Hello, This is sort of a "meta" thread. I am wondering what sources still exist that could confirm or deny potential casque locations. I have read conflicting information about JJ Palencar, and whether he will confirm solutions. Has he ever stated if he has written them down somewhere, for example, in case he passes away? Does anyone at the publisher still have documentation? What about Byron Preiss' family? I tried searching this forum for answers but didn't find anything I considered unequivocal. I am hoping that the answers exist somewhere so that if a searcher submitted the right location, even if the casque was no longer there, someone could say "Yes! that's it!" I appreciate any and all responses. C.

cryptenigma wrote:: I am wondering what sources still exist that could confirm or deny potential casque locations. Unknown: I have read conflicting information about JJ Palencar, and whether he will confirm solutions. Has he ever stated if he has written them down somewhere, for example, in case he passes away? Unknown: Does anyone at the publisher still have documentation? Unknown: What about Byron Preiss' family? Unknown: I am hoping that the answers exist somewhere so that if a searcher submitted the right location, even if the casque was no longer there, someone could say "Yes! that's it!" None that we know of I believe he's been asked to make notes, but has denied knowing the locations, and has said repeatedly and emphatically that he's not willing to discuss it and doesn't want to be contacted (as recently as last year). For Brick Tower Press, I'd say it was just a random title included in their purchase of Preiss' publishing assets and they had no interest in the book until recently. I don't know what they have, but it seems extremely unlikely they'd have any notes, let alone solutions. Even Preiss didn't know where he'd put them. They have said they know nothing about it. Never going to happen. Only way to be sure is to dig one up.

cryptenigma wrote:: I am wondering what sources still exist that could confirm or deny potential casque locations. One of the things that makes this hunt so great, is there is no opportunity for cheating. If you remember the book Masquerade, The person who found the treasure cheated and didn't really solve the puzzles. what a waste of a wonderful book. The only way to know if your "solution" is correct, is to go dig up a casque. please quit trying to come up with a shortcut...

Also I have deduced that there are most likely no written solutions. The only evidence that could be considered a solution would be the polaroids of the burial sites which disappeared with Byron. I don't think BP would have had the need to actually make any solutions as they are included in the verse and image matches. For BP or anyone involved with the hiding of the casques, JJP's image and Preiss' verse would have been the only things needed, there was no reason to actually make a list of solutions.

decibalnyc wrote:: The only evidence that could be considered a solution would be the polaroids of the burial sites which disappeared with Byron. Wouldn't it be awesome if they turned up, and were in the care of the publisher or Byron's widow? That way if someone sussed out a solution and couldn't make they dig -- or it was irretrievable -- it could be confirmed or denied, per the original mail-in form.

maltedfalcon wrote:: One of the things that makes this hunt so great, is there is no opportunity for cheating. If you remember the book Masquerade, The person who found the treasure cheated and didn't really solve the puzzles. what a waste of a wonderful book. The only way to know if your "solution" is correct, is to go dig up a casque. please quit trying to come up with a shortcut... I typed a long response to this and the forum seems to have swallowed it...oh well: I guess this gives me an opportunity to be somewhat briefer. You've got it all wrong; I am not interested in taking a shortcut or cheating. I am not asking if the solutions are out there so that someone can badger Byron Preiss' family or whomever until they cough up an answer or answer. I am interested if the solutions exist independent of the discovery of casques, so that if someone has a solution and is unable to dig or the site is not reachable, they could get confirmation or denial of their solution. The chances of casques being permanently irretrievable increases over time, and likely at a growing rate. How frustrating it would figure out the solution and never be able to confirm it! Remember that mailing in a solution for confirmation was provided for in the original game, and so is included in the rules and is thus definitionally not cheating. I am sure that this is different than many Q4T forum members, but I am not in it for the thrill or glory of a solve. I am in it for the completion of the puzzle. I would like to someday know which theories were right and wrong. Otherwise, it's like reading a mystery novel with the last chapter torn out. A puzzle that is not solvable is not a puzzle; it is a mystery, enigma, or myth. I guess you could say I'm in it for completion. If the 50th or 75th anniversary of publication resulted in a release of hints or solutions, I would rejoice in that; I don't think that makes me a cheater. And based on the responses to this forum, it looks like any independent confirmation of a solution is not out there. (Although I did receive a pm on another forum that the Renner documentary will indicate the Byron's widow knows the cities. I guess we will have to wait to see.)

Sandi doesn't have any Polaroids, at one point she asked me which gem went with a certain city...and it wasn't there because he mistakenly gave it to Egbert thinking it was a different gem. Sandi doesn't know any more than what is available online, she's told me several times that "it was the only thing Byron kept from me"

cryptenigma wrote:: A puzzle that is not solvable is not a puzzle; it is a mystery, enigma, or myth. I guess you could say I'm in it for completion. If the 50th or 75th anniversary of publication resulted in a release of hints or solutions, I would rejoice in that; I don't think that makes me a cheater. or its a puzzle that hasn't been solved yet. I imagine if the 50th or 75th anniversary of publication contained all the solutions it would ruin it for somebody who was still working on it. who gets to decide that the puzzle is not solvable? rather than wait for someone to hand you the answers, go solve it. There is a huge assumption made that some casques are not retrievable anymore, but that's just a guess, nobody actually knows that. As far as the part about sending in your guess to be confirmed or denied, BP officially changed those rules before he died. The only way to confirm or deny is to dig. So trying to get around that, is kind of like...

There are many people who think that Forrest Fenn didn't put anything in the Rockies. Personally I think he did, but there are skeptics. That's for another thread tho... Some say NOLA is not retrievable because of the hurricane, Wilhouse tore up and flooded the entire children's zoo in Houston and found nothing, I moved at LEAST 5 yards of dirt in Milwaukee on what I am fairly certain was the treasure ground, and nothing. MaltedFalcon has more holes in SF than most park employees can claim...still the elusive casques remain unfound. The answers are right there in front of you in the verse and image...there are maps, markers, and precise directions to a 2'x2' area all located in those 2 documents...but if you don't know how to read and interpret them correctly, if you don't understand JJP & BP's particular style of pointing things out..well like I said before, it's like doing math when you don't know what numbers mean. Maybe you know that all the characters are 1234567890, but not what they mean.... You might see 6+9 and think that the answer is 8 because when you visually fit a 6 over or into a 9 it kinda looks like an 8. Getting even a little hint, could mess you up on the whole thing... Some one says, well 6+9....the answer is 15...now you don't know how that equation works, but you take 15 for the right answer and you start trying to shoehorn your own reasoning as to how a 6 becomes a 1 and a 9 becomes a 5....then at some point you go so far down the rabbit hole, you become Erexere. Read the book...All the answers are there to find.

When Siskel and I were in the vault with BP, and he opened the safe deposit box for the first time in 20 years, he remarked that the solutions weren't there, meaning he expected them to be in the box with the jewels. He murmured in an absent-minded professor type of way that perhaps they are in a closet at home. So, when he passed away, my guess is that his wife probably swept up those papers along with everything else, and either put it somewhere or threw it away.

Egbert wrote:: When Siskel and I were in the vault with BP, and he opened the safe deposit box for the first time in 20 years, he remarked that the solutions weren't there, meaning he expected them to be in the box with the jewels. He murmured in an absent-minded professor type of way that perhaps they are in a closet at home. So, when he passed away, my guess is that his wife probably swept up those papers along with everything else, and either put it somewhere or threw it away. Thank you very much for your post. I did not know this, and it was on-topic to my query. I especially appreciate that it comes from one of the only people to find a casque, and I really appreciate all your contributions to the forum. BP has always struck me as the absent-minded professor type, thanks for articulating that.

I emailed Brick Tower press a couple days ago. They said the jewels are available, but would need to see the casque because they don't have the solutions or locations. So if the casque is irretrievable, we are screwed

my4sonz wrote:: I emailed Brick Tower press a couple days ago. They said the jewels are available, but would need to see the casque because they don't have the solutions or locations. So if the casque is irretrievable, we are screwed I would doubt they would be of the same "series" as those presented to the guys who solved the Chicago treasure and what Egbert received, right? The safe deposit boxes the jewels were kept in were sold with the estate, no? Ultimately, who cares, because that is not the point of solving the riddles, but certainly those parties with financial interest in continuing to sell the book are going to make sure there's a reason for people to buy it with the allure of jewels. BUT... They just have to maintain the story that if you find X casque, they will gin up "X jewel" as a reward. Regardless, I do not at all envy the emails tolerated by anyone connected with The Secret, particularly Palencar who arguably knows nothing about the actual location of anything other than the Cleveland Treasure.

I agree with you from the standpoint of that is now not the point of solving the riddles. Given the choice of keeping the casque/key or trading it for the jewel, orginal or otherwise, I would keep the casque. You may be right about the jewels. It would be ignorant of me to agree or disagree since we do not know. Keeping with the "fun" of the hunt, I just thought it would be fun to pass along.