From the thread Just for Kicks
I was 21st on the total post rankings!
posted by NDCarson

From the thread Just for Kicks
[size=28:91c824e631]LOCK ME![/size:91c824e631]
posted by NDCarson

From the thread Feels kinda empty....
GAHH! THIS IS THE END! :cry:
posted by NDCarson

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05-31-2008

The End. For now...

 

**The Lost Book of History Has Been Recovered**

This morning, the Chosen three members of the Circle retrieved the hidden Books of History that Stroud hid.  We have confirmed that, as expected, two of them were replicas and one of them was authentic.  So, friends, the Book has been recovered!

Julie P. of Castle Hayne, NC, located the authentic Book and retrieved it before Marsuvees Black reached it.   As a thank you to Julie, she will be receiving a 2008 Chevy Cobalt.

Robert S. of Cayce, SC, retrieved the second Book and will be receiving a home entertainment system.

Diane P. of Douglasville, GA, retrieved the third Book.  She will be receiving an Apple MacBook and an iPod.

Thank you to everyone who gave their all in the search for the Lost Book.  But, now that we have the Book, the adventure has just begun.  The stakes have never been higher, and the fate of the world depends on what we do today...tomorrow...the next day.  Let us rise to the challenge, lovers of Elyon.  May we dive deeper than ever before, and find our place in this, the greatest Story ever told.  The Story of Elyon.  Paradise's story.  Our Story.

Until we meet face to face...Dive Deep.

 

 

05-22-2008

The Chosen

 

Members of the Circle,

Over the past week I have sent operatives to eleven locations that we gleaned from Stroud's files in the hope that the Book of History is hidden at one of them.

mapp.jpg


The good news: we found books at each of the locations, all of which were stolen and all of which we were able to return to their rightful owners. The bad news: none of them were the one Book we are looking for. But...

Three locations remain, and three members of the Circle have been chosen to go to those locations. One of them will find the Book. I cannot yet tell you who the three are or the specifics of where they are going just yet. They have been instructed to go "dark" until they have recovered the Books.

All I can tell you is the 3 books are at locations in GA, SC, and NC. This we have CONFIRMED. Know that I am communicating with the Chosen Ones directly and they will be en route shortly. They have been instructed to recover the books and document their findings, which we will share with the rest of you.

Many of you would have given your lives to recover the Book of History. For that I am endlessly thankful. But while many were called, only three could be chosen. We will know soon which of them holds the true Book. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to those who have searched tirelessly, and given their time and commitment to the search. To the finding the truth. I owe you a debt of gratitude, which I cannot repay in this lifetime. Someday I will thank you each face to face.

Dive deep, friends. I will contact you all again one last time after we have the Book in hand. Our search is hurtling to a close and will undoubtedly end in the next 48 hours when the Book is back in the Circle's possession. And then...then, the story really begins.

Desperate for Elyon,

The Overseer

 

 

05-15-2008

The Books of History

 

Members of the Circle,

At 6:23 this morning, thanks to the hard work and insight you have all provided, our intelligence team was able to fully access Stroud's list and learn the three locations we've all been searching for.  We believe that Stroud hid three books, and one of them is the Lost Book of History.  According to information we received before he died, we know that, of the three, one is authentic and two are replicas.  Attached are actual reference photos we found in Stroud's file.  He apparently took them before hiding the books.  Thanks to you, the Circle will have all three in its possession within the next few days.

After we have confirmed the coordinates and which cities the books appear to be hidden, we will select three members of the Circle to go to the specified locations and retrieve the Books.  So that we can keep this information as confidential as possible (we know that Marsuvees Black frequents this site), we will hand select the operatives and contact them directly.  Once they have been notified and are en route to the secure the Books we will update the rest of the Circle.

This has been a long and trying time for us all, and even now we are not yet finished. But, the end is finally upon us.  On behalf of the Overseer I want to thank all of you for what you have done.  Only Elyon knows what would have happened if you had decided to stand on the sidelines and let history be written by our enemies.  Instead, you rose to the challenge and decided it was not enough to simply stand by.   You made a difference.  You made history.  Only when we return the book to Kara will we know how the story ends...if such stories end at all.

The Overseer had hoped to send this message, but he is out of the country on urgent business and will return just in time to celebrate at the Gathering.   He said to simply tell you to dive deep, never break the circle, and always be mindful of what lies beneath the skin of this life.  For three of you, the adventure with this one book has one more step to it.  But, for all of us, the story has just really begun.  I will be in touch with you shortly once those whom Elyon has decided will retrieve the books have been chosen.

Until then, dive deeply friends,

Paradise Sage

BTW, for those who have been wondering, Professor Abraham is well and sends his greetings.  For reasons I still cannot tell you, he has stayed among the shadows until another time.  But, do not worry friends, he is well.

BOH 1BOH 2BOH 3

 

 

05-08-2008

From Kara (5.8.08)

 

Members of the Circle,

As the Overseer mentioned earlier, it's been a harrowing couple of weeks for me.  Some of it I remember clearly.  Some of it not at all. Most of it is fuzzy like an old picture that was shot just out of focus.

It all started when I flew to Nevada at the Overseer's request to witness Stroud's arrest.  After EMT's took Stroud to the hospital, I returned to my hotel to gather my things and fly back to meet the Overseer.  When I stepped into my room I was hit from behind.  I held onto consciousness only long enough to get a worms eye view of the carpet and my attacker's silver-tipped cowboy boots.

The next few hours come and go from my memory.  I remember being in a trunk with a red pillowcase over my head.  At first I thought it had been a different color at one time and was stained with my own blood, but it wasn't.  I remember the hum of tires like we were on an expressway, then pavement surrendering to gravel.  Once or twice we stopped and the trunk popped open.  Someone tugged at the zip-ties binding my hands and feet then would slam the lid.

Then darkness and the stink of exhaust.

The next time I gained consciousness I was sitting in a chair, hands tied behind me and a blanket covering me.  Then I heard his voice as if he was recording a message.  Black.  When he was done he kicked my chair over and my head slammed into the concrete floor.  When I awoke, the zip-ties and pillowcase were gone and my hands were handcuffed around a greenish copper pipe that disappeared into the ceiling above me.  A slow trickle of water ran down the pole and into the hole in the floor.

I didn't know how long I had been there until today.  Each one blended and faded with the next.  I heard nothing but the drip of water and the occasional gust of wind.  No voices.  No footsteps.  Nothing.

The first couple of days were spent trying to find a way to escape.  I shimmied up the pipe, hoping I could slip my chains over the top somehow.  Each time I slid down. I pulled at the pole.  I screamed.  A lot. I tugged at the handcuffs until my hands bled.  Nothing.  Pulled some more until my hands throbbed and felt like they had been shoved into a bonfire.

I did this every day.  For hours I did it.  I would work and struggle, then slurp some of the water from the pipe.  It tasted like old pennies, but there was nothing else I could do.   Work.  Sip water.  Sleep.  Work. Sip water.  Sleep.  It seemed this basement, or whatever it was, would turn into a tomb within a matter of days.

They say that people who survive extraordinary situations come to a place where they become detached from themselves, look at the situation from above it, and decide to do whatever it takes to survive.  I had one of those moments and knew that no one was coming.  No one knew where I was.  I realized what I had to do.

I had once seen a special on an escape artist.  The story went that he would slip out of his cuffs by dislocating his thumb, which caused the hand to collapse in on itself so he could tug it through the cuff.  I thought it was worth a try, so I slid my hands down the pipe toward the hole in the floor.  The hole was small enough and the cuff just loose enough that I could jam my hand between the pipe and side of the hole and lever my thumb with my full body weight.  I still get queasy thinking about it, but suffice it to say that the soft "pop" of my bone brought with it a whole galaxy of stars that lit up my head.

When I awoke, I was drenched in sweat and staring at the ceiling.  But, my hand was free of the handcuff.

I left the house, which was nothing more than a shack in the middle of the woods.  But, on my way out I came across a pile of clothes and papers in what was the front room.  I assume they were Stroud's belongings, which Black had taken.  I went through them, but found nothing worth a second glance other than a small wooden elephant.  For whatever reason I picked it up and slipped it into my pocket.

Two days later I stumbled onto a freeway, where a state trooper found me.

I am on the mend, but there is one thing you should know:  that elephant wasn't just a trinket.  I was looking at it this morning and noticed a fine seam that ran along its back, from head to tail.  I slid a fingernail into it and the carving split into two halves.  Inside it was some sort of memory drive.  I remember thinking, how secretive can one man be?  I sent the drive to the Overseer for analysis. I think the elephant is symbolic and my hope is that it is the final piece to the puzzle.

As far as Black, I don't know where he is or what he found in Stroud's bag.  But, I think he had the key in his hand and tossed it aside as a worthless toy.  We're about to find out.

Talk with you all soon. Dive deep.

Kara

 

 

05-08-2008

5/8/2008: Urgent, from the Overseer

 


TO: THE CIRCLE

FROM: THE OVERSEER

SUBJECT: 5.8.2008

5/8/2008: Urgent, from the Overseer

I have several updates for you this morning in the search for the lost Book of History.

Last week, members of the Circle de-ciphered a cryptic photograph that was found on Jack Stroud's hard drive. Embedded in the photo was a puzzle that, when solved, yielded the numbers "787683". The numbers turned out to be the remaining digits of an IP address our intelligence technicians gleaned from Stroud's hard drive.

We accessed the website this morning using the word "Paradise", which the Circle recently discovered had been hidden in a book titled "Chaos". We found what appears to be an incomplete set of 27 GPS coordinates stretching from a desert location in Nevada to a castle in the south of France. I have sent operatives to 14 of the sites, but the Book has yet to be found. We are working right now to piece the rest together, but we are missing some parts to the puzzle.

But, things seem to be turning a corner...


*UPDATE ON THE SEARCH FOR KARA*

This morning at approximately 2:30 a.m., an Alabama state trooper was patrolling a stretch of I-65. Barely visible through the rain, he saw a figure standing in the middle of the road. He swerved and barely missed the person, whom he thought was a desperate hitchhiker caught in the storm. When he got out of his cruiser he noticed it was a woman, swaying on the brink of unconsciousness. When he stepped closer and saw her bruises and the skin on her wrists rubbed raw and bleeding, he knew that she had survived something more sinister than a bad night in the rain.

She reached out to steady herself and collapsed. The officer caught her, radioed for medical help, and held her until the ambulance arrived. Before she passed out, the officer asked about her name. "Kara," she said. When he asked why she was clutching a small wooden elephant, she just smiled and said, "They never forget what they're told."

Kara was transported to a Birmingham hospital, where she is being treated for hypothermia and some mild injuries. I spoke with her briefly a little over two hours ago. She is battered, but in good spirits. She remembers very little about her ordeal, except her initial attack and abduction, then later when she awoke in a dark room tied to a chair.

She hopes to give us a full account of her story later today, as well as some information she says Black stole from Stroud. Information that she now has and hopes will lead us to the Book. I am scheduled to talk with her again this afternoon and will pass everything I learn on to you as I have it.

The Overseer

 

 

05-01-2008

May 1, 2008: One Step Closer

 

Members of the Circle, our situation is desperate. The one person who knows where the Book is, Jack Stroud, is dead. Marsuvees Black has fallen off the grid, a fact that could mean far worse than I want to imagine. And Kara is still missing.

Our efforts to examine Stroud's hard drive have yielded little that seems helpful: A list of books that appears to be an inventory of the titles he's brokering and , uncovered just this morning, a locked file, a partial IP address and a photo. We have been working on the locked file all morning, but with no success. Since Stroud appeared to be enamored with cryptography, I believe the photo may hold the key to either the locked file or the website that awaits at the IP address. Hopefully, the book's location will be revealed in one of those two places.

Examine the photo and email Paradise.Sage@yahoo.com with your findings. Remember, we are probably looking for a series of numbers or what may appear to be a password.

Let us not give up hope. We are close. We have to be.

Godspeed,

The Overseer

Click HERE for Photo

 

 

04-24-2008

[REVISED]:[UPDATE]: 4/24/08 Stroud is dead.

 

UPDATE AS OF 12:15PM CT:

We have the first download of information from Stroud's "tooth drive".  We are currently working on the other data that is downloading. In the meantime, see what you can make of the following. Overseer.

Stroud Contents 001

***

TO: THE CIRCLE

FROM: THE OVERSEER

SUBJECT: STROUD IS DEAD

Members of the Circle,

Last week, federal officials apprehended Jack Stroud at the Hoover Dam in Nevada. He had arranged to meet with the Circle so that we could secure the Book of History in his possession. However, by the time a joint Circle/FBI team moved in, someone else had gotten to Stroud.

Marsuvees Black.

When the team found Stroud, he was unconscious and convulsing. He was unresponsive to on-scene medical treatment and was rushed by Medevac to a nearby hospital. En route, he went into cardiac arrest. He was, however, successfully resuscitated and moved to the ICU, where he remained under guard until he could be stabilized and moved to an FBI facility.

He regained consciousness on Monday and doctors cleared him for questioning, though only for short periods of time. Tuesday morning, Stroud was taken to an interrogation room where he met with an agent. You can hear the brief exchange here. By all observations, Stroud was coherent and seemed to be recovering well. However, six minutes into the interrogation, he collapsed. Doctors could not revive him and five minutes later he was declared deceased.

An hour ago, we received the results from Stroud's autopsy, which was performed yesterday. Most notable in the report are two observations:

(1) the case of death is unknown, though cardiac arrest is suspected. However, Meningococcal bacteria was found in fluid samples taken from his body; a finding that still puzzles us and the medical examiner.

(2) Upon examining Stroud's dental remains, it was discovered that one of his molars is fake and is actually some sort of electronic storage device, like an external hard drive. We are awaiting analysis of its contents, and will distribute that to you later today as soon as we have it.

Our search at the Dam for Black and the Book revealed nothing. Apparently, as a matter of personal protection, Stroud did not have the Book with him. A precaution that undoubtedly kept the Book out of Black's hands, but cost Stroud his life. We can only speculate how many lives were saved by him not having the Book. Sometimes heroes can be the most unlikely people.

Kara still remains missing. We recently investigated her apartment and found the place turned upside down. We are following up on some leads that we hope will be fruitful.

Watch for an update from me later today. Hopefully, we'll learn some answers to the secrets that died with Stroud.

The Overseer

 

 

04-17-2008

URGENT: From the Overseer [4/17/08]

 

TO: THE CIRCLE

FROM: THE OVERSEER

SUBJECT: KARA, STROUD AND BLACK

Members of the Circle,

I wish I was contacting you under better circumstances, with word that Stroud is conscious (he isn't as of this morning), or that we've located the Book (we haven't). Instead, I have to inform you that the situation has taken a turn for the worse.

As you already know, Jack Stroud was apprehended yesterday at the Hoover Dam. What you may not know is that Kara was also at the scene, at my request, to coordinate with the FBI. She was scheduled to return from Nevada last night and then brief me this morning on Stroud's status.

I lost contact with her yesterday afternoon, and when she didn't call in for the scheduled briefing, my first assumption was something had gone wrong.

My suspicion was confirmed this morning when I received the following message.

While his voice and face are obscured, I believe the man in the video is Marsuvees Black. I also believe the person tied to the chair in the video may be Kara. The contents of the video lead me to believe that Black does not have the Book. If he did, he wouldn't waste his time with this side trail.

I can only guess, but I don't think Stroud had the Book with him in Nevada. Men like Stroud never make face to face hand-off's if they wish to stay alive. My guess is Stroud was surprised to find Black at the dam, Black made a move, but was thwarted and fled when the FBI moved in. We may not know what really happened until Stroud wakes. If he wakes.

Where do we stand then? The Book is still out there and the only man who knows its location is in a coma. We don't know what information, if any, Black squeezed out of him. What we do know is Black may have Kara, and is giving us 72 hours to solve a riddle. This may be a diversion so Black can buy time, but we can't leave Kara in his hands.

Watch the video for its full contents, but here is the riddle:

"The stones marked


Beneath the wheel


Tell secrets and reveal


The names.


A nomad, a friar,


Everyman, a liar,


But the looking glass


Reveals the true identity."


Black wants us to tell him who he's talking about. He said the answer should be posted to the BOH.com boards, so he obviously has been watching us this whole time. Is watching us. So be watchful. As I type this I am en route to the holding facility where Stroud is. Work on finding Kara. The moment I have an update on Stroud I will pass it along.


Elyon be with you, friends.


The Overseer


 

 

 

04-16-2008

URGENT [4/16/08]: Jack Stroud Apprehended

 

TO: THE CIRCLE

FROM: THE OVERSEER

SUBJECT:  JACK STROUD APPREHENDED

Members of the Circle,

This morning, at 6:04 a.m. local time, federal authorities apprehended Jack Stroud at the Hoover Dam.  Tactical teams staked out several locations overnight, and this morning at approximately 5:56 a.m. surveillance spotted an individual approaching the dedication monument area of the dam (on the Nevada side). They made a visual I.D. and confirmed the man was Stroud. Moments later they closed on the position and secured it.
When the team arrived, they found Stroud unconscious and convulsing violently.  A sweep of the area revealed nothing.  There was no one else in the vicinity.  There was no book in his possession.

Stroud was evacuated to an undisclosed location for medical treatment and evaluation.  As of the latest report provided by the FBI moments ago, he is conscious and appears to be stable, though he isn't talking at this point.  The FBI plans to question Stroud this afternoon and we have an interrogation team en route on behalf of the Circle.  I will keep you posted of any progress there, but I do not anticipate any updates until late tonight or early tomorrow morning.

More to come.

 

 

04-10-2008

April 10, 2008

 

TO: THE CIRCLE

FROM: KARA

SUBJECT: JACK STROUD

Members of the Circle,

It was confirmed that Jack Stroud was in Conway, Arkansas, for a brief time and was present at a movie screening. However, because no one recognized him, he left without passing any information along.

This morning I received the following video. Another message from Stroud. In it he states that this is the last chance to meet with him. We can only assume that, after this attempt, he will pass the Book to Marsuvees Black.

View the video and determine where he intends to be then post the answer to the Forum on booksofhistory.com. Once we have determined his location, we will mobilize someone to go to the location. Like Stroud said, this is our last chance. You can be certain that Black is growing weary of these games and will move in at some point and take Stroud by force.

Good luck.

Kara

 

 

04-03-2008

April 3, 2008

 

TO: THE CIRCLE

FROM: KARA

SUBJECT: STROUD/CHICAGO

Members of the Circle,

Last week we were led to believe that Jack Stroud, the man we now believe has the Book of History, would be at the skydeck of the Sears Tower in Chicago. A member of the Circle showed up at the Sears Tower at the appointed time, however Stroud was not there. Instead, they found a business card taped to one of the windows. It was a card for Josef McElroy, President of Skydeck Holdings. It wasn't long before we learned that we weren't meant to meet him on the top floor of the Sears Tower; we were supposed to meet at Skydeck's office several floors below.

The operative went to the office and found the door unlocked. The office was empty except for a small table set in the center of the front area. On top of the table was a deteriorating book. Moby Dick. The operative noticed that there seemed to be a message embedded in the cover. She carefully unbound the book and discovered the attached (see image).

Examine the book cover and determine what its purpose is. If you figure it out, email your findings to Paradise.Sage@yahoo.com. Our best guess is that Stroud is telling us where he will be next. A word of caution: I am concerned that Stroud is using our website and forums not just to communicate with us. It could be that he is communicating with Marsuvees Black right under our noses.

Good luck,

Kara

Book Cover Image

 

 

03-27-2008

Stroud Communication

 

TO: THE CIRCLE

FROM: KARA

RE: JACK STROUD

Members of the Circle. This morning Jack Stroud posted the following to his Myspace page:

"my, aren't we an impatient bunch. but' i should expect nothing else. you should be thankful i'm giving you a sporting chance at all. this marsuvees fellow at least paid a deposit. but, alas, i'm in it for the game as much as the money. like you, yeah? i'm even thinking of keeping the book for myself. my research on it is uncovering some...unique qualities. but you already know about those, i suppose, or you wouldn't want it so badly. i'm on my way to meet my client and plan to make a few stops along the way. side jobs, let's say. we may yet meet, but that's up to you. I will have instructions for you shortly. cheers."

A few minutes later we received a video, which we are uploading to Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEy5Uw_wdE). Like in Nashville, Stroud is giving us another chance to meet with him. According to his message to me, the "video will speak" and tell us when and where. Your task is to view the video, determine where he will be next and email Paradise.Sage@yahoo.com. We will then mobilize local members of the Circle to intercept him. He's toying with us, and that worries me. Something else is happening here, but I don't know what. Something feels...off. Be careful.

Good luck.
Kara

 

 

03-21-2008

Info from Nashville Airport

 

Thanks to Scott from Brentwood, TN, who went to the Nashville airport this morning to follow up on the clue we received. As Stroud said, someone was waiting at Baggage Claim #9. However, they weren't waiting for Marsuvees Black. They were waiting for us. Scott recorded a short video of what he found. Thanks Scott!

 

 

03-20-2008

Message from Kara 3.20.08

 

TO: THE CIRCLE

FROM: KARA

Members of the Circle,

We have finished searching the files we downloaded from Jack Stroud's iPod. We haven't learned anything new about where the book might be or when/how Stroud intends to pass the book to whoever he is working for. However, we have found an attachment in an email he received recently. The message references a website that we believe Stroud uses to communicate with his buyers. The file is attached. Please follow up the lead, as I believe it may lead directly to Stroud. Something in the attachment or the website has to give us an opportunity. Good luck, friends.

*IF YOU DISCOVER ANYTHING, EMAIL: Paradise.Sage@yahoo.com with your findings.

Email Attachment: KarKritic

 

 

03-17-2008

More Information from Kara

 

Members of the Circle: we are still working to retrieve files from Stroud's iPod. However, we have downloaded the following for your review. One is an encoded message and the other is a password protected document. Examine the documents and see what you learn. It appears the code in "INTEL 0342" is from the codekey we found earlier. See my earlier post if you need it. We will continue to work on this end.

INTEL 0342. Encoded Msg.

INTEL 9580. PW Protected Doc.

 

 

03-13-2008

New Intel: Jack Stroud

 

UPDATE FROM THE OVERSEER

**IF YOU HAVE NOT LISTENED TO "MESSAGE FROM KARA", GO TO "NEWS" AND VIEW THE VIDEO**

The Circle Intelligence Directive has an iPod in its possession that came from Frank Miller. The device is believed to be belong to Jack Stroud (see accompanying dossier), a man we now believe possesses the Lost Book. We do not know if he is working alone or for someone else.  Circle technology staff are currently examining the device's hard drive to determine what intelligence can be procured from it. The files appear to be encrypted. Currently, only one file (attached) has been successfully extracted and decrypted. Updates to follow.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Begin the process of finding Jack Stroud. by searching the files we will be extracting/posting to the site. Good luck.

Stroud, Jack: Dossier

INTEL Exhibit 001

 

 

03-13-2008

Message from Kara

 



Click here to listen to Frank Miller's voicemail message to Kara.

 

 

03-05-2008

Final Message from David Abraham

 

 

 

11-30-1999

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