Back at the castle

Arriving back at the castle you and the others form a line to have their earnings counted. Curious to see what the others have acquired during their time in the town, you take the position in the back of the line.

As you work your way forward you can hear the official counting out the coins of your competitors. They all so far have fallen short of you, some only just so. The men who have already had their collections counted wait off to the side, sharing jokes at the next one to come up short of the current first place amount.

When it's finally your turn you know it will come somewhat close, but you are confidant in the fact that you will come out in first place when the official empties out your bag on the table before him.

As the official nears the end of the counting the jokes and whoops from the crowd of onlookers dies down. When your amount passes the previous winner he lets out an exasperated groan. You smile to yourself, pleased that you were able to apply some of your knowledge you had learned from your time spent with the brothers in the monastery.

Now, time to find that bath.

In the morning of the next day you and the other men assemble in the same field. When Eliza and Mathilde take their places on the stage once again the low buzz of conversation in the crowd dies away.

"Welcome back, honored guests. For those of you wondering, yes, we did eventually find our friend Baron Montferrat, and he has been freed from jail, but I'm afraid he has been disqualified for gross ineptitude." Eliza has the unique ability to look like a model stateswoman while being completely sassy. "Now then, as for today, no costumes are required." You hear a few sighs of relief from the crowd. "That's right, you may wear whatever you wish. Today, we have the Trial of Cleverness! In this trial, there are several pieces of my finest jewelry hidden in my private garden. As you may have guessed, to score a point in this challenge you must find one of these pieces. My husband must be able to solve abstract problems with sense and inventiveness. Simple enough, no?" Eliza does not wait for an answer and walks away.

A scavenger hunt? A bit less embarrassing than the last challenge, but almost as beneath you. You wonder how you will find a piece before the others. Jewelry hidden in as small a space as a garden, with so many contestants, must make for a wild scramble. Or so you thought. When the servants led your group to Eliza's garden, you were stunned. It was more of a forest than a garden, containing both more traditional manicured garden plants and statues in the center, as well as a surrounding of evenly-spaced trees. And is that, over in the distance...a lake?! Eliza must be ridiculously wealthy to afford something like this. Ok, maybe this won't be a scramble. It will be an exhaustive search.