2021 TC Treasure Time Travel Treasure Hunt

TEMPUS FUGIT

INTRODUCTION

Hey! Listen! You have a new mission: to claim our treasure chest—
So pull out the cartridge, blow off the dust, and embark upon your quest!
We hope this sequel proves an equal—an adventure to remember:
The second Time Travel Treasure Hunt begins the tenth of November!

Last year's scheme was one for the team—a thrilling win, by gosh, 
For Craig, Zak, Dana, Julie, Dan, Amy, Nate, and Josh.
We're back again with another gem, so join the fray if you're keen:
Grab a controller to start the game and engage the time machine!

FALL BACK

Back a notch, rewind your watch; the time has come at last—
Counterclockwise, as the crow flies—to travel into the past!
Be a sleuth to learn the truth: peer through the eyes of the mask; 
Above the falls, adventure calls—that is, if you're up to the task!

Explanations:

"TEMPUS FUGIT" POCKET WATCH PUZZLE

• In order to solve this puzzle, hunters had to identify the three basic ciphers it employed:
• The first and simplest cipher is a basic transposition of the Roman numerals with their alphabetical equivalents based on an A=1, Z=26 cipher; this was hinted at by their being represented with letters—the (upper- or lower-) case of each Roman numeral is meant to suggest its respective, transposed alphabetical equivalent: "r," "h," "L," "I," "I," "O," "F," "v," and "o."
• The second cipher—which applies only to the string of numerals "2081855" found at the 4:00 position of the watch—is essentially an inversion of the first, where the numerals become 20, 8, 18, 5, 5, or T, H, R, E, E, when transposed against A1-Z26; here, the hunter is meant to infer translation of the word "THREE" back to the numeral: "3."
• The last cipher—which applies only to the string of lowercase letters "sbksvm" found at the 6:00 position of the watch—is an Atbash cipher, which simply reverses the alphabet against itself, in this case transforming "sbksvm" into "hyphen." The final character is, indeed, a hyphen: "-."
• By keeping the above characters in their proper positions, the hunter gets a string of gibberish: "rhL3I-IOFvo"—this happens to be the unique identifier for the YouTube page of a short Zelda fan film called "The Blood Moon," created by filmmaker Devin "Supertramp" Graham. This was primarily intended to suggest the hunt's Legend of Zelda theme, but the film also showcases a few elements germane to this hunt: 
• The "Silent Princess" flower Zelda plucks in the first flashback is a hint at this hunt's MacGuffin—a single (fake) "Silent Princess" blossom, hidden with the jewel;
• The "Blood Moon" event depicted by the film—a reference to the spooky in-game mechanic from Breath of the Wild—is a hint at an event that took place during this hunt: a nearly-total lunar eclipse (often referred to as a "blood moon"), which began in the early morning of November 19, mere minutes after the publication of Clue #10 (In turn, this was a hint at an in-hunt mechanic timed to coincide with the eclipse; more on that in the explanation for Clue #10);
• The "Triforce" pendant Zelda wears in the film is a hint not just at this hunt's jewel—which was adorned with a Triforce emblem—or its prizes (with several Triforce-based collectors' items among them), but also the shape made by playing 'connect the dots' with this hunt's bonus prize locations (as depicted on the TC Treasure Map).
• On November 7, the watch face was changed to coincide with the "Fall Back" bonus clue—revealing the ciphers' solutions; the Latin text was changed from "tempus fugit" (which means "time's wasting") to "tempus venit" (or "the time has come"). This was meant to suggest that the hunt had begun in earnest, and that a bonus prize was in play for the "Fall Back" clue.
• On November 19, the watch face was changed to coincide with the lunar eclipse—becoming a full, red-tinted moon; the Latin text was changed once again to "tempus cieri" (or "the time of lunar eclipse"). This was meant to reinforce the "Blood Moon" mechanic in play from Clue #10 onward (see explanation for Clue #10). 

INTRODUCTION

• "Hey! Listen!" is meant to suggest this hunt's theme and timeline, which were inspired by The Legend of Zelda—particularly Ocarina of Time, in which the fairy "Navi" shouts commands like "Hey!," "Listen!," and "Watch Out!" while accompanying Link on his journey throughout the Kingdom of Hyrule.
• "pull out the cartridge, blow off the dust, and embark upon your quest!" and "Grab a controller to start the game" are meant to suggest this hunt's video game-based inspiration.
• "keen" could be taken to suggest this hunt's hiding place at the foot of the Washburn Park water tower—where eight "Guardians of Health" stand their stony watch with steely gaze and sword in hand.
• "engage the time machine!" is meant to suggest using the "Tempus Fugit" pocket watch puzzle to learn more about this hunt's theme—including some generalities about The Legend of Zelda that could prove helpful during the hunt.

"FALL BACK" BONUS CLUE

• "Back a notch, rewind your watch; the time has come at last" is meant to suggest hunters take another look at the "Tempus Fugit" pocket watch puzzle—which was changed to read "tempus venit" (meaning "the time has come") at the same time as this clue's publication; the watch was also updated with the solution to the three basic ciphers representing 11 of the clock's 12 hourly positions (see explanation above).
• "Counterclockwise, as the crow flies" is meant to suggest the direction of this hunt's journey while hinting at the location for this clue's bonus prize—the Kokiri Sword—which was hidden behind the Little Crow mask statue at Minnehaha Park.
• "as the crow flies" could also be taken to suggest a method for unraveling the hiding spot for this hunt's jewel, located near the center of a large Triforce shape—itself inscribed within another, larger Triforce shape—formed by connecting the dots with this hunt's bonus prize locations (see: TC Treasure Map). 
• "learn the truth: peer through the eyes of the mask; / Above the falls" is meant to suggest a parallel to the Legend of Zelda series—in particular, Ocarina of Time, which features the "Mask of Truth." It is also meant to suggest searching for this hunt's bonus prize in a tree behind the Little Crow mask statue above Minnehaha Falls (positioned such that the hunter could literally see directly through its eyes from the hiding spot).
• "Above the falls, adventure calls" could be taken to suggest searching for the jewel upstream from Minnehaha Falls—just a stone's throw from the creek that feeds them, at the Washburn Park water tower.
• "if you're up to the task" could be taken to suggest the jewel's location—near a tall water tower, on a high hill, near the heights of Tangletown, on Highview Place, etc...
• Beginning with the "Fall Back" clue, hunters who found the bonus prize associated with each clue would receive a unique QR code, which linked to a landing page associated with their find; the pages changed at midnight on November 19 to coincide with the lunar eclipse, and give bonus prize finders an additional hint (see explanation for Clue #10 for more). The titles of the twelve bonus prizes' landing pages, in order, spell !, A, H, U, N, A, K, W, S, B, R, P, R—when rearranged, they spell "WASHBURN PARK!"