You didn’t expect to start October with a case of a missing village–indeed, a village–suddenly gone from your small town. As experts dig deeper, it turns out to be more mysterious than meets the eye. Can you help piece together fragments of information to solve this mystery?
Organized by: Katherine Laurier
Timeline:
- October 3 - Week One Posted
- October 10 - Week Two Posted
- October 17 - Week Three Posted
- October 24 - Week Four Posted
- October 31 - Everything Due
- Up to 270 beans/sapphires - 220 beans spread over 12 tasks this month, with 15 beans per task and 10 bonus beans for every week completed; 50 beans spread over 9 symbols/critical thinking puzzles to solve, with 5 beans per symbol/puzzle deduced and 5 bonus beans for completing all 9.
- Up to 3 shinies!
The Excellent Inquisitor Award - For completing 6 tasks
The Mystery Master Award - For completing all 12 tasks
The Case Cracker Award - For completing all 9 symbol/critical thinking puzzles
Tasks
Beans, sapphires, and awards for tasks like a usual activity are still up for grabs across 4 weeks with 3 tasks per week. 15 beans are up for grabs for each of the tasks, with 10 bonus beans per week fully completed.
After each task you successfully* complete in Weeks One, Two, and Three, a symbol or puzzle which requires logical deducing or critical thinking skills will be sent to you through Roost Private Message within 24 hours after you submit your task, serving as clues for the ongoing mystery. Please send me a Private Message on the Roost if more than 24 hours have passed and I have not sent you the puzzle/symbol for the task you have completed.
This serves as an opportunity for more beans, sapphires, and one more award. However, like any other task, you are free to not attempt these! If you have free time on your hands and/or you want to invest more on the plot of the story, that’s great too. There is no required "order" for you to complete these puzzle tasks either as they were not written to be connected or dependent on one another.
For all of the above, the deadline is October 31, Friday, at 11:59 PM HOL time.
*If the task requires a correct answer, such as riddles or puzzles, or has specific criteria to be met (as an example, let's say a coloring page task wherein you must have at least 3 different shades for it to be considered complete), you must have met these criteria to be able to receive the symbol/puzzle to be solved.
Accessibility
Accessibility is important at HOL, so alternatives are offered for each task to ensure enough options. If you need another alternative, don’t hesitate to request one by sending me a Private Message here on the Roost.
Posting Tasks
When posting graphics, you may use any image-hosting site to upload your image. To embed it in your forum post, use the BBCode [*img][*/img] without the asterisks. In between those two, place the url to the image. Keep your images within 600x600 pixels. Otherwise, if your graphic is greater than those dimensions, you may simply copy and paste the link to your graphic instead of embedding the image in your reply.
In submitting tasks, you do not necessarily have to post them on the forum. Feel free to send in your work through a Private Message to me, Katherine Laurier, instead if that is more preferred or comfortable for you!
Tracking
To keep track of which tasks you have completed and which awards you may obtain by the end of the activity, please see the The Vanished Village Spreadsheet.
Join the Fun!
This is a castle-wide activity, so anyone is welcome to join! All tasks are due by October 31, 2024, 11:59 PM HOL time. There is no pressure in completing all tasks - don’t hesitate to pop in and out and take your pick on which ones you want to do. This activity is meant for all participants to enjoy! Feel free to do whichever tasks you like before the deadline at the end of the month.
For any questions, please send me a Private Message and I’ll be happy to help!
