The Enigma of the Abbey
A spy has crept in among the people of the court, and the realm's secrets have begun flowing toward foreign ears. The spy knows the corridors better than the guards do — an ill sign: it is one of the household. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Iustin the Mariner, Princess Smaranda and Sir Bogdan de Fag. Rumor walks the deed through every corner: the castle cellar, the north wall and the abbey library. Take up the quill, follow the thread of the clues, and set your seal upon the verdict.
Suspects
He brings goods from ports with unpronounceable names. Half the cargo never appears in the customs records.
1.78 m
left-handed
blue eyes
black hair
She has refused seven suitors and kept the gifts of all. She calls it practicality, not greed.
1.66 m
right-handed
green eyes
chestnut hair
He pawned his armour to pay his tavern debts. Honour, he says, does not rust.
1.85 m
right-handed
blue eyes
brown hair
Locations
the castle cellar
Barrels as big as carts and corners the lantern never reaches.
the north wall
The stretch of wall the patrol skirts when the wind blows. Everyone knows that.
the abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
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.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Princess Smaranda was in the place where the lantern never reaches.
- Whatever the market gossips: the suspect with black hair never set foot in the place with thousands of leather-bound tomes.
- About the culprit, the Chancellery knows one thing for certain: the culprit was in the place the patrol skirts when the wind blows.