The Scheming of the Tourney
In Realm of the Crown they say the walls have ears — and this time the saying has proven true. What has leaked so far is hard to weigh; what might yet leak, impossible. Suspicion has fallen on Safta the Herbwife, Tintar the Jester, Toma the Cellarer, Captain Vlaicu and Ilinca the Baker — and until the proof is plain, none of these names leaves the room. Rumor walks the deed through every corner: the old dungeon, the old chapel, the customs cellar, the abbey library and the wharf. 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
The only man in the kingdom who may tell the king the truth - provided he makes it sound like a joke.
1.56 m
right-handed
green eyes
red hair
He holds the keys to every cellar in the castle. He claims the wine vanishes on its own, by "angelic evaporation."
1.73 m
left-handed
brown eyes
red hair
He has guarded the fortress gates for twenty years. Who enters and who leaves - he decides what the ledger records.
1.84 m
right-handed
brown eyes
brown hair
She weighs flour to the gram and people at a glance. No one stays in her debt twice.
1.62 m
right-handed
brown eyes
chestnut hair
Locations
the old dungeon
Cells abandoned since the new dungeon was built. "Abandoned" is one way of putting it.
the old chapel
Candles, incense, and a silence in which every footstep echoes like a confession.
the customs cellar
Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.
the abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
the wharf
Moored boats, wet ropes, and goods that prefer to arrive in the fog.
Objects
the broken lantern
The glass cracked, the wick burned to the end. Someone needed a lot of light, fast.
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 royal seal
Whoever holds it can seal any decree. Which is why it should not be wandering the kingdom.
the hunting crossbow
Light, accurate, with a walnut stock. Exactly one bolt is missing from the quiver.
Motives
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.
blackmail
Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
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 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| MOTIVES | |
|||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| OBJECTS | |
|||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| LOCATIONS | |
|||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Verdict
The culprit always lies; everyone else tells the truth.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit was driven by blackmail".
- The gate guard swears: the suspect with greying hair was driven by revenge.
- The gate guard swears: the suspect with chestnut hair was driven by fear of exposure.
- The Chancellery checked twice: the abbey library and the hunting crossbow do not go together.
- A maid whispered it at confession: Ilinca the Baker was at the old chapel.
- The Chancellery checked twice: Toma the Cellarer was not driven by ambition.
- The gate guard swears: the customs cellar and the signet ring go together.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the abbey library and revenge go together.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Toma the Cellarer handled the abbess's bell.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the shortest suspect handled the royal seal.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the left-handed suspect was in the place where goods arrive in the fog.
- Before the investigator, Captain Vlaicu firmly repeats: "I was driven by revenge".