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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: Chasing the Wish » CTW: Interaction
Email Phyllis a green puzzle box and lucid dreaming
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Sunny du Pree
Unfettered


Joined: 01 Jan 2003
Posts: 636
Location: Push, Nevada

 		Email Phyllis a green puzzle box and lucid dreaming
Dearest Sunny,
Sunday night, I again had a lucid dream: It started as the usual kind of
hodgepodge dreaming that reviews the events of the day. There were glimpses of Iris among heaps of old books at a flea market, swirls of colors and patterns from a stall with crockery. Somewhere we sat down at a wooden table to drink some ice tea and we were laughing, Iris leaning forward, then it wasn't Iris. It was Sarah leaning over a wooden table. I see her clearly, sitting up and stretching her arms over her head, saying, "It is done." I cannot see what is on the table before her. When I look at the table, my vision goes blurry. I hear a man's voice, coming from behind my point of view and he says, "You know what you must do. They will find their way to the ones who are ready to find them." I can see Sarah hand's picking up a scrap of cloth, laying it on her palm, and with the other, she places something on the cloth and enfolds it. I am quite aware that I am having a vision at this point and trying almost consciously to see what she is wrapping in the cloth. She does it again, again, again. By the third time, I started counting, all the while trying to focus on the objects and failing. She wrapped up nine small bundles.

Suddenly, my mind's eye saw somewhere else entirely. Douglas sitting at the desk in his home office, looking nervous. Sweat beads his anxious brow and he looks furtively toward the door as though expecting an unwanted intrusion. He mumbles inarticulately and runs his hands along the sides of... something. It is green, small, squared corners. A soft thump in the wall causes him to leap to his feet with the object in his hands and turns toward the closet...

I woke up with the dawn and leapt out of bed, threw on my robe and rushed to Iris' room. I knocked gently at first but my excitement urged me to knock louder until I heard her call out, "Wha?" I told her I had to talk to her right away and she mumbled, "Wait a sec, be quiet, I've got a dream to remember." Well, that shut me up but I took to pacing up and down the hall, restraining my impatience. When she opened her door, and said, "I had a dream about Sarah," I blurted out, "Me, too!" She suggested that we not taint each other's recollections and write our dreams down and then compare them. How very scientific, she is!

Over coffee and croissants, we each scribbled away on our respective legal pads. When James and Chris came down they found us still in our robes, laboring away. Both of them expressed shock at our disarray and uncombed locks and we shushed their mockery with stern glares. Sensing the seriousness of our effort, they began to circle around, looking over our shoulders. "Oh my gawd!" Chris exclaimed followed by James erupting into repeatedly gasping, "Wow." "I'm done," I announced just as Iris stabbed a final period onto her pad. The guys sat down with looks of wonder, sputtering, "You both had the same dream!" But we didn't really. Each of our dreams began and ended in different, although similar, ways. It is only the middle part with Sarah and the nine something's wrapped in cloth that it almost precisely the same! We were all fairly stunned by this and the excitement was followed by meditative silence.

It wasn't until a little later, as I was getting dressed, that the end of my
dream began to imply something to me. As I came out, I met Iris on the landing and said one word, "Closet." She said, "Don't get your hopes up, Phyllis, there may be nothing there." But, oh, my friends, there was something in the hiding hole – a beautiful, green-stained wooden box with a dragon in the center and little stylized Chinese clouds carved into the corners on its top. Of course, it doesn't open like a regular box. Of course, not. It's one of those maddeningly clever puzzle boxes.

We all had a go at it yesterday -- obsessively. Some parts of the sides slide this way and that. But, nothing else happens. Chris suggested that the sliding needs to be done in sequence and started to make lists of the various moves so we could proceed in an orderly fashion. At one point, James suggested smashing the darn thing but the rest of us greeted the idea with horror. "It's a beautiful object in its own right!" I protested. "We might damage what's inside!" Iris exclaimed. We'd all gotten so frustrated that it seemed best to give it a rest.

I went about replying to some correspondence of the old-fashioned, non-email variety. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking of other ways to solve the box. I'd jump up and run to the kitchen table and try out my latest idea. I just felt like we'd figure it out, like it would just suddenly open if we did one more thing in a different way.

In the middle of the afternoon, Wes called and said he wanted all of us to come by his shop after closing at 8pm. He was, as we have all come to expect, mysterious. He didn't really want to say why but would we all just "please come." We discussed taking the box with us and then decided we didn't necessarily want to share it with Wes quite yet. You see, the suspicion many of you feel toward Wes is contagious. This is much too long, I'll let Iris tell you what happened at Wes' shop.

Love,
Phyllis
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Grace and Peace
Sunny Du Pree
I dreamed a dream and now that dream has come for me

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 12:09 pm
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Varin
I Have No Life


Joined: 02 Dec 2002
Posts: 2456
Location: South of where I used to be

 		In response to my email to Phyllis offering help on the puzzle box...

Quote:
I am always amazed at what Dale's "helpers" seem to know. One would think from
your comments that you have seen it already. But then, perhaps you have. James
took some images today and I ran the cd over to Sam and he promised to post
them somewhere on my web pages today. He's been flushing deep crimson every
time he sees me lately and today when he stammered, "I'm so sorry about the
news feature--." I cut him off, saying, "I'm sorry, too, for blowing up at
you." We shook hands to make peace and I'm glad of that.

We are making significant progress on the puzzle box. We have gotten the first
20 moves in order, we believe. One false step and you have to start all over
again but there are only so many ways the pieces will slide so by a process of
elimination we are getting there. I am so excited to see what is inside but I
am restraining myself because it is entirely possible that it will be empty.

I promise, of course, to let you all know as soon as we succeed because I have
no doubt that we will!

Sincerely,
Phyllis

_________________
"I still miss him to this day and probably always will." - Todd Keeler, Chasing the Wish

"meta meta meta, I made you out of play..." ~ j5

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 4:59 pm
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Varin
I Have No Life


Joined: 02 Dec 2002
Posts: 2456
Location: South of where I used to be

 		Just got an addition...

Quote:
When you see the images, look very closely at what the dragon is holding at the
end of his tail. Perhaps, it's a hint to what's inside... We're all hoping so.

Phyllis

_________________
"I still miss him to this day and probably always will." - Todd Keeler, Chasing the Wish

"meta meta meta, I made you out of play..." ~ j5

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 5:05 pm
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Varin
I Have No Life


Joined: 02 Dec 2002
Posts: 2456
Location: South of where I used to be
Varin wrote:
Just got an addition...

Quote:
When you see the images, look very closely at what the dragon is holding at the
end of his tail. Perhaps, it's a hint to what's inside... We're all hoping so.

Phyllis



Here's a close up of the box that someone found through google...
jpb_dragon_sea_top.jpg
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jpb_dragon_sea_top.jpg
_________________
"I still miss him to this day and probably always will." - Todd Keeler, Chasing the Wish

"meta meta meta, I made you out of play..." ~ j5

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 5:12 pm
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Valas
Unfettered

Joined: 04 Apr 2003
Posts: 326

 		Looks to be some type of wand or horn to me. Question

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 6:51 pm
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Sunny du Pree
Unfettered


Joined: 01 Jan 2003
Posts: 636
Location: Push, Nevada

 		Email Phyllis, the box, and pure hearts
Dear Sunny One,
The links that you sent me about the Nine don't seem to work – they are all ads, one for eBay and one claiming I have won a prize. But, from what you say about the Nine being "keepers of Immortality" I can understand very well why they keep themselves hidden. Can you imagine the horror this world might be if evil men could live forever? And, we do know THEY would be the first to seize such an opportunity. I believe that is a scret that should be kept at all
costs.

We will be very careful opening the box, I promise you. Knowing that it
belonged to Don Marzano, knowing that Douglas got it somehow and hid it, is sufficient to convince us something latent with power may be inside. But, you know, I believe that pure hearts are protected and none of us have any goals in mind other than solving mysteries and helping Dale. So if something wicked tries to jump out, it will find itself surrounded by four firm friends with goodness on our side!

Speaking of goodness, I had a lovely email exchange with our friend Pam. I believe she has decided to stay with our group and by that I don't mean the groups you all have out there on the internet. I mean, OUR group: Wes, Sam, Iris, James, Chris, you, me, and all the others who are motivated by questing minds and a selfless need to help Dale, Diana, Meaghan and Sarah. I really don't understand how rudeness and bullying could become a part of what we are all doing and I don't even want you to explain how that has happened. I believe that attaining our goals will require a bond of fellowship and a kind of purity of heart. It may be that the final resolution of all of these mysteries contains a lesson that only the truly generous of spirit will even recognize. I cherish knowing your real name and it will be my secret. So many people have told me so many secrets and when this is all over never doubt I will hold those confidences close to my heart. You have blessed me with your sweet friendship and I will never betray that.

Love,
Phyllis
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Grace and Peace
Sunny Du Pree
I dreamed a dream and now that dream has come for me

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 7:21 pm
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enaxor
I Have No Life

Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Posts: 2395

 		The Box is open!!
Dear Roxanne,

We did it! And, you were right! James was working away on the box and when he knew he was one step away he called us all around for the final move. The air felt charged with electricity as he slid the top aside revealing a small bundle of cloth. He said, "Go for it, Phyllis," and I carefully lifted it out, feeling the weight of it in my hand. Folding back the corners of cloth revealed the very stone in the image you sent to me!

I was a little bit disappointed that it didn't glow but when Iris held it she said she could feel a tingling and a chill of sorts. Well, suddenly, we all looked at each other and Wes' words of warning passed through the glances we shared. So, without a word of dissent we wrapped it back up and I put it in a very good hiding place, I assure you.

What you may not be able to tell from the image is that the stone is fairly
flat, grayish in color and about 2" in diameter. Sam did post the images of the box here http://www.aglauranj.org/antiquesbox.htm although I doubt many care about the box at this point. It is truly a beautiful work of craftsmanship.

Chris jumped on the internet and has been searching for any comparable symbols but he hasn't yet yelled, "Eureka!" We've all been so obsessed and excited that I didn't prepare us any dinner so we've decided to go out and celebrate. I will write more later if we come up with anything.

Yours,
Phyllis

I sent Phyllis a link to the missing manuscript w/the photo of the stone.

http://www.missingmanuscript.com/picturepage11.html
I
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10/05/2007, 04/23/2009, 07/02/2015
The world is a much dimmer place.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 9:52 pm
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dmax
Unfictologist

Joined: 09 Jan 2003
Posts: 1387
Location: Location: Location!

 		/me is disappointed that the puzzle box was never a hands-on thing for us. Sad
I was hoping for a flash puzzle or something.
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That sounds like something HITLER would say!

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 11:11 pm
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Varin
I Have No Life


Joined: 02 Dec 2002
Posts: 2456
Location: South of where I used to be
dmax wrote:
/me is disappointed that the puzzle box was never a hands-on thing for us. Sad
I was hoping for a flash puzzle or something.


me too. It seems odd to me to have a puzzle in the game that nobody playing the game can solve. I thought maybe they would ship it to one of us and then we would have to figure it out ourselves and report back. Sad
_________________
"I still miss him to this day and probably always will." - Todd Keeler, Chasing the Wish

"meta meta meta, I made you out of play..." ~ j5

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 11:28 pm
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Myssfitz
Unfettered


Joined: 26 Feb 2003
Posts: 695
Location: In the pasture

 		I found a site that sells the same box, only it is not painted. Now to find out the meaning of the dragon....

http://www.friknfrak.citymax.com/catalog/item/558926/213839.htm#image_1

And another site, with a little bit of a cheaper price (not by much Very Happy )
http://www.cleverwood.com/27%20_move_4_sun_dragon_b.htm
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Well, Moo

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 1:30 am
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dashcat
Entrenched


Joined: 09 Dec 2002
Posts: 816
Location: Under the bed

 		And WTG Enaxor for specing this whole scenario with the stone in the box in the first place. I thought the wand might be in the box.

This is Enaxor's email to Iris:

Quoting Enaxor:

Dear Phyllis,

I sent this information to Iris earlier today, but thought I should also
share it with you. After hearing of the dream you both shared I think I know what is in the puzzle box. I think it is one of nine stones that will bear a symbol from the manuscript page you found in the old trunk. If you go to this link there is a photograph of one of the stones.

http://www.missingmanuscript.com/picturepage11.html

Let me know if it looks familiar.

Sincerely yours,

Roxanne

***ALH spec'd in chat tonight that since there are nine stones there might be nine boxes

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 3:09 am
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