02. April 2017 - The River

Introduction
The sun-cut clouds, Were doubled over the dancing horizon, Creaking wood and slurring water bloomed around the vessel, We drifted as feathers, We grew as moss, We died as dead as shadows in the breaking of the dawn

The Boatman's Playlist

 * O Paon - Fleuve lii
 * Molina & Johnson - Now, Divide
 * Julie Doiron - The Songwriter
 * Silver Mt. Zion - 13 Blues for Thirteen
 * Woven Skull - Ludo
 * Cath & Phil Tyler - Morning

(i)
Anna sees something reflected in the river A mirror might come in handy How do you feel about Sudoku?
 * Hint 1
 * Hint 2

(ii)
Anna checks her grimoire to decipher the symbols If you've solved (i) you know the 3 symbols The three shaded runes from (i) give you: A stranger is close by; stand still and move the earth to come together.
 * Hint 1
 * Solution

(iii)
Anna looks at her map, a map of Beyond the Woods, where the compass rose assures us that this is a good path to follow

Solving (ii) gives you the directions. The stranger is the ??? by the other x in the circle. Think of the description of a tesseract in the book A Wrinkle in Time. When is the shortest distance between to points not a straight line? Fold the page in quarters horizontally, so that the midline is the middle fold, and Anna and the stranger are together in the middle
 * Hint 1
 * Hint 2
 * Solution

(iv)
Anna meets The Boatman who offers safe passage down the river. But his hands are bound by magick and only one rune will break the spell.

Solving (iii) gives you the correct rune Look only at the center part of the symbol created by the blue lines when Anna and the Stranger are brought together Choose the top left corner. Swift Shadows, Slippery Deeds, & Shocking Acts
 * Hint 1
 * Hint 2
 * Solution

(v)
Anna passes many creatures gliding down the stream. Nature comes to life and whispers words in her ear.

You are presented with eight animals - Frog, Waterbug, Axolotl/Mexican Salamander, Snail, Fish, Dragonfly, Eel, and Duck - each with their corresponding celestial - Star, Sun, Moon, or Earth. Which will you choose.

Which of your options could be described by the answer to (iv)? Someone could be said to be "Slippery as an.....?" The eel is swift, slippery, and can be shocking/electric.
 * Hint 1
 * Hint 2
 * Solution

(vi)
Messages lie jumbled in front of our heroine. How will she get the right message?

Which symbol did your chosen animal connect to? What would happen if you grouped all the message bits together by symbol?
 * Hint 1
 * Hint 2

(vii)
As Cryptogram Puzzle Post is still running a competition with prizes for the first season, the guide will stop here for now. Once the Season 1 prizes are completely handed out, this will describe the solution for (vii).

References and Rabbit Holes
No idea what the creature on the far right of (v) is? Have a look at the Axolotl Salamander!