Mr. Pawterson and Big Brother Bill #5: Ponder the Puzzle!

Extra , 1 Physical Trauma, Expedition Journal in play, Stone Altar in play, 2 pillars on Mouth of K'n-yan

Supplies: Provisions, Medicine, Map, Compass, Binoculars, Chalk, Pocketknife

Opening Hand: "Look what I found!", Guard Dog, Relic of Ages, Take the Initiative, Alejandro Vela

Hello! I'm looking forward to today, because today is the day of puzzles. Big Brother Bill has been talking about it with Mr. Vela for quite some time and they're both excited. It seems that even Ms. Ichtaca wants to join in the fun. She says her friends from last time won't bother Big Brother anymore. Not to mention we're experienced adventurers now so we know where to go and where not to go in the jungle. Here's a warm-up riddle. Listen. What do you call a bear without an ear? Do you know? Do you want me to tell the answer? It's a "B". Ha! Ha! Ha!

#1

• PLAY Alejandro Vela
• Mouth of K'n-yan
• EXPLORE into Lost in the Wilds (, 1 horror to Alejandro Vela, 1 horror)
• Mouth of K'n-yan
• draw "Look what I found!", 4 resources total, discard Lost in the Wilds.

#2

• 1/5 doom, Pit Viper
• FIGHT (+1 , 0, defeat Pit Viper)
• MOVE to Stone Altar (, lose 1 action)
• draw Evidence!, 4 resources total.

#3

• 2/5 doom, Poisonous Spores
• INVESTIGATE (commit Take the Initiative (, 1 clue)
• EXPLORE to Circuitous Trail
• INVESTIGATE (, 1 clue)
• EXPLORE into Pitfall (+1 , -3, 1 damage to Alejandro Vela, 1 damage)
• draw Take Heart, 4 resources total, discard Poisonous Spores.

Jump, Big Brother! See how Big Brother Bill is barely winded while Mr. Vela breathes so heavily and has to sit down to massage his legs. This is because Big Brother keeps in shape and exercises regularly. You might not have seen him exercising during our adventure, but running and jumping over pits definitely counts! If only my own legs weren't so short and stubby. Anyway, want to hear a riddle about running? Here it goes. What always runs but never walks? I'll give a hint too. Cover your ears if you think you can solve the riddle without it! The hint is, Big Brother Bill wants to reach it right this moment. The answer is, of course, a river!

#4

• 3/5 doom, Pit Viper
• FIGHT (commit Guard Dog, , defeat Pit Viper)
• EXPLORE to River Canyon
• INVESTIGATE (commit Relic of Ages, 0, 1 clue)
• EXPLORE into Ants! (+2 , commit Take Heart, . return Relic of Ages)
• draw Gravedigger's Shovel, 3 resources total.

#5

• 4/5 doom, Pit Viper
• FIGHT (commit Gravedigger's Shovel, , defeat Pit Viper)
• EXPLORE into Low on Supplies (1 damage)
• EXPLORE to Serpent's Haven
• INVESTIGATE (-2, "Look what I found!", 2 clues)
• draw Resourceful, 2 resources total.

#6

• 5/5 doom, The Jungle's Heart advances to Setting Sun, Boa Constrictor
• EVADE (+1 , commit Relic of Ages, , exhaust Boa Constrictor)
• MOVE to Stone Altar (, lose 1 action)
• Boa Constrictor readies
• draw Machete. 2 resources total.

It seems we're heading back to the campsite. It's a bit of a shame, because I feel our group is doing great. Big Brother Bill and Mr. Vela are eager to find out if their solution to the six pillars puzzle works out. I'm sure it will, because Big Brother Bill is really smart and Mr. Vela too seems like he knows what he's talking about. I have to admit I don't quite understand the six pillars problems, but I've got a simpler version with six coins. Do you have six coins on hand? Any coins will do, pennies too. So take four coins and arrange them in a straight line. Count from one end. One. Two. Put one coin each on both sides of coin number 2. It's now cross-shaped! There's one line of four coins and one line of three coins, isn't there? Now comes the hard part! How do you get two lines of four coins each by moving just one coin! The time limit is until Big Brother Bill boils water for the evening tea at the camp.

#7

• 1/5 doom, Pitfall (shuffle)
• MOVE to Mouth of K'n-yan
• advance Search for the Pattern to Opening the Maw
• Opening the Maw (3 pillars, exhaust The Winged Serpent)
• Opening the Maw (4 pillars)
• Boa Constrictor hunts to Stone Altar
• draw Resourceful, 3 resources total.

#8

• 2/5 doom, Poisonous Spores
• Opening the Maw (5 pillars)
• RESIGN.

The trick was stacking coins! You take one from the longer end and put it on top on the one in the middle. Congratulations! Now for some well-deserved rest. Big Brother Bill takes first watch today and I'll do my best to make sure he sleeps well after that. I don't need to sleep at all, being a stuffed toy, so I'll watch over everyone at the camp the entire night.

Extra , 1 Physical Trauma, Expedition Journal in play, Stone Altar in play, 5 pillars on Mouth of K'n-yan

Supplies: Provisions, Medicine, Map, Compass, Binoculars, Chalk, Pocketknife

Opening Hand: Lucky!, Take the Initiative, Take Heart. Ever Vigilant, Resourceful

#1

• Mouth of K'n-yan
• MOVE to Stone Altar (, lose 1 action)
• EXPLORE to Circuitous Trail
• The Winged Serpent hunts to Stone Altar
• draw .45 Automatic, 6 resources total.

#2

• 1/5 doom, Low on Supplies (lose 2 resources)
• INVESTIGATE (-3, Lucky!, 1 clue)
• MOVE to Stone Altar (, lose 1 action)
• The Winged Serpent attacks (1 damage & 1 horror)
• draw Relic of Ages, 6 resources total.

#3

• 2/5 doom, Snake Bite (+4 , commit Resourceful, 0, return Lucky!)
• INVESTIGATE (commit Take the Initiative, Relic of Ages & Take Heart. , 1 clue)
• MOVE to Mouth of K'n-yan
• Opening the Maw (6 pillars)
• R1

On, no, that's not good at all! We still got lots of time and we're going to leave our campsite like that. Big Brother, tell Mr. Vela that we need to clean up after ourselves. There should be no trace of us after we pack and go, it's common camping etiquette! See how Ms. Ichtaca does it. If I didn't knew already I couldn't tell where she was sleeping. Ms. Ichtaca!

All of sudden, Mr. Pawteron clamps his paws over his stitched mouth, remembering that he's supposed to not to attract attention from the woman with the bow.

Campaign Log:

The Untamed Wilds: Yorick cleared a path to the Eztli ruins! Ichtaca is wary of Yorick! Alejandro followed the investigators into the ruins! 6 XP (Ichtaca, Ruins of Eztli, Serpent's Haven, 2 extra XP), Yig’s Fury: 2. 1 Psychical Trauma.

The Doom of Eztli: Yorick recovered the Relic of Ages! The Harbinger is still alive (2)! Yorick gave custody of the relic to Alejandro! 4 XP (Chamber of Time, Grand Chamber, Burial Pit), Yig’s Fury: 6.

Threads of Fate: Yorick found the missing relic! Yorick rescued Alejandro! Ichtaca is in the dark! 7 XP (Northside, Eztli Exhibit, Arkham Police Station, Town Hall, Bury Them Deep, 2 bonus XP, 3 XP spent to heal poison), Yig’s Fury: 6.

The Boundary Beyond: 2 paths are known to Yorick! The Harbinger is still alive (4)! Yorick mapped the way forward! 4 XP (Padma Amrita, 2 locations), Yig’s Fury: 8.

Heart of the Elders: 2 XP (Circuitous Trail, Stone Altar), Yig’s Fury: 8.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of Mr. Pawterson and Big Brother Bill! Feel free to share Arkham-themed riddles and puzzles in the comment section. Could Mr. Pawterson solve them, I wonder?