In the previous MW Codes, Ciphers, and Puzzles Series, I shared an image hiding a message using Morse Code. It was in the Flowers and Leaves. It might have looked like an ordinary decorative frame around an cute dog, but it hid a message. This message of Morse Code was found in the 2004 A Treasure’s Trove armchair treasure hunt.
I also left a puzzle image in that post to practice on (shown below). It also used Morse Code and was from the same hunt. Can you discover the message?
The dandelion directions provide either a ‘Dot’ or ‘Dash’, as shown. It is a Dot if straight down; a Dash if off to the side (like a dash).
The message is: SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND
The next images, and feature of this segment, are from the 1984 Armchair Treasure Hunt, Treasure: In Search of the Golden Horse. The prize for solving this hunt was $500,000 dollars. A golden horse, with a Key to a safe deposit box inside its belly, was buried somewhere in the United States. This hunt ended with not being solved by the end date, and with the prize given to charity.
Treasure: In Search of the Golden Horse was released in different forms. It was created by Dr. Crypton (aka Paul Hoffman). In the book version of the hunt, the following images of license plates were seen. The letters, MLGGS- VCER, surely seemed to mean something. But what?
It was realized they were in Cipher and used the Atbash Cipher to solve it. This cipher is found used in the Bible, and on page 33 of the book was the sentence-
“Soon she began to feel awash in the babel of crowds and cars and to feel trapped in air so hazy she could barely see through it.” (seen below)
It is believed that sentence gave the hint for the Atbash to be used to decode the license plates, because of the word ‘Babel’ and its connection to the Bible was mentioned.
The Atbash Cipher maps the alphabet to its reverse. A becomes Z, B becomes Y, C becomes X, and so on.
So the letters on the license plate became:
NOT THE XVI (taken to be read as ‘not the 16’)
This clue was used further into the puzzle. While it was certain ‘Not the XVI’ is what the plates decoded to, it was unclear what ‘Not the XVI’ meant at first. What 16? It was thought later to mean Tennessee- the 16th State admitted to the Union.
To myself is was a play of words that meant ‘pass on Tennessee’ or ‘not the 16/Tennessee. Near Tennessee Pass was where the Golden Horse was found.
It’s interesting that code alone offered confirmation for the later solved location of the hidden Golden Horse.
Here is a puzzle using the Atbash Cipher. Enjoy some practice to solve it. Might it help you in the next Armchair Treasure Hunt you work on?
ORUV XZM LMOB YV FMWVIHGLLW YZXPDZIWH; YFG RG NFHG YV OREVW ULIDZIWH.
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