The Torch of the Seal
An absence has fallen upon the court heavier than any presence: the disappearance can no longer be denied. Someone knows more than they say; the silences at court have suddenly grown very loud. Before you, one by one, will stand Nichifor the Spy, Onufrie the Executioner, Chamberlain Iorgu and Filip the Steward. The hours in question: "at dawn", "after matins", "at noon" and "at dusk". Take up the quill, follow the thread of the clues, and set your seal upon the verdict.
Suspects
Officially, he does not exist. Unofficially, he was seen in three places at once - which is, of course, impossible.
1.74 m
left-handed
dark eyes
brown hair
A quiet man with a loud trade. He keeps a notebook of the last words of every condemned soul.
1.92 m
right-handed
dark eyes
bald
He arranges the king's audiences and, for a small courtesy, the order in which petitions are read.
1.77 m
right-handed
grey eyes
brown hair
He counts the crown's silver every evening. On some evenings the count comes out different - and he says nothing.
1.79 m
right-handed
grey eyes
chestnut hair
Locations
the merchant's house
Carpets brought from overseas and a desk with more secret drawers than drawers.
the old dungeon
Cells abandoned since the new dungeon was built. "Abandoned" is one way of putting it.
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.
Objects
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.
the rusted sword
An old weapon, forgotten on the rack. The rust on the blade is newer than it looks.
the silver candelabrum
Heavy as a small anvil. It can light a room or end a conversation.
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 customs register is clear: the abbey library and the small wine cask do not go together.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: Filip the Steward was in the place where a quill creaks louder than a conscience.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the scriptorium and the silver candelabrum go together.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit handled the small wine cask".
- The chancellor deduced it coldly: if Chamberlain Iorgu was there after matins, then Nichifor the Spy was there at dawn.
- The customs register is clear: the silver candelabrum does not match that hour: at noon.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the old dungeon and the rusted sword go together.
- A note in the margin of the ledger: if the suspect with chestnut hair was in the place where a quill creaks louder than a conscience, then the bald suspect was in the place with thousands of leather-bound tomes.
- The healer says it with a raised finger: if Filip the Steward was in the place where a quill creaks louder than a conscience, then Chamberlain Iorgu was at the merchant's house.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Chamberlain Iorgu was there after matins.