The Torch of the Fair
Not one deed but a whole scheme has come to light — laid patiently, in secret. The crown demands not only the name but the proof: suspicion without grounds is itself a tool of the scheme. Before you, one by one, will stand Father Nicodim, Balasa the Seamstress, Gavril the Farrier, Captain Vlaicu and Codrin the Huntsman. The places named in the testimonies — the salt market, the mill by the river, the scriptorium, the cathedral crypt and the north wall — each await their turn under scrutiny. The threads were tangled on purpose: investigate, weigh every word, and pronounce your verdict only when the grid leaves no room for doubt.
Suspects
He hears the confessions of the whole court. Forgetting, he says, is a gift from the Lord - one he sells dearly.
1.72 m
right-handed
blue eyes
greying hair
She sews the garments of all the nobility and knows everyone's measurements - including those that do not show.
1.59 m
left-handed
blue eyes
red hair
Arms like tree trunks and a forge where all noise dies. Some things are better beaten while hot.
1.88 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black 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
He knows the royal forest better than the castle corridors. Tracks, he says, never lie - men do.
1.87 m
right-handed
green eyes
black hair
Locations
the salt market
Here anything is bargained for, from salt to silences. The price of silence keeps rising.
the mill by the river
The wheel turns day and night. Its noise drowns out any conversation - which is why some are held here.
the scriptorium
Slanted desks, ink, and working silence. Here a quill creaks louder than a conscience.
the cathedral crypt
The old kings sleep beneath crested slabs. Now and then, someone disturbs their rest.
the north wall
The stretch of wall the patrol skirts when the wind blows. Everyone knows that.
Objects
the signet ring
The crest has been filed away almost completely. Almost.
the ciphered letter
Orderly rows of meaningless signs. The ink is costly, the paper costlier, the sender - unknown.
the broken lantern
The glass cracked, the wick burned to the end. Someone needed a lot of light, fast.
the bishop's chalice
Gold set with blue stones. Blessed three times, stolen twice.
the locked chest
Three padlocks, two rows of straps. Fresh scratches around the hinges, not the locks.
Motives
revenge
O datorie de sânge pe care numai fapta o mai șterge.
blackmail
Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.
greed
Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
ambition
Setea de a urca, chiar peste trupuri, spre o treaptă mai înaltă.
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: the suspect with green eyes was at the cathedral crypt.
- The Chancellery checked twice: Balasa the Seamstress never touched the bishop's chalice.
- The chronicler notes drily: the suspect with dark eyes was driven by revenge, whatever the court may say.
- The chronicler notes drily: the mill by the river and revenge go together, whatever the court may say.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the scriptorium and fear of exposure go together.
- At the Chancellery, Codrin the Huntsman maintains: "I was driven by revenge".
- Before the investigator, Father Nicodim firmly repeats: "I was driven by fear of exposure".
- A maid whispered it at confession: the salt market and ambition go together.
- The chronicler notes drily: the ciphered letter and greed go together, whatever the court may say.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the locked chest and revenge go together.
- Whatever the market gossips: Balasa the Seamstress never set foot in the place the patrol skirts when the wind blows.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Codrin the Huntsman handled the signet ring.