Jackson Detective Agency (Spring 2011)

The Wizard's Elemental Tower (Spring 2010)

Inspiration: the four elements, magic and wizards

Plot: A long time ago, a desert community struggling to thrive was greeted by a young wizard. The Wizard, seeking to help those who did not have his magical prowess, agreed to live in a tower near the community and use his magic to create a biome fit for farming. Many generations passed, and with the passing of time, rumors and stories of The Wizard who lived outside of town morphed. The people in the community mostly forgot about the Wizard's quiet contributions to their happy lives and began to believe he was banished to the outskirts for an insidious reason.

Recently, the fields and forests have been shrivelling up and dying. The people of the community, not knowing much about The Wizard who lives just on the outskirts of town, believe that he is draining the community of its life force. The Mayor and other community members (Hunt Staff) therefore recruit teams of 2-4 wizarding apprentices to his tower to take him down. Their job: unlock the myriad of passageways by solving puzzles to ascend to the top and defeat The Wizard.

Teams unlock puzzles (each based on one or two of the five elements: fire, water, earth, air, and surprise!) to get to the top room of the tower where the wizard resides. The winning team discovers the truth: the Wizard, attempting to learn petrification magic, has accidentally turned himself to stone. Now a statue, The Wizard can no longer continue to sustain the community with his biome-altering magic. The winning team returns The Wizard to flesh and blood by deciphering an incantation, and the fields and forests thrive once more. The Wizard's good name is restored and peace is brought to the community. 

My Role: The Mayor, narrator during plot presentations

My Puzzles:
Smoke Signals (Tier 1 Fire Puzzle)
File Size: 26 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
A Compass Rose By Any Other Name (Tier 1 Earth Puzzle)
File Size: 140 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Hellenic Hustle (Tier 2 Fire Puzzle)
File Size: 41 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Posters:
A black and white photo or two tall, clear glasses. From left to right, the glasses contain: soil, nothing (air), a small lit candle, and water. There is black text over it that says
I put this poster together using GIMP. Photo credit: David S. April.
A photo of a small town in a valley with a blue sky in the background. A tall tower has been edited into the photo. The photo fades from color to monotone the further away from the tower you go. There is black text over it that says
This poster was also assembled by using GIMP and some free-for-use photography.
A white and black simplified version of the power above. Many small houses are situated in a valley. In the back right there is a tall tower with a storm cloud over it being struck by lightning. There is black text over it that says
This printer-friendly version of my tower and desert poster was rendered by Carolyn Sawyer.