The original Da Vinci Code quest is basically a promotion for the Dan Brown novel 'The Da Vinci Code' (read amazon reviews on the novel). If you should choose to undertake the quest, there is one part where you would need the book itself in order to solve that part of the puzzle. If you should make it that far, the account number required for the Zurich bank account is 1123581321. There is also an instance where you need to call a phone number - the number is a New York number, just so you know.

The ending of the Da Vinci Code webquest ..well I won't tell you what happens at the end, but it's the challenge of the quest itself rather than the result that makes it entertaining anyway. If you get stuck (which you probably will) I have all the answers to complete the quest. Try to solve it yourself, but if you can't, then you can view the solutions further down this entry, step by step, both in brief, and then in more detail.

Good luck!

..update 10th March, 2004..

There are now two quests available:
original da vinci code quest
second da vinci code webquest

These are the answers (in brief format) to solve the original Da Vinci Quest (scroll down for more detailed solutions):

• leonardo
• the last supper
• denon
• go to www.robertlangdon.com
• click 'contact'
• send an e-mail to the address given (auto-response)
• go to www.relic-bay.com as instructed by the email
• search for 'LSPDV'
• click the advert to the Zurich bank website
• enter name 'marie denarnaud'
• enter account number '1123581321'
• call 1212-782-9920 for website address
• go to www.doubleknightbooks.com
• click 'enter our site' button
• click 'employee message board' link
• enter name 'jonas faukman'
• enter password 'venice'
• click 'Jonas, I've got the key!' message link
• click the 'www.robertlangdon.com/secretpage.htm' link
• enter password 'ankh'
• enter 'the truth will be told in 2003'
• call 1212-782-9932 for a message from Dan Brown, the author of 'Da Vinci Code'.

These are the answers to solve the second Da Vinci Quest (scroll down for more detailed solutions):

• the mona lisa
• paris
• the priory of sion
• kryptos
• ww
• is there no help for the widows son
• Freemasons
• e pluribus unum
• click on the left eye of the face of mona lisa (her right, your left).

Many visitors here have asked for details of how the solutions were found, so here's how:

When you start this first quest, you are posed with a fairly simple question,
"My Friend, I bid you welcome to this quest. Before we start, I pose a painless test. To prove you're worthy of this noble game, Please type (with care) DaVinci's give name."
Pretty straight forward - the answer here is Leonardo.
"Was that too simple? Yes it was, my friend. One more to prove yourself 'fore we begin."

The next screen contains the following message, followed by three input boxes for the answer:
"uYo kese a smafuo rocsef ni linaM. (sUe loGoge nad eht tthur liwl ielykqu wa.dn)"
You can do one of two things here - either look at the jumbled letters and rearrange them to make words, or just run your mouse pointer over each word and they will solve themselves for you. The question here is,
"You seek a famous fresco in Milan. (Use Google and the truth will quickly dawn)."
The answer here is The Last Supper, one of Da Vinci's most famous paintings.
"I hear you scoff, 'How simple this all seems!' I warn you, though, this path with puzzles teems. There are six gates through which you'll have to pass. Each gate, of course, more trying than the last."

The next screen gives the following message:
"Gate Number One requires clever wit. A riddle in all ancient symbols writ. A font of information.. but unclear. Transform the text, and watch your truth appear."

To solve this one, you select (highlight) and copy the text in the grey box (as pictured) and then paste it into a word processor such as MS Word, and the font will change into enlish lettering and give you the following:
"Well done, my friend, I sense your heart is true. You now have earned the right to your next clue: The Mona Lisa's dwelling once housed kings. A lavish Paris palace with three wings. One wing is Sully... one is Richelieu. Please name the third (I've mentioned only two)."
This is asking for the name of the third of the three wings in the building where the Mona Lisa painting is stored - the lavish Paris Palace of course being the Louvre. A search on Google will reveal the third wing in the Louvre is named Denon - which is the answer here.

The next screen displays the following message:
"Beware, another gate now waits for you. A famous 'code' by he whom Brutus slew. These letters-twenty-five-a perfect square, Will tell you whom to contact (if you dare)."
WTRGOWRTDTWOLOCDBANOOENDM
He whom Brutus slew is of course Julius Caesar (the whole 'et tu Brutus' thing) and the famous code is the Caesar's Square. To apply this cipher, you rearrange the 25 letters into a 5 by 5 pattern as follows:
  W  T  R  G  O
  W  R  T  D  T
  W  O  L  O  C
  D  B  A  N  O
  O  E  N  D  M
Reading down the first column of letters, you get 'WWWDO'. The second column gives you 'TROBE' and so on.. when you put them all together, you get 'WWWDOTROBERTLANGDONDOTCOM'. Look at that a little closer.. yup, it's a website address: www.robertlangdon.com, so the next stage is to go visit that website. This completes Gate Two of the quest.

When you arrive at www.robertlangdon.com - The Official Website Of Harvard Symbologist Robert Langdon - have a read because some of the info on this page will come in handy later in the quest. When you're done reading, click on the 'Contact' word or the envelope image at the lower right of the page. The resulting page gives the message:
"Bravo, my friend, I see you've found your way. What challenge you face next, I cannot say. Professor Robert Langdon knows your task, he will respond in minutes if you ask."
This is followed by an email address of questions@robertlangdon.com. Send an email to this address (just a blank email is fine) and you'll receive an auto-response in a couple of minutes:

Thank you for writing. I apologize for this automated response, but I am currently in Florence attempting to locate the key to "The Prophecy" - an encoded parchment that may have been written by Leonardo Da Vinci. I will respond to your message upon my return.
Sincerely,
Robert Langdon
Jonas, If this is you, DON'T erase this email - I can only send it once. Something terrible has happened. I was attacked outside my hotel, and the parchment was stolen! I think the thieves intend to auction it on-line. I don't have reliable web access here, and I need your help. You must find this auction immediately and track down the parchment. Here are the two best art-related auction sites:
http://www.auctionport.com
http://www.relic-bay.com
When you search, you should definitely include the initials "LSPDV" because they are so rare. Please do everything in your power to locate the parchment soon - I must get it back. I'm getting very close to uncovering the key to the code.
- Robert

Go to the relic-bay site, and enter the initials LSPDV in the input box where it says "Enter keywords related to the relic you are seeking." and then click the 'find relics' button. The search will give you a result with an option 'Click to view item >>' ..click it. That is Gate Three completed I believe.

On to Gate Four. On the resulting page (the detailed auction item), there is a banner at the bottom of the page for the Depository Bank of Zurich. Click it. In the resulting page there is an input box to 'gain access'. Enter the name Marie Denarnaud (from the previous relic-bay auction page) and hit the login button. You will then be asked for an account number to verify your identity. The account number is actually the Fibonacci Sequence, which is 1123581321 (this also comes from the Da Vinci Code book).
The resulting page refers you to Robert Langdon's editor Jonas Faukman at the Doubleknight Publishing Group in New York on phone (212) 782-9920. If you phone this number (I live in NYC so no problem), you get a recorded message from Jonas Faukman which basically refers you to their website doubleknightbooks.com. Among other things is an email address for Jonas Faukman. Send a blank email to jfaukman@doubleknightbooks.com and in a few minutes you'll get an auto-response:

Thank you for your inquiry. I'm currently editing out of the office but I'll get back to you as soon as I return. Robert, if this is you please leave me a message on our employee message board (use my name to login). I've reset the password to something we both know - the name of the city where we had our photo taken together recently.
-Jonas Faukman
[ATTENTION: Due to routine maintenance of the Doubleknight website, this message will be the only response you receive from this employee today.]

If you go back to their website (doubleknightbooks.com) there is a button near the top left 'Enter Our Site' - click it. The resulting page provides a link to the employee message board. Click on that link and you will asked to identify yourself. Enter the employee name Jonas Faukman and click submit, and you will then be asked for the password. The name of the city where Jonas and Robert had their photo taken together recently comes from the robertlangdon.com website I mentioned earlier to keep note of.. there is a photo there with the subtitle "Robert Langdon and editor J. Faukman celebrating Venetian Carnivale", so the city is Venice (if you right-click the image and look at the properties, the name of the image is langdoninvenice.jpg just to make it more obvious). Enter Venice as the password to access Jonas' messages.

The fourth message is titled "Jonas, I've got the key!" - click on it. The message provides a link to a 'secret' page at robertlangdon.com/secretpage.htm where you will then be asked for a password:
"Well done! You've found my secret site. To proceed, all you have to do is type the name of my favorite symbol (it's on my website)."
If you go back to robertlangdon.com you will see the symbol twice at the top of the page on either side of the title - it's an ankh. Enter ankh as the password and hit submit.

By my reckoning, you are now at Gate Six.
"Here it is, Jonas. A photo of the key to this mysterious code. (I've also posted a photo of the original parchment so you can decipher it.) The code is far simpler than I ever imagined. As we suspected, the decrypted message appears to be a prophecy."
Your mission here is to break the code and enter the prophecy into the box provided.

The key (left) is a grid, and each section of the grid contains some letters or numbers. The prophecy (right) contains a collection of rectangles with a dot inside each. Some of the rectangles have one or more borders missing - this is used to show which one of the sections of the grid it corresponds to, and the dot inside tells you the position of the letter (or number) to use from that corresponding grid box. For example, a rectangle with all four sides intact would correspond to the grid box in the middle containing 'QRST' as it also has all four sides intact. Pretty easy once you've got that figured. The resulting merssage is the truth will be told in 2003. Enter this into the box provided on the page which shows the key and the prophecy parchments and hit submit.

Congrats, you are done. There is a congratulatory message which refers you to New York phone number 1-212-782-9932. If you call this number, you get a recorded message from Dan Brown himself, basically congratulating you for completing the quest. Due to popular request, and since I'm living in New York, I've rung it again and the transcript is as follows:

*music plays*   Hi, this is Dan Brown, author of the Da Vinci Code. If you're calling this number, I assume you've solved the web quest, so congratulations, well done.
I hope you enjoyed taking this quest, as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. Of course, if you've not yet read the Da Vinci Code, I hope you will soon. In the meantime, I'll be hard at work on the next Robert Langdon thriller.
Thanks again for playing, and congratulations on completing your quest.

So that's the first quest.

"Welcome, fellow reader of The Da Vinci Code. Leonardo was a known trickster who liked to hide secrets in plain sight, often encoded within his artwork. Now, like the secrets hidden in Leonardo's art, a series of codes has been hidden for you. These codes are visible to the naked eye, and they are already in your possession."

This is the start of the second webquest, 'Uncover The Code'. After a couple more intro screens, the first of three test questions are posed:

A Florence wife possessed a knowing smile, and dark mysterious eyes that did beguile. Her portrait 'La Gioconda rose to fame, although we know her by another name. What is the more common name of Leonardo Da Vinci's famous painting 'La Gioconda'?

Pretty straight forward this one - The Mona Lisa.

Indeed, dear friend, you've made a solid start, and earned a second question de l'art. Does Mona hang in Venice or Rome (or is it somewhere else that she calls home?). In what city does The Mona Lisa reside?

Another fairly straight forward one - the Mona Lisa resides in Paris, in the Louvre.

Correct again, you're very nearly there. One test remains - concerning Jacques Saunière. A man of art, he garnered deep respect, among the brethren of a secret sect. To what secret society did Jacques Saunière belong?

A quick Google search will tell you that Jacques Saunière was the curator at the Louvre, and was a member of the Priory of Sion, which is the answer for this third question.
Now we get to the first code.

Five authors brave gave quotes to DVC. Look closely to their left and you will see, a string of backwards symbols heading north (beginning near the quote occuring fourth). Gaze long and hard, have faith, there's something there. When it appears, reflect on it with care. Once you see the hidden code, you must answer this question: What enigmatic sculpture stands one degree north of the location indicated in the code?

Ok now things get a little difficult. First you need to find the code on the book cover. As suggested, It's next to the fourth comment on the back cover. The code is inverted, so look at in a mirror (reflect on it) to reveal the actual code:
37 degrees 57 minutes 6.5 seconds North 77 degrees 8 minutes 44 seconds West
Search on Google for a location one degree north of the above (ie: 38 degrees 57 minutes 6.5 seconds North 77 degrees 8 minutes 44 seconds West ) and currently about 5th in the search is a link to a page at elonka.com which discusses the sculpture located on the grounds of CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia (pictured). Installed in 1990, its thousands of characters contain encrypted messages, of which three have been solved so far - there is still a fourth section at the bottom consisting of 97 or 98 characters which remains uncracked. The sculptor is James Sanborn. The sculpture is known as Kryptos, which is the answer to this webquest question.

We now move on to the second question in this quest.

One deciphered portion of Kryptos offers the enigmatic message:

They used the earth's magnetic field. The information was gathered and transmitted underground to an unknown location. Does Langley know about this? They should: it's buried out there somewhere. Who knows the exact location?

According to Kryptos, what are the initials of the person who knows the exact location?"

Further reading on the Kryptos sculpture reveals this answer. According to Gillogly's translation of Kryptos, the above decryption continues with the following message:

..who knows the exact location? Only WW. This was his last message. Thirty eight degrees fifty seven minutes six point five seconds north, seventy seven degrees eight minutes forty four seconds west. ID by rows.

So the answer for this second question are the initials WW. In addition, on the back cover of the book in the torn bit you can see the words 'only WW knows' if you turn the book upside down.

There was a lot of speculation as to who WW was, but Sanborn finally confirmed the answer in January 2005: WW stands for William Webster, who was the Director of the CIA at the time that Kryptos was installed, and according to Sanborn was one of the driving forces in getting more art for the Agency. When Kryptos was dedicated in 1990, Sanborn gave an envelope to Webster which allegedly contained the answers (however, Sanborn has since said that the envelope did not contain the full story).

This takes us to the third question in this quest:

The cover flap describes the novel's plot, but simple words can often hide a lot. Within those parameters (and shrouded fast), resides a mystic phrase from ages past. To make your quest... abandon any fears, if you are bold, the font of truth appears.

Ok we're looking for an eight word phrase here, letters numbering 2,5,2,4,3,3,7,3. If you look inside the covers of the book, you will find that some letters are in bold font. Extracting these letters (and one apostrophe) and putting them together gives you the answer to this question:
  is there no help for the widow's son
Enter in the spaces provided and click submit.

The next question is based on the above phrase.

For which ancient brotherhood (still active today) does this phrase have special meaning?

I didn't have a clue about this one, but a quick search solved that. As it turns out, 'Is there no help for the widow's son?' was the title of a now famous talk given before a Mormon audience in 1974 that sought to establish a connection between Freemasonry and the founder of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, Joseph Smith. The talk was secretly taped and has been widely circulated, much to the chagrin of many in the Mormon Church. Many Masonic lodges have 'widow's son' events to this day. The answer, therefore, is Freemasons.

Nearly there. Now another cypher question:

A dolphin and an anchor (but no sea). A triangle on white is also key. Between the two you'll find a crimson field, Upon it printed faintly is a seal. Each number to a chapter points the way. Each chapter starts with words in muted gray. The letter that is first is what you seek, Thirteen of them (and though it all looks greek). Add three all-seeing-eyes - a perfect square, Begin at E, and Caesar guides you there.
What famous phrase is printed around the seal?

This uses the Caesar's Box or Square which was used in the first quest. On the back cover of the book just near the barcode is a faint seal with a bunch of numbers. Each number refers to the first letter of the first word that appears in that corresponding chapter (for example, the number 8 would refer to the first letter of the first word in chapter 8). Once you've got them all, arrange them in a Caesar's Square like so (the § sign represents the eye and pyramid image in the sequence of numbers):

  E  U  U  N
  §  R  S  U
  P  I  §  M
  L  B  U  §

Now you just read down column by column just like in the first quest and you have your answer:
  E Pluribus Unum

This phrase is Latin for "Out of many, one" which appears on the Great Seal of the United States and apparently refers to the unification of the thirteen colonies into one nation.

Almost done. The last part is more an instruction:

The eyes of Mona Lisa launched this quest, and now her knowing gaze lays it to rest. The French would say her 'oeil droit' holds the key, just point and click on it and you're home free!

In French, 'oeil droit' means 'right eye' - not a tough one here - just click on the left eye of the face of Mona Lisa (her right, your left). Congrats, you're done!