The Syndicate

I had to streamline the Second and Third Chamber.

Here's what they were supposed to be:

SECOND CHAMBER:

OK, you may have noticed the numbers on the books. You were supposed to take the first letter of the title for each book, and put them in order according to the number on the front. Then, you were supposed to take the first letter of the protagonist's (or "Hero") name, and put them in order in reference to the numbers written inside the book. This would give you a cipher. The keyword to that cipher would be "Hero".

That would give you a phrase in Latin, which when translated, would give you the password.

Unfortunately, none of you noticed the numbers, which were supposed to be the thing that started the chase. By the time someone bothered to look inside the books, I had given up, and just gave the cipher to them, along with the keyword underneath.

Mongoose commented on it, and then forgot about it.

CHAMBER THREE

This chamber was not supposed to be a vote among the eliminated, but the original plan just wouldn't work with two people. I decided to pit the two against each other in a competition to prove their innocence, rather than watch Mongoose run around in circles for another 24 hours.

I really do love the original plan for this chamber, so I'm not going to give it away. If I ever host another one of these, expect to see it.

Epignosis wrote:I want to know why I didn't win. I assassinated Turnip Head. The End.

I decided he was up to no good when he fumbled the Morse code business.

He tried to kill you at the same time. It was a stalemate.

Mongoose awoke in a public park, passed out a bench. A homeless person poked her with a stick.

"You're in my fuckin' spot!"

This quickly woke Mongoose up.

"Sorry sir!"

"Bitch!"

That wasn't very nice.

Wait, what? She was just trapped in a hell chamber out of Saw, and now she's in a park? Was any of that real? Mongoose looked for something to confirm that the trials of the last nine days actually happened, but she found nothing. It was much easier to look out onto the grass and just ignore and shut off the part of the brain that housed those memories. The natural beauty was almost enough to make her forget everything, and pass it off as some kind of hallucination.

Almost.

THE END

Was it over?

Turnip Head lied next to her, curled up into the fetal position, blood pouring out his mouth.

It's odd, but in that brief second, Mongoose felt something resembling pity for the vile excuse for humanity lying next to her.

It passed quickly.

"It's over right?"

Silence.

"I won?"

Silence.

"Hello?"

Oh my god, this is where I die. Trapped in a glass fucking box with a dead psycho.

The intercom crackled to life, and Mongoose almost fainted with joy.

"Congratulations. You have completed Stage Two of the application process. We will notify when Stage Three begins."

Wait, what?

This isn't over?

Mongoose began to feel very tired.

These motherfuckers cannot do that, just expect me to what? Come back later?

Mongoose could barely keep her eyes open.

I thought that the deal was: Finish this, and you're done with everything! Nobody mentioned another fucking round! How many of these will I have to do? How many of these can I do?

Mongoose fell to the floor, unconscious.

The days passed with a blur. Turnip Head didn't stop to reflect until he was stuck in this fucking glass box with Mongoose.

He had to win. He had to take his spot in an organization that controlled the world. This is what his life has been leading up to.

Turnip Head began to cough.

Mongoose couldn't even comprehend the sacrifices he had made for this game. All the bodies... And what had she done? Just blow up a couple of people, and sit on her ass. No, she didn't prove that she could even handle this competition.

Turnip Head coughed some more.

I traveled all those miles to that fucking hangar. I spent the month's rent getting there! I'm the one who spent his whole life studying alone for this great challenge! I'm the one who had to lie to everyone! I'm the one who had to kill all of those people!

Turnip Head barely noticed all the blood.

I deserve this.

Turnip Head died alone, rambling like a madman, trapped inside a glass cage.

Turnip Head couldn't do it. He looked around at the seven people next to him. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill all of these people, with families, and children, and- But he had to. The Agent had made it very clear that if he wanted to stay alive, he had to do this. The first thing Turnip Head did in the game was hide in a saferoom. In this isolated area, he began to pace back and forth. His first priority had to be self-preservation. Through the small window in the door, he stared at the gun sitting on the table. If they find out, they'll fucking kill me. Like I was a terrorist or a criminal. He couldn't let that happen. johns2jj was the one who grabbed the gun, and he was threat numero uno. What was he thinking about, sitting in his saferoom? He had to be going over the list of players. What if he thought I was suspicious? What would I do if he knew who I was? He had to be eliminated. This was for sure. But could Turnip Head do that? Kill a man? And for what? Picking up a firearm? No. He wouldn't do that. A small panel in the back of the room opened to reveal a set of night vision goggles, which looked more like something out of Star Trek than the bulky things TH usually associated with goggles, and a large knife. Turnip Head picked up the knife, testing it's weight. He knew that his time was coming. Once the blackout happened, he would have his chance to eliminate John. He had to make a decision. As he agreed mentally that he had to come to a decision, the lights turned off. Turnip Head audibly gulped. A body that was not his own put on the goggles, left the room, and entered John's saferoom. TH was right in front of the poor man, although John had no idea. Closing his eyes, TH stabbed John in the gut. John immediately howled with pain, and fired his gun. The bullet ricocheted off the wall and all over the room, until it finally reached it's resting place inside of John's skull. Well. How fucking symbolic.

TH expected to feel sadness, remorse, or even anger. Instead, he felt something he hadn't felt in a while. Turnip Head felt powerful.

Turnip Head had one hell of a hangover. He really had to stop going on booze filled rampages with his friends. And by booze filled rampages, he meant drunken LAN parties. The black bag on his head made him realize that this was not in fact his bedroom. Suddenly, the bag was pulled off his head to reveal what looked like some interrogation room at a police station. A mirror was built into the wall on his left, which was almost definitely one-way. Sitting across a table from him was the friendly Secret Service agent from earlier. Wanting to scratch his nose, he noticed that his hands were bound by some kind of rope. An awkward silence permeated the room. Should he talk first? Turnip Head hadn't really been in this kind of situation before, and was not sure how to proceed.

Luckily, the Agent began to talk.

"Congratulations on completing Stage One of testing."

"How many stages are there?"

"Four."

Well, that cleared things up.

"What kind of a test was that?"

"Don't you find it a little odd that a politician would drop a letter in front of hundreds of people, and just forget about it? And that secret services would allow a random civilian to just jump over the railing and read that letter? And also that the letter would have an address printed on the envelope, even though it showed no signs of being mailed? And that the address would lead to an airplane hangar in the middle of, what was it? 'Bum-fuck nowhere.' "

"Uh, well, yes. I do find it odd."

TH really should of shut up by this point.

"But, you are the first person to actually arrive at the address, so once again, congratulations."

"Thanks."

TH felt like a massive tool.

"So, uh, sir, what is this testing for?"

"Have you ever heard of MENSA?"

"Yeah."

"They let one in fifty into the group. One in fifty."

"Yeah."

TH had said "Yeah" far too much by now.

"The Three Chambers Collective was created as a much more exclusive organization. We've accepted 2 people over the last decade."

"And you want me?"

TH had very low self-esteem by this point.

"Possibly. You see, instead of using an IQ test, we have a much more complex application process."

"And I just completed Stage One of that process?"

TH felt as if he had put two pieces together out of a 500 piece puzzle.

"Yes, very good. Normally, we wouldn't tell you all this, but we want you for a very special position."

"What kind of position?"

TH had a dirty mind.

"You are going to compete in Stage Two, and we're offering you a special role in that Stage. If you win with that role, you can skip Stage Three, and go directly to the Finals."

"What would I have to do in this 'role'?"

"We cannot disclose that at this time."

TH thought it over for maybe half a second.

"Fine. I'll do it."

"Very well."

Awkward silence.

"So now what?"

"Tell me, have you ever killed before?"

Turnip Head had bided his time, and he was ready to step up.

Secret societies had always fascinated him. The Illuminati, the Templars, all of those guys. It was a fun hobby, and he got a rush every time he uncovered a "clue" to the organization's true intentions. In the back of his mind, he knew it was all fake, but he didn't care. It was something to do on weekends, as an escape from his tedious desk job. He never truly expected to find anything, that is, until July 4th. Living in Washington D.C. gave him an excuse to go to as many political events as possible. After each rally, speech, or holiday, he would post photos to an online forum, with captions like "CAN YOU SPOT THE REPTILE?" or "ILLUMINATI SYMBOL IN LEFT CORNER". One time, he even sold some of his shots to a newspaper. Naturally, he bought tens of copies for friends, family, and anyone who would listen.

That July 4th, TH had made sure to arrive at the grounds as early as he could. Sure enough, he was as close as a "civilian" could be to the political bigwigs. A gruff secret service agent stood a few feet away, giving him a death stare. The president arrived, and Turnip Head began to take pictures. At the end of the festivities, TH noticed something. In the rush to leave, the Majority Whip had dropped something, a piece of paper or an envelope. After the politicians had been safely escorted out, TH ran to pick up the envelope. A small blue logo was at the top of the package. Next to it were three letters: T C C. Underneath that was an address somewhere in Alaska. Before he could open the parcel, the secret service agent from earlier snatched it out of his grasp. TH ran away before anyone started to ask questions.

It could be nothing, of course. That was always the most likely scenario. But something about that letter intrigued him. He tried to find an organization with the acronym T.C.C., and the same logo as the envelope, but nothing was out there. After one particularly soul-crushing day at the office, he resolved to figure out just what was behind that letter.

After scraping together enough money, Turnip Head managed to drive his way out to the Alaskan address. He arrived at an airplane hanger in the middle of seemingly nowhere. Walking into the small office, TH was first struck by the secretary. She looked like she just walked off the pages of a high fashion magazine, with a wardrobe to boot. No random warehouse in the middle of Alaska has her as a secretary. Nervous, he stood there for about a minute, trying to strike up enough courage to talk to this exquisite specimen of humanity. He also resolved to stop thinking in such creepy terms.

"Uhh, hi."

"Hello, do you have an appointment?"

"Umm, no, I am looking for the T.C.C."

"There's no business with that name at this address."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Well, shit. But, TH had traveled all the way to this fucking warehouse in bum-fuck nowhere, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Ok, Miss, I've traveled all this way to this fucking warehouse in bum-fuck nowhere, and I'm not taking no for an answer! Now, I'm not leaving until someone tells me what the hell is going on, okay Miss?"

TH felt very proud of himself for sounding so intimidating.

"Very well, I'll call security to escort you out."

"Okay, if that's how you want to play it, Miss."

TH was impressed at the level of banter he was showing. Sitting down, he observed this odd little office in the middle of oblivion. There was a small lobby in front of the Secretary's desk, if it could be called a "lobby". In reality, it was a couple of chairs and a table. A small door near the desk lead to the hangar outside. Suddenly, a man walked through that door. Was this "security"? It took a few seconds to register, but this was the Secret Service agent who stole the letter from him! Haha, things were coming together! To TH, this felt like a massive jigsaw puzzle. Jigsaw puzzles were the last things Turnip Head thought about before the agent knocked him out.

S~V~S wrote:So...is this going to end?

Yes. Just waiting for votes.

CHAMBER THREE INSTRUCTIONS

Chamber Three is a small room, with two stools and a reinforced glass wall separating them. One player per side. Another small glass wall hides two cameras, one for each candidate. Members of the Three Chambers Collective are watching through those cameras. They have been monitoring the progress of the application process, but do not know who the murderer is.

Your job is to convince the jury that you are not the murderer, the jury will be made up of TCC members. (By TCC members, we mean eliminated players.)

The person who the majority of the jury believes to be innocent will win this stage of testing.

This challenge tests memory, charisma, and debating skills.

Good luck.

As the murderer stares you down, the speakers sing out mock trumpets and fanfare.

"Congratulations, please proceed to Chamber Three!"

Lizzy has been eliminated.

Turnip Head and Mongoose have moved on to Chamber Three.

The blackout arrives right on schedule. Finding a comfortable corner, you sit down and try to rest. A loud grinding sound fills the room, along with the white noise. Suddenly, screams everywhere. Chilled to the bone, you ponder whether to get up and try to locate the source of the screams, or to stay put and possibly not get killed. While you are thinking about this problem, the lights come back on. Getting up, you walk towards the center of the chamber. As you walk, you hear an odd squishing sound. Bending down, you see what caused it. A human ear, obviously roughly detached from a head. You feel queasy, as if you are about to vomit. But that's not all. Looking up, you can see a foot, a head, a lung, and various other parts placed to form a rudimentary arrow pointing to the open wall. Chamber Three. Glancing across the room, you see the only person left. The murderer. You make a mad dash towards the computer. If you can find the gun, you can end it! But, the gun is gone. That would be too easy. Looking at your captor's face, you see "it" smile, a grotesque parody of human emotion. You are alone with the killer.

Lizzy wrote:
insertnamehere wrote:
Lizzy wrote: I can't focus right now. Swimming will be the end of me. I would take refuge in the safe room, but only if INH allows me to throw parties in there.
You flip the saferoom switch, but nothing happens. The saferoom is closed.
Fine! I didn't want to go there in the first place.

{pick up bottle of rum}

No rum is available, bottled or otherwise.

Lizzy wrote: I can't focus right now. Swimming will be the end of me. I would take refuge in the safe room, but only if INH allows me to throw parties in there.

You flip the saferoom switch, but nothing happens. The saferoom is closed.

Mongoose wrote:{observe:
N: The Qur'an Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 14 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 1 written on the first page of the novel.
W: Flatland Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 4 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 15 written on the first page of the novel.
S: The Jungle Book Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 3 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 7 written on the first page of the novel.
E: Sun, Moon, Talia} Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 8 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 13 written on the first page of the novel.

{observe:
N: How Green Is My Valley Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 9 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 11 written on the first page of the novel.
W: The Little Vampire Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 12 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 16 written on the first page of the novel.
S: The Queen of Spades Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 22 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 24 written on the first page of the novel.
E: Quo Vadis } Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 18 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 17 written on the first page of the novel.

{observe:
N: True History Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 20 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 27 written on the first page of the novel.
W: The Aeneid Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 19 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 26 written on the first page of the novel.
S: Escape to Witch Mountain Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 2 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 23 written on the first page of the novel.
E: Uncle Tom's Cabin} Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 6 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 25 written on the first page of the novel.

{observe:
N: The Monk Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 21 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 28 written on the first page of the novel.
W: Queen of the Black Coast Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 30 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 10 written on the first page of the novel.
S: Pride & Prejudice Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 5 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 29 written on the first page of the novel.
E: Scaramouche} Taking the book off of the shelve, you notice the number 32 written on the cover. Opening the book up, you see the number 31 written on the first page of the novel. But the novel is not normal. Instead of Scaramouche, the book is filled with the letter "H" repeated over and over again.

The computer screen lights up with the following message.

MEJFPUMSHCHLTQATMQATMQTHTALAEQHS

HERO

Turnip Head wrote:I pick up the .44 pistol.

Turnip Head has the pistol.

Mongoose wrote:{touch all the books}

(to see if there is a secret passageway)

You run your fingers over all f the books, examining to see anything hidden, but you find nothing.

Another day, another blackout.

You sit on the floor, biding your time.

Nothing out of the "ordinary" seems to happen, and when the lights turn on, nothing seems to be changed.

Mongoose wrote:{take bullet out of chamber}

{hide bullet]

The gun is seemingly designed in order to ensure no one can tamper with the bullet. You can find no way of opening the chamber.

Mongoose wrote:
{read book titles}

QUADRANT 1

N: The Qur'an
W: Flatland
S: The Jungle Book
E: Sun, Moon, Talia

QUADRANT 2

N: How Green Is My Valley
W: The Little Vampire
S: The Queen of Spades
E: Quo Vadis

QUADRANT 3

N: True History
W: The Aeneid
S: Escape to Witch Mountain
E: Uncle Tom's Cabin

QUADRANT 4

N: The Monk
W: Queen of the Black Coast
S: Pride & Prejudice
E: Scaramouche

Mongoose wrote:{take down numbers from book cases}

The bookcases have no numbers on them. Only a "N", "W", "S", and "E" depending on what cardinal direction the bookcase is facing.

Turnip Head has left the saferoom.

The saferoom is now permanently closed.

Mongoose wrote:{Scan current room for items}

The first thing you notice are the sixteen bookcases filled with books.

In the center of the room, on top of the computer, is a pistol loaded with a single bullet.

The possibilities with the gun run through your head. If I kill the Murderer now, I have almost unlimited time to solve the puzzle, and get out of here! But, if I guess wrong, I would be stuck alone with the killer.

Those are the only items immediately available.

Mongoose wrote:{Call Diane Selwyn}?

No phone is available.

Mongoose wrote:{read numbers from books from saferoom}

1. You aren't in the saferoom.

2. There wasn't any numbers on the note, it just told you to check books for numbers.

3. You have no books from the saferoom.

OK, I was unable to post last night, which will not happen again, please don't delete my game.

What was planned for tomorrow will happen today.

I'm going to edit the story in later.

S~V~S is eliminated.

Mongoose has left the saferoom.

The saferoom is open, and has different clues inside. Mongoose, since you are the participant who entered the saferoom last, you cannot go inside.

The computer lights up with a brief message:

Cipher Codeword: Hero

Epignosis has been eliminated.

You would think that you could of gotten used to the blackout by now, but it still terrifies you despite your best efforts. You decide to sit on the floor and wait for it to pass. The relief you get from the lights coming back on is ruined by what's lying next to you.

Epignosis, bruised and bloodied, lies dead next to you. His motionless eyes seem to follow you wherever you move. You quickly examine his body. He was seemingly beaten repeatedly all over his body. Death must have been a relief to the poor bastard. You close his eyes, but still feel them watching.

Mongoose wrote:Flip the safe room switch.

The saferoom is occupied by Mongoose.

Epignosis wrote:I type a code into the computer:

QUIFORTISEST?

You type in the letters. But, when you reach the question mark, you realize that question marks are not accepted. You delete the code before you can submit it.

Note: The saferoom is open, and has different clues inside. Epignosis, since you are the participant who entered the saferoom last, you cannot go inside.

Epignosis wrote:@INH: Does a space count as a character?

No. Spaces are not used in the code.

Epignosis has left the saferoom.

The saferoom is now empty.

Suddenly, darkness and white noise fill the room. Not this again. You hear a loud rumbling sound off in the distance, which for some reason shakes you to the bone. You feel constantly on edge during this period, as if something is going to pop out and say "Boo!".

When the lights turn back on, you breathe an audible sigh of relief. You scan the room looking for anything different. The door to Chamber One has closed, but other than that, everything and everyone else seems present and accounted for-

Oh.

A .44 Magnum lies on in front of the computer. The computer lights up with a brief message:

In order to win, you must find out who is the Hero, and who is the villain.

Turnip Head wrote:observe quadrant 1 south bookcase

The bookcase is filled with copies of Sun, Moon, and Talia.

Epignosis wrote:Flip the safe room switch.

The saferoom is occupied by Epignosis.

Turnip Head wrote:Okay, it looks like there's only one saferoom this time, and it contains all the hints for the code. 24 hour mandatory silence means one of us will be locked inside with all the info while the rest of us browse the bookshelves and twiddle our thumbs. I'm thinking the hints might have something to do with the books, so we should explore all bookshelves while we wait for the person with the hints to return. Who wants to go?

{observe quadrant 1 east bookcase}

The bookcase is filled with copies of The Jungle Book.

S~V~S wrote:{Observe quadrant four west bookcase}

And that was seriously fucked up, my friends!

The bookcase is filled with copies of The Monk.

Turnip Head wrote:That's not a good start =/ Wonder what went wrong. RIP Marshy MP and jj. Mongoose, can you elaborate on the hints you received? Did Marshy input them accurately?

{observe quadrant one north bookcase}

The bookshelf is filled with copies of The Qur'an.

CHAMBER TWO INSTRUCTIONS

Chamber Two is a large concrete room, with the floor divided into 4 quadrants. Each quadrant has a bookcase facing each cardinal direction. So, if you wanted to observe a certain bookcase, you would have to specify which quadrant, and which direction the bookcase is facing. Example: "quadrant two east bookcase" Each bookcase contains only multiple copies of the same book.

In order to move onto Chamber Three, you have to input a 13 character code into a small computer console in the center of the room. Any attempts to break, or hack the computer will result in failure of the challenge. You get three chances to enter the code. Once those three chances are used up, you can still enter codes, but if they are incorrect, the person who enters them will be instantly killed. On the south side of the room, is a small opening into Chamber One. Not much is left, but you can interact with what is still there. On the north side of the room is a locked metal door, which you guess leads to Chamber Three. On the West side of the room is a saferoom, much like the ones in Chamber One. In order to enter you have to flip a switch. Once inside, you will be given hints on how to figure out the code. The catch is that once inside, you have to stay there for 24 hours. Also, unlike the saferooms in Chamber One, there is no means of communication to the other members of the group.

This challenge tests knowledge, resourcefulness, teamwork, and cryptology.

Good luck.

johns2jj has been eliminated.

MetalMarsh89 has been eliminated.

MovingPictures07 has been eliminated.

Turnip Head, S~V~S, Epignosis, Mongoose, and Lizzy have all moved on to Chamber Two.

Before you see or hear the explosion, you feel it. A shockwave of air pushes you off of your feet. Pulling yourself up, you wonder just what the hell happened. After what seems like hours, the door to your saferoom slowly opens. The room is still scathingly hot, and the air almost feels like a sauna. You can see two stains where MetalMarsh and MovingPictures used to be. But they aren't the only dead bodies. johns2jj has been dead for hours, and you can smell his body slowly decomposing. He died clutching his gun, which couldn't save him in the end. In the middle of this grisly scene, the speakers come to life. Mock trumpets and fanfare. A mechanical female voice comes on.

"Congratulations on completing Chamber One, you have all moved on to Chamber Two."

Suddenly, the walls to the concrete bunker open to reveal... some kind of library?

...and I've got mine.

You've got your good things...

In heaven, everything is fine.

In heaven, everything is fine.

In heaven, everything is fine.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:use {wireclippers} on {redwire}

For the second time, you prepare for the worst as you pull out the wire clippers. Holding your breath, you use the clippers on the red wire. You almost laugh when nothing happens. One down, one to go.

Metalmarsh89 wrote: use {wireclippers} on {pinkwire}

You've overcome two wires already, so you feel a bit more confident when you grab the pink wire. In order to quickly get it over with, you cut the pink wire. Nothing happens. Overcome with joy, you step back, placing the wire clippers back in your pocket. The hard part is over. But then, coming out of nowhere, you hear something which resembles singing. It's a female voice, sweet and saccharine.

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