Hosting without knowing the answer?
Use the player PDF for setup. The evidence cards are already labeled A–D. Read the briefing, hand out each pair in sequence, and let the group solve together. The hints below open individually; the final answer stays closed until you choose it.
This opens every hint and the full solution for printing, then restores your previous view when the print dialog closes. Keep the printout away from players.
A nudge, when you need it.
A · The service order
Open a gentle hint
Treat trout and pear as a joined pair.
Open a stronger hint
Test all three possible positions for that pair.
B · The badge
Open a gentle hint
Use the exact time, not the latest entry.
Open a stronger hint
Remove FOX and HARE before assigning Nora.
C · The note
Open a gentle hint
The relevant symbol came from the door ledger.
Open a stronger hint
MOTH has key 3; V becomes S.
D · The route
Open a gentle hint
North is up; rows count upward.
Open a stronger hint
After the first two instructions you are at C4.
STOP HERE IF YOU ARE STILL PLAYING
Reveal the complete solution and ending
A: Tart, soup, trout, pear is the only valid order. If trout and pear occupied slots 1–2, tart could not precede trout. If they occupied 2–3, tart must be 1 and soup 4, forbidden. Therefore trout and pear occupy 3–4; soup must be 2; tart is 1. Digits 2,0,4,0 give 20:40.
B: At 20:40 the ledger shows MOTH. Ellis is HARE and Felix FOX. Of OWL/MOTH remaining, Nora cannot be OWL, so Nora is MOTH and Ada OWL. The ledger, eyewitness and non-transfer condition identify Nora Pike uniquely.
C: MOTH chooses 3. Shift each encrypted letter backward three: START AT THE ORANGE TREE.
D: Start B2. N2 to B4, E1 to C4, S1 to C3, E2 to E3. E3 holds case 17.
Final: 20:40; Nora Pike; case 17.
Read-aloud ending: The latch of case 17 lifts without resistance. The Moonglass rests inside, wrapped in a linen napkin. Nora admits she moved it to delay its sale: the late owner had promised it to the town's public observatory. The steward agrees to pause the sale while the written bequest is checked. Nora returns the lens and apologizes. The room's last candle sends a crescent across the ceiling. Dinner, finally, can resume.