The Crown Intrigue
A ciphered letter, found where it had no business being, put the Chancellery on alert: someone is prying for another crown. The spy knows the corridors better than the guards do — an ill sign: it is one of the household. Suspicion has fallen on Damaschin the Healer, Costache the Toll-Keeper, Luca the Squire, Tintar the Jester and Sword-Bearer Dragos — and until the proof is plain, none of these names leaves the room. Motives abound — blackmail, ambition, fear of exposure, revenge and the inheritance — yet only one moved the guilty hand. Few files have tested so many investigators; untangle the threads, catch the lie, and pronounce your verdict.
Suspects
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
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 polishes the knight's armour and dreams of a sword of his own. For a coat of arms he would do almost anything.
1.72 m
right-handed
green eyes
brown hair
The only man in the kingdom who may tell the king the truth - provided he makes it sound like a joke.
1.56 m
right-handed
green eyes
red hair
He bears the king's ceremonial sword. At the tourney he has never lost; at dice, always.
1.86 m
right-handed
brown eyes
chestnut hair
Locations
the great stable
It smells of hay and hurried departures. Horses give no testimony.
the customs cellar
Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.
the abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
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 cathedral crypt
The old kings sleep beneath crested slabs. Now and then, someone disturbs their rest.
Objects
the hunting crossbow
Light, accurate, with a walnut stock. Exactly one bolt is missing from the quiver.
the royal seal
Whoever holds it can seal any decree. Which is why it should not be wandering the kingdom.
the locked chest
Three padlocks, two rows of straps. Fresh scratches around the hinges, not the locks.
the stained parchment
A half-burned document with a stain that might be wine. Or not.
the ruby dagger
A short blade, its hilt set with a stone red as a frozen drop. It was sharpened recently.
Motives
blackmail
Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.
ambition
Setea de a urca, chiar peste trupuri, spre o treaptă mai înaltă.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
revenge
O datorie de sânge pe care numai fapta o mai șterge.
the inheritance
O avere așteptată, pe care numai o moarte o desparte de mână.
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 chronicler notes drily: the customs cellar and fear of exposure go together, whatever the court may say.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the suspect with chestnut hair was at the cathedral crypt.
- A note in the margin of the ledger: if Tintar the Jester was in the place that smells of hay, then Sword-Bearer Dragos was driven by ambition.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the customs cellar and the locked chest go together.
- Before the investigator, Damaschin the Healer firmly repeats: "I was driven by the inheritance".
- A maid whispered it at confession: the ruby dagger and revenge go together.
- About the culprit, the Chancellery knows one thing for certain: the culprit was at the great stable.
- The chronicler notes drily: the mill by the river and the stained parchment go together, whatever the court may say.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the suspect with dark eyes was at the abbey library.
- Tintar the Jester declares under oath: "I handled the royal seal".
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the suspect with red hair was driven by blackmail.