The Trap of the Inn
The whispers began in Realm of the Crown like thin smoke; now the smoke smells of conspiracy. Those caught in it swear they knew nothing; one of them swears falsely. Before you, one by one, will stand Captain Vlaicu, Filip the Steward, Mother Evghenia, Toma the Cellarer and Petru the Herald. Motives abound — greed, jealousy, ambition, revenge and fear of exposure — yet only one moved the guilty hand. Few files have tested so many investigators; untangle the threads, catch the lie, and pronounce your verdict.
From the Chancellery archive
A trap at the inn is the oldest stratagem in the realm: gather people where the drink is, wait for tongues to loosen and collect what falls. This dossier, however, shows something else — the trap was not set for words but for a particular meeting that was never to take place.
Five suspects, and each has a good reason to be at the inn: Captain Vlaicu, because that is where people gather; Filip the Steward, because that is where accounts are settled; Mother Evghenia, because that is where alms are asked; Toma the Cellarer, because that is where wine is bought; Petru the Herald, because that is where news travels fastest. Five natural alibis — and precisely for that reason, not one of them helps.
The motives: greed, jealousy, ambition, revenge and fear of exposure. The places run from the salt market to the wharf, by way of the mill, the library and the lodge.
Tier IV, with hours. This is one of the dossiers that wants paper beside you, not just the grid on the screen.
Suspects
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 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
She runs the abbey with an iron hand and a golden pen. The register of donations has pages she shows no one.
1.60 m
right-handed
dark eyes
black hair
He holds the keys to every cellar in the castle. He claims the wine vanishes on its own, by "angelic evaporation."
1.73 m
left-handed
brown eyes
red 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 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 abbey library
Thousands of leather-bound tomes. Some of the chains on the shelves were cut recently.
the hunting lodge
The royal cabin in the heart of the forest. Far from the eyes of the court - which is exactly what suits some.
the wharf
Moored boats, wet ropes, and goods that prefer to arrive in the fog.
Objects
the purse of gold coins
New coins, unworn, from a minting not yet in circulation. Interesting.
the amber necklace
Beads of golden resin strung on a silk thread. The thread is broken and hastily reknotted.
the vial of belladonna
A small flask, a wax stopper, a label written with care. Three-quarters empty.
the silver-clad icon
The silver casing is old craftsmanship; the nails that hold it were driven this week.
the guild seal
The stamp that turns any goods into goods "of certified quality." Worth a mine of gold.
Motives
greed
Dorința nesățioasă de avere, care nu se oprește la nimic.
jealousy
Otrava care mistuie pe cel ce râvnește ce nu-i al lui.
ambition
Setea de a urca, chiar peste trupuri, spre o treaptă mai înaltă.
revenge
O datorie de sânge pe care numai fapta o mai șterge.
fear of exposure
Groaza de a fi dat în vileag, care împinge la orice.
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.
at vespers
At the evening service, when the bells drown out any footstep.
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 chronicler notes drily: Filip the Steward handled the vial of belladonna, whatever the court may say.
- The gate guard swears: the suspect with black hair was at the wharf.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the wharf matches that hour: at noon.
- The gate guard swears: the suspect with blond hair was there at dawn.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the salt market and revenge go together.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit was at the hunting lodge".
- The customs register is clear: ambition does not match that hour: at dawn.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the shortest suspect was driven by greed.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the left-handed suspect handled the amber necklace.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the silver-clad icon matches that hour: after matins.
- The chronicler notes drily: the hunting lodge and the silver-clad icon go together, whatever the court may say.
- By the order of the hours, first comes the suspect with chestnut hair, then Toma the Cellarer.
- At the Chancellery, Filip the Steward maintains: "I was driven by jealousy".
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the mill by the river and the guild seal go together.