The Feast Plot
The healers shook their heads, and the Chancellery understood at once: not illness, but poison. The dose was measured with care — enough not to look like chance, too little to go unpunished. Before you, one by one, will stand Countess Velica de Arin, Iustin the Mariner, Sir Bogdan de Fag, Brother Anselm and Castellan Ursu. The places named in the testimonies — the cathedral crypt, the north wall, the salt market, the wharf and the old dungeon — each await their turn under scrutiny. Few files have tested so many investigators; untangle the threads, catch the lie, and pronounce your verdict.
Suspects
She collects fans, debts of honour, and bedchamber secrets. She wields all three as weapons.
1.70 m
left-handed
green eyes
red hair
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
He pawned his armour to pay his tavern debts. Honour, he says, does not rust.
1.85 m
right-handed
blue eyes
brown 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 keeps the fortress dungeon and the tally of those who leave other than they entered.
1.90 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black hair
Locations
the cathedral crypt
The old kings sleep beneath crested slabs. Now and then, someone disturbs their rest.
the north wall
The stretch of wall the patrol skirts when the wind blows. Everyone knows that.
the salt market
Here anything is bargained for, from salt to silences. The price of silence keeps rising.
the wharf
Moored boats, wet ropes, and goods that prefer to arrive in the fog.
the old dungeon
Cells abandoned since the new dungeon was built. "Abandoned" is one way of putting it.
Objects
the guild seal
The stamp that turns any goods into goods "of certified quality." Worth a mine of gold.
the amber necklace
Beads of golden resin strung on a silk thread. The thread is broken and hastily reknotted.
the bronze key
Heavy, old, its teeth worn smooth. No one knows what door it opens anymore - or so they say.
the ceremonial crown
The "wearable" copy of the true crown. At least, that was the idea.
the stained parchment
A half-burned document with a stain that might be wine. Or not.
Motives
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
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.
revenge
O datorie de sânge pe care numai fapta o mai șterge.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
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 tracks in the dust do not lie: the stained parchment and a debt of honour go together.
- The traces left at the scene show it plainly: the culprit was at the cathedral crypt.
- The gate guard swears: the ceremonial crown and the inheritance go together.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the salt market and the guild seal go together.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the suspect with greying hair handled the amber necklace.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: Castellan Ursu was at the old dungeon.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the old dungeon and blackmail go together.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the wharf and a debt of honour go together.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit was driven by revenge".
- Before the investigator, Iustin the Mariner firmly repeats: "I was at the wharf".
- The healer says it with a raised finger: if Castellan Ursu handled the bronze key, then Countess Velica de Arin handled the guild seal.