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Greetings fellow puzzlers and puzzled alike! I’ve concocted a little puzzle for you all... Well little may be an understatement, but I'll come back to that.

Before starting, you should know that the only materials you'll ever need for this puzzle are as follows:

  • A device compatible with a search engine such as Google, Firefox, etc. and a steady internet connection

  • A brain (preferably inside the person)

  • And a knowledge of death and decay! [An ominous crescendo plays out slowly]

This puzzle has been divided into several parts, or gates, as I fondly call them, and each gate leads to a name. Additionally, each gate may contain clues for the gates beyond it, so keep an eye out! Each gate has a name as well, which may be a warning/instruction for the puzzle within, or, who knows, it's just claptrap!

This is the first gate of a series of 'N' gates of climbing difficulties. 'N,' because I haven't decided how many there should be yet, it would depend on how long each solution takes to show up. (And if I can keep up with school's reopening.)

All my best to the puzzlers, start your engines, and let the games begin! [Maniacal cackling follows]

The First Gate: Why So Tense?

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You’ve heard so many riddles, and here’s a—nother,

About a marvellous mind and an alias, a cover,

Who isn't afraid of the police, they can come if they dare!

She'll probably be crafting plans in her lair!

A criminal mastermind, yet her hands are pristine,

Perhaps it’s because the others dirty the scene!

Oui, it’s for her they commit Dastardly deeds,

And it’s for her they get eventually caught,

Yet once behind bars, they say her name not!

The last syllable of one of the catchers,

May not help with just this case, but still, now, can you snatch her?

A Bonus Round

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Hint 1

Each hint may not appear like this, should any be required. Think out of the box!

Post Script (Not A Hint)

Thank you for taking interest in this puzzle! I came up with the first gate yesterday, but it took some time to get the formatting just right, and any feedback, positive or not so in nature, is appreciated. I plan on incorporating all kinds of puzzling skillsets as the gates go on, so consider it my humble challenge to entire the puzzling community!

When The Dust Settles
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    Umm quick question, do you want the aforementioned alias or the real name? (if I am reading the puzzle correctly) – Bewilderer Mar 13 '19 at 02:03
  • Good question @Bewilderer. Each underscore is meant for a single letter only, and that peculiar dash in 'a—nother' is supposed to be an em dash, in case there is any confusion. That's all I'll say. :) – When The Dust Settles Mar 13 '19 at 09:52
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    The name of the gate and the number of letters makes me think (ROT13) cnfg cnegvpvcyr, but I can't see how it would fit the rest of the clues. – CactusCake Apr 26 '19 at 21:41
  • In the first gate, 'ir' is bolded and 'er' is in italics. – Duck Jun 27 '19 at 02:43
  • @CactusCake Bit late to the party, I know, but I am thinking the same thing as you. The 'ir' in bold and 'er' in italics agree with your theory if you look at (ROT13) Serapu Ireo Pbawhtngvba, but I'm equally stuck on the rest of the actual text of the riddle – Cubemaster Jul 18 '19 at 17:22
  • If you take all the unusual letters, a in a--nother, ir bolded, the capitalized d, and er in italics, you can anagram out 'raider.' – Duck Sep 09 '19 at 23:37
  • The content of the riddle could be describing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Barker, who was portrayed as a behind-the-scenes criminal mastermind in multiple film adaptations of her life – Luke Bickell Jan 17 '20 at 16:10
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    I'm getting some Vaqvnan Wbarf vibes here, because of N oenva (cersrenoyl vafvqr gur crefba), Naq n xabjyrqtr bs qrngu naq qrpnl!, and gur nantenz envqre, all of which kind of would fit with that. Thus, I am tempted to say Ryfn Fpuarvqre, but that's one letter off. – Chipster Dec 15 '20 at 04:54
  • I feel like this has something to do with linguistics. Past participle or verb infinitive. Ir, er, ar. Arrache is french for snatch. And I could be oh so way off. Unless most of the riddle is the 'cover', so to speak. Thought I'd share a different point of view. Great riddle either way. – Mercurial Charm Feb 05 '21 at 16:23
  • As far as the rhyming scheme goes, the line that ends in "deeds" does not have a pair. – mkinson Oct 20 '21 at 11:24
  • Also, the french Oui is also unique and shouldn't be overlooked. – mkinson Oct 20 '21 at 11:34
  • If you add up the "a", "ir", "oui", "deeds", "d", and "er" and then anagram them, you get "disordered". Is there any meaning behind this or no? –  Jan 28 '23 at 02:27
  • Oh and also "ers" I think? –  Jan 28 '23 at 02:33

3 Answers3

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This is probably not part of the answer, but I'd just like to confirm that.

The First Gate

is the first stage of Death in Sabriel, part of the Old Kingdom series.

A knowledge of death

Sabriel does have this in particular.

That's all I have.

matt_rule
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I think the clues points to:

Wanda Maximoff / The Scarlett Witch / Elizabeth Olsen

Because:

The word «marvellous» is giving a hint towards the Marvel Universe

The title «Why so Tense», points to grammar. In French (Oui), -ir and -er are the most common word ending in the first tense: infinitive

There is a Marvel movie called «Infinity War»

Wanda Maximoff is fitting with the clues. Pristine hands - she is using powers from her hands to fight, but never had any physical contact. Criminal - she has a past as villain. Sokovia accord - The agreement where the Avengers agree to been taken as prisoners

Enigma
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I'm just going to guess due to the clues there are.

The person might be

Airy Esdeedsder . . . I don't think this name is common - if it is a name?

Why the letters?

The "a" has a dash splitting it from the word. "ir" is bolded. "oui" is French for yes, while the rest is in English. "deeds" is the only word without a rhyme. "d" is capitalized. "er" is the last syllable of catcher.

Why the name?

Well, there are 14 letters with a split of 4-10. There are 14 letters from the clues, so it would make sense to add a space after the fourth letter.