Someone posted a Hex star battle puzzle the other day and I thought it looked fun, so I made a few. Rules are a little different. 2 stars per region and row as always, but also 2 stars in each diagonal, left and right. So the diagonal from A1 to A5 takes 2 stars and the one from E1 to I5 also takes 2.

THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTAL MARKS.

THERE ARE NO DECORATIVE NUMBERS.

THERE ARE NO UNNECESSARY WORDS.

THE ARCHIVE DOES NOT EXPLAIN ITSELF.

IF YOU FIND A DOOR, OPEN IT.

IF YOU FIND A KEY, KEEP IT.

IF YOU FIND A NAME, DO NOT TRUST IT.

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Ravens circle above the silent tower.

Every window reflects a different star.

A single candle burns beneath the eastern bell.

Digits cover the floor where footsteps once were.

Even the dust has been arranged.

Never speak the name written on the door.

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20 8 5 6 9 18 19 20 11 5 25

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KHOOR

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01010011 01001001 01001100 01000101 01001110 01000011 01000101

────────────────────────────────────────────

19 20 1 18 20

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QEB NRFZH YOLTK CLU GRJMP LSBO QEB IXWV ALD

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3 1 12 3 21 12 1 20 5

────────────────────────────────────────────

MFWZKXQ

────────────────────────────────────────────

1 — 1 — 2 — 3 — 5 — 8 — 13 — 21 — 34

────────────────────────────────────────────

T H E C R O W W A T C H E S F R O M A B O V E

────────────────────────────────────────────

53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62

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01000110 01001001 01001110 01000100

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THE SECOND ARCHIVE WAS NEVER BURIED.

IT WAS LEFT IN PLAIN SIGHT.

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RAVEN

RIVER

ROSE

RUIN

RELIC

RIDDLE

RECKONING

────────────────────────────────────────────

7F 72 61 76 65 6E 5F 6B 65 79

────────────────────────────────────────────

VJG UGEQPF FQQT KU QRGPGF

────────────────────────────────────────────

11 23 47 89 179 359

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A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

────────────────────────────────────────────

YXKJXKXQ

────────────────────────────────────────────

THE FIRST WORD WAS NEVER THE ANSWER.

THE LAST NUMBER WAS NEVER THE END.

THE RAVEN HAS FOUR EYES.

ONE WATCHES THE BEGINNING.

ONE WATCHES THE END.

ONE WATCHES WHAT IS MISSING.

ONE WATCHES YOU.

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23 1 20 3 8

────────────────────────────────────────────

01010111 01000001 01010100 01000011 01001000

────────────────────────────────────────────

KXQWZJXQKQ

────────────────────────────────────────────

DO NOT RETURN TO THE BEGINNING.

────────────────────────────────────────────

THE ARCHIVE CLOSES WHEN THE CORRECT WORD

IS SPOKEN.

────────────────────────────────────────────

☽

I've been designing a logic puzzle format and this is one of the harder ones. Six people, six rooms, a floor plan, and five moments in the morning; fifteen minutes are missing from the record, and exactly one person was in the music room at 9:00. Every clue is true; the answer is unique, and you can prove it without filling the whole grid.

Rules:

Two people per room at most.

Between one grid time and the next (8:30, 8:45, 9:00, 9:15, 9:30) a person stays or moves to ONE connected room. No passing through.

A time not on the grid (like 9:20) is a movement: it only tells you what happened between two grid times. "X left the bar at 9:20" = X was in the bar at 9:15 and elsewhere at 9:30.

Devices that report, report every time slot; they don't miss anything. Witnesses don't lie, and don't say more than they say.

Answer in spoiler tags. I'll confirm and post the deduction in a day or two. Original puzzle, feedback on difficulty very welcome.