The Vespers Plot
The bells had barely finished ringing when word reached the Chancellery: a theft, within the very walls. The loss is not only in gold: it is in the trust that shattered along with the lock. On the Chancellery's list stand Teofil the Chronicler, Ilinca the Baker and Margica the Innkeeper; one of these names covers a lie. The places named in the testimonies — the throne room, the north wall and the hunting lodge — 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 writes the kingdom's history as he is ordered. The unwelcome drafts, however, he keeps every one.
1.69 m
left-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
At the Golden Boar inn, wine and secrets are spilled in equal measure. She never forgets a debt - or a word let slip.
1.61 m
right-handed
dark eyes
chestnut hair
Locations
the throne room
Gold, purple, and the most closely watched place in the kingdom. In theory.
the north wall
The stretch of wall the patrol skirts when the wind blows. Everyone knows that.
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.
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.
- Two witnesses, upon their crest: the suspect with greying hair never set foot in the place where all is gold and purple.
- The tracks in the dust do not lie: Margica the Innkeeper was at the hunting lodge.
- An unsigned note, slipped under the door: "the culprit was in the place where all is gold and purple".