The Vespers Intrigue
Someone slipped poison where it did not belong, and now the whole court eyes its goblets warily. The dose was measured with care — enough not to look like chance, too little to go unpunished. Before you, one by one, will stand Mihu the Archer, Manole the Jeweller, Iustin the Mariner and Damaschin the Healer. The testimonies cling to certain hours: "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 hits a coin tossed on the wind from a hundred paces. At questions, though, he always misses.
1.76 m
left-handed
brown eyes
brown hair
He tells gold from gilt at a glance. With people, he admits, it takes him two.
1.69 m
right-handed
brown eyes
brown hair
He brings goods from ports with unpronounceable names. Half the cargo never appears in the customs records.
1.78 m
left-handed
blue eyes
black hair
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
Locations
the wharf
Moored boats, wet ropes, and goods that prefer to arrive in the fog.
the castle cellar
Barrels as big as carts and corners the lantern never reaches.
the tourney field
Empty stands outside festival days. An excellent place for meetings that never happened.
the customs cellar
Sealed crates, thick ledgers, and air that smells of undeclared goods.
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 map of the realm
The kingdom's borders, drawn with a fresh correction where there should be none.
the purse of gold coins
New coins, unworn, from a minting not yet in circulation. Interesting.
the bronze key
Heavy, old, its teeth worn smooth. No one knows what door it opens anymore - or so they say.
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.
- Every scout reports the same about the culprit: the culprit was at the tourney field.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the purse of gold coins matches that hour: at dusk.
- A maid whispered it at confession: Damaschin the Healer was there at dusk.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: Manole the Jeweller was there at dawn.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the tourney field matches that hour: at dawn.
- A note in the margin of the ledger: if the suspect with green eyes handled the purse of gold coins, then the tallest suspect handled the abbess's bell.
- A maid whispered it at confession: the map of the realm matches that hour: at dawn.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: the castle cellar matches that hour: at noon.
- The gate guard swears: the wharf and the abbess's bell go together.