The Seal of the Fair
A bold theft has shaken the calm of the court, and calm will not return until the truth comes out. The Chancellery has set every other file aside: until what was taken returns, no one sleeps easy. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Teofil the Chronicler, Mother Evghenia, Margica the Innkeeper, Safta the Herbwife and Castellan Ursu. Motives abound — the inheritance, fear of exposure, ambition, jealousy and a debt of honour — yet only one moved the guilty hand. A sharp eye is not enough here — it takes an archivist's patience: fit everything together, then pronounce your verdict.
Suspects
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 runs the abbey with an iron hand and a golden pen. The register of donations has pages she shows no one.
1.60 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black hair
At the Golden Boar inn, wine and secrets are spilled in equal measure. She never forgets a debt - or a word let slip.
1.61 m
right-handed
dark eyes
chestnut hair
She gathers herbs at hours when honest folk sleep. The herbs, she says, speak then.
1.58 m
right-handed
green eyes
greying hair
He keeps the fortress dungeon and the tally of those who leave other than they entered.
1.90 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black hair
Locations
the throne room
Gold, purple, and the most closely watched place in the kingdom. In theory.
the queen's garden
Roses trimmed to a line and paths you may walk only by invitation. At night, the hedge has ears.
the hunting lodge
The royal cabin in the heart of the forest. Far from the eyes of the court - which is exactly what suits some.
the Golden Boar inn
Wine watered down and rumours diluted with nothing. The rooms upstairs ask no questions.
the guild forge
Anvils, tongs, and a fire that never goes out. Many small metal things vanish here.
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 ceremonial crown
The "wearable" copy of the true crown. At least, that was the idea.
the customs scales
Copper pans, sealed weights. One of the weights rings hollow.
the purse of gold coins
New coins, unworn, from a minting not yet in circulation. Interesting.
the map of the realm
The kingdom's borders, drawn with a fresh correction where there should be none.
Motives
the inheritance
O avere așteptată, pe care numai o moarte o desparte de mână.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
ambition
Setea de a urca, chiar peste trupuri, spre o treaptă mai înaltă.
jealousy
Otrava care mistuie pe cel ce râvnește ce nu-i al lui.
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
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.
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.
- A maid whispered it at confession: Safta the Herbwife handled the customs scales.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the guild forge and jealousy go together.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the suspect with chestnut hair handled the ceremonial crown.
- Even the jester says it in earnest: the suspect with green eyes was not driven by the inheritance.
- The gate guard swears: Mother Evghenia was there at noon.
- The bell-ringer remembers well: the suspect with chestnut hair came earlier than the suspect with brown eyes.
- Two witnesses, upon their crest: the map of the realm and ambition do not go together.
- In the gate ledger, Mother Evghenia stands higher, Teofil the Chronicler lower.
- The gate guard swears: the ceremonial crown and jealousy go together.
- Two witnesses, upon their crest: the customs scales and ambition do not go together.
- The chronicler notes drily: the queen's garden matches that hour: after matins, whatever the court may say.
- Before the investigator, Castellan Ursu firmly repeats: "I was there at dusk".
- The chronicler notes drily: the hunting lodge matches that hour: at dusk, whatever the court may say.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was driven by fear of exposure.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the Golden Boar inn and a debt of honour go together.
- The customs register is clear: the throne room and ambition do not go together.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the purse of gold coins and fear of exposure go together.