The Knot of the Treasury
A ciphered letter, found where it had no business being, put the Chancellery on alert: someone is prying for another crown. What has leaked so far is hard to weigh; what might yet leak, impossible. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Onufrie the Executioner, Sava the Bell-Ringer, Teofil the Chronicler, Codrin the Huntsman and Margica the Innkeeper. The testimonies cling to certain hours: "at dawn", "after matins", "at noon", "at dusk" and "at vespers". A sharp eye is not enough here — it takes an archivist's patience: fit everything together, then pronounce your verdict.
Suspects
A quiet man with a loud trade. He keeps a notebook of the last words of every condemned soul.
1.92 m
right-handed
dark eyes
bald
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
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 knows the royal forest better than the castle corridors. Tracks, he says, never lie - men do.
1.87 m
right-handed
green eyes
black hair
At the Golden Boar inn, wine and secrets are spilled in equal measure. She never forgets a debt - or a word let slip.
1.61 m
right-handed
dark eyes
chestnut hair
Locations
the great stable
It smells of hay and hurried departures. Horses give no testimony.
the queen's garden
Roses trimmed to a line and paths you may walk only by invitation. At night, the hedge has ears.
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.
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.
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 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.
the rusted sword
An old weapon, forgotten on the rack. The rust on the blade is newer than it looks.
the signet ring
The crest has been filed away almost completely. Almost.
Motives
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
the inheritance
O avere așteptată, pe care numai o moarte o desparte de mână.
revenge
O datorie de sânge pe care numai fapta o mai șterge.
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.
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.
- At the Chancellery, Teofil the Chronicler maintains: "I was driven by greed".
- The gate guard swears: the watchtower and the signet ring go together.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the bald suspect was driven by greed.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: the ciphered letter and greed do not go together.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Codrin the Huntsman was in the place where the hedge has ears.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the inheritance matches that hour: at dusk.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: fear of exposure matches that hour: at noon.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the queen's garden and the royal seal go together.
- Whatever the market gossips: the watchtower does not match that hour: at dusk.
- Before the investigator, Codrin the Huntsman firmly repeats: "I was driven by a debt of honour".
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the suspect with chestnut hair was at the salt market.
- About the culprit, the Chancellery knows one thing for certain: the culprit was at the watchtower.
- The chronicler notes drily: the salt market matches that hour: at vespers, whatever the court may say.
- Margica the Innkeeper raises their right hand and says: "I handled the herald's horn".
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the hunting lodge matches that hour: after matins.