I found another place where trying to do an Indiana Jones style "two-fisted archaeologist seeks out hidden artifacts" story in the real world doesn't work so well.
I'm writing the Dan Brown this time around. A treasure hunt around the conveniently symbol-laden monuments of Paris. But here's the thing;
The formulae is that each clue requires you to go to a place or thing the public has heard of; the next clue is painted into the background of the Mona Lisa or is buried under the Eiffel Tower. It requires some sort of written clue, preferably poetry, that is just simple enough so the general reader can solve the word puzzle, do the Grade B cryptography, and/or get the historical/mythological reference.
It also usually requires a shoot-out with the rival team.
It also requires something being discovered that is more than just the next clue in the sequence. That is something I'd missed when I set this up, and something that is going to be hard to put in.
When Dan Brown's unlikely heroes are getting a clue off a painting they are also realizing oh, aha, Leonardo DaVinci was also in on the conspiracy. When the latest ersatz Indy is brushing the dirt off a faded inscription he isn't just reading, "continued on next rock," he is also reading about how the Talos Robot shot burning rays out of his bronze eyes.
Major Jonathan Huxley is writing a scavenger hunt. He's quite open about it. Penny certainly knows it. That means there is no hidden treasure (well, actually, there is...long story and you'll have to read the book to get it). This is real Paris, though, and as close as I can get real turn-of-the-century, Paris Exposition and all that, and real Napoleon Bonaparte if it comes to that.
Not undead, not consorting with Deep Ones, not carrying any Atlantean super-weapons around (pity...Napoleon was a big fan of using tech to win battles).
So nothing to discover on the inscription de jour but "continued on next monument."
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