The Mystery of the Banquet
A spy has crept in among the people of the court, and the realm's secrets have begun flowing toward foreign ears. What has leaked so far is hard to weigh; what might yet leak, impossible. Before you, one by one, will stand Safta the Herbwife, Luca the Squire, Castellan Ursu, Mother Evghenia and Elisei the Stargazer. The hours in question: "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
She gathers herbs at hours when honest folk sleep. The herbs, she says, speak then.
1.58 m
right-handed
green eyes
greying 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
He keeps the fortress dungeon and the tally of those who leave other than they entered.
1.90 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black hair
She runs the abbey with an iron hand and a golden pen. The register of donations has pages she shows no one.
1.60 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black hair
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 throne room
Gold, purple, and the most closely watched place in the kingdom. In theory.
the salt market
Here anything is bargained for, from salt to silences. The price of silence keeps rising.
the Golden Boar inn
Wine watered down and rumours diluted with nothing. The rooms upstairs ask no questions.
the mill by the river
The wheel turns day and night. Its noise drowns out any conversation - which is why some are held here.
the scriptorium
Slanted desks, ink, and working silence. Here a quill creaks louder than a conscience.
Objects
the broken lantern
The glass cracked, the wick burned to the end. Someone needed a lot of light, fast.
the bishop's chalice
Gold set with blue stones. Blessed three times, stolen twice.
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.
the customs scales
Copper pans, sealed weights. One of the weights rings hollow.
Motives
greed
Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.
the inheritance
O avere așteptată, pe care numai o moarte o desparte de mână.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
jealousy
Otrava care mistuie pe cel ce râvnește ce nu-i al lui.
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
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.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the throne room and the abbess's bell go together.
- One thing is certain: the hour "at noon" and a debt of honour do not share the same match for suspects.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the abbess's bell matches that hour: at noon.
- The chronicler notes drily: the mill by the river and the bishop's chalice go together, whatever the court may say.
- The gate guard swears: Elisei the Stargazer was driven by fear of exposure.
- Even the jester says it in earnest: the abbess's bell and fear of exposure do not go together.
- Two witnesses, upon their crest: the scriptorium and the customs scales do not go together.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: Luca the Squire handled the customs scales.
- A note in the margin of the ledger: if Castellan Ursu was driven by greed, then Elisei the Stargazer was there at vespers.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the scriptorium and the inheritance go together.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: jealousy matches that hour: after matins.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: Mother Evghenia was at the salt market.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit was at the throne room".
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the inheritance matches that hour: at dawn.
- Even the jester says it in earnest: the signet ring does not match that hour: at dusk.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the shortest suspect handled the broken lantern.