Day 12: The Dark Descent

Previously

After bypassing the laser security grid with the help of Jolly’s lenses, you successfully deactivated one of the final defenses guarding the Crystal Palace. With the web of lasers absorbed and the alarms avoided, you and Jolly moved deeper into the palace, getting closer to the Crystal of Joy. Now, with the palace’s remaining defenses weakening, you press forward, but you know that something more sinister lies ahead, waiting to stop you.

Narrative

After making your way past the palace’s initial defenses, Jolly leads you to a set of hidden stairs that descend deep into the ground. The path takes you into an underground cave, a place that seems out of place in the palace’s otherwise mechanical and high-tech structure. As you go deeper, the walls become rough and cold, illuminated only by flickering torches. There’s a growing sense of unease as the light dims with each step you take.

Jolly's voice sounds uneasy. "We need to keep moving. The palace’s defenses might be weaker down here, but there’s something... wrong about this place."

Suddenly, the torches go out, plunging you into complete darkness. For a moment, there is nothing but silence. You can’t see a thing, and panic begins to creep in. But then, Jolly’s voice cuts through the blackness.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got night vision,” Jolly says calmly. "I can guide you out. You just need to listen to me and follow my commands exactly."

Objective

Follow Jolly's commands through the dark cave and decipher the word formed by the path you take to find your way out.

Challenge

As you follow Jolly’s commands through the darkness, you realize that the path you’re walking seems to form a pattern. Though you can’t see it, Jolly’s commands guide you step by step in a way that feels deliberate. Your goal is to figure out what word the path reminds you of based on the directions given:

Jolly will tell you to move forward, rotate left, or rotate right to navigate the cave.
By the time you finish the path, the shape of the journey will reveal a word, which is the answer to this challenge.

Jolly’s Instructions:

rotate right
forward 2 steps
rotate left
forward 3 steps
rotate left
forward 2 steps
rotate right
forward 1 step
rotate right
forward 4 steps
rotate right
forward 1 step
rotate right
forward 1 step
rotate left
forward 4 steps
rotate right
forward 3 steps
rotate left
forward 1 step
rotate left
forward 5 steps
rotate left
forward 6 steps
rotate right
forward 3 steps
rotate right
forward 5 steps
rotate right
forward 2 steps
rotate left
forward 1 step
rotate left
forward 4 steps
rotate left
forward 4 steps
rotate left
forward 1 step
rotate right
forward 2 steps
rotate right
forward 1 step
rotate right
forward 1 step
rotate left
forward 1 step
rotate left
forward 1 step
rotate right
forward 1 step
rotate right
forward 2 steps

Hint 1

Draw a path following these instructions and you should see a word...

Answer

Wrong answer!

Outcome

As you finish following Jolly’s directions, you realize the path you’ve walked forms a recognizable word. However, something feels off. Before you can react, you are suddenly captured — realizing too late that the real Jolly was taken when the lights went out, and the voice guiding you was a trick.