The Inn Plot
The bells had barely finished ringing when word reached the Chancellery: a theft, within the very walls. The culprit worked cleanly, but not without witnesses — and the witnesses, at last, have begun to talk. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Lady Ruxandra, Duchess Amara de Corvin, Father Nicodim, Abbot Corvus and Elisei the Stargazer. The places named in the testimonies — the merchant's house, the queen's garden, the old chapel, the tourney field and the great stable — each await their turn under scrutiny. The threads were tangled on purpose: investigate, weigh every word, and pronounce your verdict only when the grid leaves no room for doubt.
Suspects
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
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 hears the confessions of the whole court. Forgetting, he says, is a gift from the Lord - one he sells dearly.
1.72 m
right-handed
blue eyes
greying 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 reads the future in the stars and the past in men's debts. The second method fails less often.
1.67 m
right-handed
blue eyes
greying hair
Locations
the merchant's house
Carpets brought from overseas and a desk with more secret drawers than drawers.
the queen's garden
Roses trimmed to a line and paths you may walk only by invitation. At night, the hedge has ears.
the old chapel
Candles, incense, and a silence in which every footstep echoes like a confession.
the tourney field
Empty stands outside festival days. An excellent place for meetings that never happened.
the great stable
It smells of hay and hurried departures. Horses give no testimony.
Objects
the rusted sword
An old weapon, forgotten on the rack. The rust on the blade is newer than it looks.
the map of the realm
The kingdom's borders, drawn with a fresh correction where there should be none.
the locked chest
Three padlocks, two rows of straps. Fresh scratches around the hinges, not the locks.
the abbess's bell
It calls the nuns to prayer. On the night in question, they all say, it rang once too many.
the bishop's chalice
Gold set with blue stones. Blessed three times, stolen twice.
Motives
blackmail
Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.
jealousy
Otrava care mistuie pe cel ce râvnește ce nu-i al lui.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
ambition
Setea de a urca, chiar peste trupuri, spre o treaptă mai înaltă.
revenge
O datorie de sânge pe care numai fapta o mai șterge.
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.
at vespers
At the evening service, when the bells drown out any footstep.
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 queen's garden and the locked chest go together.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: revenge does not match that hour: after matins.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the locked chest matches that hour: at vespers.
- About the culprit, the Chancellery knows one thing for certain: the culprit handled the locked chest.
- A note in the margin of the ledger: if Lady Ruxandra was driven by fear of exposure, then Abbot Corvus handled the abbess's bell.
- A maid whispered it at confession: jealousy matches that hour: at dusk.
- The chronicler notes drily: the merchant's house and the map of the realm go together, whatever the court may say.
- The gate guard swears: the rusted sword matches that hour: after matins.
- The gate guard swears: Lady Ruxandra was driven by fear of exposure.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: Elisei the Stargazer was there at dusk.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the great stable and ambition go together.
- A note in the margin of the ledger: if Elisei the Stargazer was at the merchant's house, then the suspect with black hair was in the place with stands empty outside festival days.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the bishop's chalice and fear of exposure go together.
- The customs register is clear: fear of exposure does not match that hour: at dawn.