THE VANISHING CARVER
A master carver disappears during a heritage preview, and the carved panel left on display is almost—but not quite—the original.
The Vanishing Carver is a respectful heritage-conservation mystery set in Kapit, grounded in object handling, restoration science, provenance and physical workshop evidence.
The premise
Master carver Jelian anak Ragai disappears during a private heritage preview and is found hours later inside a sealed timber drying room. A ceremonial carved panel scheduled for display has also been switched. The replacement is convincing enough to fool a casual viewer, but not the person who made the original.
What the player is trying to establish
Trace the switched carving, distinguish restoration work from deliberate substitution, and identify who killed Jelian before he could challenge the artwork's provenance.
Players must prove an artwork substitution without assuming that every restoration trace is suspicious, then connect the switched object to the sealed drying room.
Investigation skills this case rewards
- Provenance analysis
- Material forensics
- Object-movement reconstruction
- Distinguishing restoration from forgery
Spoiler-free investigation notes
- A replica can copy shape better than process.
- Weight, RFID movement and material composition tell different parts of the same story.
- The strongest suspect is the one who can explain both the object switch and the room access.
The playable case uses a fixed solution, cloud-saved progress and a ten-minute attempt window. You will need an account so the investigation state can be saved.
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