My vagueness with the clues is also out of politeness, respect and deep appreciation of Ravenchase Adventures and their wonderful staff.
The Lexington Hunt was an entirely new Hunt for Ravenchase Adventures and designed exclusively for our "Treasure Hunters Group." If Ravenchase plans to reuse the town of Lexington and these sites in future; they have only my best wishes and my full support for their use of these locations and their wonderful clues for the future. --- Rassilon
Ravenchase Adventures
&
The Taking of Lexington
or
"The Perfect Hunt"
&
The Taking of Lexington
or
"The Perfect Hunt"
"Unhealthy things, Trains... As for the one I was on;
it should be in a museum. It was wandering
all around the countryside, like it was Lost…"
Magersfontein Lugg
From: Margery Allingham's "Mystery Mile"
it should be in a museum. It was wandering
all around the countryside, like it was Lost…"
Magersfontein Lugg
From: Margery Allingham's "Mystery Mile"
It is strange, how at times, quotes from books and movies drift in and out of ones thoughts. But, after nine and a half hours on a train from Philadelphia, this quote from Margery Allingham's novel seemed very apt to me.
My train, seemingly "Lost" in the wilds of Virginia, frequently took it upon itself to attempt every variation of speed possible conceived by man, from the full out racing of the engine, to a complete and utter standstill, dead in the middle of nowhere, never once maintaining any of these peculiar speeds for long. But, finally, lurching to a stop, (or perhaps finally breaking down from exhaustion,) my train arrived at the western edge of Virginia, at the tiny hamlet of Clifton Forge. I had arrived for the second gathering of the NBC "Treasure Hunters" Annual Hunt.
Our hostess and original creator of this event, Whitney, better known to everyone on the NBC Boards as "Trsrhuntr", or "Treasure" for short, came along with our mutual good friend "KyNurse," to collect me from the station and drive me the last forty miles to Lexington.
Lexington, Virginia, I will state freely, is a fantastically beautiful College town. It is the home of Washington & Lee University, and filled with manicured Parks, History and Buildings that can be traced back to the beginnings of both the Civil and Revolutionary wars. But, if there is one glowing and notable problem with the village itself, it is … "You just can't get there from here."
No train service, no bus service to speak of, and the nearest airport, was 52 miles away. Perhaps, the inaccessibility to the town is what truly preserves its beauty from the ravages of any would be modern developer. No one can get to there, without a car, or a lot of single minded determination to do so.
Whitney, perfect gem that she is, had planned everything to a tee for this event. Ravenchase would arrive the next morning at 10 Am. The Hunt was to be, by her own insistence, an "Intermediate to Advanced Level Hunt," especially designed for us by Lisa Duty "The Ravenchase Junkie" herself and her "Too Clever by half " coconspirator in crime, Chris Dove, their resident Codeilogist .
Lisa Duty and Chris Dove had already proven their talents to me, during the last Philadelphia Hunt I was on. And they had already delivered to our doorsteps such a mind blowing "starter clue" for the event, that it left many of us, after twelve hours, of code cracking, searching our medicine cabinets for the "Ex-strength" Aspirin.
But, we at last, had our starting location somewhere on the beautiful Campus of Washington & Lee, and we also had our assembled teams, as well as our team monikers all carefully chosen.
Team "Insanity, Inc." was headed by "J15bell," her daughter "Reggie" and "Sluggy."
Team "The SNORKS" was headed by "Flidais," Flitterbit" and "Ishop2buy"
Team "Triple Threat" was headed by "Trsrhuntr", "KyNurse" and myself, "Rassilon"
Team "Stash Seekers" was headed by "Jfray" and the lovely "Lady Diane"
Our old friend, Jacob, from NBC's Treasure Hunters "Team Ex-CIA," was to have joined us again for the hunt this weekend, as he done in Harpers Ferry. But, at the last minute, problems arose between him and the contractors of the house he is building, so it prevented his joining us.
Jacob was to be the third member of The Stash Seekers, running with his friends, Jfray and Diane, who bravely pressed on, as a two person team.
The first order of business was a Reunion dinner. Two weeks before, Treasure had sent out special invitations to all of us attending, and appropriately, the invitation was also in sent in code.
Break the cipher and you had the name of the restaurant in Lexington. Where all of us who had arrived by 6 pm, would meet, share a glass of cheer, a good meal, and to swap remembrances of our last hunt in Harpers Ferry. It was very good chance to see old friends again, and after my long train ride, I shamelessly wolfed down everything on my plate that was placed before me.
The party broke up around 8:00 PM, as we headed back to our campsite at the KOA in Natural Bridge. Those of you, who have read my write up of the Harpers Ferry Hunt, will remember my particular "warm and fuzzy" thoughts on the KOA and their amenities, but I have to confess I liked the Natural Bridge setting, much better.
Nestled among a pine forest, the trees offered welcome relief from the heat of the day with its gentle shade. Treasure and KY, who had come down two days earlier, were wonderful. They had worked out with the owners of the KOA to have small gift baskets they had both made for us placed in each of our cabins. The baskets were filled with such items as card of greeting, flowers, soap, washcloth, a small bottle of Jim Beam ( which I assumed was in case of snake bite. ) There was also a handful of Gold Plastic Doubloons, to remind us we were on a Treasure Hunt this weekend. Even as I type this, I have several of those Doubloons on my desk before me; A few small momentoes of my weekend.
The girls had, for the last two days, been especially worried for our hunt that weekend, because dark rain clouds seem to hover exactly over the KOA. It was an ominous omen in their mind. But, I can tell you the day of the hunt was perfectly beautiful.
Of the KOA site, if there was one thing that Treasure truly missed not having at this particular campsite, it was the giant fire pit that we had at the Harpers Ferry.
You will recall from my last report that Treasure's brother, who was in charge of the fire pit, tried his "very" best to burn down half the camp. I suspect that pyromania, "Runs", if not "Gallops," throughout her entire family and that was why Treasure was so melancholy that evening, while she talked about the loss of the fire pit.
More drinks were the order of the day at Treasure and KY's cabin, once we were all settled in. And while the stars came out and danced above us, the girls filled us in on their many adventures over the last two days, which include their daily ritual of prayers to the local Rain Gods of Lexington, to hold off until after the hunt was over. Their visits into Lexington to check out its history and such quaint local haunts as, Foam Henge, which is Virginia's own full size replica of England's Stone Henge, only made entirely out of Styrofoam.
There was also the local ELVIS inspire haute' cuisine of the "Pink Cadillac" Restaurant, where we were strongly cautioned ahead of time, that you if order their morning oatmeal, you could very effectively mortar bricks with it. The restaurant's management also possessed the strangest of attitudes, as they will more than proudly point out a sign stating "If You Don't Like The Way I Do Business…Buy Me out!!!"
Sensibly, around 10:30 I polished off my last drink and wandered away to bed, leaving the "Ladies" to gossip and "Men Bash" without me as the possible surrogate target of their pointed jibs. I wanted a clear headed and to be sharp for the morning's Hunt.
10:00 Am the next morning, our caravan of would-be adventurers descended upon the unsuspecting town of Lexington, and in particular the central campus of Washington & Lee University.
The meeting place according to Ravenchase's first coded email, was to be in front of the statue of Cyrus McCormick, the inventor of the first working harvest Reaper. The Statue other than a simple meeting place for our gathering, had absolutely nothing to do with our clues, or hunt that day; so, I believe Ravenchase will forgive me for mentioning this one gathering point.
With Treasure and Ky having the lay of the land, our team "Triple Threat" arrived at the statue first. Team "Insanity, Inc" arrived second, all of them wearing their team jerseys, which only made Treasure a bit sad, because she had made up a Team Jersey as well. But my own last minute presence threw a large monkey wrench into her intended plans.
Originally, Trsrhuntr and KYNurse had planned to run the race as a double team, having chosen as their Team name as "Double Trouble." But, with the last minute addition of my name to the team roster, she couldn't wear her new t-shirt.
I admit, it was a beautiful T-Shirt, having a map of Lexington with the Team's name on the one side, and on the reverse was the Team's "Motto" emblazoned across the back, in a large menacing "Barbwire font" saying:
Needless to say, Treasure did at least have her "Game Face" on that weekend.
The first to arrive from Ravenchase Adventures was Chris Dove, carrying the now famous Red Treasure Chest; containing all our clues and whatever else we might need for the hunt. Lisa Duty, who was off making a few last moment final preparations, arrived about ten minutes later. Teams STASH SEEKERS and The SNORKS, brought up the rear having had problems finding a parking place for their vehicles.
After signing the usual legal waivers, stating that "Should any of us be Caught, Captured, or Killed… The President of Ravenchase will disavow any knowledge of our involvement with their fine organization." Chris and Lisa then presented us with the general overview of the Hunt that day.
First, we might encounter several actors that day. They will only interact with us "If" we decipher the clues correctly and perform certain actions, or ask certain questions. (This pleased me enormously, as this was the first hunt where I personally got to interact with Ravenchase actors. I had read about them on the internet, but this was a first)
Secondly, we were to be given six clue sheets, and a map, but somewhere among them was a "red herring" that was designed to lead us astray. Also, Among the pages given to us there would be one page that would appear to be complete balderdash & gibberish to our eyes, and its true purpose would only become apparent when we reached one of the secret locals. ( my interest was tweaked, and my code solving senses were already tingling --- Gads, shades of Spiderman. )
No gadgets would be given out today, because all that we might require could be found along the way today. --- ( This was an odd statement, but I took note of it in the back of my mind.)
Lisa then handed out our clue scrolls, as Chris made note of the exact time on his clip board and we were off!
Treasure, as team leader, opened the clue scrolls and read our first clue. There were no codes to solve on this first page, but poetically it spoke of solemn ground and a grave of one. I think from all our advanced research of the town, Treasure, Kynurse and I, all got the first clue at once, and quickly vanished from the scene, leaving the other teams to read and ponder over their own clues.
In short order, our Team arrived at the grave of "The One," to read the stone marker. Our first guess had been this might be a location for one of the hidden gold coins, or perhaps yet another clue scroll, as our own clue did not ask us to solve anything, just to locate the friend of the man buried there.
If there was a surprise to be had for us, it was in finding, Lisa Duty, there waiting for us with her camera. She was quietly clicking off archive shots for Ravenchase's files. I think even she was a bit surprised how quickly we had arrive upon the spot.
A swift search of the area, revealed the named of the man we wanted, but again, our research before hand, had revealed the fact that "the friend" we were searching for was in a part of a mausoleum closed now to the public for renovations. It was obvious that this was the "Red Herring" clue. Lisa seemed enormously pleased that we had caught on so quickly.
Turning to the next clue, our team was off again across campus in search of our next location, which involved finding the Information Hall.
This was one of my favorite clue of the day, because it was so vague and simple, it confounded nearly every team. The teams were all literally tripping over one another, as we all seem to converge upon the same spot at once.
The clue spoke of the entrance doors and doors within, Polybius, a number and the ultimate search for "Nothing." If this sounds confusing, it was; which is what made the clue so wonderful. It could be interpreted so many ways.
Inside the Information Hall, we were face with at least six doors leading to everything from the bathroom, to a visitors' sign-in room. And to confuse things more, there were dozens upon dozens of photos on every wall showing various local historical buildings and their front doors. In another room hung locally made paneled Quilts decorated with buildings and doors on them as well. But, which door did the clue refer to???
Treasure noticed in one of the alcove rooms, there were framed photos of recommended business on the wall. All of them carefully numbered. Next to one of the plaques, was a big "nothing" open spot where one of the plaques had been removed. Sensing this was a clue Treasure ran off to put the female receptionist in a headlock, and "gently" persuade the woman, into telling her what originally had hung in that open spot.
My own foolish idea came, when I spotted among the brochure rack, a folder with a Raven logo on it. Thinking this would be a wonderfully brilliant place to hide a clue; I opened it only to discovered it was really nothing more than a brochure for one of the local caterers.
Team Snorks confess to me later, their own foolish idea came, when they noticed the courtesy phone in the corner of the alcove, which allowed visitors to speed dial local businesses for reservations.
Thinking this might be what the mysterious number related to, they dialed the number and when the voice on the other end answered, they asked if they could speak to "Mr. Polybius." The answer they received was not worth repeating.
I have spoken in some of my previous posts of how serendipity sometimes comes into play during the Ravenchase Adventure games. It was while I was pondering over the meaning of the doors; I happened to glance through a window and found myself looking at "The Door" and in an instant understood the full meaning of the Polybius reference. Quickly pointing this out to Kynurse, we ran to gather Treasure up, who still held the poor Receptionist in a headlock.
Apologizing to the bewildered woman for our ill manners, we stayed only long enough to grab a few local maps and brochures from the racks, and then quickly slipped from the scene, as the other teams had their backs to us. A few blocks away, we soon stood before "The Door."
Now that we found "The Door," all we had to do was figure out the meaning of "The Nothing." Here, I will give credit, where credit was due, I may have found the door, but it was the sharp eyes of my angel, Kynurse, who discovered what the meaning of the Nothing was. For a first timer on the hunt, she did the team proud.
We had the Nothing, as well as the numbers associated with the Nothing, all I had to do was figure out how to apply them to the code printed on the bottom of the page. For this, I needed time to think.
At this junction, I will add a small note about the dynamics of a team. First it is a learning experience in understanding and patience. Ravenchase staff members, Kristine and Robert Jenner, spoke about this in a recent article, for Time Off Magazine. In the article they talked of their first Ravenchase experience, before joining the staff.
"We fought like crazy at first --- "No we need to go this way, no that way" --- but we learned our strengths and weaknesses. It was something we really bonded over. --- Although, I would not recommend it for a first time date…."
For Treasure, Kynurse and myself, this was our first time date together as a team, and we were not without our few "momentary" problems.
I was trying to decode "The Nothing" code while Treasure, who was fearful about losing possession of the clue sheets, twice snatched the page away from me, forcing me to snatch it back, until I could fully copy the code out on to my work sheets.
Poor Kynurse, who I love dearly, looked terribly alienated from the team at this point, as Treasure and I bickered over the wisdom of moving on to the next clue or standing perfectly still, until I had unraveled the mystery of the code. ( Actually I think the look KY truly gave us, was that of a mother who wanted to knock her horrible children's heads together to get us to straighten up and fly right. Which, we finally did.)
But before I leave this subject, let me openly apologize to both my teammates and tell them that I do cherish them both and ask them to forgive me for possessing the typical pigheadedness of a male, who had run too many of these races alone.
I had forgotten, for a moment, that Treasure was our elected Captain and as such had the deciding vote in all matter, and as for input, none of us were less equal than other. So Ky and Treasure, I apologize to you both. Please forgive me.
While I was pondering the "Nothing" code, we voted to move on to what I call the "Eyes Have It," or clue #4. The clue spoke of finding one of Virginia's favorite sons and look upon what he saw with disdain. The park in which the statue lay, according to the guide maps, was not too far away so, we as a team, were off again.
The statue was impressive in its detail, and would not be the first we would encounter that day, but what was far more impressive was discovering Lisa Duty and Chris Dove were now both skulking near by in the bushes with their cameras on the ready again. --- Just who was following who, we wondered?
For a moment, I thought I had discovered one of the Ravenchase gold coins at the base of the statue, but it turned out sadly to be only a gold military button some passing visitor had left behind as a tribute.
Treasure in the meantime had aligned herself with the tip of the statue's nose and simply walked out in a straight line, until she discover what he was looking at with distain. There she found a plastic bag with our next clue, a photograph with the eyes punched out.
Neither Treasure, or Ky understood what the photograph was, but I did on sight and suddenly our Balderdash page, or Clue #5 made perfect sense to me. As I aligned the Photograph to the page, I must say, I was deeply impressed with Lisa Duty's talents as a Graphic Artist. I haven't the slightest idea how she was able to set up the page up so precisely, but it did make me laugh, as I spelled out the cryptic letters, Ky watched over my shoulder and Treasure by my side wrote the letters down.
We were a team again and the words gave us the location in the park for the first quarter of our final clue. We were feeling very good at this point, especially me, as I had also finally figured out the "Nothing" clue and we had our next location, which our team boldly headed off for.
Leaving the park behind us, we headed down the street towards the center of town again. But, coming the opposite way, we spotted Team Snorks heading up the hill. Both teams politely flashed them that bright warm wonderful and even "slightly sincere" smile, then weakly lied and said, "No, we haven't found anything yet either… maybe you'll do better than us!" Needless to say we picked up the pace a step, or two, as they passed us.
The Nothing clue sent us to garden in the center of town, with nothing more than this to go on, I assumed we were searching for a gold coin again, as I knew from a previous hunts, clues can sometimes simply say, "Search the Shelter." Never mind that the shelter happens to be as big as a barn.
The garden clue left me with the same feelings and we blindly began to search among the benches, trellises and flower beds. I even began looking under the public trashcans, just in case. All this caught the eye of a local man, who was sitting, with his camera, on a near by bench.
Asking what we up to, we apologized and explained that before he calls the Police on us, we were apart of a Ravenchase Adventure hunt in search of a clue. He laughed and asked if he could take our picture for his records, since he was out shooting that day in the park.
Gathering the team together, we flashed him our pearly whites and he snapped our picture. Then reaching into his pocket for what I thought would be a business card, he instead handed us a plastic film canister with a Latin phrase wrapped around it; offering us the advice… "See what Develops" --- We had discovered our first actor of the day and our next clue.
As a team, we were feeling pretty good and pretty full about now, as the morning coffee was passing through us all at a tremendous rate. We voted for a bathroom break to restore peace and order to our thoughts. As the restaurant, where we held our reunion party the previous evening was near, the choice was obvious.
Opening the door of the bistro, we stepped in and came, once again, face to face with Lisa Duty and her camera. She was now sitting alone at the Bar. ( What can I say, this woman "really" gets around.) But, who was Stalking who???
Going downstairs to the Lavatories, I open the men's room door and discovered Chris Dove there. (Ok, I now felt like a Stalker, as well as a Voyeur.) We both laughed and several minutes later, when I was feeling more relaxed, I rejoined Treasure and Ky and together we examined the roll of film.
Having, cruelly, been forced by my own parents back in High School to take German, instead of Latin, the instructions were meaningless to me. But, the examination of the film roll showed that it contained Paper and not film inside, so that meant it was a water clue. I had encountered these before on several hunts and knew what to do.
Reaching in my Indiana Jones Bag hanging by my side, I pulled out a small container of water and sprayed the paper. The message appeared before our eyes. It said we were to locate a particular woman and sing to her.
At this, Ky nearly leaped out of her skin, because she said, she had spotted the very woman we were looking for near the garden we had just come from. --- We bounded off in search of the mysterious woman, leaving Chris and Lisa at the bar, to finish their ice teas.
Looking in all directions outside, we spotted our quarry, window-shopping near the upper end of the block. We charged down upon her, as Teddy Roosevelt might have charged up San Juan Hill. Treasure, reaching her first, asked if the woman if she had anything for us? To which the woman curtly replied, "I don't know, do you have anything for me???"
Treasure's eyes narrowed and her upper lip twitched as her "Game Face" reappeared. Fearing she was about to do something rash, like put another woman in a headlock, I leapt into action. If you can ever call singing a leap of action?
Plucking forth my very best Bathroom Baritone, I immediately launched into a light reframe from, "Man of La Mancha," that would have done any Wagnerian Opera House proud.
Before I could embark on what I felt was the best part, namely the second verse; the woman whipped out a clue scroll from her pocket with lighting speed, placed it squarely into my hand. (Though there was a moment, I was not uncertain that her original sighted target was my mouth, to stay my wagging tongue. ) I suspected in her former life, the woman was secretly a Music Critic for the Richmond Post.
But, at least I did make Ky giggle and Treasure liked my singing enough to request an encore that night back at the KOA. But, I wasn't quite drunk enough at that point to do it again.
Treasure took charge of the scroll, and this clue instructed us to go in search of whales at one of the local shops.
As we search the store fronts, for the right store, I briefly thought of Chris and Lisa back at the bar, as I noticed a store devoted entirely to Scottish Kilts and finery. Chris and Lisa, I knew from past conversations, used to like to show up at the Ravenchase Hunts wearing their kilts; when they themselves were on the other side of the game.
Finally locating the correct store front; we entered the shop and approached the sales counter. There, we were almost immediately rebuffed by the shop girl, who told us in no uncertain terms, that she had instructed "Never, even under the Pain or threat of Death, or Destruction" was she "ever" to divulge any information that would aid us in our quest.
From the confused, if not dumbfounded pout on Treasure's face, I could tell another head-locking experience had yet again been avoided. Treasure looked slightly more than disappointed, by this news. --- I personally suspect she and her brother must have grown up watching far too much World Federation Wrestling on TV, which has left her marked for life.
Fortunately, despite this minor set back, within minutes, we had discovered the cryptic meaning of the whales and what was hidden among them. We now had the Second quarter of our final clue. We were half way home.
Outside the store again, our team recheck our bearings and our clues once more, before heading back onto the Campus of Washington & Lee, in search of Clue number #3. A clue, which I could only best describe to you as, the Merry-Go-Round.
We were starting to pound quite a lot of shoe leather at this point and even I was getting punchy from scanning every local for signs of a clue, or possible glint of a gold coin. I started grasping at straws.
Half way across campus, I spotted a Raven perched on a lonely stone wall and remembering in the Harpers Ferry, Joshua Czarda, had use a stuffed Raven to mark a clue location, my hopes rose. As I was about to make a beeline for it, my clue marker suddenly took wing and flew away.
We didn't spot a clue at the wall, but we did spot something else. Team "Stash Seekers," about a hundred yards ahead of us, apparently heading for the same location we were.
As a team, we immediately went into our stealthy Cloak & Dagger mode, slipping from tree to tree, following closely and keeping a close eye on what Jfray and Lady Diane were up to.
They were indeed heading for the same spot as we were, one of the taller four sided monuments on campus. What surprised us most was, that they stopped at the monument only for a minute before moving on, so we quickly took advantage of this situation and appropriated the monument for ourselves.
This clue was a multi-tiered cipher. To solve the code, we had to gather information from all four sides of the monument. Not an easy tasks, as this sent us spinning around the monument at least twelve times to decode it in order, much like a merry-go-round.
When the ride ended, it only provided us with the code key we needed, which we then needed to apply to the cipher on the back of the page. The problem lay in the fact that the code key could be interpreted in several different ways. While our team was scratching its collective heads over the problem, two other teams arrive at the site of the monument. Team SNORKS and the reappearance of The Stash Seekers again.
All the teams looked up and flashed that bright "Wintery" smile to one another, that was perhaps only last seen during the winter of 1846, when the "Donner Party" all smiled, just as warmly, at their neighbors, and collectively, fingered their knives.
I think everyone realized at this stage of the game, that this clue could be the tie-breaker. All the groups settle back and set to work, still eyeing each other for indications of clues, or signs of which of us had cracked it first.
I ran the code three ways, but the first part of the message always looked confused. So I suggested to Treasure, to quietly to text message Chris at the number he gave us in case of trouble and ask if there was a problem with the code.
A few minutes later, the text answer came back saying, "No." What we thought were a jumble of letters, was in fact a person's name. Checking one of the pamphlets we took from the Information Hall, we scouted the name and saw that we were in search of yet another on-campus garden.
I think it was at the beginning of this article, I mentioned that Lexington has "Lots" of beautifully manicured lawns and gardens. ---- In fact, it appears if there is one growing Cottage Industry within Lexington, Virginia; it is its history. And, of course, the manufacture and placement of monuments and gardens dedicated to that history.
No one walking around this town could possibly swing a preverbal dead cat, without hitting something historical. I live in Philadelphia, the home and birth place of the American Revolution, Ben Franklin, the Liberty Bell and even I don't think we have "THIS" many monuments.
To get to the garden, our team decided to play sneaky. Ky and Treasure went on ahead, while I remained behind and went over to the monument and gave JFray and Diane a hand.
I notice that they seemed to be on their twentieth ride around on the Merry-Go-Round and they both looked a little dizzy. Deciding to level the playing field a bit, I remained only long enough to give them a hint how to read the monument, before slipping quietly away myself. The other were still at work.
Five minutes later, our team had found the garden and hidden among my oldest and most notorious "Nemesis" of all time, commonly known as "Garden Ivy," we located the third quarter of our last clue. We were now in the home stretch seeking our final section.
Clue #6 was my personal favorite of all the clues of that day, a three layer clue unlike anything I had previously encountered. Part one was a poem that directed us to one of the three museums on campus. Once inside, the poem directed us to one particular exhibit. And from a single object within the exhibit, we would able to decipher the second part of the clue.
As we arrived at the museum, the place appeared closed, but a kind fellow sitting outside the front door reading his text book, assured us that the museum was indeed open and we were welcome to go inside. For us, the air conditioning inside was a welcome relief from the heat of the day and rejuvenating to our grey cells.
Searching several rooms over, we spotted the glass case describe in the clue and what lay inside, nearly caused me laugh out loud. The exhibit was devoted to devices used by the Allied Forces during World War II for the art of Cryptology and Ciphers.
I could just imagine Lisa and Chris laughing as well, when they first stood there and discovered this display. What could be more perfect for a race involving coding breaking than to lead everyone to this display?
I now understood what Lisa now meant by, "everything we might need, could be found along the way." The only question remaining was which of the six cipher disks in the case, was the one we needed to decode the message? It was a weighty problem, but we set to work.
Four minutes later, we heard the sound of the front door opening, followed by some familiar voices within the foyer speaking to one of the Museum staff. Team Snorks had arrived on the scene.
At this point, I will pause to add a small note personal note on Code Solving, for those Would-be-Adventures that are reading this, and would seek to follow in our hollowed footsteps.
Code Solving… is not as easy as it looks. --- Especially when you have two, however charming, female companions, taking turns slapping you against the soft spot on the back of your skull every few seconds, telling you to "Hurry up," because the other team was arriving on the scene. --- Rather "Distracting," don't you know.
The situation now calls for desperate measures. (If only to stop Treasure and Ky from beating on the back of my skull.) Suspecting the code was a simple shift; I copied the first two words down on my work sheet and preformed a brute force on the code, until two words in English appeared. I had the solution to the shift and we had to get out of there. We were gone before any of the others discovered us, or the display case.
Outside the Museum, I wanted nothing more than to sit down on the front steps and finish my decoding of the second part of the message. But, Treasure, who seemed to be exhibiting signs of full out Paranoia, because the proximity of other teams, insisted that we remove ourselves from the area, as quickly as possible. So, for the next minute and a half, KY and I chased Treasure about, until she found a group of bushes that matched her comfort level and that could hide us all.
Here I will add a second personal observation, concerning Code Solving for those Would-be-Adventurers that follow us:
It is quite "Impossible," I assure you, to decipher any Coded Message, unless you "actually" have the message in your hands.
All during the time we were chasing Treasure about, in search of her safe haven, she still possessed a lobster's grip on the original clue sheet I needed. It wasn't until we were all safely behind the bushes, that I was finally able to retrieve the clue sheet and translate it. The clue told us to seek a statue, for within his hand lay the keyword to the last the clue.
Perhaps it was serendipity at work again, or perhaps Treasure's bout of paranoia was suddenly more than justified by the fates that watched over us; but strangely, as we looked up from the clue; the place Treasure had chose to hide, was only thirty feet from the very statue in question.
As we approached it, we all noted the figure seemed to be actually holding two objects in his hands, not one. And we openly debated among ourselves, as to which of the two words were needed for the code.
It was during this open debate, that the fellow who had been reading outside of the museum, quietly appeared by our sides and offered his own opinion of which word was need.
Smiling, he then asked if we had ever heard of a Vigenere Cipher Grid, producing a small grid sheet from his pocket. --- We had found our third Actor of the day and the last of our needed gadgets.
I chuckled, as I pulled out my own full size version of the Vigenere Grid and showed it to him. Like my Indiana Jones bag, the Vigenere grid, is also something I have learned never to leave home without, especially when on a Ravenchase Adventure.
Thanking him for his help, we withdrew to a shaded veranda nearby, where we could sit down and deciphered the last part of the message in comfort.
At this point, I am proud to say, our team was at last working like a well oiled machine again. I set up the keyword and the text. KY reading it out to me, while I ran the grid, and Treasure wrote down the letters I translated. In two minutes flat, we had the entire message. And even though it was an odd one, it did make us smile. We were to find the reading man again and give him "The Magic Word".
What was the Magic word???? I am not telling, but we all delivered it in chorus and in true "Southern" Style, that would have made anyone from the town of Mayberry swell their chests with pride.
The reading man, whose name we later learned was named David, laughed at our southern antics and from the back pages of his book, produced the final quarter of our missing clue; The clue that would tell us what restaurant to meet at and cross the finish line.
Using Scotch tape from my bag, again something any would-be Adventurer should never leave home without, we put the four quarters of our clue together and read the poem. It suggested a place found within the town, and that we were to, search for the Stars above and remember never to overlook the Treasures that lay forgotten beneath our feet.
Sounds very poetic, but these are my words, not Ravenchase's. I promised, Chris and Lisa, I would not reveal the solution to the puzzle, in the event they reused this clue again, but the words do suggest what we were actually given.
The final clue was another three tiered puzzle. And with warp speed, we kicked it into hyper drive and were on our way, without so much of a hint of other teams following us.
Our self confidence was riding high, as we headed back to town in search of the stars. As we went along, in review, we reflected upon our own current odds of winning that race.
We had left Team Snorks in the Museum and they had yet to emerge to seek the statue, before we left for town. Team Stash Seekers, we assumed were at least five minutes behind The Snorks, so they should be in the Museum by now as well, perhaps still working with the cipher disks.
So we jointly estimated that we were at least fifteen minutes ahead of the pack. Then Treasure and Ky brought up a very good, if not unnerving point. Just where "WAS" J15Bell's and her Team, Insanity, Inc???
No one among us had seen their team since the start of the race. We openly began to worry that the heat, the exercise, or perhaps the puzzles had been too much for her team and they had simply given up.
We recalled that on the previous evening that all the heavy smoke in the restaurant had made it hard for her to breath. So much so, that she left the party early. These sympatric feelings of sorrow for J15Bell and her team were commendable to our kind spirits and to our credit, but they would have perhaps, in the end, actually been better spent upon ourselves.
As we arrived in center of town, who should we see just thirty yards ahead of us, but Team Insanity, Inc. entering a local bistro and sauntering across the finishing line ahead of us.
Apparently they had done all of the clues we had done, only in reverse. The hardest ones first, and the easier ones last. That is why our paths had never crossed.
In that moment, our team felt like the favored horse at the Kentucky Derby, who in the last moment is squarely beaten by the dark horse out of nowhere.
But, also strangely I must admit, I also had the deepest admiration for what Team Insanity, Inc had done. Especially, after I stupidly remembered, J15Bell and her friend Sluggy, both love doing nothing better, than to stay up all night long working on logic puzzles, they find on the internet. --- We had been Snookered, but good. But, as a team we pressed on. We had lost the Gold, but there was still the Silver to be won.
We located the Stars the poem spoke of, and there at our feet, lay an answer to our riddle. And that only required a little help from our old friend Polybius to solve. Eight minutes later and, of course, behind Team Insanity, Inc, we cross the finish line. ---- Now, the real "nail biting" began for both our teams.
Neither J15Bell's team, nor our own team, had found any of the Gold Coins hidden along the route. A single gold coin, worth twenty minutes off our time, showing up now, could change the order of the race and erase everything both our teams had accomplished.
Both teams sat silently, watching the wall clock over the bar as the minutes ticked slowly by. Twenty minutes later, both teams audibly breathed a heavy sigh of relief, as finally our hands shot up in unison, for the waitresses to begin taking our orders for drinks, as well as some much needed food. The knots in our collective stomachs were gone now.
As our food began to arrive at the table, the last of the teams started to cross the finish line, Team Stash Seekers surprised both groups, by being the next to arrive. We had all been certain it would be The Snorks, since they had been so closely on our heels at the Museum.
I found out later from Flidais, that her team The Snorks had gotten hopeless entangled within the museum, attempting to figure out how to use the Ciphers Disks in the display case.
So much so, that David, our reading man from outside the building, had become worried and abandoned his post to check on them. If only to assure himself that they had not been tied up in a broom closet by our team, or being held prisoner by an insane Museum guard with a gun. The time delays, like the Merry-Go-Round clue for our team, had been a costly one. This clue was not one of their finer moments.
But, even these sad tales and bleeding wounds were healed, as drinks were poured, food was ordered and sorrowful tales of the day were turn into laughter and jibs among good friends. But there were still more surprises to come.
As to the awards, the Chris and Lisa presented the teams with the following:
Team "Insanity, Inc." took home the Golden Bowl Award, filled with chocolate.
Along with "All" the bragging rights
Team "Triple Threat" took home the "Silver Horse Award, which Treasure and I
presented to "KyNurse" as a momentoes of her first hunt.
Team "Stash Seekers" was awarded the Pewter Chinese "Foo Dog" which they
very kindly presented to me, after I admired it,
or perhaps for my kindness in helping them during the game.
Team "Snorks" did not leave empty handed either. To them went
the Bronze Flying Pig award. Which they accepted,
graciously, while in the same breath vowing to crush
anyone that stood in their way … "Next Time."
Lisa Duty and Chris Dove informed us, that they were very impressed with all of us for just completing the hunt; since it would be equivalent of "Day One" in the "Great Virginia Hunt." A two day race that Ravenchase Adventures puts on only for advanced level players of the game. I still have my own hopes of running that race one day and winning. I for one feel, no one can ever have enough "Tacky Statues" in their home.
Lisa then surprised us with a very special and unexpected gift. Not from her, but from Genworth Financial, the company that backed and supported the series "Treasure Hunters" on NBC.
One of their Executives from their home office had taken notice of all our postings about the Lexington Hunt, on the NBC Boards, and had secret contacted Lisa at Ravenchase Adventures. For our support of the series, he sent everyone promotional posters for the show.
I personally had been looking for one of these posters on EBay since the series ended, all without success, so I was especially touched by Genworth's unexpected kindness towards us.
The second gift came from the Museum in Lexington, who seemed so tickled pink, about their exhibit being used as a focal point within the hunt; that they sent over huge information packets about the museum to us at the restaurant. Just in case we wanted to return and tour all the exhibits, at speeds somewhat less then a hundred and ninety miles an hour.
And our final gift, to come, did come from Ravenchase Adventures. To commemorate our special day, Lisa was arranging to have special T-Shirts made up for us all to mark the event. For the price we paid, Ravenchase Adventures gave wonderful value, if not more, to make our adventure special, I really do think they under value their services.
The party wore on at the restaurant for over three hours, until out of pity we allowed Chris, Lisa and the other actors for the day, to hit the road, while there was still a hint of daylight for them to see their long journey home to Richmond. They were like part of our family by then, and we were reluctant to let any of them go.
The rest of us headed back to the KOA Campsite to party late into the night and enjoy our final treat of the day, J15Bell's "Legendary" home made Chili.
This Chili was one of the biggest hits and highlights at the Harpers Ferry Hunt last year. And even though Treasure's brother was not there that weekend, once he learned about the chili coming to the festivities, he insisted his sister bring him home at least a bucket load of J15Bell's chili.
Our final adventures of the day, our over exaggerations of events, our gentle jibs to each other and the laughter with good friends was worthy of any campfire that night.
It was a glorious Hunt, that day in Lexington; A Perfect Hunt. So, thank you Chris Dove, Lisa Duty, the entire staff of Ravenchase Adventures and to the Town of Lexington, Virginia for putting up with our small evasion force. I think I speak for all of us involved, when I say that we hope to see you all again very, very soon.
Sincerely Yours,
" Rassilon "-- Team Triple Threat
A.K.A Geoff Wynkoop
*** One Final NOTE: ***My train, seemingly "Lost" in the wilds of Virginia, frequently took it upon itself to attempt every variation of speed possible conceived by man, from the full out racing of the engine, to a complete and utter standstill, dead in the middle of nowhere, never once maintaining any of these peculiar speeds for long. But, finally, lurching to a stop, (or perhaps finally breaking down from exhaustion,) my train arrived at the western edge of Virginia, at the tiny hamlet of Clifton Forge. I had arrived for the second gathering of the NBC "Treasure Hunters" Annual Hunt.
Our hostess and original creator of this event, Whitney, better known to everyone on the NBC Boards as "Trsrhuntr", or "Treasure" for short, came along with our mutual good friend "KyNurse," to collect me from the station and drive me the last forty miles to Lexington.
Lexington, Virginia, I will state freely, is a fantastically beautiful College town. It is the home of Washington & Lee University, and filled with manicured Parks, History and Buildings that can be traced back to the beginnings of both the Civil and Revolutionary wars. But, if there is one glowing and notable problem with the village itself, it is … "You just can't get there from here."
No train service, no bus service to speak of, and the nearest airport, was 52 miles away. Perhaps, the inaccessibility to the town is what truly preserves its beauty from the ravages of any would be modern developer. No one can get to there, without a car, or a lot of single minded determination to do so.
Whitney, perfect gem that she is, had planned everything to a tee for this event. Ravenchase would arrive the next morning at 10 Am. The Hunt was to be, by her own insistence, an "Intermediate to Advanced Level Hunt," especially designed for us by Lisa Duty "The Ravenchase Junkie" herself and her "Too Clever by half " coconspirator in crime, Chris Dove, their resident Codeilogist .
Lisa Duty and Chris Dove had already proven their talents to me, during the last Philadelphia Hunt I was on. And they had already delivered to our doorsteps such a mind blowing "starter clue" for the event, that it left many of us, after twelve hours, of code cracking, searching our medicine cabinets for the "Ex-strength" Aspirin.
But, we at last, had our starting location somewhere on the beautiful Campus of Washington & Lee, and we also had our assembled teams, as well as our team monikers all carefully chosen.
Team "Insanity, Inc." was headed by "J15bell," her daughter "Reggie" and "Sluggy."
Team "The SNORKS" was headed by "Flidais," Flitterbit" and "Ishop2buy"
Team "Triple Threat" was headed by "Trsrhuntr", "KyNurse" and myself, "Rassilon"
Team "Stash Seekers" was headed by "Jfray" and the lovely "Lady Diane"
Our old friend, Jacob, from NBC's Treasure Hunters "Team Ex-CIA," was to have joined us again for the hunt this weekend, as he done in Harpers Ferry. But, at the last minute, problems arose between him and the contractors of the house he is building, so it prevented his joining us.
Jacob was to be the third member of The Stash Seekers, running with his friends, Jfray and Diane, who bravely pressed on, as a two person team.
The first order of business was a Reunion dinner. Two weeks before, Treasure had sent out special invitations to all of us attending, and appropriately, the invitation was also in sent in code.
Break the cipher and you had the name of the restaurant in Lexington. Where all of us who had arrived by 6 pm, would meet, share a glass of cheer, a good meal, and to swap remembrances of our last hunt in Harpers Ferry. It was very good chance to see old friends again, and after my long train ride, I shamelessly wolfed down everything on my plate that was placed before me.
The party broke up around 8:00 PM, as we headed back to our campsite at the KOA in Natural Bridge. Those of you, who have read my write up of the Harpers Ferry Hunt, will remember my particular "warm and fuzzy" thoughts on the KOA and their amenities, but I have to confess I liked the Natural Bridge setting, much better.
Nestled among a pine forest, the trees offered welcome relief from the heat of the day with its gentle shade. Treasure and KY, who had come down two days earlier, were wonderful. They had worked out with the owners of the KOA to have small gift baskets they had both made for us placed in each of our cabins. The baskets were filled with such items as card of greeting, flowers, soap, washcloth, a small bottle of Jim Beam ( which I assumed was in case of snake bite. ) There was also a handful of Gold Plastic Doubloons, to remind us we were on a Treasure Hunt this weekend. Even as I type this, I have several of those Doubloons on my desk before me; A few small momentoes of my weekend.
The girls had, for the last two days, been especially worried for our hunt that weekend, because dark rain clouds seem to hover exactly over the KOA. It was an ominous omen in their mind. But, I can tell you the day of the hunt was perfectly beautiful.
Of the KOA site, if there was one thing that Treasure truly missed not having at this particular campsite, it was the giant fire pit that we had at the Harpers Ferry.
You will recall from my last report that Treasure's brother, who was in charge of the fire pit, tried his "very" best to burn down half the camp. I suspect that pyromania, "Runs", if not "Gallops," throughout her entire family and that was why Treasure was so melancholy that evening, while she talked about the loss of the fire pit.
More drinks were the order of the day at Treasure and KY's cabin, once we were all settled in. And while the stars came out and danced above us, the girls filled us in on their many adventures over the last two days, which include their daily ritual of prayers to the local Rain Gods of Lexington, to hold off until after the hunt was over. Their visits into Lexington to check out its history and such quaint local haunts as, Foam Henge, which is Virginia's own full size replica of England's Stone Henge, only made entirely out of Styrofoam.
There was also the local ELVIS inspire haute' cuisine of the "Pink Cadillac" Restaurant, where we were strongly cautioned ahead of time, that you if order their morning oatmeal, you could very effectively mortar bricks with it. The restaurant's management also possessed the strangest of attitudes, as they will more than proudly point out a sign stating "If You Don't Like The Way I Do Business…Buy Me out!!!"
Sensibly, around 10:30 I polished off my last drink and wandered away to bed, leaving the "Ladies" to gossip and "Men Bash" without me as the possible surrogate target of their pointed jibs. I wanted a clear headed and to be sharp for the morning's Hunt.
Saturday - June 16th, 2007 – THE HUNT!
10:00 Am the next morning, our caravan of would-be adventurers descended upon the unsuspecting town of Lexington, and in particular the central campus of Washington & Lee University.
The meeting place according to Ravenchase's first coded email, was to be in front of the statue of Cyrus McCormick, the inventor of the first working harvest Reaper. The Statue other than a simple meeting place for our gathering, had absolutely nothing to do with our clues, or hunt that day; so, I believe Ravenchase will forgive me for mentioning this one gathering point.
With Treasure and Ky having the lay of the land, our team "Triple Threat" arrived at the statue first. Team "Insanity, Inc" arrived second, all of them wearing their team jerseys, which only made Treasure a bit sad, because she had made up a Team Jersey as well. But my own last minute presence threw a large monkey wrench into her intended plans.
Originally, Trsrhuntr and KYNurse had planned to run the race as a double team, having chosen as their Team name as "Double Trouble." But, with the last minute addition of my name to the team roster, she couldn't wear her new t-shirt.
I admit, it was a beautiful T-Shirt, having a map of Lexington with the Team's name on the one side, and on the reverse was the Team's "Motto" emblazoned across the back, in a large menacing "Barbwire font" saying:
"TRAMPLE THE WEAK!
HURDLE THE
DYING!!!"
Needless to say, Treasure did at least have her "Game Face" on that weekend.
The first to arrive from Ravenchase Adventures was Chris Dove, carrying the now famous Red Treasure Chest; containing all our clues and whatever else we might need for the hunt. Lisa Duty, who was off making a few last moment final preparations, arrived about ten minutes later. Teams STASH SEEKERS and The SNORKS, brought up the rear having had problems finding a parking place for their vehicles.
After signing the usual legal waivers, stating that "Should any of us be Caught, Captured, or Killed… The President of Ravenchase will disavow any knowledge of our involvement with their fine organization." Chris and Lisa then presented us with the general overview of the Hunt that day.
First, we might encounter several actors that day. They will only interact with us "If" we decipher the clues correctly and perform certain actions, or ask certain questions. (This pleased me enormously, as this was the first hunt where I personally got to interact with Ravenchase actors. I had read about them on the internet, but this was a first)
Secondly, we were to be given six clue sheets, and a map, but somewhere among them was a "red herring" that was designed to lead us astray. Also, Among the pages given to us there would be one page that would appear to be complete balderdash & gibberish to our eyes, and its true purpose would only become apparent when we reached one of the secret locals. ( my interest was tweaked, and my code solving senses were already tingling --- Gads, shades of Spiderman. )
No gadgets would be given out today, because all that we might require could be found along the way today. --- ( This was an odd statement, but I took note of it in the back of my mind.)
Lisa then handed out our clue scrolls, as Chris made note of the exact time on his clip board and we were off!
Clues, Panic & Aggravation for Breakfast
Treasure, as team leader, opened the clue scrolls and read our first clue. There were no codes to solve on this first page, but poetically it spoke of solemn ground and a grave of one. I think from all our advanced research of the town, Treasure, Kynurse and I, all got the first clue at once, and quickly vanished from the scene, leaving the other teams to read and ponder over their own clues.
In short order, our Team arrived at the grave of "The One," to read the stone marker. Our first guess had been this might be a location for one of the hidden gold coins, or perhaps yet another clue scroll, as our own clue did not ask us to solve anything, just to locate the friend of the man buried there.
If there was a surprise to be had for us, it was in finding, Lisa Duty, there waiting for us with her camera. She was quietly clicking off archive shots for Ravenchase's files. I think even she was a bit surprised how quickly we had arrive upon the spot.
A swift search of the area, revealed the named of the man we wanted, but again, our research before hand, had revealed the fact that "the friend" we were searching for was in a part of a mausoleum closed now to the public for renovations. It was obvious that this was the "Red Herring" clue. Lisa seemed enormously pleased that we had caught on so quickly.
Turning to the next clue, our team was off again across campus in search of our next location, which involved finding the Information Hall.
This was one of my favorite clue of the day, because it was so vague and simple, it confounded nearly every team. The teams were all literally tripping over one another, as we all seem to converge upon the same spot at once.
The clue spoke of the entrance doors and doors within, Polybius, a number and the ultimate search for "Nothing." If this sounds confusing, it was; which is what made the clue so wonderful. It could be interpreted so many ways.
Inside the Information Hall, we were face with at least six doors leading to everything from the bathroom, to a visitors' sign-in room. And to confuse things more, there were dozens upon dozens of photos on every wall showing various local historical buildings and their front doors. In another room hung locally made paneled Quilts decorated with buildings and doors on them as well. But, which door did the clue refer to???
Treasure noticed in one of the alcove rooms, there were framed photos of recommended business on the wall. All of them carefully numbered. Next to one of the plaques, was a big "nothing" open spot where one of the plaques had been removed. Sensing this was a clue Treasure ran off to put the female receptionist in a headlock, and "gently" persuade the woman, into telling her what originally had hung in that open spot.
My own foolish idea came, when I spotted among the brochure rack, a folder with a Raven logo on it. Thinking this would be a wonderfully brilliant place to hide a clue; I opened it only to discovered it was really nothing more than a brochure for one of the local caterers.
Team Snorks confess to me later, their own foolish idea came, when they noticed the courtesy phone in the corner of the alcove, which allowed visitors to speed dial local businesses for reservations.
Thinking this might be what the mysterious number related to, they dialed the number and when the voice on the other end answered, they asked if they could speak to "Mr. Polybius." The answer they received was not worth repeating.
I have spoken in some of my previous posts of how serendipity sometimes comes into play during the Ravenchase Adventure games. It was while I was pondering over the meaning of the doors; I happened to glance through a window and found myself looking at "The Door" and in an instant understood the full meaning of the Polybius reference. Quickly pointing this out to Kynurse, we ran to gather Treasure up, who still held the poor Receptionist in a headlock.
Apologizing to the bewildered woman for our ill manners, we stayed only long enough to grab a few local maps and brochures from the racks, and then quickly slipped from the scene, as the other teams had their backs to us. A few blocks away, we soon stood before "The Door."
Now that we found "The Door," all we had to do was figure out the meaning of "The Nothing." Here, I will give credit, where credit was due, I may have found the door, but it was the sharp eyes of my angel, Kynurse, who discovered what the meaning of the Nothing was. For a first timer on the hunt, she did the team proud.
We had the Nothing, as well as the numbers associated with the Nothing, all I had to do was figure out how to apply them to the code printed on the bottom of the page. For this, I needed time to think.
At this junction, I will add a small note about the dynamics of a team. First it is a learning experience in understanding and patience. Ravenchase staff members, Kristine and Robert Jenner, spoke about this in a recent article, for Time Off Magazine. In the article they talked of their first Ravenchase experience, before joining the staff.
"We fought like crazy at first --- "No we need to go this way, no that way" --- but we learned our strengths and weaknesses. It was something we really bonded over. --- Although, I would not recommend it for a first time date…."
For Treasure, Kynurse and myself, this was our first time date together as a team, and we were not without our few "momentary" problems.
I was trying to decode "The Nothing" code while Treasure, who was fearful about losing possession of the clue sheets, twice snatched the page away from me, forcing me to snatch it back, until I could fully copy the code out on to my work sheets.
Poor Kynurse, who I love dearly, looked terribly alienated from the team at this point, as Treasure and I bickered over the wisdom of moving on to the next clue or standing perfectly still, until I had unraveled the mystery of the code. ( Actually I think the look KY truly gave us, was that of a mother who wanted to knock her horrible children's heads together to get us to straighten up and fly right. Which, we finally did.)
But before I leave this subject, let me openly apologize to both my teammates and tell them that I do cherish them both and ask them to forgive me for possessing the typical pigheadedness of a male, who had run too many of these races alone.
I had forgotten, for a moment, that Treasure was our elected Captain and as such had the deciding vote in all matter, and as for input, none of us were less equal than other. So Ky and Treasure, I apologize to you both. Please forgive me.
"THE EYES HAVE IT"
While I was pondering the "Nothing" code, we voted to move on to what I call the "Eyes Have It," or clue #4. The clue spoke of finding one of Virginia's favorite sons and look upon what he saw with disdain. The park in which the statue lay, according to the guide maps, was not too far away so, we as a team, were off again.
The statue was impressive in its detail, and would not be the first we would encounter that day, but what was far more impressive was discovering Lisa Duty and Chris Dove were now both skulking near by in the bushes with their cameras on the ready again. --- Just who was following who, we wondered?
For a moment, I thought I had discovered one of the Ravenchase gold coins at the base of the statue, but it turned out sadly to be only a gold military button some passing visitor had left behind as a tribute.
Treasure in the meantime had aligned herself with the tip of the statue's nose and simply walked out in a straight line, until she discover what he was looking at with distain. There she found a plastic bag with our next clue, a photograph with the eyes punched out.
Neither Treasure, or Ky understood what the photograph was, but I did on sight and suddenly our Balderdash page, or Clue #5 made perfect sense to me. As I aligned the Photograph to the page, I must say, I was deeply impressed with Lisa Duty's talents as a Graphic Artist. I haven't the slightest idea how she was able to set up the page up so precisely, but it did make me laugh, as I spelled out the cryptic letters, Ky watched over my shoulder and Treasure by my side wrote the letters down.
We were a team again and the words gave us the location in the park for the first quarter of our final clue. We were feeling very good at this point, especially me, as I had also finally figured out the "Nothing" clue and we had our next location, which our team boldly headed off for.
SEE WHAT DEVELOPS
Leaving the park behind us, we headed down the street towards the center of town again. But, coming the opposite way, we spotted Team Snorks heading up the hill. Both teams politely flashed them that bright warm wonderful and even "slightly sincere" smile, then weakly lied and said, "No, we haven't found anything yet either… maybe you'll do better than us!" Needless to say we picked up the pace a step, or two, as they passed us.
The Nothing clue sent us to garden in the center of town, with nothing more than this to go on, I assumed we were searching for a gold coin again, as I knew from a previous hunts, clues can sometimes simply say, "Search the Shelter." Never mind that the shelter happens to be as big as a barn.
The garden clue left me with the same feelings and we blindly began to search among the benches, trellises and flower beds. I even began looking under the public trashcans, just in case. All this caught the eye of a local man, who was sitting, with his camera, on a near by bench.
Asking what we up to, we apologized and explained that before he calls the Police on us, we were apart of a Ravenchase Adventure hunt in search of a clue. He laughed and asked if he could take our picture for his records, since he was out shooting that day in the park.
Gathering the team together, we flashed him our pearly whites and he snapped our picture. Then reaching into his pocket for what I thought would be a business card, he instead handed us a plastic film canister with a Latin phrase wrapped around it; offering us the advice… "See what Develops" --- We had discovered our first actor of the day and our next clue.
Stalking the Stalkers
As a team, we were feeling pretty good and pretty full about now, as the morning coffee was passing through us all at a tremendous rate. We voted for a bathroom break to restore peace and order to our thoughts. As the restaurant, where we held our reunion party the previous evening was near, the choice was obvious.
Opening the door of the bistro, we stepped in and came, once again, face to face with Lisa Duty and her camera. She was now sitting alone at the Bar. ( What can I say, this woman "really" gets around.) But, who was Stalking who???
Going downstairs to the Lavatories, I open the men's room door and discovered Chris Dove there. (Ok, I now felt like a Stalker, as well as a Voyeur.) We both laughed and several minutes later, when I was feeling more relaxed, I rejoined Treasure and Ky and together we examined the roll of film.
Having, cruelly, been forced by my own parents back in High School to take German, instead of Latin, the instructions were meaningless to me. But, the examination of the film roll showed that it contained Paper and not film inside, so that meant it was a water clue. I had encountered these before on several hunts and knew what to do.
Reaching in my Indiana Jones Bag hanging by my side, I pulled out a small container of water and sprayed the paper. The message appeared before our eyes. It said we were to locate a particular woman and sing to her.
At this, Ky nearly leaped out of her skin, because she said, she had spotted the very woman we were looking for near the garden we had just come from. --- We bounded off in search of the mysterious woman, leaving Chris and Lisa at the bar, to finish their ice teas.
Looking in all directions outside, we spotted our quarry, window-shopping near the upper end of the block. We charged down upon her, as Teddy Roosevelt might have charged up San Juan Hill. Treasure, reaching her first, asked if the woman if she had anything for us? To which the woman curtly replied, "I don't know, do you have anything for me???"
Treasure's eyes narrowed and her upper lip twitched as her "Game Face" reappeared. Fearing she was about to do something rash, like put another woman in a headlock, I leapt into action. If you can ever call singing a leap of action?
Plucking forth my very best Bathroom Baritone, I immediately launched into a light reframe from, "Man of La Mancha," that would have done any Wagnerian Opera House proud.
"Hear me, heathens and wizards
And serpents of sin!
All your dastardly doings are past,
For a holy endeavor is now to begin
And virtue shall triumph at last! "
Before I could embark on what I felt was the best part, namely the second verse; the woman whipped out a clue scroll from her pocket with lighting speed, placed it squarely into my hand. (Though there was a moment, I was not uncertain that her original sighted target was my mouth, to stay my wagging tongue. ) I suspected in her former life, the woman was secretly a Music Critic for the Richmond Post.
But, at least I did make Ky giggle and Treasure liked my singing enough to request an encore that night back at the KOA. But, I wasn't quite drunk enough at that point to do it again.
Treasure took charge of the scroll, and this clue instructed us to go in search of whales at one of the local shops.
As we search the store fronts, for the right store, I briefly thought of Chris and Lisa back at the bar, as I noticed a store devoted entirely to Scottish Kilts and finery. Chris and Lisa, I knew from past conversations, used to like to show up at the Ravenchase Hunts wearing their kilts; when they themselves were on the other side of the game.
Finally locating the correct store front; we entered the shop and approached the sales counter. There, we were almost immediately rebuffed by the shop girl, who told us in no uncertain terms, that she had instructed "Never, even under the Pain or threat of Death, or Destruction" was she "ever" to divulge any information that would aid us in our quest.
From the confused, if not dumbfounded pout on Treasure's face, I could tell another head-locking experience had yet again been avoided. Treasure looked slightly more than disappointed, by this news. --- I personally suspect she and her brother must have grown up watching far too much World Federation Wrestling on TV, which has left her marked for life.
Fortunately, despite this minor set back, within minutes, we had discovered the cryptic meaning of the whales and what was hidden among them. We now had the Second quarter of our final clue. We were half way home.
The Merry-go-round
Outside the store again, our team recheck our bearings and our clues once more, before heading back onto the Campus of Washington & Lee, in search of Clue number #3. A clue, which I could only best describe to you as, the Merry-Go-Round.
We were starting to pound quite a lot of shoe leather at this point and even I was getting punchy from scanning every local for signs of a clue, or possible glint of a gold coin. I started grasping at straws.
Half way across campus, I spotted a Raven perched on a lonely stone wall and remembering in the Harpers Ferry, Joshua Czarda, had use a stuffed Raven to mark a clue location, my hopes rose. As I was about to make a beeline for it, my clue marker suddenly took wing and flew away.
We didn't spot a clue at the wall, but we did spot something else. Team "Stash Seekers," about a hundred yards ahead of us, apparently heading for the same location we were.
As a team, we immediately went into our stealthy Cloak & Dagger mode, slipping from tree to tree, following closely and keeping a close eye on what Jfray and Lady Diane were up to.
They were indeed heading for the same spot as we were, one of the taller four sided monuments on campus. What surprised us most was, that they stopped at the monument only for a minute before moving on, so we quickly took advantage of this situation and appropriated the monument for ourselves.
This clue was a multi-tiered cipher. To solve the code, we had to gather information from all four sides of the monument. Not an easy tasks, as this sent us spinning around the monument at least twelve times to decode it in order, much like a merry-go-round.
When the ride ended, it only provided us with the code key we needed, which we then needed to apply to the cipher on the back of the page. The problem lay in the fact that the code key could be interpreted in several different ways. While our team was scratching its collective heads over the problem, two other teams arrive at the site of the monument. Team SNORKS and the reappearance of The Stash Seekers again.
All the teams looked up and flashed that bright "Wintery" smile to one another, that was perhaps only last seen during the winter of 1846, when the "Donner Party" all smiled, just as warmly, at their neighbors, and collectively, fingered their knives.
I think everyone realized at this stage of the game, that this clue could be the tie-breaker. All the groups settle back and set to work, still eyeing each other for indications of clues, or signs of which of us had cracked it first.
I ran the code three ways, but the first part of the message always looked confused. So I suggested to Treasure, to quietly to text message Chris at the number he gave us in case of trouble and ask if there was a problem with the code.
A few minutes later, the text answer came back saying, "No." What we thought were a jumble of letters, was in fact a person's name. Checking one of the pamphlets we took from the Information Hall, we scouted the name and saw that we were in search of yet another on-campus garden.
I think it was at the beginning of this article, I mentioned that Lexington has "Lots" of beautifully manicured lawns and gardens. ---- In fact, it appears if there is one growing Cottage Industry within Lexington, Virginia; it is its history. And, of course, the manufacture and placement of monuments and gardens dedicated to that history.
No one walking around this town could possibly swing a preverbal dead cat, without hitting something historical. I live in Philadelphia, the home and birth place of the American Revolution, Ben Franklin, the Liberty Bell and even I don't think we have "THIS" many monuments.
To get to the garden, our team decided to play sneaky. Ky and Treasure went on ahead, while I remained behind and went over to the monument and gave JFray and Diane a hand.
I notice that they seemed to be on their twentieth ride around on the Merry-Go-Round and they both looked a little dizzy. Deciding to level the playing field a bit, I remained only long enough to give them a hint how to read the monument, before slipping quietly away myself. The other were still at work.
Five minutes later, our team had found the garden and hidden among my oldest and most notorious "Nemesis" of all time, commonly known as "Garden Ivy," we located the third quarter of our last clue. We were now in the home stretch seeking our final section.
The Home Stretch
Clue #6 was my personal favorite of all the clues of that day, a three layer clue unlike anything I had previously encountered. Part one was a poem that directed us to one of the three museums on campus. Once inside, the poem directed us to one particular exhibit. And from a single object within the exhibit, we would able to decipher the second part of the clue.
As we arrived at the museum, the place appeared closed, but a kind fellow sitting outside the front door reading his text book, assured us that the museum was indeed open and we were welcome to go inside. For us, the air conditioning inside was a welcome relief from the heat of the day and rejuvenating to our grey cells.
Searching several rooms over, we spotted the glass case describe in the clue and what lay inside, nearly caused me laugh out loud. The exhibit was devoted to devices used by the Allied Forces during World War II for the art of Cryptology and Ciphers.
I could just imagine Lisa and Chris laughing as well, when they first stood there and discovered this display. What could be more perfect for a race involving coding breaking than to lead everyone to this display?
I now understood what Lisa now meant by, "everything we might need, could be found along the way." The only question remaining was which of the six cipher disks in the case, was the one we needed to decode the message? It was a weighty problem, but we set to work.
Four minutes later, we heard the sound of the front door opening, followed by some familiar voices within the foyer speaking to one of the Museum staff. Team Snorks had arrived on the scene.
At this point, I will pause to add a small note personal note on Code Solving, for those Would-be-Adventures that are reading this, and would seek to follow in our hollowed footsteps.
Code Solving… is not as easy as it looks. --- Especially when you have two, however charming, female companions, taking turns slapping you against the soft spot on the back of your skull every few seconds, telling you to "Hurry up," because the other team was arriving on the scene. --- Rather "Distracting," don't you know.
The situation now calls for desperate measures. (If only to stop Treasure and Ky from beating on the back of my skull.) Suspecting the code was a simple shift; I copied the first two words down on my work sheet and preformed a brute force on the code, until two words in English appeared. I had the solution to the shift and we had to get out of there. We were gone before any of the others discovered us, or the display case.
Outside the Museum, I wanted nothing more than to sit down on the front steps and finish my decoding of the second part of the message. But, Treasure, who seemed to be exhibiting signs of full out Paranoia, because the proximity of other teams, insisted that we remove ourselves from the area, as quickly as possible. So, for the next minute and a half, KY and I chased Treasure about, until she found a group of bushes that matched her comfort level and that could hide us all.
Here I will add a second personal observation, concerning Code Solving for those Would-be-Adventurers that follow us:
It is quite "Impossible," I assure you, to decipher any Coded Message, unless you "actually" have the message in your hands.
All during the time we were chasing Treasure about, in search of her safe haven, she still possessed a lobster's grip on the original clue sheet I needed. It wasn't until we were all safely behind the bushes, that I was finally able to retrieve the clue sheet and translate it. The clue told us to seek a statue, for within his hand lay the keyword to the last the clue.
Perhaps it was serendipity at work again, or perhaps Treasure's bout of paranoia was suddenly more than justified by the fates that watched over us; but strangely, as we looked up from the clue; the place Treasure had chose to hide, was only thirty feet from the very statue in question.
As we approached it, we all noted the figure seemed to be actually holding two objects in his hands, not one. And we openly debated among ourselves, as to which of the two words were needed for the code.
It was during this open debate, that the fellow who had been reading outside of the museum, quietly appeared by our sides and offered his own opinion of which word was need.
Smiling, he then asked if we had ever heard of a Vigenere Cipher Grid, producing a small grid sheet from his pocket. --- We had found our third Actor of the day and the last of our needed gadgets.
I chuckled, as I pulled out my own full size version of the Vigenere Grid and showed it to him. Like my Indiana Jones bag, the Vigenere grid, is also something I have learned never to leave home without, especially when on a Ravenchase Adventure.
Thanking him for his help, we withdrew to a shaded veranda nearby, where we could sit down and deciphered the last part of the message in comfort.
At this point, I am proud to say, our team was at last working like a well oiled machine again. I set up the keyword and the text. KY reading it out to me, while I ran the grid, and Treasure wrote down the letters I translated. In two minutes flat, we had the entire message. And even though it was an odd one, it did make us smile. We were to find the reading man again and give him "The Magic Word".
What was the Magic word???? I am not telling, but we all delivered it in chorus and in true "Southern" Style, that would have made anyone from the town of Mayberry swell their chests with pride.
The reading man, whose name we later learned was named David, laughed at our southern antics and from the back pages of his book, produced the final quarter of our missing clue; The clue that would tell us what restaurant to meet at and cross the finish line.
Seeking the Stars
Using Scotch tape from my bag, again something any would-be Adventurer should never leave home without, we put the four quarters of our clue together and read the poem. It suggested a place found within the town, and that we were to, search for the Stars above and remember never to overlook the Treasures that lay forgotten beneath our feet.
Sounds very poetic, but these are my words, not Ravenchase's. I promised, Chris and Lisa, I would not reveal the solution to the puzzle, in the event they reused this clue again, but the words do suggest what we were actually given.
The final clue was another three tiered puzzle. And with warp speed, we kicked it into hyper drive and were on our way, without so much of a hint of other teams following us.
Our self confidence was riding high, as we headed back to town in search of the stars. As we went along, in review, we reflected upon our own current odds of winning that race.
We had left Team Snorks in the Museum and they had yet to emerge to seek the statue, before we left for town. Team Stash Seekers, we assumed were at least five minutes behind The Snorks, so they should be in the Museum by now as well, perhaps still working with the cipher disks.
So we jointly estimated that we were at least fifteen minutes ahead of the pack. Then Treasure and Ky brought up a very good, if not unnerving point. Just where "WAS" J15Bell's and her Team, Insanity, Inc???
No one among us had seen their team since the start of the race. We openly began to worry that the heat, the exercise, or perhaps the puzzles had been too much for her team and they had simply given up.
We recalled that on the previous evening that all the heavy smoke in the restaurant had made it hard for her to breath. So much so, that she left the party early. These sympatric feelings of sorrow for J15Bell and her team were commendable to our kind spirits and to our credit, but they would have perhaps, in the end, actually been better spent upon ourselves.
As we arrived in center of town, who should we see just thirty yards ahead of us, but Team Insanity, Inc. entering a local bistro and sauntering across the finishing line ahead of us.
Apparently they had done all of the clues we had done, only in reverse. The hardest ones first, and the easier ones last. That is why our paths had never crossed.
In that moment, our team felt like the favored horse at the Kentucky Derby, who in the last moment is squarely beaten by the dark horse out of nowhere.
But, also strangely I must admit, I also had the deepest admiration for what Team Insanity, Inc had done. Especially, after I stupidly remembered, J15Bell and her friend Sluggy, both love doing nothing better, than to stay up all night long working on logic puzzles, they find on the internet. --- We had been Snookered, but good. But, as a team we pressed on. We had lost the Gold, but there was still the Silver to be won.
We located the Stars the poem spoke of, and there at our feet, lay an answer to our riddle. And that only required a little help from our old friend Polybius to solve. Eight minutes later and, of course, behind Team Insanity, Inc, we cross the finish line. ---- Now, the real "nail biting" began for both our teams.
Neither J15Bell's team, nor our own team, had found any of the Gold Coins hidden along the route. A single gold coin, worth twenty minutes off our time, showing up now, could change the order of the race and erase everything both our teams had accomplished.
Both teams sat silently, watching the wall clock over the bar as the minutes ticked slowly by. Twenty minutes later, both teams audibly breathed a heavy sigh of relief, as finally our hands shot up in unison, for the waitresses to begin taking our orders for drinks, as well as some much needed food. The knots in our collective stomachs were gone now.
As our food began to arrive at the table, the last of the teams started to cross the finish line, Team Stash Seekers surprised both groups, by being the next to arrive. We had all been certain it would be The Snorks, since they had been so closely on our heels at the Museum.
I found out later from Flidais, that her team The Snorks had gotten hopeless entangled within the museum, attempting to figure out how to use the Ciphers Disks in the display case.
So much so, that David, our reading man from outside the building, had become worried and abandoned his post to check on them. If only to assure himself that they had not been tied up in a broom closet by our team, or being held prisoner by an insane Museum guard with a gun. The time delays, like the Merry-Go-Round clue for our team, had been a costly one. This clue was not one of their finer moments.
But, even these sad tales and bleeding wounds were healed, as drinks were poured, food was ordered and sorrowful tales of the day were turn into laughter and jibs among good friends. But there were still more surprises to come.
As to the awards, the Chris and Lisa presented the teams with the following:
Team "Insanity, Inc." took home the Golden Bowl Award, filled with chocolate.
Along with "All" the bragging rights
Team "Triple Threat" took home the "Silver Horse Award, which Treasure and I
presented to "KyNurse" as a momentoes of her first hunt.
Team "Stash Seekers" was awarded the Pewter Chinese "Foo Dog" which they
very kindly presented to me, after I admired it,
or perhaps for my kindness in helping them during the game.
Team "Snorks" did not leave empty handed either. To them went
the Bronze Flying Pig award. Which they accepted,
graciously, while in the same breath vowing to crush
anyone that stood in their way … "Next Time."
Lisa Duty and Chris Dove informed us, that they were very impressed with all of us for just completing the hunt; since it would be equivalent of "Day One" in the "Great Virginia Hunt." A two day race that Ravenchase Adventures puts on only for advanced level players of the game. I still have my own hopes of running that race one day and winning. I for one feel, no one can ever have enough "Tacky Statues" in their home.
Lisa then surprised us with a very special and unexpected gift. Not from her, but from Genworth Financial, the company that backed and supported the series "Treasure Hunters" on NBC.
One of their Executives from their home office had taken notice of all our postings about the Lexington Hunt, on the NBC Boards, and had secret contacted Lisa at Ravenchase Adventures. For our support of the series, he sent everyone promotional posters for the show.
I personally had been looking for one of these posters on EBay since the series ended, all without success, so I was especially touched by Genworth's unexpected kindness towards us.
The second gift came from the Museum in Lexington, who seemed so tickled pink, about their exhibit being used as a focal point within the hunt; that they sent over huge information packets about the museum to us at the restaurant. Just in case we wanted to return and tour all the exhibits, at speeds somewhat less then a hundred and ninety miles an hour.
And our final gift, to come, did come from Ravenchase Adventures. To commemorate our special day, Lisa was arranging to have special T-Shirts made up for us all to mark the event. For the price we paid, Ravenchase Adventures gave wonderful value, if not more, to make our adventure special, I really do think they under value their services.
The party wore on at the restaurant for over three hours, until out of pity we allowed Chris, Lisa and the other actors for the day, to hit the road, while there was still a hint of daylight for them to see their long journey home to Richmond. They were like part of our family by then, and we were reluctant to let any of them go.
The rest of us headed back to the KOA Campsite to party late into the night and enjoy our final treat of the day, J15Bell's "Legendary" home made Chili.
This Chili was one of the biggest hits and highlights at the Harpers Ferry Hunt last year. And even though Treasure's brother was not there that weekend, once he learned about the chili coming to the festivities, he insisted his sister bring him home at least a bucket load of J15Bell's chili.
Our final adventures of the day, our over exaggerations of events, our gentle jibs to each other and the laughter with good friends was worthy of any campfire that night.
It was a glorious Hunt, that day in Lexington; A Perfect Hunt. So, thank you Chris Dove, Lisa Duty, the entire staff of Ravenchase Adventures and to the Town of Lexington, Virginia for putting up with our small evasion force. I think I speak for all of us involved, when I say that we hope to see you all again very, very soon.
Sincerely Yours,
" Rassilon "-- Team Triple Threat
A.K.A Geoff Wynkoop
During this dissertation, I have cruelly for the sake of good story telling, and with a wicked sense of humor, been shamelessly Lampooning my Teammate and my good friend, Whitney , a.k.a. "Treasure".
Whitney is not in real life, like I have presented her. She truly a treasure of the heart, and I love her and her family dearly.
So I would like to make it perfectly clear to all readers that she is "Not" nor ever has been a pyromaniac. She even gave up smoking recently.
Nor at any time during the race, did she ever put anyone in a head-lock, other then metaphorically speaking. I am not entirely sure she even likes Wrestling.
She is also not Paranoid, or beats on my head in frustration, but she doed encouragem me often to work faster. So, she is "Competitive" and Loves to win. ---But then of course, don't we all.
I wrote this review in the spirit of love and fun, through the eyes of a man that tends to look at this world around us at oblique angles. And sees humor even in our defeat.
It was written in order to please and delight the reader, and allow them to feel that they had traveled in our footsteps that day and experiencing all the fun, frustration and excitement that a Ravenchase Adventure can bring.
So I humbly ask, and beg Whitney to forgive me for playing tongue and cheek with her, and ask her to only remember the Love I have for her.
You are the true heart of our team Whitney. Our Hero. And as such, its greatest treasure. --- Thank you for being you… and all that you bring to the Game.
XXX OOO
"Rass"
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