Bank Heist: Stage 4 of 5 - The Motto
The Codebreaking Challenge is Steemit's first puzzle-solving and code-breaking game designed by me (@wilfredn). It's a real-time game that will have you competing and collaborating with other players to solve a puzzle and progress to the next stage. Compete for a prize pool that grows in size as more players join in the fun.
The final stage puzzle will be released on Saturday, 24 Feb 2018, 17:00 UTC.
In Society Cafe at Oxford, UK, Ted keyed in the solution to his latest challenge into the laptop. Indeed, with the help of his hacking network, he had already found out what the group that had contacted him him does. For decades, they have staged the world's most elaborate bank heists. They struck rarely, but when they did, it was only for the largest of sums or the most precious of jewels, so large that the authorities had always preferred to keep the entire fiasco hushed and away from the prying eyes of the public for fear of creating panic.
The computer accepted his solution. With a thump and a groan that echoed around the room, a portion of the floor ahead of him fell away to reveal an old spiralling stairwell. Warm yellow light lit up the space and reflected off the cool ancient stone of the steps.
Heart racing, Ted descended the stairs and found himself in a warmly-lit and large room, complete with highly polished wood panelling for the walls and ground. Off to one side of the room were shelves filled to the brim with old books that looked like they had not been opened in decades. In the middle of the room, there were a number of coffee tables surrounded by leather sofas and lounge chairs. He noticed that it resembled the common rooms in many of the Oxford colleges.
Ted sat down on a sofa in the middle of the room.
The voice of a man filled the room. "Hi Ted, I must apologise for not being able to meet you in person. We are a very old society with a lot of secrets to protect and so, guard our identities very seriously. In the next few days, we will share with you our history and we hope that you will be able to join us at the end."
"Our organisation started as a way to pass time among friends here in Oxford. They liked to write cryptic notes in ciphers, and so naturally chose to encode the organisational motto. Have a look at the table in front of you."
Ted saw that there was a piece of paper on the table in front of him. On it was written:
Not all those who wander are lost;
aol vsk aoha pz zayvun kvlz uva dpaoly,
kllw yvvaz hyl uva ylhjolk if aol myvza.
And then, carved into the table:
What was carved into the table? De-code it to find the solution to this stage's puzzle.
Find the Secret Key, which is [seed word from last stage] [solution to this stage's puzzle]. Solve the following encrypted message on AES Encryption Website:
cpGhjncYJYYqoO0Zxggrs9bldW8XrJna6v1aCSNk63jWvMW52ME8ludpPZnfXL3PteV+MxJP9QtfkgR6O10JfMcO43Dv8MzX6rtmpujA/M/7P38khsKoxCEUx8lY6PqHMOUIdEwEGPWSYSvL6PkadLaRIzZUpAi62Zsnb0pKvR7Fgabl7L7o9g0g7IEZxfLm
Hint: Start with the piece of paper before moving on to the message carved into the table! You'll know it if you decipher it. Google is your friend =)
You'll need this: AES Encryption Website.
Good luck! Remember to follow the rules (upvote, resteem, follow!) and instructions.
You need to solve all the previous stages to get the seed word for this puzzle. If this is your first time playing, start at Stage 1 (use the codebreaker tag to find all the posts)!
