id: curtain-call engine: story category: murder-mystery title: Curtain Call tagline: The stage dagger was supposed to fold. Opening night. Act Three. It didn't. estimatedMinutes: 30 difficulty: 3 players: { min: 2, max: 2 } theme: { primary: "#8b0000", accent: "#ffd166", background: "#0d0606", headingFont: "Playfair Display" } rules: hintPenaltySeconds: 180 roles: A: name: The Critic blurb: You watched from row C with a notebook. You have the police file and the audience's view. B: name: The Stage Manager blurb: You ran the show from the wings. Prompt book, props, keys, and backstage gossip. intro: | **The Alhambra Theatre, Cape Town. Opening night of "The Raven King".** In Act Three, the usurper stabs the old king with a folding stage dagger. Every night, the king falls, the audience gasps, and the actor gets up for his bow. Tonight, **Desmond Ashcroft** didn't get up. The dagger didn't fold. It was real. The understudy who held it is in shock. But he didn't bring a real dagger on stage. **Someone switched it.** ⚠️ *Hard case: the locks give you facts. You'll connect them in the accusation.* suspects: - id: felix name: Felix Moore role: The usurper (Desmond's understudy) description: Held the dagger. Gets Desmond's role if anything happens to him. - id: vivienne name: Vivienne Shaw role: Leading lady, plays Queen Margot description: Desmond's co-star of fifteen years. Their dressing-room arguments are legendary. - id: mia name: Mia Daniels role: Rising star, plays Lady Ros description: Twenty-two, brilliant, and rumoured to be Desmond's next big discovery. - id: owen name: Owen Price role: Director description: Desmond embarrassed him in front of the cast at every rehearsal. - id: greta name: Greta Lindqvist role: Props master description: Sets every prop herself. Swears her table was perfect at curtain up. chapters: - id: ch1 title: Two Daggers narrative: | The theatre owns more than one dagger. Which one killed Desmond, and where did it come from? clues: A: - id: a1-forensic title: Forensic note on the weapon type: report body: | Blade **21 cm, double-edged, steel**. Hallmark on the hilt: **a crown over the letter B**. Light dust in the crossguard grooves. This blade had **not been handled in a long time**. B: - id: b1-inventory title: Props and display inventory type: table body: | | Item | Where it lives | Blade | Notes | |------|----------------|-------|-------| | Stage dagger (folding) | Props table, stage left wings | 21 cm aluminium, retracts | Used nightly | | Spare stage dagger | Props cupboard (locked) | 21 cm aluminium, retracts | Still in cupboard | | 1952 "Raven King" dagger | **Foyer display case** | 21 cm double-edged steel, crown-over-B hallmark | Display only. Case "sticky", opens with a hairpin | | Director's letter opener | Owen's office | 15 cm brass | On his desk | - id: b1-greta title: Greta's props note type: note body: | *Checked my table at 19:30, all present and correct. Stage dagger folds. Set it on the BANQUET TABLE prop at the start of Act 3 myself.* lock: id: lock-dagger prompt: Where did the murder weapon come from? inputType: text format: The location answers: ["FOYER", "THEFOYER", "FOYERDISPLAYCASE", "DISPLAYCASE", "FOYERCASE", "THEDISPLAYCASE"] hints: - Match the blade description to the inventory. - Steel, double-edged, crown over B, and dusty. - The 1952 display dagger in the foyer case. successText: | **The foyer display case.** The 1952 dagger was taken from the case (sticky lock, opens with a hairpin) and swapped for the folding prop. The stage dagger lay on the banquet table during Act 3, within reach of the actors in that scene. keyName: Foyer Key - id: ch2 title: Stage Left narrative: | During the banquet scene, a woman in grey lifted the dagger from the banquet table and put it back. Two actresses wear grey gowns in that scene. clues: A: - id: a2-witness title: Your notebook, row C, centre type: note body: | *Banquet scene. The lady in grey on the **RIGHT-hand side of the stage** (as I look at it) picks up the dagger, turns her back to us, puts it down again. Odd. Not in last night's preview.* B: - id: b2-promptbook title: Prompt book, Act 3 banquet scene blocking type: document body: | *All directions are from the ACTOR's point of view, facing the audience.* - **Queen Margot** (Vivienne, grey gown): **DSL**, downstage left, at the end of the banquet table. - **Lady Ros** (Mia, grey gown): **DSR**, downstage right, by the candelabra. - The King (Desmond): centre, seated. - The Usurper (Felix): enters **UC**, upstage centre, after the toast. lock: id: lock-stageleft prompt: Which actress handled the dagger? inputType: choice options: - { id: vivienne, label: Vivienne Shaw } - { id: mia, label: Mia Daniels } - { id: greta, label: Greta Lindqvist } answers: ["vivienne"] hints: - Stage directions are from the actor's view. The critic was looking from the audience. - The audience's right is the actor's left. - The audience's right is stage left, and that's Queen Margot. That's Vivienne. successText: | **Vivienne Shaw.** The audience's right is stage left, and Queen Margot stands at stage left, right at the end of the banquet table where the dagger lay. keyName: Spotlight Key - id: ch3 title: The Typewriter Card narrative: | In Desmond's dressing room, his curtain-call speech card. He typed it himself on his ancient typewriter. It looks like nonsense. clues: A: - id: a3-card title: Desmond's speech card type: note body: | *"Thank you all. And tonight, a little announcement:"* ## DJR OD PIY GTOFSU *"...and please welcome my new leading lady!"* B: - id: b3-typist title: Backstage gossip about Desmond's typewriter type: note body: | "He typed everything without looking, and **his hands always started one key too far to the RIGHT.** Every letter comes out as the key to the right of the one he meant. He never noticed." - id: b3-keyboard title: Keyboard layout (stage-door office typewriter) type: diagram body: | ``` Q W E R T Y U I O P A S D F G H J K L Z X C V B N M ``` lock: id: lock-card prompt: What did Desmond mean to type? inputType: text format: The message (4 words) answers: ["SHEISOUTFRIDAY"] hints: - Each typed letter is one key to the right of the intended one. Move every letter one key LEFT. - D → S, J → H, R → E. - SHE IS OUT FRIDAY. successText: | **"SHE IS OUT FRIDAY."** At the curtain call, Desmond was going to announce that his leading lady of fifteen years was finished, and introduce **Mia** as his new lead. keyName: Typewriter Key - id: ch4 title: The Display Key narrative: | The foyer case has a proper key too. Someone signed it out tonight. clues: A: - id: a4-signout title: Key cabinet sign-out sheet type: log body: | | Key | Out | In | Dressing room | |-----|-----|----|---------------| | Foyer display case | 19:40 | 19:55 | **Room 1** | | Props cupboard | 18:30 | 18:45 | Room 6 | B: - id: b4-rooms title: Dressing room list (by billing) type: table body: | | Room | Who | |------|-----| | 1 | Director's office (Owen Price) | | 2 | Desmond Ashcroft | | 3 | Vivienne Shaw | | 4 | Felix Moore | | 5 | Mia Daniels | | 6 | Props (Greta Lindqvist) | - id: b4-owen title: Owen, cornered in the bar type: transcript body: | "Yes, I took the key! I showed a reviewer the old dagger before curtain up. It was in the case when I locked it at five to eight. Ask her. Anyway, that lock's so sticky you could open it with a hairpin." lock: id: lock-key prompt: Who signed out the display-case key? inputType: choice options: - { id: felix, label: Felix Moore } - { id: vivienne, label: Vivienne Shaw } - { id: mia, label: Mia Daniels } - { id: owen, label: Owen Price } - { id: greta, label: Greta Lindqvist } answers: ["owen"] hints: - The sign-out sheet uses dressing room numbers. - Room 1 belongs to the director. - Owen Price. successText: | **Owen**, from 19:40 to 19:55. The reviewer confirms the dagger was in the case at 19:55. So the dagger left the case **after** 19:55, and the key wasn't needed: a hairpin would do. Greta notes that one of **Queen Margot's** jewelled hairpins went missing during the first interval. keyName: Cabinet Key finale: type: accusation prompt: The house lights are up. Name the killer. maxAttempts: 2 questions: - id: who label: Who killed Desmond Ashcroft? options: - { id: felix, label: Felix Moore } - { id: vivienne, label: Vivienne Shaw } - { id: mia, label: Mia Daniels } - { id: owen, label: Owen Price } - { id: greta, label: Greta Lindqvist } answer: vivienne - id: how label: How? options: - { id: swap, label: Took the 1952 dagger from the foyer case with a hairpin and swapped it for the prop on the banquet table } - { id: felix, label: Felix brought a real dagger on stage on purpose } - { id: props, label: Greta set the wrong dagger on the props table before the show } - { id: key, label: Used the signed-out key to take the dagger before curtain up } answer: swap - id: why label: Why? options: - { id: role, label: To take over his role } - { id: fired, label: He was about to fire her at the curtain call and announce a new leading lady } - { id: humiliation, label: Revenge for years of humiliation in rehearsals } - { id: money, label: An unpaid debt } answer: fired successEnding: | Vivienne is still in Queen Margot's grey gown. She takes a jewelled hairpin out of her sleeve and lays it on the table. "Fifteen years I carried him. And he was going to replace me in front of a full house." In the interval she slipped into the foyer, opened the sticky case with her hairpin, and hid the 1952 dagger in her gown. In the banquet scene, at stage left, back to the audience, she swapped it for the prop. Felix never knew what he was holding. **Case closed.** The understudy will go on tomorrow. 🎭🔑 failEnding: | The wrong person is arrested. The play closes after one night, and Queen Margot takes the lead in the next one. reveal: | **Vivienne Shaw** used a hairpin to take the **1952 dagger from the foyer case** and **swapped it for the prop on the banquet table**, because Desmond was about to **fire her and announce a new leading lady**.