Friday, December 26, 2008

The Great Old City Hunt

"The Great Old City Chase"

A

Ravenchase Review

By

Geoffrey G. Wynkoop

The "Infamous" Rassilon




"Eternal Glory!!!
That is what awaits the student,
who wins the Triwizard Tournament.
But to do this, that student must survive three tasks.
Three Extremely Dangerous Tasks!"

--- Albus Dumbledore
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire




Now, I shall freely confess that not a single one of the Ravenchase events I have ever attended was either life threatening, nor even remotely equal in danger to The Triwizard's Challenge; which is to be found only in the gifted imaginings of J. K. Rowling's writings. --- But on the other hand, it might well be pointed out, that Harry Potter, our hero wizard, only had to face "three" challenges, compared to the "six" challenges that confronted us in Philadelphia, during our royal battle of Wits, Skill and Speed.

In the "Great Old City Chase," we found ourselves not in a mystic confrontation with Fire-breathing Dragons, or Underwater Merpeople; but we did have a Maniacal Maze of ever-twisting clues guiding us in a voyage of discovery of ourselves. --- A discovery to see which of us, or our teams, had the heart, will and wisdom to claim the honor, the glory of the rewards awaiting us at the end of that day's puzzles created by Ravenchase adventures. This was the destiny that waited.

Speaking for myself, I do not consider myself a "Fatalist" by nature. I believe, ultimately, our "Destiny" is molded within our own hands by the choices and opportunities we create ourselves. --- And yet, I think all of us have at one point in our lives, equally questioned the possibility that Life, and the direction it has taken us, is not as "Arbitrary" as we may have been lead to believe. That Winds of Fate are, in fact, driving us gently along like the golden leaves of autumn, to a place we have yet to imagine.

For example, consider that sudden whim that mysteriously possesses you one day to play the Scratch-off Lottery for the first time in years; instantly netting you $100.00 dollars. The exact amount you needed to pay off a pressing, or unexpected debt.

Or, that morning you find someone has parked in your "personal" parking spot at work, thus forcing you to park blocks away in an outer company lot. --- This of course being a black day for you, until walking back from the lot, you bump into a former Lover you had not seen since your college days.

Unchanged in your eyes, or in your heart, they stand before you just as dumbfounded as you are in seeing them. --- Your words both begin to spill out, almost in equal measure to their own, until they confess they had never forgotten you; and had always secretly wished for a second encounter just to tell you all of this. --- Such are the ever changing winds, and whims of Fate. It is a toss of the dice at best.


For myself, these Winds of Fate were to blow me about freely that Sunday afternoon. Though sadly, not romantically. Not a single ghost of my past came back to gently haunt my heart that day. But, I remain hopefully optimistic enough to allow myself the pleasure of dreaming that they one day will.

Mentally that day, I was still fresh from my recent defeat in "The Great Discordia" race in Baltimore, where as readers you may recall I was forced to concede the race, when time simply ran out for me. --- In this Great Old City event, I sought only to redeem myself by at least placing respectful in the top three.

I dreamt of Golden trophies, but was however pragmatic enough in my thoughts, to allow for the idea of "Dark Horses" appearing in the race. Much like the Philadelphia "Valentine's Day Race" where I, and my three fellow adventures ran an excellent race; but got our Collective Asses handed to us by a group "Newbie" Bridesmaids, who had never played the game before.

My approach to the day could be best described as, "Renewed Determination." Rather than just playing for the fun of it; I chose to set my mind and my thoughts only on winning. As the day drew nearer, everything I did I approached with a new viewpoint, and under a different spectrum.

I began by reexamining my famous "Indiana Jones Bag" and everything in it. Removing those items that had proven in the past, only to be dead weight to my needs. Resorting my code book and redesigning the idea of my blank worksheets into a new separate report booklet. I could now store my ever growing Code book in my bag, while lightening the pages I needed to carry around in my hands. This new attitude, also seem to demanded a new look.

Beth Moore, of the Team Happy Fairy Mushroom Princess, recently reprimanded me for what she described as my past "Wild and Crazy" outfits. (Beige coat and white pants.) --- Beth Moore, as you might well imagine is a very sensitive caring woman, who I love dearly, but she was perhaps right. It was time for a change.

I immediately headed to E-bay, my favorite "Cryptographer's / Adventurer's All-in-One Super Store." Anything you could ever need for Ravenchase, I have found on E-Bay. Be it code books, interesting useful handheld gadgets, Indiana Jones Bags, clothing, it was all there, if you just know how to search for it.

Tossing aside the beige look, I went for a sportier look, choosing Cargo shorts for their extra pockets, a pure cotton Baseball shirt with long dark green sleeves to prevent sunburn and a baseball cap to keep the sun off my head. Being fair skinned, I have gotten cooked several times during past races and high summer was upon us.

The hat proved to be the hardest of my tasks, as I have one of the larger head sizes going, 7 3/4". Most hats don't fit me; they merely sit on the top of my head like a comical "Dink." But, E-bay came through for me again and I found a great hat from a company called of all things, Big Head Caps. Their company's motto proudly stating "Hats for the Cranially Endowed!" Besides fitting my head and my now slightly super-sized ego, my new hat also came with even simpler cleaning instructions: "To Clean: Purchase another one!"

The baseball shirt, though colorful, still looked a little dull, so I pondered the situation and decided to add a few personal touches of my own. On the front I placed my Ravenchase Moniker "The Infamous Rassilon" to introduce myself to anyone that cared, and across the back, I created the following polite suggestion, so I might work that day with fewer distractions.


I even devoted some time to make up colorful business cards about Ravenchase Adventures. The card explained the concept of the Ravenchase game and the location of their website. These cards being made for quick handout to people, who have in the past stopped me during hunts to explain to them what Ravenchase is all about, and what exactly I am doing running around with all those funny scrolls. I like to believe I thought of every contingency that day. Nothing was going to slow me, or detain me for long.


Sunday, June 29th finally arrived! That morning I was Prepped! --- I was Psyched!--- I was Ready!--- I was ... Really at Loose Ends.

At 9:00 am, the race would not begin for several more hours, and I did not know what to do with myself that morning. I was a victim of too much early prep work and research.

Rechecking the Train schedule once more, I found there was a train at 11:44 that would get me down to Philadelphia, with a half hour to spare before the race. There was also a train that would get me there an hour and a half ahead of time. On a strange whim, I chose the earlier train.

This sudden caprice that seized me, I reasoned, would allow me time enough to get a renewed feeling for the historical area. It had been months since I was last down in the city. And the plan also allowed me to visit the Betsy Ross's House again, for a new souvenir token.

Last year, Ravenchase sent our intrepid teams to this historic location to collect one of these tokens as part of our hunt. I have kept mine all this time, as a small remembrance of the hunt, and as good luck piece. Recently, this coin dropped out of my bag during a hunt; now seemed an excellent time to replace it with a new one.

This trip also held an extra bonus for me. In my research on the web, I discovered that a new statue of one of our Founding Fathers had been erected since the beginning of last year. It was not far from the Betsy Ross House.

I decided to have a closer look at this new addition, for it possessed an interesting design feature, one using keys. Over one thousand of them, in fact. A unique feature I suspected Ravenchase Adventures just might well make full use of one day. Again, it was this tiny voice in my head that whispered this small suggestion to go visit the statue.

Arriving in Center City early, I was glad to see that the weather was cooperating for the hunt. There had been a 70% percent chance of rain predicted that day. But the skies remained clear and sunny throughout the hunt. The rest of the weather was not so cooperative. 91 degrees with 99% percent humidity. Heat index made it about 101 degrees. It was your basic Rotisserie out there that day. Thank God for the invention of Cotton fabric.

Strolling down Market Street, I stopped by the building that housed a sculpture entitled, "The Bicentennial Dawn." When Lisa Duty and Chris Dove ran the Philadelphia Ravenchase hunts, they once used this location for one of their clues.

Unfortunately on that particular hunt, the City had removed the modern sculpture for cleaning and repair, which did cause a minor hic-up for Lisa's clue writing. Now, with the sculpture returned to its normal resting place; I finally got to see what I missed that day.

To put it mildly and (Ahem, cough...) and at my kindest... I think instead of restoring it, our City fathers should have broken it up for kindling wood. The wood might have relieved some of the heating problems that the City faced last winter.--- As you might suspect, I am not a huge fan of modern art. Less so of its sculpture.

Continuing on, I crossed Independence Mall and stopped by to see an old friend. The grave of Benjamin Franklin. It has been a tradition in Philadelphia since the early 1800, to stop by Dr. Franklin's grave and toss a few pennies on his grave for luck. Most believe this tradition is related to his famous quotation "A Penny Saved, is a Penny Earned", but the tradition actually has it roots with young Brides-to-Be.

On the day a woman was to be wed, young brides use to pass in front of Franklin�s Grave on the way to the church and toss pennies over the fence on it for good luck in their own marriages. Franklin, even back then, was well known, not only as a lover of beautiful women i.e. "Notorious Rake," but for his fifty year marriage to the same woman, Deborah Read Rogers.

Nearly two hundred years later the tradition continues, and Dr. Franklin is officially listed as the oldest "continuingly contributing member" to his church. On average, over eight hundred dollars in coins are gathered each year from Ben Franklin's grave and donated to the Church.

Setting these thoughts aside, I passed near the gates of the cemetery and I tossed my pennies for luck on Franklin's grave. I noticed the outer gates were still locked. The cemetery opened at noon to the public, and that was still ten minutes away.

On the other side of the gates, I saw people were setting up the Souvenir Stand and readying the tickets for the tour. I had taken the graveyard tour myself about a year ago and even still had the souvenir map of the more famous grave sites in my bag. Moving on, I went down the street towards the Betsy Ross House and the statue I was looking for.

The nine foot bronze sculpture titled, "Keys to the Community" was wonderful. Far above the modern sculpture I recently left behind. Perched up on a garden wall it seemed to express the full personality of the man. But beyond this, the statue revealed little to me. I examined it closely and found its features suggested nothing immediately as how it could be effectively used as a clue, so I entered the small park behind it.

The fountains were turned off, the ponds drained and there was a whimsical Hippo peering out at me from one of the walls. --- As a park, it was small, comfortable and a perfect quiet shaded place to spend a quiet lunch hour reading a favorite book in utter peace away from the rest of the world. Taking a few snapshots I moved on to the Betsy Ross House.

Betsy Ross's House remains a Mecca for all tourists to Philadelphia. Crowded from opening to closing, three hundred and sixty days a year, this day proved no different. I stayed only long enough to pick up my new token, purchase a cold Power-Aid drink and enjoy a soft pretzel in a shady corner of the courtyard.

Checking my watch again, I thought it was time to head over to "The Signer" Park where the Ravenchase Starter Clue told us we were to begin the race. On another whim, I decided to cut across Third street to Chestnut street.

As I drew closer, something from my past caught my eye. A building, in point of fact a restaurant. This restaurant was the ending location for the very first Philadelphia Hunt, hosted by the creator of Ravenchase Adventures, Joshua Czarda.

I was on that first hunt, and in fact won my very first trophy "The Bronze Squirrel," award for coming in Third. Which in retrospect wasn�t very hard, as there were only three teams running the race on that dark night in January.

The race, I will confess, was not one of my better showings and I've kept the bronze squirrel on my bookshelf all this time, not as a mark of personal triumph, but as a reminder that I won that race only by default.

Technically, this was really my second race with Ravenchase and my second loss. So the squirrel is always there to remind me, that I should always strive to do better next time. Taking out my camera once more, I clicked off a couple of shots of the building for my memory book and traveled on.


Signers Park is nestled right next to Independence Hall. I admit I am slightly sentimental about this particular park, as this location is where I had my first life and death match encounter with my all time Greatest of Ravenchase enemies. A Nemesis known as, "Hedera helix," known to all by its more common name of, English Garden Ivy.

This Plant life's appetite I will warn you, knows no bounds. On my second Philadelphia hunt hosted by Lisa Duty and Chris Dove, it ate not only one of my clue scrolls, but two of my ink pens, and my reading glasses as well. I barely got away with my few remaining pencils.

For safety sake, this time round, I decided to sit in the shadier side of the park and wait, for the others to arrive, rather than risk another chance encounter with this lurking insidious green beast.

At 12:30 I looked up and spotted a very familiar face walking towards me. Doug Moore, Captain of the team "Happy Fairy Mushroom Princess." Doug and I first met on his first Ravenchase Hunt about a year ago. It was his birthday gift from his friends and family, and he and his family has been hooked on Ravenchase Adventures ever since. Doug was also one of my teammates for the Valentine's day hunt, where we as Veterans, were royally shown up by the Newbies.

I had hopes Doug was free and could run the race with me, but he told me that The HFMP would not be running that day and that he had a newer role to play. He had been asked by Kristine and Robert Jenner to help moderate the race.

Kristine could not be there that day. Burning her candle at three ends lately, she had to remain home to study for a degree she was working towards. A disappointment for me, as Doug, not only being a veteran of the game, but is excellent company to have on any race.

Fifteen minutes later, Robert Jenner showed up carrying the famous Ravenchase Treasure Chest. The chest containing our clue scrolls for the day. After I filled out the usual wavers, we all set about the task of trying to sort out the park's tourists from the contestants for our race that day.

Though Signer's Park is tiny, it was also very crowded that day and had several Revolutionary War actors running about the place trying to steal everyone for a mini-parade with their fife and drum corps.

The first to be sorted out was a team calling themselves, "The Corn Huskers." They were followed by "The Jacoby Girls", one, or two of their group being veterans from a more recent New Hope Ravenchase Hunt. And lastly a young college aged couple, who dubbed themselves "The Birthday Bears."

There would be only four teams running that afternoon, I think the week long threat of heavy thunder showers that weekend, may have scared off a number of other teams from signing up. Even I debated about bringing my umbrella that day. The expected threat was that great.

After the customary signing of the wavers, Robert settled in to explain the rules of the Game, and what to expect, should we encounter actors on the field today. --- Anyone dress as a Policeman, or a Lady of the Evening, was definitely "NOT" associated with Ravenchase. Any private negotiations you make with said, Lady of the Evening, were entirely your business and not to be viewed as extended services of Ravenchase Adventures. Especially, should the Police inquire with you later. Say, during your arrest...

Sadly, there were to be No Gold Coins hidden along the race course that day that might shave a few extra minutes off our overall time. And there would also only be two trophies awarded that day. The Gold and the Silver. But the good news was, each team would be allotted "One Free Hint" via the phone, should they ran into trouble.

Any further phone calls to home base would cost your team a penalty of ten minutes each and the minutes would be added to your overall time score. Races are often won, or lost by mere minutes alone.

Rob then introduced my friend Doug, as one of the moderators of the hunt, and explained the "No Dividing and Conquer" rule of the game. All teams must stay together.

Quipping smartly, Rob jokingly added as he pointed to me, "If you have any questions, or don�t know what to do... Just follow Rass. He is a one man Code Cracking Machine." Personally, I think Rob was being kind by leaving out the part about me being a rather "Slow" code cracking machine.

As a final gesture, Rob handed out to all the teams, his business card. The cards contained his cell phone number; but to the card itself, was carefully paper-clipped a Red Ticket.

The ticket, he explained mysteriously, would allow all the teams entrance into an area somewhere along the race course. He cautioned us to be very respectful of that museum, or area as we were to consider ourselves visiting guests while we were there. --- Checking his watch, Rob open the Ravenchase Treasure Chest and began handing out our clue scrolls and maps. The race had begun.


As I had mentioned at the beginning of this report, Fate had a strange way of taking a hand that day. Before Rob had even given me my clue scrolls, Destiny was already fast at work.

I found myself not looking at the clue scrolls, but at the business card Robert had just handed me, and in particular the Red Ticket. Though it was a generic enough ticket and bore no other real markings, other than to say "Admit One." But, I had seen this very same ticket earlier.

Opening up my clue scrolls, I ignored the clue pages for the moment and went to straight to the map. From Rob's artistic renderings on the map, I saw that Fate was to take me hand by the hand that day not "Once," but "Twice." I was off like a shot, intent on revisiting an old friend.

The Race was less then a minute old, and I was already speeding across Independence Mall, trying to do my best to Walk, Flatten out my Clue Scrolls, Avoid Traffic, Tourists, Venders and Panhandlers. All this, while sorting and reading through my clues pages, searching for the one I knew had to be there. --- All these actions, of course, being somewhat more difficult to do than just the usual, Walking, Talking and Chewing Gum, all at the same time. But I am a Ravenchase Adventurer. --- I�m multi-talented. --- I can do anything!!! (within reason)

Arriving at one of Philadelphia�s more famous Cemeteries, I handed my red ticket to the gentleman at the gate's souvenir stand, and had a very uncomfortable moment, or two when the man looked at it curiously and asked me, "What the Heck is this?" The ticket was identical to the ones he already had on his counter.

Did I make a fatal mistake? --- Was I wrong? ---Was my hunt suddenly doomed to failure from the start? A small feeling of panic began to rise within me, when another gentleman came up to the Gatekeeper and said, "Oh he's alright. I forgot to tell you to expect a group from Ravenchase Adventures. They will all be prepaid." --- I was in.

The Cemetery, one of the oldest in Philadelphia, is the final resting place to four thousand souls. My clue said I was to find just one of its more famous residents. Thankfully I had taken the tour last year and I already knew what section of the graveyard he was resting.

As I arrived at the grave site, within seconds two people appeared at my elbow. It was Team Birthday Bears; Suzi Alvarez and Dan Middovnik. The young College couple I had noticed at the start of the race.

Suzi especially was worth noting for her beautiful eyes, her soft shoulder length brown hair and brilliant winning smile. She was also still wearing her near florescent Pink Backpack. This backpack alone, I thought, made her an excellent future recruit for the Happy Fairy Mushroom Princess Team, who are notorious for their pink team shirts.

My heart gently sighed, and skipped a beat, looking into the eyes of this vision of beauty; until I looked beyond her, into the face of her male companion as well, Dan Middovnik.

Young, virile, dark hair, sharp intelligent eyes, with chiseled good looks that even Brad Pitt might wish for. A man unquestioningly possessed all the Roman Classical Ideals of strength, grace, flat rippling washboard Abs and undoubtedly... the heart and the sole affections of the Fair Young Maiden, to boot. --- In short, the man was a Living Adonis; the outward breathing expression of a "Living Nightmare," to all my secret hopes, dreams and aspirations that I should "Ever" find the slightest favor in this fair Lady's eyes.

With all my hopes and illusions of Romance thus being crushed forever in an instant, and tossed carelessly aside in the proverbial waste can. I slapped myself back into reality with my own cruel hand and self-recriminations. I once again stood ready to set my mind, and all my thoughts, only on winning the race.

By the swiftness of their appearance, I guessed the pair must have "Literally" taken Rob Jenner at his word, and followed me as he suggested. The thought amused me. It was a cleaver start for the "Birthday Bears," if they did so. No other teams were in sight behind us.

The clue scroll for this area was divided in three sections, each one an Ottendorf Cipher involving grave plaques. You deciphered one, this would lead you to seek out another grave site, and that in turn would lead you to a third, which would give you the true and final question to be answered on your clue sheet. The only problem being, with (4,000) four thousand souls occupying the graveyard, this left a lot of possibilities to explore.

In high praise to Team Birthday Bears, I will admit that Dan Middovnik must have had a very retentive memory. Because he seemed to be deciphering the first plaque with ease standing back from it. While I, using my finger, had to recount several of the text lines a number of times. But, we both reach the same conclusion about a minute a part. We had our second name to find. But where was it? I reached for my Indiana Jones Bag for help.

Among my maps in my bag, I had a copy of the souvenir map of this cemetery. I had paid two dollars for it over a year ago and it has remained quietly in my bag ever since. My small investment was about to finally pay off. Checking the map and the index, I saw that our quarry lay somewhere to the south of us. One of the taller monuments, if the map's artist was to be trusted.

Ravenchase Rules forbid me from mentioning what the names were, or even what the question was, in case they decide to reuse the area for future hunts. But even with a map in hand the names were not that easy to find. I think Team Birthday Bears and I shameless used each other to "Birddog" the locations of the headstones to get the answers, but that is part of the fun of a race. Discovering whose team could remain both effortlessly charming, friendly and wickedly clever at the same time.

The final stone lay to the west, and after two minutes of translation, both teams had the final question. But I still had the edge. I still had the map.

Using the souvenir map I was able to fill in the four remaining lines correctly and in the correct order. I was ready to move on. But, I felt slightly guilty having this edge on the Birthday Bears, so I decided to level the playing field just a little to be fair.

I was both "Kind and Rotten," if such a strange paradox can ever exist together, I called the Suzi and Dan over and rattled off the information they needed, with the delicate speed of a machine gun. The information was clear, but far too fast for them to write them down.

They would at least know verbally the information they were seeking. If they were as clever as I thought they both were, they could simply ask one of the tour guides to point out the needed locations for them.

For myself, I calculated that this ploy would allow me an extra five extra minutes of distance between our two teams. Snapping a photo of The Birthday Bears at work, I quietly slipped away, noting that there were still no signs of any of the other teams.


In the first sixty seconds of the race, I mentioned fate taking me by the hand twice. This second touching of fate was to be my next location. When I had looked earlier looked at the map, my eyes caught hold of a second icon printed near the top of the page. It was the image of a small park. The same small park, I had noted as a fine refuge from the world to relax and read a good book.

These random slivering fragments of coincidence and fate, falling into alignment for me, were astronomically in their proportions. I wasn't brave enough to dare even try to calculate the odds of seeing these events align again naturally on their own. This was something grander to ponder later. For now, I merely decided to go with it, and see where the winds were taking me.

It was about quarter of two when I turned the corner, and entered the shady retreat. All was just as I left it, except now on one of the park benches sat a man quietly reading a book. On the table before him, lay a Checker Board; as though he was waiting for someone to engage him openly in a game.


Suspecting, but not really to commit, I wandered closer to the man to get a better look at the Checker board. The game appeared to be already in play. Black was winning as there were only three red pieces left. But, on one of the game pieces was the Ravenchase Logo. I had found our actor of the day. Our actor, I was to learn later, was Nick Preckel. Nick was another veteran player of Ravenchase, who was drafted by Robert and Kristine Jenner to help out that day.

Setting aside his book, Nick smiled and then invited me to take a seat, immediately asking me to consider the following problem. "In the game of Chess, or Checkers." he asked, "Who goes first? White, or Black? Fire, or Smoke?"

An interesting question. And one that has deeper ramifications, if you the reader reflect on it. Recently, I read the very fine book, "The Eight" by Katherine Neville. An adventure novel along the lines of "The Da Vinci Code" set against a background of history and the World of Chess.

Until reading this book I had never, during my entire life, considered the following thought. In Chess, as in Checkers, "White, or Fire" goes first. This makes "White" the Aggressor and "Black" the Defender. White is evil. Black is good. The world, and everything we know, turned upside down.

Looking at the board I examined the layout of the pieces. My first thought was that I was suppose to figure out a solution to winning the game with only three red pieces. Only then perhaps, I would be given my next clue scroll.

But, the strange set up of pieces, showed this idea to be impossible. This is when I remembered my stray thought about the relationship of White and Black in the game. Everything was turned upside down.

Reaching over, I turned over the three red pieces on the board. A short message appeared. "Q=A" Following the curving layout of the rest of the black pieces from there, the complete message appeared before me. "FZPSUSWZONHTW" I had uncovered my next clue, a Caesar Cipher.

Reaching into my bag, I pulled out one of my own Cipher wheels that I always carry with me. As I was adjusting it, so that "Q" equaled "A." My checkers companion, Nick, opened a small gaming box next to him, and offered me homemade Cipher Slide.

I was about to thank him for his kindness, saying that I had a Cipher Wheel of my own, when I noticed that there was something very odd about his homemade cipher slide. The alphabet printed on it was completely scrambled.

I have to confess a part of me inside had to laugh. I have so often openly bragged in my hunt reviews about my "Indiana Jones Bag," and the gadgets it contains. I now realized that Robert and Kristine Jenner must have been taking notes and were doing their level upmost to "Level out the playing field" on their own for the other hunters on the course that day.

They had in a single stroke neutralized all three of the code wheels I generally keep in my bag; by simply creating a new scrambled version of their own. The Cipher would remain unbreakable, without both the right Cipher Slide and the proper Code Key. Only a computer might crack the code without it. --- I give full marks for these two, for being so sneaky in their approach that day.

Using Nick�s Cipher slide, and about four minutes of my time, brought me my answer. Again I apologize if I can not reveal what the question was to you. But, rules are rules.

Filling in my clue sheet and looking towards my next location, I saw it was time to travel on. This hidden park was a wonderful place to rest, but it was later to prove a bit too hidden from the rest of the outside world.

A story I learned later at the bar, was that Team Corn Huskers had been completely stymied by this clue's location. --- Not familiar with the park, they had stopped in at a local Fire Station asking the men inside for directions. They were told by every Firemen they encountered, that none of them had never heard of the park and hadn't the slightest idea where it might be located.

This thunderbolt of information, which struck down Team Corn Huskers main chances in winning the race, could also explain why in Philadelphia, so many Fires have been known to go frequently from One Alarm to Three Alarm Fires.

To explain this statement, I will simply point out that while Team Corn Huskers were putting intelligent serious questions to these Wonderful Firemen, they were also standing exactly sixty feet from the entrance to the park itself.


The West Wall of the Park "WAS" the Firehouse itself. They stand side by side. --- Kind of scary when you think about, isn't it?


Heading westward now, my next clue scroll told me I was in search of an archeological dig. Philadelphia, like Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia; both being rooted in the 18th Century; are forever being dug up by archeologists in search of its distant past.

I knew of the dig from the newspaper reports, but was not sure of the exact location; so I headed for the Historic District's Visitors Center. If I have learned anything from doing Ravenchase Adventure hunts in Philadelphia, it is this. When in doubt, don't "ever" ask a Policeman, or a Park Ranger. Ask anyone dressed in 18th century garb.

Historic Recreationists love to show off their knowledge of the past, and of the area they work in. The Visitors Center has a number of these recreationists on permanent retainer, to help visitors find their way around Philadelphia. The building also possesses for my purpose, several easy access Rest Rooms, which are sometimes of a far greater importance to any adventurer.

Using the facilities first, I found a Recreationist dressed as a Foot Soldier standing near the lower entrance hallway. His answer to my question surprised me, as I was astonishing close to my destination. The house that was built by Mary Lawrence Masters, was just to the south of the Visitor�s Center.

As a piece of history, this house was remarkable. It was once use by the Grandson of William Penn, as a Governor's Manson. Sir William Howe, during the British occupation, used it as his headquarters. Robert Morris, one of the Signers of the Declaration later purchased the house. And it is said that Benedict Arnold, began his betrayal of his country in this very same house when he visited it. So much history, pooled in one small area.

Only the foundations of the building remain and a wooden platform allowed visitors to oversee the foundations and imagine what the house that once stood there might have looked like. --- But, as far as I could discover, Benjamin Franklin was never a noted guest in this house.

I found nothing that suggested Benjamin Franklin was ever associated with it, or how his famous key, as the clue described, would came into play here. What I did find, was Team Corn Huskers ahead of me, collectively scratching their heads over the very same problem as well.

Searching among the historical plaques, I think Team Corn Huskers and I discovered the answer roughly about the same moment, yet in two different fashions. They found a pamphlet that was left behind, and I found an advertisement taped to one of the Historical Markers.

On the advertisement was the silhouetted profile of Ben Franklin, next to an image of a large iron key. It invited visitors to learn more about the site by using their cell phones and dialing a special number. To listen to the right recording, you needed only enter the correct location code found on the bottom of the page.

This was what was discovered on both the pamphlet and the marker. Both teams dialed the number and very shortly had the answer to the question posed on the bottom of our clue sheets. The Corn Huskers now joyously headed further south, while I headed eastward. My next clue was taking me to another ghostly reminder of a house.


Fate, as it is often said, possess a woman's temperament. Because, like a woman, she is ever changeable in her moods; like the moon above, and ever more so in her affections. For you see Fate, is Wed to No One. All this I was about to discover at my next location, as I turned down the cobblestone alley, just off Market street and entered the courtyard of the Ghostly House.

Up to now, with the exception perhaps of the Park and its Scrabbled Cipher code. I thought I was just Rip-Roaring-Along in my quest. Here, I was to come face to face with my biggest stumbling block of the day ...Myself! --- In this one location I lost more time than at any of the other location combined. And it was due to just two simple things; "Stupidity and a Slip of my own Pencil."

The Ghostly house, like the Mary Lawrence Master's house, was just a suggestion of what once was. No pictures or paintings exist of the house itself, and so a frame was erected to give substance to the building that once was, based solely on the original foundations that were excavated.

Strewn across nearly every surface in the courtyard, were stone slates holding carved inscriptions from the man who once lived there, his wife, friends, family, and visitors describing various aspects of what the house was like while it was being built, or visits it after completion. Somewhere among all these quotations lay the first half of my clue.

The Code was a Polybius Cipher. Fill in the correct quotation within the squared section of your clue; then using the key letters, decipher your question. The question that was asked, would then lead you to the final solution. This you would then fill into the ten numbered blanks along the bottom of the page. Sounds simple enough, but not so easily done. The quotations were everywhere.

I had been hard at it for about five minutes searching, when I heard a familiar and friendly voice call out to me. Looking up I saw Robert Jenner and my friend Doug, out walking the course to see how the teams were doing, and to check that the teams were still together. Not a hard thing to do in my case. Asking how I was doing, I told them of my progress thus far in the game and giving special mention of his rotten use of the scrambled Cipher slide.

The smile on Robert's face made him look like a over-grown self-satisfied child, who had been caught, "After" he had finished eating all the Chocolate chips cookies from the baking tray. Even my "so called" friend Doug suppressed a small grin at my expense, but the twinkle was definitely in his eyes, (These smirks at my expense have lead me to seriously consider striking both of their names from of my Christmas card list this year.)

As they departed, Robert delivered one final salvo over his shoulder. "Have fun at the Eternal Flame" There was a soft maniacal lilt of laughter in his voice that was carried upon the winds, and that wind did not bode well for our Local Hero at large. I went back to work.

About half way through my circuit of the courtyard, I thought I had found the quotation I needed. Quickly scribbling it down in the boxes, I found myself cursing that it was exactly one letter too long to fit my squares. I was forced to start again, erasing all that I had done. But at least I thought I now knew the rough length of the quotation I needed.

I made two more circuits of the Courtyard without success. It was becoming maddening. My time was dissolving away in front of me like ice in the desert. All that I had gained, I had now lost. And still none of the other quotations fit the Square. I returned to the original stone and reexamined it.

Carefully reading and filling in the squares one at a time, suddenly all the letters fit perfectly now. I realized my earlier mistake. --- I was stupid. --- In my hast, I had misspelled one single word. And that single mistake had thrown off my entire box. Translating the code I uncovered my question, but the answer was to prove just as elusive as the question had been.

I needed two words that added up to exactly ten letters. But where in this vast courtyard were they. Fate had not only abandoned me like an unfaithful lover, but worse decided to torment me with the arrival of Team Jacoby Girls on site.

The pressure was on and my frustration levels were once again on the rise. I knew what I was looking for and there were several possibilities, but the information was still not fitting as I thought it should.

Six minutes later I found an answer, and it was exactly ten letters long. Simple and elegant it related to the question, and fit the puzzle perfectly. Though, I was still bothered in the back of my mind by the strange "wording" of the question, but it was time for me to move on.

The Jacoby Girls were now getting frustrated by the problem as well. And I notice one of them was on the phone, with Rob I supposed, while another looked to me and asked me for any hints to the problem.

My lips parted, and I was actually about to give her and her team a hint, when I noticed the woman was standing exactly on the very quotation she needed. --- To say "Just look down" would have been far too easy.

So, I apologetically and very cryptically said, "You are definitely in the right spot," and hurried on. Not knowing, for the moment, that while my own answer to the puzzle relate to the coded question effortlessly, and it fit the puzzle flawlessly, in both size and length. My answer was also later to be proven, utterly and completely WRONG!


Hurrying across Chestnut street, I was making my way to a building dedicated to the Masonic like builders of Independence Hall. It was while I was on my way to this spot, that I ran into Team Corn Huskers again, coming in the opposite direction. I assumed that they were on their way to the Ghostly house.

As we passed each other, one of their teammates, looked quietly at me and weakly said, "Help." The heat of the day and the frustration of the hunt was having its toll them. Normally, I might have stopped and lent a hand, but having lost far too much time at the Ghostly House I couldn�t. I had two clues yet to solve, and I did not know how far ahead, or behind me their team was.

My printed clue spoke of finding a house no longer with foundations, possessing a Raven�s curse to search. The wording alone made my blood run momentarily cold. Robert and Kristine Jenner seemingly had pulled out all the stops to confound me personally it seemed that day. I was to once again face my oldest and most diabolical of enemies again. One I had purposely avoided earlier that day, "Hedera Helix" --- English Garden Ivy.

When I was younger and just starting my college years, I worked during the summer for the Philadelphia Park Service, helping run one of their historical plays down at The Second Bank. The Building was not far from where I now stood, and I had taken many of my lunch breaks in this area. I knew, Robert's and Kristine's simple worded clue was very deceptive in its nature.

Within this part of the park's confines, there were perhaps at least a dozen brick foundations, (houses without foundations) showing with their markers, where some of the original buildings from the eighteenth century had once stood. All of these brick lined representations were filled to the brim with English Garden Ivy. Robert and Kristine Jenner had sent all the teams out to do battle with at least a dozen Green-eyed Monsters.

Shifting anything loose like pens, pencils and eye glasses to my Velcro Locking pockets, I launched myself into a preemptive strike against my old arch enemy. Taking on each Ivy bed, one at a time and as I found them. The first two viciously fought back refusing to surrender up any treasure, aside from an old candy wrapper and two popsicle sticks. The third was another story.

The first two sides yielded nothing, but as I moved to the third side, a sudden breeze came up; the first I had felt all day long. A rustle of leaves to my right attracted my attention and as my head turned; I glimpsed the color of parchment and a flash of red, as the leaves parted.

Fate had returned to help me, or perhaps torment me, like an unfaithful Lover. And like any unfaithful Lover from our past, we willingly welcomed them back. Not because we believed they have changed, or learned the value of what they had so easily discarded and left behind. But, for a fare simpler reason� We allow this to happen, because our Hearts foolishly "Want" to believe in them again.

Lifting aside the leaves, I removed from its hiding place, a parchment scroll to which was tied a red ribbon and with it, a curious old fashion key.

Opening the scroll, I found not just another clue, but "The" Final clue. A Cipher Grid, to which all other answers of the day were to be entered. I collapsed the scroll and hurried on, I had one more clue to solve before this scroll would reveal its secret. I had to locate the Eternal flame.


Eternal Flame Park, (not it's real name,) had worried me since Robert and Doug mentioned it. It was that soft maniacal lilt in Robert's voice that suggested that he and Kristine had again cooked up something special. The clue said I was to seek out, within the park, a stone with a Raven�s secret. I was to find it hidden among the numbered trees.

What I found among the trees, was not only the hidden stone, but some old comrades in arms; Team Birthday Bears. Suzi Alvarez and Dan Middovnik were sitting cross legged on the ground before a small plaque on stone, looking a bit confused. They smiled, and gave me a friendly wave inviting me to come over and join them. Settling in, I saw that they had been there for sometime and they were confounded by the puzzle before them. Looking at it, I could understand why.

On the stone, where once had been a brass plaque, was now taped a Vigenere Cipher grid, but one I had never seen before. This grid, like cipher slide I encountered earlier, was again scrambled. No wonder Robert Jenner had chuckled so manically back at the Ghostly house. This grid completed negated yet another page out of my personal code book, though I was to learn later that the Twisted Vigenere was actually the brain child of Baltimore Ravenchase Cryptologists Alex and Anji Stinson. (They too, may not find their way onto my Christmas card list this year.)

But, however scramble, the grid still had to behaved like a normal Vigen�re, though the pattern of translation have also been twisted. All this I explained to Suzi and Dan, while I placed the key word hidden within the clue over the cipher text and began my translation.

Two tries, and the words began to appear. Within two minutes both our teams had the answer, or rather another question. We were to find a certain tree and discover its importance. I had one idea of which tree it was, but Dan had another. It turned out Dan's idea was the correct one. Once again we had both shamelessly used each others teams to "Bird Dog" the location.

Having my final answer, I was once again in the mood to be both generous and giving. I ask Suzi and Dan how they were doing, and if they had been to the Ghostly house yet. It turned out that was their next planned stop.

Flipping through my pages, I told them I could not give them the entire message they needed, but I would give them the first line of the quotation that they needed to find. This I calculated would save them at least fifteen minutes of searching. This seemed a fair and balanced reward for all their "birddog" help in the park

Reading slowly this time, Dan took down the words I dictated to them and he and Suzi were off in a shot; while I settled in on a nearby park bench to work on the final grid.

The overall concept of the grid was simple. Fill in the numbered squares, then place the eye of the key over markers set within the grid, and the key would then indicate which of the letters I was to written down to produce the name of the end location of the hunt.

My first problem was there were at least one hundred and twenty blocks to be filled in on the clue sheet using all the answers from the other pages. --- And the second problem was I was not certain when using the old fashion key, whether I was to use the tip of the key as my indicator, or the tongue of the key. If it was the tongue, it would drop the indicator down to another line creating an "L" shaped shift much like the movement a Knight performs in the game of chess.

The first problem could be solved with just a pencil and plain dogged determination; but for speed sake in the second problem, I decided it was time to use my one "Free" phone call of the hunt. I called Rob for clarification on the use of the key.

Answering the phone, Rob seemed pleased to hear from me and to find I was so near to the final solution. He also confirmed it was the tip of the key I needed to pay attention to as my indicator.

Hanging up, I ordered my pages and began scribbling like a man possessed. I was still very aware of how much time I had lost at the Ghostly house and I was determined to make no further mistakes. Eight minutes later, with the blanks filled completely in, I put the key to use and produced what I thought was an impossible message.

The message said that the teams were to end not at a Bar, or a Restaurant, but what sounded like... an Automotive Supply Store??? My confusion in the matter reigned supreme, and was further complicated by the fact that two of the words in my message were misspelled.

I reworked the message a second time to confirm that I had translated it correctly. I traced the misspellings back to a single clue; the Ghostly House. It was plain at this point, that I discovered the one wrong answer that fit perfectly in my puzzle. I was now in a desperate situation.

Checking my watch, I decided desperate situations required equally desperate actions. It was time to pull another trick out of my famous Indiana Jones Bag.

I mentioned at the beginning of my story, that in preparing for this hunt, I had reconsidered everything in my bag and removed a number of objects that had proven useless to me. What I failed to mention was, I also added a few new unique items. --- One of them being the pocket edition of the ZAGAT's 2008 Restaurant Review; an alphabetical index of every current restaurant and bar in the city of Philadelphia.

I was on the move again, leaving the park far behind me, trying to do my upmost to once again to Walk, Contemplate the problem, Avoid Traffic, Tourists, and Venders, all the while paging through ZAGAT'S Restaurant Review, trying to discover if something out there truly existed.

Flipping through ZAGAT's, I found buried under the "N's" there was indeed a restaurant that sounded like an Auto Supply Store, "National Mechanics." It was on Third Street between Chestnut and Market Streets. The book even gave me the exact address, so there was no need for me to call Robert again, or Information for directions. For now, all that mattered was my speed in getting there.

As I turned the corner onto Third street, I discovered that I was at least on the right side of the street. With each passing building, I clicked off street addresses in my mind until I saw my destination waiting for me half way down the block. I also saw something else --- Fate.

Fate, was there waiting for me on the stone steps. She smiled at me and was almost playfully laughing at me for the comical look upon my face, as I realized I had finally come full circle in my adventures with Ravenchase.

The Restaurant, National Mechanics, was the very same restaurant that the first Philadelphia Ravenchase Hunt had ended at. The very same restaurant, that earlier that morning, I had paused in my journey to take a few nostalgic snap shots, without taking note of the name. Fate was indeed having her way with me that day, and I was her unsuspecting puppet; if not her most willing fool for her personal amusement.

Mounting the stairs of the Federal style building and passing between the large Roman colonnades, I stepped through the doors as if I was entering into the Ancient Temple of Dionysus. I entered freely in this last leg of my journey to make the final discovery of what my fate would be.


Inside the restaurant, my eyes took a moment or two to transition from the bleaching brightness of daylight to the subdued darkness of the interior. But, from what I could make out, the restaurant had not changed much at all since I was last there; though I was told by my friend Doug, the restaurant had changed hands and had been renamed several times since that first Philadelphia Ravenchase Hunt.

Looking across to my left, I dimly made out a young couple being served at the same table, where I myself had sat once. My heart sank. It appeared that Team Birthday Bears had beaten me to the restaurant. I assumed that Dan and Suzi must have filled in the last clue sheet and made the same intuitive leap about the Ghostly House clue I had, and arrived just ahead of me.

Looking ahead, my eyes still adjusting to the darkness, I spotted my friend Doug Moore standing by the Moderator's table at the back of the restaurant. Doug was just standing there, staring wide eyed at me, and looking more that just a little bit like a proverbial stunned sheep.

"Rass," he said, "I don't believe it... You won... You won the race."

Looking back over at the table where I thought Dan and Suzi were sitting; I could now see that there was no florescent pink backpack next to them. The couple, enjoying their salads, weren't who I first thought they were and there were no other teams in the restaurant.
Winning, I can tell you, can be a very weird feeling to have to deal with. The entire concept tends to throw you off a bit, especially after having just mentally resigned myself to losing only moments before.

It had been a year and a half since my last official First Place win. It was when I took home the Golden Gnome from Chris Dove and Lisa Duty, when the pair of them took on Philadelphia Ravenchase. My Team had brought home the Silver Horse in the private Lexington Virginia Hunt, but this would be my first Gold placement under the parentage of Robert and Kristine Jenner.

The best I had managed up to now was two Bronze positions, several Honorable mentions and a "Really" embarrassing placement somewhere in the back of the pack. I don't even allow myself to count the Halloween race I won last year, when Rob Jenner called me up an hour before the race and announced I was the winner by the ridiculous fact that all other teams had bowed out at the last minute. ( I doubted seriously it was out of fear of going up against me.)

Doug whipped out a camera and fired off a few photos of the Ravenchase scrapbook, while I put on a pitifully lame display of posing for him. My real thoughts at the moment were to find a chair, collapse into, and then order a very large Coke to cut the dust from my throat. I still was having trouble getting over the novelty of winning the race.

As a reader, I should confess to you that I am not known as the "Infamous" Rassilon, for my fabulous abilities to Research, Prepare and Win these races effortlessly; but rather I gained this peculiar moniker of mine for my unusual habit of giving out enormously longwinded and unique perceptive reports to the rest of the Incarcerated Inmates of Ravenchase.

While Doug was entering my official time into the records, the front door opened again and Team "Jacoby Girls" valiantly stumbled across the finish line, just a mere two and a half minutes behind me. This was a very slender margin to seize the Silver Challis in the race.

Our two teams placements and the trophies might have interchanged entirely, had I been held up by a single traffic light crossing the street getting here. But, such are the whims and ways of Fate. Fate for whatever reason, had chosen to play on my side this day; next time I may be her painted fool and be utterly last. --- "Fate," as I said before, "is Wed to No One."

Rob Jenner, who had been out checking the course, entered next to find the first two teams settling in and first rounds of drinks being ordered. As there were only two grand prizes to be awarded that day, he took this opportunity to call the remaining teams in and gave them the address of the Restaurant, asking them to meet us here.

Had there been a Bronze placement in the race that day it would have gone to Team Birthday Bears. They were the next to arrive, about eight minutes later, carrying with them a horrible war story.

Like me during the Christmas New Hope Race, they had mistaken one location for another, and were at a park on the opposite side of Independence Mall, rather than at the Ghostly House. It was a simple case of similar names, but entirely different locations.

While we placed our orders for food and awaited the last teams arrive; Doug and I regaled the Jacoby Girls with our tales of misadventures with Ravenchase. --- Doug told the story about our Valentine's day fiasco, in which our team was saved by a single digital photograph taken by our teammate, "Holly, from Down Under." And I told the story my missing a single digital photo, that might have saved my team, due to my mysterious encounter with, "The Enchantress," a resident member of Doug's team "The Happy Fairy Mushroom Princess."

The telling of war stories is a time honored tradition among Ravenchasers. Sometimes half the fun of the day is sitting at the bar with a drink in your hand and discovering the brilliance, along with the blunders each of us made during the course of the race. These stories makes you believe that anything is possible, even winning the next time; when you hear how many people loss a few races, before they actually began to win a few.

Team Corn Huskers arrived at the restaurant, just about the same time my order of Fish & Chips arrived at my table along with my glass of wine. The Corn Huskers had been delayed, as they were out making one final attempt to find the secluded park, with its Checker playing actor, Nick Preckel. But, Nick had given up his post sometime ago, and was now seated at the restaurant with us. It had been a long race for Team Corn Huskers, but once drinks were in their hands, these ills were soon forgotten.

I will make special mention that during the course of the party, I did play one small joke on my friend Rob Jenner in minor revenge for all the jokes he had made that day at my expense ...(i.e. Pointing me out at the beginning of the race, scrambling the cipher slide, the Twisted Vigenere grids and of course the blatant use of Garden Ivy, overshadowed by his own soft maniacal laughter during the game.)

As Team Corn Huskers were settling in, Rob stood by their table and openly reminded them all that the first drinks were always on Ravenchase Adventures. ---Seizing upon the moment, I immediately piped up and suggested that we should all order a round of drinks and raise our glasses to Team Corn Huskers for their brave showing with tall glasses of Glenfiddich Ancient Reserve Scotch Whiskey. --- Rob�s face momentarily went white, drained of all color.

Anyone who knows their Scotch Whiskey, and Rob does, will know that Glenfiddich Ancient Reserve, runs about ($30.00 ) Thirty dollars a glass in any bar.

Even with the small turnout, such as we had that day, my suggestion would have bankrupt Ravenchase Adventures for the next three, or four hunts to come. Fortunately for Rob's wallet, (and my Future planned Life Expectancy on this planet...) No one took my suggestion seriously.

The only other suggestion of what to drink that day, came from one of the locals at the bar. Observing the trophies on the table and gathering the gist of what the party was about, he suggested that the trophies be filled with his favorite Ale and the winners forced to chug the whole lot. The name of the Ale he suggested was ... "ARROGANT BASTARD ALE."

I did have to laugh at this name, as I too had a stray thought about this Ale. One of the more notable Teams among Ravenchase Players, refers to themselves as "The Kilts." --- And "The Kilts" will more than proudly tell you that they owe their great success at winning Ravenchase Hunts not only to skill, or code cracking abilities, but to their drinking of "Car Bombs;" which is a mixture of Guinness Beer with Bailey�s Irish Cream and Whiskey.

I briefly wondered what effect substituting Arrogant Bastard Ale for the Guinness would have on "The Kilts?" --- We might be talking World Domination! --- And the World, I feel... may be safer never knowing.

For myself, in case anyone was wondering, I ordered a White Wine to go with my Fish & Chips. (Trust me, I do know my small place in the universe.) Besides, the Trophies themselves were already filled with candy.

Rob did have one more Trophy to hand out that day. A time honored tradition in the British / Australian school system is the presentation of "The Wooden Spoon" award. A tradition, dating back over 100 years ago, calling for a special prize to be awarded to the student with the "Lowest Test Scores" in their finals. --- The Wooden Spoon with its inscribed Latin Phrase, "Intueor is quod Ploro," has strangely, over the years, become a strangely sought after badge of honor among the students of Cambridge University.--- Don't ask me why?

Rob, having been born in Australia, decided to revive the tradition in American with a slight update. Instead of a Wooden Spoon, Rob presented the Purple "Goose Egg" to the team that came in last and showed themselves to being such good sports at the finish. This trophy was awarded to Team Corn Huskers for their brave showing that day and for never giving up.

The Party slowly broke up about an hour later, as each team took their leave thanking Rob and our actors for the great day out. For me, with the Golden Bowl tucked under my arm, I headed home amid stares from the people on the street and on the train, examining the unusual message on the back of my T-Shirt and the trophy. But I didn't care. It truly had been a great day out.

Arriving home and hour later and after settling in, I went to my bookcase and took down the Bronze Squirrel award I won at my first Ravenchase Hunt. At first I thought it was time to retire him to the back shelf of one of my closets; but on reflection, I remembered an ancient story about Julius Caesar and gained from it, a bit of wisdom.

It is said that Julius Caesar, as he rose in Power, Fame and Fortune, was wise enough to see that all these things might alter his perception of the World. So he employed and paid handsomely a servant, whose sole purpose was to stand near him and listen to his words when he spoke. And when needed, gently remind him of two simple things. First and foremost, that he was Human. And second of all, that "All Fame was fleeting."

Pushing aside the Golden Bowl and the Golden Gnome, I put the Bronze squirrel squarely between them. It is good, I decided, that even though I won the gold that day; it was in fact more by the whim of fate, rather than by wit and skill.

There will always room for improvement. I had been foolish and wasted far too much time at Ghostly house. And in the end, I still walked away with the wrong answer for all my trouble.

I should had used my one free phone call at that location and gained twenty minutes. And later on, while at the bar, Robert Jenner, showed me a way that I could have shaved another eight minutes off my time with the final clue.

This hint was made all the more painful, by the fact that my friend Flidias, A.K.A. Britney down in Baltimore, had shown me this same trick months ago and I had forgotten it.

Yes, there was always room for improvement in the playing any Ravenchase game. And so, for the moment the Bronze Squirrel will remain on my shelf to remind me that I am, Human, with human frailties and that "all Fame is truly Fleeting, not Eternal."

Till we all meet again on the field of battle at Ravenchase...

I remain yours truly,

The Ever "Infamous" Rassilon