The Veil of the Feast
A ciphered letter, found where it had no business being, put the Chancellery on alert: someone is prying for another crown. What has leaked so far is hard to weigh; what might yet leak, impossible. Before you, one by one, will stand Mother Evghenia, Gavril the Farrier, Brother Anselm, Lady Ruxandra and Toma the Cellarer. Rumor walks the deed through every corner: the customs cellar, the old dungeon, the guild forge, the tourney field and the queen's garden. A sharp eye is not enough here — it takes an archivist's patience: fit everything together, then pronounce your verdict.
Suspects
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
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 copied manuscripts for forty years. He knows what every one of them says - including the forbidden ones.
1.75 m
right-handed
brown eyes
greying hair
The queen's shadow at every hour. She hears everything, sees everything, and embroiders all she learns into patterns known only to her.
1.65 m
right-handed
blue eyes
blond 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
Locations
the customs cellar
Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.
the old dungeon
Cells abandoned since the new dungeon was built. "Abandoned" is one way of putting it.
the guild forge
Anvils, tongs, and a fire that never goes out. Many small metal things vanish here.
the tourney field
Empty stands outside festival days. An excellent place for meetings that never happened.
the queen's garden
Roses trimmed to a line and paths you may walk only by invitation. At night, the hedge has ears.
Objects
the purse of gold coins
New coins, unworn, from a minting not yet in circulation. Interesting.
the ermine cloak
White fur with black tails - only the royal family may wear it. It has a tear at the hem.
the customs scales
Copper pans, sealed weights. One of the weights rings hollow.
the map of the realm
The kingdom's borders, drawn with a fresh correction where there should be none.
the silver-clad icon
The silver casing is old craftsmanship; the nails that hold it were driven this week.
Motives
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.
the inheritance
O avere așteptată, pe care numai o moarte o desparte de mână.
jealousy
Otrava care mistuie pe cel ce râvnește ce nu-i al lui.
blackmail
Un secret ținut ca funia la gât, strâns exact cât trebuie.
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.
- One thing is certain: the hour "at dawn" and the customs scales do not share the same match for suspects.
- Before the investigator, Lady Ruxandra firmly repeats: "I was in the place with stands empty outside festival days".
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the guild forge and blackmail go together.
- Mother Evghenia declares under oath: "I handled the map of the realm".
- About the culprit, the Chancellery knows one thing for certain: the culprit was at the customs cellar.
- In the Chancellery's ledger it stands in black and white: the customs cellar and the purse of gold coins go together.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: Mother Evghenia was in the place where the fire never goes out.
- The chronicler notes drily: the queen's garden and the silver-clad icon go together, whatever the court may say.
- The bell-ringer remembers well: the suspect with greying hair came earlier than the shortest suspect.
- The chronicler notes drily: Lady Ruxandra was there at dusk, whatever the court may say.
- Two witnesses, upon their crest: the tourney field and revenge do not go together.
- An honest-faced witness saw it plainly: the suspect with red hair was driven by jealousy.
- In the gate ledger, Lady Ruxandra stands higher, Gavril the Farrier lower.
- The gate guard swears: the queen's garden matches that hour: after matins.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the suspect with greying hair was there after matins.
- The customs register is clear: fear of exposure does not match that hour: at dusk.
- The gate guard swears: the purse of gold coins and fear of exposure go together.