Dagon Files

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Welcome, Seeker of Forbidden Knowledge, to Wednesday's puzzle, week 16 of the year 2026. (Simpler puzzle) and (Harder puzzle)

The Case Of The Set Of Incised Runes.

You have stumbled upon The Dagon Files, a cryptic corner of the web where reality frays and reason falters. Here, beneath shifting sigils and whispering images, ancient puzzles lie in wait—twisting enigmas born from the depths of forgotten tomes and cosmic dread. Each riddle you solve draws you deeper into a truth not meant for mortal minds.

But beware: not all doors should be opened. And some answers… change you.

Begin, if you dare…

Suspects/Weapons/Locations/Motives

Detective

grid [I]

Elias Crane

height: 6' 1"

blue eyes

right handed

yog-sothoth cultist

Director

grid [D]

Dr. Theodore Blackwood

height: 5' 8"

brown eyes

right handed

azatoth cultist

Chaplain

grid [F]

Malachai Grady

height: 5' 10"

blue eyes

left handed

nyarlathotep cultist

Nurse

grid [N]

Evelyn Marsh

height: 5' 7"

gray eyes

right handed

deep-ones cultist

Parapsychologist

grid [P]

Celeste Mallory

height: 5' 6"

brown eyes

left handed

dagon cultist

Bone Stylus

grid [B]

Multi-use, first as a puncture weapon, then for carving runes on the victim's body

Sometimes leaves a trace of a set of incised runes.

Dream Serum

grid [D]

Administered in a large dose it causes the heart to freeze in fear.

Sometimes leaves a trace of an expression of frozen horror.

Mirror Shard

grid [M]

It never seems to reflect its surroundings, always somewhere else.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a feeling of deja-vu.

Restraint Strap

grid [R]

Frayed leather strap from a patient bed. The right length for strangulation.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a set of constriction bruises.

Electroshock Machine

grid [E]

The voltage seems to be set to an imaginary number.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a pair of circular burns.

Underground Archive

grid [U]

Forbidden section beneath the main building. Fire-damaged, moldy. Holds secret patient records, and banned books, from Miskatonic U.

It has been described as a maze of filing cabinets.

Indoors

No warding found here.

Observation Tower

grid [O]

A panopticon for surreptitiously viewing the patient's cells. A distant howling wind can always be heard here.

It has been described as a room of secrets.

Indoors

No warding found here.

Roof Garden

grid [R]

Once a manicured garden, now dead ivy covers oddly-shapen, mist-shrouded stone sculptures.

It has been described as a sound of moving stone statues.

Outdoors

No warding found here.

Unnatural Cavern

grid [C]

An ancient, natural cavern beneath the asylum said to have influenced the choice of the site. The stones still thirst.

It has been described as an echo of ancient ritual.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Electroshock Theater

grid [E]

Leather-strapped chairs with cables snaking to control panels mounted on yellowed, ceramic walls.

It has been described as a smell of ozone.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Suspects/Weapons/Locations/Motives

Detective

grid [I]

Elias Crane

height: 6' 1"

blue eyes

right handed

yog-sothoth cultist

Director

grid [D]

Dr. Theodore Blackwood

height: 5' 8"

brown eyes

right handed

azatoth cultist

Chaplain

grid [F]

Malachai Grady

height: 5' 10"

blue eyes

left handed

nyarlathotep cultist

Nurse

grid [N]

Evelyn Marsh

height: 5' 7"

gray eyes

right handed

deep-ones cultist

Parapsychologist

grid [P]

Celeste Mallory

height: 5' 6"

brown eyes

left handed

dagon cultist

Bone Stylus

grid [B]

Multi-use, first as a puncture weapon, then for carving runes on the victim's body

Sometimes leaves a trace of a set of incised runes.

Dream Serum

grid [D]

Administered in a large dose it causes the heart to freeze in fear.

Sometimes leaves a trace of an expression of frozen horror.

Mirror Shard

grid [M]

It never seems to reflect its surroundings, always somewhere else.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a feeling of deja-vu.

Restraint Strap

grid [R]

Frayed leather strap from a patient bed. The right length for strangulation.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a set of constriction bruises.

Electroshock Machine

grid [E]

The voltage seems to be set to an imaginary number.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a pair of circular burns.

Underground Archive

grid [U]

Forbidden section beneath the main building. Fire-damaged, moldy. Holds secret patient records, and banned books, from Miskatonic U.

It has been described as a maze of filing cabinets.

Indoors

No warding found here.

Observation Tower

grid [O]

A panopticon for surreptitiously viewing the patient's cells. A distant howling wind can always be heard here.

It has been described as a room of secrets.

Indoors

No warding found here.

Roof Garden

grid [R]

Once a manicured garden, now dead ivy covers oddly-shapen, mist-shrouded stone sculptures.

It has been described as a sound of moving stone statues.

Outdoors

No warding found here.

Unnatural Cavern

grid [C]

An ancient, natural cavern beneath the asylum said to have influenced the choice of the site. The stones still thirst.

It has been described as an echo of ancient ritual.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Electroshock Theater

grid [E]

Leather-strapped chairs with cables snaking to control panels mounted on yellowed, ceramic walls.

It has been described as a smell of ozone.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Rules

A restriction you will need to rely on is that every weapon, location and motive in the puzzle will be attributed to exactly one suspect.

So you can make a deduction like this, if the dagger was at the campanile, and the professor was at the campanile, then the professor had the dagger. This must be true since only one suspect can be at each location, possess each weapon, have each motive.

Similarly, negative deductions can be made, if the dagger was at the campanile, and the professor did not have the dagger, then the professor was not at the campanile. This is because only one weapon can be at a given location, and the professor's weapon is not the dagger.

These rules will help to fill in blanks which remain after all the clues have been accounted for.

Clues

  1. The Detective had never possessed a skin-writing stylus carved from an unidentifiable bone.
  2. The yog-sothoth cultist never visited the rows of shelves containing patient dossiers.
  3. This (fingerprint) was found on the shard of mirror, reflecting another place.
  4. The yog-sothoth cultist never visited the open roof terrace.
  5. The Chaplain was seen at the smell of ozone.
  6. The azatoth cultist never visited the open roof terrace.
  7. You receive an anonymous telegram with the cryptic message 'EHT TSIGOLOHCYSPARAP DEDLEIW EHT LAIV FO MAERD GNICUDNI MURES.'. (decodeThe Parapsychologist wielded the vial of dream-inducing serum. [reversed])
  8. A vial of dream-inducing serum was found at the room of secrets.
  9. The Chaplain wielded the powerful looking, electro-shock machine.
  10. A set of incised runes was found near the body.

Accusation