The Missing Keys
I have put together a short story for this cache. There are many hints throughout the story for each puzzle, but please reach out to me if you run into any snags. My idea was for a Whereigo, but a little more involved, and this was the result of months of brainstorming. You will need to allow for an appropriate amount of time for this one, as it is not a quick park and grab. The first coordinates are arbitrary; they simply initiate the geocache, and there is nothing to find there. Your first item to find will start with Key One at what is technically the second stage. The goal is to complete the story by finding four colored keys and then the final. Be sure to note or write down the color of each key, as you will need their order for the final. This is my first time doing anything like this, so I hope you enjoy it! Be sure to use N 46° 49.xxx′ W 96° 55.xxx′ for the coordinates. To access the story, use password "missingkeys."
The Missing Keys by kcinnd
To offer some advice, I would suggest you bring a notebook and something to write with, as you will likely want to take notes for some of the puzzles. In addition, I would recommend screenshotting or saving images so that you can easily refer to them when necessary. Additionally, although best played/viewed on a computer or tablet (iPad, etc.), it can and has been completed on a mobile device. The images will need a bit of a horizontal scroll unless viewing in horizontal view. A couple of the hint puzzles also need to be completed in horizontal view mode if being done on the phone. Other than that, all should work well, so please reach out to me if there are any issues at all. One last thing to note is that the story can be saved and resumed as many times as you need. You can use the collapsed sidebar of the story to save/load, so feel free to come back if you can't complete it all in one go. That should be all the information you need to get started, but, again, please reach out if you have any questions at all.
Good luck, and have fun!
EDIT: The link to the hint during the bridge portion of the story is broken. This is the correct link: CLICK HERE.
EDIT TWO: I have upped the difficulty on this one to a level five after receiving some feedback; I have also added some more hints to the story to help in any ambiguity on any of the puzzles.
Things to remember:
- Best done from a computer.
- Each puzzle within the story has multiple hints.
- This is a difficulty five, so it is challenging and may take some time to work through.
- This can be solved before finding all four keys at the stages, just be sure to mark down the coordinates you find for each stage/key so that you can find them when ready. This makes it more feasible for anyone from out of town.
- I am available and willing to help :)