Book of Secrets

(Jym, January 04, 2013) I'm compiling here most of the hints toward deciphering the secrets gathered either on the forum or on the Steam thread. I'm putting the hints in "spoiler" boxes like this one :

This is a spoiler

It's just written in white on white. So select the content of the box to see the spoiler (or triple-click in the box).

For the most obvious hints (sometimes directly the solution), I double-back by giving it in rot13 as to diminish the risk of unintentionally seeing it... Use a rot13 translator do decipher it.

I'm keeping original author's name as much as possible but I may have sometime lost it following the thread of the discussion. Thanks to all the contributors of the thread on the Steam forum and especially to zakhennahr for his own compilation of hints gathered in the thread.

The book of secrets

When equipped, the book of secrets has two effects :

1. A new location appears on the map (available after "Zelemir appears" level) where you can enter codes to obtain gold and "unobtainium" skulls and trade these for special books.
2. When you enter a level or cutscene with a clue to one or more code for a gold skull, a star flashes in the top-left corner. Clues for unobtainium skulls don't have flash, hence the name.

Meaning of the flash:

1. The color of the flash indicates how the code should be inputed at the statue (blackguard).
2. Red: letters ; Blue: numbers ; Yellow: use the flute (blackguard).

The special books are the one listed as Secret Books. The first three cost 3 gold skulls each. The last one costs 2 unobtainium skulls.

The codes can be entered either with the keyboard or the strange "keys" on the statues. The statues-keys flash when you type something on the keyboard, so it's easy to find the correspondence. Once a code has been successfully entered at the statues, the "heart" flashes. Click on it to get the skull.

Gold skulls

1/ Statues

1. The teeth are keys, but what do the eyes do?
2. The eyes are arrows.
3. Use a well-known age old cheat code. (Scribe13, zakhennahr).
4. Search for "Xbanzv pbqr" to get it.
5. hc, hc, qbja, qbja, yrsg, evtug, yrsg, evtug, O, N.

2/ Tips

1. One of the tips may be deceiving you. Read it closely. (Scribe13).
2. If you know where to start, you'll find it (TajMahaj).
3. The tips section has a Public Service Announcement. What's the acronym of the Public Service Announcement, again? (zakhennahr).
4. Gur pbqr vf gur npebalz bs gur grkg bs gur uvag. Orjner gung bar yrggre frrzf gb or zvffvat.
5. guvfvfagnpbqr ("guvf vfa'g n pbqr" naq abg "guvf vf abg n pbqr").

3/ Endless 2

1. The map itself is the hint.
2. The Endless 2 challenge is in the shape of a famous creature (zakhennahr).
3. The creature is a Final Fantasy enemy (zakhennahr).
4. Find this creature's special attack and name (zakhennahr).
5. It looks a bit like a cactus, but what's its name?
6. It's a pnpghne (blackguard).
7. Search "pnpghne fcrpvny fubg" (Lin).

4/ Storm the Sheep

1. The map itself is the clue. What do you see in it?
2. You might ask a blind friend to help you see it (zakhennahr).
3. Blind people can read and write.
4. The first letter is "C"
5. Blinds use the Oenvyyr alphabet (zakhennahr).
6. The strange spots in the map are placed to form Braille letters. The code is these letters.

5/ Storm the Sheep casual/normal

1. Look closely, but don't fall asleep.
2. Counting the sheep might be a good idea.
3. The number of sheep per wave (up to a certain point) form a well-known sequence (blackguard).
4. It's called a Svobanppv frdhrapr.
5. Gur pbqr vf gur ahzoref bs furrc cre juvgr jnir (gur frdhrapr fgbcf ng gur svefg oyhr jnir).
6. (in number) "bar bar gjb guerr svir rvtug guvegrra gjragl-bar guvegl-sbhe".

6/ Storm the Sheep advanced

1. Don't fall asleep doing this.
2. Sometimes counting sheep is a good idea.
3. They sure do come galloping in a nice rhythm.
4. Did you notice that some are quick and some are slow?
5. People needing help have been known to try quick-quick-quick slow-slow-slow quick-quick-quick
6. What kind of animal can you use to write? (Hakami-chan) [Ed. This may be a misleading/mistranslated clue.]
7. Use Morse (Hakami-chan).
8. --. --- --- ..- - ... .. -.. .
9. The sheep are telling you to "TB BHGFVQR", but how do you enter that message at the monument? (zakhennahr)
10. You must enter the code the same way you found it. (zakhennahr).
11. Did you know that the flute can produce two sounds? (zakhennahr)
12. Try short presses and long presses.
13. The code must be entered as Morse, using the flute (spacebar) for dot (short press) and dash (long press).
14. It's the Morse for "GO OUTSIDE". Perhaps a hint that you've been working on puzzles too long?

7/ Royal Record Room cutscene

I have not done the whole process of deciphering this one, so some hints are only guess at what is needed.

1. Something is encoded in the background (zakhennahr)
2. Where have we seen this alphabet before?
3. An expert in cryptograms would have solved this in the standard game's first act.
4. It's much easier to decipher once you've unlocked New Game+ (blackguard).
5. Check other cutscenes.
6. Especially Act 1 scene 2 and Act 6 scene 5 (Scribe13).
7. In these scenes, Eztli-Tenoch is speaking, in runes in normal game, in English is NG+, thus, you can decipher the alphabet used on the stone.
8. Whoops, looks like something got flipped.
9. Enter the whole text, no spaces (zakhennahr).
10. No, really. Enter the whole long text. You can type on a real keyboard instead of clicking on the screen if that helps.
11. Give up? The answer is GURLFNLGUNGPNGRMGYVGRABPUVFBARONQZBGUNFUHGLBHEZBHGUOHGVZGNYXVANOBHGRMGYVGRABPUGURAJRPNAQVTVG (Cyriel) (beware of typos...)

8/ Royal Record Room

I have not done the whole process of deciphering this one, so some hints are only guess at what is needed.

1. The hint is the map. Examine it closely.
2. Some of these stick out.
3. It's hard to see, but leave nothing unturned.
4. Don't get stoned
5. What colors are the stones? (oynpx naq juvgr)
6. What encoding uses two symbols? (zakhennahr)
7. The white and black stones are binary.
8. How is text commonly encoded in binary?
9. Use ASCII to decipher the binary, but it's not the last step (zakhennahr).
10. The text reads "Rmgyv-Grabpu" (blackguard).
11. You need to translate this once more (zakhennahr).
12. Know any Nahuatl? (Eztli's mother probably should have used a better Baby Names book.)
13. It's an Aztec name. But what's its English translation?
14. "Tenoch" means "sehvg" (zakhennahr).
15. Search "rmgyv grabpu sehvg" gur nafjre vf npghnyyl ba gur QD'f genafyngbef sbehz...
16. Give up? The answer is oybbqsehvg

9/ Royal Record Room expert

1. Don't get lost (blackguard).
2. Count the enemies (blackguard).
3. Gur pbqr vf gur "Ybfg ahzoref", vg'f gur ahzore bs rarzvrf va gur svefg jnirf.
4. (in number) "sbhe rvtug svsgrra fvkgrra gjragl-guerr sbegl-gjb".

Unobtainium skulls

So far (Jan 04, 2013), only one unobtainium skull has been found but there could be two as two of them are required to buy the last book.

1/ Royal Record Room cutscene

I have not done the whole process of deciphering this one, so some hints are only guess at what is needed.

1. The hint is hidden the same way the hint for the gold skull is (blackguard).
2. Call Jenny (Cyriel, zakhennahr).
3. You need her number to call her.
4. It's in the title of an old song.
5. Search "pnyy Wraal ahzore".
6. (in number) "rvtug fvk frira svir guerr mreb avar".

2/ ???

As far as I can tell, no one has found the second unobtainium skull.

It may even be possible that it does not exists... From the description available at the "book store", the book is probably Azra's journal (that is written during NG+). Thus, it would make sense to be really unobtainable because it's not written yet.

Wild guess: since the first unobtainable skull hint is hidden together with a gold skull hint, it is possible that the same thing occurs for the second one.

Update: The second has been found by some. Hints (not the answer itself) are:

Update2: Less ambiguous hint from Whisperling on the forums.

1. "The final secret isn't hidden anywhere in the game. You already know the answer, you just don't know you know it."- "No, it's not outside the universe of the game itself, but neither does it have anything to do with the game. It's not hinted, but you already know it. There's nothing you can do to figure it out, beyond realizing that you know the answer. "  (Whisperling).
2. "You have all already discovered this code during your earlier pursuits, but not yet discovered how to input it". (lars.doucet) -> Possibly reffering back to the discussion  at the steam-community.
3. You already found the code as a result of finding the other 10 codes. This means it has to be one of those 10 codes. (Whisperling)
4. You don't know how to input it yet. This means you have to think of different ways to input it at the statues than you originally input it. It's not frustrating at all to input, it takes maybe 15-30 seconds to input once you know how to input it. (Whisperling)
5. Xbanzv. Npebalz

Codes

Written here are the actual codes. Don't look unless you want to be spoiled. They are not encrypted with rot13, so highlight at own risk.

They also contain no explanation as to what it refers to or anything of the sort. Look at the hints for that.

First 9 unlocks Gold Skulls, last two unlocks Unobtanium Skulls.

• The last code is currently unknown to most of us. You'll have to either figure it out from the hints above, or just wait until it becomes public knowledge. -Added the Answer.

1. up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A (using the eyes of the statues for the directions)
2. thisisntacode
3. cactuar
4. cidwashere
5. 112358132134
6. - - . - - - - - - . . - - . . . . . - . . . (use the flute to write in Morse code. It might be easier to reference a shorthand style of long and short notes. In this case: "2L, 1S, 6L, 2S, 2L, 5S, 1L, 3S.") 
7. "THEYSAYTHATCATEZTLITENOCHISONEBADMOTHASHUTYOURMOUTHBUTIMTALKINABOUTEZTLITENOCHTHENWECANDIGIT" (yes you have to type all that in)
8. bloodfruit
9. 4815162342
10. 8675309
11. ..- ..- -.. -.. .-.. .-. .-.. .-. -... .- (use the flute to write in Morse code. Alternately "2S, 1L, 2S, 2L, 2S, 1L, 3S, 1L, 3S, 1L, 2S, 1L, 3S, 1L, 1S, 1L, 4S, 1L")