A Toast at Vallombra
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The father of the bride raised his glass to the happy couple and collapsed. Someone at the head table wanted him to.
Story
Golden hour at Vallombra, a family vineyard among the hills. Sofia Marchetti has just married Daniel Ashby under the pergola, and her father Lorenzo stands to give the toast. He drinks from his engraved heirloom glass, says 'To love, and to good harvests', and falls.
He is alive, barely, in the hospital in town. The hospital says it was an overdose of his own heart medicine. He did not take it himself. The district inspector arrives at nine. Until then, the wedding is still going, and you are the guest who asks questions for a living.
How to play This is a case board. The evening runs in three rounds until the inspector arrives, and each round gives you a few actions: search a corner of the estate, or take someone aside for three questions. Show the right evidence to the right person and their story may change. Use Accuse to name the poisoner and say when the glass was poisoned before the last round ends.
In this story you are A wedding guest, the bride's old friend and an investigative journalist
Prologue
The ambulance's siren fades down the valley road.
Under the pergola, the head table is a still life: white linen, crystal flutes, a jacket over an empty chair, one glass missing from its place. The string band, uncertain, has started playing again, softly.
The bride stands in the middle of the courtyard with her shoes in her hand, and she is looking straight at you.
Sofia Marchetti"The hospital called. They said it was his heart medicine. Too much of it."
Her voice cracks, then steadies.
Sofia Marchetti"He's careful. He's always so careful. Please. You're the one who finds things out. Find this out."
Characters
Sofia Marchetti, 31, the bride, Lorenzo's only daughter, an architect in the city. Warm, clever and holding herself together by force of will.
Sofia Marchetti - AilismDaniel Ashby, 33, the groom, a chef who closed his own restaurant last year. Easygoing, kind, out of his depth in an old family.
Daniel Ashby - AilismBeatrice Marchetti, 58, Lorenzo's younger sister and half-owner of the estate. Runs the business side with an iron hand.
Beatrice Marchetti - AilismNico Ferrante, 40, Vallombra's head winemaker for twelve years, Lorenzo's right hand in the cellar.
Nico Ferrante - AilismClara Voss, 36, the wedding planner. Brisk, organized, carries a tablet with the minute-by-minute schedule and the photographer's live photo feed.
Clara Voss - AilismEndings
Reach an ending to add its card to your collection.
Look at who is missing from the happiest picture of the day.
0 reachedThe hand that pours the wine is not always the hand that spoils it.
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