The Testimony of the Court
A plot hatched in the shadows threatens the crown, and whoever hatched it still sits at the court's table. Those caught in it swear they knew nothing; one of them swears falsely. Before you, one by one, will stand Mihu the Archer, Captain Vlaicu and Princess Smaranda. Rumor walks the deed through every corner: the salt market, the wharf and the merchant's house. Take up the quill, follow the thread of the clues, and set your seal upon the verdict.
Suspects
He hits a coin tossed on the wind from a hundred paces. At questions, though, he always misses.
1.76 m
left-handed
brown eyes
brown hair
He has guarded the fortress gates for twenty years. Who enters and who leaves - he decides what the ledger records.
1.84 m
right-handed
brown eyes
brown hair
She has refused seven suitors and kept the gifts of all. She calls it practicality, not greed.
1.66 m
right-handed
green eyes
chestnut hair
Locations
the salt market
Here anything is bargained for, from salt to silences. The price of silence keeps rising.
the wharf
Moored boats, wet ropes, and goods that prefer to arrive in the fog.
the merchant's house
Carpets brought from overseas and a desk with more secret drawers than drawers.
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.
- Even the jester says it in earnest: the tallest suspect never set foot in the merchant's house.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Princess Smaranda was at the wharf.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was at the salt market.