The Spy of the Court
In Realm of the Crown they say the walls have ears — and this time the saying has proven true. The spy knows the corridors better than the guards do — an ill sign: it is one of the household. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Mother Evghenia, Chancellor Veniamin, Father Nicodim, Manole the Jeweller and Luca the Squire. Among the things spoken of in whispers are the signet ring, the amber necklace, the purse of gold coins, the small wine cask and the silver candelabrum. Few files have tested so many investigators; untangle the threads, catch the lie, and pronounce your verdict.
From the Chancellery archive
When the spy is at court itself, the investigation is conducted in half-whispers and the dossier is written with care. “The Spy of the Court” is one of the few in which a chancellor appears among the suspects — Chancellor Veniamin — that is, a man from the very apparatus that ought to have examined the deed.
The other four are Mother Evghenia, Father Nicodim, Manole the Jeweller and Luca the Squire. The proven motives: a debt of honour, fear of exposure, blackmail, greed and ambition. The Chancellery notes that fear of exposure is the commonest motive among spies — one begins for money and continues because one can no longer stop.
The places are the guild forge, the throne room, the old chapel, the hunting lodge and the abbey library. The objects run from a signet ring to a silver candelabrum.
Tier IV. Five by five by five by five — the grid is large, but not one row of it is superfluous. The clue set was pared to the bone before publication.
Suspects
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
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
He hears the confessions of the whole court. Forgetting, he says, is a gift from the Lord - one he sells dearly.
1.72 m
right-handed
blue eyes
greying hair
He tells gold from gilt at a glance. With people, he admits, it takes him two.
1.69 m
right-handed
brown eyes
brown 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
Locations
the guild forge
Anvils, tongs, and a fire that never goes out. Many small metal things vanish here.
the throne room
Gold, purple, and the most closely watched place in the kingdom. In theory.
the old chapel
Candles, incense, and a silence in which every footstep echoes like a confession.
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 abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
Objects
the signet ring
The crest has been filed away almost completely. Almost.
the amber necklace
Beads of golden resin strung on a silk thread. The thread is broken and hastily reknotted.
the purse of gold coins
New coins, unworn, from a minting not yet in circulation. Interesting.
the small wine cask
Arin wine, the good year. The bung was pulled and put back by an unskilled hand.
the silver candelabrum
Heavy as a small anvil. It can light a room or end a conversation.
Motives
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
blackmail
Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.
greed
Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.
ambition
Setea de a urca, chiar peste trupuri, spre o treaptă mai înaltă.
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 note in the margin of the ledger: if Mother Evghenia handled the small wine cask, then Mother Evghenia never touched the small wine cask.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: Father Nicodim was driven by blackmail.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: the throne room and the purse of gold coins do not go together.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: Manole the Jeweller was in the place where the fire never goes out.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the bald suspect was driven by ambition.
- Whatever the market gossips: Manole the Jeweller was not driven by greed.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: Chancellor Veniamin was at the abbey library.
- Mother Evghenia raises their right hand and says: "I was at the guild forge".
- At the Chancellery, Luca the Squire maintains: "I was driven by fear of exposure".
- A maid whispered it at confession: the signet ring and blackmail go together.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the left-handed suspect handled the silver candelabrum.
- The gate guard swears: the old chapel and the small wine cask go together.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the amber necklace and a debt of honour go together.