Chronicle of the solution: The Scheming of the Fair
Poisoning Tier IV
The poisoning file is closed. What remains is the part worth learning: how one got from an upturned cup to a name.
How the file came to the Chancellery
Something more bitter than gall found its way to the court's table today: poison. The dose was measured with care — enough not to look like chance, too little to go unpunished. Before you, one by one, will stand Sir Bogdan de Fag, Chamberlain Iorgu, Damaschin the Healer, Princess Smaranda and Elisei the Stargazer. On the inquiry's table, like pieces in a game, lie the bronze key, the ceremonial crown, the vial of belladonna, the customs scales and the royal seal. A sharp eye is not enough here — it takes an archivist's patience: fit everything together, then pronounce your verdict.
The clerk entered Sir Bogdan de Fag, Chamberlain Iorgu, Damaschin the Healer, Princess Smaranda and Elisei the Stargazer in the register — that, and not one name more, until the verdict.
The suspects
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Sir Bogdan de Fag
He pawned his armour to pay his tavern debts. Honour, he says, does not rust.
1.85 m tall · blue eyes · brown hair · right-handed
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Chamberlain Iorgu
He arranges the king's audiences and, for a small courtesy, the order in which petitions are read.
1.77 m tall · grey eyes · brown hair · right-handed
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Damaschin the Healer
He knows the cure for any illness and the dose at which the cure becomes something else. He swears he has never mistaken the dosage.
1.71 m tall · green eyes · grey hair · left-handed
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Princess Smaranda
She has refused seven suitors and kept the gifts of all. She calls it practicality, not greed.
1.66 m tall · green eyes · chestnut hair · right-handed
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Elisei the Stargazer
He reads the future in the stars and the past in men's debts. The second method fails less often.
1.67 m tall · blue eyes · greying hair · right-handed
Locations
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The north wall
The stretch of wall the patrol skirts when the wind blows. Everyone knows that.
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The throne room
Gold, purple, and the most closely watched place in the kingdom. In theory.
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The abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
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The merchant's house
Carpets brought from overseas and a desk with more secret drawers than drawers.
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The watchtower
The highest point of the fortress. From here you see everything - and from below, everyone sees who climbs up.
Objects
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The bronze key
Heavy, old, its teeth worn smooth. No one knows what door it opens anymore - or so they say.
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The ceremonial crown
The "wearable" copy of the true crown. At least, that was the idea.
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The vial of belladonna
A small flask, a wax stopper, a label written with care. Three-quarters empty.
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The customs scales
Copper pans, sealed weights. One of the weights rings hollow.
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The royal seal
Whoever holds it can seal any decree. Which is why it should not be wandering the kingdom.
Motives
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Revenge
O datorie de sânge pe care numai fapta o mai șterge.
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The inheritance
O avere așteptată, pe care numai o moarte o desparte de mână.
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Greed
Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.
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Ambition
Setea de a urca, chiar peste trupuri, spre o treaptă mai înaltă.
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Blackmail
Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.
Moments
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At dawn
When the citadel is barely waking and the guards still doze.
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After matins
The hour after the morning service, when the abbey empties.
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At noon
Midday, with bustle in the markets and silence in the alcoves.
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At dusk
When the shadows lengthen and the lanterns are not yet lit.
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At vespers
At the evening service, when the bells drown out any footstep.
Everything that could be learned
The list below is complete and pared to the bone. The Chancellery keeps no useless rows on file: each cuts something no other cuts.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: Sir Bogdan de Fag was at the abbey library.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the suspect with greying hair was in the place from which you see everything.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the watchtower matches that hour: after matins.
- The chronicler notes drily: the vial of belladonna and greed go together, whatever the court may say.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: ambition matches that hour: at dawn.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the bronze key matches that hour: at dusk.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Chamberlain Iorgu was driven by the inheritance.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the ceremonial crown matches that hour: at noon.
- The healer says it with a raised finger: if Sir Bogdan de Fag was at the abbey library, then Elisei the Stargazer handled the royal seal.
- In the gate ledger, Chamberlain Iorgu stands higher, Damaschin the Healer lower.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: revenge matches that hour: at noon.
- Two witnesses, upon their crest: the abbey library and the customs scales do not go together.
- The chronicler notes drily: the merchant's house and the inheritance go together, whatever the court may say.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was driven by ambition.
- Whatever the market gossips: the throne room and ambition do not go together.
See how the verdict was reached — open only if you have already tried the dossier
The road to the verdict
The Chancellery does not work with impressions. It works with a grid in which every cell has exactly one answer, and with the patience to find it.
There followed a detail that narrowed the circle: “The tracks in the dust do not lie: Sir Bogdan de Fag was at the abbey library”. The match was nailed down, and the rest of the row was left clean, like a page wiped with a sponge.
A piece of information dearly bought showed its worth: “In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the suspect with greying hair was in the place from which you see everything”. Once the tick was placed, the investigation had nothing left to argue on that row and moved on.
A note in the margin of the page read: “A maid whispered it at confession: the watchtower matches that hour: after matins”. The cell filled, and around it a space opened: that is what a certain match does to a grid.
There followed that run of small findings which, together, decide everything: “The chronicler notes drily: the vial of belladonna and greed go together, whatever the court may say”; “An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: ambition matches that hour: at dawn”; “An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the bronze key matches that hour: at dusk”; “An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Chamberlain Iorgu was driven by the inheritance”; “A maid whispered it at confession: the ceremonial crown matches that hour: at noon”; “The healer says it with a raised finger: if Sir Bogdan de Fag was at the abbey library, then Elisei the Stargazer handled the royal seal”; “In the gate ledger, Chamberlain Iorgu stands higher, Damaschin the Healer lower”; “The tracks in the dust do not lie: revenge matches that hour: at noon”; “Two witnesses, upon their crest: the abbey library and the customs scales do not go together”; “The chronicler notes drily: the merchant's house and the inheritance go together, whatever the court may say”. At the end of them the grid looked like an almost-erased page: one cell alone still had anything to say.
From one word to the next, the investigation arrived here: “Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was driven by ambition”. The Chancellery learned something about the culprit, but not who they were. The grid did the rest.
The Chancellery asked for one more check, and received it: “Whatever the market gossips: the throne room and ambition do not go together”. The cut named nobody, but it shortened the list of those who could still be named.
The close of the investigation
The Chancellery pronounced its verdict without hesitation: the culprit is Princess Smaranda. When the deed took place, Princess Smaranda was at the north wall, handled the customs scales, was driven by ambition and was there at dawn. It was reached only by driving each supposition to its absurd end — a tier IV dossier, and rightly so.
The remaining suspects
The remaining suspects received their release from the grid too: Sir Bogdan de Fag was at the abbey library, handled the ceremonial crown, was driven by revenge and was there at noon; Chamberlain Iorgu was at the merchant's house, handled the bronze key, was driven by the inheritance and was there at dusk; Damaschin the Healer was at the throne room, handled the vial of belladonna, was driven by greed and was there at vespers; Elisei the Stargazer was at the watchtower, handled the royal seal, was driven by blackmail and was there after matins. Not one of the rows above is spare — remove it and the grid opens again.
The file sits on its shelf today, tied with red cord. What is worth keeping from it is not the culprit's name but the road: every step verifiable, none of them guessed.
Play this dossier All mysteries
Everything you read above rests on the dossier itself. The Chancellery's solver checked, at publication, that the given clues yield exactly one solution — no more, and not none. behind the scenes at the Chancellery.