top of page
zodiac animal // dragon
seed word // puppy
users must ask my chatbot "karot" (portmanteau of kari + chatbot)
about phoenix's "ouroboros".
karot then tells the following fable:
You know, the ouroboros isn't actually a serpent swallowing its own tail. It's a dragon.
Do you want to hear the tale of its origins? If so, just ask. Ask me "tell me the fable". Go on.
The fable goes:
There once lived a great Dragon that lived deep in the misty white forests of Mount Penglai.
This great Dragon was famed for her powerful prowess, speed, and strength -
all of which had been cultivated by the dragon throughout her entire life
through hard work and dedication.
And so when immortalist Anqi Sheng held the annual Race to the Heavens for all the dragons of the land, naturally this great Dragon from Mount Penglai won with ease.
All the other Dragons from nearby mountains grew fiercely jealous
and conspired to tear the limbs off their competitor.
The Dragon from Jade Mountain tore off her right arm, and attached it to his chest.
The Dragon from Kunlun Mountain tore off her left arm, and attached it to his back.
The Dragon from Flaming Mountain tore off her right leg, and attached it to his belly.
The Dragon from Mount Buzhou tore off her left leg, and attached it to his tail.
And lastly, the Dragon from Tian Mountain tore off her wings, and attached it to the crown of his head.
Immortalist Angi Sheng was so displeased with these jealous dragons for deforming the natural beauty given by God that he banished them all to the land between life and death.
The Dragon of Mount Penglai, now wingless and limbless for all eternity,
devoured her own tail so that no other may possess it.
then karot gave this picture:
solution
-
players needed to isolate the first letters of the mountains of
the 5 jealous dragons (e.g. dragon from Jade mountain = J) -
this gives the letters J, K, F, B, T
-
convert letters to alphabet number equivalent (J=10, K=11, F=6, B=2, T=20)
-
count edges of shapes (6, 10, 10, 14, 5)
-
add the dragon and shape numbers together (16, 21, 16, 16, 25)
-
convert these sums back into letters = PUPPY
kari's commentary
i'd be lying if i said i didn't have the time of my life coming up with all the various ways karot could insult players.
also, at first no one was solving this puzzle. i was afraid it was too hard.
like with all the puzzles, people tended to overthink.
here i also note another cluster of synchronicities -
several races between animals are mentioned in the game:
1. the zodiac animals racing across a river which determines their order
2. the great race of dragons
3. aesop's fables - hare and the tortoise race
4. all the mad people in this game racing each other for 1 eth ;)
bottom of page