III. CLUES OF FACTS
Chapter 3
2–6 PM.
HOW MANY times do I have to look at the piece of this shit paper to figure what does it mean? I frowned. I guess it won’t be exciting as I thought. I can’t even determine this but I can assume that I am finding someone who is disabled. Deaf rather.
The paper that the old man gave me is a plain white paper with a monkey on it.
Yes, just a printed picture of a monkey attached with the paper. Yes. Nothing less, nothing more.
“What is this shit?” I can’t stop myself anymore to ask. They should at least gave me a clue. I looked at the two. “Hmm... next destination,” my forehead creased in this old man’s reply. Next destination? Means, I need to go to other places to find clue about who are they? Perhaps, my target rather.
“Seriously?” I asked in disbelief—narrow-eyed. The old man nodded at me as he stood. “Yes. You have seven more hours to solve that, I meant, all those. And, you are just hunting a human being. Nothing less, nothing more.” He stated before walking away from us. Now, only two people are occupying his room: me and Tyron.
Since there was no thoughts forming up in my mind, I rested my chin in my palm. My forehead creased when Tyron did funny faces. What the hell is wrong with this boy?
“What?” I irritatingly asked. He’s so annoying. He grinned at me, making me roll my eyes.
I can’t concentrate in this quest. Tss.
“What do you want?” I questioned impatiently. I was about to stand when he spoke. “UB.” He went on and then stood up. I sat there dumbfounded.
UB? Underworld bar?
That’s a clue, for sure. He won’t wait and won’t keep annoying me here for nothing. Surely, the old man asked him to do that. To give me a clue. I grinned.
UB... Underworld bar.
The last time I checked there was yesterday. I’d got a fight with a girl then Tyron called.
UB... called...
My forehead creased as I remember me and Tyron’s conversation.
Wait up.
“He was finding you, again. And expecting you. Maybe he got gossips about what have you done so he is giving you another quest.”
Expecting me... shoot! The reason why Shantelle’s statement a while ago sounds familiar.
“Alright. He’s in the room. And he is expecting you.”
Right. Old man is expecting me.
I looked at the paper where a monkey was attached. Deaf...
The person I am finding for the next clue is a deaf. Old man said that he is expecting me and maybe this one servant of him didn’t heard what he declared.
What the fuck.
I immediately ran to grab a knife and ran towards his door. I pointed the prickly part of the knife in old man’s servant in his door. The left servant. The one and only person who blocked me while entering.
It’s so easy! I didn’t even sweat.
This would be fun, I assume.
“Where or who hands does the next clue placed?” I asked, pushing the sharp metal of the knife to his bare neck. If he really won’t speak, I won’t hesitate to kill him. Right now, right where he was standing.
Still, he didn’t speak. I really don’t want to kill a human being, especially an innocent servant but the heck! He was trying my patience! What potion did that old man gave to his servant and they are this loyal to him?
I am 100% sure that this is the right place or person of the monkey attached with the paper.
Sorry not sorry, I was about to push the knife on his servant’s neck when I heard a voice. See? They really were trying my patience. They could just speak about the next clue so they won’t be a cold corpse.
I looked at old man. Yes. He was the one who spoke. Who else could it be? Creatures here doesn’t have any guts to communicate with me.
“Follow me.” He commanded then moved his ass up here. He walked away. I annoyingly throw the knife before following him. I fixed my dress. I got upset so much. Tss.
“Where are we going?” I questioned. He stopped at his door. This is his house. The devil’s hut. Me, being his... villainess, setting out to fit my ass here. His favorite villain. The one who excels in different ways of crimes. No other than Lacey, no other than me.
“Do you still have hangover? Of course, I am giving you the clue. You figured the first, the second’s mine,” he replied. He opened the door.
“Funny. You both were in at your office a while ago and the next clue was just standing at the door and you still left? You really want to shit yourself, ain’t you?” I went on. Sarcasm is visible in my tone.
“To answer your question, yes.” He answered then handed me a paper, again.
I cursed mentally.
Again?
I closed my eyes, trying to compose myself. Kalmado ako! KALMADO! I AM CALM AT THIS STATE SO I CRUMPLED THE PAPER THAT THE OLD MAN HANDED ME!
“Well... you won’t reach the end, Lacey, a short-tempered lady.” He told me and entered his room. Is he really teasing and attempting to piss me off or it was just me who doesn’t have her soul back in her body since morning?
I runned my palm in my face. Just what the hell? I heave a very heavy sigh before picking the paper. This is against my will.
I started to uncrumple the paper.
My forehead creased upon seeing what’s inside.
The short segment of the paper had this phrase:
blank is a light meal or appetizer made of slim portion bananas, spilth with brown sugar, twirled in a spring roll wrapper and fried till the wrapper is crisp.
What in hell is this?
As I am endeavoring to understand what’s the answer, my forehead is still creased. Light meal? Appetizer? A food. This food is thinly sliced bananas with a sugar, wrapped with a wrapper?
Banana cue? Banana cue has no wrapper.
Turon? It has. And what in hell is this food connection in this chase?
Then suddenly, my brain click like a light bulb because I have an idea. I remembered old man’s statement. “And you are just hunting a human being. Nothing less, nothing more.”
Human being?
Turon... it only shouts one person whom I know very well.
Tyron.
I held my stomach as I burst out laughing. This chase is so witty! I even wiped the small amount of tears that was covering my eyelids. I am tearing up due to laughing so hard.
His servant being a deaf, Tyron being a Turon. What’s next? I grinned. My pupils are getting excited.
Going back. Where in hell would I find that dipshit?
“I hope you got choked,” I turn my chest to Tyron who’s now glaring at me.
“I am glad, Turon. Laughing because of someone’s nickname, especially yours is so damn funny,” I teased making him turn his back. He really hates his name yet he still chooses it. Tss.
I just followed him and he took me to a car. We came out.
“Enter. You can’t escape, I meant, I won’t give the next clue unless you answer all the questions, CORRECTLY.” Tyron emphasized the word correctly. I shrugged my shoulders. “Is this some kind of jokes or your lame pranks?” I asked as we both entered the cold car.
“Dipshit. These are clues,” my eyebrow furrowed. “That’s my line,” I said to him. He examined at me from head to toe.
“Look, boy, I invented you,” we both chuckled at my thought. We still have this bond. I missed this.
“You witch,” he responded kaya tumaas ulit ang kilay ko. “Correction,” I declared. “Here we go again...” I heard him mumbled, making my side lips arouse. He really knew me well, huh.
“A gorgeous, sexy and hot witch. Polish your references,” he rolled his eyes at me. I chuckled.
He faced right to me. He is on the driver sit and I am beside him. “Remember, these are clues so reminisce them well,” I nodded at his authoritative voice.
“If you mixed the color blue and red, what color would you make?” he inquired.
Basic. I studied this way back high school. In my first year, I guess? As far as I knew, mixing colors are tackled in elementary.
“Purple,” I acknowledged. He nodded then injected another question. “Blank or known as avarice, cupidity, or covetousness, is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of desire,” my forehead creased. “Are we tackling the capital vices?” I fired.
Tyron mentioned lust; an intense longing for sinful sexual acts or it could be such unbridled desires such as money or power. Gluttony, overindulgence of anything to the point of waste; there are five listed forms of gluttony. Nevertheless, lust and gluttony, two of the seven deadly sins or also known as capital vices or cardinal sins.
“Greed...” I whispered, enough volume that the one who sat beside me could hear. “Correct. I’m gonna share a quote that was familiar to you,” I nodded.
“Greed is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things.” I closed my eyes. It is really familiar.
I don’t know anymore. What is he trying to imply? The quote was written by Thomas Aquinas, the one who also listed the five forms of gluttony.
“Thomas Aquinas...”
“Impressive!” He clapped his hand before handling me a paper? The hell? Again? Paper again?! He started the engine before opening his mouth and before he drove the car.
“Open it. That’s the last blew,” I just ignored him. I was hoping that this would excite my pupils. I opened it.
I looked at its contents carefully. This is what I prayed for!
The paper says:
I have four edges and vertices,
an angle, 90°—
when you turn me, I’ll oppose you;
if I were you, I would love to go back.
12-52-45-14-43-24-41-31-22-22-23-55-23-25-52-52-53-23-23-45-25-52-23-23-52
The moment wherein... your eyes are bulging out of your head because you feel so blessed for someone who granted your wish yet you don’t have a scratch paper to crack it? From giggling to frowning. Tss.
“Tyron, buy a paper and pen,” I commanded him while still looking at the paper.
I raised my gaze to Tyron who’s now holding a pen and paper in his hand; giving those things to me. I smiled at him so he did too.
To the form itself and to the first phrase, I therefore conclude that this is a Polybius Square. Square, who has 4 edges and vertices was meant to be a Polybius Square.
1 2 3 4 5
1 A | B | C | D | E
2 F | G | H | I/J | K
3 L | M | N | O | P
4 Q | R | S | T | U
5 V | W |X | Y | Z
12-52-45-14-43-24-41-31-22-22-23-55-23-25-52-52-53-23-23-45-25-52-23-23-52 is equal to:
BWUDSJQLGGHZHKWWXHHUKWHHV
It doesn’t make sense.
I looked up at the phrase above of it. An angle, 90°—?
If it is an angle, it is a right angle. If we drew the right-angle visualization, we would get at least the clock’s hands. The long was pointed to 12 and the short would be pointed at 3.
I handed Tyron a sheet of paper. “Do you have another pen?” he nodded at me so I instructed him what will he do. I have an idea what is this, I am confident, hundred percent.
I bet, it’s a Caesar’s shift. And the approximate shift is 3.
“You know Caesar’s shift. Do you?” as usual, he nodded at me. I taught him what to do in Caesar’s shift and I will ask that? Dipshit, Lacey.
I removed those thoughts. “You go downward, I’ll go in up. The shift is 3, aye?”
After a couple of minutes of decoding it, we came up to two different letters.
Mine was, YTRAPGNIDDEWEHTTAEERHTEES. And of course, my companion, my little creature, Tyron, EWUDSJQLGGHZHKWWDHHUKWHHV.
Nahihilo na ako. I shook my head. I even slap my cheek softly. I heard the car door opened and Tyron go outside. I just let him go because he can take care of himself.
I have 3 more hours to finish this. It’s nearly 4 PM. I exhaled.
Again, I looked at the second to the last clue: when you turn me, I’ll oppose you.
I am sure that what I or we did was right. It might just be a triple code so we still haven’t solved this. This is not the last and if, we get unto the last and nothing happens, one thing is sure, I am wrong about my deduction.
“When you turn me, I’ll oppose you...” I whispered those words again and again. Over again, repeatedly.
I closed my left eye, if I was facing North, South is what I am opposing at. Same goes to neither West or East.
I really can’t think of any, honestly. I love mysteries that include solving cases, riddles, ciphers or code but doesn’t mean I am accelerating in that specific content.
I cold dripping water in a can touched my cheek so I opened my eyes and look at Tyron. Turns out he’s back and he brought two sodas. “Thanks,” I uttered. He gave me the soda which I accepted wholeheartedly. I drank it.
I handed the paper to Tyron. I showed Tyron the paper and pointed out the third. Maybe he knows something or a clue or something that would help us to solve this.
Maybe he would get an idea if he sees the paper. “I was once took a peek when old man was writing this but he didn’t mention any. He gave me the part of questioning you, giving to you and nothing more...” I heard him murmuring those. I stayed quiet.
“I doubt that we should stop in here. In the last clue; if I were you, I would love to go back. So I guess, we would be back at Polybius Square. I count those letters and it was 25 so let’s see?” He explained kaya tumango ako. He has a point.
“Instead of ABC, we will put the letters we’d decoded,” he specified. I saw another hope. Thanks to this best boy beside me.
We did what he said so we came up to these squares:
This is Tyron’s.
E | J | H | W | K
W | Q | Z | D | W
U | L | H | H | H
D | G | K | H | H
S | G | W | U | V
And this is what I decrypted.
Y | G | E | T | H
T | N | W | A | T
R | I | E | E | E
A | D | H | E | E
P | D | T | R | S
I squinted my eyes. Something’s off...
“It doesn’t make sense...” I heard Tyron so I chuckled. “Yours is the one who doesn’t make sense,” I replied to him. I lifted my gaze unto him and flip his forehead.
“Coming from you,” he really won’t let himself be loss. I just shake my head. We just wasted another paper yet we or should I say—I got enlightened upon doing that.
I don’t know if sadya na una ang when you turn me, I’ll oppose you kaysa sa, if I were you, I would love to go back or old man was just making us wonder. Nililito niya kami dahil binaliktad niya iyon or iyon talaga ang tamang baybay.
First, we need to go back to Polybius Square, luckily, Tyron counted the letters and it has 25 so we changed the ABC into the letters we get, then, on the second to the last clue; when you turn me, I’ll oppose you, we get mine na may sense and what Tyron deciphered is wrong.
Here it is, if you read backward what you had gotten after shifting it into 3, YTRAPGNIDDEWEHTTAEERHTEES, you will be puzzled because it looks like nonsense but you would obtain SEETHREEATTHEWEDDINGPARTY if you read it backward you will acquire it instantly—as what stated at the clue. JUST IF you did the last trick, you will get enlightened, you will surely read it with a space and better understanding. And, if not, you will go back to zero, confused at this matter.
Read it from the bottom.
Y | G | E | T | H
T | N | W | A | T
R | I | E | E | E
A | D | H | E | E
P | D | T | R | S
And you will get, SEE THREE AT THE WEDDING PARTY.
So who is these three people I will see?
And whose wedding party?
I went back in track when Tyron clapped his hand. “Bravo! Bravo! But...”
“Whose wedding party?” I continued his sentence so he nodded. “Did old man mentioned something to you?”
“Yes. Wedding parties! Although tons of it so I do not remember,” wedding parties? Then, the one I answered a while ago inhaled by my nostrils.
Purple... greed... Thomas.
Right! Those two! “Please do remember. By any chance, did old man mentioned two people named Purple and Thomas? Like, getting married or what?” I asked him.
We molded into a minute of silence not until he snapped his hand and yelled. “Yes! He did!”
“Great! Let’s go back to his hut because for sure, he will dress me up first before he gave the location.”
“Roger that!”
I must say, excellent. Yet, old man needs more practice. He could change the row or change the code he would use to make it more hard. But yes, I was happy because although he doesn’t like making such solving schemes, he prepared one for me.
**