11

After breakfast the next day, Dr. Kasparsnow asked you, Wesley, and Snowell to follow him to a small room at the back of the house. It was narrow and lined with shelves of curious instruments, with a single window looking out over the valley.

On the desk lay a drawing of the Evergreen Star. Inside its glass shell were coils, a timed spindle, and several copper traces arranged in a careful pattern. Two lines ran from it: one to a box marked generator, the other to a sketch of the town square and its lamps.

“We built it as a test range,” Kasparsnow said. “The valley lights follow this signal. In a week, the North Pole will check their own navigation by matching the sleigh’s guidance field to this pattern. If the signal collapses at the wrong moment, Santa will not be able to begin his route. No calibration means no lift-off, and no deliveries.”

“You saw the lanterns on the way north,” Snowell said quietly. “Already out of rhythm. Someone has interfered with something.”

Beside the drawing lay several cards like your invitations, each with a tiny punched metal token.

“The letters from S. N. Ow were part of that system,” Kasparsnow said. “Each card carries a phrase and a token. Together they open the panel in the Star Chamber. Alone, they serve no purpose at all.”

Later, as you passed through the hall, you noticed a game in progress. Magnus Carolsen had White, playing against an elf. Under pressure, the elf made a desperate move, leaned back, and realised at once that the position was lost. In despair, he swept his pieces from the board. They scattered across the floor in every direction.

Black has just made a move, but after realizing that White can now force a win, he sweeps all his own pieces off the board. The Black pieces were 1 king, 1 rook, 2 bishops, 2 knights, and 2 pawns. What was the position before he swept the pieces away?