Oedipus was busily working the latest Coin Quest, when he turned a corner and saw a familiar figure.
“You again!” she said, arching her back as she spread her wings and rattled her tail.
“Well, well, well,” replied the King of Thebes. “Long time no see. How’s it going? By the way, I love what you’re doing with your hair these days.”
“Do you like it? I’ve decided to go for the Egyptian look lately.”
“Yes, it’s very King Tut. Anyway, I’d love to chat up old times, but I have to grab that cache I see behind you and be off before my suitcase hour is up.”
“Eddy, Eddy, Eddy…you were always in such a hurry. You can’t get to the final on this one until you get past me.”
“Great...I hate multi’s!”
“Don’t be such a mama’s boy! You know the drill. I need some answers before I can let you go.”
“I hope it’s not the one about the raven and the writing desk again.”
“Nah. I got bored with the ones you can simply Google to get. I’ve taken up algebra now.”
“You know I can’t multiply Roman numerals!”
“Tough toenails, Eddy, dear. No answer; no cache.”
“For crying out loud. No hints?”
“Just the usual. It’s a multiplication problem. Each letter stands for a single digit and each digit is represented by a single letter. The stars can be any digit, even one otherwise represented by one of the letters. And try not to be long. I’m meeting Medusa at the beauty parlor and she needs all the help she can get.”
“If I give you want you want, can I get the cache?”
“Watch it there; this is a family website. But, yes. You can find what you seek at 37.33.XNH North and 122.17.SQP West.”
"Um... Q isn't in the problem."
Good catch. Let's hope you're that observant when you get there. Q = I + S. If the answer is over 10, take the final digit.
"Is it in the usual place?"
"Yes, if you're walking on your hands."
"Didn't you use that in your last question?"
"That was after midnite, when the bars close; now get going or you'll be walking on three legs before you're through."
"Nothing else?"
"Oh, for Osiris' sake, you'd think you hadn't done this before. If you're staring at the building across the lake, it's behind you. Think of the guy with the turtleneck at Macworld. Just remember to park on the street in front of the park. The park is supposedly only open from 6am to 10pm, but I'm not sure if this is actually in the park. I can't know everything."
"What color?"
"I'm losing my patience. Now get out of here! "
