Wax Cylinders
From GoForth
[edit] Wax Cylinders
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As Grayson Ozias IV traveled, he recorded his adventures on wax cylinders, which also contain clues about where players in 2009 might find his artifacts.
[edit] Intro video
On levis.com/goforth there is a video featuring (presumably) members of Levi's staff embarking on a journey of their own, locating the buried Ozias fortune, documenting it and re-burying it. The vocal track on the video is a letter from Grayson Ozias IV explaining his desire to explore America (see: Travel Diaries, Intro Video)
[edit] Clue 1
The wax cylinder recording describes G.O.IV's decision to depart (see: Travel Diaries, Cylinder 1).
Listen: Cylinder1 Audio (transcript)
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Clue 1 was collected by Kristin G. It was the postcard mentioned in the diary, with an engraving of the Liberty Torch on one side, and a $100 giftcard to the NY Trapeze School.
[edit] Clue 2
G.O. IV informs his father and friends he will be leaving, and says his goodbyes. (see: Travel Diaries, Cylinder 2).
Listen: Cylinder2 Audio (transcript)
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Clue 2 was collected by Kristin G. It was 'Leaves of Grass', a collection of Whitman poems, and a letter from Nathan Strauss.
Kristin said: "The hat was brown. No red hat sorry. Guy holding newspaper and wearing a brown hat walked with crowd toward the entrance. I nabbed him before he got as far as the entrance. Then he walked straight off."
[edit] Clue 3
G.O. IV's boat docks, and he speaks to a man on shore, learning of a shipwreck 30 years before. (see: Travel Diaries, Cylinder 3).
Listen: Cylinder3 Audio (transcript)
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Clue 3 was collected by Kyle, who drove four hours from Atlanta, Georgia. He received a black box with two sheets of paper, one of which bore a cipher. Watch a video of the exchange here. His prize was a guided kayak tour for two.
Captures from the camera at College Way and Green Way | |||
[edit] Clue 4
G.O. IV travels west, passing through Alabama. He makes money by playing his violin with a group of fiddlers. (see: Travel Diaries, Cylinder 4).
Listen: Cylinder4 Audio (transcript)
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Clue 4 was collected by Ashley C. She collected the washboard and went to St. Peters and Bourbon, where she sang "When the Saints Go Marching In" with a group of people. (Watch the performance here.) Her prize was a gift certificate to go on an airboat swamp tour for two. She also received the completed Clue 3 Cipher.
Several letters on the washboard were underlined, spelling "A Sir Cages". This is a hint about how to solve the Clue 5 Cipher.
[edit] Clue 5
G.O. IV heads up the Mississippi to Davenport with the brass band and travels to a city by the water, where he gets a shave and has a night out in a hotel with a young woman. (see: Travel Diaries, Cylinder 5).
Listen: Cylinder5 Audio (transcript)
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Clue 5 was collected by a woman whose boss told her to go check it out, though she didn't really know about the game herself. She gave the clue to Derek and Nick who were the first players to arrive (out of 5 pairs total). A few minutes after 5, the Man in the Hat appeared by the front desk; Chris T. handed him the note (as specified in the instructions), and received a bag containing his prize, dinner for two at a restaurant within the Palmer House.
The players also received a package containing a flask, suspenders, a belt, a book, a letter and a cipher. The book is The Lives of Celebrated Travellers (1835) by James Augustus St. John.
[edit] Clue 6
GOIV is jailed in Missouri by a cousin of the girl from Chicago. While jailed, he plays poker with a mysterious man who has disappeared by the next morning. (see: Travel Diaries, Cylinder 6).
Listen: Cylinder6 Audio (transcript)
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There is an entrance fee for this location, so the Game Team had a player RSVP to collect it. Chris L. was the first to respond. He received a certificate for a 2 hour trail ride at Big River Ranch in Missouri, and a pack of cards containing a new puzzle. He also received the confirmed solution for the Clue 5 Cipher.
[edit] Clue 7
GOIV travels to Wyoming, where he spends some time on a ranch playing horseshoes with its friendly owner (see: Travel Diaries, Cylinder 7).
Listen: Cylinder7 Audio (transcript)
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Players who called the phone number heard a recorded message that seems to lead to Horse Creek (and a webcam overlooking that point). Lori played horseshoes in the square, and received two old horseshoes marked with "GO IV".
[edit] Clue 8
GOIV leaves the ranch in Never Sweat and rides into the Rocky Mountains, where he decides to catch up on his sleep. (see: Travel Diaries, Cylinder 8).
Listen: Cylinder8 Audio (transcript)
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Brad H and Stew went to the location and retrieved Box 501 which contained a compass, a letter, and a cipher.
[edit] Clue 9
GOIV accepts drinks from a stranger and wakes up hours later as he is about to be sold as a deckhand on a ship.
Listen: Cylinder9 Audio (transcript)
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Roxanne met the MIH at the corner of 2nd and Morrison where he read her this story:
"From this very spot...set on revenge, Grayson Ozias IV quietly shadowed the notorious Bunko Kelly as he exited Sung Harbor and made his way to the foot of the old Morrison Street Bridge. It was at the foot of that Bridge that G.O. weighed his choices and eventually retruned to his senses to abandon his wicked plot.
Find the mark of that old bridge and count 11 rails beyond the number 275. One tug on the line leads to what remains of that night."
Roxanne went to the location as pointed in the direction of a bridge. At the location she picked up a straight edge razor and a confirmed solution for the Clue 8 Cipher.
[edit] Clue 10
GO IV sees plants and enjoys a concert.
Listen: Cylinder10 Audio (transcript)
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Solution:
Deaddrop location & details:
The GOIVThree met MIH and GT in front of the BandShell at 11:30am. From there GT pointed to a statue across the Music Concourse and told us we would find the MIH behind it. AT noon we arrived at the 1st Location and the MIH read this clue:
"The day that Grayson visited the Conservatory of Flowers, which is just north of here was very likely August 24th, 1893. We assume this based on his mentioning of a crowd of astonishing size in his cylinder recording. August 24th was the ground breaking for the new Music Concourse and Bandshell and the parade held the day to celebrate the event was the largest ever on the west coast till that point. Levi Strauss was at the time an executive member of the Citizens Relief Committee of 200 which was formed in 1890 by a group of prominent politicians and business men to help alleviate the problem of rampant unemployment in San Francisco. That year alone the committee raised over $30,000 which was used to create construction work in the park for nearly 250 men."
The GOIVThree tweeted two photos and synopsis of the clue and were directed to the 2nd location.
At the Egdewood Center the GOIVThree met Levisguy who read the second clue:
"Most of our records about the period that Grayson stayed with Levi Strauss were destroyed in the earthquake and fire of 1906. We now know from a recovered piece of Grayson's journal that he and some local musician friends played at the orphanage that was located where the Egdewood Center is today. Grayson probably knew of the orphanage through Levi Strauss' involvement with them. In fact this orphanage was the first local charity that Levi become involved after arriving in San Francisco. Donating money to it out of the first dry goods profits he made when he was 25 years old. The only song Grayson mentions them playing is "My Buckets got a Hole in it" something he probably picked up during his time in the South."
After the required tweets the GOIVThree was off to Levi's Plaza where they again met the MIH and he gave the 3rd and final clue:
"Construction of Levi's Plaza began in 1979, bringing the company back to the San Francisco waterfront that had been traditional head quarters ever-since Levi Strauss had landed here in 1853. The goal was to create an environment that encouraged collaboration where workers could meet and share ideas in beautiful setting that felt like a natural part of the surrounding community. It's also a place that has created an environment for dedication to improving this fine city and assisting those in need. Every May 1st, Levi's shuts down for business for "501 Day" so employes can volunteer their time to numerous charities around San Francisco. Although there was no way to know this back in 1979, Grayson recounts in his journal that he and Levi enjoyed sitting on the near by Embarcadaro, which is right over there, talking and watching the light change on the bay as the sun was setting. Just a little bit of added gratification comes from knowing that our founder would be especially happy that we're here and continue to improve the beloved city of San Francisco."
David, Lynn and Michael went to the location and went on a scavenger hunt. At their last location they retrieved a letter, and a cipher.
[edit] Clue 11
GOIV overhears two men talking about a new find in a store.
Listen: Cylinder11 Audio (transcript)
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Rachel A., Laruie P., David R., and Jess E., and Joshua convened at the location. According to Laurie P.:
"We arrived at around 11am and Rachel and David had just pulled in a few minutes before. We all stood around and chatted, looked all around the area. The store wasn't open so we couldn't really see much.
We saw a couple of locals looking at us very strange...it's not normal for so many people to be at their little area there...the geese and the goat across the street were in awe of us...they wouldn't shut up. [The] MIH showed up at exactly 12:12...weird. By that time, Jess E and his son had shown up from RENO NV and Joshua had arrived from Hanford, about 2.5 hours south. None of us were too concerned about knocking each other down to get the clue.
We knew it would be handled fairly. MIH told us we were gonna shoot a pair of dice. Whoever got a pair of twos would get the clue...we all took turns and finally Rachel got a pair of deuces (get it? two 2's...11:11)...anyway, as she was reading and opening the package, MIH disappeared very quietly. We were reading the clues and Rachel was opening the package. The package had a pair of newly re-issued replicas of the 1890 Levis. I about fell over... I'm an antique freak and thought she received a pair of REAL 1890s Levis. Alas, the tag inside, and the serged seams quickly gave it away, but for a second I wanted to die of envy.
A pair of those exact jeans, the real ones, just sold on eBay for thousands of dollars. Someone found them in a Mojave mine just recently so I knew exactly what they were. Anyway, I digress...
[Rachel] gave me the dice and I think she gave Joshua the [National Park] pass. I think it was meant to be for Rachel to win. She traveled so far! David is super nice, as was everybody else."
An invitation to all the players was also posted on the website, which reads:
"ALL ARE WELCOME - TO A PLACE - in the vicinity of - RANDSBURG, CA - the time will be - 5 - ON THE EVENING OF - NOVEMBER 13, 2009 - A fire will be lit and a story will be told - precise coordinates to follow - G.O. IV"
She also received a letter and the confirmed solution for the Clue 10 cipher.
[edit] Clue 12
GO IV leaves the Sierras and laments the transformative nature of his journey. He describes the valley he leaves and the harsh desert where he searches for gold -- which he succeeds in finding.
Listen: Cylinder 12 Audio (transcript)
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Solution:
Deaddrop location & details:
A group of players assembled at The Joint in Randsburg and waited until 5:30pm PST. They then followed a dirt path to a campfire where they met the Man in the Hat and a man named 'Jed'. (A camera crew was also there to shoot the story Jed was about to tell). The video was posted on the page for Clue #12 early the next morning.
Transcript of the campfire video story
At this point, Phase II began with a final test.
[edit] Clue 13
A final wax cylinder was revealed the day after the treasure was found: G.O., with no regrets, leaves behind his fortune to help someone else.
Listen: Cylinder13 Audio (transcript)
Laura H and Jey B traveled to an undisclosed location and on the night of Friday, November 20, received a message in an envelope in Laura's room, saying
"THE MAN IN THE HAT WILL AWAIT YOUR ARRIVAL TOMORROW AT HIGH NOON. MEET HIM IN THE HOTEL LOBBY AND HE WILL REVEAL YOUR PATH."
Upon meeting the Man in the Hat, she was given a second envelope with a key and another message with the coordinates: N 37 10.043 W 113 10.650. Laura and Jey drove to the location and were shown the arrows on the tree and the "Riven Rock" there, which revealed the spot to dig. A few feet down, in the same spot as in the original film, was a box with a lock. She used the key to unlock it.
Inside the box was a letter and a check for $100,000.