The Seal of the Banquet
The bells had barely finished ringing when word reached the Chancellery: a theft, within the very walls. The Chancellery has set every other file aside: until what was taken returns, no one sleeps easy. Suspicion has fallen on Sir Bogdan de Fag, Teofil the Chronicler and Princess Smaranda — and until the proof is plain, none of these names leaves the room. Rumor walks the deed through every corner: the guild forge, the great stable and the Golden Boar inn. Open the grid, weigh every clue, and pronounce your verdict: the Chancellery awaits only your signature.
From the Chancellery archive
A banquet gathers the whole realm into one place, and the Chancellery learned long ago that large gatherings are an occasion for small deeds. This time the absence went unnoticed on the night itself; it was discovered only when the seal was needed — and the seal was no longer where it should have been.
Suspicion settled on three names. Sir Bogdan de Fag, who has the run of everywhere because nobody stops him. Teofil the Chronicler, who has the run of everywhere because everyone wishes to be well remembered. And Princess Smaranda, who needs no such freedom, since everything is brought to her.
Each of the three places has its part in the investigation: the guild forge, where the fire never goes out and small metal things have a habit of disappearing; the great stable, from which one leaves in haste; and the Golden Boar inn, at which one arrives afterwards.
Tier I. Three suspects, three places, one truth. Close the dossier on your first attempt and your score stays whole.
Suspects
He pawned his armour to pay his tavern debts. Honour, he says, does not rust.
1.85 m
right-handed
blue eyes
brown hair
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
She has refused seven suitors and kept the gifts of all. She calls it practicality, not greed.
1.66 m
right-handed
green eyes
chestnut hair
Locations
the guild forge
Anvils, tongs, and a fire that never goes out. Many small metal things vanish here.
the great stable
It smells of hay and hurried departures. Horses give no testimony.
the Golden Boar inn
Wine watered down and rumours diluted with nothing. The rooms upstairs ask no questions.
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.
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Verdict
The culprit always lies; everyone else tells the truth.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit was in the place where the rooms upstairs ask no questions".
- The gate guard swears: Princess Smaranda was at the guild forge.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: Teofil the Chronicler was in the place that smells of hay.