THE HINTS- VITAL TO SUCCESS

[fundamental design]

^ that does sound tough. Good luck!

---

I think there's a mystery to be solved in the first stanza. One that needs to be looked at as a whole, so read the four lines as a whole to find the answer.

The mystery is in the 1st, 5th, and 6th stanzas. But you may as well ignore them until you solve the rest of the poem first because they won't help you with the first 5 clues. Once you get to the correct search area then the mystery begins. It's tough.

Hey trigace, can you copy your expanded post on the mysteries of "it" on the first clue conundrum thread and paste it here. I think it's very good and would like to see it added here.

FD-
I would if I could, but don't know how.

Here it is...

....The quote, "So why is it that I must go and leave my trove for all to seek?" is part of a riddle contained in the 1st, 5th, and 6th stanzas. Without solving it you won't find the chest. Literally, what is "it"? It's a place that he must go. Who is he? That is part of the riddle. It's not Fenn. Whoever it is, he's done "it" tired and now he's weak.

"If you can't find 'it' go back to the first clue."

"You have to figure out the clues and go to 'it'".

"It's just that I think about him a lot."

"I felt partially to blame just because I was watching 'it'".

"Surely 'it' won't be long before our government enacts legislation..."

"...but before you go , look at the poem as if 'it' were a map, because 'it' is, and like any other map, 'it' will show you where to go if you follow 'its' directions."

How many hints about "it" do you need?