Chapter 1: An Invitation
The burning ball dropped to half-face, streaking a silhouette of Tower Bridge, its leaving light firing blinding glances off of London’s most prominent structures. The clock tower of Westminster Abbey pointed to where the sun once stood, and Londoners milled in the busy streets, savouring the last of the warmth.
Across the city stood a premier teaching establishment named Gressenheller University. The main building stood amongst some of the oldest in the area. If one were to step through the front doors, the building was less insistent on showing its age. The foyer was open for two floors, with wooden balconies for the second level lining the edges of the hallway. In one of the ground floor hallways to the left stood a door straight from a stereotypical private eye film. However, the window did not bear a name but a symbol: a top hat. That alone announced whose office it was.
In the office sat a slender man, facing the window in a four-legged wooden chair. The gentleman wore green shoes, a brown pair of trousers and a high-collar jacket to match. Underneath, the man wore a t-shirt of the most citrus orange. However, none of these details stood as much as the top hat on the man’s head, a black silk affair with a red band expertly wrapped around the base of the funnel.
Professor Hershel Layton’s office was a mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous. On a couple of the walls, there were various artefacts of note, and more strewn across parts of the desks, including a gold-coloured box with a goat’s head detailed on the lid. On the other hand, a shabby green sofa occupied the centre of the floor space. What desk area was not taken by interesting finds was covered in abstract notes, along with numerous patterns. Even amongst this, the professor found a prime spot to squeeze in a record player. The gentleman in question smiled, a saucer held softly in his left hand and a teacup in his right. He closed his eyes just briefly, taking a sip of his Layton Elixir, when a rapping came at the door.
“Hm?” The professor turned his head to the door, before placing the cup and saucer together on the nearest desk. He rose to his feet and walked upright towards the source of the sound. Upon open the door, he noticed a short man dressed in an orange suit, complete with a green tie. His head vaguely resembled a pineapple in both shape and the fact that a single tuft of hair sat on top of it (which Layton knew to be a toupee). The short man has a bushy white moustache and wore thick, round-framed glasses that obscured his pupils.
“Good evening, Hershel,” the orange-dressed man spoke properly.
“Dean Delmona! To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“A young man popped by the lobby not ten minutes ago with this package for you,” replied the Dean, brandishing a small package marked with the professor’s name in blue ink.
“How curious...” Layton mused, taking the package into his right hand. “Thank you, Dean.”
“No problem. Make sure you get home and have some rest, Professor.”
“I will. Have a good evening, Dean Delmona. Say hello to the family for me.” The Dean walked off down the corridor, and the gentleman closed his office door gently, before setting himself down at a desk and opening the box. A couple of folded pieces of papers revealed themselves as the package’s contents, each sealed with a golden stamp emblazoned with the letter C. The professor opened the desk’s drawer and pulled out a letter knife, before carefully unsealing the first sheet. It was a letter. Layton read onwards:
Dear Professor Hershel Layton,
Please forgive our intrusion. However, we are in dire need of your vast intellect.
Several of our subjects have been going missing, presumed abducted. We have not come across such activity for centuries, so we have had no real need for a service of your calibre. We write to you as a matter of urgency.
Please find enclosed instructions on how to find us. Should these instructions be followed as we expect them to be, you will have proven that you are the right one for the task.
We await your quick response.
Yours sincerely,
HRH Princess Celestia
And
HRH Princess Luna
Professor Layton thought for a moment. He had not heard of monarchs by those names before. Also, why would he be the right one, as opposed to being the right person? With this in mind, he unsealed the second sheet, revealing a map and instructions:
Puzzle 001
“From where we’ll be, leave from the eastern entrance and turn left. Take the right at the next junction, and a left at the next. Take the right at the next junction; take the next left and the next left again. Turn left at the end, then turn right at the end. Take the second left, then the next right. Take the next left, turn right and right again. Turn left at the end, then take the next right. Take the next left, the next right and the next left. Turn left at the end and take the second right. You should now be in front of a gallery. Where we are, the house number adds to eleven. The highest house number on the street is 30.
Good luck, Professor.”
The professor had a couple of questions in his mind, but he was a gentleman first and foremost, and he was happy to accept the task offered, especially by royalty. He studied the map carefully, tracing the directions in his mind. He quickly came up with an answer, of which he was sure. He placed the papers back in the box, before placing the box in his right jacket pocket. He quickly made for the door, closing and locking it behind him, before heading for the building’s entrance.
Around half an hour later, Layton stepped off a double-decker bus, a short walking distance from where he knew he had to be. With a fair geographical knowledge of the city, he arrived on the street where he was needed within minutes, and headed straight for the house.
“A simple enough riddle. Hmm, let’s see...” Layton noticed a metal plaque, a red button and a four-wheel dial on the door. He looked closely at the plaque, reading the following:
Puzzle 002
“One number brings you fortune,
And one lets bad luck reign,
Multiply, then once more each,
And spin them ‘round again.”
The professor placed his chin in his hand for a moment, before smirking in triumph. He dialled the required number on the wheels, before pressing the red button.
“And now?”
No sooner had the professor said these words, than did a peculiar aperture open in the door. It was a swirling void. Layton jumped back in restrained surprise.
“What is this?” This oddity was not like anything he had seen in his illustrious career thus far. The portal opened wider and wider until the professor could fit through it without stooping, top hat and all.
“Most intriguing, but worth investigating. A case beckons where a gentleman is needed.” With that, Professor Layton stepped into the hole, the world behind him becoming a blur. Before long, the tunnel took its toll and he lost all consciousness.
He hoped these royals had control of this, because to him it was dangerous, more so than he had encountered in a long time.