Seekers Notes is a mystery game where players must find objects that are hidden in a variety of scenes. The player becomes the Seeker and sets out to discover how to remove the Curse that plagues Darkwood.
The Pumpkin Nostalgia event is the Halloween event in Seekers Notes. The event only lasts for a certain amount of time. Players have to complete it before the time runs out… or miss out on some of the rewards.
At the time I am putting this blog post together, I’m not entirely certain that I will be able to finish the Pumpkin Nostalgia event. I’ve reached a point where the game gets very pushy about asking for money, and I don’t have any money to give it.
The fifth quest chain in the event ends with the Monster Hunters Collection. At the time I am putting together this blog post, I have completed all of the quests. However, I am (so far) unable to put together the Collection.
One of the goals of the Pumpkin Nostalgia event is to level the Mill up to Virtuoso. Every time the location goes up to the next rank, the puzzles get more difficult.
At the same time, the chance of finding the special item that is required for a quest drops lower and lower. In addition, the higher rank a particular location is – the more Energy and resources it requires in order for the player to enter it.
The quest chain that ends with the Monster Hunters Collection begins immediately after the player finishes the Foggy Story Collection.
Anna Sherwood: Have you seen this, Seeker?! Someone has been spying on use from afar! Someone with a pumpkin for a head!
Seeker: No way!
Ben: I’ve noticed him as well! Pete and I came to check out the mill. Amy told us that she heard a bone-chilling laugh in there!
Ben is an orphan. He gives the player quest chains that involve finding toys for the orphans to play with. Ben is referring to another NPC (non-player character) named Amy, who was involved in giving the player part of the very first quest chain in the Pumpkin Nostalgia event.
Ben gives the player the first quest in this chain. It is called “Young Inventors”.
Ben: Pete and I thought it all over, and decided that we have to catch this monster, whatever it turns out to be. We even sketched a trap diagram, just like the Inventor!
Pete is another little boy who lives in Darkwood. The Inventor is a scientist who lives in Darkwood and asks the Seeker to find him objects that he wants to study. Ben wants the Seeker to find the trap diagram that he and Pete drew.
I found the trap diagram at the Mill.
Ben: What do you think? Not a bad trap, is it? We must catch the monster that frightened Amy. I mean it could scare others too…
It kind of sounds like maybe Ben has a crush on Amy. The quests that he presents the player (outside of the Pumpkin Nostalgia) event are focused on making life better for his fellow orphans. It’s possible that Ben doesn’t have a crush – he’s just an extremely good kid.
I have now finished the “Young Inventors” quest. The next quest one is called: “A Cage for the Trap”.
Peter: We saw a figure with a pumpkin head from afar, but it was the size of a bear! I think we’re going to need a bigger cage.
Peter (or “Pete”, as Ben calls him) is dressed as nicely as Amy was, so I’m guessing he’s not an orphan.
I found the big cage that Pete and Ben needed. It took a very long time, and multiple attempts at successfully finding all the hidden objects at the Mill, before I found it.
Peter: Wow! This is a real cage for a lion! Oh, it could contain any monster!
Why is there a random lion cage in Darkwood? The answer could be found in an entirely unrelated series of quests. Lady Byron gives the player a quest chain where they have to find a bunch of items that were lost by circus performers who need them.
I have now completed the “A Cage for the Trap” quest. The next one in the chain is called “Fragrant Bait”.
Ben: We’ll use a universal aid as bait for the monster. Oh, it was in my bag just a minute ago…
Ben wants the Seeker to find what he called a “universal bait”. To me, it looks a lot like the Bowl of Candy object that players have to find somewhere at the Mill location.
I found the “universal bait” at the Mill. It took several attempts. Each time a player goes to the Mill, they use up Festive Lollipops (required to enter the Mill). The best way to get more is to complete other, unrelated, quests.
Ben: Thank you! The bait includes apples, some cheese, two cutlets and lots of candy! Basically, there’s something for everyone.
I have now completed the “Fragrant Bait” quest. The next one is called “A Simple Method”.
Peter: When the monster smells the bait, it will certainly go into the cage. And then the cage door will shut! For this trick, we shall need an invisible rope.
Pete wants the Seeker to find an invisible rope. It sounds impossible to find something that is invisible. But, this is Darkwood, where all manner of bizarre things are happening. Off I go.
The player cannot simply enter the Mill and hope to find this item. It will not drop until and unless the Mill has the Reflection anomaly happening. As usual, the player must find all the hidden objects on a list before the time runs out.
I eventually found the invisible rope at the Mill.
Peter: Thank you! The whole trick is that Ben and I will keep the door open by tying the rope to it. Once the monster is inside, we’ll just release the rope.
It dawns on me that Darkwood is allowing two boys to not only put together a plan to capture a monster, but also to let them do it without any adult supervision. There is a Colonel in town who, presumably, would be a better choice for what could turn into a battle.
I have now completed the “A Simple Method” quest. The next one is called “Pumpkin against Pumpkin”.
Ben: Hmm, don’t you think that the monster will never come into the trap if it sees us sitting an holding the rope? We need a disguise!
There seems to be some miscommunication between Peter and Ben. Peter said the rope was invisible. But, Ben appears to think the monster will be able to see them holding the rope. So, Ben’s solution… is for him and Pete to wear pumpkins on their heads, while holding the rope, that the monster can’t see.
Anyway… Ben wants the Seeker to find pumpkin disguises.
I found the pumpkin costume at the Mill. It took a lot of effort. When I was able to find all the hidden objects in the list at the Mill location – it didn’t give me the pumpkin disguise.
Once again, I ended up working on unrelated quests in an effort to obtain more Festive Lollipops. I’m starting to wonder if I’ll burn through the Seekers Notes regular quest before I complete the Pumpkin Nostalgia quests.
Ben: Great idea! Three brave pumpkins will be catching one evil one. Haha!
I’m confused. It’s clear that Ben and Peter are going to wear the pumpkin costumes. But, who is going to wear the third one? I’ve no idea, and Ben doesn’t bother to clarify.
I have now finished the “Pumpkin against Pumpkin” quest. The last one in this quest chain is called “Monster Hunters”. It requires the player to take all the objects that they had to find in order to complete this quest chain and combine them into a collection.
Peter: Seeker, let’s prepare our trap so that nothing goes wrong in the crucial moment! Meanwhile, Ben will be on guard and whistle if he sees the monster.
I understand now. The third “brave pumpkin” is none other than the Seeker. I guess these two boys weren’t going to be allowed to do this potentially dangerous thing without adult supervision after all.
And this is where I am stuck. I’ve gotten better at finding the hidden objects at the Mill. But, the game refuses to drop the item I need in order to complete the Monster Hunters Collection. It’s frustrating!
The last thing I need is an item that is used to banish the Gang of Despoilers creatures. The Mill is the only location that has the potential to drop the item used to banish the first of the three creatures. At the time I am writing this blog post, I need to banish the third create again.
In the meantime, I’ve managed to level up the Mill to the rank of Detective. The next rank is Virtuoso, which I will need to achieve in order to earn the Pumpkin Nostalgia avatars.
My assumptions that I will not have enough time to complete any more of the Pumpkin Nostalgia event. I’ll keep trying, though, and will update this blog post if I make any more progress.
UPDATE: I was able to complete the Monster Hunters collection after all!
Unfortunately, I failed to complete the Monster Hunters collection before the Pumpkin Nostalgia event ended. I’ve no idea how that happened. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention. The result is that I did not earn any of the fun prizes from the event.
Seekers Notes: Monster Hunters Collection is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites.
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