The Hour of the Banquet
The whispers began in Realm of the Crown like thin smoke; now the smoke smells of conspiracy. The crown demands not only the name but the proof: suspicion without grounds is itself a tool of the scheme. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Damaschin the Healer, Abbot Corvus, Duchess Amara de Corvin, Luca the Squire and Balasa the Seamstress. As for the impulse behind it, the court whispers of everything: revenge, a debt of honour, blackmail, fear of exposure and greed. The threads were tangled on purpose: investigate, weigh every word, and pronounce your verdict only when the grid leaves no room for doubt.
Suspects
He knows the cure for any illness and the dose at which the cure becomes something else. He swears he has never mistaken the dosage.
1.71 m
left-handed
green eyes
grey 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
Widowed three times, heir on each occasion. Her smile has buried more nobles than the plague.
1.68 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black hair
He polishes the knight's armour and dreams of a sword of his own. For a coat of arms he would do almost anything.
1.72 m
right-handed
green eyes
brown hair
She sews the garments of all the nobility and knows everyone's measurements - including those that do not show.
1.59 m
left-handed
blue eyes
red hair
Locations
the old chapel
Candles, incense, and a silence in which every footstep echoes like a confession.
the old dungeon
Cells abandoned since the new dungeon was built. "Abandoned" is one way of putting it.
the Golden Boar inn
Wine watered down and rumours diluted with nothing. The rooms upstairs ask no questions.
the great stable
It smells of hay and hurried departures. Horses give no testimony.
the hunting lodge
The royal cabin in the heart of the forest. Far from the eyes of the court - which is exactly what suits some.
Objects
the abbess's bell
It calls the nuns to prayer. On the night in question, they all say, it rang once too many.
the broken lantern
The glass cracked, the wick burned to the end. Someone needed a lot of light, fast.
the ruby dagger
A short blade, its hilt set with a stone red as a frozen drop. It was sharpened recently.
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
revenge
O datorie de sânge pe care numai fapta o mai șterge.
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
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.
greed
Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.
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.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the bald suspect was driven by greed.
- Whatever the market gossips: Luca the Squire was not driven by fear of exposure.
- The traces left at the scene show it plainly: the culprit was driven by fear of exposure.
- The gate guard swears: the suspect with black hair was in the place where the rooms upstairs ask no questions.
- The chronicler notes drily: the Golden Boar inn and a debt of honour go together, whatever the court may say.
- Before the investigator, Luca the Squire firmly repeats: "I handled the abbess's bell".
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the suspect with grey hair was at the hunting lodge.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was at the old chapel.
- Even the jester says it in earnest: the Golden Boar inn and the ruby dagger do not go together.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the old chapel and the broken lantern go together.
- The chronicler notes drily: the royal seal and blackmail go together, whatever the court may say.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the great stable and revenge go together.