Stage Two
For those who need to find the link to the forums, here it is for stage two.
Task 1: A Fate Worse Than Death
The Puzzle
On 2/13, MW added a new blog on his myspace page called My Work Begins:
Hello again friends. It is time for me to begin what I have been planning for so very long now. I can only hope you are prepared and ready for what I have to offer you. As time goes on, I will only be turning up the heat. Remember, I operate on my own schedule and if you want to play my game, you will learn one of the most important virtues, that being patience. Do this, and you will be rewarded heavily before this is all over, that I promise you. Await my calling.
MW
The next day, 2/14 MW added a new video on Join My Legacy.
The video featured many computer and laptop moniters that all displayed a code:
after parts were translated from binary, it read:
vgmyz/fog/yjwwvq/hwtuad/af/lzwaj/vgmyz/koaeafy/hmkzwjk
The Video also showed the DeVine household after a struggle.
Later that day The Daily Stalker got a new message:
It has started. The first step in sealing my legacy is complete. I admit that I was a bit nervous, but that all went away when I remembered why I was there in the first place. There is no turning back now. I have waited too long for this moment, and finally here it is. It was a bit rushed, alas, but I got the job done. Of course, I wouldn't have done all of this without leaving you clues. Those are the rules. Finding them however, is up to you.
MW
Let the real game begin
On 2/20, MW posted a myspace blog entitled I've got another puzzle for you…
Try turning the volume to the video on the main page off and playing the song in the music player at the same time as you watch the video, it may give you a whole new outlook on things.
MW
The Solution
The solution is a ROT-8 puzzle
Darkhuman solved the first riddle, earning 15 points:
Two Greedy Pencil Pushers Swimming in Their dough
thehost made this post:
Directly from my employer:
Congratulations to Darkhuman. He correctly answered the riddle first.
Confused? In the difference between right and wrong I will provide the next breadcrumb.
_____
The Host
Stage Two
A Dozen Guilty Bakers Sitting in a Row
Two Fell off the Lovers Rock
Ten More to go
Ten Greedy Pencil Pushers Swimming in Their dough
Task 2: Dead Again
The Puzzle
faeryqueen21 was the first player to reach this task, earning 10 points.
on 2/22/08 MW posts:
To The World:
I am sure by this time after all of the press coverage on the disappearance of the DeVine's William and Holly, that everyone assumes them dead at this point. You could not be further from the truth. They are quite healthy and very much alive. They have suffered no physical damage aside from some side effects from being drugged. The emotional damage though is like nothing I have ever seen before. I am not able to continue to do this to another human being, let alone two of them. I am going to release them on my terms. The time is Wednesday February 27 at 9 AM PST. It will be in a public place. There are to be no police present at the time of release. I will be taking measures to ensure that if anyone attempts to catch or harm me that the DeVine's will be harmed as well. I am not a cruel man, but rather driven to cruelty by a brief moment of insanity. I would like to apologize to David and Seth DeVine for the pain and heartache I have caused them, but the words of sorrow cannot seem to form. Since I do not think that they would accept a written or verbal apology the best thing I can do is release their parents. No child should suffer not knowing where their parents are, just as no parent should suffer that fate with a child. To my followers it may appear as the end but I feel that my legacy is only beginning. Maybe I had the wrong idea from the start. I'm starting to wonder exactly how much good I could do. So with that in mind again I am truly sorry for what I have put everyone through.MW
when 9AM rolled around on 2/27/08 the dead body of Robert DeVine was found in a Beverly Hills mall. Found on his body was a note from MW
I lived my life sheltered from harm, and cared about absolutely nobody except myself. I could have avoided my fate but that would not be the DeVine style. More Suffering if coming, and the is nothing anyone can do to stop him. After all, just look at me.
I am now part of the growing legacy that is M.W.
I unknowingly left behind one clue as my only contribution to society, find it
Clicking on this note would update the player to the current task.
A few days later, TDS would announce that Robert DeVine had a postcard that read "Hollywood" shoved into his throat.
The Hint
MW updated his myspace blog with the post How to make a DeVine your bitch:
Easy as pie my loyal followers. You simply plan for a very very long time. I told you there would be surprises around every corner, and the beginning is no exception. David and Seth will issue a statement later on this evening. What they should be doing is paying attention to my statements. I made one hell of a statement this morning. I can assure you that William and Holly DeVine are alive and very well at the moment. If I suspect that anyone is on to me, I will kill both of them without hesitation. The only way I will be discovered is if I want to be.
Of course, I left sufficient evidence to point you in the direction you need to go in from here. Stage Two is beginning to come to a close, but I assure you that this is simply the end of the beginning.
Three tasks lie ahead in order to earn you your second contract.
faeryqueen21 found the myspace page, earning 10 points:
That same Day, Seth and David DeVine issued a statement:
Nearly six months ago, we lost our brother to what we assumed was a simple tragic car accident. Today, we lost him all over again, this time to a heartless coward who hides behind a phony name and a mask. There is nobody out there who can possibly know how we feel right now.
If our parents taught us one thing, it is to be strong during times like these. Our faith in God will carry us through as will the spirit of our fallen brother. We will grieve his loss, yet again, and pray that our parents are returned to us unharmed. We want to thank everyone who came out to offer their prayers, cards, gifts, flowers, and well wishes. And to the man who is responsible for this, we want to know why you chose our family. We also want you to know that we are willing to negotiate for their release and are prepared to make you a very generous offer.
If however, there is no offer that you are willing to accept, you should know one thing. If indeed your intent is to kill our parents, you had better be prepared for the consequences of those actions. We will exhaust every ounce of our resources to tracking you down. To the rest of Los Angeles and Hollywood, you'd better watch your backs, because as of now he's watching all of us, and anybody could be next
The Solution
In a previous blog on Robert's myspace he left us a clue:
pmr etpyr jozdrag piy pg yjr qovyitr
dgclpb was the first to decode the message, earning 15 points:
One Wrote Himself out of the Picture
this message was then also added to thehosts signature.
Task 3: Battle Lines
On 3/01/08, MW sent a new letter into TheDailyStalker:
To My Loyal Followers And Critics
The time has come to choose sides. You are either with me or you are against me. There can be no in-between. By now, you have already made your choice however sub-conscious it may have been. But to truly take a side, you must know all of the facts.
David and Seth DeVine, I assure you both that you do not have all of the facts. If you had all of the facts, you would realize the threats you have made to me are empty. You can devote whatever resources you have to finding me, but it won't bring your parents home to you.
I am not willing to take any offer you make me. Money is of no consequence to me, I promise you that. What I am willing to do is make an offer of my own.
On one side, I will offer my followers a chance for one of them to prove their ultimate support. On the other, I offer my critics a chance for one of them to put an end to all of this before it is too late. In either scenario, you will be able to publicly make a statement of your own to the world and in the process earn yourself fifteen minutes of fame.
The time has come to choose sides. You are either with me or you are against me. There can be no in-between. You have three days to make your choice. Choose wisely.
MW
soon after thehost posted a new messge:
A Message from my employer:
The lines are being drawn, and now comes a time for you to be able to prove your convictions wherever they may lie.
Your Stage Two Challenge is not as simple as the last.
There are two sides to every story and mine is no exception. There are those that support me and those that are against me. It is time to divide my players for good. Here is my challenge.
Everything I have done so far to date and that I have so meticulously planned out for the future is based around evidence I have gathered. I have hidden this evidence along with everything it would take to convict me, find me, and bring me to justice in two different locations. When one location has been discovered the other will be destroyed simultaneously leaving behind no trace of its existence. Oh and one more thing, only ONE member of ONE team will ultimately reach their sought after location.
Your path choice will dictate which location you seek. On each side you must elect a leader. This leader must be voted on and can be any member of that side.
Once sides have been chosen, and leaders elected, your next step is to divide yourselves into two groups within your team.
One group will be the writers and the other team will produce and create a video. The topic is simple. Explain why your team chose the side you have chosen, and why your team will be the first to find the evidence I have hidden.
Keeping in mind that only one of you will ever find this location, you must also include why you feel you personally will be the one to find this evidence. As the writers, it will be your job to script out everything that will be included in the video, and as the producers, your job is to produce the video and complete all editing. How you accomplish this as a team is entirely up to you.
You have 2 weeks to finish this Challenge and e-mail me the final product (Script and Video). Complete this challenge and I will unlock your Stage 2 Guardian.I expect great things from my loyal followers, and including my calling card is a must.
MW
PS These teams are considered permanent. If you wish to change sides it must come at a price. In order for a player to leave a team, the receiving team must give up one of their own. For new players who may be just arriving or arrive at a later time, they must pledge to earn a spot on one particular side. If you are partaking in this challenge, then you have the right to choose whatever side you want regardless of what you may have stated publicly to this point.
The players devided, and each team picked a captian.
Team Legacy Supports MW. Team captian is ++ Greystone.
Team DeVine is agains MW. Team captian is ++ Lebowski.
To join a team, please contact one of the team captians.
Each side was given a week to make their videos, and submit them to MW.
here is how to Currently join EITHER team, from thehost
Here are the Stage Two Challenges as presented by both sides.
For Team Legacy, there is a puzzle in the video "Battle Lines" that must be solved in full. In addition to this, you will be required to submit a photo of yourself with a sign supporting "MW".
For those who wish to join Team DeVine, you must solve the following riddle:
Ultlj GP nz Hxmmcnc
The hint for solving this puzzle is
"Look within the puzzled family"
Once you decide which side of the line you belong to, a Private Message should be sent to:
Greystone for Team Legacy
or
Lebowski8276 for Team DeVine
25 Points were awarded to any Player who helped create one of the videos for the Stage Two Challenge.
Team Videos:
Team Legacy won this challange.
Team Legacy: Battle Lines
.
narration from Battle Lines: (from faeryqueen21)
Although many philosophers have sought for me with eagerness, yet very few succeed at length in finding out my secret virtue.
Two contrary spirits can scarcely dwell together, nor do they easily combine.
For that which is weak is always compelled to yield to that which is strong.
Indeed, the tendency of events is to give the highest place to the most excellent and the most deserving. For the present state of things is passing away, and a new world is about to be created, and one planet is devouring another spiritually, until only the strongest survive.
The line has been drawn. We have chosen. Here is our act of faith.
I have concealed nothing; and if you will but remove the veil of ignorance from your eyes, you will behold that which many have sought and few have found.
post from thehost:
In The "Battle Lines" video, there was a note held up to the camera by Hangman, the note was somewhat difficult to make out. Below is a transcript of what it said:
Unlike those who seek to stop him, I believe in Wr. Wilson‘s statements and goals. That those who abuse their fame and standing should be punished.
I believe that I have the faith and the patience he is asking of us and the determination to see this through to the end.
I do not seek my “15 minutes of fame” - Indeed I will state now that I do this only to prevent his detractors from the prize.
Should I be the one to find the safe I will pass the prize on to someone else who supports him.
A N A N
__ __ __ __ __ __ __
Team DeVine: (this video is split into 5 parts)
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
thehost relayed us a new message:
The Battle Lines have been drawn. The objectives made clear. For each side has their own story to tell, and are about to create the second step in truly sealing my legacy without me having to do a damn thing other than sit here and write this.1
My rules are simple. Follow the clues. Find one of two safes I have hidden. Each contains the same contents. When one safe has been opened, the other will be destroyed simultaneously. Only one will be lucky enough to find it and claim their fifteen minutes of fame.
Should it be one of my followers, I trust whoever it is will do the right thing with what they will find. If however, anyone else finds it, I would most unfortunately lose. Something they all want to see happen. Losing means a long trial, or what would please them even more, my death.
So quick to be judge and jury on someone you know nothing about.
So be it. You have your chance to do something about it for once, we will all see whether you can make good on it.
Nothing is as it appears. Time is on my side. I am not who anyone thinks I am. I do not crave power nor money, as I have had both and am far from without.
ULTIONIS
Stage 3 is coming. My past will show you the way.
893583 56257 893583 5397
MW
Magnet0 solved the numbers to be phone keys. the message reads:
twelve locks twelve keys
thehost soon posted:
I just received a message from my employer via email in regards to the guardian.
"To my followers I would like to apologize for not having your guardian unlocked. I was very abruptly summoned away due to very important matters at 7:35am est. and was unable to unlock your guardian. As I stated before I am a very busy man with a lot of responsibilities in this life. Your guardian will be available upon my return at approximately 8:00pm est. Again to my followers I apologize for the delay.
On 3/20, at 4:00 PM, thehost posted again.
For those who have completed the necessary tasks, your Stage Two Guardian awaits.
A message from my employer:In six days, I'm going to perform one hell of a magic trick. Pay close attention or you might miss something important.
_____
The Host
Stage Two
A Dozen Guilty Bakers Sitting in a Row
Two Fell off the Lovers Rock
Ten More to go
Ten Greedy Pencil Pushers Swimming in Their Dough
One Wrote Himself out of the Picture
Nine Left To Go
Stage Two Guardian
Magog was the first to defeat him, earning 25 points.
Every other player who passed the 2nd Guardian were awarded 10 points.
The Questions
This time the Guardian asked the questions in the same order everytime. They were:
Q: In the DeVine Couple video, how many chairs are knocked over?
A: 5
Q: In the DeVine Couple video, how many cards are there?
A: 2
Q: What was the date on the calander in the DeVine Couple video?
A: 14
Q: What happened to William and Holly DeVine?
A: Kiddnaped
Q: How many candles are knocked over in the DeVine Couple video?
A: 1
Q: What was found in the throat of Robert DeVine?
A: postcard
Q: Who was the body found in the mall fountain?
A: Robert DeVine
Q: Which reporter was at the mall when the body was found?
A: Ian Stalker
Q: Who took over editoral duties for the associaed stalkers at TDS?
A: Clara Laurenzi *Note: this is spelled diffrently from the stage 1 question.
Q: Who was the first person to find Robert DeVine's myspace page?
A: Faeryqueen21
Q: Who was the first person to solve the puzzle in Robert DeVine's blog?
A: dgclpb
Upon defeating the stage two guardian, you are rewarded with your second Contract. This also completes stage 2.
