Scioly Assassination 124: Fool's Gold

[Things2do]

Hey guys! So apparently there are 5398 characters in the message code, but hex code ( for colors ) only works in multiples of 6 and 5398/6= not evenly divisible. So..... I tried using plain hex code, where only 2 charecters are needed for a byte. I couldn't get anything but (keep in mind it might be a mistake on my part because I don't know that much about code) I get error results and something about UTF-8.............
(here is the site I used https://cryptii.com/hex-to-text)

If you got error results and something about UTF, then I'll protect UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F just in case.

The Sassy didn't say they wouldn't do double targets...

[MadCow2357]

I meant that just in case the sassy was targeting UTF instead of kate.

[Assassinator]

You may have correctly protected kate!, but I will get my revenge.

Independence, Missouri was the start of the famed California Trail. Imagine that, a city that seems so insignificant being the beginning of a great trail. It doesn't make sense does it? It be like rijvsyuesdj why didn't they choose a bigger city such as Jefferson City or Saint Louis?

48 hours.

[dxu46]

You may have correctly protected kate!, but I will get my revenge.

Independence, Missouri was the start of the famed California Trail. Imagine that, a city that seems so insignificant being the beginning of a great trail. It doesn't make sense does it? It be like rijvsyuesdj why didn't they choose a bigger city such as Jefferson City or Saint Louis?

48 hours.

rijvsyuesdj is probably a cipher of some sort, maybe Caesar or another (sorry, idk ciphers)
The MO thing could be part of the clue but it seems unlikely since it's following the theme of the gold rush and all.

[JoeyC]

You may have correctly protected kate!, but I will get my revenge.

Independence, Missouri was the start of the famed California Trail. Imagine that, a city that seems so insignificant being the beginning of a great trail. It doesn't make sense does it? It be like rijvsyuesdj why didn't they choose a bigger city such as Jefferson City or Saint Louis?

48 hours.

rijvsyuesdj is probably a cipher of some sort, maybe Caesar or another (sorry, idk ciphers)
The MO thing could be part of the clue but it seems unlikely since it's following the theme of the gold rush and all.

I hit rjvsyuesdj with all the ciphers I could find (ROT, frequency, reverse), it's not a cipher. Plus rijvsyue means driving skills (according to translate) in Dutch, which probably isn't relevant at all.

[dxu46]

You may have correctly protected kate!, but I will get my revenge.

Independence, Missouri was the start of the famed California Trail. Imagine that, a city that seems so insignificant being the beginning of a great trail. It doesn't make sense does it? It be like rijvsyuesdj why didn't they choose a bigger city such as Jefferson City or Saint Louis?

48 hours.

rijvsyuesdj is probably a cipher of some sort, maybe Caesar or another (sorry, idk ciphers)
The MO thing could be part of the clue but it seems unlikely since it's following the theme of the gold rush and all.

I hit rjvsyuesdj with all the ciphers I could find (ROT, frequency, reverse), it's not a cipher. Plus rijvsyue means driving skills (according to translate) in Dutch, which probably isn't relevant at all.

Could relate to venules' post in YDRC about the car crash?

[JoeyC]

Alright, since I have no better ideas, assuming rijvsyuesdj is a cipher (that we have no idea how to crack), it has 11 letters in it. Assuming its not too complex, it spells a name, and that letters don't change their values (like a simple X=Y cipher), we can use simple deduction.
Who has 11 characters in their name and has the same letter in the third and eleventh spot?

[hippo9]

Ok, this is really early, and I seem to do this every game but here we go anyways...

I accuse dxu46 because of the initials of Montana and Oklahoma are MO, location that is gateway to the west, title of the game being fool's gold which is a mineral, and he seems to be the first one to post after the sassy most of the time.

[Assassinator]

Late that night, when UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F was asleep, a hooded figure waited outside his wagon, preparing for the kill. Suddenly, hippo9 charged up and knocked the figure out, revealing his identity to be dxu46.

Congratulations hippo9 for correctly accusing. hippo9, PM me your choice for next sassy.

Clues will be posted with my normal account as soon as possible.

[dxu46]

"Ladies and gents, gold has been discovered in California! We, Sciolyville, will be sending a group of fortune-seekers west to bring back fame and riches! Anyone who wishes to strike it rich, sign up here! Be quick, spots are limited!"
*raucous applause*
"OH YEAH MAN SIGN ME UP!"
"I CALL DIBS!"
"Yes, yes, in an orderly fashion now, please."
In the midst of all of the chaos, a hooded figure steps up.
"What about the dangers?"
"Dangers? Oh, not much. Just the occasional risk of starvation, exposure, drowning. Nothing to be worried about."
"You don't suppose there will be... gruesome murder?"
The crowd falls silent.

1. The officers will be the next five people who post in the forum with a fact about the California Gold Rush. Put in a bit of thought before posting. If you have not been around for a while, it is less likely that you will be able to identify me.
2. There will be no informants, but civilians may post.
3. I will provide clues which plainly point to my next victim, and occasionally to myself.
4. Each clue will last around 48 hours unless explicitly said otherwise, after which I will make my kill. If my response time is not within 10 days of the original timeline for a clue, all of the officers to post with a declaration of my tardiness, provided that they post before I post the next clue, will receive a free accusation.
5. I will kill administrators and moderators if I please. I trust they will be good sports if they get killed and not reveal my identity.
6. Officers may protect one person per clue or make one accusation, but may not both protect and accuse.
7. Once an officer has made three incorrect accusations, he or she may not accuse or protect anyone. After this occurs, the officer may be replaced if someone else can correctly solve the next clue and PM the answer to me.
8. When accusing someone of being Assassinator you must use the following template: "I accuse (place name here) because (give reason here)." If you don't use this template when accusing the accusation won't count.
10. Once "killed," a user may not post about the identity of the Assassinator. Absolutely no ghosts at all, or I might consider killing you twice.
11. Each officer will start off with one accusation, and will gain one accusation with each correct protect they make.
12. I win after 15 incorrect accusations have been made, but the number needed to win goes down by one with each kill, or I win if I kill all the officers before you figure out who I am. The officers win if you correctly identify me before this happens.
13. I may or may not continue to post with my true account, and may provide hints there.
14. Absolutely no spam. If a post does not serve any purpose other than to take up space or commit a redundant act, it qualifies as spam.
15. If I see it fit, I may decide to add rules during the game.

First off, the theme. I had always wanted to do a historical sassy game, and this was my opportunity. "Fool's Gold" referenced the fact that many people who were heading out west were often under a fool's errand, not bringing home much gold.

The officers will be TheChiScientist, kate, hippo9, linzhiyan, and MadCow2357.

Officers, brace yourselves for a journey, for we are leaving tomorrow!this is not a clue btw

The officers awake to find their wagons ready to go, except with several large characters painted on the sides. The characters, from first wagon to last wagon, were v, =, A, j, n, J, D, B, H, m, N, 1, and 8. How strange.

48 hours.

This clue targeted venules. The Youtube link led to a video of "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. venules' avatar is a beating heart, and it literally goes on. There was no ID in this clue.

Unfortunately, venules was tipped off by linzhiyan that this voyage to the west was doomed, and so her heart will go on today.

In the long run, though, venules was one of the lucky ones. At any given moment, there were about 011000010110111001100001011001110111001001100001011011010000110100001010 things that could go wrong, including sickness; mosquitoes; lack of food; "accidentally" ramming wagons into other wagons, rocks, or people; nasal fits; whatever. But, you know, people still went for the fun. Just call them bandwagons. <- That's not part of the clue, it's just for fun XD

48 hours.

This clue targeted Tailsfan101. The long binary string translates to "anagram," and by anagramming "nasal fit" you could get tailsfan. There was one small ID clue in this clue, the usage of "ramming." This references the Ladue Rams. The bad pun I just put in there for fun, as I thought of it while writing this clue

Somehow, Tailsfan101 noticed that the water he was going to drink was filled with potassium cyanide, and poured the whole thing out before anyone would die.

As the end of these sciolyers' first day of their trip west approaches, the route they take between Montana and Oklahoma only seems to be getting shorter. The sunset seems especially glorious.

So many colors! (Click to Show Hidden Text)

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48 hours.

This clue targeted kate!. The long jumble of characters was hexadecimal, and by using a online hex to file converter, you would get kate!'s profile picture. The use of "colors" was meant to tell you that this was hexadecimal. The "between Montana and Oklahoma" part was an ID clue. The two division B and division C teams that placed 46th at Nationals 2018 were Helena High (from Montana) and Casady School (from Oklahoma, hence dxu46.

You may have correctly protected kate!, but I will get my revenge.

Independence, Missouri was the start of the famed California Trail. Imagine that, a city that seems so insignificant being the beginning of a great trail. It doesn't make sense does it? It be like rijvsyuesdj why didn't they choose a bigger city such as Jefferson City or Saint Louis?

48 hours.

This clue would've targeted UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F. The jumble of characters was a Vigenere cipher with key KEY. It would've decrypted to helloakautf. The italicized "revenge" in relation to the last clue was because UTF posted "white cat" in tiny font, and I would want to get revenge on him for doing that. There was no ID in this clue.

Overall, I wish this game had been a little bit longer, but I was still somewhat satisfied with it. Thank you to pb5754[] for choosing me, and congratulations to hippo9 who correctly accused. The next sassy has been chosen, and the next game will start at their leisure.