New email but apparently the package hasn’t arrived just yet. Hopefully soon?
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Another email. The package arrived or whatever. Lauren got the journal, but it doesn’t seem to be how she thought.
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Looks like we may have some heavy photoshopping (?) in our future. According to the email, many of the pages are blank. At least with the naked eye. Really curious what those sketches might be as well.
I could be wrong but my best guess is that the scans will show up on the file index page sometime tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
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Can’t wait to see them!
Edit: 12:50pm Eastern They’re live now!!! (Is totally bouncing around like a kid on Christmas now.)
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I’ve relocated this conversation to Exploration/The Cagliostro since it’s no longer the Fifth Fragment.
To Recap:
We have secret access to a webmail server at The Cagliostro.
Lauren Ellsworth is the assistant to an unnamed magician. She’s in NYC and he’s abroad. There is a magic performance planned for January 31st.
LE has a magic practitioner’s journal that she’s been ask to scan for “Cagliostro.”
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Summary of what’s here:
cover.jpg - The cover of the journal.
page1 Title page - “The Monarch Papers - Volume 3”
page2 - Interesting drawing. 5 concentric circles. The middle circle has the alchemical symbols for the 4 elements in it.
page3 - From the Unwritten Histories: 17th Edition. Story of the Hunt for the Unicorn, commissioned by Anne of Brittany in the late 15th century. Originally it had 8 tapestries, not the 7 that currently exist in the Cloisters. The 8th tapestry “The Unicorn’s Gait” was considered blashmpehous and upon her death it was ordered destroyed.
page4 A group of artists loyal to Anne rescued the tapestry and broke it down into it’s components, silk, metallic thread, and wool. Anne had a very elaborate request on her death involving burying her body, entrails and heart separately in a funeral that lasted 40 days. (Fun fact, I just copy and pasted that section into my living will.) Anne’s body was wrapped in a shroud made from the silk. Her entrails were put in the wool. Her heart was put into a gold reliquary and a veil of silver (I’m guessing this was from the metallic thread.)
page5 In the late 17th century, a ‘cult of collectors’ stole everything in an attempt to collect’ enchanted works of art’. The wool and silver are missing, but the shroud was stretch into a canvas around the turn of the 20th century. The location of the canvas and it’s purprose are unknown…text fades here.
Page6 Almost illegible Here are the parts that can be read.
Title The Unnamed Illiomancer
-Painted the canvase sometime between late 1910 …
-was Engl … (English most likely)
- In guild of …
-skilled In other…
secretly … in art…
…illioman…
…taught? P…
page7 Very faded, a symbol looking a bit like a Pi symbol with at least 4 dots within it.
Edit: As a note on page 6. We do know of 1 Illiomancer, Helen Wilde. http://burrowinthefray.com/among-those-who-did-not-die/ Helen was however born in 1919 and was probably not the person mentioned, but perhaps it’s a relative or a teacher of hers?
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I tried fiddling with some color and brightness settings. This is as clear as I could get the text on page 6
and this is as clear as I could get the symbol on page 7
Hopefully that helps with transcribing what is written? I’m not the best at photoshop so I implore those who are to try as well.
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just a little note about the file server page: kemetic solutions references kemet, which is what ancient egypt was called. i thought that was interesting
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I actually tried looking the “company” up, but I didn’t find anything about it. It’s like it doesn’t exist, so it probably means its really underground/secret. Must have to to do with whatever organization “AC” and Lauren work for.
Also just tried image searching the logo.
but nothing came up
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Page 2 may be a transmutation circle, it looks unfinished
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What do we know about this magic show? Where is it being held? Who is attending?
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We don’t know a whole heck of a lot. Just that the guests are “the highest members of the cultural elite” and that sometimes the guests request certain illusions. As of the “RSVP” email, we know there is a performance on January 31st.
We don’t know the “where” yet, though. Nor do we know if January 31st is the soonest date. However, I assume so, given Lauren hasn’t mentioned any upcoming performances? Whatever the case, if there is one, it’s probably going to happen in Scotland (where C is now) or in Marrakech given he’ll be there from the 19th - 28th.
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My thought is NY because that is where the story is based…
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I wonder if this will be an event we Mountineers will be able to attend.
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It looks like the set-up to a classic logic problem (of which I am HORRIBLE at solving). We may have to figure out which guest lines up with which request? Not sure. It’s quite possible that this is just the first piece of the next puzzle and we’ll need more information. It does say at the top that it will update as more guests confirm, so, possibly?
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Puts down his cell phone where he is literally playing a classic logic puzzle type game
Reads the RSVP list.
giggles
Actually, so far it’s pretty sparse in terms of what we have to do with this, but I hope you’re right!
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That does seem to be the case. I used to play those games too! I don’t think we have enough information right now to solve it though, we just need to wait.
Also, I finally was able to get a phone again. So hooray for me
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The Book of Briars just sent a new clue:
A flick of wrist, a towering tree
A streak of color makes the sea
A fragment poised on painter’s knife
The art of painting things to life
Painting things to life…wonder if that’s a reference to Helen Wilde? Anyway, looks like the Book is giving us a nudge.
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It’s definitely referring to illiomancy. Which ties into the missing wool that was made into a canvas.
It looks like pages 6 and 7 on the file share have changed. They have more details now.
Here’s the best I get on page 6 now:
The Unnamed Illiomancer
-Painted the canvas sometime betwwen late 1910’s and early 1920’s (So not Helen wilde who was born in 1919)
-Was Englishborn
-In guild of crafters ← Which one?
-Skilled in other crafts as child then secretly mentored in art of illiomancy
but illiomancy can't work now why taught? Passing on useless knowledgein (can’t read word) - who was “Mentor”
Daughter was also skilled Writer (Writer is underlined)
inkhemist? (I have no idea what that word is) - No again, …
…rourd … artifacts like…
(Word?) is mentor? Is rat(?) s…(?) of …
Art in Merseyside? so far …ads…
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