The Scheming of the Banquet
A seal that never lies has been placed, this once, in the service of a lie. Until the hand that pressed the seal is found, every written order stands in doubt. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Petru the Herald, Onufrie the Executioner, Teofil the Chronicler and Gavril the Farrier. The places named in the testimonies — the hunting lodge, the guild forge, the castle cellar and the customs cellar — each await their turn under scrutiny. Study the testimonies at your leisure, fit them into the grid, and pronounce your verdict without haste.
From the Chancellery archive
A banquet is the fittest occasion for a forged document: everyone signs something, nobody reads anything, and by the next morning no one recalls who held the quill.
The four suspects are, each in their way, craftsmen. Petru the Herald works with the spoken word. Teofil the Chronicler, with the written one. Gavril the Farrier, with iron. And Onufrie the Executioner — with whatever is left when all the other trades have finished. Four practised hands, one of which spent that night at something other than its own craft.
The places descend steadily underground: the hunting lodge, the guild forge, the castle cellar and the customs cellar. Among the objects, a ciphered letter and a vial of belladonna sit beside an abbess's bell and a bishop's chalice.
Tier II. When a testimony collides head-on with a finding, the finding always wins — because the testimony may be the very lie you are hunting.
Suspects
He proclaims the crown's will to every corner of the kingdom. Sometimes he proclaims it before the crown itself knows.
1.82 m
right-handed
blue eyes
blond hair
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 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
Arms like tree trunks and a forge where all noise dies. Some things are better beaten while hot.
1.88 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black hair
Locations
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 guild forge
Anvils, tongs, and a fire that never goes out. Many small metal things vanish here.
the castle cellar
Barrels as big as carts and corners the lantern never reaches.
the customs cellar
Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.
Objects
the ciphered letter
Orderly rows of meaningless signs. The ink is costly, the paper costlier, the sender - unknown.
the vial of belladonna
A small flask, a wax stopper, a label written with care. Three-quarters empty.
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.
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.
| SUSPECTS | LOCATIONS | OBJECTS | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| MOMENTS | |
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| OBJECTS | |
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| LOCATIONS | |
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
Verdict
The culprit always lies; everyone else tells the truth.
- The customs register is clear: Petru the Herald never set foot in the place where the lantern never reaches.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the guild forge and the ciphered letter go together.
- By the order of the hours, first comes the suspect with black hair, then Onufrie the Executioner.
- The chronicler notes drily: the customs cellar and the bishop's chalice go together, whatever the court may say.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the castle cellar matches that hour: after matins.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the left-handed suspect handled the bishop's chalice.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the customs cellar matches that hour: at noon.
- About the culprit, the Chancellery knows one thing for certain: the culprit was there after matins.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit handled the abbess's bell".
- The gate guard swears: Onufrie the Executioner handled the ciphered letter.