The Feud of the Inn
Since matins, a strange emptiness has walked the citadel: what stood in its place yesterday is gone today. Every passing hour erases another trace, and the traces were few to begin with. On the Chancellery's list stand Teofil the Chronicler, Mihu the Archer, Anica the Miller and Mother Evghenia; one of these names covers a lie. The places named in the testimonies — the salt market, the watchtower, the cathedral crypt and the abbey library — each await their turn under scrutiny. Study the testimonies at your leisure, fit them into the grid, and pronounce your verdict without haste.
Suspects
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 hits a coin tossed on the wind from a hundred paces. At questions, though, he always misses.
1.76 m
left-handed
brown eyes
brown hair
Her mill grinds grain by day and rumours by night. The flour comes out white; the rumours, always black.
1.63 m
right-handed
brown eyes
blond hair
She runs the abbey with an iron hand and a golden pen. The register of donations has pages she shows no one.
1.60 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black hair
Locations
the salt market
Here anything is bargained for, from salt to silences. The price of silence keeps rising.
the watchtower
The highest point of the fortress. From here you see everything - and from below, everyone sees who climbs up.
the cathedral crypt
The old kings sleep beneath crested slabs. Now and then, someone disturbs their rest.
the abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
Objects
the herald's horn
It sounds the muster, the alarm, or the retreat. Whoever holds it can start a whole panic with a single breath.
the map of the realm
The kingdom's borders, drawn with a fresh correction where there should be none.
the bronze key
Heavy, old, its teeth worn smooth. No one knows what door it opens anymore - or so they say.
the rusted sword
An old weapon, forgotten on the rack. The rust on the blade is newer than it looks.
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.
- The gate guard swears: the suspect with greying hair handled the rusted sword.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the tallest suspect was there at dusk.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the salt market and the herald's horn go together.
- The healer says it with a raised finger: if Mihu the Archer was in the place from which you see everything, then the suspect with dark eyes was there at dawn.
- The gate guard swears: the abbey library and the rusted sword go together.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit handled the bronze key.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the map of the realm matches that hour: at dusk.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the cathedral crypt matches that hour: after matins.