3
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(We skipped a number to avoid bad luck!)

(READ THE SOLUTION TO PT. VIII BEFORE CONTINUING)

You lead the hiker through passageway

V

and you both seem to be alive by the time you come into a giant, rotunda-like room.

“Okay,” you say. “Explain.”

“Yeah,” he says, “I guess I owe you that.”

You nod emphatically.

“Okay, well here goes…”

And so, the hiker tells his story… and you don’t believe one bit of it! His story is:

After what happened on the street that night, I was so scared! I ran all the way to Switzerland and hid there. I heard whispers of what I had done in some places, but only one person figured out that it was me. Her name was Misty Yvonne Rickmann Torrean Henderson, but she called herself MYRTH (her initials). She claimed that she was a psychic, and could see all that had happened in my past. Of course, I was hesitant. Then, she proved herself to me. She also told me another thing: that I had a nibling, and that they would find me if I left a trail for them to follow. You followed it. I’m your uncle...

Then, he started sobbing uncontrollably.

Obviously, you say, “Yeah, uh-huh, and I’m MYRTH’s child!”

His eyes widen, “How did you know that?”

You snort and say, “Let’s get on with this labyrinth, I’m hungry. Then we’ll figure out what to do with you.”

He quivers nervously.

There are five passageways around the rotunda (not including the one you just came through). Each is labeled with a letter:

  • M

  • Y

  • R

  • T

  • H

You gasp.

“You see?” the hiker says, triumphant.

You are certain that he must have set this up somehow, but decide to move on. There is an inscription on the wall, once more. It reads:

VeetOnuIZnor(ypSrVnn}eThHsnch{fnacsaAlT[riyBcsnsympelinhteniCZiPBnDiaSicuZEW]fosdulaeFesl)lytiI[(i}AHlAeadtAOslAaSneriayarohrafM]AZ{tDyZo)clMdec

Which passage should you take, and why?

Current Points:
Joshua Bizley -- 24 19 14 points

Shoover -- 15 40 109 points

Omega Krypton — 40 60 67 points

SEE PART XI FOR INFORMATION ON HOW POINTS WORK

IF THE BOUNTY ENDS AND NOBODY HAS ANSWERED CORRECTLY, I WILL POST THE CORRECT ANSWER AND WE WILL MOVE ON

Oh my gosh! Boatload of information, but -- apparently -- we’re just not ready to believe it, yet… Maybe something else will be revealed in Part XV! P.S. So sorry about any confusion the part number may have caused! We had to skip over a specific number! The number skip has absolutely nothing to do with the actual puzzle. I just wanted to avoid bad luck!

Hint 0.23182 (FREE!)

I realized that I should have included more information in the original puzzle, so I'm posting it as a free hint. Sorry about that, everyone! Unfortunately, I made this hint as obscure as possible, please forgive me!

German -- U + 90 deg CC :

Hint 1 (7% point deduction)

Think rotations in relation to the free hint...

Hint 2 (8% further deduction)

CC... Hmmm... CommonCore? Nah. What about carbon copy? That can't be right. Wait! Counter...?

Hint 3 (10% further deduction)

https://learn-german-easily.com/german-umlauts

Hint 4 (20% further deduction)

Think WWI and German U's with umlauts...

Hint 5 (45% further deduction)

Check out the revision history under hint 4... This bonus hint was always there, you just didn't think to check for it, did you?

Hint 6 (55% further deduction)

http://rumkin.com/tools/cipher/

Hint 7 (75% further deduction) <-- 4 pts maximum (all or nothing)

http://rumkin.com/tools/cipher/ubchi.php

There shall be no more hints! This is rather disappointing, to be honest...

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10
  • $\begingroup$ Well, a rot13(lbh gjb friragl vf n trezna fhoznevar), but I don't know what to do with that information. $\endgroup$
    – shoover
    Commented Aug 11, 2019 at 4:08
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @shoover - I see you've caught some red herring, there! I'm only revealing this now because the third hint should make it obvious that that was a red herring... $\endgroup$
    – Voldemort's Wrath
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 20:30
  • $\begingroup$ I hadn't actually come back to notice that there were any hints after the free one! $\endgroup$
    – shoover
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 20:54
  • $\begingroup$ @shoover - Now you have a chance at gaining some points! Current maximum is 77 points because of the deductions... $\endgroup$
    – Voldemort's Wrath
    Commented Aug 14, 2019 at 21:02
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ "Boatload of information" was this intentional? $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Commented Aug 15, 2019 at 20:46

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3
+25
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Partial Answer (more probably coming)

So I go to http://rumkin.com/tools/cipher/ubchi.php to decrypt it, use the keyword Misty Yvonne Rickmann Torrean Henderson, use the duplicates numbered backward option and I get this:
MyFirstHalfIsEssentiallyAnOnionAndAVerySecurePlaceToBe{[(space)]}MySecondHalfIsSimplyAVariationOfADitchButTrulyAChannelWhichDrains({[end})] Here it is with the spaces: My first half is essentially an onion and a very secure place to be. My second half is simply a variation of a ditch but truly a channel which drains

 

Credit to @shoover for this, but maybe this means tor tunnel (tunnel t) because of the onion is in the tor logo and tor is a safe place to be. A tunnel is a variation of a ditch but truly a channel which drains.

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3
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ rot13(gur svefg unys fbhaqf yvxr GBE) $\endgroup$
    – shoover
    Commented Aug 16, 2019 at 23:09
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ rot13(frpbaq unys GHAARY?) $\endgroup$
    – shoover
    Commented Aug 16, 2019 at 23:11
  • $\begingroup$ Interesting thoughts! You're certainly very close, but the four points are all-or-nothing, so... $\endgroup$
    – Voldemort's Wrath
    Commented Aug 17, 2019 at 14:09
1
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You should take passageway

T

because

the etching has been encrypted using the Ubchi cipher (This is hinted by the fact that a U with a colon rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise forms a U with an umlaut. Also, U-boats were first used by Germany in WWI, and Ubchi was a cipher they used during WWI.), with duplicates numbered backwards. If we use the keyword Misty Yvonne Rickmann Torrean Henderson, we get MyFirstHalfIsEssentiallyAnOnionAndAVerySecurePlaceToBe{[(space)]}MySecondHalfIsSimplyAVariationOfADitchButTrulyAChannelWhichDrains({[end})].

This is

a clue as to which passageway to take. The first half describes the Tor browser (Tor standing for The Onion Router). It is a very secure "place to be." The second half is describing a drainage channel (a channel which drains). This is called a reen, though is sometimes spelled as "rean."

Now, we can

put the two together: $Tor+rean=Torrean$.This is one of MYRTH's initials, and so we should take passageway T.

Nobody will receive points for this, though @Duck will probably receive half the bounty (25 rep). Hopefully, Part XV will be posted in the next couple days!

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  • $\begingroup$ @Duck - You'll get half the bounty, most likely... $\endgroup$
    – Voldemort's Wrath
    Commented Aug 17, 2019 at 15:40
  • $\begingroup$ Awww! So close! $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Commented Aug 17, 2019 at 16:23
  • $\begingroup$ @Duck - Yes, you were. Just missed the second half! $\endgroup$
    – Voldemort's Wrath
    Commented Aug 17, 2019 at 16:24
  • $\begingroup$ But I was right about taking passage t... $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Commented Aug 17, 2019 at 16:25
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Ok, I'll watch out for the next one! $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Commented Aug 17, 2019 at 16:28

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