Answers and Explanations to the 2024 Summer Hunt
After a slight delay (due to me forgetting to post the results) we now can announce the winners of this year's Summer hunt. I hope you all enjoyed the clues and didn't suffer too much, anyway here they are:
1st Place - @Green_Giant and @Chipped_Cherry
2nd Place - @Shirrgo
3rd Place - @Daik1220 and @Colophonia
Solutions to the clues:
Clue 1:
Facing north, the brothers stood in defiance against their enemies
Answer: Argonath (u). An easy one to get us going, 2 states facing north should have been enough to lead you to this clue. They are also on the Northern Edge of Gondor, so they can be seen to be defending it.
Clue 2:
A great fortress of crafters
To a calm realm of ships and song
Now you must find where this beauty belongs
Answer: Rivendell (t). People were easily misled on this clue. You needed to think about the ring Vilya, which was owned by 3 people. Celebrimbor indicates line 1 (forged in Eregion), line 2 indicates Gil-Galad in Lindon, and then it finally passed to line 3 which indicates Elrond, who lived in Rivendell.
Clue 3:
The Modern Beren and Luthien
On this mound, they swore to love until the end
Answer: Cerin Amroth (w). This is where Aragorn and Arwen promised to marry each other, one of the few times there was a relationship between an Elf and a Man (the original being Beren and Luthien).
Clue 4:
Buck teeth, hiding a haunted pass
Key (you might need this later) - kenob
Answer: Black Gate (c). This one is a bit more dubious, the black gate sort of looks like Buck Teeth on the server. The haunted pass is the way into Mordor.
Clue 5:
Born together in the land of steeds
Died together under a sworn deed
Answer: Haudh-in-Gwanur (k). This is the burial mound of 2 soldiers from Rohan, which is the land of steeds. When Rohan was invaded the King fulfilled the Oath of Erol, and during the battle the 2 soliders (Folcred and Fastred) fell side by side.
Clue 6:
From stone to ships,
search for a bridge
Answer: Ethring (l). This was a bridge over the river Ringlo. Aragorn and the oathbreakers crossed here during the war of the Ring. In the films they boarded the Corsair ships.
Clue 7:
The stone of the old fortress has aged from that time forth
First the Men of the West,
then the Men of the North
Answer: Aldburg (e). This was the former capital and fortress of Rohan. Aldburg is an old English name meaning "Old Fortress"
Clue 8:
There’s the dry field of Driffield,
now where’s the tallest tree of the wet field nearby?
Answer: Nindalf (n). The "Wet field" was meant to indicate the Nindalf, it is one of only a few wet fields we have on the server. The tallest tree is just as it sounds.
Clue 9:
Captured Lady, destined for Belegaer.
Answer: Redhorn Pass (c). Celebrian, the lady of Rivendell, was captured here. She was eventually sent over the seas to heal her wounds.
Clue 10:
From the warp at the townlands, take a left, then another left, then a right, in the wall you will find the answer.
Answer: Pelennor Fields (o). The "townlands" refers to Pelennor fields.
Clue 11:
He caught a glimpse, success was near, manned many times, 1000 was all it took.
Answer: Cair Andros (e). When Frodo was in the Fields of Cormallen, he caught a glimpse of ships by Cair Andros. Aragorn sent a troop of 1000 men to retake the fortress during the end of the war of the ring.
Clue 12:
Look to the river, where the boats lay, near the land of Assisi, you shall find the haven.
Answer: Harlond (r). The land of Assisi was designed to lead you to Lossarnach, a region in Southern Gondor. Near this, the port of Harlond, and underneath the docks near one of the boats you could find the chest. "Lond" means haven.
Clue 13:
Highly accurate but also non-existant, delve into the depths of the long dark to find this spacious clue.
Answer: Movie Cave (c). Highly accurate as movie cave was recreated very carefully using few frames from the LOTR films. The "Long dark" is designed to make you think Moria.
Clue 14:
The year that Newton solves the Brachistochrone curve (old not new, step)
Answer: Ost-in-Edhil (s). Newton solved this in 1697, the same year as the sacking of Eregion. The "old not new" was designed to make you look in Ost-in-Edhil, rather than Rivendell which was founded in the same year. The "step" means to look under the steps, as Celebrimbor made his last stand on the steps of the House of Mirdain.
Clue 15:
EQLLVCEL (look back in earlier clues for something)
Answer: Dol Baran (i). You needed the key from clue 4 to get this. Using the Bifid cypher it would translate to "Bare Hill" which is the meaning of the Sindarin name.
Clue 16:
This is the last clue, good luck!
Part of the Grand Coalition, successful foreign policy - Born 10/05/78, Died __/__/__ (DD/MM/YY)
Answer: Weathertop (o). This clue wanted you to find the date of someone who died. I purposely left out the first 2 digits of the Year to make it harder. You were looking for Gustav Stresemann, who was foreign minister during the 1923 Grand Coalition of the Weimer Republic. Here he negotiated foreign policy. He died on October the 3rd, the same day in Arda that Gandalf marked a stone on Weathertop.
I hope you all enjoyed the hunt, and see you next time!