided, but filled with people. Far above the plain blue walls is the blue sky... or is it a blue ceiling? You can't tell. After a yawn and stretch, you make a startling realization. All these people are GLers! You recognize mith and borschevsky and even the Minotaur. Along the wall, you see wordcross engaged in animate conversation with Scimitar. For a moment, you wonder how you can tell which is which.

"This will make a great Dreams about GLers post," you hear Mackay comment. Death Mage tries to phase through the room's only significant feature: a solid-looking plastic blue door where the wall is straight rather than curved. Failing this, he works up a good running start and makes a go at passing through the wall. Instead, he slips on something on the floor, and smashes face first into the wall. "Ouch, that hurt!" he says, grumpily retrieving the plastic key he slipped on, and you wonder how it could hurt in a dream.

After many introductions and much camaraderie, it's time to wake up. You wait. You wait some more. You pinch yourself. It hurts.

The conversations around the room begin to die down as everyone realizes their predicament. You aren't dreaming; you are trapped here. A quick search shows the walls seem solid all around, made of some strong synthetic material, and the room must be 100 yards in diameter. Four more keys are found, making five total, and all focus returns to that blue door. The flat wall it is set in seems more like a partition for the room than an exterior wall. There must be something behind it... even if it is only more blue cylinder.

The door has five plastic keyholes in it, arranged in a column. Each key-hole has a label written in simple (sans-serif) characters. From top to bottom they are labeled "M"-"O"-"V"-"E"-"!". But is "Move!" a warning, a command, helpful advice, or something else entirely?

The keys are similarly labeled, in no particular order, "J", "A", "L", "F", and "D". Perhaps they spell something too. Fladj? D.J. Alf? You hope not.

Discussion is just beginning as to the meaning of the keys, but perhaps someone should just try one in a lock and see what happens. Who will be first?

[L'lanmal]

Lock and key rules:

How to play (in short): Post that you will put (name of key) in (name of lock). That's all you need to do.

The lock and key format is due to... someone else. The original post is long gone by now.

Each set of locks has a set of keys to go with it. The players must get the right keys into the right locks, generally one key at a time. The keys and locks are related in some non-obvious way, ideally resulting in some trial and error before the pattern is recognized.

Anyone may attempt to put a key in a lock. If it fits, great! If not, you will "die" and be unable to try any more keys until the puzzle is solved. Don't let this bother you too much, because you will generally miraculously come back to life when the next room is reached. Attempting to play under another name when you are dead is frowned upon, as is tellling people what keys to use when you are dead.

When all necessary keys are inserted into their appropriate locks, the whole GL can move through to the next section/room/puzzle. Those that are dead are restored to life. Those that successfully placed a key and did not die will get a "bonus life." This bonus life keeps them from dying the next time they incorrectly place a key. The person to place the last key (often times, but not necessarily the one who determines the rule relating keys and locks) will receive 2 bonus lives rather than one. Some random guessing is encouraged, especially if you have lives to spare.

You may attempt to place multiple keys in multiple locks (which will be resolved in the order they are given in your post). Should you immediately recognize the pattern of the keys and locks, it is polite to place just one key and not immediately spoil the lock. Of course, if only two locks remain, it is usual to solve by placing all remaining keys.

It may be possible to remove a key from a lock. No bonus lives will be awarded for placing a key back into a lock it previously occupied, or for replacing a key with an identical key, etc. Bonus lives are awarded out of the goodness of my heart, and may be revoked out of the evilness of my heart.

Two puzzles will be repeated from Many Characters in Search of an Exit, one of which is the unsolved final room. Veteran players will need to sit on their hands (figuratively) through the first repeated puzzle. I'll announce when we get to that one. I believe the rest of the puzzles to be new, perhaps more intuitive, slightly more numerous, and I hope they are more fun as well. The killer balls on pedestals will not be making a reappearance, sorry.

To win, the GL members must escape from all rooms. This may require some working together.

Current puzzle summary will be kept in the 1st post for your convenience, but you may miss important hints if that is the only part you look at. Consider the first puzzle to be a warm-up. Go to it!

[Jedo the Jedi]

Aha! It must be fladj which is a cousin of fnord.

Actually, I'll just spontaneously try the "A" key in the "!" lock. *crosses fingers*

P.S.- This sounds like a fun game. Thanks for starting a new one, L'lanmal.

[Fuldu]

Try D in O.

[L'lanmal]

Jedo the Jedi, full of Jedi serenity, calmly places the A key in the ! lock.

Fuldu tries the D key in the O lock, which inserts half-way then seems to hit something squishy. Suddenly, two blue suction-cupped tentacles reach over the partition, grab Fuldu, and lift him away screaming. He is gone before anyone can react. The screams die out, and distant music is heard. The D key, now neglected, falls out of the O lock.
(i.e. Fuldu is dead, sadly)

P.S. You're welcome.

[LoudmouthLee]

[Jedo the Jedi]

[mole]

I'll step over Lee's corpse, and put D in E.

[L'lanmal]

LoudmouthLee boldly approaches the door, which most the others are now giving a much wider berth to.

"Perhaps the O, in general, is a bad idea," he thinks.

The M proves to be no better, however. No sooner does he insert the key into the lock than a fierce buzzing is heard, and a swarm of wasps comes streaming out of the M lock. In surprisingly little time, LoudmouthLee collapses under the assult of the... well... call them "blue jackets".

(LML is dead)
_________________
I don't want to face the killer instinct

[Fuldu]

Yeah, I see it now, too, mole. Damn.

[L'lanmal]

mole matter-of-factly inserts the D key into the E lock.

Yes, I was just coloring the death scenes. In this case, coloring them blue. This is just the introductory puzzle; trickery like needing to fill the locks in the correct order will come later.

Similarly, my sig and the title of the thread are both trivia of a sort, but unrelated to solving the puzzles.

Moving right along, we're two locks down, 3 to go.
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I don't want to face the killer instinct

[LoudmouthLee]

Doh! I understand now. Grr. That's easy. (kicks his dead body)
_________________
-LmL

I'm sorry. I have no desire to talk to you.

[mikeamok]

key F in lock V.

[Eykir]

I would like to insert Key J into Lock M

[The Cruciverbalist]

And L in O.
_________________
"Who slipped th'surly bonds an' kinged you the linguary?"

[L'lanmal]

The last three keys slide into place as expected, and the door hinges open.

Spoiler: The "keys" are all keys on the home row of the keyboard. Each key goes into the lock typed with that same finger.

Beyond it is a ramp leading down to a darker, but still blue and locked, door. Lining the ramp are five statues: A trumpet, a flute, and a clarinet on the left, and a French horn and a piano on the right. At the piano sits a blue-tentacled beast wearing a bow tie and a top hat. It finishes playing "Golliwog's Cakewalk" for Fuldu, who is sitting Indian-style nearby, and turns and bows. Then it lifts up the top of the piano, climbs inside, and closes it behind him. You experimentally try a key on the piano, but it really is as solid as a statue. Odd...

"Fuldo! We thought you were a goner!" exclaims LoudmouthLee, entering behind you. Ironic, since the same could be said about him. Neither of them seems the worse for wear. LoudmouthLee had just fainted then the wasps flew off, and Fuldo had been merely barraged with Debussy songs.

"I'm ok... I did find these though," replies Fuldo, producing three mallet-like objects. One is a simple stone head on a stick. The second is double-ended: there is a handle, and a stone head on the top facing one way, with a second on the bottom facing the other. Kind of like half a swastika.

The last one, in surreal mockery of the double-headed mallet, is a double-handled mallet. It has a stone head in the center, with one wooden handle extending up on one side, and one extending down on the other.

Once again, no other exits and blue walls stretch up to the sky/ceiling. The door is fairly featureless, metal, and solid. Perhaps these mallets and statues have something to do with opening the door?
_________________
I don't want to face the killer instinct

[Fuldu]

So we have mallets representing no hands, one hand, and two hands. None of these instruments are no handed, so if that has anything to do with it, that key won't be used. It seems unlikely, but let's go for it.

Play Clarinet with two-handled mallet.

I rather enjoyed the Debussy, after all.

[Jedo the Jedi]

[L'lanmal]

Fuldu climbs up to the clarinet, and gives it an experimental tap with the two-handled mallet.

The clarinet makes no sound, but the mallet begins vibrating. Its oscillations become more and more violent.

"I can't let go!" gasps Fuldu, whose arms are already dislocated. With a horrible cracking noise, he falls to the ground with no signs of life
_________________
I don't want to face the killer instinct

[Jedo the Jedi]

Nevermind then. You're dead.

[Persona]

Taps trumpet with one-handle one-head mallet.

/me hopes that taps really wasn't a bad choice of word after all...

[Jedo the Jedi]

I think that we should tap the trumpet with all three of the different mallets. Surely one of them is the correct answer.

I'll wait to discover Persona's fate before I perform my action.

[L'lanmal]

Indeed, Persona does hear the first line of taps after he hits the trumpet...

...as the trumpet statue falls on and crushes him.

Then, in weeble fashion, it stands back up.

This thread is rapidly increasing my post count.
_________________
I don't want to face the killer instinct

[The Cruciverbalist]

I'll hit the clarinet with the two-headed mallet, and pray my memories of band class are accurate.
_________________
"Who slipped th'surly bonds an' kinged you the linguary?"

[L'lanmal]

The Cruciverbalist closes his eyes, and plays the sunrise on the clarinet (with the two-headed mallet).

It sounds earily beautiful, and continues even when he steps down.
_________________
I don't want to face the killer instinct

[Jedo the Jedi]

I'll hit the trumpet with the two-handled mallet.

[L'lanmal]

Jedo, learning quickly, hits the trumpet witih the two-handled mallet, then drops the mallet and dashes away. He manages to avoid being crushed by a fraction of a second.

(Jedo loses his extra life.)
_________________
I don't want to face the killer instinct

[LoudmouthLee]

[LoudmouthLee]

PS: If that's right (which, my luck, it wont be...) I have the other answers as well
_________________
-LmL

I'm sorry. I have no desire to talk to you.

[L'lanmal]

LoudmouthLee hits the flute with the two-headed mallet. The flute responds by hitting the two-headed mallet with itself. A quick fencing match results all over the room, until LML gets pinned against the piano. He doesn't notice the lid of the piano opening up, and falls in.
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I don't want to face the killer instinct

[CrystyB]

~does the obvious~

I poke on the trumpet with the two-headed mallet.

Update: clarinet + two-headed mallet, flute - two-headed mallet

[npog]The death count only for the current round, right? Next round, those players start alive, and with no extra lives, don't they?[/npog]

[L'lanmal]

CrystyB enters with great fanfare, which emanates from the trumpet when poked with the two-headed mallet.

The clarinet and trumpet settle down to a quiet Dixieland duet afterwards.

[correct, the dead come back to life (with 0 bonus lives) when each new room is reached.]
_________________
I don't want to face the killer instinct

[mikeamok]

still clueless, but i'll try the single mallet on the flute.

[L'lanmal]

A shrill noise emits from the flute, causing mikeamok to drop the mallet on his toe. Ouch. He bends over in pain, just before several sharp conductor's batons fly through were his head just was.

(mikeamok loses a bonus life)
_________________
I don't want to face the killer instinct

[The Cruciverbalist]

Hm. I think I've got it, but I'm not sure. Single mallet on the French horn, just to check.

(Edit: Oh. Okay, so it was the only mallet left. Yeah, I'm sure then.)
_________________
"Who slipped th'surly bonds an' kinged you the linguary?"

[L'lanmal]

The French Horn (with Trumpet and Clarinet accompanying) breaks into the Hornpipe from Handel's Water Music, under the direction of The Cruciverbalist.
_________________
I don't want to face the killer instinct

[The Cheshire Man]

I whack the piano with the two-handled mallet.
_________________
smile

[L'lanmal]

The Cheshire Man raps loudly on the piano with the two-handled mallet.

The blue creature clambers out of the piano, walks to the bench, and plays "The Entertainer" while doing a confusing six-armed dance.

Feel free to spoil...
_________________
I don't want to face the killer instinct

[The Cheshire Man]

Not the slightest idea
I was just lucky.
_________________
smile