The Secret of the Abbey
Since matins, a strange emptiness has walked the citadel: what stood in its place yesterday is gone today. Every passing hour erases another trace, and the traces were few to begin with. On the Chancellery's list stand Chancellor Veniamin, Lady Ruxandra, Luca the Squire, Onufrie the Executioner and Zaharia the Spice Merchant; one of these names covers a lie. The testimonies cling to certain hours: "at dawn", "after matins", "at noon", "at dusk" and "at vespers". Few files have tested so many investigators; untangle the threads, catch the lie, and pronounce your verdict.
Suspects
Every charter of the kingdom passes through his hands. A comma he once moved started a war.
1.64 m
left-handed
grey eyes
bald
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
He polishes the knight's armour and dreams of a sword of his own. For a coat of arms he would do almost anything.
1.72 m
right-handed
green eyes
brown hair
A quiet man with a loud trade. He keeps a notebook of the last words of every condemned soul.
1.92 m
right-handed
dark eyes
bald
His ships bring pepper, saffron, and news no one asked for. All of it at the same price: steep.
1.74 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black hair
Locations
the watchtower
The highest point of the fortress. From here you see everything - and from below, everyone sees who climbs up.
the great stable
It smells of hay and hurried departures. Horses give no testimony.
the guild forge
Anvils, tongs, and a fire that never goes out. Many small metal things vanish here.
the merchant's house
Carpets brought from overseas and a desk with more secret drawers than drawers.
the customs cellar
Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.
Objects
the map of the realm
The kingdom's borders, drawn with a fresh correction where there should be none.
the silver candelabrum
Heavy as a small anvil. It can light a room or end a conversation.
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 small wine cask
Arin wine, the good year. The bung was pulled and put back by an unskilled hand.
Motives
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
the inheritance
O avere așteptată, pe care numai o moarte o desparte de mână.
blackmail
Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.
revenge
O datorie de sânge pe care numai fapta o mai șterge.
greed
Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.
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.
- The night watch saw the suspect with grey eyes first, and only then the suspect with blond hair.
- A note in the margin of the ledger: if Chancellor Veniamin handled the map of the realm, then Luca the Squire was in the place where the fire never goes out.
- Two witnesses, upon their crest: the left-handed suspect never touched the small wine cask.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: the ciphered letter and the inheritance do not go together.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the hunting crossbow and fear of exposure go together.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: Chancellor Veniamin was not driven by greed.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit handled the ciphered letter.
- The gate guard swears: the customs cellar and the hunting crossbow go together.
- The bell-ringer remembers well: Zaharia the Spice Merchant came earlier than the suspect with grey eyes.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was there at dusk.
- About the culprit, the Chancellery knows one thing for certain: the culprit was at the merchant's house.
- The scouts confirm it: at suspects, the paths of the hour "at noon" and the hunting crossbow diverge.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the silver candelabrum matches that hour: at vespers.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the map of the realm matches that hour: after matins.
- The Chancellery checked twice: the great stable and the inheritance do not go together.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the watchtower and blackmail go together.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Onufrie the Executioner was driven by blackmail.
- The bell-ringer remembers well: Lady Ruxandra came earlier than Onufrie the Executioner.