į� Once Upon a Book Club... į� discussion

RULES
� Everyone starts from the same location in the carnival. Remember, you're all playing as one team. (this is not related to the houses as of now)
� Follow the clues to move to new locations
� In case of a wrong answer, you will have to face the consequences (depending on the place)
� If you get a bonus/ lucky point, you will have a special advantage which you can choose to move on by yourself or share with the rest of the group.
� You can adopt personas, be yourself or whatever you feel like. Make sure you interact with others before sending your final answers/guesses
The Characters
Ringmaster- Appears at random times to give clues, warnings etc
The fortune teller - to be revealed soon
š« you can summon each of the following only once throughout the game to assist you
Librarian Ghost - you can get help from this ghost only if you answer her question
The Mime- helps without using words
The Carnival Barker - A slightly bumbling, ghostly barker with a top hat and a striped vest (provides advice but it may or may not be helpful)
You find yourself standing inside a massive circus tent, its striped canopy rising high above you. In the center of the tent, a single spotlight flickers on, illuminating a rickety stage. šŖ
a deep, booming voice cuts through the darknessā�
Ringmaster: "Welcomeā� to the Great Circus of Shadows!" My dear, dear guestsā� youāve arrived at last. I was beginning to think you wouldnāt show. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Ringmaster, the keeper of this carnivalā� and now, it seems, your host for the evening. Iām afraid youāve made a terrible mistake, my friends. You see, this isnāt the kind of carnival you can just walk away from. No, noā� once you enter, the only way out is to play the game. To solve the puzzles. To conquer the carnivalās manyā� attractions. Use any unconventional methods to get out and you will be trapped.
āOh yes, there have been others. Poor souls who wandered in, just like youā� and never found their way out. Now, theyāre part of the show. Perhaps youāll meet them along the wayā¦ā�
He tips his hat with a flourish and vanishes.

You roam around and come across the following clues-
The Stage
The stage is draped in faded red curtains, and behind them is a dusty blackboard covered in jumbled letters. Scrawled at the top is the phrase: āAll the worldās a stageā¦ā�
The torch
In one corner of the tent, you notice a life-sized mannequin dressed as a fire-eater, wearing a flame-patterned cloak and holding an extinguished torch. You light the torch and a hidden message appears on the fabric of the cloak. āIn a world where books burn, numbers hold the key.ā�
The Posters
Lining the tent walls are old carnival posters , but one seems weirdly familiar. It features the following words
But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing farther then he utteredānot a feather then he flutteredā�
Till I scarcely more than muttered āOther friends have flown beforeā�
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.ā�
Then the bird said-
Using these clues, do you think you can solve the code? You have 3 tries to get it right. discuss before deciding and send your final answer in bold or in the format
FINAL CODE: _ _ / _ _ _ / _
hint - the code is in the same order as the clues (first two digits for the first clue, the next three for the second clue, and the last digit for the third clue

![Jasmine (Jazzie) [Jesus Loves You!!] | 54 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1746130895p1/174090398.jpg)

The code is 6 digits so it's certainly 27/___/_
The second clue is strange but since the only thing that comes to mind when you say 'burning books' is the n@zis, maybe it's 510??? or it could be the earliest record of book burnings which is 213 bce in china.
The third is a quote from Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" and the bird says 'nevermore' where the quote is left off. Since the third clue is supposed to give one number I think perhaps the code is [27/___/0]
What do ya'll think??? Since we have only 3 guesses?

![Jasmine (Jazzie) [Jesus Loves You!!] | 54 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1746130895p1/174090398.jpg)
Personally, I think Brooke's guess is most likely the answer, but Polaris's is a really good guess, too!


I think it might be 27/451/9š©·
I'll post the poem below for reference incase someone else sees something different.
The Raven
By Edgar Allan Poe
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten loreā�
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
āāTis some visitor,ā� I muttered, ātapping at my chamber doorā�
Only this and nothing more.ā�
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;āvainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrowāsorrow for the lost Lenoreā�
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenoreā�
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled meāfilled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
āāTis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber doorā�
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;ā�
This it is and nothing more.ā�
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
āSir,ā� said I, āor Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard youāāhere I opened wide the door;ā�
Darkness there and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, āLenore?ā�
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, āLenore!āā�
Merely this and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
āSurely,ā� said I, āsurely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery exploreā�
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;ā�
āTis the wind and nothing more!ā�
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber doorā�
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber doorā�
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
āThough thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,ā� I said, āart sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shoreā�
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Nightās Plutonian shore!ā�
Quoth the Raven āNevermore.ā�
Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaningālittle relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber doorā�
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as āNevermore.ā�
But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing farther then he utteredānot a feather then he flutteredā�
Till I scarcely more than muttered āOther friends have flown beforeā�
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.ā�
Then the bird said āNevermore.ā�
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
āDoubtless,ā� said I, āwhat it utters is its only stock and store
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden boreā�
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of āNeverānevermoreā�.ā�
But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yoreā�
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking āNevermore.ā�
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosomās core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushionās velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated oāer,
But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating oāer,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
āWretch,ā� I cried, āthy God hath lent theeāby these angels he hath sent thee
Respiteārespite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!ā�
Quoth the Raven āNevermore.ā�
āProphet!ā� said I, āthing of evil!āprophet still, if bird or devil!ā�
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchantedā�
On this home by Horror hauntedātell me truly, I imploreā�
Is thereāis there balm in Gilead?ātell meātell me, I implore!ā�
Quoth the Raven āNevermore.ā�
āProphet!ā� said I, āthing of evil!āprophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above usāby that God we both adoreā�
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenoreā�
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.ā�
Quoth the Raven āNevermore.ā�
āBe that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!ā� I shrieked, upstartingā�
āGet thee back into the tempest and the Nightās Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!āquit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!ā�
Quoth the Raven āNevermore.ā�
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demonās that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light oāer him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be liftedānevermore!
Congrats!! You did it. As you enter the final number (27/451/9) , you hear a soft, satisfying click. The tent trembles slightly beneath your feet, almost as if itās exhaling, and the exit flap slowly creaks open on its own. Cool air rushes in, carrying the faint, ghostly strains of carnival music and distant, high-pitched laughter that raises the hairs on the back of your neck. You step outside, only to find yourself in another attraction- The Hall of Mirrors, its towering, glassy walls reflecting everything exceptā� you. A chill runs down your spine. Before you can hesitate, the tent flap snaps shut behind you with a sharp thud, sealing you outāand locking you deeper into the carnivalās grip. Thereās no turning back now. You have to move forward.
As you move deeper into the Hall of Mirrors, you notice something oddāseveral of the mirrors arenāt showing your reflection at all. Instead, they shimmer with a strange, empty darkness. Below each mirror, thereās a small plaque resting on a pedestal. Each mirror has one plaque tied to its pedestal and they all feature different words. When you hold up the word in front of the mirror, itās reflection is seen!
Suddenly, the Ringmasterās voice returns, crackling like static in your ears:
āAh, the Hall of Mirrors is tricky, isnāt it? These mirrors donāt care about how you lookāthey care about the words you bring to them. Behind each mirror is a door .Identify the true mirror, and the true path will be revealed. But bewareā� not all reflections are friendly. Go through the wrong door, and you cannot returnā�
There are five mirrors in the room. Examine their reflections and identify which mirrors are genuine
MIRROR 1 - ÉnÉlÉŹÉnon
MIRROR 2- nÉilÉdÉqiĻ
pĘØÉʧ
MIRROR 3- lÉiÉnÉÉĘØbĻ
ʧ
MIRROR 4- ÉÉÉÉibdA
MIRROR 5- ĘØĻ
oiÉÉĻ
poā
�
(can have more than 1 answer+ you have two chances)


![Jasmine (Jazzie) [Jesus Loves You!!] | 54 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1746130895p1/174090398.jpg)
Mirror 1 says nonchalant
Mirror 2 says Sesquipebalian
Mirror 3 says Substantial
Mirror 4 says Abdicate
Mirror 5 says Loquacious

Nonchalant:
(of a person or manner) feeling or appearing casually calm and relaxed; not displaying anxiety, interest, or enthusiasm.
"she gave a nonchalant shrug"
Sesquipedalian:
characterized by long words; long-winded.
Substantial:
of considerable importance, size, or worth.
Abdicate:
fail to fulfill or undertake (a responsibility or duty).
Loquacious:
tending to talk a great deal; talkative.
Ringmaster- Appears at random times to give clues, warnings etc
The fortune teller - to be revealed soon
š« you can summon each of the following only once throughout the game to a..."
[reminder that you can always summon the help characters (once each)]

Nonchalant is my second guess, since it can also mean not show what you know or not showing what you're capable of, based on context
My first guess would be Sybstantial since it literally means important.
what does everyone else think?

Mirror 5 reflects Loquaciousāa genuine personality trait, expressive and alive. The other mirrors either imply indifference, pretension, or surrenderānone of which feel like true reflections.
So I think the answer might be Mirror 3 and 5, what do u guys think?


OMG you're right!!!! I thought it was a misspelling but turns out all of them are spelled incorrectly except abdicate and loquacious!
The answer is on of them isn't it?!
The Ringmasterās voice crackles through the air, smooth and taunting:
āOh dear, feeling a bit stuck? Did you really think it would be that simple? This is a carnival of stories, after all. Perhaps youāre looking in the wrong place. Think carefullyā� what stories do you already carry with you?ā�
You glance down and realize you have the book you brought with you to the book club. You slowly raise the book toward the nearest mirror. It worked! Use it to help you find the correct mirror, in case the words werenāt enough.
MIRROR 1.
MIRROR 2.
MIRROR 3.
MIRROR 4.
MIRROR 5.
Welcome to The Abandoned Carnival, a place where laughter has long been replaced by the hollow echoes of forgotten souls.
Once a vibrant hub of joy, this carnival now lies shrouded in darkness. The rusted ferris wheel groans under the weight of its own twisted history, and the scent of decay lingers in the air. The carnivalās games still hum with an eerie energy, but something sinister stirs beneath the surface.
As you and your team wander deeper into the forgotten fairgrounds, the unsettling feeling that you're being watched becomes unbearable. Whispers float on the wind, and the distant sound of carnival music, long silenced, begins to play once more.But bewareā� the clowns are still here. Only now, they donāt wear smilesāthey hunger for something far worse.
You have one chance to solve the carnivalās dark secrets and escape its cursed grip. Fail, and youāll become part of the show forever. The countdown begins. Will you make it out aliveā� or will you join the twisted attraction?