Not really, just an early April fools joke. Also, English is not my native language, so good luck with the reading ;)

You have 24 hours to find the ingredients for the magic spell that will let you enter the portal. After that, magic portal will close forever and you will be locked out. Entering the portal is just a first step in this adventure, but you already know that, senile wizard. Magic spell that is used to open the portal was written in a sacred book of rituals, but that book got partially destroyed when great Sages of the west caused mighty floods that swept our shores in the time of the last fool moon. Only traces of ink are left, but they are smudged and unreadable. Only thing you can deduce is that spell is made of 5 magical runes. First two, but also the last one, seam to be great and powerful. Third and fourth are smaller, might be less important, or just serve some different purpose, who could tell... You don't remember, because you are senile. But you do remember that you've hidden breadcrumbs in your other books, in the case of an emergency - and it is an emergency.

You find the first book in the attic of your crooked tower. Stench of dust and fungi fills your nose when you try to open it. You sneeze, then use your hat to clean your face. There it is, the first clue... "By edict of the Grand Inquisitor Mir Yannick, the Empire has been sealed off and the practice of mystic arts declared punishable by "Totemization" (a very bad thing). The only way to restore magic to the kingdom is to find three hidden artifacts: The Coconut of Quendor, The Cube of Foundation, and The Skull of Yoruk." Yes... you remember now... the first rune is the same as the first letter in the name of that underground empire you have visited so long ago... But what was it?

Thinking about the second rune, you remember Corwin, a Prince of Amber. You were friends, you and that madman who claimed that everything in the world is just a shadow of one true world named Amber. He's gone now, you haven't seen him in decades, but he did left you a book when he visited for the last time. He said the war is over, that he is off to explore a new pattern... and wanted to say goodbye. To leave something behind. That book was about his adventures, from the moment he woke up in the hospital, whatever that was, to the end of the great war between Amber and Courts of Chaos. There was more than one story, more than one chapter actually... How many were there?

Ah, books... Your entire life you've been collecting them. Even now, in this very moment, they hold the key for a new, magical world you are trying to enter. You remember that woman with the Golden Fool and two names. She is full of renegade magic, dedicated to returning dragons to the world. What was her well known name... Well, it's been too long since you read her books, apparently... You can remember only first and the very last letter of her full name. Could that be enough?

Oh, disaster! The last book is not where you believed it to B. Someone must have stole it, or worse! It may have been destroyed! No... look harder! Where could it B?

The portal... is it open? Is there time left? You must try!

Yes, it's a puzzle giveaway. No, it's not Skyrim, Indie bundle of some kind, or another fairy solitaire copy. Solve the quest to find out what awaits behind the portal!

1 decade ago*

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And... we have a winner. Gift is sent. If you had trouble with finding the right URL, now you can check what was all the fuss about. Click here to go trough the portal.

1 decade ago
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Not going to enter, but kudos to you for making an awesome puzzle!

1 decade ago
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I see where I went wrong now. But wait, you said "the first rune is the same as the first letter in the name of that underground empire you have visited so long ago... But what was it?" and yet Zork is not the name of that empire (unless I misunderstood something). Zork is just the name of the universe that was at first just a jargon name for the game, while the actual empire was at first called Quendor, then The Great Underground Empire, and then the Land of Frobozz.
What else confused me is that you mentioned full name of the author, so I thought you meant her real long name.
Other than that, it was fun, even though a bit frustrating to me, haha. Thank you very much for the giveaway and the puzzle!

1 decade ago
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"What was her well known name... " - Robin Hobb

"You can remember only first and the very last letter of her full name" - (first name + last name) - rb

"Zork is just the name of the universe that was at first just a jargon name for the game" - yes, but nevertheless, it's Z. You should have at least tried to use Z, knowing of Zork and stuff :)

1 decade ago
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lol, so i was right about everything except the first one) u liar=) I guess people who didnt pay much attention to what is the real undergroud empire , found ur giveaway TT. I was 100% sure about this one.

But it was fun anyway^^

1 decade ago
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Yeah, I guess sometimes it's easier for people who google for answers and then try everything that seams applicable, than to those who know something but miss a hint in the sea of text.

1 decade ago
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I did try Z, just not with RB, but MN. :) I somehow missed that combination when I've been trying many. Oh, well, better luck next time. It was fun in any case. ^^

1 decade ago
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Aw, too bad I missed this. I started solving the puzzle only to read it was over. XD

1 decade ago
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Closed 1 decade ago by NB264.