Motto: What ho! what ho! this fellow is dancing mad! He hath
been bitten by the Tarantula.
The tavern seemed to be empty from the outside, but this
assumption was completely wrong.
They were all there, gathered around the table. The mysterious
letter received one day ago worked like magic, they could simply
not resist being involved in a new adventure …
DanWhite was seated closest to the chimney, enjoying his glass
of wine and nervously working his way around with a compass he
recently bought. To his right ... well, there used to be somebody
to his right, but not anymore. On the left hand side, the two
Knights of the Order of Fondue, AlDolphin and DolphinX. In front of
them, The Quiet Mouse (his voice so loud, that you could hear from
miles away), RadioMan (a well-known chess player) and SheepBoy
(playing with some tiny yellow eggs). Standing up, Mr. MissYou,
FagenH, TatraBike and The Muscle. Everybody was looking at DanWhite
and the envelope laying in front of him on the table.
Suddenly, DolphinX broke the silence and shouted at DanWhite.
“Open that envelope, come on, what are you waiting
for?”
“It is not midnight yet”, DanWhite replied.
“Instructions are pretty clear, the envelope should not be
opened sooner than midnight. We want to do things properly,
don’t we?” “I guess you’re right. I wonder
what he’s up to this time …”
Same thought was wandering through everybody’s mind. They
knew he was always ready to surprise them with a twisted puzzle
… and they were right., this was no exception.
Another fifteen minutes slowly passed by, then time was right
for the old pendulum to strike midnight. They all gathered around
DanWhite, waiting. He slowly opened the envelope and starred at the
piece of paper he was holding in his hands.
*6!3[+6+5!6@5[=02=@%7!03++=425+%4=4]+%+*=428?=!&>[+27!06+4^[
=[+&7643@8=[+26@5[=454@2&4?=*43!0?5+2+64%?=!&@2*6!2=!*#@5
3!203+2=5!%+*=428>[+27!03++=06.@^4=0626@5[=454@2428>4%]
02=@%5641+#%!^]?=[+&4=[ =!=[+%+*=@??=4=0+!*%487?+46^[ #+[@28
=[+3!203+2=
“It does not make any sense, there are no letters, only
symbols and ciphers!” “There has to be
something”, RadioMan said. “I bet that if we could
decipher this riddle we will find the instructions leading us to
the treasure”. “But it might take us weeks or months to
solve this nonsense”, cried SheepBoy. “Speak for
yourself, you greenhorn”. “It’s piece of
cake”, grinned the Mouse.
Edgar, the old waiter, smiled and turned away …