"I feel absolutely ridiculous," Clive grumbled as he glanced down in disgust at his outfit which consisted of a woolly black jumper with a pale grey shirt underneath, old navy trousers and a pair of black wellingtons. Emmy and Flora wore chequered knee length skirts and knitted cardigans while Luke had removed his blue sweater so that his viridian shorts and white shirt with blue suspenders over it could be seen. They were all clad in similar attire from the World War Two time period, with Luke being the exception after refusing to remove his beloved blue cap.

MJ picked up her megaphone and pointed it in Clive's face. "QUIET ON THE SET!"

Flora pulled at a loose thread on her cardie uncomfortably. "Do we have to wear these costumes? This is really itchy."

"I agree," Emmy fiddled with the hem of her skirt "Red isn't my colour at all... And isn't all this a bit much?"

MJ lowered her megaphone. "What are you talking about? You guys look perfect! Lady Dahlia did a great job."

"I feel completely fine in my costume," said Luke. "And to be honest I'm kind of excited."

"See, that's exactly the sort of enthusiasm we're looking for," MJ told them "Now get out there and make some magic, people!" She walked off the set and took her seat in the director's chair, loud speaker in hand. "PLACES, EVERYONE!"

"What did she say?" Clive yelled "My ears are still ringing..."

"AND... ACTION!"


Chapter One

LUKE FINDS A TOP HAT

Once there were four children...

(("Emmy and I are adults, actually," Clive interjected.))

Once there were two young adults and two children whose names were Emmy, Clive, Flora and Luke. This is the tale of what happened to them when they had to leave London while the Second World War was still going on. They had to stay in the house of an archaeology professor...

(("Do you mean our Professah Layton?" Luke asked excitedly.))

*Sigh.* Yes, I mean the Professor Hershel Layton—English gentleman, puzzle master extraordinaire and professor of archaeology at Gressenheller University.

As I was saying...They had to stay in the house of an archaeology professor who resided in the countryside, near a little village known at St Mystere. The professor had no wife (she tragically passed away in an unsuccessful laboratory experiment not so long ago) and he lived in a grand old house with a house keeper by the name of Rosa. He had dark eyes, short light brown hair and usually wore a smart black coat and a top hat atop his head; however when he came to meet the four of them at the doorstep, his top hat was nowhere to be seen.

(("Whatever could have happened to the professor's hat?" Emmy wondered.))

((I swear the next person who interrupts me is gonna be DEAD MEAT!" MJ growled.))

...The children ((DON'T. SAY. A. WORD. CLIVE!)) instantly liked him and were intrigued by his great knowledge and hospitality towards them.

After bidding them good night, the professor retreated to his study in order to solve another puzzle and they were left to settle on their own. Luke (who was the youngest) had pleaded and Clive had battled Emmy (the eldest) at rock/ paper/ scissors until the girls finally allowed the boys to enter their room where they mulled over the past evening's events.

"We've fallen on our feet and no mistake; this is going to be perfectly splendid. That old chap—"

(("Wait! CUT! CUT!" Clive shouted "Why do I have to talk that? I sound like some old posh-tottie English twit, for God's sake!"

"I thought it sounded spot on," MJ purred "Splendid, Darling, simply splendid!"

"Ha-ha."))

"—will let us do anything we like," said Clive.

"He's so kind," said Flora.

"I like him," said Luke "He solved the puzzle I was trying to work out at the train station in ten seconds flat."

"Yes, he's been very generous indeed," Emmy nodded "Remember, we have to be well behaved for him while we're here..." (She noticed Luke trying to stifle a yawn.) "...And I think it's about time you went to bed."

Clive, having not gotten any rest on the train journey here, was in an extremely foul mood. "Alright, Mum."

"We could all use some sleep," Flora agreed as she snuggled under her duvet "Good night, everyone."

"'Night..." Luke mumbled sleepily as he dozed off besides his sister.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," Clive hissed.

Emmy was just about to drift off when she shot out of bed. "CLIVE! LUKE! GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR ROOM!"

The next morning, the children woke up to the sound of raindrops splattering against the window pane.

"I hate rain," Clive muttered as the heavy downpour obscured his view of woodland outside.

They had just finished eating breakfast with the professor, who was still hatless. He had greeted them cheerily over fried eggs (courtesy of Rosa) before dashing back up to his study. Now they were sitting in a room the professor had chosen out for them specially, filled with a wooden bookshelf as packed as a library, an old radio, a comfy settee and a large window that overlooked the back garden.

"Stop complaining, Clive," Emmy scolded him "It isn't that bad in here... He said we should feel free to read any of the books and there's even a radio."

Luke stood up. "But the professah didn't say we had to stay in here. Come on; let's look around."

Everyone liked the sound of this and so they began exploring all over the house. Several doors they encountered were locked or simply lead into another empty guest room, while there were some that held exciting surprises behind them. The walls of one room were completely aligned with paintings, as if you were gazing into a hundred different worlds through many golden frames. In another the children found an abundant collection of toy cars. Flora refused to go into the chamber filled with dinosaur fossils and skeletons, instead she squealed with delight when she noticed a book on cookery lying on one of the window sills.

Soon they came to a big room containing nothing but a mantel piece and a large, red wardrobe in the corner.

"Nothing interesting in here!" said Emmy. She, Flora and Clive continued down the hall. Luke, however, was still standing in the doorway for something had caught his attention.

On top of the very dusty mantel piece was a tall round top hat with a red ribbon around its rim. Curious, Luke tip toed across the room to get a better look. The hat had been left above the fireplace as if it was an expensive vase, but why would the professor place it here? Surely, a hat such as this was meant to be worn above someone's head or kept somewhere safe...

Luke gingerly picked up the top hat and carried it over to the wardrobe. The moment the cupboard door was open, Luke was greeted with a gust of cold air. That was funny. Due to his small height it was easy for him to fit in the wardrobe. Luke stepped inside with the top hat under one arm and pushed a range of fur coats aside. It was quite dark and the wardrobe stank of moth balls. There must have been some kind of shelf where he could store the hat back here...

Luke let out a surprised yelp when he pricked his finger on something sharp. He had been expecting to find more fluffy coats but for some odd reason the air inside the wardrobe had turned cold and now the only thing he could smell was the aroma of cedar and pine needles.

He continued to move forward, brushing more tree branches out of his way, until he could hear the soft crunch of ice beneath his feet and feel the light touch of something cold and white on his face.

Luke gasped. "What the..?"

It was quite dark out and he was standing in the middle of white forest full of pine trees, with snowflakes gently falling from the sky. Luke wanted to touch the entire landscape in front of him, because it was too big to take in with his eyes alone. He could still see light from the room with the wardrobe behind him, but there was also a source of light further on ahead. Luke's feet crunched through the snow until he reached a forest clearing and discovered the illumination was coming from a lamppost.

There was a figure standing under the lamppost and Luke had to squint to make sure the snowflakes weren't distorting his vision. At first glance Luke thought it was just a regular man carrying an umbrella. He had a human face with a pointy brown moustache and a goatee but then Luke realized the man also had goat's legs, black hooves, horns and a tail.

He was a Faun!


Clive shook his head. "You made Don Paolo- one of the primary antagonists and Layton's arch nemesis—a GOAT MAN?

"Yep," MJ grinned "I thought it would be funny. He's kind of short and I always thought he looked like a goat. He's always acting gruff—get it?"

Emmy, Clive, Luke and Flora groaned and trudged off the set.

"Guess they didn't get it..." MJ murmured "Ah, well!" She turned to her invisible audience. "Don't forget to come back tomorrow for chapter two:

Welcome to Larnia... Now get lost!

Review people!