Puzzle solved

Link: http://www.decodingthewrathstone.com/

Password: The Ruby Throne sits empty, bringing death to all who try to claim it 

The Clues

Between 16 and 20 May, Sparkypants and Elder Scrolls Legends twitter posted several tweets with puzzle pieces on them and each also included an excerpt (from now on called scrolls) from a different lore book. Several letters on these scrolls were blotted out by blood spatters. The links are listed below:

There were also two different Tome of Unlife pictures posted, one completely at the start (Link0) and one at the end (Link7). The Daedric letters translate as “The First” and “The Last”

At last, there was a reddit post with a letter from Abnur Tharn (see next page). The difference between Abnur's Letter and the other scrolls is that the last scroll from Abnur Tharn has no blood on it.

The URL

Xelendar’s theory (proven to be right): The last scroll (Abnur Tharn’s letter) is the only one without blood smudges... So count the letters in the bloody Scrolls until you find a blood smudge, and count the same number of letters in the clean scroll. This is a known encryption method, if I'm guessing it correctly the blood stains are the key to read the clean scroll.

Abnur's Letter and the combined text of the 6 posts have the same letter count. So when deciphering, start from the last letter when you count to the next letter, rather than starting at the beginning each time. Both have 1723 characters.

https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollslegends/comments/brdd3l/the_demon_weapon_is_withi n_my_grasp/

Text version: The Demon Weapon is Within My Grasp...

Full Abnur Tharn Letter Only Characters (in red the solution of the first two scrolls/tweets with covered blood spatters)

AtlonglastthefabledWrathstoneisinmypossessionIamsoclosetoclaimingthemythicaldemonweaponandfinallyputtinganendtotheThreeBannersWarWhenIfirstheardoftherumorsthatsuchaweaponexistedInearlydismissedthemoutofhandButholdingtheWrathstoneinmyhandsfeelingitsweightandbeholdingitsetchingsfirsthandIhavenodoubtthatthestoriesmustbetrueItwasastrokeofluckthatIwasabletopurchasethehalvesoftheWrathstoneformyselfThepeddlerwhoownedthemaRedguardwomannamedTharayyaclearlydidnotunderstandtheirimportorIwouldnothavebeenabletoprythemfromherhandsIftreasurehuntershadgottenwindofamapleadingtoanancientweaponofterriblepowerIamsurethatIwouldhavebeenforcedtospendmoregoldthanIdidInanyeventdecodingthisancienttabletmaybemoredifficultthanIanticipatedThereisclearlyamapdepictedonthesurfaceoftheWrathstonebutunderstandingthecoordinatesisnotasstraightforwardasIhadhopedThemapinscribedhasnoidentifyingfeaturesandthereforeitisimpossibletoknowwhichpartofTamrielisdepictedTheinscriptionarecountingofaKhajiitimythtitledKhunzarriandtheDemonWeaponalmostcertainlyholdscluestodecipherthemapHoweverthatwillrequirefindingKhajiitihistoriansorstorytellerswhoknowenoughaboutthehistoryoftheirmythstolocatethepointsofinterestshownontheWrathstonessurfaceIamhopefulthatIwillbeabletoconvinceDagarildroaKhajiitloremasterthatImetduringmytravelstoassistmeinlocatingKhajiitistorytellerswhocandecodethemapHeseemedmostlyreliablethoughsomewhataloofIfherefuseswellIwillthinkofsomewaytoconvincehimIshallcontinuemyworkwithdiligenceandwillnoteanyprogressthatImakeJorunnEmericandAyrennwillbeunabletocontinuetheirwarringwayswhenthedemonweaponisinmyhandsWithanyluckIwillbeabletouseittoputanendtothisterribleconflictbeforetheseasonsturnandpreventmoreneedlessbloodshedacrossTamrielAbnurTharn

Deciphered by Demonicic and Men’Do: Two of the initial posted scrolls were in the wrong order. The resulting code is:

noisnapxeremmushsalsmoctodstnapykraps

“The Last, The First”

sparkypantsdotcomslashsummerexpansion

The above string is a link to this:

sparkypants.com/summerexpansion

which redirects to

http://www.decodingthewrathstone.com/

which requires a password. The password-checking script is:

<script>

                    function translate(s) {

                            var hash = 0;

                            if (s.length == 0) return hash;

                            for (var i = 0; i < s.length; i++) {

                                    var char = s.charCodeAt(i);

                                    hash = ((hash<<5)-hash)+char;

                                    hash = hash & hash; // Convert to 32bit integer

                            }

                            return hash;

                    }

                    async function check() {

                            var key = document.getElementById("password").value.replace(/,|'|!|\.| |\?/g,"").toLowerCase();

                            var reversekey = key.split("").reverse().join("");

                            var page = "" + translate(key) + translate(reversekey) + '.html';

                            var wrong = false;

                            try    { wrong = (await fetch(page)).status === 404; } catch(e) {}

                            location.href = wrong ? 'wrong.html' : page;

                    }

</script>

That is, it tries to fetch a page at <some-number>.html. Password is case-insensitive, and ignores the characters “,’!. ?” (most punctuation and spaces). The hash function is simply a javascript implementation of the Java string hash function.

The audio/video on decodethewrathstone is irrelevant for solving the puzzle. --- This is confirmed by the devs!

Password solved

The Ruby Throne sits empty, bringing death to all who try to claim it

Password found by Eolis

Two solutions were possible:

*1 Finding https://www.sparkypants.com/springexpansion (this is the one Eolis found)

fallexpansion gives an easter egg and winterexpansion is a dead link.

*2 Connecting the ruby in the Abnur Tharn letter with the previous sparkypants puzzle during Alliance War (see below)

Alliance War puzzle and symbols

Link1 Link2 Link3 Link4 Link5 Link6 Link7 Link8 Link9 Link10 Link11 Link12 Link13 Link14 Link15 Link16 Link17 Link18

Each tweet has 3-4 hidden symbols disguised as letters. When placed in order, the following sentence is revealed:

ȶɧȜ ɽʊɓƴ ƫɧɾǫɳȝ ʂɨɣş ȝɱƥƭƴ ƅɾɨɳɠɨɳɠ Ɗȝɑʈɧ ʈǫ ɑɬɬ ɰƕǫ Ʈɽƴ ʈǫ ƈɬαɨɱ ɨʈ

The Ruby Throne sits empty bringing death to all who try to claim it

That is the password.

This is what shows up after you enter the password. Nothing seems clickable.

The parchment to the left is the story of Khunzar-ri and a copy of Khunzar-ri and the Demons (missing the final part)

“In the time before time, when the sixteen kingdoms were barely more than sixteen tribes, the great hero Khunzar-ri met a demon on the border of Elsweyr.

The demon, whose name was Kaalgrontiid, proclaimed in a powerful voice, "My brothers and I shall take this land. Its treasures and even the moons above will be ours!"

"I do not think so, foul demon," Khunzar-ri said. ""Elsweyr and all it contains, even the moons above, are under my protection."

The demon laughed. "You cannot stop us, little cat-thing! You are nothing but soft flesh and fur, while we are scales and teeth and claws!"

Khunzar-ri thought for a moment. "Perhaps you are right, oh massive demon. You are certainly too much for even my prodigious strength." Then he thought to himself, "That is why I shall gather a Kra'Jun, a company of heroes. Together, we will find a way to stop you, foul demon!"

So, while the demons ravaged Elsweyr and chased the moons through the sky, Khunzar-ri went on a quest to form his Kra'Jun. He gathered the greatest champions of the age and convinced them to do what they had never done before—work together. He called to his side the Altmer, Nurarion the Perfect, who wielded the Subtle Blade. He coerced Flinthild Demon-Hunter to leave her castle in the far north. He used sweet words and flattered Anequina Sharp-Tongue, queen and moon-priest of the Ne Quin-al pride, until she agreed to stand beside him. Finally, Khunzar-ri asked he who would become the Betrayer to lend him his sword, for there was no finer warrior in all the land.

With the Kra'Jun assembled, Khunzar-ri and his companions set forth to defeat Kaalgrontiid and his demon brothers.

For forty-one days and forty-one nights, great and terrible battles raged across Elsweyr. The Kra'Jun won some of these battles and they lost some of these battles, but they could not find a way to kill or drive off the demons. It was he who would become the Betrayer who eventually made the suggestion. ""The demons seek to consume the moons. Why not let them have them? Or, to be more precise, let them think we have surrendered and acquiesced to their plans.""

"A brilliant idea!"" Khunzar-ri concurred. ""But instead of consuming the moons, we let the moons steal the life from them!"

Anequina the moon-priest nodded in understanding.

"This one can do that. This one can talk to Jone and Jode and ask them to consume the demons."

Then, Khunzar-ri used every bit of guile and charm he possessed to convince the demons that the Kra'Jun was now willing to help them. He told them where to meet, at a moon temple of renown, and waited while Anequina communed with the moons. "It is not in the nature of Jone and Jode to fully consume the demons," Anequina said, "but Jode will take enough of their life force to weaken them. That should allow us to contain them."

"I know just the place," proclaimed Nurarion the Perfect. "An ancient place of power, forgotten and long abandoned. We can trap the demons there."

There’s a small X south of Torval. --- The X is the location of the Halls of the Colossus

Finding the URL (all remaining hypotheses)

Blotted letters ordered:

b b c d d d e e e e e e f g i i l m n n o p r s s s s s s t t t u u w w y

b b c d d d e e e e f g i i m n n o p s s s s s t t t u u w (minus “Elsweyr”)

*Not a Caesar cipher

t d s d l i e m s s d c n f n i e e u p t e r e w s y s b e b g u o w s t

t s w o u g b e b s y s w e r e t p u e e i n f n c d s s m e i l d s d t (reverse order)

g u o w s t e r e w s y s b e b u p t f n i e e s d c n t d s d l i e m s (reverse twitter order)

*Not a Columnar Transposition Cipher, there are 37 letters (a prime number)

Finding the password (all remaining hypotheses)

List of guessed passwords by Holoir: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-6E58gHxpeK7iqOz95JkofsGWoJT5OWyVoCK-y_UzU0/edit#gid=0

List of books about Khunzar-ri and the Demons:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Khunzar-ri_and_the_Demons

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Khunzar-ri_and_the_Demon:_Part_One

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Khunzar-ri_and_the_Demon:_Part_Two

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Khunzar-ri_and_the_Demon:_Part_Three

Ruby Hypotheses

[Hypothesis] A red stone/ruby is placed besides Abnur Tharn’s name. Just his sigil?

Look at the Ruby in more detail: One face upper left and one creature on the top? Who are these? --- Or is it just pareidolia? => Is this a hint for the password

WB - Is that a Dragon???????????

Just a theory but could the first and last refer to the characters seen in the gem?

 http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Dragon

See also the Dragon language- https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dragon_Language

Possible theory/path of investigation;

WB - Anyone know WHO the letter is written to? Is the person in the gem the recipient and why is Abnur sending them a ruby? Seems like a big gesture….

• The first letters are not letters to anyone, they are scriptures of books. The First and the Last are pages from the Book of Unlife. The only recipient I can think of is just the viewer/player. --- And the ruby might just be Abnur’s sigil

Triangulants Hypothesis

[Hypothesis]Trying to use the lead of the Triangulants & the Wrathstone here:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Abnur_Tharn: Simply put, I just acquired two halves of an ancient tablet. The Wrathstone. It forms a map that will lead us to a weapon capable of forcing all sides to cease their aggressive behavior.

Help me find this weapon and we can end the war."

But the map isn't complete. It requires triangulants to serve as orientation points. Without those, it's worthless. Right now, the map shown on the Wrathstone has no identifying features. Without triangulants, I have no context by which to read the map. I know a Khajiiti loremaster, however, who can help with that."

Talking to the Loremaster

After collecting the Dusk Mushrooms, you will need to find the loremaster, Dagaril-dro. Once you have given him the mushrooms and questioned him, Abnur Tharn will appear behind you.

"I see you made it to the old loremaster's camp. Were the dusk mushrooms to his liking?"

Yes. He said we need to go to the Redfur Trading Post (274170, 862549) [Wormroot Depths: https://esomap.uesp.net/?centeron=Wormroot+Depths&world=Grahtwood], The Baandari Trading Post (https://esomap.uesp.net/?centeron=Baandari+Trading+Post&world=Malabal+Tor), and Rawl'kha (https://esomap.uesp.net/?centeron=Rawl%27kha&world=Reaper%27s+March).

So where do we need to go to find the first triangulant?

"The location was spelled out in the moon-singer's story. The verse concerning Nurarion the Perfect. It's as clear as the sky on a cloudless day. "Among the buried roots of the Ayleid worms." It refers to a place I know well. Wormroot Depths."

Other locations: Blackvine Ruins, mentioned in the second story.

Jode’s Light, mentioned in the third story.

1st storyteller Azargo Long-Tale: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Azargo_Long-Tale

In the time before time, when the sixteen kingdoms were barely more than sixteen tribes, the great hero Khunzar-ri went on many adventures. After Khunzar-ri defeated the giant Drol by consuming four-hundred-and-one moon-sugar pies, he met a demon. My brothers and I shall take this land and its treasures. Even the moons from the sky!" Khunzar-ri objected, but the demon laughed. "You cannot stop us, little cat-thing! Khunzar-ri said, "Not by myself, foul demon. I shall gather a Kra'Jun—company of heroes—starting with the Altmer, Nurarion the Perfect, who communes among the buried roots of the Ayleid worms."

These are the words and the words are true.

2nd storyteller Mizbina: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Mizbina

In the time before time, when the sixteen kingdoms were young and like kittens at play, the great hero Khunzar-ri gathered a company of champions to combat the demon and his brothers. They had come to Elsweyr to steal the moons from the sky. With Nurarion already at his side, Khunzar-ri turned his attention to the next champion he planned to recruit. 'The power of the moons will be ours, little cat-thing," taunted the demon. "How can two possibly hope to stop many?'" "'Khunzar-ri said, "Because two shall become three, annoying demon. As soon as this one rescues Flinthild Demon-Hunter from the Ayleid lair of creeping ebony plants.'

These are the words, and the words are true.

3rd storyteller: Satarri https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Satarri

In the time before time, when the sixteen kingdoms roamed with wild abandon, the hero Khunzar-ri gathered champions to deal with a terrible demon and his horde. With Nurarion the Perfect and Flinthild Demon-Hunter, he sought a third companion.The demon said, 'Oh, little cat-thing, you amuse us! How can three tiny morsels ever stand against us?" Khunzar-ri laughed, 'We may be tiny, but we are persistent! And tricky, too, as you will see.'" "'Then Khunzar-ri turned to his Kra'Jun. 'One more we need, a Khajiiti queen of renown. Anequina Sharp-Tongue, who loves to bask in the glow of the Big Moon when she reflects and thinks deep thoughts.'

These are the words and the words are true."

C

So I marked the points on a map and blended in the wrathstone. Tried to find something but looks like I didn’t. 2

Any idea of what the smallest circles on the .wr athstone indicate? do thley match up with specific places?

Malachim Hypothesess

[Hypothesis]Overlaying wrathstone and hexagram from first hint does not work:V

I tried overlaying the Wrathstone image and the hexagram with the Malachim alphabet. I got:SKTDXSS/ SCTDXSS as a resolution but that doesn’t work as a password.

WhiteBear - Tried forming words using the malatach letters? Also note that some of the characters are BACKWARDS, suggesting to me that the star is actually a stamp and this should be considered when reading this… ..somehow came up with “dusk in flames” which turned out to be wrong, but strong feeling there is something to this.. :/

Think its something like (my malachim is terrible i guess but);

mt fa ax uk ss ed
or

(1) mt fa xl  (2) uk ss od
1.
2. dusk so
Anagrams like kudos, soulmates, flameouts didn’t work.

[Hypothesis] VAU DALETH KAPH SAMECH removing second to last letters leaves VU DALEH KAH SAMEH- vaguely resembles VU (possibly related to Vul or Vun) DAH LEH KAH SAH MEH (possibly related to Mah/Mal/Med/Mey?), loosely translating to ??? (Dark or Tongue) push-lest pride phantom (when used as a prefix, indicates weakness) ??? (potentially related words are fall/fell, little, like, fool)

Please note I am pulling “remove second to last letters” pattern out my backside- I was just noticing a lot of the attempts in the brute-force document seemed vaguely dovish, and it sort of works out.

Sahmey would be weakling-fool, Sahmed would be weakling-like, Sahmal would be weakling-little, Sahmah defies easy discussion but it would be weakling-fall, possibly a fall from grace?

Is there a discord or group chat to discuss the puzzle? - You can come to the UESP legends channel, or the official Legends server, you’ll find people talking about the puzzle

[Hypothesis] /u/gmap516

Building off the above and below, here is what I have come up with:
VAU DALETH KAPH SAMECH
>
Daled is the Hebrew letter representing the D sound. Numerologically it is 4

Kuph is a Hebrew letter representing K sound. It also represents the number 100

Samech is a Hebrew letter representing the S sound. 60

Vav is a V letter in Hebrew. 6

A single Vav at the beginning of a word is used like "and". It also denotes past tense in biblical Hebrew

Information on Hebrew numerology:

https://en.numista.com/numisdoc/calendar-hebrew-35.html

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/gematria/

I tried numbers and spelling out some words with those letters

I got really close I think with ...

Dov (daleth vau)

And

Sahqo (Samech kaph)

Dragon red

Red dragon

I tried that and nahviintaas

https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dragon_Language

Nahviintaas is the only named red dragon I could find from ESO

I then tried looking at the sigils on the Book of Unlife and seeing what I could make from those:
I “translated” the Malachim characters to Hebrew characters (I wrote them in the script form because it’s easier for me to see and visualize that way) and then I transliterated the Hebrew to their equivalent in the English alphabet.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: aleph (א) and ayin (ע), in Hebrew, do not on their own make any vowel sound (No Hebrew letter does) so when I write “A” it can really be any vowel. But I’m not sure how freaking meta they’re getting with this puzzle to expect people who don’t speak, read, or write Hebrew to know this.

Eventually, I tried overlapping them on top of one another (sorry don’t have a pic handy) and seeing where the letters fall

I saw MASS and KTML which obviously reminded me of HTML but I don’t think its possible to make that work with the letters

• /u/gmap516

[Hypothesis]

Possible Rot Cipher?

^one of them is also slightly turned

what’s the difference between a rot cipher and a caesar cipher? and what would we be trying to decode with it?

Theory: Anything related to the page number or title of the books for each tweet?

Overlapping Scrolls Hypotheses

Notice the abnur tharn scroll is actually multiple scrolls stacked on top of each other in the image. Maybe some information can be gained from stacking the other scrolls on top of one another. Some of the lore scrolls are turned slightly and the Necromancers Moon scroll is turned quite a bit to the right. They are all the exact same scroll as well so it may not be difficult to line them up. But I don’t really have the photoshop skills to test this.

@dmkaine: I’m not sure who wrote the hypothesis above, but I tried to do what you said, and I’m not really seeing anything. I went from first to last, since that hint keeps popping up.

Here’s a couple images of what it looks like: <Good try man

This is what the scrolls look like when overlaid on top of each other after rotating to the same position.

This is what the scrolls look like when all of them except the Tharn letter is set to 25% opacity. Once again, nothing is really standing out to me, but I thought I’d post it just in case.

Here’s a link to the PSD file with all the scrolls as separate layers. Feel free to manipulate them and see if you get different results. MEGA

WB - what if you overlay the pages and align the puzzle pieces - rotating the pages? Is it a coincidence we have a six sided stamp with Malachim from the book of the unlife and SIX pages for the card reveal…..??????

^I like this idea -

well I tried this and it didn’t seem to amount to much

WB - Another theory is do we have any Dragon shouts in Elswyr??
- All shouts would be from the Dovah language. Nothing new or selective relating to the Wraithstone.

Khunzar-ri Hypotheses

[Hypothesis] It might be very simplistic on my part, but on Abnur’s letter he speaks of the”Khunzar-ri and the Demons” Tale, that should help him decipher the wrathstone. He seeks Khajiit storytellers to tell those stories to him, and find its locations. The two main locations spoken about in the tale are the Halls of Colossus and  Jode’s Light. Maybe an acronym of theses two names since the other tweet said something about “The last” and “The first”??? If you take the “wormroot depths” too, it makes 3 points on the map, a triangle. An examination of those 3 locations, as well as the Halls of Colossus, are in order.

Textual similarities/differences between different tales: 3 parts have similar structure with almost the same wording. First sentence starts off mentioning 16 Kingdoms- no dice. End with, “These are the words, and the words are true.” No dice again. Second paragraph- no real key words or phrases to be found, beyond mentions of the moon- most variations tested. Various keywords from the third paragraphs have all been tested to no result. Various key words and phrases from the longer version have been tested, to no avail.

[Hypothesis]:
So I’ve played Elder Scrolls Online and this is from the intro quest to Elsweyr. There are 3 things of text noteworthy involving the Khunzar-ri.

1. Khunzar-ri and the Full Moons
When Jone and Jode, in their fullness, face the empty sky, Khunzar-ri will see the path to knowledge.

These are the words, and the words are true.

The answer to the puzzle is Full moon tablet, and Dark Moon. The only one not selected is Waxing Moon.
The Triangulant piece is a Full moon.

2. Khunzar-ri and the Dark Moons

Sometimes knowledge can only be found in the dark. The fading moon gives way to the empty sky.

The answer to this puzzle is the Dark Moon, and the Waxing Cresent. The two not selected are Full moon, and Waning Cresent.
The Triangulant piece is a Dark moon.

3. Khunzar-ri and -- Moons
When Khunzar-ri — — mirrored full — — saw — the lions glared — — other — across — — sky

The answer to the puzzle is TWO Full Moon tiles. Mirroring each other. The 4 non-selected Tiles are 2 Dark Moon, and 2 waxing cresents.
The Triangulant piece is a Waning Cresent.

The text for the last one is obscured but they got me thinking about clues. “Sometimes knowledge can only be found in the dark” Also which moon are we missing? Full, and dark assuming it means new moons.
Abnur Tharn also thought this “Demon weapon” was originally Numidium, the Brass Tower.

There’s also a fourth puzzle with text: The Slivers of Moons and the Dark Sky combine to open the path to ascension.

This one doesn’t reward a Triangulant. And the only tablet not selected was Full moon. I selected Waxing, Waning and Dark Moon (obviously.)

The dragons or Akaviri are what Khunzar’ri used to fight the demon. So perhaps the password is a Dragon’s name? - tried all the ones from ESO, and no luck

Any possibility these puzzles are linked to different furstocks?
- Furstocks?
- https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Khajiit#Morphology the different types of khajiit. influenced by what moons they were born under

- Yeah sorry, I forgot that they had a named term. It’s definitely possible. The puzzles weren’t intricate though, both moons were either Full, Dark, or the same crescent. So Cathay-raht, Dagi-raht, Senche, and Suthay.
I thought it had to do with Lorkhan more or the names of the Moons.
hi

[Hypothesis] Found this, but seemed to lead nowhere, unfortunately:

In the aftermath, Khunzar-ri wrote on the Wrathstone in an (now) ancient Ta'agra dialect, writings detailing the cartography of the location of the Demon Weapon.

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Wrathstone. https://www.taagra.com/ for more on the language

Palindrome Hypothesis:

Men’Do sees that the final page must be something called as “palindrome”, if he is reading this part correctly.

async function check() {

        var key = document.getElementById("password").value.replace(/,|'|!|\.| |\?/g,"").toLowerCase();

        var reversekey = key.split("").reverse().join("");

        var page = "" + translate(key) + translate(reversekey) + '.html';

        var wrong = false;

        try        { wrong = (await fetch(page)).status === 404; } catch(e) {}

        location.href = wrong ? 'wrong.html' : page;

}

So maybe the secret password must be something with natural palindrome?  Or very aesthetically pleasing palindrome?  Khajiit is not sure, but very strange to have it this way otherwise.  This is not to say that the word you speak must be palindrome itself, only that it ends up that way on final page.

After little bit more dig, the final page actually is not the password plus the password reversed, but hash of password plus hash of reversed password… so actually not palindrome at all!!  Though still very strange in the opinion of Men’Do to do it this way when hash of password on its own would suffice, yes?