Metamorphosis — The Treasure Hunt

[ Back to the Trunk ]

Stage 2 of Twelve — Lock 2 · The Daisy Lock

The Daisy Chain

This door is floralsisters.com, one of the twelve doors of the test hunt. The trunk itself waits at test.tenwordcipher.com.

Test build. No account is needed at the doors. This page holds exactly one clue; solving it reveals the key word for Lock 2. Carry the word back to the trunk and type it at Lock 2 to turn the lock.

[ The Bill ]

Before the legend, there were two sisters singing in a parlor for pennies, and the younger one counted everything: beats, coins, daisies in the garden beyond the window. Bessie's count began here. This stage hides its key the way she would — in plain sight, among the flowers.

[ The Clue ]

Every flower in the garden below is a daisy. Count only the gold daisies — the bright gold ones. The grey daisies do not count. Type how many gold daisies you find, and press [Count Them].

❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀
❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀
❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀
❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀
❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀
❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

❀ gold daisies — these count  ·  ❀ grey daisies — these do not

[ The Sisters' Songbook ]

The twelve words of the game, in their order, the way the sisters sing them:

  1. 1WILLOW
  2. 2COPPER
  3. 3SPARROW
  4. 4EMBER
  5. 5LANTERN
  6. 6TEMPEST
  7. 7MARBLE
  8. 8HARBOR
  9. 9GOLDEN
  10. 10VELVET
  11. 11MEADOW
  12. 12SILVER
[ Hint ]

If your count keeps coming out large, grey daisies are sneaking in. Gold only — there are fewer than you think.