Mission: Leave Clues

The scope of this task was large enough that all five gummy teams participated. They decided to leave a series of clues for Sparrows Fall. They had lots of blank white cards left from a previous task, so they used those. Each team created one clue:

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The gummies decided that the clues should be complicated:

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Each card had (1) the clue, (2) a picture showing which team had created the clue, and (3) the number of the clue, embedded into the drawing of the bear.



The back of each card contained a quote from the movie Clue (so that Sparrow would know that they were clues).

The First Clue

The first clue was created by the Red Team. It was planted inside Sparrow's apartment, on Saturday, May 10th. Evil Sugar went there to do a different task with Sparrow, and the gummies hitched a ride in Evil Sugar's purse.

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(Note that while both the Red Team and the White Team are hitching a ride, only the Red Team is leaving clues. The White Team was Art Burgling.)

The White Team stole something, and the Red Team left Sparrow's first clue where the stolen object had been:

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The clue said: "The back of the smack pack is out of whack."

And the back said: "Frankly, Scarlet, I don't give a damn." (The Red Team found this amusing, since they themselves were scarlet.)

The Second Clue

The first clue would lead Sparrow to a Roller Derby Season Pass (aka a "Smack Pack Pass"). Several weeks earlier, Sparrow had kindly loaned the pass to Evil Sugar, and Evil Sugar was now ready to return it.*

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Just putting the clue inside was too obvious, so a false backing was created to hide the clue:

.(too obvious) .(better)

The second clue said: "Finding the next clue is as easy as 123: 'It was true she was a bit of a snob and obsessed with ritual and etiquette. . .'"

And on the back: "It's a matter of life after death. Now that he's dead, I have a life."

The Third Clue

If all went well, the second clue would lead Sparrow to p. 123 of this book. . .

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. . .which Evil Sugar had borrowed from Sparrow. (Evil Sugar borrows a lot of things...but at least gives them back afterwards!)

The Orange Team hid the third clue inside the book:

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It said: "The next clue is above the empanadas and coffee, but under the table."

The back said: "Why would he want to kill you in public?"

The Orange Team and the Green Team gave their clues (hidden inside the season pass and the book) to Evil Sugar, and the borrowed items were returned to Sparrow on Saturday (which, remember, is also when the Red Team hid the first clue).

* * *

THREE DAYS PASSED. THE INITIAL CLUES REMAINED UNDISCOVERED IN SPARROW'S APARTMENT.

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The Zero-th Clue

It was now Tuesday; a few days had passed since the planting of the first 3 clues. It was time to let Sparrow know about the existence of the clues:

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The gummies mailed Sparrow the zero-th clue on Tuesday morning. Based on what little the gummies knew about the postal system, if all went well, the letter should arrive on Wednesday.**

The 0th clue said: "It begins. You have one week to complete the search. The gummies have taken something. You will find your first clue where the missing object used to be."

Why one week? No particular reason. The gummies simply thought a time limit would add to the sense of urgency. Plus, it gave them a set date on which they could post the praxis. Sparrow had until Wednesday, May 21st to find the clues. If she hadn't found them by then, she'd have to read about it on the praxis.

The 0th clue had a quote on the back that would (hopefully) lead Sparrow to the first clue, hidden in the bathroom.

It also had a stylized letter R on it, which would hopefully help narrow down the search for the stolen item.

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The Fourth Clue

Now that Sparrow knew to look for the other clues, Evil Sugar was confident that the first three clues would be found. If all went well, the third clue would lead straight to Ruta Maya Cafe, a place where Sparrow and Evil Sugar had met in the past for empanadas and coffee.

It was time for the Yellow Team to spring into action.***

Since their clue would be left in a public location, they were worried that someone else might steal it. So they hid it in a clue protection packet:

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It said: "The final clue is stashed away in GummyLand. Any member of the White Team can tell you where."

And on the back: "It's not just a game anymore."

They hid the clue at Ruta Maya Cafe, underneath a table up on the balcony (which is located above the counter where the coffee and empanadas are sold):

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This fourth clue would lead Sparrow straight to Gummyland, where the final clue was safely stashed away.

The Fifth Clue

The White Team hid the last clue inside the DVD case for the movie Clue (which is one of the gummy bears' favorite movies):



The final clue says: "Time for Swimming with the Fishies!"

And on the back:

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The Ending

When Sparrow arrived in GummyLand and asked about the final clue, the White Team said:

"The key to finding the last clue is on the back of the first four clues." (Which, remember, had quotes from the movie Clue.)

Sparrow found the DVD and the fifth and final clue.



"Time for swimming with the fishies."

Time for swimming with the fishies? Sparrow had no idea what the final clue meant. She searched about for a bit, examining a variety of fish-related items scattered around gummyland. Eventually she noticed that the kitchen was a designated player killing area!



The clearly posted sign was highly suspicious, and at first Sparrow proceeded with caution.



But soon her search for the fishies led her into the kitchen, and the inevitable end of the story...



It was the gummies, in the kitchen, with the knife.

THE END?

* * *

Well, that's how it could have happened. But how about this?

"Time for swimming with the fishies" could mean just one thing: FINDING NEMO!!!

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Sparrow quickly found a copy of Finding Nemo, perched high atop the DVD shelf. Inside, Sparrow found some Burglar Art.

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THE END?

But here's what really happened...

???

Sadly, the third ending still remains undiscovered. A couple days ago, the gummies left Sparrow a bonus hint here in the praxis:

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This extra hint has gone unnoticed, or perhaps Sparrow is simply afraid of how the trail of clues will end...

OR PERHAPS SPARROW DID NOTICE. This crime scene was photographed this morning, shortly after the existence of the additional hint was revealed on this praxis.


WARNING - THESE IMAGES ARE GRAPHIC AND ARE NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

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Detailed documentation of the scene is available in the praxis photos. Preliminary analysis indicated a mass suicide. Four bodies were found, along with four weapons (and a candlestick, which could have been a weapon, but it appeared to be unused).

However, on closer investigation, it seemed unlikely that the bears had done this to themselves:

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Particularly suspicious was this bear, who has been shot. The gummy did not self-inflict this wound because GUMMIES HAVE NO FINGERS.

Obviously, Sparrow is the prime suspect for these killings...

But when Sparrow returned, she had an alibi! At the time of the killings, she was at the car dealership, getting an oil change. The mechanics vouched for her. She could not be the killer.

(The gummies later discovered that it was the Evil Human Overlord that did the killings.)

Convinced that Sparrow posed no threat, the gummies allowed her to enter Gummyland and complete her search. The bonus hint in the praxis pictures led her to the shelf beneath the coffee table -- a place where Sparrow had conducted a tarot reading for Evil Sugar some weeks ago.

She looked:

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And found her prize:

THE END!

*NOTE: The plan almost fell apart when Sparrow offered to let Evil Sugar keep the Roller Derby pass a while longer. Sparrow was going to be out of town for the next bout, and thought that Evil Sugar might like to go. Evil Sugar pretended to be out of town that weekend as well, and insisted that Sparrow keep the pass.

**NOTE: The plan almost fell apart (AGAIN) due to a miscalculation in the US mailing system. The gummies were unaware that Sparrows Fall is (*gasp*) a superhero name, and not a name that would be recognized by the postal delivery service. This error might have gone unnoticed, except that the gummies also omitted Sparrow's apartment number! So how did Sparrow get the 0th clue? Some gummies speculated that a photograph of the 0th clue was sent electronically. Sadly, no one has been able to find those gummies for further questioning. NOM NOM NOM.

***NOTE: The Yellow Team decided that they should wait until the last possible moment to plant their clue because it was left in a public place. They worried that even with the clue protection pocket, the clue might fall into the wrong hands if left at the cafe for too long.