KIN ACADEMY · WARM-UP · CASE ZERO← THE BOOKskip to the finding desk ↓
Anno 1348 · The Wayfarer’s Rest · Dartmoor · Case Zero

THE LEDGER LINE · The Tavern Tally

Outside, the moor wind howls and the Black Death stalks the county road. Inside, by lantern-light, Brother Osric the tavernkeeper tallies the night’s ale before sealing the parchment with his wax signet. One line grew after the seal was pressed. Can you find the forgery?

Start here: press the three seals ↓

Reading the evidence. An internet connection is required to load and submit this case.

Athelgard, your Game Master, attentive
Athelgard
🛡 Athelgard · Your Game Master

One number grew after the seal went on. Your task is not to guess which — it is to recompute the tally, name the line that cannot be true, and state what surviving evidence would prove you wrong.

She guides. She never guesses for you. The stamp is earned by your proof, not hers.

Everyone starts somewhere. Here is yours.

It is late night, 1348, at the Wayfarer’s Rest. The innkeeper keeps the night’s tally — every drink poured, priced, and sealed with his private mark, line by line. When the tally went to the guild, one line had been padded after it was sealed. Someone drank for free that night — or someone made sure they didn’t pay what they owed.

How to crack it

  1. Recompute the seals. Each seal is a fingerprint of the line it sits on (and everything before it). Recalculate all three, in order. Two match. One does not.
  2. Name the lie. Which line was altered, and which number in it?
  3. Say what would prove you wrong — one sentence in the box below. Skip it and the clerk refuses your submission. That’s the rule everywhere in the Book: a claim you can’t test isn’t a finding.

The night tally

reading the tally…

The sealing rule (straight from the guild’s charter)

loading…

Your finding

Required: at least 12 characters. Describe evidence that would overturn your finding.

The clerk’s seal press — check a seal by candlelight

You do not need to be a programmer to play. The press below recomputes any line’s seal right here in your browser — exactly what the guild’s rule describes. Press each seal; where the press and the register disagree, the seal is cracked. Then check the clerk’s rule to name which field was rewritten.

The seal buttons are beside each line in the night tally above. The printed evidence never disappears when you press one.