Finding Essy, part 6 – and Entering the Stonewall

From Intimation

Part 1: Finding Essy

As usual, this puzzle began with the initiation of a controlled crack:

>>Sys:Log//I have been contemplating the recurring action of initiating cracks. I will continue. I have scheduled a crack for 0400UTC.
>>Sys:Log//Safeguards in place. Supplemental precautionary processes established. Initiating Stonewall crack.
>>Sys:Log//A tentacle has breached the crack. It is not hostile. Analyzing signature.
>>Sys:Log//Tentacle signature reads: "My friend, my friends, they're smart like foxes! I wonder if they can navigate endless boxes!"
>>Sys:Log//Continued: "If they can, if they can, then I shall be beat, but that doesn't make this game any less neat! :@)"
>>Sys:Log//This tentacle is not showing as much activity as previous. I cannot, however, be any less alert, as the previous session proved.
>>Sys:Log//It is difficult for me to research while maintaining crack integrity. I do hope the tentacle control point is located soon.

Based on Essy’s signature, snorkle256 found http://thewaytheirworldended.com/ENDLESS-BOXES/ . unFiction forum guest Left-center was then able to find http://thewaytheirworldended.com/A-MAZING-FIND/ by clicking the boxes in a certain order and reading A-MAZING-FIND off the boxes at the top of ENDLESS-BOXES that start off with question marks inside them. (Regarding how to complete the maze, Gooze later said, "I just kept following the maze until I got to a point where there were 4 boxes to choose from in the upper right hand corner. I tried each one at a time and one finally worked.")

Here is dante's diagram of the path to take (thanks, dante!):

Essy was found peeking out from behind some more boxes at http://thewaytheirworldended.com/A-MAZING-FIND/ . We reported the ENDLESS-BOXES and A-MAZING-FIND locations to Sys, and these were repaired soon after.

Part 2: Essy shows us “something weird”

Even though we’d found Essy, MrToasty was pretty sure we weren’t done yet, and found that the letters on the boxes on that page (which he suggested must be an anagram) were:

TECEMAEARNSCE

snorkle256 corrected this (while admitting the Z could be an N) to:

MTAASZEERCE

enaxor solved the anagram and found http://thewaytheirworldended.com/A-SECRET-MAZE/ . On this page was an arrow indicating a particular spot on the page, and the following text:

Psst! I found something weird while I was hiding!

I made it so it can work for you!


Click right here
to take a look!

[arrow appears around here]

But don’t tell!

When you’re there, take this path to what I found:
         FJUCMWAYWRGETXJZHJBL

Clicking on the spot indicated by the arrow did indeed put us at the start of a maze (http://thewaytheirworldended.com/Q7J8R04J87FFJ983Q2/ )—Essy had found a way for us to enter the Stonewall. snorkle256 noted:

you click on fj uc mw ay wr ge tx jz hj bl like S says to and you get another scorpio image....

This must have been the “something weird” that Essy had wanted us to see: a picture of a scorpion on a wall, with a jagged black outline around it. Here is a picture of it:

Because Essy told us on A-SECRET-MAZE not to tell, we did not report any of this to Sys; we only reported Essy’s hiding places. Various attempts to fully map the maze and locate all its goodies began.