|
Post by efanton on Aug 22, 2019 5:27:12 GMT -5
Something else just occurred to me. The shape of a lasso. That might also be an instruction as to how to manipulate the encrypted text first before applying the keyword, especially as it appears in the encrypted text in clear form
Draw the shape of a lasso over a 17x3 grid and follow the letters, and thats your path to decrypt
|
|
|
Post by susb8383 on Aug 22, 2019 7:23:19 GMT -5
Interesting theory. Two objection tho.
1. If ‘a way to go’ was the takeaway from line one, why wouldnt he use ‘have’ instead of ‘hath?’ 2. A horse would never be tied to a gate which needs to move. A rail or fence, yes, but not a gate.
But if you guys keep working on the knot theory and I keep working on the unrelated letters theory, at least we will be making progress...
|
|
|
Mini Hunt
Aug 22, 2019 8:16:00 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by goldenchild on Aug 22, 2019 8:16:00 GMT -5
Interesting theory. Two objection tho. 1. If ‘a way to go’ was the takeaway from line one, why wouldnt he use ‘have’ instead of ‘hath?’ 2. A horse would never be tied to a gate which needs to move. A rail or fence, yes, but not a gate. But if you guys keep working on the knot theory and I keep working on the unrelated letters theory, at least we will be making progress... from gate to steed doesn’t necessarily mean to tie a horse to a gate. It could just mean a hitch is used on a gate and also on a horse. Not a horse hitched to a gate necessarily. And I agree, the “hath” didn’t play in which I would expect it to. Unless it is a red herring, which it has gotten a lot of people stuck so job well done if it is a herring clue. Also I forgot one more knot reference in my post. Getting hitched..aka getting married, is also referred to as tying the knot.
|
|
|
Post by btfefelov on Aug 22, 2019 10:57:07 GMT -5
Hi all! New here Here is a brain dump of the keywords I've tried thus far/rationale for trying them and my two cents on the puzzle structure. I've tried decrypting the message using all of these keywords the "traditional" way (alphabet substitution) to no avail. I've then been trying them the "lasso" way (which I'll explain below). Keywords: ASCOT (Town in UK with a horse racing track & a "twice round, then through" knot necktie WINDSOR (Same rationale as above) HITCH (Aligns separately with each line of the riddle) HONDAKNOT (The kind of knot most commonly used in lassos) From my perspective, the "LASSOME" in line two of the text is either a brilliant red herring or significant to solving the puzzle, and as I've had no luck converting the entire text using keywords, I'm guessing it's the latter. If you "lasso" the words "LASSOME," in a shape that looks like this --> O--- you can either start from the left: ADNGLTEMNNLEMHAWODELYNRE or MELNNMETLGNDATDAWODELYNRE or from the right: ERNYLEDOWATADNGLETEMNNLEM or ERNYLEDOWAMELNNMETLGNDAT. I'm guessing that either the letters that form the "lasso" or the letters that are left out of the lasso are the keys to solving the puzzle. Hope this all makes sense. Am so enjoying reading through these boards!
|
|
|
Post by susb8383 on Aug 22, 2019 15:59:28 GMT -5
from gate to steed doesn’t necessarily mean to tie a horse to a gate. It could just mean a hitch is used on a gate and also on a horse. Not a horse hitched to a gate necessarily. I see what you're saying. Good point.
|
|
|
Post by mrpoirot on Aug 23, 2019 16:08:21 GMT -5
Still not solved? I am a bit surprised to be honest. I was hoping for this one to be an easy one... I like the ideas that have been posted here. With regards to the stately deed, could it be an Oscar award? That would tie in with Hathaway. Just not sure how to get the rest to fit that theme... still working on it.
|
|
|
Post by susb8383 on Aug 25, 2019 18:13:28 GMT -5
I had a thought about 'stately deed': Monopoly.
There are a handful of deeds with state names, like Connecticut Avenue. Might be a lead if the takeaway is CTAVE or something. I've tried to find words ending with AVE but came up with nothing long enough.
|
|
|
Post by btfefelov on Aug 26, 2019 10:13:28 GMT -5
Another thought--"twice round" is a term in the world of model trains for a train that passes the same scene in a layout twice.
|
|
luna
New Member
Posts: 32
|
Post by luna on Aug 26, 2019 12:14:44 GMT -5
I have a theory but haven't seemed to be able to make it fit to actually solve the hunt. I'm sharing in hopes that someone can further it!
Concerning the riddle, the first thing I noticed was the strange choice of using "hath" instead of "have", which seems to indicate there's significance to the name Hathaway. After searching various people with that name, one of the results is an actor named Noah Hathaway. He plays one of the lead characters in the cult classic The NeverEnding Story. I've admittedly never seen the movie, but I did do some research into it and found that Hathaway's character does have a horse throughout a large part of the movie and as part of his quest, he passes through several gates (from gate to steed). "Twice round and through" could possibly be a reference to an infinity symbol, referencing "neverending." I'm a little less clear on how "a stately deed" fits in, but it could simply reference the quest the main character in the movie goes on.
I've tried a few different ciphers using a few different words from the movie, but haven't had any luck yet. Maybe someone else can try it and make more progress.
|
|
|
Mini Hunt
Aug 26, 2019 22:46:48 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by goldenchild on Aug 26, 2019 22:46:48 GMT -5
I have a theory but haven't seemed to be able to make it fit to actually solve the hunt. I'm sharing in hopes that someone can further it! Concerning the riddle, the first thing I noticed was the strange choice of using "hath" instead of "have", which seems to indicate there's significance to the name Hathaway. After searching various people with that name, one of the results is an actor named Noah Hathaway. He plays one of the lead characters in the cult classic The NeverEnding Story. I've admittedly never seen the movie, but I did do some research into it and found that Hathaway's character does have a horse throughout a large part of the movie and as part of his quest, he passes through several gates (from gate to steed). "Twice round and through" could possibly be a reference to an infinity symbol, referencing "neverending." I'm a little less clear on how "a stately deed" fits in, but it could simply reference the quest the main character in the movie goes on. I've tried a few different ciphers using a few different words from the movie, but haven't had any luck yet. Maybe someone else can try it and make more progress. i like it. This seems more in line of what I’m expecting his hunts to be like. I just re listened to the audio book of ready player one, which is a big influence on these hunts, and literally all the keys had an old obscure game to play or an old movie that had to be recited perfectly. Never ending story would be a perfect fit for an old movie to reference. Also, the whole point in the end of the story is to give the princess...or queen..I forget which she is, a name to defeat the “nothing”. So I guess naming a queen or princess could be a stately deed?
|
|
|
Post by efanton on Aug 27, 2019 12:29:21 GMT -5
continuing with the knots theme.
A stately deed. EXECUTION is an act only performed by the state. Performed by anyone else it is simply murder. With execution in mind the obvious knot would be a HANGMAN'S KNOT
It also occurred to me that Lukas has clearly stated that the ENTIRE riddle must be solved in order to decrypt the encrypted test. WHY? Why not solve 3/4 of the riddle and guess the last quarter. The only reason you would need to solve every line of the riddle is that each line gives you something that combined allows you to do the decrypt. It's very unlikely indeed that you could make a four word sentence just using knot names. If that is true, then the keyword length is 4, or a multiple of 4 (8 if first two letters are used, 12 if first three letters are used etc. etc. )
|
|
|
Post by susb8383 on Aug 27, 2019 18:44:48 GMT -5
Not following. Why does each line have to have the same number of letters?
|
|
|
Post by efanton on Aug 27, 2019 22:25:05 GMT -5
Not following. Why does each line have to have the same number of letters? Not saying that at all. Lukas said So if the riddle must be COMPLETELY solved (no short cuts or guesses). it might mean that the answer to each line of the riddle contains something that is required to build a keyword. I suggested that it might be the first letter or two of each answer. IF it is the case that he is taking a letter(s)from each answer to build a key word then we can imply that the keyword is a multiple of 4 letters long. I know some people are pretty good with ciphers and knowing the key length might aid in a partial decrypt. Of course like any other idea posted here this idea might be completely wrong. As regards those working on a theory that the riddle is based on knots, Hangmans Knot would make complete sense with regards the clue 'A stately deed' as only a state can execute someone. Not a theory I am totally convinced of myself but the thought came to me and it might be something that others are interested in
|
|
|
Post by mrpoirot on Aug 28, 2019 8:31:06 GMT -5
Not following. Why does each line have to have the same number of letters? Not saying that at all. Lukas said So if the riddle must be COMPLETELY solved (no short cuts or guesses). it might mean that the answer to each line of the riddle contains something that is required to build a keyword. I suggested that it might be the first letter or two of each answer. IF it is the case that he is taking a letter(s)from each answer to build a key word then we can imply that the keyword is a multiple of 4 letters long. I know some people are pretty good with ciphers and knowing the key length might aid in a partial decrypt. Of course like any other idea posted here this idea might be completely wrong. As regards those working on a theory that the riddle is based on knots, Hangmans Knot would make complete sense with regards the clue 'A stately deed' as only a state can execute someone. Not a theory I am totally convinced of myself but the thought came to me and it might be something that others are interested in That is not how I understood it. To me it sounded like he wanted to prevent brute force methods. To my knowledge, the only way to do that is to use a long keyword or make the text not fully readable by an algorithm when solved.
|
|
|
Post by efanton on Aug 29, 2019 18:01:35 GMT -5
Makes no logical sense as a clue unless you are using the name 'Hathaway'. I have tried everything I can think of to link the other clues to Anne or Shakespeare, with no success.
I am now convinced the only reason remaining to use the odd word 'Hath' is in order for it to be included as part of an anagram.
If you look at the letters used this make perfect sense. There are enough vowels there to make a sentence along with the possibility of using the words HOW, WHO, WHY, GOT, THE, WAY. THEY Those are the very words you would expect to find in a hint. Been working on it for a few hours now but no success so far.
|
|