The Feud of the Abbey
In Realm of the Crown, only one thing is spoken of today: a daring theft, carried out almost before the court's eyes. The culprit worked cleanly, but not without witnesses — and the witnesses, at last, have begun to talk. Suspicion has fallen on Sir Bogdan de Fag, Abbot Corvus, Teofil the Chronicler and Codrin the Huntsman — and until the proof is plain, none of these names leaves the room. On the inquiry's table, like pieces in a game, lie the small wine cask, the bronze key, the ciphered letter and the purse of gold coins. Take up the quill, follow the thread of the clues, and set your seal upon the verdict.
Suspects
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 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
He writes the kingdom's history as he is ordered. The unwelcome drafts, however, he keeps every one.
1.69 m
left-handed
brown eyes
greying hair
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
Locations
the wharf
Moored boats, wet ropes, and goods that prefer to arrive in the fog.
the castle cellar
Barrels as big as carts and corners the lantern never reaches.
the abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
the Golden Boar inn
Wine watered down and rumours diluted with nothing. The rooms upstairs ask no questions.
Objects
the small wine cask
Arin wine, the good year. The bung was pulled and put back by an unskilled hand.
the bronze key
Heavy, old, its teeth worn smooth. No one knows what door it opens anymore - or so they say.
the ciphered letter
Orderly rows of meaningless signs. The ink is costly, the paper costlier, the sender - unknown.
the purse of gold coins
New coins, unworn, from a minting not yet in circulation. Interesting.
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.
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.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the ciphered letter matches that hour: at dusk.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the Golden Boar inn matches that hour: at noon.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the abbey library matches that hour: at dusk.
- A note in the margin of the ledger: if Codrin the Huntsman handled the ciphered letter, then Abbot Corvus handled the small wine cask.
- Two witnesses, upon their crest: Abbot Corvus was not present at noon.
- The traces left at the scene show it plainly: the culprit handled the purse of gold coins.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the castle cellar and the bronze key go together.
- The gate guard swears: Codrin the Huntsman handled the ciphered letter.
- By the order of the hours, first comes the suspect with brown hair, then Abbot Corvus.