CD-ACOR03 (Nov 20, 2024)
Puzzle
“Over the hill and through the woods.”
Cipher | See: ACOR01 | 3 Words
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: Not exactly a 'cipher' in the modern sense.
Clue 2: Think more medieval, actually. What exactly stands out in ACOR01, and how could that be used as a 'cipher'?
Clue 3: This alphabet can be found in medieval Irish inscriptions. How is it related to trees?
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Wrath Is Watching
Explanation: This is a 'cipher' known as Ogham, used in the 4th to 9th centuries in Ireland to write various texts. Each letter is also named after a tree, according to the medieval 'Briatharogram', and working backwards from the message Beelzebulb sent gives 'Wrath is Watching'.
Summary of Receipt
Summary
Transcript
[Date | Nov-20-24]
[Barista | Hibiscus]
[Subject | Business as Usual]
[File Reference | CD-ACOR03]
Beelzebub’s court isn’t what I was expecting. Well… to be fair, I was expecting a big empty tree with feasts on every floor. But the Court of Rot is no Hollow I’m used to. It’s a lot quieter… eerily quiet. Just Beelzebub and a few twisting, twirling plants. In any case, she’s going to look into her brother’s cult, and we’re going to try planting her seeds along the boundary lines.
S.O.T.
Abbey: You came?
Hibiscus: You sound… surprised.
Abbey: Can’t get anyone to do anything these days. To be clear, the Cafe and Diner was not my first choice.
Peppermint: Ouch.
Matcha: If not us, then who else? The Decodex Department? The New Dawn Coven? Who else can commercialize, disseminate, and otherwise distribute coffee as well as we can?
Abbey: Long list. Though, near the top? My dad. My brother. Hell, even the Olympians—if I can get them to stop fighting with each other for a minute.
Peppermint: But they ain’t helping, are they?
Abbey: No. I’ve raised my concerns with them, and they have decided to sit idly by while the Skald gets torn apart.
Hibiscus: The Skald is… getting torn apart?
Abbey: Mm-hm.
Hibiscus: What about Eden? And Keris?
Abbey: No clue. We don’t keep in touch.
Matcha: What about the Concord?
Abbey: What about it? We’re on our own—and I’m starting to get the feeling that I’m on my own.
Hibiscus: You aren’t on your own. We’re here to help!
Abbey: …Thanks. I appreciate it.
Peppermint: So… Beez… baby, what’s the deal with the boundary lines? If you know more than us, anyhow.
Abbey: I don’t know what caused it. There was—there is—something actively breaking it.
Matcha: Something? Or… someone?
Abbey: Heh. Yeah, it hasn’t slipped my mind.
Hibiscus: Well… from what we’ve been looking into, there’s an Archon named Snow… do you know him?
Abbey: No—pe. An Archon, though? Like—
Hibiscus: Abraxas and Eve. Yes. Snow… he’s… he is working with other Archons. I don’t know exactly what they’re working toward, but they wouldn’t hesitate to break the boundary lines to accomplish their goals. And there’s been an influx of shards of Snow’s power… or maybe essence? Various cults have been using them to power their rituals… including a cult run by your brother, Lucifer.
Abbey: Lucifer has a cult? In the Flipside?
Hibiscus: Mm-hm. They’re trying to break the rules of magic, more or less. Transform mortals into demigods. Into—
Abbey: Princes? What the hell is he thinking?
Hibiscus: No clue.
Abbey: Okay… I’ll look into that. Or try to. See if Eden will cooperate. As for the breaks in the boundary lines, I’m not sure what we can do. If I could… mm… “borrow,” my dad’s Stylograph, I could—
Matcha: Stylograph?
Peppermint: Noun. Dangerous thing. Shouldn’t really be messed with.
Hibiscus: Yeah… I don’t think “borrowing” the Stylograph to fix the boundary lines is… a good idea. That thing is more trouble than it's worth. We actually had an idea—or well, Liz had an idea. Is there a way we could “fill” the boundary lines?
Abbey: Fill… instead of fix?
Hibiscus: Mm-hm!
Abbey: Hm… one moment.
[Abbey left us waiting in her court for a few minutes. When she returned, she had a handful of small dark blue berries.]
Abbey: Crush these, extract the seeds, and try planting them in the cracks of the boundary lines.
Peppermint: What’s gonna happen?
Abbey: Ivy. Hopefully, you’re right, and it’ll fill up the boundary lines. It won’t fix them, but it should slow the worst of the effects until we can work out a more permanent solution. Or until my dad decides to do something.
Hibiscus: We’ll give it a shot! Thanks Beez.
Abbey: Mm.
E.O.T.