Turn over the envelope labeled Crossing River Styx
You turn the large metal wheel on the hatch door with the bow and arrow on it representing Sagittarius. Your prior nervousness has been replaced by mental exhaustion: the intellectual tax of solving these difficult puzzles in combination with the knowledge that one mistake will lead to your demise is starting to take its toll on you. You begin to wonder if it is ever going to end.
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Despite this fatigue, you realize you have no choice but to press on. You duck your head to step through the submarine-style door, and you feel a breeze hitting you immediately. It’s clear you are still inside the Gate Keeper’s warehouse of terror, but the room you now find yourself in is so vast it feels like you are outside. There is wind whipping around and you find yourself staring at a wood and rope bridge that dangles above a fiery lava pit beneath. The bridge is long, but in the distance, you can see it leads to the opening of a structure built to resemble a cave. How did this lunatic create a lava pit?! Your amazement has returned, and you vow that if you ever get out of here you will find a way to nail this guy. Anyone with this much power is seriously dangerous.
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You are relieved that at least there will be no doors to choose from in this ‘room.’ But your relief is short lived as you realize the entrance to the bridge is blocked by a tall wrought iron gate. Despite the gate having an old gothic appearance, it also seems to be high-tech. There is a keypad attached at the front, and it appears the only way to open it is with the correct passcode.
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Hanging just to the left of the gate opening is a large 8-by-8 grid and a set of instructions. You notice that if you tap each individual grid cell you can change its color between red, yellow, blue, green, and purple. Clearly you must find the right color combination according to the rules hanging below the keypad. To the right of the gate opening is a large wheel that looks like a combination locks, except it is flat with multiple concentric, rotating sections. While waiting for the verbal instructions, you take a deep breath and step up to the gate to see if you can figure it all out.
Listen to the audio file and then open the Crossing River Styx envelope.
​PLAY ME
TRANSCRIPT I’m so pleased detective! Honestly, I ever expected you to come this far, though I did have hopes. This is your final test, but as you probably could have predicted, it will come in multiple parts. Just as souls had to cross the River Styx to enter the afterlife, you will have to cross my fiery pool to reach freedom. First, you will find a puzzle inspired by the rivers of the Greek underworld. If you successfully navigate that puzzle you will be able to open this gate and cross the bridge above the fiery lake before you. Then in the cave at the end of the bridge, you will find a safe. Somewhere in that safe is the key that will allow you to finally exit my Tartarus. You will need to solve several final puzzles to obtain said key. I look forward to watching you attempt this final challenge. No pressure, but you should be aware that you can still eternally perish in this trap I have set to rid you of your hubris; your progress thus far will be meaningless if you are unable to finish the job.