Puzzletober 2025: Starfish
The newcomer stands in front of a door on the second floor labeled with the number one. It matches the digit on the key in his palm. He is about to place the key in the lock when he hears footsteps coming up the stairs. They recognize each other. The diver observes the key in his hand and takes an interest in seeing his room. "I've always wanted to see what the deluxe suites look like, but the actor never allows anyone in." He thinks for a bit and says, "How about this. If you show me your room first, I'll show you mine." The unpacked suitcase is still by his side. She accepts the offer and opens the door to the adjacent room.
The plasterboard is painted a soothing tint of blue. A window in the back wall overlooks the forest with the lake, offering a slight glimpse of a small building not very deep in the woods. In the back-right corner is a bunk bed; next to it is a side table with drawers. On the table is a battery-operated lamp and a necklace featuring an irregular dodecagon. After stepping inside, the sound of water directs his attention to a tank filled to the brim in the opposite corner of the room. It is elevated by a stool and distanced appropriately from the wall to the extent that the wardrobe along the left wall is decentered.
Eight starfish cling to the walls of the box. She grabs a canister of something and sprinkles it across the floor of the tank. Instinctively, the starfish slide down to the base and begin to feed. "They're very opportunistic. Usually they have to look around for missed pockets to find more food, but it looks like it's working out nicely today." "That one's finished quickly," says the newcomer, referring to one which had decided to stay stationary after leaving the wall. She says, "I guess he just wasn't hungry. That one, however." She points at the only starfish which is still eating, neatly cleaning up what the others left behind. They wait for it to finish. "That one had a total of... wow, that's my lucky number." "How so?" "Well, for starters, that letter of the alphabet is my first initial... I suppose you don't need more than that."
Rules: This puzzle is a combination of Star Battle and Anglers. There should be one starfish in every row and column; one has been drawn for you. No two starfish are adjacent, even diagonally. Additionally, from every clue on the edge of the grid, a line should be drawn passing through that many cells, never moving diagonally, branching or crossing, that ends on a starfish. Question marks represent unknown numbers. Every cell in the grid is entered by exactly one line.
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