The Hour of the Inn
A disappearance troubles the citadel, and rumor grows faster than truth. Someone knows more than they say; the silences at court have suddenly grown very loud. On the Chancellery's list stand Balasa the Seamstress, Countess Velica de Arin and Sava the Bell-Ringer; one of these names covers a lie. The places named in the testimonies — the salt market, the cathedral crypt and the hunting lodge — each await their turn under scrutiny. Open the grid, weigh every clue, and pronounce your verdict: the Chancellery awaits only your signature.
From the Chancellery archive
“The Hour of the Inn” is a name the Chancellery kept from the witnesses' own words: nobody could say when exactly the missing thing went missing, but everyone mentioned that hour of the afternoon when the inn empties and does not fill again.
The three suspects come from very different stations, and that is what makes the dossier instructive. Balasa the Seamstress enters everybody's house and takes everybody's measure. Countess Velica de Arin enters nowhere unannounced. Sava the Bell-Ringer enters nowhere at all, but sees from above everything that happens below. Three ways of being well informed, one of which, on that day, was also a way of being present.
The places are the salt market, the cathedral crypt and the hunting lodge — from the most public to the most secluded in the realm.
Tier I: no chained hypotheses, only elimination. If the grid looks empty at first, begin with the negations. A well-placed cross is worth as much as a tick.
Suspects
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
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 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
Locations
the salt market
Here anything is bargained for, from salt to silences. The price of silence keeps rising.
the cathedral crypt
The old kings sleep beneath crested slabs. Now and then, someone disturbs their rest.
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.
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.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was at the cathedral crypt.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: Countess Velica de Arin was at the salt market.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: Balasa the Seamstress was at the hunting lodge.