The Glass Swan Affair
1 plays0 messages
Ninety seconds of darkness at the museum gala. When the lights came back, the priceless Glass Swan was gone.
Story
The Marlowe Museum's winter gala: champagne, a string quartet, two hundred guests in evening dress, and at the center of the Rotunda, the Glass Swan, a crystal masterpiece with a blue diamond eye. At 9:40 the lights went out. At 9:41 and a half they came back on, and the case was empty.
The doors are sealed. Nobody has left. You are the insurance investigator who wrote the Swan's policy, and you have until midnight, when the guests' lawyers win and the doors open.
How to play This is a case board. The night runs in three rounds, and each round gives you a few actions: search a room, or sit someone down for three questions. Show a suspect the right evidence and their story may crack. Use Accuse to name the thief and say where the Swan is hidden before the last round ends and the doors open. Or, if you are clever, find another way to catch them.
In this story you are The insurance investigator who wrote the Glass Swan's policy
Prologue
The lights flicker, then blaze. Somewhere a woman screams.
In the center of the Rotunda the armored case stands open. Where the Glass Swan sat ninety seconds ago, there is nothing but a velvet cushion with a swan-shaped dent.
Already a tall man with an earpiece is barking into his radio.
Marcus Kell"Seal the doors. Nobody leaves."
And the museum director, emerald silk and white face, is pushing through the crowd straight toward you.
She stops close enough that nobody else can hear. Her voice is very low and very calm.
Delphine Aubry"Our guest from Halden and Rowe. You wrote the policy, so please, find it. Quietly. Before midnight, and before the press."
Characters
Delphine Aubry, 47, director of the Marlowe Museum for six years. Brilliant fundraiser, immaculate host, and very good at hiding stress.
Delphine Aubry - AilismMarcus Kell, 39, the museum's head of security for four years. A former army logistics officer, efficient and commanding.
Marcus Kell - AilismOttoline 'Otto' Brandt, 58, shipping heiress and collector of glass. Tried to buy the Swan last year and was refused.
Otto Brandt - AilismFelix Navarro, 26, working the gala as a caterer. Until last year, he performed close-up magic in clubs as 'Felix the Fabulous'.
Felix Navarro - AilismPriya Raman, 30, junior conservator. Meticulous, earnest, and the person who knows the Swan best.
Priya Raman - AilismEndings
Reach an ending to add its card to your collection.
Sometimes the best way to catch a thief is to let them finish the job.
0 reachedThe thief never left the room. Neither did the Swan.
0 reachedThe most helpful person in the building may be helping themselves.
0 reachedTwo hundred very important guests have limited patience for wild accusations.
0 reachedStart as a guest, or sign in to keep it with your account.
Sign inMore from HaR8
A tiny bakery that opens at eleven at night and closes at dawn. Its baker has never once seen the sunrise.
You're home for the summer lantern festival. Seven nights, three people who make your heart stutter, one last fireworks show.
Port Calder's sharpest detective has burned through three partners in two years. He'd prefer you didn't make it four.
"Apprentice, today's lesson is a nap." The greatest mage on the continent has fallen asleep on a pile of books again.
The world's coldest grandmaster has never lost to you. She has also never once looked away from your side of the board.
A deadpan cat-folk barista whose tail gives away everything she won't say. Welcome to Three O'Clock, the sunniest café on the hill.