Year Unknown — The Seventh Week

The boy has found the door.

He was not supposed to find it.

Not yet.

For seven weeks I have watched him walk the halls of the academy.

He has solved every puzzle I placed before him.

Some quickly.

Others only after failure taught him what confidence could not.

But yesterday he did something none of my other apprentices had done.

He stopped looking for answers.

And began looking for questions.

The Missing Symbol

There are seventy-two symbols carved throughout the academy.

Every apprentice eventually notices them.

Most assume they are decoration.

The clever ones discover that the symbols form patterns.

The very clever discover that those patterns correspond to the mechanisms hidden throughout the academy.

But the boy noticed something else.

There should have been seventy-three.

He came to me after supper.

"Master," he said, "where is the missing symbol?"

I pretended not to understand.

He knew I was lying.

I knew that he knew.

Neither of us mentioned it again.

A Puzzle Without Instructions

That night, he returned to the library.

He believed I was asleep.

A useful belief.

I watched from the upper gallery as he examined the western wall.

There is nothing remarkable about that wall.

Shelves.

Books.

Stone.

An old wooden table.

Thousands of students have passed it without stopping.

But the boy counted the shelves.

Then the stones.

Then the candles.

Finally...

he counted the shadows.

There were eight candles.

And nine shadows.

He smiled.

I did not.

The Door That Was Never Locked

The ninth shadow pointed toward a book no apprentice had touched in nearly a century.

The boy pulled it from the shelf.

Nothing happened.

He pushed it back.

Still nothing.

He opened it.

Blank pages.

He turned it upside down.

Nothing.

For nearly an hour he tried every solution he could imagine.

Then he sat upon the floor.

And laughed.

That was when I knew he was becoming dangerous.

Not because he had failed.

Because failure no longer frightened him.

He returned the book to its shelf.

Then he extinguished every candle.

The library became dark.

Eight shadows disappeared.

The ninth remained.

And on the western wall...

a doorway appeared.

The Hidden Chamber

I wrote before that there is one room within this academy that even my finest students have never entered.

That statement is no longer true.

The boy stood before the doorway for several minutes.

He did not enter.

This surprised me more than finding the door itself.

Most apprentices would have rushed forward.

Curiosity is powerful.

But curiosity without patience is merely another form of foolishness.

Instead, he examined the doorway.

There was no handle.

No lock.

No inscription.

Only the missing seventy-third symbol carved into the stone.

He reached toward it.

Then stopped.

"Master Merlin," he said.

I stepped from the darkness.

"You knew I was here?"

"No."

"Then why did you call my name?"

He looked at the symbol.

"Because whoever built this wanted me to find the door."

He paused.

"But they didn't want me to open it alone."

For the first time since his arrival...

I had nothing to teach him.

The Seventy-Third Symbol

The symbol upon the door is older than Camelot.

Older than this academy.

Older, perhaps, than the language in which I write these words.

I did not create it.

That is the secret I have kept from every apprentice.

I built the academy around it.

Not the other way around.

Long before Arthur.

Long before the Round Table.

Long before men called me Merlin...

I found this place.

The chamber was already here.

The door was already here.

And upon it rested the same symbol the boy discovered tonight.

I have spent years trying to understand what lies beyond it.

Magic will not open the door.

Strength will not open it.

No key I possess fits any lock because...

there is no lock.

The chamber requires something else.

Something I have never possessed.

The boy looked at me.

"What is behind it?"

"I do not know."

He smiled.

Not with disappointment.

With excitement.

"Good."

I fear I have chosen my apprentice too well.

The First Test

Tomorrow, I will allow him to try.

But he will not enter the chamber simply because he found it.

The academy has seven lessons.

He has completed six.

The final lesson has no instructions.

No spell.

No map.

No teacher.

Only a table.

Three objects.

And one question.

If he answers correctly...

the hidden chamber may finally open.

If he answers incorrectly...

I do not know what will happen.

Because no apprentice has ever reached the seventh lesson before.

Until now.

— Merlin

What Is the Hidden Chamber in Merlin's Academy?

According to the fictional journal of Merlin, the hidden chamber is the oldest mystery inside the academy.

Entry I revealed that Merlin's best apprentices had never entered it. Entry II adds an important discovery: Merlin did not build the chamber. He discovered it and later built his academy around it.

The unnamed First Apprentice finds the chamber by noticing a missing symbol and solving an unusual puzzle involving 72 symbols, eight candles, and a mysterious ninth shadow.

But discovering the door is only the beginning.

Before the apprentice can enter, Merlin requires him to complete the academy's seventh and final lesson.

What Are Merlin's Seven Lessons?

The surviving journal has not yet revealed all seven lessons.

What we know is that Merlin believes a true apprentice must develop more than magical ability. His academy teaches skills based on:

observation, curiosity, patience, reasoning, learning from failure, and solving problems in unexpected ways.

The seventh lesson appears to be different from everything that came before it.

There are no instructions.

There are only three objects and one question.

And even Merlin does not know what will happen if his apprentice chooses incorrectly.

The Journal Continues

The First Apprentice has discovered the hidden chamber.

Now he must face Merlin's final test.

Three objects will be placed before him.

Only one decision can open the door.

But the correct answer may not be an object at all.

Next: Merlin's Journal – Entry III: Three Objects, One Question

Discover Merlin's Wizarding Academy at Boxroom Escape Games

Merlin's Wizarding Academy is a fantasy-themed escape room adventure at Boxroom Escape Games in Hollywood, Florida.

Players become part of a magical academy where observation, teamwork, problem-solving, and attention to detail help them progress through puzzles and challenges.

Like the apprentice in Merlin's journal, your group will need to look beyond the obvious, communicate with one another, and search for connections that others might miss.

The journal tells the legend.

Inside Merlin's Wizarding Academy, your team gets to become part of the adventure.

Gather your fellow apprentices and see whether you have what it takes to solve Merlin's challenges.