Welcome to Reggie’s world
There are some places that look as though they are hiding a secret.
Clawsworth Hall was definitely one of them.
Perched among ancient trees and overgrown gardens, the old Sussex manor had stood for centuries. Its stone walls were weathered, its windows tall and dark, and its history was considerably more interesting than the Clawsworth family usually let on.
Reggie had been invited to explore the Hall.
Naturally, he was curious.
Naturally, this was going to be a mistake.
Small does not mean harmless
1 – The Mystery of Clawsworth Hall
Reggie stopped just inside the gates.
The great house stood at the end of a long gravel drive, framed by trees and formal gardens. Somewhere behind those walls were generations of Clawsworth family history, old expedition journals and a collection of fossils that had apparently not been properly catalogued for decades.
Reggie liked fossils.
He also liked mysteries.
Unfortunately, he had a habit of finding both.
As he made his way towards the Hall, something caught his eye.
A footprint.
Not a boot print.
Not a dog.
Not even a particularly large bird.
It had three long toes, pressed clearly into the soft earth beside the path.
Reggie stared at it.
Then he looked down at his own feet.
“That’s interesting.”
He followed the trail.
Three more footprints led around the side of the Hall before disappearing beneath a thick patch of ivy.
Reggie pushed the leaves aside.
Behind them was an old wooden panel set into the stone wall.
It looked as though it hadn’t been touched in years.
He pressed it.
Nothing happened.
He pressed it again.
CLICK.
The panel moved.
Reggie froze.
Well, that’s rarely a good sign
2 – Behind the Panel
A narrow passage disappeared into darkness.
Reggie switched on his light and carefully made his way inside.
The air was cold and smelled of dust, stone and something much older.
The walls were covered with strange markings.
Some looked like numbers.
Others looked almost like footprints.
At the end of the passage was a small room.
Inside stood an old wooden desk, several battered storage cases and a bookshelf covered in dust.
On the desk was a notebook.
Reggie carefully opened it.
The handwriting was old-fashioned and hurried.
The final entry was dated:
17 October 1894
Beneath the date was a single sentence:
The specimen has been secured beneath the Hall.
Reggie looked at the floor.
Then at the walls.
Then back at the notebook.
“Secured?”
He wasn’t sure he liked that word.
Beside the notebook was a small object wrapped in faded cloth.
Reggie lifted the covering.
Underneath was a fossilised claw.
Long.
Curved.
And unmistakably from a predatory dinosaur.
Reggie stared at it.
“Now that,” he whispered, “is interesting.”
Then something moved somewhere beneath the floor.
THUMP.
Reggie slowly turned his head.
“Please tell me that was the building.”
There was another sound.
THUMP.
It wasn’t the building.
3 – The Claw
Reggie carefully returned the fossil to the desk.
There was something unsettling about the notebook.
The writer hadn’t simply hidden the specimen.
They had deliberately secured it beneath the Hall.
Why?
And what had they been afraid of?
Reggie turned another page.
Nothing.
Another.
Blank.
Then, near the back, he found a rough sketch.
It showed the Hall.
Beneath it was a series of three marks.
The same three marks he had seen on the wall.
Reggie looked down.
The floorboards beneath the desk were slightly raised.
He moved closer.
There was a narrow gap.
Before he could investigate, a metallic sound came from somewhere below.
CLICK.
Reggie slowly looked towards the doorway.
The door was still open.
But he was certain it hadn’t been open quite that far a moment ago.
He backed towards the desk.
“Right,” he said.
“Time for a sensible decision.”
He paused.
4 – The Reveal
Reggie returned to the corridor.
Something had changed.
A portrait hanging on the wall was slightly crooked.
He approached it.
Behind the frame was a narrow gap.
Inside was another symbol.
Three lines.
One circle.
And beneath them, scratched into the stone:
17
Reggie stared at it.
Then he smiled.
“I think I’ve found another one.”
From somewhere beneath the Hall came a distant sound.
THUMP.
Reggie looked towards the floor.
“Although,” he added, “I rather think it may have found me first.”
Although, I rather think it may have found me first.
Reggie’s Field Notes
So, what was a velociraptor actually like?
The real Velociraptor was very different from the giant movie monsters many people imagine.
It lived roughly 74–70 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Mongolia.
It was a relatively small dromaeosaurid dinosaur, probably around the size of a large turkey or small wolf, depending on how it is estimated.
Its most famous feature was the large, curved sickle-shaped claw on each hind foot.
That claw was not simply a weapon for slashing. It was part of a specialised foot structure that scientists believe played an important role in hunting and gripping prey.
And yes, Reggie has noticed.
The Clawsworth Files
The Clawsworth family had lived at the Hall for generations.
But their interest in fossils began much later.
During the nineteenth century, members of the family travelled extensively, collecting fossils, geological specimens and archaeological objects from expeditions across Europe and beyond.
Their collection eventually became known as the Clawsworth Collection.
Some specimens were carefully recorded.
Others were simply placed in cabinets and forgotten.
Family journals mention several discoveries that were never publicly displayed.
One particular expedition is repeatedly referred to in the surviving records.
The details are incomplete.
The location was never properly recorded.
And somewhere in the archives is believed to be a reference to a specimen that the Clawsworths considered too important to release.
A specimen hidden beneath the Hall.
Can you Solve Reggies Clue?
Reggie has found three things:
3 Three strange footprints.
1 One hidden passage.
17 A notebook dated 17 October.
Put them together:
3 • 1 • 17
But what does it mean?
Look carefully at the symbols Reggie discovered in the hidden room.
There may be another clue hiding in plain sight.
Can you work out what Reggie should investigate next?