joshuaandClaude Opus 5.5
bbe44e84c4
Add ten new games (18 in total) and the engine features they need. Story: Dead Air, The Masquerade at Montague House, The Kalahari Expedition, The Alchemist's Vault, Submerged: Deep Lab Nereid, The Kestrel Bank Job. Games can now set their own hint penalty and a hard time limit, shown as a countdown; running out ends the game with the fail ending. Defuse: Tick Tock: Overtime. Manuals are now rulesets, so each game has its own solver. Adds indicator lights, per-level strike limits, and the Passwords, Morse Light and Say It Back modules. Sync: In Sync: Deep Cuts. Adds telepathy (typed word) and ranking rounds, and a per-round bar for the key. Labyrinth: The Drowned Catacombs and The Mirror Maze. Adds one-way gates, a relative (no compass) Explorer, a mirrored Navigator map, and mazes with a lantern count other than three. Validation now rejects a maze where a gate can leave the Explorer stuck. Difficulty runs from 1 to 5. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
310 lines
12 KiB
YAML
310 lines
12 KiB
YAML
id: kestrel-heist
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engine: story
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category: escape-room
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title: The Kestrel Bank Job
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tagline: A crooked banker stole Gran's necklace. Tonight you're taking it back. In and out. No mistakes.
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estimatedMinutes: 50
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difficulty: 5
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players: { min: 2, max: 2 }
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theme: { primary: "#1b1b1e", accent: "#00e5a0", background: "#050506", headingFont: "JetBrains Mono" }
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rules:
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hintPenaltySeconds: 240
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timeLimitMinutes: 55
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timeLimitLabel: "Until the morning shift"
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roles:
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A:
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name: The Inside Man
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blurb: You're in the building. You see the doors, panels, lasers and guards. You don't have the plans.
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B:
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name: The Wheel
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blurb: You're in the van outside with the laptop, the blueprints, and everything you've dug up on the banker.
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intro: |
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Six months ago, banker **Vincent Kestrel** "held" your gran's emerald necklace as security
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on a loan, then forged the paperwork and kept it. The police shrugged. The lawyers shrugged.
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So tonight, you're getting it back. **Kestrel Private Bank, 21:58.**
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One of you is inside in a cleaner's uniform with an earpiece. The other is in the van with a laptop.
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Get to his private box. Get the necklace. Get out before the morning shift.
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☠️ *Nightmare tier. Longer hint penalty. A hard time limit. Trust each other.*
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chapters:
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- id: ch1
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title: The Staff Door
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narrative: |
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The staff entrance has a four-digit keypad. Kestrel uses it himself every morning.
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The Inside Man dusts the keypad with the cleaner's talc.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a1-keypad
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title: Dusted keypad
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type: diagram
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body: |
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```
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[1] [2] [3] Worn, greasy keys: 0, 2, 6
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[4] [5] [6] The 0 is the MOST worn.
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[7] [8] [9] Every other key is clean.
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[0]
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```
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Code length: 4 digits.
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B:
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- id: b1-assistant
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title: Message from Kestrel's ex-assistant
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type: transcript
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body: |
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"Every code he has is a date, **day then month**, two digits each.
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Always someone in his family. He's not as clever as he thinks."
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- id: b1-social
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title: Kestrel's social media, a few posts
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type: document
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body: |
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- *14 Feb:* "Happy Valentine's to the wife. ❤️" *(deleted a week later)*
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- *20 Jun:* "Happy birthday to my princess Mia! 🎂 Daddy loves you."
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- *03 Sep:* "Proud dad. Liam made the first XV!"
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- *11 Nov:* "Happy birthday Noah, my little man!"
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lock:
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id: lock-door
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prompt: Enter the staff door code.
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inputType: code
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format: 4 digits (DDMM)
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answers: ["2006"]
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hints:
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- The code uses only the digits 0, 2 and 6, with one of them used twice.
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- Which family date uses exactly 0, 2 and 6, with 0 twice?
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- Mia's birthday, 20 June = 2006.
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successText: |
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**2006.** Green light. You're in. Mop bucket rolling, cap pulled low.
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Ahead: the long marble corridor to the vault, criss-crossed with red light.
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keyName: Staff Door Key
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- id: ch2
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title: The Laser Hall
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narrative: |
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Five columns of floor tiles. Five rows of laser beams across them.
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Exactly one column of tiles is never crossed by a beam.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a2-hall
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title: What the Inside Man sees
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type: diagram
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body: |
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```
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col1 col2 col3 col4 col5
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row1 ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢
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row2 ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢
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row3 ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢
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row4 ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢
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row5 ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢ ▢
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```
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The beams are too faint to see by eye in this light.
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Sticker on the laser control box: **"MASK BITS: col1 = 16, col2 = 8, col3 = 4, col4 = 2, col5 = 1"**
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B:
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- id: b2-config
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title: Hacked security config (laptop)
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type: log
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body: |
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```
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[LASER_HALL]
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ROW_MASK_1 = 21
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ROW_MASK_2 = 12
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ROW_MASK_3 = 25
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ROW_MASK_4 = 17
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ROW_MASK_5 = 8
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; a set bit means the beam crosses that tile
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```
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lock:
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id: lock-lasers
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prompt: Which column is safe to walk?
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inputType: code
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format: Column number
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answers: ["4"]
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hints:
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- Each row mask is a sum of the column values its beam crosses. Break each number into 16, 8, 4, 2, 1.
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- "21 = 16 + 4 + 1 → columns 1, 3, 5."
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- "Rows cross: (1,3,5), (2,3), (1,2,5), (1,5), (2). Column 4 is never crossed."
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successText: |
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**Column 4.** Tile by tile, heel to toe. Not a single alarm. Halfway there.
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keyName: Laser Key
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- id: ch3
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title: The Guards
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narrative: |
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Past the hall, the vault corridor. Three guards walk through it on fixed loops.
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Crossing it to the vault door takes **4 full minutes** of picking the outer lock.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a3-watching
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title: What the Inside Man has clocked from the vent
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type: log
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body: |
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```
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Guard 1 (big guy, whistles): passes at 22:03, then every 7 minutes
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Guard 2 (torch, limps): passes at 22:05, then every 11 minutes
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```
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It's 22:00 now.
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B:
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- id: b3-roster
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title: Security rota (hacked)
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type: document
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body: |
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**Guard 3 (Dlamini):** corridor sweep at **22:02**, then **every 6 minutes**.
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*A guard occupies the corridor for the whole minute they pass through it.*
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You need **4 clear minutes in a row** with no guard passing.
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lock:
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id: lock-guards
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prompt: At what time does the first safe 4-minute window start?
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inputType: code
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format: "HH:MM"
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answers: ["2233", "1033", "1033PM"]
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hints:
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- "List the busy minutes: Guard 1 → :03, :10, :17, :24, :31, :38..."
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- "Guard 2 → :05, :16, :27, :38. Guard 3 → :02, :08, :14, :20, :26, :32, :38."
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- "Gaps before :33 are at most 3 minutes long. :33, :34, :35, :36 are all clear."
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successText: |
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**22:33.** You slip in behind Guard 3, pick the outer lock in three minutes fifty, and close the door
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a breath before Guard 1 whistles past. You're in the vault anteroom. One huge dial.
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keyName: Shadow Key
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- id: ch4
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title: The Vault Dial
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narrative: |
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Three-number combination dial. Kestrel left himself a reminder taped under the anteroom desk.
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It's not in any language you know.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a4-photo
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title: Photo on the anteroom desk
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type: photo
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body: |
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*Kestrel with his three sons, a joint birthday party this year. Each boy holds a cake
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with candles shaped like numerals: Noah's says **VII**, Liam's says **XIX**, Ben's says **XII**.
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Frame engraved: "My boys."*
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B:
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- id: b4-note
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title: Note taped under the desk (Inside Man reads it out letter by letter)
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type: note
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body: |
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## XLNYRMZGRLM: NB HLMH ZTVH, VOWVHG URIHG
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*Your laptop's notes on Kestrel: "Ancient-cipher nerd. Favourite: the mirror alphabet. A↔Z, B↔Y, C↔X..."*
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lock:
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id: lock-dial
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prompt: Dial the combination.
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inputType: code
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format: "NN-NN-NN"
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answers: ["191207", "19127"]
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hints:
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- "Mirror alphabet: A↔Z, B↔Y, C↔X. X → C, L → O, N → M..."
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- "The note says: COMBINATION: MY SONS AGES, ELDEST FIRST."
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- "Ages are XIX = 19, XII = 12, VII = 7. Eldest first: 19-12-07."
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successText: |
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**19-12-07.** Twelve tons of steel swing open on silent hinges.
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A wall of safe deposit boxes. Hundreds of them. **Which one is his?**
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keyName: Vault Key
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- id: ch5
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title: Box Number
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narrative: |
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Kestrel doesn't keep stolen goods under his own name. He uses aliases, all birds of prey.
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On the anteroom terminal, a sticky note with a database query in his handwriting.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: a5-query
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title: Sticky note on the terminal
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type: note
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body: |
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```sql
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SELECT b.box_no
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FROM boxes b
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JOIN clients c ON c.client_id = b.client_id
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WHERE c.alias LIKE 'K%'
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AND b.size = 'L'
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AND b.last_opened >= '2026-06-01';
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```
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- id: a5-clients
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title: Terminal screen, CLIENTS table
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type: table
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body: |
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| client_id | alias |
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|-----------|------------|
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| 101 | Kestrel |
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| 102 | Heron |
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| 103 | Kite |
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| 104 | Kingfisher |
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| 105 | Osprey |
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B:
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- id: b5-boxes
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title: Downloaded BOXES table (laptop)
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type: table
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body: |
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| box_no | client_id | size | last_opened |
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|--------|-----------|------|-------------|
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| 214 | 101 | M | 2026-07-14 |
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| 233 | 103 | L | 2026-05-31 |
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| 309 | 103 | L | 2026-03-02 |
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| 317 | 104 | L | 2026-08-30 |
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| 402 | 102 | L | 2026-09-01 |
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| 411 | 101 | L | 2026-05-29 |
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| 518 | 105 | L | 2026-09-10 |
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| 520 | 104 | S | 2026-09-11 |
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lock:
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id: lock-box
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prompt: Which box do you open?
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inputType: code
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format: Box number
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answers: ["317"]
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hints:
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- "Aliases starting with K: Kestrel (101), Kite (103), Kingfisher (104)."
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- "Large boxes for those clients: 233, 309, 317, 411."
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- Only 317 was opened on or after 1 June 2026.
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successText: |
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**Box 317.** Inside, wrapped in a bank cloth: Gran's emerald necklace. And a stack of other
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"held as security" jewellery with little tags. You photograph every tag for the police.
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keyName: Emerald Key
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finale:
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type: escape
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prompt: Alarms trip as you leave the vault. The getaway meet point is in a coded text from your driver.
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clues:
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A:
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- id: af-text
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title: Text from the driver (on the Inside Man's burner)
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type: transcript
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body: |
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```
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MUTLEETSTHODIREAEP
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```
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*"Zig-zag it. Rails = floors in that building. You know the rest."*
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B:
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- id: bf-blueprint
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title: Kestrel Private Bank blueprint, cover sheet
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type: document
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body: |
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**Floors:** Ground (banking hall), First (offices), Second (vault and anteroom).
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*Basement: none. The vault is upstairs, which is why the lift is reinforced.*
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- id: bf-railfence
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title: Your notes on zig-zag (rail fence) ciphers
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type: note
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body: |
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Write the message in a zig-zag down and up across N rails, then read each rail left to right.
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To decode: work out how many letters sit on each rail, split the text, then zig-zag back through.
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lock:
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id: lock-getaway
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prompt: Where's the meet point?
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inputType: text
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format: The place (a few words)
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answers: ["OLDPIER", "THEOLDPIER", "MEETUSATTHEOLDPIER"]
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hints:
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- The building has 3 floors, so 3 rails.
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- "18 letters on 3 rails split 5 / 9 / 4: MUTLE · ETSTHODIR · EAEP."
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- Zig-zag back through and it reads MEET US AT THE OLD PIER.
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successEnding: |
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**The old pier.** You sprint out the loading dock as sirens wake up three blocks away. The van's door
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is already open. Gran's necklace is in your pocket, and Kestrel's box of stolen tags is on its way to a
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journalist who's been waiting six months for exactly this.
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**You got out!** 💎🔑
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failEnding: |
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The morning shift arrives. You're still inside, holding a mop. (It's a game. Run it back?)
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