P.S.

In my quest to learn the identity of our queene's kidnapper, I tracked down Ingrid, the Monte Casino hotel maid who cleaned Titania's room. I asked if there was anything she'd found that might suggest who had reserved the room.

She said she had seen nothing, but that I was welcome to go through the refuse from the room if I so desired. I asked her to direct me to the hotel dumpster, but she said when she approached the dumpster, she found it on fire, and a suspicious looking "partially-clad bald man in costume like a little devil" lurking around the corner gazing at the burning rubbish.


I asked her to describe the man.
This is what she described:

Look familiar?
It's that rapscallion, Puck, servant to King Oberon!
I wonder if his Highness knows what Puck's been up to.

I sighed with great discouragement. All hope of finding clues in the dumpster up in smoke. But Ingrid reassured me. She said she did not yet dispose of her bags of trash because of the fire, and that she still had them on her maid's trolley!

I nearly despaired of going through the several dozen bags of who knows what, but Ingrid helped once again. She said the only trash she'd found in Titania's room was a ripped up note, its pieces scattered across the hotel room floor.

I am pleased to say, I found the bag with the note quickly. But putting the pieces together is another story altogether. The note appears to be written by someone left-handed, as it is written backward, which is the way so many Omnian lefties compose their correspondence.

Evidently, after writing the note, the author changed their mind about delivering it. I wonder why. I hope we shall find out once we've pieced it together. I recommend you print the 3 images of the scattered note pieces (the pieces wouldn't fit on one image), then cut the pieces out and put all 16 of them together. You'll want to print them full size on 8.5x11 paper to ensure they fit together best. Remember to click on them to enlarge and download them.

{If you are unable to print the images or read the images, or just become too darn frustrated, click here for the "put-together" "turned around" and transcribed versions of the note.}
Either way, continue scrolling through this page to get to the instructions at the bottom
Note pieces #1
Note pieces #2
Note pieces #3
Once you've pieced together the identity of Puck's co-conspirator, 
email the name to omniocademy+titania@gmail.com
and in the subject line type: GUILTY (all in CAPS)
{If the emailed reply fails to arrive within a minute, click here for the quest's final entry.}

Thank you again, my friends. I never could have found our queene and her kidnappers without you.
Please accept these faerie cakes in gratitude.
Cheriste som.

A saga now ended

The video account tells what Titania shared with me.
I did my best to translate from Faeturim to English, so forgive any awkwardness.


HRu hule huli!
Let the May Day Fae Day procession begin!

P.S.
In the interest of justice, I decided to return to Monte Casino and speak with the hotel maid Ingrid, just in case she may have seen something that might shed light on who queenenapped Titania. Loathe as I am to admit it, I no longer believe Prince Raffia to have been involved. He seemed too surprised to see Titania. (For more on the dubious prince, subscribe to the Love Among the Brambles recap shows ... later, that is.)

At the moment, the true culprit remains at large ... and must pay.
Click here if you'd like to find out what became of my visit to Ingrid.

Found but still a little lost


We did it! We found Titania!


She is still a little confused—a side effect from the strong knockout potion she was given which is known to cause hallucinations and even amnesia.

"You know me?" she asked, looking confused when I ran to her and bowed. "Who am I?"

A dunk of her head (sans headdress) in ice water and a strong pot of black tea snapped her out of her stupor. She has promised to tell all about her ordeal on the way home, but we must leave now if we are to arrive in time for her to lead the May Day procession.

Simply click or tap on her formidable headdress, and we should be on our way.

It's all a jumble


Obviously this is not the path back home.

This is the outside of Monte Casino's theater.

The little girl from the lobby brought me out here and pointed to the marquee. She does not speak, and when I asked her what she was trying to tell me and what the strange words on the sign meant, she merely waved her hands around wildly, then curtseyed, and skipped away.

I brought you here because something about the words on the marquee looks familiar, but I can not quite figure out what. Can you? Does it have anything to do with Faerie Queene Titania?

Why was the girl waving her hands in agitation? Did it mean anything? And what of the numbers that follow the words? They add up to 19, and there are 19 letters in the strange message. Could they refer to how to combine the letters? Curious.

Perhaps if we put all 19 letters together and re-organize them into smaller bunches, we will see what we need to find Faerie Queene Titania. The witching hour nears, so we must work quickly.

Now then, what 3 words can we make using 6 letters, 6 letters, and 7 letters from the total group of letters on the marquee: QUARINEIETANIEFETAE 


We got inside. Now what?


Good Gobfinkle! This place is much classier than I expected. Perhaps you should take a seat while I see what I can glean from those at the front desk.
I am pleased to report the front desk supervisor recognized the necklace from the casino safe where it had been stored prior to being deposited at the Stockpile. The necklace had been used to pay for a room at the casino's hotel, but that was all the supervisor knew. None of the staff recall who paid with the necklace and the guest (listed as Terri Doe, which could be male or female) has since checked out of the room.

When I offered a description of our glorious monarch, I was informed the description matched that of more than a score of other queenes who all engage in some activity called drag. What they are dragging or why remains a mystery to me.

Friends, I fear we have arrived at an impasse. We have the necklace, but not our queene. I see no alternative but to make our way back to the faerie ring and suffer whatever decision the Court has made. Then again, knowing them, it is probable no decision has been made!

That is odd ...
Do you see that little girl waving frantically at us?
I wonder what she could want?

Now she is beckoning to follow her.
Do you think perhaps she knows what has become of our queene?
I suppose it could not hurt to find out.

In the interest of time, how about I go with her and you start for home. I will catch up to you in a wink.

To get home, you must do the following:
  • Employ your personal electronic device to dial 929-466-6457 and leave a voicemail recitation of the Omni HRu as found on the page linked here. (Once you've left your message, use your browser's back arrow to return to this page)
  • Immediately thereafter, turn in a circle while flapping your elbows like wings and buzzing like a bee 
  • Then click here and you will be transported back to our realm and set on the path that leads to our ring

Getting into the casino

Some suave casinoesque music to set the tone

Getting to the nickbottom of how Titania's necklace ended up at the Stockpile is a must. But even more important is getting our queene back to the faerie ring before May Day Fae Day is lost. Based on the clues from Esmabella's cauldron, it looks like our next stop is Monte Casino, which if you ask me is no place for a self-respecting faerie.

I have arranged for a Rim Sentinel (Ocademy guard who patrols the Rim) to escort us through the gate to the casino, but it will be up to us to get in. The password changes daily and is always in the form of some sort of riddle. Here is today's 5-word riddle:
Definite article + large black perching bird (also a boasting verb) + takes wing + location-based preposition + New Zealand Oxford dictionary word for "witching hour" (according to Wikipedia) 
_ _ _     _ _ _ _     _ _ _ _ _    _ _     _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _



On campus

Very well done, my friend! I think we are making great progress. Thus far we've determined:
  1. Titania is on or near the Ocademy campus, or at least her necklace is.
  2. Sadly, as you surmised, the orange element logo depicted in the cauldron is that of Terris {earth}. If the culprit turns out to be someone associated with Terris, it could mean persecution for our kind.
  3. The Stockpile (school bank) is somehow involved. Perhaps we should go there first. Of course we can not all march in ... not without arousing suspicion ... Certainly if Titania has indeed been kidnapped, we don't want to draw the attention of her abductors. 
You wait out here while I go into the bank. Perhaps you could visit the carousel at the center of The Hub and enjoy a sweet treat at Connie's Confections, Cones, and Cakes. Grab something for me too! Here I go ...
Okay, I am back, and I have big news!
  • While Titania has not been seen, her necklace was traded last night for currency at the Stockpile.
  • As the necklace has been classified as stolen goods and the Stockpile has a hefty insurance policy, the manager handed it to me to return to our queene. I bestowed a shamrock blessing on him on the spot!
  • Add to that, the manager was more than happy to type up a list of all Terrins who visited the currency exchange yesterday. As you can imagine, he is keen to avoid an interdimensional incident. Below is his note:
(The note is transcribed at the bottom of this page for your ease of viewing)

Text below reprinted from the Stockpile manager's original note
I dare not say too much in the presence of those in the Exchange, lest someone share or misconstrue my comments; but I can tell you this: Queene Titania’s necklace was exchanged for ducats by someone wearing a generic Monte Casino uniform. Below is the list of Terris-related folk who were have entered the Stockpile in the last lum. 
Amaryllis Meddoh ~ She is a 5th generation legacy Terrin recruit, rumored to be very observant and something of a tattle tale. Perhaps she saw something that could help in your search. 
Dabne Mulch ~ He is one of the Terris Caretakers. He comes in weekly to cash his paycheck, which is unnecessary because his truffles are directly deposited into his account. Really it’s just an excuse to visit Totsy Greenbacks, one of our tellers on whom he is sweet. 
Erodios Dumpsta ~ This bitter young man was culled just yesterday, and stormed into the Exchange, cutting in queue ahead of others and demanding he be served first as he wanted to leave the Ocademy as quickly as possible since (in his words) he was “no longer wanted.” He voiced proudly his intention of trading the recruitment allowance (given him by his parents) for casino chips. 
Totsy Greenbacks ~ Totsy is one of the most popular tellers here at the Stockpile and has worked here since validating more than 20 seekkl ago. Her greatest joy is spending her weekends at the casino, where sadly, she never wins. Just the opposite. She’s racked up substantial debt with the bank to cover her losses. She’ll likely need to work here until she’s 203 to pay it all off. 
Note: You may want to keep an eye on the Arbins. They’re notorious for their inter-element pranks, and may have kidnapped the Faerie Queene as a stunt to get a rise out of Terris. 
Also, you mentioned Prince Raffia. While I have heard nothing about him being at the casino recently, that doesn’t mean he is not there. He frequents that den of iniquity so often, his presence would not be construed as news. Remember, the gambling house’s motto is: WHAT HAPPENS AT MONTE CASINO … NEVER HAPPENED! 
Wishing you a victorious outcome. 

Clues in the Cauldron

Off to Esmabella's house we gooooooo ...

Eye of newt and ear of bat grow tender when they’re stewing. Leg of frog and skin of cat add flavor to the brewing. But such delights can not compare to sweets fresh from the oven. Baked goods will melt a witch's heart regardless of her coven. The answers that you seek are here arising from the potion. Ephemeral, so read them quick! They’re constantly in motion. All clues are valid if you’re wise. Steer clear of convolution. The cauldron has all that you need to find the true solution ...

The image shows my recollection of the clues that rose from the steam in Esmabella's cauldron. In addition to Titania's necklace, I see a few other things I recognize: The Ocademy's crest, the Piddlypedia student handbook, something that suggests a financial institution, an element domain logo, and a photo of Monte Casino, the high-ticket gambling paradise at the notorious Rim—the seedy area just outside the Ocademy.

This is not what I was expecting at all! What about Prince Raffia? What of the other suspects at court?

*gasp*

Could this mean we have been looking in the wrong place? If we go back to tell the Court, who knows how long they will take to decide what to do next. No, it is up to us.

Clearly the necklace refers to Titania. The casino photo, element logo, school crest, and Piddlypedia student handbook all point to the Ocademy and surrounds. Although I'm unclear as to what that stock thing is about. Looks like we're off to the Academy of Omniosophical Arts & Sciences. I've always wanted to go!

First, we should probably get a copy of Piddlypedia to peruse on our journey. Click here to get one of your own. I don't think we need to study the whole booklet—just look for the things that apply to the cauldron clues.



Going rogue

This waiting is unbearable, especially when there is a missing malefactor to be apprehended! Please excuse yourself from the court proceedings—where nothing is getting accomplished—and watch this video message. 
Best to watch on this page instead of on Youtube directly, lest you be unable to find the link mentioned at the end of the message.

You will note a link is mentioned in the video posted here. That link is located on this page below the video, somewhere in the white section above the recipes offered in the comments area. You will know you have found it when you see my little hand pass over it. Be patient and move slowly.
It may be difficult to find, but it is there.

Don't forget to post your recipe in the comments section below

{FYI the marvelous music is by one of the fae's favorite composers - Lucas King}








If you try and try and try but still can't find the link ... here's a duplicate 🧚🏻‍♂️

Obvious as the nose on your faece

Eugh! These bureaucrats overlook what is right before them. It is obvious who is responsible for our precious queene's disappearance. I dare not say it aloud, lest I incur the ire of the mighty and my life be in peril like that of Queene Titania. But I shall tell you in confidence. Perhaps you came to the same conclusion. 

Please view the following in conjunction with "The Woods" poem images below for ...
{Well, you'll find out}
"The Woods" poem in English
(click on image to enlarge)
"The Woods" poem in Faeturim
(click on image to enlarge)
The Swizzle-Burman wheel
(It goes clockwise from red to purple)

Infaemy

It's taken ages for the elders to come up with a list of prime suspects! Below are their top contenders, selected based on past behavior, age-old disputes, and various petty jealousies:

#1 Oberon - Titania's husband and king of the faeries, they'd been quarreling over the changeling boy mentioned in the note. Also, Titania had openly accused him of adultery with a human.

#2 Puck - Oberon's lacky who would do anything to please his master. He is known to engage in behavior unbecoming to a fae.

#3 Nick Bottom - a human recently turned into a 'donkey' and put under a love spell with Titania. He was humiliated and vowed vengeance.

#4 Mabilys - The Queene's chief courtier who is jealous of Titania and covetous of all that she has ... especially Oberon. Her lifelong dream has been to lead the May Day procession.

#5 Prince Raffia of the Unseelie Court - He loathes Titania for having chosen Oberon over him, and never misses an opportunity to try to embarrass her and undermine her authority. He had a brief tryst with Mabilys the year prior. Both were in the relationship with the goal of getting a rise out of Titania. It didn't work. It is worth noting, he was not to be found when the Seelie scouts went looking for him to question him. 

#6 Hippolyta - Queen of the Amazons and fiancee of Theseus (a local elected official) whom she plans to wed as part of a treaty between the warring Athenians and Amazons. Titania refers to her as Oberon's "buckskinned mistress," and the two women have been verbally sparring for months. 

Droning deliberations

The Full Seelie Court is still tracking down suspects and witnesses to interrogate. I fear this could take a long while ... perhaps several whiles! To pass the time, I suggest a favorite fae tradition: colouring!

Below are assorted wings and sundry images. Click on any picture to enlarge, then save and print your favorite(s), and break out the crayons, markers and colored pencils. If you are being held captive in a dungeon or are otherwise unable to print & color, merely go to the interwebs and collect an image that is similar to the ones here ... but more colorful, please.

When you're done with your masterpiece (it's okay if it's a rush job), post your finished work (or image of choice) on the Facebook event page or email it to omniocademy+titania@gmail.com . I won't be able to respond (no devices allowed in the fae courthouse), but later, when I get a chance I'll respond to Facebook posts and share emailed colorings on Facebook as well.

Once your image of choice is posted or emailed, click here