The Testimony of the Envoy
A decree bearing a lying seal has left the Chancellery, and its parchment has already done damage. The forgery is skilled: only an eye trained on the archives found its flaw. Before you, one by one, will stand Luca the Squire, Anica the Miller, Sir Bogdan de Fag, Teofil the Chronicler and Grigore the Cupbearer. The places named in the testimonies — the abbey library, the scriptorium, the great stable, the old chapel and the hunting lodge — each await their turn under scrutiny. Few files have tested so many investigators; untangle the threads, catch the lie, and pronounce your verdict.
Suspects
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
Her mill grinds grain by day and rumours by night. The flour comes out white; the rumours, always black.
1.63 m
right-handed
brown eyes
blond hair
He pawned his armour to pay his tavern debts. Honour, he says, does not rust.
1.85 m
right-handed
blue eyes
brown hair
He writes the kingdom's history as he is ordered. The unwelcome drafts, however, he keeps every one.
1.69 m
left-handed
brown eyes
greying hair
He tastes the king's wine before anyone else. A trade with a short future, he says, but a rich past.
1.70 m
right-handed
brown eyes
chestnut hair
Locations
the abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
the scriptorium
Slanted desks, ink, and working silence. Here a quill creaks louder than a conscience.
the great stable
It smells of hay and hurried departures. Horses give no testimony.
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.
Objects
the abbess's bell
It calls the nuns to prayer. On the night in question, they all say, it rang once too many.
the ermine cloak
White fur with black tails - only the royal family may wear it. It has a tear at the hem.
the signet ring
The crest has been filed away almost completely. Almost.
the ledger of accounts
Neat columns of figures, with one page torn out exactly at mid-month.
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.
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
greed
Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.
ambition
Setea de a urca, chiar peste trupuri, spre o treaptă mai înaltă.
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 gate guard swears: Luca the Squire was in the place that smells of hay.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the scriptorium matches that hour: at noon.
- Even the jester says it in earnest: Anica the Miller was not driven by the inheritance.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was there at dawn.
- The gate guard swears: Anica the Miller handled the small wine cask.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the abbey library matches that hour: at vespers.
- Two witnesses, upon their crest: Sir Bogdan de Fag never touched the signet ring.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: ambition matches that hour: after matins.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the ermine cloak and a debt of honour go together.
- The Chancellery checked twice: the suspect with green eyes was not present after matins.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the abbess's bell matches that hour: at dusk.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the signet ring matches that hour: after matins.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the scriptorium and the small wine cask go together.
- About the culprit, the Chancellery knows one thing for certain: the culprit was driven by greed.
- One thing is certain: the great stable and the hour "at dawn" do not share the same match for suspects.
- The bell-ringer remembers well: the shortest suspect came earlier than Teofil the Chronicler.
- The scouts confirm it: at suspects, the paths of the old chapel and the hour "after matins" diverge.