The Torch of the Envoy
The council's secrets have reached where they never should have — and not on their own: someone carried them. The Chancellery has caught only the end of the thread; the whole skein is still in someone's hands. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Countess Velica de Arin, Pantelimon the Gardener and Petru the Herald. The places named in the testimonies — the customs cellar, the watchtower and the castle cellar — each await their turn under scrutiny. Take up the quill, follow the thread of the clues, and set your seal upon the verdict.
Suspects
She collects fans, debts of honour, and bedchamber secrets. She wields all three as weapons.
1.70 m
left-handed
green eyes
red hair
He tends the queen's roses and no one's beds of belladonna. The second garden is the more sought-after.
1.73 m
right-handed
green eyes
greying hair
He proclaims the crown's will to every corner of the kingdom. Sometimes he proclaims it before the crown itself knows.
1.82 m
right-handed
blue eyes
blond hair
Locations
the customs cellar
Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.
the watchtower
The highest point of the fortress. From here you see everything - and from below, everyone sees who climbs up.
the castle cellar
Barrels as big as carts and corners the lantern never reaches.
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.
| SUSPECTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
||
| LOCATIONS | |
|||
|
||||
|
||||
Verdict
The culprit always lies; everyone else tells the truth.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: Pantelimon the Gardener was at the castle cellar.
- A maid whispered it at confession: Countess Velica de Arin was at the watchtower.
- The traces left at the scene show it plainly: the culprit was at the customs cellar.