Disappearance ♛♛♛♛ 3 attempts

The Scheming of Winter

Something — or someone — has vanished in Realm of the Crown, and no one can say when the thread was cut. Someone knows more than they say; the silences at court have suddenly grown very loud. On the Chancellery's list stand Countess Velica de Arin, Safta the Herbwife, Lady Ruxandra, Tintar the Jester and Filip the Steward; one of these names covers a lie. As for the impulse behind it, the court whispers of everything: the inheritance, a debt of honour, revenge, greed and blackmail. A sharp eye is not enough here — it takes an archivist's patience: fit everything together, then pronounce your verdict.

From the Chancellery archive

Five men and women of the household, a disappearance and a long winter. Countess Velica de Arin, Safta the Herbwife, Lady Ruxandra, Tintar the Jester and Filip the Steward — three of the court, a healer and a jester. Of them all, only one needed that thing never to be found again.

The proven motives tell the story in short: the inheritance, a debt of honour, revenge, greed and blackmail. Four of them look to the past; one alone looks to the future — and that is exactly where the investigation began.

The places are all enclosed and cold: the guild forge, the abbey library, the old dungeon, the customs cellar and the cathedral crypt. In winter, in this realm, nobody stands outdoors without a reason.

The objects — an abbess's bell, a hunting crossbow, a ciphered letter, an ermine cloak and an amber necklace — seem to make no sense together, yet every one of them figures in at least one clue, and not one was put there to mislead.

Tier IV. If this is your first tier IV dossier, take it slowly: there is no time limit, and the grid saves itself between visits.

Suspects

Countess Velica de Arin

She collects fans, debts of honour, and bedchamber secrets. She wields all three as weapons.

1.70 m left-handed green eyes red hair

Safta the Herbwife

She gathers herbs at hours when honest folk sleep. The herbs, she says, speak then.

1.58 m right-handed green eyes greying hair

Lady Ruxandra

The queen's shadow at every hour. She hears everything, sees everything, and embroiders all she learns into patterns known only to her.

1.65 m right-handed blue eyes blond hair

Tintar the Jester

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

Filip the Steward

He counts the crown's silver every evening. On some evenings the count comes out different - and he says nothing.

1.79 m right-handed grey eyes chestnut hair

Locations

the guild forge

Anvils, tongs, and a fire that never goes out. Many small metal things vanish here.

the abbey library

Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.

the old dungeon

Cells abandoned since the new dungeon was built. "Abandoned" is one way of putting it.

the customs cellar

Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.

the cathedral crypt

The old kings sleep beneath crested slabs. Now and then, someone disturbs their rest.

Objects

the abbess's bell

It calls the nuns to prayer. On the night in question, they all say, it rang once too many.

the hunting crossbow

Light, accurate, with a walnut stock. Exactly one bolt is missing from the quiver.

the ciphered letter

Orderly rows of meaningless signs. The ink is costly, the paper costlier, the sender - unknown.

the ermine cloak

White fur with black tails - only the royal family may wear it. It has a tear at the hem.

the amber necklace

Beads of golden resin strung on a silk thread. The thread is broken and hastily reknotted.

Motives

the inheritance

O avere așteptată, pe care numai o moarte o desparte de mână.

a debt of honour

O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.

revenge

O datorie de sânge pe care numai fapta o mai șterge.

greed

Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.

blackmail

Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.

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.

The deduction grid

Touch a cell: blank → ✗ (excluded) → ✓ (certain) → blank. Each pair of categories meets exactly once.

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×	SUSPECTS	LOCATIONS	OBJECTS	MOTIVES
MOMENTS




MOTIVES




OBJECTS




LOCATIONS

Verdict

The culprit always lies; everyone else tells the truth.

Who is the culprit? Where? With what object? For what reason? When?

Clues & testimonies

About the culprit, the Chancellery knows one thing for certain: the culprit was in the place with thousands of leather-bound tomes.
The healer says it with a raised finger: if Countess Velica de Arin was at the abbey library, then the suspect with grey eyes was at the cathedral crypt.
The gate guard swears: the customs cellar matches that hour: at dusk.
A maid whispered it at confession: the suspect with greying hair was driven by greed.
The bell-ringer remembers well: Countess Velica de Arin came earlier than the suspect with greying hair.
The gate guard swears: blackmail matches that hour: at dawn.
An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Lady Ruxandra was there after matins.
An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the inheritance matches that hour: after matins.
A maid whispered it at confession: the old dungeon and the ciphered letter go together.
In the gate ledger, Filip the Steward stands higher, the left-handed suspect lower.
The customs register is clear: Countess Velica de Arin never touched the ermine cloak.
A maid whispered it at confession: Safta the Herbwife handled the abbess's bell.
The gate guard swears: Tintar the Jester was there at dusk.
A maid whispered it at confession: the abbey library and a debt of honour go together.
An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the shortest suspect handled the hunting crossbow.