The Scheming of Vespers
In the shadow of the council halls, something has been woven against the crown, and its threads lead far. The scheme has many threads but a single knot — and that knot bears a name. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Anica the Miller, Grigore the Cupbearer and Abbot Corvus. The places named in the testimonies — the customs cellar, the abbey library and the queen's garden — each await their turn under scrutiny. Take up the quill, follow the thread of the clues, and set your seal upon the verdict.
Suspects
Her mill grinds grain by day and rumours by night. The flour comes out white; the rumours, always black.
1.63 m
right-handed
brown eyes
blond hair
He tastes the king's wine before anyone else. A trade with a short future, he says, but a rich past.
1.70 m
right-handed
brown eyes
chestnut hair
He raises ravens in the abbey tower. His birds arrive faster than any messenger - and cannot be held to account.
1.78 m
right-handed
dark eyes
bald
Locations
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 queen's garden
Roses trimmed to a line and paths you may walk only by invitation. At night, the hedge has ears.
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 | |
|||
|
||||
|
||||
Verdict
The culprit always lies; everyone else tells the truth.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: the shortest suspect never set foot in the abbey library.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit was at the abbey library".
- The chronicler notes drily: the bald suspect was at the queen's garden, whatever the court may say.