Fragment 14: OBSCURIOTEMPUS FOUND

The Reading Room The Monarch Papers Archive Fragment Fourteen
1315

I think we should add our progress as well. Such as it is anyway.

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1316

I’ll be able to sit down and record what we have accomplished on the riddles. Then if someone could merge the two audio files that would be great!
I’m in the midst of commuting, but will he able to do that shortly.
Edit: for clarification.

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1317

So are we going with what @Endri said about the book of Briar’s poem not being backwards?

EDIT:
40 PM
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Just so we reference them a bit easier

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1318

I just don’t see the point in telling them what we’ve accomplished. If the recording is still just a dream, which it most likely is, it’s going to create one heck of a headache.

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1319

Don’t over think it. Let’s share our progress . We are meant to be solving this together.

And yes @Endri is extremely smart and should be listened to. The poem from the book is not backwards.

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1320

I agree we need to try and communicate what we have done. Also I’ll have another look at the poem and story in a while as all this unriddling riddles and unrhyming rhymes is giving me headache

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1321

I got it in one take!

It’s too big to upload here. Should I email it to someone for them to merge the two audio files and send it?

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1322

Random theories for a slow Sunday. Maybe this gives someone a spark.

32 seems important. Our clues are numbered from 1 to 32, and the book mentions 32 twice. So I think we’re supposed to be doing more things to these clues.

We’re supposed to bar fours from thiry-two. Generally barring something means to exclude it. Do we remove clues divisible by 4? (in this case 20, 28 and 32)

Also 32 is the ‘length of times’. Do these 32 elements make up a year? A caldendar maybe?

There are 8 clues among those from 1-32. Do these 8 items match something in a calendar? The 8 pagan holidays that have come up a few times perhaps? Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Luchnassad, Mabon, Samhain.

Do the references of ‘bar fours’ and ‘in the nines’ imply a math problem of some sort? 32 / 4 * 9 .= 72…or something. (Would it have killed Sullivan to throw in a math problem? I’m good at math. Words are hard.)

Why, oh why, do clues 14 and 15 have a ‘#’ sign? Perhaps the answer to those is supposed to be changed to a number?

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1323

Oh oh oh. I think I found something.

Take the coding method we used to figure out the clue. Then use it again on the answer.

1- “WITEBKINGIGREDIENT” - White baking ingredient
Coded method: The 2nd letter of each word is missing (H, A and N)
Answer: Flour

Part 2: remove the second letter = FOUR

10 - “NHNNONRTHNINENSION” - The fourth dimension
Method: The first and third letter of each word is replaced by ‘N’. (T&e, f&u, d&m)
Answer: Time

Part 2: Replace the 1st and third letter with N = NINE

14# - “THRONEYTHRAIDTHRORTHRTHRERVICE” - Money paid for a service
Answer: Fee
Method: The first letter of each word was replaced with ‘THR’ (M, P, F, A, S)

Part 2: Replace the first letter with THR = THREE

15# - “WNEHREPEATEDACMLAINGERPXESSION” - When repeated a calming expression
Method: Letters 2,3 and 4 of each word each word are reversed in order
Answer: There

Part 2: Reverse the letters 2, 3, 4, = TREHE ??? (That ain’t right)

18 - “ROUSONFOUACOUDSOUAT” - Reason for a cold sweat
Method: Replace ‘OU’ with 2 letters (ea, or, . , ol, sw)
Answer: Fear

Part 2: Replace 2 letters with OU = FOUR

20 - “THEILETTERIIAFTERIIIRIVANDVALSOVIBEFOREVIITVIII” - The letter after R and before T
Method: Words are seperated by roman numerals 1 through 7
Answer: S

Part 2: I have no idea what to do with ‘S’ in roman numerals.

28 - “EANTSEFTEREEOLIDAYEEAL” - Pants after a holiday meal
Method: Replace first letter of each word with ‘e’. (P, A, H, M)
Answer: Tight

Part 2: Replce the first letter with ‘e’. = EIGHT

32 - “HETOUNDTTORSETAKEST” - The sound a horse makes?
Method: 'T’s are word seperators. First letter of each word is missing. (T, S, A, H, M)
Answer: Neigh

Part 2: Remove the first letter, put T at the end = EIGHT

Progress!

Edit: So this becomes 4 9 3 ? 4 ? 8 8

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1324

I was wrong. The roman numerals are 1-8 in the clue. The next roman numeral in the list woluld be nine or (IX) put that after our answer of S and you get SIX.

So that’s 4 9 3 ? 4 6 8 8 now. We just need to figure out 15.

Edit: #15 really looks like it wants to be ‘THREE’. Can someone check my facts if I did the replace correctly? I may be having an aneurysm or something on swapping letters.

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1325

I think 2 and 4 are swapped instead of 2, 3, 4 reversed in order.

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1326

It’s also possible ‘there’ was the wrong word?
maybe some other word was supposed to pop up

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1327

Omg well done @Robert!

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1328

‘There’ could be wrong. Let’s work it backwards.

Let’s take each number and swap letters 2 and 4. That should give us calming expression when repeated.

ONE - not enough letters
TWO - not enough letters
THREE = TERHE
FOUR = FRUO
FIVE = FEVI
SIX = not enough letters
SEVEN = SEVEN
EIGHT = EHGIT
NINE = NENI

Edit: ZERO = ZORE

I’m going to guess the answer is supposed to be THREE for now. Maybe it’s wrong, but we can backtrack if we need to.

So great.

1 is 4
10 is 9
14# is 3
15# is 3 (With a big asterisks next to it)
18 is 4
20 is 6
28 is 8
32 is 8

So both clues with a ‘#’ sign may be 3? Huh, so what does any of this mean? I think I used up my brains for the moment. Maybe this has to tie back to the unrhyme now with barring 4’s and in the nines?

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1329

My other theory is that ‘th’ is counted together as the first letter of the word :upside_down_face:

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1330

Okay, let me get this straight. We are going off a thought that the speaker will play our message without anything to back it up. Also, @Robert I already agreed with Endri. Don’t have to repeat it.

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1331

Maybe the second 3 and 8 don’t factor in (4th and eighth clue)?

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1332

So maybe I’ll add a another small blip about the numbers

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1333

Sorry @Mr5yy is was responding to @Rimors question above yours about whether the poem was still possibly backwards or not.

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1334

Alternatively, if we “bar fours” from the answer to clue 32, we’d divide 8 by 4 to get 2. So maybe it means to change the answer to the last clue to 2.

Edit: Though I suppose it would be odd to put a clue for such a minor change in the poem instead of just in the scramble itself.

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