The Hour of the Crown
Since matins, a strange emptiness has walked the citadel: what stood in its place yesterday is gone today. Someone knows more than they say; the silences at court have suddenly grown very loud. Before you, one by one, will stand Pantelimon the Gardener, Manole the Jeweller, Sava the Bell-Ringer and Lady Ruxandra. The places named in the testimonies — the queen's garden, the north wall, the throne room and the Golden Boar inn — each await their turn under scrutiny. Take up the quill, follow the thread of the clues, and set your seal upon the verdict.
Suspects
He tends the queen's roses and no one's beds of belladonna. The second garden is the more sought-after.
1.73 m
right-handed
green eyes
greying hair
He tells gold from gilt at a glance. With people, he admits, it takes him two.
1.69 m
right-handed
brown eyes
brown hair
He has rung the cathedral bells on the hour for thirty years. He sees the whole city from above and forgives nothing he sees.
1.83 m
right-handed
brown eyes
greying hair
The queen's shadow at every hour. She hears everything, sees everything, and embroiders all she learns into patterns known only to her.
1.65 m
right-handed
blue eyes
blond hair
Locations
the queen's garden
Roses trimmed to a line and paths you may walk only by invitation. At night, the hedge has ears.
the north wall
The stretch of wall the patrol skirts when the wind blows. Everyone knows that.
the throne room
Gold, purple, and the most closely watched place in the kingdom. In theory.
the Golden Boar inn
Wine watered down and rumours diluted with nothing. The rooms upstairs ask no questions.
Objects
the royal seal
Whoever holds it can seal any decree. Which is why it should not be wandering the kingdom.
the map of the realm
The kingdom's borders, drawn with a fresh correction where there should be none.
the signet ring
The crest has been filed away almost completely. Almost.
the abbess's bell
It calls the nuns to prayer. On the night in question, they all say, it rang once too many.
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.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit handled the map of the realm".
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the queen's garden matches that hour: at dawn.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the tallest suspect handled the royal seal.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: the signet ring does not match that hour: at dusk.
- Two witnesses, upon their crest: Lady Ruxandra was not present at noon.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the north wall and the signet ring go together.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: Manole the Jeweller was at the Golden Boar inn.
- The chronicler notes drily: the tallest suspect was there after matins, whatever the court may say.
- A note in the margin of the ledger: if the suspect with green eyes was at the north wall, then the suspect with brown hair handled the abbess's bell.