The Veil of the Blazon
The bells had barely finished ringing when word reached the Chancellery: a theft, within the very walls. The Chancellery has set every other file aside: until what was taken returns, no one sleeps easy. The testimonies keep returning to the same names: Sword-Bearer Dragos, Sir Bogdan de Fag, Sava the Bell-Ringer and Ilinca the Baker. The places named in the testimonies — the old dungeon, the watchtower, the north wall and the salt market — each await their turn under scrutiny. Study the testimonies at your leisure, fit them into the grid, and pronounce your verdict without haste.
Suspects
He bears the king's ceremonial sword. At the tourney he has never lost; at dice, always.
1.86 m
right-handed
brown eyes
chestnut hair
He pawned his armour to pay his tavern debts. Honour, he says, does not rust.
1.85 m
right-handed
blue eyes
brown hair
He has rung the cathedral bells on the hour for thirty years. He sees the whole city from above and forgives nothing he sees.
1.83 m
right-handed
brown eyes
greying hair
She weighs flour to the gram and people at a glance. No one stays in her debt twice.
1.62 m
right-handed
brown eyes
chestnut hair
Locations
the old dungeon
Cells abandoned since the new dungeon was built. "Abandoned" is one way of putting it.
the watchtower
The highest point of the fortress. From here you see everything - and from below, everyone sees who climbs up.
the north wall
The stretch of wall the patrol skirts when the wind blows. Everyone knows that.
the salt market
Here anything is bargained for, from salt to silences. The price of silence keeps rising.
Objects
the abbess's bell
It calls the nuns to prayer. On the night in question, they all say, it rang once too many.
the stained parchment
A half-burned document with a stain that might be wine. Or not.
the ciphered letter
Orderly rows of meaningless signs. The ink is costly, the paper costlier, the sender - unknown.
the ceremonial crown
The "wearable" copy of the true crown. At least, that was the idea.
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.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the watchtower and the ceremonial crown go together.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the abbess's bell matches that hour: at noon.
- The chronicler notes drily: the old dungeon and the abbess's bell go together, whatever the court may say.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit was at the old dungeon".
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the suspect with brown hair handled the ceremonial crown.
- The gate guard swears: Sword-Bearer Dragos handled the ciphered letter.
- The hounds caught no scent at all: the salt market does not match that hour: at dawn.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the suspect with greying hair was in the place the patrol skirts when the wind blows.
- By the order of the hours, first comes Ilinca the Baker, then the suspect with greying hair.