The Sign of the Lady
A decree bearing a lying seal has left the Chancellery, and its parchment has already done damage. Whoever drew it up knew the Chancellery's ways by heart — and that is precisely what betrays them. On the Chancellery's list stand Countess Velica de Arin, Toma the Cellarer, Balasa the Seamstress and Iustin the Mariner; one of these names covers a lie. Among the things spoken of in whispers are the ciphered letter, the hunting crossbow, the guild seal and the abbess's bell. Open the grid, weigh every clue, and pronounce your verdict: the Chancellery awaits only your signature.
Suspects
She collects fans, debts of honour, and bedchamber secrets. She wields all three as weapons.
1.70 m
left-handed
green eyes
red hair
He holds the keys to every cellar in the castle. He claims the wine vanishes on its own, by "angelic evaporation."
1.73 m
left-handed
brown eyes
red hair
She sews the garments of all the nobility and knows everyone's measurements - including those that do not show.
1.59 m
left-handed
blue eyes
red hair
He brings goods from ports with unpronounceable names. Half the cargo never appears in the customs records.
1.78 m
left-handed
blue eyes
black hair
Locations
the customs cellar
Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.
the Golden Boar inn
Wine watered down and rumours diluted with nothing. The rooms upstairs ask no questions.
the old dungeon
Cells abandoned since the new dungeon was built. "Abandoned" is one way of putting it.
the cathedral crypt
The old kings sleep beneath crested slabs. Now and then, someone disturbs their rest.
Objects
the ciphered letter
Orderly rows of meaningless signs. The ink is costly, the paper costlier, the sender - unknown.
the hunting crossbow
Light, accurate, with a walnut stock. Exactly one bolt is missing from the quiver.
the guild seal
The stamp that turns any goods into goods "of certified quality." Worth a mine of gold.
the abbess's bell
It calls the nuns to prayer. On the night in question, they all say, it rang once too many.
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.
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 tracks in the dust do not lie: Iustin the Mariner was in the place where the old kings sleep.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was there at noon.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit handled the guild seal".
- The chronicler notes drily: Countess Velica de Arin was at the old dungeon, whatever the court may say.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Balasa the Seamstress handled the ciphered letter.
- The chronicler notes drily: the Golden Boar inn matches that hour: after matins, whatever the court may say.
- The chronicler notes drily: the old dungeon matches that hour: at dawn, whatever the court may say.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the abbess's bell matches that hour: after matins.