The Citadel Plot
A ciphered letter, found where it had no business being, put the Chancellery on alert: someone is prying for another crown. What has leaked so far is hard to weigh; what might yet leak, impossible. Suspicion has fallen on Onufrie the Executioner, Costache the Toll-Keeper, Brother Anselm, Damaschin the Healer and Ban Radu the Silent — and until the proof is plain, none of these names leaves the room. The testimonies cling to certain hours: "at dawn", "after matins", "at noon", "at dusk" and "at vespers". The threads were tangled on purpose: investigate, weigh every word, and pronounce your verdict only when the grid leaves no room for doubt.
Suspects
A quiet man with a loud trade. He keeps a notebook of the last words of every condemned soul.
1.92 m
right-handed
dark eyes
bald
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 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
He knows the cure for any illness and the dose at which the cure becomes something else. He swears he has never mistaken the dosage.
1.71 m
left-handed
green eyes
grey hair
He has never uttered a needless word in his life. Sadly, nor a useful one for investigators.
1.81 m
right-handed
grey eyes
grey hair
Locations
the throne room
Gold, purple, and the most closely watched place in the kingdom. In theory.
the old dungeon
Cells abandoned since the new dungeon was built. "Abandoned" is one way of putting it.
the merchant's house
Carpets brought from overseas and a desk with more secret drawers than drawers.
the great stable
It smells of hay and hurried departures. Horses give no testimony.
the abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
Objects
the silver candelabrum
Heavy as a small anvil. It can light a room or end a conversation.
the bishop's chalice
Gold set with blue stones. Blessed three times, stolen twice.
the stained parchment
A half-burned document with a stain that might be wine. Or not.
the ceremonial crown
The "wearable" copy of the true crown. At least, that was the idea.
the locked chest
Three padlocks, two rows of straps. Fresh scratches around the hinges, not the locks.
Motives
blackmail
Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.
the inheritance
O avere așteptată, pe care numai o moarte o desparte de mână.
jealousy
Otrava care mistuie pe cel ce râvnește ce nu-i al lui.
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
ambition
Setea de a urca, chiar peste trupuri, spre o treaptă mai înaltă.
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.
at vespers
At the evening service, when the bells drown out any footstep.
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.
- Even the jester says it in earnest: Onufrie the Executioner never touched the silver candelabrum.
- The chronicler notes drily: Costache the Toll-Keeper was at the merchant's house, whatever the court may say.
- The night watch saw the left-handed suspect first, and only then the suspect with brown eyes.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the bishop's chalice and a debt of honour go together.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the ceremonial crown and jealousy go together.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: the throne room and blackmail do not go together.
- The gate guard swears: the great stable matches that hour: at vespers.
- The healer says it with a raised finger: if Brother Anselm was there at vespers, then the suspect with brown eyes was not present at vespers.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: Ban Radu the Silent handled the bishop's chalice.
- A maid whispered it at confession: blackmail matches that hour: after matins.
- Damaschin the Healer declares under oath: "I was at the abbey library".
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was driven by the inheritance.
- The chronicler notes drily: Costache the Toll-Keeper handled the locked chest, whatever the court may say.
- Costache the Toll-Keeper raises their right hand and says: "I handled the ceremonial crown".
- The chronicler notes drily: the abbey library and jealousy go together, whatever the court may say.
- However it may seem, at suspects, jealousy and the hour "at dawn" take different roads.