The Enigma of Vespers
A decree bearing a lying seal has left the Chancellery, and its parchment has already done damage. The forgery is skilled: only an eye trained on the archives found its flaw. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Onufrie the Executioner, Codrin the Huntsman, Filip the Steward, Ilinca the Baker and Grigore the Cupbearer. Among the things spoken of in whispers are the guild seal, the silver-clad icon, the ledger of accounts, the ciphered letter and the royal seal. Few files have tested so many investigators; untangle the threads, catch the lie, and pronounce your verdict.
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
He knows the royal forest better than the castle corridors. Tracks, he says, never lie - men do.
1.87 m
right-handed
green eyes
black hair
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
She weighs flour to the gram and people at a glance. No one stays in her debt twice.
1.62 m
right-handed
brown eyes
chestnut hair
He tastes the king's wine before anyone else. A trade with a short future, he says, but a rich past.
1.70 m
right-handed
brown eyes
chestnut hair
Locations
the Golden Boar inn
Wine watered down and rumours diluted with nothing. The rooms upstairs ask no questions.
the cathedral crypt
The old kings sleep beneath crested slabs. Now and then, someone disturbs their rest.
the wharf
Moored boats, wet ropes, and goods that prefer to arrive in the fog.
the queen's garden
Roses trimmed to a line and paths you may walk only by invitation. At night, the hedge has ears.
the great stable
It smells of hay and hurried departures. Horses give no testimony.
Objects
the guild seal
The stamp that turns any goods into goods "of certified quality." Worth a mine of gold.
the silver-clad icon
The silver casing is old craftsmanship; the nails that hold it were driven this week.
the ledger of accounts
Neat columns of figures, with one page torn out exactly at mid-month.
the ciphered letter
Orderly rows of meaningless signs. The ink is costly, the paper costlier, the sender - unknown.
the royal seal
Whoever holds it can seal any decree. Which is why it should not be wandering the kingdom.
Motives
greed
Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.
blackmail
Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
jealousy
Otrava care mistuie pe cel ce râvnește ce nu-i al lui.
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 gate guard swears: Onufrie the Executioner was in the place where the rooms upstairs ask no questions.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: Codrin the Huntsman never set foot in the place where goods arrive in the fog.
- Ilinca the Baker raises their right hand and says: "I handled the ledger of accounts".
- Codrin the Huntsman declares under oath: "I was driven by fear of exposure".
- The gate guard swears: the Golden Boar inn and fear of exposure go together.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit was driven by a debt of honour".
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the great stable and the silver-clad icon go together.
- The chronicler notes drily: the cathedral crypt and the ledger of accounts go together, whatever the court may say.
- The chronicler notes drily: the silver-clad icon and blackmail go together, whatever the court may say.
- Grigore the Cupbearer declares under oath: "I was driven by jealousy".
- The customs register is clear: Grigore the Cupbearer never touched the ciphered letter.
- The chronicler notes drily: Onufrie the Executioner handled the guild seal, whatever the court may say.