This took place in June 2020.

The concept was a MASSIVE undertaking. Basically, a 96-hour race to save the 4 people Nico took hostage. It took place over YouTube, various websites, Twitter, email, and puzzles.

Each path had 10-20 steps, each email address and passphrase was unique. Nothing was reused for any other path. This also includes a unique cipher I created just for this event.

So I am only going to give a VERY brief description of each path. Not every part of each puzzle. As it was honestly a huge event and would take forever. If you really want full details send me an email and we’ll chat.

Storywise:

After Nico gained control of Valora, kidnapped Amber along with the ‘INSUB kid’ and trapped Adrian in a digital ‘Mind prison’, he got bored. After analyzing what the players did he decided he wanted to play a game with them. He developed a game.

PREGAME

Prior to the start of the game, information was dropped containing a glyph to English translation. The Watchers decoded the glyphs to have a workable Alphabet. (See the Glyph page.)

BASIC RULES TO THE GAME

• 6 paths to start – 4 paths lead to one of each captured people, 2 paths were dead ends.
• There was one ‘Time Bomb’ hidden – It was only able to be uncovered if you went trying to find something that was not included in the puzzles on the dolasltd.com site. (It was an unlisted page, not related to anything in the game. You try to hack around, you get busted.)
• Watchers were able to gain clues from Nico in exchange for time.

PATH ONE – SAVING AMBER

Video lead -> NICO Cipher -> Records site -> find email address and passphrase. Email to it, get a link to a word cipher -> Youtube video -> image -> word puzzle -> Confidential website -> Find link in a book cipher, find password in a base64 riddle ->Back to records for hidden text -> Login to page -> Youtube video victory!

PATH TWO – FALSE PATH

Video ->NICO Cipher -> Records -> Email/passphrase -> Image with a fake cipher and riddle.

PATH THREE – SAVING ADRIAN

Video ->NICO Cipher -> Records -> Email/passphrase -> records pages -> gave anagram file name -> download .ogg -> Convert to jpeg -> Anagram gave password hint -> Jpg led to book letter cipher (page/line/letter) -> Website lock-> false finish youtube video -> google drive zip folder (image & txt) -> txt gave pass -> steno on jpeg gave site -> youtube victory!

PATH FOUR – SAVING VALORA

Video ->NICO Cipher -> Records -> Email/passphrase -> records pages -> base64 -> Image -> Confindential site -> base16-> find book -> code -> password from emails before -> Page login & Password -> Youtube video victory!

PATH FIVE – FALSE PATH

Video ->NICO Cipher -> Records -> Email/passphrase -> Image with a fake cipher and riddle.

PATH SIX – SAVING THE INSUB KID

Video ->NICO Cipher -> Records -> Email/passphrase -> records pages -> steg image -> find mp3 -> Change to PDF – Covert base64 ->Password -> records give simple ‘gimmie’ to the players -> gave website, needed password -> password was in binary.

PROGRESS

The players started with 96 hours. Within the first 10 hours they were still stumped on the NICO Cipher. Nico approached them on twitter and made an offer. 12 hours for a hint. They agreed. With that hint they were able to progress through to the next steps of each puzzle.

Nico continued to make offers and taunt them. They saved Valora first. With less than 24 hours remaining a player found the ‘TIME BOMB’ page. Causing the game to end immediately.

Nico decided he was having too much fun watching them squirm so he gave them 8 hours to save Adrian. Since Valora was freed she was able to help on the remaining puzzle.

They finally rescued Adrian but lost Amber and the INSUB kid to Nico.

EFFECTS

Adrian found out he had been trapped inside the mind prison for only a few weeks where as for him it was 3 years. His experience inside was traumatizing, but he refuses to talk about it.

Valora finding out her favorite person Amber was lost to Nico, (and after being taunted by Nico, blaming the Watchers for the loss.) Took the news hard and had a bit of an episode.

She returned to see Adrian in such pain and wanting to help him at any cost made the brash decision to install her Emotion Matrix Library. This installation mixed with her system corruptions caused a massive ‘freak out’. She has walled herself off inside her system and refuses to let anyone in.

The INSUB kid – Was killed unceremoniously by Nico.

Amber has become Nico’s vessel. No idea what this means right now.

FINAL NOTES

This sucked. It was a blast to build but I will never again make a 96-hour event. It’s too much for the players and too much for me. I learned a ton from it and even though the end wasn’t as victorious as it could have been, the players did save the two they loved the most.

SIDE NOTE: The bomb I honestly had figured would have been found at the beginning of the game. Not the end. If I had thought about it near the end I would have disabled the pages and not had it appear at all. however, I didn’t and then the players found it. I had to stick to the rules. Time was up. It killed me to do. But, hindsight and all that.

Next event will NOT be this long.