Z-KOR04 (Apr 17, 2023)
Puzzle
“Innocence’s wirth seems to change day-to-Day.”
Blackwood Trivia | 2 Words
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: Look at the two words that seem...strange. Link them to two characters somehow. Tip: Using "<word>" in Google will make it search for direct occurrences of that word, not merely similar/spelling-'corrected' words.
Clue 2: Wirth and Day are last names.
Clue 3: Gillian Flynn.
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Dark Places
Explanation: The two protagonists of this Gillian Flynn novel are Libby Day and Lyle Wirth.
Summary of Receipt
Blackwood's figured out where the Kings of Roses' base is. Their Flipside base was beneath the Hollywood Sign - it's new, established a few months ago when Phantom was killed. Since Rune's apparently mostly human, he convinced Bloody Mary (also called Mrs. Tudor in Debt Come Due) to make a Flipside base. Anyway, their 'true' Otherside base is in the Valley of Gilded Thorns, between Hauntaurskald and Infernus. Yes, it's a Cusp Plane. In any case, though it's normally really hard to get to, Rune's got a teleporter in the Flipside base.
Transcript
Receipt: Z-KOR04
Author: Blackwood
Status: Secret
Subject: Kings Cult
I've made another major break in the Kings of Roses case! I believe I've deduced where they're headquartered these days. I mean, Capgras already narrowed them down to a general region, but I've found their exact spot and how we can get there! Or, uh, how Capgras can get there. I don't think I should tag along on this. I don't have the same Shaka powers as he does, and I don't want to get on these blood cultists' bad side.
Anyway, it seems the Kings of Roses have been operating out of a secret base beneath the Hollywood Sign. Their Flipside headquarters is pretty new; it was only established a few months ago… sometime around when the Fourth Cafe and Diner killed the Phantom, I think. From what I've been able to dig up, the Flipside headquarters was spearheaded by Rune because, get this, he's not even a demon! He's a human. Or, at least, mostly human. So, I guess he convinced Bloody Mary it would be a good idea to make a Flipside meeting space so he wouldn't have to move back and forth between the Flip and Otherside so much. Then, well, you know, he ended up usurping Mary as the Kings' leader about a month ago.
Now for the good news! The "true" meeting place of the Kings of Roses is in the Valley of Gilded Thorns, right between the Hauntaurskald and Infernus. A great place to hide a cult as the only way into the Valley is through the Pandemonium Catacombs, and the only way out is through the Engine Shafts in the Infernus. Both are terribly, terribly unpleasant places to be as the Catacombs are ruled by various roaming Demon gangs, and the Engine Shafts are guarded by mechanical constructs. And due to the Valley being on a Cusp-Plane, traditional A23 Transport Devices can't teleport to the Valley. However… It would seem that Rune has set up his own little portal that leads straight to the Valley of Gilded Thorns, and it's located in the Kings' base under the Hollywood sign.