- Included
- Asserted
- Offended
0 voters
Might as well get the poll built since it’s been working for us so far 
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It’s getting pretty late here, folks. If it’s okay, I’m going to take the highest vote in the poll and write it in before bed.
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“Included” it is. I wrote it in and scratched out the others. Good night Mounties, I’ll follow up tomorrow morning!
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Hey guys something just occurred to me. If we could have solved this with the first clue then shouldn’t the following clues utilize the same cipher? And if it wasn’t solvable without each clue we’ve been given how are we to know we have all we need?
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That’s a very good question. Basically, we don’t know when we have all we need. I personally like to think everything is solvable from the first clue, but just a whole heck of a lot harder without the others. But then I’m an optimist.
If it helps: Even when I’ve worked on puzzles here I later came to believe were almost impossible without a stroke of genius after seeing later clues, I still had a lot of fun working on it. And hey, you never know when that genius hits. Shoot your shot and all that.
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I’m loving working on this in-between proctoring exams, even though I’m getting nowhere. Half of the fun is throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks, especially when someone else is there to toss ideas back!
I think a double-transposition cipher, or something similar, is what’s going on here, good idea! I’ll check on that this afternoon if you don’t beat me to it ^.^As long as it’s not a one-time pad cipher, in which case I’ve got some very pointed words to exchange with our code master.
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I could be a billion miles off but I noticed just now that some of the letter pairs we’ve been given have some closeness with a computer keyboard, I think with better accuracy after translated to the Tinker cipher. I might look into various other layouts but so far QWERTY and AZERTY haven’t panned out but maybe if I look at something different?
I’m probably completely wrong but all of a sudden some stuff looked kind of nice to that explanation
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Okay, Mounties. I just checked and found: qiuqeggy.
HOW the heck did that start out as “included”?
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Gee I was going to tell everyone to ignore me but now they should really ignore me
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Ooh, there was a different type of cipher that involved a big alphabet grid (forget the name, have to look it up again), maybe that’s how it has two doubles when the original word only has one?
Couldn’t get the solver on the site to work, but maybe putting in the work myself…? 
edit: Vigenere cipher is what I was trying to remember.
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It may be worth our time to look into an autokey cipher, a variant of the regular Vigenere
Edit: It is notable to me that I’ve used this type of tabula recta cipher to encode passwords before. In my case, however, I used a block of completely random characters – letters, numbers, and punctuation – so this could also be considerably more complicated than the surface check might have us believe
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Hello, Basecamps 33 & 34. 
Both Aether and I have inexplicably regained access to the forum.
We’re not sure if it’s permanent or just to help with Saberlane’s codex (@Aether has thoughts, see below), but regardless, I won’t bore you right now with what we’ve been up to since the manor fell, I’ll just say we’re good, we’re safe, and we’re in NYC.
First, we’re SO relieved to see you’re all safe and doing well, Mounties.
Second, hi Eaves. How are you? It’s been so long. Lion’s Heart sounds fantastic, and… Gav!
Okay, for now though, onto the pressing matter. Aether agrees that, well, I’m going to just copy and paste what he texted me this morning:
It’s definitely a multi-phase encryption. The latest word, “included,” turning into “qiuqeggy,” doesn’t totally give up the solution, but it might kinda hint at one of the phases. How could a word with only two duplicated non-sequential letters have two qs and two side-by-side gs when encoded?
It could if the encryption was relative to something else, and with nothing else to go on, I’m betting one of the methods of encryption is based on something IN the word or maybe the letters in the word. My best guess was letter placement, first letter, second letter, like the first letter shifts by one, the second letter shifts by two, etc., but I couldn’t reverse “qieqeggy” back into “included” with just that.
I ended up with “pgbmzazq,” which is just letters, obviously, but if I’m right, “pgbmzazq” means whatever “relative-shift” encryption is happening is happening AFTER another phase that mixes up the letters. So there are at least two methods. Maybe more.
I’d love to have a stab at helping pick the next clue word because picking one with something trackable, like side-by-side double-letters, could help us figure out how the word is being mixed up in the first phase.
One thing for them to not forget is that a lot of the older magimystic encryptions they solved acted like typical brain-teaser puzzles or even video games, where the first stage teaches the ground rules, and the next one flips that first stage or adds complications knowing you have the basics to build on. So if there are two phases, which there are, that means reversing the word like they did with the first clue might be what’s happening in the first phase, or maybe even in a step AFTER the “relative-shift.”
I kinda love this stuff.
Does that make sense to anyone but Aether?
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Hey Endri!
I’ll need to write some stuff out to really dig in, but Aether’s multi-phase thought would definitely make sense. When I was trying to use “ashore” instead of “snarl” (backwards), I noticed that it would switch the a and r in snarl.
It’s really bringing back memories of Knatz’s puzzle box. Do this to read the riddle, then do the same thing to the answer to get the actual answer…
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Ooh, that’s interesting, Ash.
This is Saberlane’s codex, and he was there for the puzzle box back in 1998, even though he lost those memories. I doubt it’s directly connected to the issue at hand, but it’s an interesting notion that the echoes of his experiences may have subconsciously informed his magimystic work. 
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First can I just say how incredibly proud I am that of the choices of the words ‘included’, ‘asserted’ and ‘offended’ 15 out of 15 mounties who voted chose ‘included’. Solving puzzles and saving the world is cool and all, but finding good people is better.
To Endri’s question It makes sense on a couple levels. What Aether says is definitely a path. It seems to involve at least 8 guesses on what Step 1 is though, and we don’t even know if end result is correct. At this point we’re just making guesses and hoping we stack enough correct guesses on top of one another to get to a correct solution. That’s a time consuming process.
But, Aether is a smart meat calculator. I’ll look deeper into the idea. My own ideas were just coming up with equally random strings, so why not take a stab at someone elses. 
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Just an aside; I feel like this is possibly the longest-lasting puzzle we’ve yet encountered.
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Wow, hi, @Endri. It’s really good to hear from you.
I have to admit, there’s an adept here named Charlie who found the Sanctuary just before we left it. Before the new age/new rules, he could sense the emotional state of people (It’s more complicated than that. He could feel the overall emotional state of people connected to himself or someone he’s in the physical presence of,) and I asked him to check in on a few people, including you, Bash (please tell them I said hi), and Aether (personally requested by Port, who also says hi!)
So I knew, at least pre-Mirumagiqum, that you were safe.
I would say there’s so much to say, but my life the past few years is in a book (can you see the books as well as the forum?), so I guess there isn’t all that much to catch you up on.
But I’d love to know what you’ve been up to, how you’re doing, and if everyone and everything is good.
Other than hi, and… I miss you.
Mounties, we have three new words in the codex.
Choose:
Mutineer, amidships, or figurehead.
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Saberlane’s Codex Choice 2.4
- Mutineer
- Amidships
- Figurehead
0 voters
Note that my vote for mutineer is purely because of Aether’s thing about tracking double letters.
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Hi Eaves! Hi Port!!! Do they have Nutter Butters at Lion’s Heart, or did Big Cocoa finally brainwash you into thinking chocolate beats peanut butter? All lies (unless you’re a Mounty with peanut allergies, then no Nutters for you.)
So, I vote Mutineer because of the double “E,” but I can see arguments for the two Es in Figurehead, and two Is in Amidships.
I caught the obvious boat theme but did anyone notice anything else about the words?
Might be a coincidence, might be a hint, but it’s kinda sus popping up less than 24 hours after Endri posted my theory.
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I didn’t even catch a nautical theme, much less anything else about the words. Sorry. 
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