Mystery and surprise
What it is
A collection of about twenty-five small and large surprises scattered through the world: things you find by chance, things that only turn up for a little while and are gone again, and two legendary relics nobody built on purpose. Open it from Village life, More to do, Mystery and Surprise, or type /mysterycase.
Sealed bottles of the tide
Search the shore of any outdoor map (the option only appears when you are outdoors and the cooldown has passed, roughly every four hours). Most searches find nothing; sometimes you find a sealed bottle. Use it to break the seal and read the note inside. There are five different notes to collect; finding all five completes the Bottles of the Tide collection for a title, a trophy and an unlock. Very rarely a bottle holds a piece of a legendary relic instead.
Hidden alcoves
Four ordinary-looking corners of the world hide something, if you stand in exactly the right spot and press shift+enter: one in the village cemetery, one in the wine cellar, one in the Natural History Museum, and one in Echo Valley Park's Spooky Hollow. This help page will not say exactly where. Finding all four completes the set.
The riddle letter
Once a month, a new riddle appears. Open Mystery and Surprise, The Riddle Letter, read it, and type /answer or use the Answer button to guess. Being the first to solve it that month pays a little extra.
Puzzle box heirlooms
Puzzle boxes turn up rarely from mystery crates and sealed bottles. Use one to answer three quick questions in a menu. Get all three right and it opens, giving up a rare cosmetic unlock (or points if you already have them all). A wrong answer costs nothing except a minute's wait.
THE CLOCKWORK OWL and THE SUNKEN CROWN
Two legendary relics, five pieces each, scattered through bottles, alcoves, crates and other surprises. Check your progress from Mystery and Surprise, The Clockwork Owl or The Sunken Crown. Completing either gives a title, a trophy and an unlock.
The mystery crate
Costs 150 points, up to three times a day. Always holds something: usually a small cosmetic, sometimes a relic fragment or a puzzle box or diary, very rarely something a great deal more.
Today's fortune slip
A free flavour reading once a day. Keeping a streak going is rewarded with titles at 7, 30 and 100 days.
The two-sided coin
A worn coin you can flip once a day for a small chance of a bonus. Turns up by chance, or buy one outright for 100 points.
Your locked diary
Found rarely from mystery crates. Reveals one new page each real day you carry it, ten pages in all, ending in a short unlock.
THE VANISHING STALL and THE WANDERING CURIOSITY MERCHANT
Two unpredictable, unannounced sellers of one-of-a-kind cosmetics. The vanishing stall appears at a real, walkable spot somewhere in the world for about fifteen minutes; the wandering curiosity merchant is checked straight from the Mystery and Surprise menu, no travelling required, and is available for a similar short window a few times a week. Neither is announced in advance; checking in from time to time is the only way to catch them.
Report on the lost child
Every so often, a public appeal goes out: a child is reported missing somewhere in the world. Reach the right map and get close to find them for a reward. This is announced to everyone (unless turned off in Announcement settings), because it is a call for help, not a secret.
Search the tideline
A receding tide sometimes leaves a one-time find on an outdoor map, usually a coastal one. Not announced; check in when you are near the coast.
The weekly mystery raffle
Try three different mysteries from this list in one week and you are entered. One winner is drawn every week for a trophy and 250 points.
The midnight hour
Once a day, at an hour that changes daily, something is announced to feel different: omens and bottle finds are a little more likely for that hour.
The grand illusion
A weekly, unannounced performance you can join straight from the menu; answer one trivia question correctly for a small reward. Available once a week for a single hour that is not published in advance.
The sealed vault
A shared, server-wide counter that fills a little every time anyone finds a mystery (capped per player per day so no one player can fill it alone). When it fills, it opens for everyone online at that moment, and whoever tipped it over gets a trophy for it.
Omens
Rare, passive little flavour moments while you play outdoors: a black cat, a coin found tails-up, a moment of complete silence. Notice enough of them and you earn a title.
THE CURIOSITY BOARD and THE COLLECTOR'S ALMANAC
The board shows this week's top finders. The almanac shows server-wide totals and explains how everything above works, in one place, any time you need a reminder.
Announcement settings
Some of the above are announced to the whole server: the lost child appeal, the weekly raffle winner, the sealed vault opening, and the strange midnight hour. All of these can be turned off from Village life, Privacy options, Announcements, under "Mystery and surprise news". Nothing else in this package broadcasts to anyone but you.
Economy note
Nothing in this package ever creates ln_credit. Point rewards are modest and capped per player per day.