The Banquet Plot
Since matins, a strange emptiness has walked the citadel: what stood in its place yesterday is gone today. Open searches have brought nothing; the time has come for questions asked aslant. Before you, one by one, will stand Filip the Steward, Costache the Toll-Keeper, Teofil the Chronicler and Brother Anselm. On the inquiry's table, like pieces in a game, lie the broken lantern, the guild seal, the amber necklace and the stained parchment. Take up the quill, follow the thread of the clues, and set your seal upon the verdict.
Suspects
He counts the crown's silver every evening. On some evenings the count comes out different - and he says nothing.
1.79 m
right-handed
grey eyes
chestnut hair
His scales weigh the goods; his eye, the merchant. Both can be "greased" at need.
1.80 m
right-handed
dark eyes
grey hair
He writes the kingdom's history as he is ordered. The unwelcome drafts, however, he keeps every one.
1.69 m
left-handed
brown eyes
greying hair
He has copied manuscripts for forty years. He knows what every one of them says - including the forbidden ones.
1.75 m
right-handed
brown eyes
greying hair
Locations
the tourney field
Empty stands outside festival days. An excellent place for meetings that never happened.
the salt market
Here anything is bargained for, from salt to silences. The price of silence keeps rising.
the watchtower
The highest point of the fortress. From here you see everything - and from below, everyone sees who climbs up.
the throne room
Gold, purple, and the most closely watched place in the kingdom. In theory.
Objects
the broken lantern
The glass cracked, the wick burned to the end. Someone needed a lot of light, fast.
the guild seal
The stamp that turns any goods into goods "of certified quality." Worth a mine of gold.
the amber necklace
Beads of golden resin strung on a silk thread. The thread is broken and hastily reknotted.
the stained parchment
A half-burned document with a stain that might be wine. Or not.
Moments
at dawn
When the citadel is barely waking and the guards still doze.
after matins
The hour after the morning service, when the abbey empties.
at noon
Midday, with bustle in the markets and silence in the alcoves.
at dusk
When the shadows lengthen and the lanterns are not yet lit.
Open the Grid (below) to solve the case, with the testimonies at hand.
Touch a cell: blank → ✗ (excluded) → ✓ (certain) → blank. Each pair of categories meets exactly once.
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Verdict
The culprit always lies; everyone else tells the truth.
- The night watch saw Brother Anselm first, and only then the left-handed suspect.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: Brother Anselm never touched the broken lantern.
- A maid whispered it at confession: Filip the Steward handled the stained parchment.
- By the order of the hours, first comes Filip the Steward, then Costache the Toll-Keeper.
- The night watch saw Teofil the Chronicler first, and only then the suspect with grey hair.
- The chancellor deduced it coldly: if Costache the Toll-Keeper was there at dusk, then Brother Anselm was at the throne room.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit was there at dawn".
- The chronicler notes drily: the salt market matches that hour: at dusk, whatever the court may say.
- The chronicler notes drily: the tourney field and the guild seal go together, whatever the court may say.
- The customs register is clear: the tourney field does not match that hour: at noon.