The Trap of the Abbey
A plot hatched in the shadows threatens the crown, and whoever hatched it still sits at the court's table. The scheme has many threads but a single knot — and that knot bears a name. Suspicion has fallen on Damaschin the Healer, Costache the Toll-Keeper, Chamberlain Iorgu and Balasa the Seamstress — and until the proof is plain, none of these names leaves the room. The hours in question: "at dawn", "after matins", "at noon" and "at dusk". Study the testimonies at your leisure, fit them into the grid, and pronounce your verdict without haste.
Suspects
He knows the cure for any illness and the dose at which the cure becomes something else. He swears he has never mistaken the dosage.
1.71 m
left-handed
green eyes
grey 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
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
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
Locations
the scriptorium
Slanted desks, ink, and working silence. Here a quill creaks louder than a conscience.
the merchant's house
Carpets brought from overseas and a desk with more secret drawers than drawers.
the abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
the north wall
The stretch of wall the patrol skirts when the wind blows. Everyone knows that.
Objects
the guild seal
The stamp that turns any goods into goods "of certified quality." Worth a mine of gold.
the locked chest
Three padlocks, two rows of straps. Fresh scratches around the hinges, not the locks.
the signet ring
The crest has been filed away almost completely. Almost.
the ruby dagger
A short blade, its hilt set with a stone red as a frozen drop. It was sharpened recently.
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.
- In the gate ledger, the suspect with dark eyes stands higher, Balasa the Seamstress lower.
- The healer says it with a raised finger: if the suspect with dark eyes was there after matins, then Balasa the Seamstress was at the scriptorium.
- A maid whispered it at confession: Chamberlain Iorgu was there at dawn.
- The scouts confirm it: at suspects, the paths of the signet ring and the hour "after matins" diverge.
- The Chancellery checked twice: the suspect with grey eyes never set foot in the place the patrol skirts when the wind blows.
- The gate guard swears: the suspect with green eyes handled the signet ring.
- The traces left at the scene show it plainly: the culprit was there at noon.
- Whatever the market gossips: the scriptorium does not match that hour: at dusk.
- The chancellor deduced it coldly: if Damaschin the Healer handled the signet ring, then Costache the Toll-Keeper handled the locked chest.
- The chronicler notes drily: the suspect with grey eyes handled the ruby dagger, whatever the court may say.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: Costache the Toll-Keeper was at the abbey library.