Denali41 and Icezebra11 had been geocaching partners for years, exploring hidden nooks and crannies of their town and beyond, always on the hunt for the next cache. But there was one type of geocache that had long eluded them: the dreaded Jigidi puzzle cache known and Thruble.
Jigidi puzzles were online jigsaw puzzles that, when solved, revealed coordinates to a hidden geocache. Some were simple, but others were monstrous 500-piece beasts that could take hours to complete. Denali41, the puzzle enthusiast, was always up for the challenge. Icezebra11, on the other hand, preferred the thrill of the chase rather than staring at a screen for hours, but he was good at them in his own right.
One evening, Denali41 excitedly messaged Icezebra11. “Hey, found a new cache! But, Thruble is a 1400-piece Jigidi. Up for it?”
Icezebra11 sighed. “Not sure I am up for this CEGT shenanigans?”
“Come on,” Denali41 coaxed. “We’ll both do it! We all know who is behind this evil.”
Reluctantly, Icezebra11 agreed, and they started tackling the digital puzzle. Denali41 quickly sorted the edges while Icezebra11, grumbling, tried to force mismatched pieces together.
Grass
"Icezebra11, that’s a grass piece, it doesn’t go with the rocks!”
Pepples
“Are you sure? These strings make me think of the Zebra jigidi.”
Silly String
Hours passed. They neared the finish, only for Icezebra11 to misplace a crucial piece, sending them into a frantic search through his screen. Finally, with a triumphant click, the last piece fell into place.
Denali41 sat back. “WHAT? Where are the coordinates?”
Icezebra11 stretched. “I am starting to wonder about these puzzles?”
Hours passed. They completed the first puzzle, revealing a horrible message and not what they expected. Then came the second, more complex one, eating away at their patience. By the third, Icezebra11 was threatening to throw his laptop out the window.
Finally, with a triumphant click, the last piece fell into place.
Denali41 grinned. “WHAT? AGAIN! Where are the coordinates?”
Icezebra11 stretched. “Never again.”
These two though never give up and with more time and more discussion finally found the magic.
They made arrangments to meet up for the final, as they wanted to share the FTF.
How many will follow this path? We will see.