Once again, Desmond found himself surrounded by bumpkins. He supposed Dropstone was made somewhat bearable with the village festival and its rich history.
Aurora, Flora and Luke were definitely enjoying themselves observing the stalls and the fairground games. As Desmond had the best aim, they begged him to win them prizes: A toy cow for Luke, a notebook for Aurora and a red bracelet for Flora.
Hershel smiled at their antics, but his mind was obviously occupied with the Elysian Box. They asked several villagers about the item in question; most of them were elders terrified by mere mentions of the supernatural. One old woman gave them a tea set for their troubles.
"Well," Hershel said brightly, "at least we have tea."
Desmond patted Hershel's shoulder, but it came across as awkward rather than comforting. He coughed as they made their way to the village hall, covered in balloons and bunting. "Dropstone is pleasantly quaint, but it can't compare with Stansbury."
"Stansbury?" Flora said.
Hershel smiled. "That's the village where Desmond and I attended school."
"Oh... Is it anything like St. Mystere?"
Desmond listened in; he still hadn't learned much about Flora's mysterious village.
Hershel simply admitted, "The residents of Stansbury were also fond of puzzles."
Not all of them, Desmond thought. Mira would make Randall run laps if he proposed a puzzle during fencing practice. Surprisingly, Anne took a liking to sliding puzzles and crosswords...
Desmond shook his head. Now wasn't the time for brooding. He needed to focus, to help Hershel—
"When she was a child, I used to read to her until she fell asleep."
Oh, for goodness' sake! Desmond whirled away from the sappy white-haired man. Someone caught his sleeve. He glanced at Aurora and sighed. "It's fine... I'm fine."
He put on a smile for Hershel and even cracked a joke as they approached a field filled with cow-shaped balloons. "I've never herd of flying cows!"
"That's terrible even by Sycamore standards," Luke groaned.
"Did it put you in a bad moooood, Luke?" Flora added. She giggled with Aurora.
"Make them stop, Professor!" Luke pouted at Hershel.
"That's enough, you three. You don't want to milk it." Hershel chuckled (much to Luke's chagrin) and looked around. "It seems that they are still setting up for the competition."
"Can we see more of the village?" Flora requested, fiddling with her bracelet.
The five of them explored the surrounding fields, a farm and a village shop, run by a maid from the Anderson household. She chatted about Mr. Anderson and advised that they should talk to him, but they chose to avoid his mansion when they heard Inspector Chelmey was already there. (The last thing Desmond needed was a Scotland Yard official prying into his past.)
"Besides," Desmond said, "it sounds like Mr. Anderson has enough on his plate with his daughter."
They made it back in time for the livestock competition, but two farmers were having an argument.
"Looks like they're in a bit of a bo-bind," Desmond quipped. Luke shot him a sideways glance and went to question the cows on the issue. Meanwhile, the rest of them scoured the crowd for Mr. Anderson, who was supposed to be judging the entries. Flora spotted him; he resembled Mr. Beluga with his short stature, his dapper suit and his bowler hat, but their manners were worlds apart. Mr. Anderson was more than willing to answer their queries.
Unfortunately, he hadn't encountered the Elysian Box (or 'Pandora's Box' as he called it) himself. All he could tell them was that his mother-in-law, Sophia, was searching for it until she died. Why she was after the box, he never knew. Somehow, Desmond doubted she'd came back to haunt Dr. Schrader for the box. She was an incredible woman, according to Mr. Anderson, and through her sacrifices Dropstone had been able to flourish.
Hopefully, this village wouldn't suffer the same fate as Stansbury or Belmare…
When Mr. Anderson left to congratulate the competition winners, which were resolved thanks to Luke, Hershel suggested they return to the station.
"You go on ahead," Desmond told him. "There's something I just want to check." He hurried to the plaza before anyone could offer to accompany him.
The man who had been wailing about his lost loved one was gone, thankfully. Desmond stood in front of a monument Aurora had investigated earlier. At some point, the fountain had been turned on. He splashed cold water across his face and stared at his reflection.
This had to stop.
How could he survive when every turn they took, every soul they met, reminded him of them? The family he'd lost rarely strayed from his thoughts, but never had he felt so overwhelmed.
Just get through this trip, Desmond told himself, for Hershel's sake.
Hershel and the others would be worried if Desmond kept them waiting.
Taking a deep breath, Desmond wandered back to the station. As he was passing the stalls, however, he noticed some commotion— an elderly man had slipped on a red bead, exactly like one of the ones from Flora's bracelet. In fact, there were several discarded beads...
Desmond followed the trail of beads, picking them up as he went through the village. If Flora had dropped them, they would be able to reassemble her bracelet.
But why would Flora come behind this barn, of all places?
That was when he saw the man in purple, carrying a large sack.
"Just a bag of flower," the man grunted. "Now buzz off. I'm busy—" He stiffened as there was weak cry from the sack.
"H-help..."
Desmond kicked the man's legs out from beneath him and caught the sack. He pulled the poor girl free. "Flora, are you alright?"
"Des...mond?" she mumbled. She blinked at him dozily.
"I've got you." He scooped her up in his arms and scowled her kidnapper. The brute deserved a good beating, but he needed to get Flora to safety.
"Hold it, Descole!" Desmond froze at the man's shout. "Yeah, I know who you really are. To think, I once respected your disguises and your inventions, but now you're working with Layton!"
"Stay away from my family," Desmond growled, "or you'll wish you were dealing with Jean Descole." Holding Flora close, he ran from the barn.
Hershel, Luke and Aurora were waiting anxiously for them at the station plaza.
"Desmond! What happened?"
Gently but urgently, he passed Flora to Hershel. "I'll explain on the train."
"That sounds like Don Paolo," Luke exclaimed after hearing Desmond's description of the man. "We had a nasty time off him in St. Mystere!"
"Was he after Flora back then?" Aurora looked at Flora, curled up on the sofa across from them. Desmond had deduced that she was under the effect of chloroform.
Hershel shook his head. "Don Paolo was only interested in stealing St. Mystere's machinery. He didn't show any hostility towards Flora, until we found her..." Hershel frowned and rested his hand on Flora's head.
"Did you ever cross paths with him before you visited St. Mystere?" Aurora wondered.
"I don't recall doing so... but he seems to truly resent me."
"He recognized me as Descole," Desmond revealed in a low voice. "Could he be affiliated with Targent? A rogue agent, perhaps?"
Luke traded a glance with Remi, perched on his shoulder. "He did have a flying machine..."
Hershel stood up slowly so he didn't disturb Flora. "I'm going to do a quick search of the train."
Desmond followed him out of the cabin for a moment, closing the door behind them.
"Please stay and watch over the children," Hershel intoned.
"They're barely children anymore," Desmond reminded him. "Flora will want to see you when she wakes up. Let me go in your place—"
"You need to rest as well," Hershel pointed out. "I won't be long and Flora won't be alone."
Sighing, Desmond went back inside their cabin. He was met with Luke and Auroras' concerned stares.
"Will the professor be okay on his own?" Luke said.
"Of course," Desmond replied, returning to seat. He pointed to Luke's hamster. "In the meantime, let's devise a new workout routine for your little friend."
They had just finished setting up Remi's exercise course— an apple, a house and a torch— when suddenly, the room went dark.
Flora was awoken by Luke and Auroras' cries. "P-professor?"
There was a squeak, a tap and the torch was turned on.
"Well done, Remi!" Luke crowed.
Desmond picked up the torch, shining it over Flora's trembling form. "Don't worry, we're here." He peered out the window. "We've just entered a tunnel… and it appears there's been a blackout."
Aurora took Flora's hand and said, "Surely, there can't be a problem with the train after they repaired it..."
"You're right." This was no accident. Desmond threw open the cabin door. He cast the torch up and down the carriage.
"Is the professor out there?" Flora asked.
"I can't see him, but we're going to find him." Desmond herded them through the train, hunting for Hershel. The restaurant, the kitchen and the carriage halls were all deserted. Was this Don Paolo's doing...?
Aurora let out a gasp. Desmond brandished the torch in her direction.
"Please excuse me! I can barely see where I'm going..."
Don Paolo sounded oddly polite. Actually, it was a young woman with purple hair who had bumped into Aurora. She smiled apologetically and continued past them.
"Katia?" Luke said. The woman paused. "Have you seen our friend, the professor?"
"He's wearing a top hat and a black jacket," Flora chipped in desperately. "We can't find him anywhere."
Katia was thoughtful for a moment. "If you haven't seen him, there's only one place he can be. Come with me, quickly."
She led them to the third carriage, but stopped when they reached a locked door.
"It's a puzzle lock," Flora explained, "like some of the ones used in St. Mystere." She rearranged the symbols on the door and it slid open.
"Wait for us, Flora," Desmond said. He turned to Katia as they ventured through the noticeably grander carriage. "This is the deluxe carriage, isn't it?"
"Yes," Katia whispered. "People say this part of the Molentary Express goes to a phantom town-"
They heard a cabin door roll open and Flora cry out with relief, "I think he's in here!"
Hershel was sound asleep on a sofa. If this was Don Paolo's handiwork, why had he so carelessly left Hershel for them to find? Desmond entered the room, but he was hit by a floral scent, strong enough to make his eyes itch. He rubbed his eyes with a yawn—
Oh no.
"Don't come in," he warned, turning to the others in the doorway. Aurora, Flora, Luke and Katia had vanished. In their place was a woman with piercing black eyes.
"Going somewhere?" she hissed.