The Testimony of the Inn
The healers shook their heads, and the Chancellery understood at once: not illness, but poison. Between remedy and venom runs a thin line, and someone at court crossed it knowingly. Before you, one by one, will stand Ilinca the Baker, Teofil the Chronicler, Brother Anselm and Grigore the Cupbearer. The hours in question: "at dawn", "after matins", "at noon" and "at dusk". Open the grid, weigh every clue, and pronounce your verdict: the Chancellery awaits only your signature.
Suspects
She weighs flour to the gram and people at a glance. No one stays in her debt twice.
1.62 m
right-handed
brown eyes
chestnut 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 has copied manuscripts for forty years. He knows what every one of them says - including the forbidden ones.
1.75 m
right-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 queen's garden
Roses trimmed to a line and paths you may walk only by invitation. At night, the hedge has ears.
the customs cellar
Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.
the abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
the wharf
Moored boats, wet ropes, and goods that prefer to arrive in the fog.
Objects
the silver-clad icon
The silver casing is old craftsmanship; the nails that hold it were driven this week.
the locked chest
Three padlocks, two rows of straps. Fresh scratches around the hinges, not the locks.
the rusted sword
An old weapon, forgotten on the rack. The rust on the blade is newer than it looks.
the ciphered letter
Orderly rows of meaningless signs. The ink is costly, the paper costlier, the sender - unknown.
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: the shortest suspect handled the locked chest.
- The gate guard swears: the left-handed suspect handled the silver-clad icon.
- The chronicler notes drily: the customs cellar matches that hour: at dusk, whatever the court may say.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: Grigore the Cupbearer was there at dawn.
- The gate guard swears: the rusted sword matches that hour: at noon.
- The chronicler notes drily: the wharf and the rusted sword go together, whatever the court may say.
- About the culprit, the Chancellery knows one thing for certain: the culprit handled the rusted sword.
- The gate guard swears: the queen's garden and the locked chest go together.