The professor and his companions, minus Travis have arrived at the Queens Museum of Art. The interior of the building had a long red carpet on the marble tiles nearby each exhibit. There were beautiful chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, which had a starry sky pattern on it. The walls were polished to a mirror sheen, to the point that one could see their reflection on it. The trio could use some amusement after the professor got chewed out by Travis for his carelessness. He was very rude, but it seemed to everyone that he meant to show concern. Also, a true gentleman shouldn't let past situations bother him.
Professor Layton saw his reflection on one of the walls and made a pose involving a dramatic finger point towards the reflection. Luke made funny faces at his reflection, stretching his lips sideways with his index fingers and sticking his lower teeth outward. Flora spread out her dress in a ladylike manner while kneeling slightly in front of her reflection. After the trio had amused themselves for that brief moment, they looked around the 'Haunted Mansion' portion of the museum. If there was any place that would have information on the White Atlamillia, and possibly the snow tower, it would be there. There were two exhibits if interest regarding the mystery that Professor Layton set out to solve.
The first was a long black stone in a hollow casing that looked like the 'Yang' part of the Taoism symbol. There was another hollow casing next to the symbol, but it was empty. Below the symbol was the name of the exhibit, 'Black Atlamillia'.
Flora let out a shocked, "Atlamillia?! Professor, are you seeing this?"
"Yes, Flora... Perhaps the White Atlamillia that Travis was searching for has a counterpart to this Black Atlamillia..."
Above the exhibit was a stone with an inscription carved in it, which read:
Two halves, balanced upon one another
Eternal cycle of life and death
Harness these stones with the lingering regrets of demise
Grant thyself immortality and perfection
Luke was fascinated by this message, "So the two stones are part of a legend..."
A mysterious voice came from behind the group, "Indeed they are, young man..."
The group turned around to see a young man with short, blond hair and glasses that seemed to exemplify his piercing silver eyes. He wore a red tuxedo with a black tie. For some reason, Flora was unnerved by his presence and clutched the professor's arm tightly.
The man had a tender smile, "Oh, I hope I didn't startle you. I am merely in favor of the young man's judgment."
The professor was curious, "And who might you be, sir?"
"Oh, my apologies. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Silver Queens. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister..."
"Professor Hershel Layton. And there are my companions, Luke Triton and Flora Reinhold."
"It's truly a pleasure. I see you have taken an interest to the Balance Atlamillia stones. We have much in common."
"Mr. Queens, are you the owner of this museum?"
"Ah, so you've noticed... That's correct! My great-grandfather had once travelled the world collecting interesting and unique artifacts such as this. I quickly realized that he had acquired so many, so eventually, he opened a museum in America. I am the fourth generation of possessors of this museum. The stone that you see in that exhibit is one of two stones called Balance Atlamillia, that is said to hold the balance between life and death."
"I see... Mr. Queens, would you know any more about this other stone? I believe it has something to do with a mystery that I'm trying to solve."
"I do not... As you can see, the other stone has eluded my grasp for the time being. One day, I hope to acquire it and add it to my collection. Perhaps then, the relation between the stones may be discovered."
"Well, Mr. Queens. I appreciate your time. We must be off now."
"I understand. Please enjoy your stay."
The group had left Mr. Queen's company to investigate the second exhibit of interest. It was an old photograph of the snow tower itself, which Luke had noticed first, "Professah! Look at this! It's the snow tower we're exploring!"
The professor was intrigued, "Ah, that it is, my boy. Now let's see..."
The professor was looking for differences between the picture of the snow tower that he received at the start of the mystery and the old black-and-white photograph that lay in front of him.
The professor muttered to himself, trying to piece together the differences, "Well, to begin with... This photograph was taken in 1909, back when the snow tower's construction had just finished. Hmm... There's no snowfall in this photograph... So it wasn't always a 'snow tower'... The outer walls and clock faces weren't built to the modern standard of today either...
The professor eyes had grown wider, "Hmm? What is this?"
Luke had failed to see what caught the professor's eye, "What is it, professah?"
"The peak of the snow tower..."
The professor hadn't noticed it before, but when comparing the two pictures, the top of the current tower is stretched out longer than the one in the old photograph.
The professor informed Luke and Flora of this observation, "Luke, Flora... I believe the answer to this puzzle may lie in the roof of the clock tower."
Both Luke and Flora were excited, "Then let's go, professah!" "Let's solve this mystery!"
The professor was humbled, "Yes, we should be off now."
When the group had reached the entrance that they entered from, three kids that were around Luke's age had just walked in.
Luke had yet another look of excitement, "Professah, those are my friends!"
"Hm?"
"The friends that I mentioned in the letter! There they are! I want them to meet you! I told them all about you!"
"Ha ha... Well, why not."
The first kid that Luke introduced was an African American boy with short black hair, brown eyes, and a green shirt and jeans, "Professah, this is Tyler."
The second kid was an American girl with long braided red hair, blue eyes with freckles on her cheeks, and a pink shirt and matching pants, "And this is Rebecca."
The third kid was an American boy with scruffy red hair, blue eyes with freckles much like Rebecca, and a black shirt with a skull and crossbones on it and jeans, "And this is Dudley."
Luke turned to the professor and Flora, "Guys, this is the famous Professah Layton! Oh, and that's his adopted daughter, Flora."
Tyler spoke with a typical childlike voice, "Hey, Luke! Is that the same professor you're always talking about?"
The professor introduced himself, "Why yes! I am indeed Professor Hershel Layton. You must be Luke's new friends."
Rebecca sounded excited and had a very high-pitched voice, "Wow! Luke always like, totally told us about how you could solve every puzzle in the world. Is it true?"
The professor was humbled (again), "Oh, well puzzles are certainly an wonderful hobby of mine!"
Dudley was silent at first, but then spoke with a very low-pitched voice, "Your eyes are dots."
The professor felt awkward, "Yes, Dudley. I am aware of that. Thank you."
Dudley spoke again with the same tone, "Your hat's bigger than your head."
And again, the professor felt awkward, "Yes, I am aware of that as well."
Rebecca wanted to see the professor solve a puzzle, "Professor Layton? I have a totally cool puzzle for you, if you would like."
"Well, go right ahead, Rebecca. I love the thrill of a good puzzle!"
"Ok, there's this clock that doesn't have hands, but it can still tell time anyway. Why?"
The professor had answered this immediately, "Why, that is because the clock in question is an alarm clock."
The three kids were impressed, although to a puzzle aficionado such as Professor Layton, that was a trifle simple.
Luke told his friends, "Listen everyone! The professah, Flora, and I are going to solve the mystery of the Metropolitan Clock Tower. I'll be gone for a while, OK?"
Tyler spoke to Luke, "Alright then! See ya, Luke!"
Luke and Tyler pounded their knuckles together in a friendly manner.
The professor and his companions had parted with Luke's new friends and left the museum. It was time to return to the snow tower.
After ten chapters, I finally got around to Luke's friends that he mentioned in his letter. That took forever... As always, feel free to review!
