DD-NTN04 (Jan 24, 2021)
Puzzle
"April 17, 1790… and 1937, 1837, 1937, 1960, 3991, 1937, 1761, 1840, 4171, 1837, 8891, 1983, 1988, 1996, 8381, 1873, 8891, 6491, 1967, 1976, 1986."
Cipher | 6 Words
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: This receipt Case ID is about the Necropolis. Any deaths on April 17, say, 1790? What about 1937
Clue 2: Perhaps not for, say, 3991 - but what about 1993?
Clue 3: Take the first letters of their first names, except for those which had the years switched. You should be able to guess which word to take from in that case.
Answer and Explanation
Answer: By Eye Of The Endless Night
Explanation: April 17, 1790 is when Benjamin Franklin died. Similarly, April 17 of 1937, 1837 and 1960 all had similarly notable people die - taking the first letters of their names giving 'BY EYE'. Obviously, nobody famous died on April 17, 3991 - but Turgut Ozal, former Turkish president, died on April 18, 1993. Taking his last name's first letter gives O, and repeating this same formula for all the other years spells out this phrase.
Summary of Receipt
Summary
Transcript
Branch [Search Party]
Date [2021-01-24]
Server [Manager No. 5]
Beverage [Corpse Reviver]
File Reference [DD-NTN04]
We managed to snag a quick chat with Asmodeus. Scary one, she is, choice? At least we left unwhipped, though under the right circumstances, I wouldn’t have minded much. We filled her in on Caassimolar’s plot, and as thanks, she’s taking No. 2 and me up to Mayda through that little whirlpool near the top of the Spire. She’s even letting Leviathan know we’ll be swimming around in his waters, so fingers crossed we don’t get gutted by his Horrors when we start out at the bottom of his Plane.
No sign of Nikki or Seth in the Necropolis, though. I figure they might’ve been stuck in the Everdark, but Asmodeus doesn’t seem to think so. Given Seth’s connection to the whole Plane of Amaymon, she claims she’d know if he was in there. Honestly? I’m not feeling too confident about finding them in Mayda either. It’s a great deal of water, innit? But then again, there’s the Black Tide. I doubt even Seth could warp his way out of that one, and if the Universe was looking for a place to stash them when things got reset to how they should’ve been… that’s as good a guess as any.
S.O.T.
Asmodeus: Ah, if it isn’t Nicholas Langley and Jericho Myerscough. I’ve heard you two have been trotting through my Plane. Uninvited. In the middle of a war. How bold.
No. 2: Sorry—we’re looking for someone. My sister.
No. 5: And Seth Warren.
Asmodeus: Ah—Seth Warren. The Necropolis would be a clever place to check for such a... folly. Can’t your little Seth simply “warp” his way back to you?
No. 2: Yeah. That’s why we’re looking. They’ve… vanished. Completely.
Asmodeus: Hm. Vanished, you say? Well, with the way Seth likes to tinker with my Plane’s energy, I’d know if he were here. He is not. And as for your sister, her…
No. 2: Nymphomaniac tendencies.
No. 5: Bird bless ’er.
Asmodeus: Yes. That’s certainly one way to put it. If she were here, trust me—I’d know. Not to mention her little friend, Naberius, would have alerted me to her presence.
No. 2: How is Naberius, by the way?
Asmodeus: Exhausted by this tiresome conflict. And aren’t we all?
No. 5: Speaking of your little play-demons—
[No. 5 pulled out the dagger, holding it by the blade, and handed it to Asmodeus.]
No. 5: Caassimolar wanted us to kill you. What’s that about, love?
Asmodeus: Caassimolar? Hm. Murder does seem like his style. But my murder? Oh, no. That’s a sin I simply cannot let slide.
No. 2: And now that we’ve warned you, he’ll want us dead too.
Asmodeus: Naturally. Where are you off to next? Back to the Flipside?
[No. 2 shook his head and looked up at the swirling abyss above them.]
No. 2: We were thinking… up.
Asmodeus: I see. I can assist you with that. There’s a hidden passage between our Planes. I’ll even let my brother know you’re stopping by. No need to have him as startled as I was.
No. 5: Thanks, Asmi.
Asmodeus: That’s Mistress Asmodeus to you, Warlock.
No. 5: Apologies, Mistress Asmodeus.
Asmodeus: Good. She has you trained well, hm? Now, did you two see or hear anything else worth my attention? I’ve been sequestered in this Spire for months thanks to this war, and news has become a rare treat.
No. 2: There’s been talk of the Eclipse Wall weakening from within.
Asmodeus: Interesting. Unfortunately, that’s beyond my control. The more humans die, the more the wall expands. It’s a rather flexible thing… until the next wall forms.
No. 5: Couldn’t you just make a new wall then?
Asmodeus: Me? Oh no, dear. I don’t make the Rings of the Necropolis. The Spire does. How it chooses to form new Rings is a mystery, even to me. You’d have to consult the First Bible to know why. Oh—wait. Someone burnt it, didn’t they?
No. 5: Even if I hadn’t… could you have read it?
Asmodeus: I wouldn’t have cared to.
E.O.T.