The Testimony of the Citadel
Someone slipped poison where it did not belong, and now the whole court eyes its goblets warily. The dose was measured with care — enough not to look like chance, too little to go unpunished. Before you, one by one, will stand Sword-Bearer Dragos, Margica the Innkeeper and Elisei the Stargazer. Rumor walks the deed through every corner: the merchant's house, the salt market and the north wall. Take up the quill, follow the thread of the clues, and set your seal upon the verdict.
Suspects
He bears the king's ceremonial sword. At the tourney he has never lost; at dice, always.
1.86 m
right-handed
brown eyes
chestnut 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
He reads the future in the stars and the past in men's debts. The second method fails less often.
1.67 m
right-handed
blue eyes
greying hair
Locations
the merchant's house
Carpets brought from overseas and a desk with more secret drawers than drawers.
the salt market
Here anything is bargained for, from salt to silences. The price of silence keeps rising.
the north wall
The stretch of wall the patrol skirts when the wind blows. Everyone knows that.
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.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was at the north wall.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the shortest suspect was in the place where anything is bargained for.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: the tallest suspect never set foot in the north wall.