ARG Quest Analysis: The Templar Mystery and the Sumerians

By Jason ReynoldsGame Hacking

Analysis of the ARG Quest “The Templar Mystery. Sumerians”

Date: October 20, 2021

Quest Overview

  • Title: The Templar Mystery. Sumerians
  • Plot: Templars, secret societies, Sumerian mythology and culture
  • Difficulty Level: Exponential, above average
  • Completion Time: 24 to 168 hours
  • Themes: Cryptography, logic, history, philosophy, mathematics, geometry, knowledge of the .onion space
  • Format: Team-based (up to 10 people per team)
  • Prize Pool:
    • 200 USDT — First place
    • 100 USDT — Second place
    • 70 USDT — Third place

Hi everyone! Pavluu here, and this is my breakdown of the third ARG quest I’ve created. Let’s get right to it.

Entry Task

The initial ARG task was placed in a red frame, but the service I used to host the encrypted note deleted it as soon as it got traffic. I don’t recommend using that service. If you’re curious, you can try to decrypt and see for yourself.

The main task: by looking at the letters, you can tell the text is reversed. Let’s check this hypothesis. After replacing certain letters and reversing, we get the following encrypted text:

687474703a2f2f7374726f6e676572773269736537347633647565626773767567346d656879686c70613766366b66776e6173377a6f6673336b6f763779642e6f6e696f6e2f70716d336b777973392f766778637477

After decoding, you get a link to a .onion site with notes, familiar to participants from previous quests. Enter the site.

Finding the Password

Participants had trouble finding the password. The password was hidden in coordinates. Just searching the map is pointless; you need a panorama. This led players to Google Maps, specifically to Moscow. In photos 1 and 4, you can spot graffiti on a fence. Go there.

Understanding that not everyone can read street art tags, I set a numeric password plus a punctuation mark. This was clear from the hints and was a test task. Enter the password 731! in the note.

Cryptography and QR Code

Those familiar with cryptography will recognize base64 here. Scan the QR code with any scanner to get the link to the first level:

http://anf5ayfw3ifyvnvmueegndgvrsh57ctkkm3fescukc6bkyqd2p2theid.onion

Level I

Welcome to Level 1. Copy and decode the text. The header is just for show. The important part:

H3LL0 STR4NG3R. W3LC0M3 T0 TH3 F1RST L3V3L 0F THE GAM3. TRY TO GU3SS SOME PUZZL3. 1. TAMPLI3R 2. .... 3. H3T3RD0XY TH3 ANSW3R S3ND T0: @e4gp3m_kck K3Y: TRY T0 F1ND

As before, I recommend decoding the bot’s name first, then solving the riddle. Check the last line and look for the key in the metadata. You’ll find three ciphers:

  • ZG9nIHNoaXQ=
  • aG9seSBpbnF1aXNpdGlvbg==
  • eW91J3JlIHRyeWluZyBpbiB2YWlu

The key phrase is “you’re trying in vain.” Now, solve the riddle. The hint “idol” refers to Baphomet. Accepted answers: B4F0M3T, Baphomet, Бафомет. Send the answer to the bot to proceed.

Level II

Reverse the text as before. The first task is a probability theory problem. The answer is 0.444.

Next, reverse the next text fragment. The phrase is: “Find the values of X and add them.” Solve the system of equations from the linked image. The answer is 2.

The third task is to calculate the length of a curve using an integral. The cipher looks odd; reverse it:

68747470733a2f2f66696c65732e636174626f782e6d6f652f3461667067662e6a7067

Final answer: 12.

Multiply all answers: 0.444 * 2 * 12 = 10.656. Send this to the bot (the answer is reversed) to proceed.

Level III

The message on the image is in the Atlantean language from the 2001 animated film “Atlantis: The Lost Empire.” After decoding, you get: pastoralis praeeminentiae — a papal bull by Pope Clement V in 1307. The context: on Friday, October 13, 1307, Templars in France were arrested, and their property confiscated.

The next phrase is written in different languages, each word in a different one. Translating each word, you get: “Who was a frequent guest at their meetings?” Accepted answers: devil, satan, devil in the form of a black cat. Find the bot in the channel description and send the answers: Clement V and devil/satan/black cat.

Level IV

This level was a favorite. Many asked, “Is that the basilisk from Dark Souls?” Yes, it is. This time, it’s an encrypted chat on an external service, not a Telegram bot. The password is the name of an “original novel,” the chat name is ARG, and you should enter with your team’s nickname.

The rebus: Fire + X = Basilisk from Dark Souls; Grave + Y = No Basilisk. The context is the Templars. Fire = burning heretics. The legend is that the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, cursed King Philip IV and Pope Clement V before his execution. X = Jacques de Molay, Y = Louis XVI (descendant of Philip IV). The password is The Illuminatus! (the original novel). Send a screenshot of your presence in the chat and the rebus answer to proceed.

Level V

This level required some thought. The context: troubadours were popular during the Templar era. The original work referenced is Senhors, per los nostres peccatz. The cipher uses the Blowfish algorithm, with the key being the year of the event: 1195. Decrypt the cipher and send the original quatrain to the bot to get the next puzzle — a cuneiform rebus. The correct .onion link is:

l6ww6x5x3chszawa2qty3lrb4b6gdxel4sfxap2juy3j7zsc2a5s43ad.onion

Level VI

This is the Sumerian part of the quest. Decode the cipher (looks like RC4, base64, or AES). The message:

H3Y. THE H4LF P4ST Y0U. TH3 S3C0ND P4RT I5 5HUMER H1ST0RY. 1. 5T4T3 5Y5T3M 2. ... 3. W0W IT W0RK 3V3N T0D4Y (35P3C14LLY N0W)

The answer: decentralization (D3C3NTR4L1Z4T10N), referring to the Sumerian city-state system. Find the bot, download the file, and check the metadata for the next cipher. After decoding, send the answer to the bot to proceed.

Level VII

This level features a rebus about the goddess Ishtar. Hints point to Victor Pelevin’s books, especially “Generation P,” where Ishtar is mentioned as a Sumerian goddess (actually Akkadian). The eight-pointed star is her symbol. The bot’s name is reversed: Ishtar (Akkadian) = Inanna (Sumerian). The cipher uses DES with the key inanna. Send “Ishtar” to the bot to continue.

Level VIII

This rebus is based on a scene from Pelevin’s “Generation P.” The answer involves the gods Marduk and Tiamat, referencing the creation myth (the battle between Marduk and Tiamat). The key for the cipher is enlil (another Sumerian god), and the algorithm is Twofish. Send the answers to the bot to proceed.

Level IX

Another cipher, possibly RC4 or AES. Download the image and use steganography to extract the text. Decoded links lead to images with further ciphers. The answers are:

  • 1/15, 6/7
  • 0.199
  • 10

Multiply: 1/15 * 6/7 * 0.199 * 10 = 0.111. Send this to the bot to proceed to the final level.

Level X

The final level involves a cipher with numbers and the hint “not launch.” Each encryption algorithm has a creation and launch date. Use the year of creation as the key for each algorithm:

  • Cast-128 (1996)
  • DES (1977)
  • Blowfish (1993)
  • Twofish (1998)
  • Sater (1993)
  • Loki97 (1997)
  • 3DES (1978)
  • GOST (1978)
  • Cast-256 (1998)

After decryption, you get:

Fellow, you are really nice player
1 by 1 you reach final level
Not every one coped with it
4 teams in average do
Lame you or not
Play ARG again
Ready or not?
So, I will wait for you
Time will show

At the end of my quests, you can always help yourself. No bot is needed. No answer needs to be sent. Make the link yourself:

F1N4LPRST => https://t.me/F1N4LPRST

Conclusion

Thank you all for participating! I tried to make this analysis as concise as possible. There will be more quests in the future, both free and paid tournaments, with 70% of funds going to prizes. Automation, NPCs, more Tor infrastructure, and external services are all coming. The quests will keep improving, with a team of past participants helping out.

Thanks to everyone who took part and everyone who read this breakdown. You’re awesome, smart, and modern. Respect.

Yours,
Pavluu

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