ThunderPear Adventure in a Box: Part 2
Well, well, well. I have to say, I’m both surprised and impressed. Didn’t actually expect so many of you to crack the first code cleverly disguised as a normal comedic blog post, let alone make it this far into the game. I’m sure you’ve all been waiting eagerly for the next set of clues, but I felt it was important to let those who read later catch-up. The fun of a contest comes in a fair challenge, so we want everyone leaping off the true starting line at the same time.
For those reading this who didn’t figure out the clue, go to the mysterious website, order the box, and meet the unnerving delivery man with his cryptic message, take heart in the knowledge that this is probably all mere fiction, just another silly blog. There certainly isn’t some secret puzzle contest happening behind the scenes. That would be ridiculous, right?
Now then, for those of you who read the letter with your box and knew this blog was coming, let’s get down to business!
1. First and foremost, I’m sure you’re wondering what the next step is going to be. Well, the good news is that by the time you’re done reading this, that will already have become visible. Literally. The letters instructing you to wait had a special time-based invisible ink on the back, scheduled to lose it’s transparency today. When you head back to your box, the next clue on your particular path will already be waiting, though I’d recommend reading this all the way to the end anyway.
2. Teamwork is highly encouraged. While the grand prize can only be received by a single person, there are a great many trinkets and rewards scattered along the path to reach it. Each of you will have slightly different contents in your Adventure Box, just as you each have different fears and weaknesses. Still, while the challenges might differ, you’ll find parallels in the ways they must be solved. The more brains involved, the better your odds.
3. On your journey, there will be others you are led too. Some are allies, others are obstacles, but try not to assume you know which is which. A lovely tree may still bear poisonous fruit, though statically only a few of you will encounter that particular trouble-maker. See more than what you are presented with, trust your guts, and eliminate as many preconceptions as possible. Except for trolls not letting people cross bridges, that one is legit and they take it seriously.
4. Within each of your boxes, in addition to the tools and initial rewards, you will find a piece of map. This comprises 1/5th of the completed version, which will be needed to uncover the final prize. You are free to share your piece of the map with whomever you wish, trade it away, even sell it if the price is right. For those with ambition enough to collect them all, be warned: stolen pieces love to lie, so be very sure how each part was obtained, lest you wander into lands less hospitable than our own.
5. Under the map, you should have discovered a seemingly broken compass. Despite what suspicions and precedent may have you thinking, it does not aim at your heart’s desire, true path, or any such silliness. There are items along the way that add functionalities to it, but at it’s base-design, the compass only has one purpose: it points in any direction that is not North. While that may seem like an odd tool to include, sooner or later every path crosses through the Hall of Thundering Time (the place with all the clocks, in case any of you whose boxes came with foresight have caught a glimpse) and once you do, you’ll be very glad to have that compass. Breaking off the direct route is the only way to escape. Well, the only way I’d recommend attempting, but it’s your adventure, challenge The Clock Keeper if you please.
6. The final general item in all boxes, outside the obvious exceptions like the letter and the pear, should be your weapon. It won’t look like much yet, some of you with small blades might have mistaken yours for a letter opener, however I assure you they are quite useful tools. Minimally functional in the mundane world, once you plunge deep into the box’s mysteries it may be your only method of defense. As you make progress, there will be chances to enhance your weapon, so make sure to keep an eye out. You’ll definitely want a few improvements if you aim to claim the grand prize.
7. Time is a funny thing. There are occasions where you can sit down for what seems like only moments, but is in fact closer to hours. Conversely, we’ve all been in meetings where the world drags on, every second stretching into entire minutes. Since we’re all familiar with the concept, there’s no need to dig into why some of these tasks might feel as if they take much longer, some even days, only to discover that you were wandering the woods for no more than ten minutes. There’s certainly not some sort of temporal disruption as you’re unknowingly slightly shifting between the phases of reality. Like we already agreed: it’s just that time is a funny thing.
8. In closing, a word of caution. Be sure, before you take the next step. Right now, there is still time to turn away. Everything you’ve seen so far can be dismissed as little more than some overly enthusiastic prop-work and dedication from a man with too much time on his hands. Even this entry is explainable as some meta-comedy-wall-breaking piece. But there will come a point when you’ve seen too much, when the old assurances that “there’s nothing in the dark” simply ring false. Because once you accept a single impossibility, the mountain of others begins to crumble, and you have to start wondering just what that noise in the night you heard really was. Magic and monsters, prizes and prices, these kinds of things exist in tandem. Accepting one means grappling with the other.
For those I haven’t scared off, time to go read the new instructions on those letters! Oh, one last tidbit: speed is definitely your ally in this endeavors. You contestants might not be the only ones chasing that prize, after all.