The Testimony of Vespers
Since matins, a strange emptiness has walked the citadel: what stood in its place yesterday is gone today. Someone knows more than they say; the silences at court have suddenly grown very loud. Before you, one by one, will stand Lady Ruxandra, Margica the Innkeeper, Luca the Squire, Costache the Toll-Keeper and Countess Velica de Arin. On the inquiry's table, like pieces in a game, lie the map of the realm, the broken lantern, the vial of belladonna, the bishop's chalice and the abbess's bell. A sharp eye is not enough here — it takes an archivist's patience: fit everything together, then pronounce your verdict.
Suspects
The queen's shadow at every hour. She hears everything, sees everything, and embroiders all she learns into patterns known only to her.
1.65 m
right-handed
blue eyes
blond 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 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
His scales weigh the goods; his eye, the merchant. Both can be "greased" at need.
1.80 m
right-handed
dark eyes
grey hair
She collects fans, debts of honour, and bedchamber secrets. She wields all three as weapons.
1.70 m
left-handed
green eyes
red hair
Locations
the cathedral crypt
The old kings sleep beneath crested slabs. Now and then, someone disturbs their rest.
the great stable
It smells of hay and hurried departures. Horses give no testimony.
the wharf
Moored boats, wet ropes, and goods that prefer to arrive in the fog.
the salt market
Here anything is bargained for, from salt to silences. The price of silence keeps rising.
the guild forge
Anvils, tongs, and a fire that never goes out. Many small metal things vanish here.
Objects
the map of the realm
The kingdom's borders, drawn with a fresh correction where there should be none.
the broken lantern
The glass cracked, the wick burned to the end. Someone needed a lot of light, fast.
the vial of belladonna
A small flask, a wax stopper, a label written with care. Three-quarters empty.
the bishop's chalice
Gold set with blue stones. Blessed three times, stolen twice.
the abbess's bell
It calls the nuns to prayer. On the night in question, they all say, it rang once too many.
Motives
ambition
Setea de a urca, chiar peste trupuri, spre o treaptă mai înaltă.
a debt of honour
O făgăduială care cântărește mai greu decât viața.
jealousy
Otrava care mistuie pe cel ce râvnește ce nu-i al lui.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
greed
Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.
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 salt market and the bishop's chalice go together.
- The traces left at the scene show it plainly: the culprit was in the place where goods arrive in the fog.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the vial of belladonna and fear of exposure go together.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the broken lantern and jealousy go together.
- Even the jester says it in earnest: the tallest suspect never set foot in the guild forge.
- Margica the Innkeeper declares under oath: "I was at the cathedral crypt".
- The gate guard swears: Margica the Innkeeper was driven by jealousy.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the suspect with blond hair was driven by a debt of honour.
- The gate guard swears: the wharf and the abbess's bell go together.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the guild forge and greed go together.
- Luca the Squire declares under oath: "I was driven by jealousy".