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The Secret Society – Moving Office

So, while I was gone, the company we’re renting office space from decided that they needed our current space for their own employees. The good news is we now have a slightly bigger office and a window. The bad news is basically everything else. I was freaking out that we were maybe going to somehow lose Woolie or this connection to the other AGP.

We finally moved into the new office and hadn’t heard anything for about a week and a half, until this morning. Catherine wasn’t in the office yet, but Woolie came back and he was fragmented, and fading, whereas before he had become more… corporeal before? Now he was back to the way he was when he first showed up. Whatever seems to be happening with the Instagram account and the sounds in the office also seems to be happening to Woolie. Like we’re losing our connection to him, or his connection to us. He was originally drawn to the office because he said there was some kind of light in it. Maybe that light’s disappearing. Like magiq?

He was talking but I could only hear about a quarter of it. He was telling me about his first steps into Neithernor. He said he was welcomed with open arms by these people who had taken these ancient ruins and turned them into beautiful homes for the six guilds that he’d come to learn about, almost like club houses. Rotting wood and crumbling stone had been covered with tapestries, cloths, and furniture, and there were tents set up all over the place. It was like these grown-ups were living some wonderful childlike adventure. He saw people going and coming through doors to our world, people learning magic, people sitting around campfires, telling stories, detailing adventures they had in this world. He met groups of people gathered under massive trees reading old books and parchments, working together to try and learn unknown languages and decipher strange codes. He said he finally felt like he was home. I’m not positive, and it may be because I’m biased, but I think he said he was an Ebenguard. How he describes Neithernor, and the new houses, the path of wool, all sounded extraordinary. I have no idea why I can’t knock in but maybe it’s just not my thing, yeah? Anyway, I’ve been pretty preoccupied.

After about ten minutes he disappeared mid-sentence and didn’t come back. I stayed until the early hours of the morning just in case, and just when I was about to leave, on the chalkboard, I found one phrase, written in what I assume is his handwriting…

“When the sun god finds one sister who stills hold aloft her fire”

That was it. It doesn’t seem like it’s a lot to go on. I mean, what the hell is happening? The Book of Briars has been inexplicably delayed, whatever connection we had to the other Ackerly Green and Woolie seems to be dissolving. Any ideas what we should do?

As for the AG package, no word yet from China but I’ve been following up regularly. I’ll let you know as soon as I know something.

342 Comments

  1. Well there’s a fun chestnut of a conspiracy theory that the Statue of Liberty is based on Apollo or Helios. (Walk not too far down that path before you get into the illuminati/alien/lucifer connections.)

    Also I just learned the Colossus of Rhodes was based on the god Helios, and I suppose of you look at it from the point of view of a family of giant statues staring out over bodies of water then the Colussus and the Statue could be sibilings.

    Or maybe it just means @Helios needs to call his family more often.

    Maybe an AGP field trip is in order?

    1. Robert, I was just about to mention Helios (you have no idea how many solar deities I went through before I got to Helios).

      Okay, so I just did some digging. Apparently, one of Selene’s atributes in art, alongside her veil and lunar crown, is a torch. Two images show such just on wikipedia:

      and for details on Helios:

    2. Fair point @Robert :joy: Unfortunately all I have is brothers.

      On your note about the Statue of Liberty, it does have a sister statue called the Île aux Cygnes that the US gift France in 1889 to celebrate the French Revolution.

      Also, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a statue of the sun God Apollo’s sister Artemis holding two torches.:

      https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/242294

      Unfortunately, it’s not currently on display.

      1. Ohhhhhh.

        “When the sun god finds one sister who still holds aloft her fire”

        And we’re looking for a haunted lighthouse…which could be said to be something that holds aloft fire.

        Oh, @Helios. Are there any lighthouses near you with some various of sister / woman / haunted / etc in the name?

        Failing that. Any notable statues of women? I forget where you live right now or I’d start googling.

  2. “When the sun god finds one sister who stills hold aloft her fire”

    I have a feeling the wording I italicized is important (unless it’s part of Woolie fading), since it would otherwise be “still holds.”

    Never mind… :endriwink:

  3. Sorry to hear about the stressful office move, Saber! Glad to hear its all sorted now, though.

    As for Woolie, I’m a little worried about his sudden deterioration from our world; sounds too much like Lachmann for comfort… I wonder if there is someway to help, or better make use of our time with him while he’s here? As of right now he’s our only “living” connection to the ones who walked before us, that and the guild ghosts which have been appearing in Neithernor. His depiction of Neithernor really made my day because I think, I hope at least, one day it can be like that again, and I absolutely can’t wait for that day. Until then, sounds like we have a lot of work to do!

  4. Unfortunately no lighthouses around since I’m back in Colorado. I’ll definitely hunt around for statues. If you want to look too, I’m in Fort Collins.

    1. Woah! I had no idea that existed, this is awesome. I’ll head over to it soon and if that doesn’t work I could check it out again when it’s a reasonable time of day. Astounding research as always @Ashburn!

    2. You were absolutely right Ashburn! I’ll try to make this short since my hands are frozen and I’m about to pass out.

      My journey to find the park was pretty average (except for the fact I forgot my jacket and made a terrible judgment call on how cold it could get). When I was getting close to the statue itself, I pulled out my phone to load the AG app and as my phone sprang to life the streetlight I was passing under burnt out which was super creepy, but I felt that it was a sign that the statue would be a hit.

      It came into view and with only one other light nearby, I could only just make out the cold outline of the statue, which wasn’t an issue since the app quickly reacted! The notification that appeared read:

      Helios

      And the crooked river reaches where the star-eyed witch retires

      Thanks for the research again Ashburn, I’m gonna sleep for a long while now!

      1. That’s awesome! I’m so glad it wasn’t a dud.

        With what came up when you got there, it sounds like we’re getting the clues one at a time now. I’d imagine keeping the messages shorter might make it easier for our ghostie friend to stay in touch.

        So, my first inclination is that the “star-eyed witch” is the reference to the Mountie in question?

        If that’s the case, @Nimueh and @Viviane came to mind first (unless there are others of us with witchy names?).

  5. I’m gonna agree with Ash on this and say Oracle. The Misissippi is most definately very twisty, and could be described as crooked in places. Did a quick map check on the river near me, just to be safe, not really crooked.

  6. The clues used to come in batches, but now we’re only getting a single clue at the time. It feels like the flow of magiq has slowed to a trickle. I’m worried, Mounties.

    1. Getting serious Lachmann vibes from this whole thing. There was nothing we could do back then, we didn’t even fully understand what was going on, but is there something we can do this time? I don’t want Woolie, or whatever other ghosts are interacting with Ackerly Green, to fade away. :eavessweat:

  7. Let us know what you find, @OracleSage! If that doesn’t do it, I’m near the Potomac which could also be a “crooked river,” but the best justification I can come up with for “star-eyed witch” is a Pinterest cocktail recipe, which I would totally drink but don’t think is related to this endeavor. Also, the Potomac is rather large and I’m not sure I could narrow it down.

  8. Okay so, apparently the graveyard is heavily guarded because poor Marie’s tomb has been vandalized by tourists an horrifying amount. However, I think cheap guided tours are available? This is a place I’ve been meaning to see anyway so… Worth a shot still?

  9. For me either, Augo.

    I circled the maze of tombstones a few times, trying to find a gate or entrance left ajar, since no tours were running when I got there. Nothing, and I have a sneaking that Herman would frown on me hopping a fence :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

    And as I am a fierce believer in the flow of magiq I’m inclined to believe this clue isn’t relevant to me.

  10. Okay, if that’s the case there are a cpiple of rivers with the actual name “Crooked River”. Anyone close to one?

    Also trying to think if we have anyone else with a pin that might be refered to as “star-eyed”, or if that’s a clue for the location.

  11. Hm…we’ve got a river in town, but it’s not called “Crooked River” and it’s not particularly crooked-looking…so I guess I’ll keep an eye on the thread and try to check it out if we can’t come up with a better option?

      1. There are quite of a few of us, but which one of us would be considered a “witch”? Something doesn’t ring for me with this interpretation of the clue. It seems too broad.

  12. Okay, so there’s two ways of looking at this clue. One is that “Crooked river” is telling us the person, and “star-eyed witch” refers to a place, the other is the opposite. So, let’s go about this logically. Who in @The_Secret_Society might we refer to as a witch or who lives near a particularly crooked river? Easiest thing to do first would be witches, I’m guessing?

    1. I also think star eyed has to tie in, some way or another. As the last clue was related to Helios’s username I’m inclined to think the same about this one, rather than referring to a persons practice.

    2. If it was just the river clue, I’d say I was a candidate, what with the Missouri River being so close to home. But I’m neither starry-eyed nor necessarily a witch. Oracle and I are the resident metaphysically inclined folks, tho, if that counts for anything.

  13. Yeah, I just meant in general, like Ash’s instant reaction was Vivien or I, and the suggestion with you made perfect sense. Who here would we associate “witch” with first, and then apply the description “star-eyed” to that list to narrow down. One piece of info at a time :slight_smile:

    1. I mean, I feel kind of silly just thinking of it, but I do have pictures from the local solar walk on my profile, and there are a couple places along it that have some body of water running next to/under it…

      1. Here in today’s episode of “How You Know You’ve Been at the Basecamp for a Small Century”, we have a wild Rev not recognizing his own bio.

        :joy: But seriously, good find! My avatar is an artist’s rendition of Apollo mourning Hyacinthus if that helps at all?

        Edit: The one thing I’m not sure is where the “reaches where the witch retires” bit fits in. It does move southeast and join with the Missouri River, but it goes around Kansas City and not through it, as far as I can tell.

  14. What if we have it backwards, and “crooked river” refers to the person (instead of “starry-eyed witch”)? For the last clue, “Sun God” meant @Helios, so I feel like either “crooked river” or “starry-eyed witch” could be referring to a Mountie.

  15. After a bit of searching (not as easy as typing “statue” into the Mountie Map search bar this time), I think I found a pretty good option.

    Seeing as she was accused of being a witch and burned at the stake…

    This easy for you to check up on, @CameronP?

    Edit: apparently there’s also a Lady of the Lake statue if Joan doesn’t work out.

  16. So I have been thinking, really it was more like a deep dive. Wondering why these places, and how the pins knew to draw us there. What connection does it all have, ya know?

    What if they are wells? What if somehow these pins are showing us those places we have heard of only in reference, always in a kind of hushed reverence by those who seem to understand what they are.

    What if the pins, whose metal has been hinted already to be magimystical in nature, is acting like a magnet, showing us the places where magiq is still clinging to our world?

    My tin foil hat may be on too tight for this one, but I wanted to put it out there before the chaos of the week totally took over my next few days.

  17. Go get ’em, CameronP!

    Looking at the big picture here a second, I’m starting to see a pattern. I’m reminded of Brandon Lachmann. Brandon figured out how to make magiq by creating intricate patterns of previously unrelated objects and ideas. Fill in the gaps with enough imagination and ideas, and things just start to work.

    In this specific case we are the unrelated objects. Woolie is taking ideas, memories, and places around us and linking them together into one story. One spell, if you will. Why these places? No idea. Maybe they’re wells, or on ley lines, or places Woolie had a really good ham sandwich at once. Why us? Well because we tend to listen and do crazy things when ghosts, voices from the past, or cultists of questionable character suggest them. I like to think of us as helpful.

    Two ideas come to mind when trying to do something like this. First, use all the resources at your disposal, especially if you’re doing something big. Second, don’t overtax any part of the system by reusing them too much. So to make a long story short (too late), I’d suggest we come up with a list of all members in the Secret Society, and cross the names off of anyone who has found one of Woolie’s memories.

    If Woolie is being efficient in his story telling / magiq weaving, it might come in handy and help us quickly narrow down any remaining memories.

  18. Okay, asterisks for those who have found memories so far. It does look like there are no repeats yet. (Aside from Saberlane and Catherine :cjtea: )

    Arym*

    Ashburn

    Augo *

    Brendon*

    CameronP*

    Chi*

    Crytter* – via Etrus

    Deyavi*

    Echo

    Echomoon *

    Ginger

    Grim

    Helios*

    Katalena

    Kelsey

    Mike*

    5*

    Nailo*

    Nimueh

    Oracle*

    Raven

    Remus*

    Reve*

    Rimor**

    Robert*

    Sel

    Sky

    Smurfette

    Tinker

    Vic

    Viv

  19. Ok gang, so incredibly sorry for the delay!

    “Crooked River” reporting here. I did a bit of thinking on our latest clue:

    And the crooked river reaches where the star-eyed witch retires

    There’s sort of a famously whimsical house out here in the city of stars known as the Spadena House in Beverly Hills. This house is more commonly referred to by the locals as The Witch’s House of Beverly Hills!! One might say that the original tenant of this house, having lived in Hollywood, could be considered a “star-eyed witch!”

    Armed with this theory I made my way to the retiree’s hovel. I’ve been here a few times before and always felt a certain zippiness or crackle in the air—I don’t want to say electricity because that would do this sensation a disservice. This time, however, was different. That familiar zip was there but accompanied by another, lower wump, for lack of a better descriptor. Something told me I was on the right track so I pulled out my AG app and sure enough another clue!

    When the lebewesen lights upon a never-ending flame

    Having read this, the wump was gone. It’s as if it were a secret just dying to be heard and, once released, could finally rest. It could also have just been the pounding in my chest finally subsiding after having finally discovered our next clue.

    Anyway, what do we make of this clue?

  20. The wording is never-ending flame, not necessarily eternal which sparks a thought. (Pun unintended)

    If anyone cares most cities or towns that have a WWI or WWII monument have some sort of ‘eternal/never-ending’ flame burning constantly to symbolize the passing of the torch (as from the line from ‘In Flanders Fields’) and to symbolize lots of other fun stuff about never forgetting the sacrifice people made, etc.

    Could potentially be a place to check out if we’re certain this clue applies to a specific Mountie/Crytter? Especially if it’s outside of a military/history museum of some sort? If the eternal flame thing doesn’t work out.

    1. I found this other eternal flame

      Also there are a lot of war monuments around it and the Arlington House museum.

  21. Look. I… really shouldn’t be posting here. Or lurking here at all. But here I am, so…

    When the lebewesen lights upon a never-ending flame

    You guys were right to think of Germany. Not quite the right place though. The Brennender Berg, it’s a mountain that’s been burning since the 1600s. Also, not too terribly far from some… work I’ve been conducting in the area. It seemed to fit so I downloaded your app and…

    I really shouldn’t have done that.

    Well… What’s done is done. As expected, the message arrived quickly. And rummaging where dragons flee, you come upon a name.

    Anyways, I’m afraid that’s all I can do for now. But good luck. And know there are still many eyes watching how this turns out. :endriwink:

    1. I’m not sure what happened to Crytter (I hope they’re okay), but thank you, Etrus, for taking all those chances to help us out. :eaveshug:

      So…anyone else jump to the fact that Wales has huge ties to dragons?

      1. I mean… Of course! But sure about the running and fleeing part though… Might do some research into maybe some battles where the welsh forces fled? However, while there’s a link to dragons, don’t we normally get a clue as to the person’s username as well as a location?

        Edit: @Viviane You haven’t had a clue yet either, right? Your avatar is a dragon. I also just had the biggest facepalm moment… “where dragons flee”, they fly, right? Into the sky… So, @Skylad?

        1. That seems logical to me…

          I tried searching for places near Nimueh that had “dragon” in the name (English and Welsh, because that map… :laurendizzy: ). Not much luck for me.

          Then I tried searching for caves. Most seem a bit on the far side, but there were a couple that seemed like they could merit at least another set of eyes.

          This one has a section called the Hall of the Mountain King (which reminded me of Smaug and his whole “I will show them who is the real king under the mountain” thing).

          http://www.cavinguk.co.uk/gallery/ffmines26_09_2004/

          Then there’s the Three Bears Caves, the biggest of which was apparently used as a dragon’s cave in Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (the version that’s about as old as I am).

          1. Lol, lookign for places in Wales is bad enough, let alone looking for “dragon” in Wales. That could be placename, statue, sculpture, gargoile, carving on a building…

            Ogof Craig is a long way from me, so that’s out (well, long as I don’t have a car and public transport sucks).

            Three Bears Caves is fairly close, could maybe get up there at some point.

            I think Viv’s right though, the wording is always important. I did have a slgiht lightblub with the “rummaging” and connection of cargo. Cardiff is a port. Doing some digging in that area as something in the back of my mind is screaming at me that there’s a “name” connection somewhere.

          2. My only other thought was that maybe the “finding a name” could have to do with graffiti?

            There was a graffiti wall listed on this bunch of public art in Cardiff that didn’t seem too far from your dot on the map. I think the park it’s in was Thousandoaks or something like that? :ascendershrug:

          3. That wasn’t the one I saw (thanks wikipedia for being so comprehensive), but that could work too (and with it being closer to the bay itself, is probably more promising).

            It’s a sign that I really need to double check things before I mention them, it was Seven oaks park that I’d seen had a graffiti wall, not Thousand.

          4. Okay, the one I posted doesn’t exist yet (took a street walk on google just to orientate myself). I can see the Seven Oaks one. Little bit of a walk, so I’ll definately be waiting for a non rainy day.

            I have to admit though, the more I look at this the more I’m wondering if we’re on the right track. The last three clues in this thread pointed to a specific person by practically giving us their username. Unless of course we’re starting a new, slightly different, string of clues.

          5. I just perused the Secret Society group list, and no screen names struck me as particularly draconic. Remember though, two clues ago – we were all looking for a “witch” when the actual name-clue was “crooked river.”

            And rummaging where dragons flee, you come upon a name.

            Let’s look at all the clues together and see how they fit with the society members they reference:

            When the sun god finds one sister who still holds aloft her fire” – Helios

            And the crooked river reaches where the star-eyed witch retires” – CameronP

            When the lebewesen lights upon a never-ending flame” – Crytter

            And rummaging where dragons flee, you come upon a name.

            The other parts of this are harder to parse out. I don’t see anything out of hand that references rummaging or fleeing. It looks like the first “part” of the clue references a member, and the second “part” references the location. In that case, we would be looking for a… rummager? Any thoughts?

  22. I feel like the word “rummaging” is important, here? It’s the kind of word I’d use for searching an attic, for one thing, and not for a place dragons flee to. And apparently it comes from a sea term used to describe stowing cargo.

    And what does “you come upon a name” mean? What sort of name? How is that helpful in finding the next step?

  23. I think this one is defiantly aimed more at Viv or Nim. I’ve been racking my brain and all I can think to do is replace rummaging with searching So it reads “Searching where dragons flee. There you’ll find a name” and that could mean a lookout somewhere along the river where we have dragon boat races oooooor one of the smaller airports where (@Ginger get excited) there may be a DH-84 Dragon parked there… Doing a bit of study, one crashed about 2hrs north of me… what is the furtherest anyone has ever had to go before?

  24. Maybe “rummaging”, as in a scavenger? If so, then maybe we’re lookign in the complete wrong place here and this clue might be for @Ravenwing . Ravens are oppertunistic scavengers. That would betetr fit the pattern

  25. In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus are twin brothers, whose story tells the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus. The killing of Remus by his brother, and other tales from their story, have inspired artists throughout the ages.Wikipedia

    also remus lupin

  26. I’m in Connecticut rn until Dec.

    I’ll see if Mystic has anything dragon related? Idk. If it was referencing me I would have expected something bird related or black but I’ll look into it!

  27. Alright I got distracted by history hw, and it’s past sunset so I’ll actually go tomorrow. I would chat with security (I have 24 hour access to the grounds as long as I tell them I’m there, Herman really came through on that one [thanks buddy]) and head over but it is cold and I really do have a bunch of reading to do. Should be able to go Sun. morning.

  28. Alright: here’s a rundown of the events this morning.

    Woke up and noticed Herman was comfortably on my hat that had somehow shown up on my desk. I don’t remember putting it there. I was encouraged.

    Had breakfast, covered myself in sweaters and ran out. I entered the Seaport through my super secret employee access entrance that I have the run of due to my study abroad program. Gotta love staff privileges!

    First I went to visit the current location of the Draken. Nothing.

    I figured the clue was ‘where dragons flee’ so I went to the normal berth of the Draken

    Visited the Amistad who had kicked out the Draken from her normal berth.

    I wandered around there for a bit and noticed my phone wasn’t registering location which might have been confusing Herman. I fixed that problem. Still nothing.

    Said hi to the Charles W. Morgan. Still gorgeous

    Something told me to check on the Draken again because my location was being weird on my phone the first time. I rounded shipyard point and went back. Nothing.

    Some possible explanations:

    1. This is not the right location.

    2. Herman is still a bit behind because I was in Louisiana this last week. Human beings are not mentally built to live at the speeds of modern transportation so Herman might be experiencing a bit of jet lag as well.

    3. The clue said to look for a name. The full name of the Draken is Draken

      Harald Hårfagre. Maybe something to do with the full name? Harald Hårfagre was the king who unified Norway but I’m coming up blank on ways this could apply.

    I’m in Mystic, CT if anyone wants to look into any of this. I didn’t go into the shipyard itself but I have work there tomorrow and I’ll make sure to bring my phone. As for now, I’m going to finish my history hw and try to figure out my next course of action. I might go back later today or tomorrow. Maybe I’ll put Herman in an oyster shell next to a jar of nutmeg so he realizes he’s back in CT. :endriwink:

    1. I know Harald Hårfagre, he invade England in 1066 seeking to claim the English throne but was defeated and killed by Harold Godwinson’s forces at the battle of Stamford bridge. His defeat and death is considered to be the end of the Viking age.

        1. Fun fact! The battle of Hastings didn’t take place at Hastings, its stated in several historical documents that it took place at Battle. Also William I built an Abbey there to mark the place where Harold died. However the Battle of Battle doesn’t sound very cool so they named it after the nearest town Hastings.

  29. Awesome exploring, @Ravenwing!

    I spent some more time combing the Secret Society membership list, and Googling people’s screen names (in a very non-creepy way, mind you), and I found something that should have struck me right away!

    Rimor

    @Rimor, any dragons nearby?

    1. There’s the Tees Valley Dragons down by the river but this is actually the first time I’ve heard of them because I’ve never been down that end of the river before. I normally only walk past the Princess on the way into town. Looks like I’m going on a field trip!

  30. Ooh, like dragon boats? That could be promising! I think someone also suggested a cave, since it says “where dragons flee”. And what about the last bit, “you come upon a name”? Actual location clue or just indicative of what we might find when we get there? None of the others have had something like that before, but maybe this is the end of a stanza?

  31. We’ve lost contact with several Secret Society members, which hopefully means they’re just busy with mundane life… so whatever’s happening, whoever’s doing this, might be forced to use the resources/members that are available, hence two clues to @Rimor?

  32. I think there are a couple of caves in Durham County, but I’m not sure of their proximity. And isn’t Durham Castle there, as well? Also, if anyone can think of other locations dragons would flee to, or from…

  33. Not sure if I’m in the right area but apparently someone fled to Gibson’s Cave.

    Also, we’ve been thinking about dragons in a fantasy sense, but… Well, this may sound silly, but what about other meanings? Like a dude nicknamed “The Dragon” or a lizard with dragon-like qualities? I dunno, maybe that’s silly.

      1. Gah, I typed in Stockton-on-tees and it gave me Teeside, I think. :cagsko:

        Apparently there is a place named Green Dragon Yard? It holds The Green Dragon Pub and also brings up a theatre (not sure the relevance of the theatre, aside from it being in the area).

        1. I’m not sure I walked past The Green Dragon on my way home and nothing pinged. Also the previous clues have all been something obvious/well known not a dodgy steriotypical side street pub

          1. Do you have a football team called the dragons or even like St George??? Might be their home turf (pitch, club, sporting arena… I’m not very athletics inclined :joy:)

  34. Also I don’t think it’s a person as dragons is used in the plural form. Also the dragons aren’t fleeing from someone as it says

    And rummaging where dragons flee, you come upon a name.

    1. It’s certainly possible it could be someone else. But Rimor being the Latin word for rummage really seems to point in that direction. That’s a really specific word, and the past clues have all had similar aspects to them.

  35. Sorry for butting in, and I know this might seem out of left field, but “where dragons flee” makes me think of how mapmakers used to put dragons (and other mythological creatures) on the edges of maps when they didn’t know what lay beyond (“Here be dragons.”) If a name is found where dragons flee, could that have something to do with mapping/exploring? Anything to do with maps, exploring, or seafaring @Rimor?

    1. There’s James Cook who found Australia and we know that place is filled with horrors and possibly dragons :joy:

      He was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy

        1. There’s a replica of the Endeavour in Stockton, Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Stewarts Park and Captain Cook’s Monument on the top of a dirty great big hill.

          The Endeavour is currently in Whitby and the Monument is about half an hour drive so I’ll try the museum first as it’s the easiest to get to.

  36. I’m gonna try and get down to the museum on the weekend via car as the park is in an awkward public transport location and the trains keep having strikes. I might make it down on Friday if I’m really lucky

  37. I finally managed to get to Stewarts Park where Captain Cooks Museum is. As I got closer to the museum dark heavy storm clouds rolled in blocking out the last rays of the feeble winter light. I hurried to the museum checking my phone every now and then to see if I had a notification. But it wasn’t till I was on the museums door step that the notification finally came though however as soon as the notification came through the storm broke over head throwing down heavy sheets of rain. I made a mad dash back to the car and as soon I was inside the storm ended as suddenly as it had started. I finally got a look at the clue and It read as follows;

    When the common nail has been enhanced to aid a humbled sentry

    1. Rimor found the dragon, but it’s looking like you may be looking for a “humbled sentry”?

  38. Okay, so my first (probably very random) thought was a war memorial. Don’t ask why, just first thing that came to mind.

    On a more probable route, sentry is another word for a guard. As Nailo’s in/around London, we have Horse Gaurd’s parade, the Queen’s guard… Problem when dealing with London is it’s such a large place… Any chance of a smaller search area? Or anything that springs to mind when you hear the word “humble”?

    Edit: Asked a friend from nearby what came to mind when he heard “humble sentry”, and he said there was something around The Serpentine, but he couldn’t quite remember what it was. He aslo came up with Buck house, cause the changing of the guard could also be retiring of the guard, retiring being a synonym for humble. Along the same line, retiring might be the Chelsea Pensioners, who are all ex-military, which would give us The Royal Hospital Chelsea. Just a few more ideas, anyway.

  39. Just found this. Thoughts?

    Edit: Also, another random thought (cause I’m really unsure Buck house is our location), what about the old gates of London? The gatehouses would have held sentry towers, and if there are any still standing (which I don’t know), sure they would have been “humbled” by age?

  40. I’m at the palace. Having trouble logging in on the app so I’m not sure if I’m not getting anything because it’s the wrong place or because I’m not able to log in

    1. I don’t think the logging in to the app itself is quite working yet, but as long as the locator icon is showing along the top bar (with the time, etc) it should be able to tell if you’re in the right place.

  41. I did a search to see if there was a list of monuments that had been damaged (thinking it might be that sort of “humbled”).

    What about the Richard I statue outside Parliament? Thing I found says it still has visible damage from the Blitz.

  42. Quick update…

    I finally got a call back from my contact in China about the company A.G. used. They found the shipping stock. In a warehouse in Brazil!

    I had to pay upfront for them to look any further into this, and there’s no guarantee that it’s still there, but if it is, they’re going to ship it back to NYC.

  43. Is there any way we could work without a physical Mountie at these locations? Saber I’m sure this is a wild idea but any way of scrying or astrally getting this information, for those of us who can’t help out physically?

        1. We could do stories of searching for something lost…Or travel in the area we expect the clue…Or I guess just use the clue as a prompt and wing it?

      1. It was fun! I’d been before but hadn’t really invested time looking around. It was interesting to see the juxtaposition of past and present, especially with the chalk around parliament

    1. I thought so too but I took a trip to the palace a few weeks ago, nothing showed up. Unless something is supposed to show up at a specific time? Like when the changing of the guards happens?

  44. Here’s another one but it’s probably not gonna be it. The problem we have it that there’s so many landmarks, bridges, statues, monuments, churches ect in London that could fit it’s gonna be almost impossible to find the location with the clue “A humbled sentry”. So unless Nailo wants to visit every site in London we’re gonna need a way to narrow our choices down.

    When the common nail has been enhanced to aid a humbled sentry

    1. I feel like the big words we’re not thinking of are “enhanced” and “humbled.” In what way could a sentry “enhance” a person? There’s got to be more to this.

    1. @Mr5yy

      When the common nail has been enhanced to aid a humbled sentry

      @Revenir I think you got your question mixed up. Shouldn’t it be, what could enhance a nail or how could a nail help a sentry or how/why was the sentry humbled? :brandonthinking:

      1. No it’s more like, since the “nail” was nailo, I was perceiving it as enhancing a person, if that makes sense? Although enhancing a nail is also a valid interpretation.

  45. What about the “common” part that comes before that? Common, shared, shared nails? Common also could be “average.” I hear the sentence as an average Joe nail being made into a superhero.

    I seriously hope it isn’t a phone booth, there are a ton of them around here.

  46. @nailo is there any noteworthy lighthouses near you??? Or a tower that pointed? Maybe the “nail has been enhanced” means something nail shaped? Probably entering red herring territory here but just a thought

  47. The more i look at this the more convincing it looks.

    Edit 3: okay… the common nail. Something tells me thats also a point of interest. I think it might be talking about the middle class of london rising up or something.

    Edit 4: HAH! I found something on a rebellion! And guess whar they did at one point in 1371? Peasants’ Revolt – Wikipedia

    I rest my tinfoil laden case.

  48. Could it be something related to “Humboldt”. It has humble and bolt (kinda) in the name, and a bolt is just an enhanced nail like the clue. Can’t find anything on AO that looks promising for this, but there are a bunch of places named after Humboldt in Canada. Humboldt’s dad was a major in the Prussian army. (sentry?)

    Another (more likely) option would be this:

    I think this might be it folks. Metropolitan police helped by a hook, essentially a bent nail.

  49. Ninja edit: whoa I’m wrong I’m wrong! Stood for a minute to figure out my next steps and got a message that said something like “go to higher ground where all who seek knowledge are granted entry”

    It was the hook! Trying to screenshot the notification but it’s gone

    Nope

  50. “go to higher ground where all who seek knowledge are granted entry”

    Anyone here have a name that could be realted to a hill or some other high ground? As I can’t see any obvious candidates on the SS list :laughing:

  51. Bit of good news and a bit of a snag. The warehouse in Fortaleza still had the stock and shipped it out two weeks ago to a partnered fulfillment center in the states! We’ve been waiting to hear from them and just got a call this morning. There are two issues. One I can handle, the other… I’m not sure. A) the stock is “large” and will cost much more to ship to the office, and B) the stock comes with a shipping addendum, written by “A.G.”, that states that a “password” is required to release the stock and complete the shipment. They know the password but are waiting for me to give them the proper word to check against it.

    I explained the strange situation, minus the magic bits, and sent them an EXTENSIVE list of possible words based on The Monarch Papers experience, Ackerly Green, and the Secret Society pins, but none have worked.

    The woman I’ve been dealing with in the fulfillment center says they’re just as eager to ship it as I am to receive it because people in the office have been having “weird vibes” ever since the box showed up.

    Awesome.

  52. So. I have 2 options here, and 5 hours. In that 5 hours i have multiple other things to do, so no guarantees ill be able to perfectly make the loop. There are 2 libraries in my town, the north shore library, which is outside the standard bus loop, and the downtown kamloops library, by and large the biggest and most famous in the city. Ill take a look at both and report back if something happens. Ive got a good feeling about this. Alternatively, it could also be my old university, and while im not pleased to run around there again it could be where we’re searching for, so

      1. Ah, true. @Brendon, could you cover the downtown library if you have a break at work? That’d save me a half hour at least. Otherwise, any other mounties match the grouping? Lets keep searching. Im not aware of any other mounties in kamloops, but if there are, nows a good time to mention it, perhaps we could all meet up and knock our brains together.

      1. It’s not a hill we’re looking for but a place of knowledge. The first part of the clue usually refers to the Mounty who’s connected to the second part.

        “…where all who seek knowledge are granted entry.”

        1. No Rensselaer as in Saint Joseph’s college but that closed this summer. But Drexell hall is still open and that is part of the college. St.Kathrine Drexell used to teach the Native Americans there, because they weren’t allowed on campus. This might relate to, where all who seek knowledge are granted entry.

          1. Brilliant, Arym! We’re getting closer and closer! Let us know how it goes at Drexell Hall!

  53. Hiya everyone! I will be going to Drexell Hall ASAP after the weather calms down a bit. I can’t leave my house right now because the roads are covered in ice. But I am going to try to go to Drexell on my way to school tomorrow.

  54. Yes, absolutely stay safe. So excited to hear what you find!

    (Also gonna nerd out for a minute about this location, cuz St. Katharine Drexel strikes me as a through-and-through Ebenguard.)

  55. Alright, so I’m sort of new to this and I’m unsure if any geographical restrictions apply but looks like Edinburgh might have something that would apply to the last clue. Royal High School is located on Calton Hill, the highest point in the city and while the school itself appears to be restricted, it’s also surrounded by the observatory and has National Museum and Library in its proximity. If we still have nothing by Saturday, I might go on an errand there on during the weekend?

    Of course, only if @Arym doesn’t find anything which I highly doubt cause the Hall seems like a perfect spot.

    1. Ashburn might also be a point of checking. given their proximity to a campus, and its known for a couple hills.

      i just cant remember if ashburn is in the society.

      1. I definitely am :endriwink: , just not sure that the Mountie portion of the clue would have much to do with me (since it’s usually been a clue to the name rather than all about location)… :brandonthinking:

  56. If you need any help don’t be afraid to reach out to a guild leader, Arym! We are playing with some ideas of using words (and magiq) to divulge the information hidden in some of these locations. If you want help in bringing together a small story or perhaps a poem let any of us know and we will be happy to help.

    Looking forward to seeing your magiq~

  57. Hi everybody! I am so sorry that I couldn’t reply sooner, Indiana was frozen, so I was loaded down with homework, but, I made it to Drexell and this is what appeared on my screen,

    Vordicriminant

    Once again, I am so sorry that I could not do this sooner.

    -Arym

        1. I JUST called. The fulfillment center was closed, but the woman I’ve been dealing with picked up (she’s almost as interested in this mysterious package as we are) and the word @Arym found is the password we’ve been looking for!

          She’s shipping it to us first thing Monday morning!

          Edit: I feel like we’ve been waiting on this for a decade.

          1. As they say, good things come to those who wait for mysterious packages protected by secret magiqal passwords. Or something. shrug

  58. Erm, so this might be a wrong lead but… (would feel less like that if I could say with full certainty the words came from the same language) I thought for a moment it was Latin-related, or at least being some sort of a pauper Latin. Then I remembered it seemed more like some old French and, actually, vord appears in Bourguignon – stemming from Latin viridis – green (huge thanks to text prediction for forcing me to correct this like 5 times from Botox and Victoria —“). Criminant is easier, it’s just a stem of an active participle of crimino – to denounce, accuse. Now, the Latin version should rather be vordicriminans but… if we assume both are in Bourguignon, this could mean “the one who denounces (exposes) green”.

    You know what else is green?

    Tinfoil hat on.

    EDIT: to clarify, cause this didn’t let me rest (it’s been ages since I did my end of term paper on Latin influences on Middle French and German, so it’s a bit of theirycrafting but): I have literally no clue what would be the rule of joining words in Bourguignon – if it’s this dialect and nothing else – but ‘i’ and ‘e’ tended to alternate between each other, with assimilating tendencies – so the ‘joints’ tended to get as close as possible phonetically to the proceeding syllable:

    vord+criminant

    vord-e-criminant

    e<cri-

    vord-i-criminant

    Sorry for putting this boring piece of a lecture here but I had to calm down my OCD.

  59. Aw man, the suspense is killing me! What on Earth could have been hidden away by AGP for so long? Though, honestly I’m just glad its still there and not holed up in some Silver hideaway.

    1. My first inkling was that it could be something related to the radio hour… but that’d be pretty big for tapes, right? Hard to guess what would be in a massive crate. :grimacing:

  60. Apparently the original packaging was decades old and water damaged, so the fulfillment house had to repack it in a good old Fed Ex box. (I’m unboxing it in the old AG office, clock the old green, because it’s too big to fit in our current office, and it was too heavy to carry across the floor. They’re bringing me a dolly to carry it the rest of the way.)

    This box is about 2 feet square, but weighs almost 100 pounds.

  61. I’m…super intrigued. Maybe its one of those cabinets that you see in viral videos where behind the doors are boxes that you can push around between the connected openings? (Does that make sense? I feel like I just saw one of them but apparently I can’t explain it very well…)

  62. Good thing we’re experts at opening locked magimystic artifacts, right Mounties?

    Did you try saying “Vordicriminant”? It probably wouldn’t be the same password to open it as to allow it to be shipped, but it’s worth a shot. Any other magimystic words or phrases we’ve picked up during this journey that @Saberlane could try?

  63. my suggestion is to start with the side that has the different colored doors. they look to be able to move more than the others.

    Do the knobs turn? can the top portion move? like the “lid” so to speak? should we try to come up with an opening spell? cause I can make a small story poem spell with opening as the theme.

    it may be a magiq puzzle box.

    1. “Come on now and step right up, the time has come to open up!

      This box’s secrets we must find, To continue forward in our minds.

      For magiq, stories, and the book. we must see what was forsook.

      and in this hour so we may, we cast our words to find our way.”

      maybe that’ll work with enough oomph behind it?

  64. That’s along the lines I was thinking, unfortunately I don’t personally have a list of the words, only the coordinates, does someone have a compendium of our collected words?

  65. Please tell me I’m not the only one being reminded of our time as Nightmare Buddies? Anyone got a song for it? lol

    But for real, gonna need to either scroll up and see if there is anything we haven’t used. Perhaps we need to wait for a Woolie message? He wasn’t in so good a shape last we heard from him.

      1. Our markers are all still out in a mug under the white board! I’d suggest leaving one uncapped to make it easier, but I feel like a dried out dry erase marker would only confuse a poor confused ghost further…:confused:

  66. So…donning the tinfoil hat again…if it’s magiq and in any way linked to Neithernor…could there be some sequence of knocks on the different doors that would…I dunno, open them or whatever it is they do?

  67. Catching up after reading that whole thread and I’m just writing whatever comes to mind.

    Does the box rattle if you shake it? My immediate reaction would be to shake mysterious packages.

    The rabbit knobs unnerve me a little. I’m not a fan of the last rabbit we met.

    I got the chills when you turned it to reveal more identical sides. That’s just plain wierd.

    This feels like one of the 90’s Mounties’ fragments. They had alot more physical objects to unravel than we did.

  68. So, to answer your questions:

    • The box wouldn’t knock back (though I have never been able to summon a knocking door, so :man_shrugging:)
    • The different variations in color on the sides of the box looks more pronounced on the video. After turning it a few times, I couldn’t find the “right” side of the box again. Might have to do with lighting/time of day.
    • Also, sometimes certain doors/drawers rattle a little more, sometimes they will feel more solidly “locked.” Definitely magiq at play.
    • @Catherine and I left before we saw your note to look at the bottom. We’ll check tomorrow. The thing is DENSE.
  69. mk, so. we have 2 rabbit knobs, 3 circle knobs, and 2 fox knobs. All four sides of the box are identical. the top and bottom are unmarked, cj? can you confirm that for me?

    As far as doors not functioning seemingly, i think three might be fakes and the fourth is the real one. False doors to provide the illusion of impossibility. Somethings gonna make those open. Try the corners of the main doors, the hinges, try pulling at wooden slats between the doors, anything that might NOT have to do with the box itself. We’re dealing with a puzzle box, folks. time to pull out your copies of The Room again.

    1. Good to know saberlane. I figured weve tried poetry with magiq before, why not with this.

      I suggested this in my initial post too. Try moving the knobs, and seeing if the turn or something. Maybe its a locking mechanism

  70. @Deyavi, so I should’ve waited for @Catherine to get here and help me flip the box over, but I couldn’t.

    First off, I want to say that:

    • The knobs turn, but nothing discernible happens when I turn them.
    • The exterior is solid, meaning no parts shift, slide, or come off.
    • I don’t think there are fake sides. For example, all four drawers seem to be drawers slotted into the box. They move around like a drawer would. I honestly don’t know how it would all fit together the way it obviously does, unless there’s some kind of wormhole inside it.
    • Oh god, is there a wormhole in the office now?

    Anyway, so I flipped the box over, and while there was some tumbling/rattling inside, nothing unlocked or opened.

    But… there was a sheet of paper folded up and (possibly) purposely tucked between the wood molding.

    I’ve been staring at it for about ten minutes because it’s… well, I think it’s from The Book of The Wild. It’s just so weird to be holding something from some other… reality? Also, it has some implications that I can’t quite get my head around.

    EDIT HA! I forgot to post the image.

    1. Well, there is nothing for it. I’m sure you were cautious.

      I’m assuming that it is likely you won’t be able to photocopy that paper, or at least that the image may not be stable for long. Or take a picture of it.

          1. Yeah, I’m pretty much dying over Hermie. Was he like AGP’s Mickey Mouse in BoTW?

            I always thought of alter-AGP as being this big, monolithic institution full of mystery and mysterious goings-on. And then there’s Hermie. :cjheart:

            I guess it could be both. Makes me do all the wondering.

    2. BRB, dying because kawaii Herman is TOO MUCH. :heart_eyes:

      Okay, anyway…so my first initial thought was, “Who is the WG who’s approving this?” My first thought was, of course, Warner Green, but…he died in the 70’s, right? And he left AGP about a decade before that, but this design looks a lot more modern than the 60’s-70’s we know. And clearly this version of AGP has a somewhat official art department, probably more than just Warner’s wife, Sylvia.

      So…do we have another WG? Or…is there still another AGP out there in the multiverse with a functioning art department and a cute Disney mascot?

      1. So that’s what I’m thinking too, hence “implications”:

        The Book of Kings AGP (our and DG’s AGP) published Through The Night, The Wolf & The Wild, etc.

        The company closed in the 60s.

        Their (our) Warner Green died in the 70’s.

        The Book of The Wild AGP published The Guide to Magiq, and The Little Red House. (And had an adorable Hermie mascot.)

        The company perhaps continued beyond the 60s.

        Their WG perhaps perhaps didn’t die in the 70s?

        Like… there’s a whole AGP history we don’t know, and I don’t know why, but that just fully dawned on me with this sheet of paper.

        1. Well, in fairness, it makes sense. It is difficult to wrap your mind around a world where perhaps each of us had a life different from the one we are leading today (or at least a generation before us did) that was just… erased.

          1. Well, severely edited at least. There’s still AN AGP, and not NO AGP.

        2. Could it be that the Book of the Wild AGP primarily focuses on children as an audience? My kids love getting stickers like that at the pediatrician, the dentist, Trader Joe’s and Target on their way out, and with the Little Red House being a children’s book… :brandonthinking:

          1. Absolutely a possibility. The “Thanks for Exploring” makes me curious about what there was to explore. Also, Wideawake mentioned that the alteration happened in the early 2000s, so while that doesn’t give us a definite timeframe, we do know it would have had to occur/exist before then. Yeah?

            This sheet of paper I’m holding might have been on the desk of an alter-Warner Green. Just…

          2. Since the alteration rippled back and forth in time, I guess it doesn’t really matter WHEN it happened, since it changed the past and future, too.

          3. I always imagined that the ripple moved forward and backward (like Wideawake mentioned) in our time, but The Book of The Wild ended at the center of that ripple, and The Book of Kings began.

          4. That’s definitely possible. We know so little. We really only have Wideawake to go on in this circumstance, but he explained it to DG like a book that was edited to be another book. One book destroyed to become another. Not two books. But he was also a talking bird man, so…

          5. A talking bird man who also worked for MM. While I want to believe he had our best interests at heart, and he did help Deeds… a grain of salt, ya know?

            Whats interesting to me is that idea of Herman may be the key? Perhaps its a herm pin? After all, they are also artifacts from BoW.

    3. Oh my goodness. Hermie! I love him. I love the idea of Herman branded everything. But…is Herman the key to this box somehow, or maybe that sticker is a reward for opening it? :brandonthinking:

      (Also…we have reactions on the forums now?!)

  71. I come into 72 new messages. Stuff went down, I see.

    Well there’s two animals, a fox and rabbit. We’ve seen a few puzzles where 2 animals are combined into one.

    The magiqmystic word that was the password kinda looked like one of those old names.

    Maybe we have to create our own word for this?

    Fox: Vulpes vulpes

    Rabbit: Oryctolagus cuniculus

    What would that new word/creature be? Vulpolagus? Oryctolpes?

    Edit: Actually they might use the name Leporidae for rabbit. So… Leporlpes? Vulporidae?

  72. If it’s somehow a clue that somebody needs to get themselves to the mouse, I’ll find out this weekend.

    But seriously Hermie is so stinkin’ cute!

  73. Not to mention that the design is marked as a “goodbye” sticker. Who are these stickers intended for? It says “Thanks for exploring!” but thanks for exploring what? The bookstore? The actual publishing house? A theme park? Is AGP in the 2000’s Book of the Wild like a huge thing? Or maybe just the IKEA-esque theme park of bookstores? I have SO MANY QUESTIONS.

  74. Two things here: this might be a false lead but why did we get the iteration 7 only? Is this number meaningful or is it a false lead? And how did the previous ones looked like?

    Secondly, I believe that some light might be shed on the possible timeline of the sheet with some deeper analysis but… do we have someone who specializes in graphic design? Styles of mascots changed through the ages?

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