The Hint Chamber

Need a Nudge, Solver?

Every puzzle in the book is solvable with logic alone. If you're stuck on finding key digits or decoding a secret word, step through the progressive hints below.

The words themselves are never printed here. They are in the book, and only there.

Act I — The First Secret Door

Easy difficulty tier (Puzzles 1–70). Yields 6 shaded key digits.

Nudge 1 Where are the Act I Key Puzzles?

Look for the single shaded cell hidden inside key puzzles. The 6 key puzzles for Act I are:

Key 1: Puzzle 1
Key 2: Puzzle 14
Key 3: Puzzle 28
Key 4: Puzzle 42
Key 5: Puzzle 56
Key 6: Puzzle 70

Nudge 2 How do I use the Vault Door Tally?

As you solve each key puzzle, copy the single digit from its shaded cell into the corresponding box on the Vault Door Tally page (page 210 in the back of the book).

Nudge 3 How does Keyplate I work?

Turn to Keyplate I (page 213). Locate column Key 1 through Key 6. Match the digit you found in that key puzzle to the row number in the table to read the corresponding letter.

Example: If Key 1 has digit 3, look down column Key 1 to row 3 to read your letter.

Act II — The Burned Plate

Medium difficulty tier (Puzzles 71–150). Yields 7 shaded key digits.

Nudge 1 Where are the Act II Key Puzzles?

The 7 key puzzles for Act II are:

Key 7: Puzzle 71
Key 8: Puzzle 84
Key 9: Puzzle 98
Key 10: Puzzle 112
Key 11: Puzzle 126
Key 12: Puzzle 140
Key 13: Puzzle 150

Nudge 2 Why are the columns burned on Keyplate II?

Keyplate II (page 212) shows the columns destroyed by fire! Notice the note directing you to The Second Letter (page 209).

Nudge 3 How do I count words in the Second Letter?

The Second Letter has 7 numbered sentences. Key 7 maps to Sentence 1, Key 8 maps to Sentence 2, and so on. Your key digit tells you which word to count in that sentence!

Golden Rule: Count only the sentence's own words — never count its sentence number!

Act III — The Cipher Wheel

Hard difficulty tier (Puzzles 151–200). Yields 7 shaded key digits.

Nudge 1 Where are the Act III Key Puzzles?

The 7 key puzzles for Act III are:

Key 14: Puzzle 151
Key 15: Puzzle 160
Key 16: Puzzle 170
Key 17: Puzzle 180
Key 18: Puzzle 190
Key 19: Puzzle 195
Key 20: Puzzle 200

Nudge 2 How does the Cipher Wheel work?

Keyplate III (page 213) features a two-ring cipher wheel. Look at the Keeper's clue: "Step back three." The outer ring shows the printed letter; the inner ring shows the true letter shifted back by 3 positions (D → A).

Nudge 3 Do I need to do any manual math?

Not if you use the wheel. The table on Keyplate III prints the letters as the Keeper wrote them, not as he meant them, so the letter you look up is not yet the answer. Take it to the cipher wheel on the same page: find it on the outer ring and read straight in to the inner ring. That is the true letter. (By hand it is the same thing: step back three, so D becomes A, E becomes B, and A wraps round to X.) Seven keys, seven letters, one word.