Disappearance ♛♛♛♛ 3 attempts

The Court Plot

An absence has fallen upon the court heavier than any presence: the disappearance can no longer be denied. Every passing hour erases another trace, and the traces were few to begin with. Before you, one by one, will stand Pantelimon the Gardener, Chamberlain Iorgu, Onufrie the Executioner, Abbot Corvus and Mother Evghenia. The places named in the testimonies — the mill by the river, the customs cellar, the wharf, the watchtower and the castle cellar — each await their turn under scrutiny. The threads were tangled on purpose: investigate, weigh every word, and pronounce your verdict only when the grid leaves no room for doubt.

Suspects

Pantelimon the Gardener

He tends the queen's roses and no one's beds of belladonna. The second garden is the more sought-after.

1.73 m right-handed green eyes greying hair

Chamberlain Iorgu

He arranges the king's audiences and, for a small courtesy, the order in which petitions are read.

1.77 m right-handed grey eyes brown hair

Onufrie the Executioner

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

Abbot Corvus

He raises ravens in the abbey tower. His birds arrive faster than any messenger - and cannot be held to account.

1.78 m right-handed dark eyes bald

Mother Evghenia

She runs the abbey with an iron hand and a golden pen. The register of donations has pages she shows no one.

1.60 m right-handed dark eyes black hair

Locations

the mill by the river

The wheel turns day and night. Its noise drowns out any conversation - which is why some are held here.

the customs cellar

Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.

the wharf

Moored boats, wet ropes, and goods that prefer to arrive in the fog.

the watchtower

The highest point of the fortress. From here you see everything - and from below, everyone sees who climbs up.

the castle cellar

Barrels as big as carts and corners the lantern never reaches.

Objects

the map of the realm

The kingdom's borders, drawn with a fresh correction where there should be none.

the broken lantern

The glass cracked, the wick burned to the end. Someone needed a lot of light, fast.

the silver-clad icon

The silver casing is old craftsmanship; the nails that hold it were driven this week.

the abbess's bell

It calls the nuns to prayer. On the night in question, they all say, it rang once too many.

the hunting crossbow

Light, accurate, with a walnut stock. Exactly one bolt is missing from the quiver.

Motives

fear of exposure

Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.

blackmail

Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.

a debt of honour

O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.

the inheritance

O avere așteptată, pe care numai o moarte o desparte de mână.

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.

The deduction grid

Touch a cell: blank → ✗ (excluded) → ✓ (certain) → blank. Each pair of categories meets exactly once.

×
×	SUSPECTS	LOCATIONS	OBJECTS	MOTIVES
MOMENTS




MOTIVES




OBJECTS




LOCATIONS

Verdict

The culprit always lies; everyone else tells the truth.

Who is the culprit? Where? With what object? For what reason? When?

Clues & testimonies

The customs register is clear: the tallest suspect never touched the silver-clad icon.
In the gate ledger, Abbot Corvus stands higher, Mother Evghenia lower.
The tracks in the dust do not lie: the wharf and the map of the realm go together.
The tracks in the dust do not lie: the watchtower and blackmail go together.
The chronicler notes drily: Chamberlain Iorgu handled the hunting crossbow, whatever the court may say.
A note in the margin of the ledger: if Abbot Corvus was at the castle cellar, then Chamberlain Iorgu was there at vespers.
Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit handled the silver-clad icon.
The gate guard swears: blackmail matches that hour: after matins.
An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the mill by the river and ambition go together.
The tracks in the dust do not lie: Abbot Corvus was driven by a debt of honour.
An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the castle cellar and a debt of honour go together.
Whatever the market gossips: the mill by the river and the broken lantern do not go together.
In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the hunting crossbow and fear of exposure go together.
An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the mill by the river matches that hour: at dawn.
An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the abbess's bell matches that hour: at noon.