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Hermes and the Woodcutter Mystery Cache

Hidden : 1/7/2018
Difficulty:
4.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


This is a puzzle cache based on Aesop's fable about a poor woodcutter and a god who rewards his honesty. The given coordinates are not where you'll find the cache. To find the cache, you'll have to solve the following puzzle:

A poor woodcutter, who had been working since dawn, was chopping down a tree by the side of a deep pool when his iron axe flew from his tired hands and disappeared into the deep water. Without his axe the woodcutter could not work and he had too little money to buy a new one.

"Gods of Olympus!" he cried, "I beg you to come to my aid."

Other than the few clothes we was wearing, the woodcutter had nothing but a small copper coin which he took from his pocket and threw into the pool as his offering. Immediately, the god Hermes arose out of the water, thanked him for his gift, and asked him what the trouble was. After the woodcutter told the god about his axe, Hermes disappeared back beneath the water, shortly returning holding an axe made of pure gold.

"Is this your axe, woodcutter?" asked the god, and the woodcutter immediately thanked him but said that it was not. Laying the golden axe upon the ground, the god dived down again into the pool, returning this time with an axe made of solid silver. Once again, the woodcutter told Hermes that this was not his axe, and so for a third time the god disappeared beneath the water.

"What about this?" asked the god again when he returned, this time holding the woodcutter's familiar iron axe.

"Oh yes!" cried the woodcutter and thanked Hermes for his help. Pleased with the woodcutter's honesty, Hermes told the woodcutter that he could keep all three axes.

The happy woodcutter returned home and told everyone who would listen about how Hermes had helped him. The next day, another woodcutter, hoping for the same good fortune, rushed to the pool and threw in his old iron axe and stood wailing and pretending to cry on the bank. Hermes appeared next to him, listened to his story, and went into the water, returning immediately with the iron axe.

"That's not my axe!" cried the woodcutter, "Go and look again!" Once more Hermes went into the pool, this time returning with a silver axe. As he wanted an axe made of gold, the woodcutter sent the god back into the pool. Hermes returned out of the water carrying a gold axe and the woodcutter quickly said that it was the one he had lost.

Disappointed with this woodcutter's dishonesty, Hermes whacked him on the head with the gold axe before throwing all three axes back into the pool and sending the woodcutter on his way.

Moral: Honesty is the best policy.

You will find the cache at N37 57.XXX E23 42.YYY where YYY is one third of the "weight" (please round YYY up to the nearest whole number) of all that came out of the pool, and XXX is its total "number" minus that of the coin that the woodcutter gave as an offering. I suspect you may need to look a few things up...

Please be discreet when locating the cache and when hiding it again.

W (a.k.a. DidianRay)


You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gur chmmyr: RirelGUVAT, rirelBAR, rnpu GVZR. N Ebzna znl svaq guvf rnfvre gb fbyir guna n Terrx. Cyrnfr abgr gung gur grkg gryyf lbh jung LLL vf orsber KKK, fb purpx lbh unir gurz gur evtug jnl ebhaq! Gur pnpur: Onfr bs gur gerr ol gur cnirzrag.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)