Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Professor Layton franchise.
Chapter 28 Contraptions
The doors were just as broken down as the rest of the temple. They were simple, wooden doors that barely hung from the hinges. One of the two doors was covered in holes, almost like someone had kicked right through it.
''Looks like damage that Emmy could have done.'' Luke laughed and nudged her in her side.
''Why would I do that?'' she asked with a frown.
''Well, you always loved to fight and kick stuff. You're also pretty strong I guess.'' he shrugged.
Emmy lifted up her arm and squeezed her muscles.
''Hm, I guess I could be.-'' she moved forward towards the door and took a stance. ''-Let's test that theory.''
She swiftly kicked the door right out of its hinges, making it land inside the temple with a dramatic thud. With the amount of power from her leg, the wood suffered its final moments before it broke into pieces.
''Oh right. If Emmy kicked it, the entire door would explode.'' Luke chuckled dryly.
Adofo leaned down to Asim and whispered ''Are we really needed here?'' in his ear, to which Asim just shrugged.
They continued into the temple, which was surprisingly well lit from the holes in the ceiling and walls. After they walked through something eerily similar to the tunnel back in the cavern, the space opened up into what seemed like the first puzzle room. They all looked around and quickly spotted the entrance to the next tunnel. Strangely enough, the door was no longer sealed. The professor silently concluded that the puzzles must have been for one time only usage. It was kind of sad to the gentleman, but he knew there were more important matters at hand. They continued on through the temple without any problems. They saw a few activated boobytraps on the way and some dead animal carcasses.
In the next room, the group looked around in awe. The large square room had wooden spears stuck to the wall that seemed to have stabbed a couple of unfortunate mice in their way. On the floor, several symbols were depicted on the tiles. The symbols looked like different animals. Some tiles showed birds, while others showed snakes, baboons, lions, bulls and crocodiles.
''Strange...this looks like another puzzle.'' the professor mumbled while looking around.
Once again, the door on the other side of the room was already open. The professor's intellectual curiosity piqued. He couldn't just leave it all like this.
''Maybe it's similar to the puzzle with the axes in the cave.'' Luke suggested.
''Why is that Luke?'' the princess asked.
''Well, the cave had three puzzles in total. The one in the front to open the door, one in the middle and one at the end. It looks like this temple is set up in a similar way. Although we could enter just fine through the normal doors, the first room looked like it was set up with some sort of puzzle.''
''Indeed. The puzzles seem to already have been solved and deactivated.'' the professor added.
''So, there is no real reason for us to think about it too much, isn't there?'' Asim asked.
''Correct. But...it is interesting to see the work that was put behind it.'' the professor answered.
''So, how did the axe puzzle work?'' Emmy asked.
''Oh..., right you don't remember.'' Luke smiled sheepishly.
He thought back to the fearful moment he and the professor shared when they both thought Emmy had fallen to her death.
''The room had a steep drop that made it impossible for us to cross safely. In the middle, a single wooden beam was put up for someone to balance their way through to the other side. When someone would cross the beam however, ten giant axes fell down from the ceiling to make their journey across even more difficult.'' Luke explained.
''Oh my...how did you manage?'' the princess asked.
''Well, I didn't. Emmy did.''
''Wow...I did?'' Emmy asked.
''Yup.''
Luke smiled at the brunette, proud to be her friend.
''You had to hurry though, since the beam was being cut by the axes at the same time.''
''Oh dear!'' the princess listened to the boy's story with excitement.
''We really thought you didn't make it...but you did! You flung across the beam and triggered the lever on the other side. This activated some kind of mechanism that produced a stone bridge for me and professor to cross. The fireflies that we needed for the last puzzle appeared as well, finally lighting up the room. Oh, did I mention you had to do all that with a single torch in hand? We couldn't see a thing!''
''That sounds awesome!'' Emmy beamed.
''Yeah...it was.'' Luke grinned as if he had done it himself.
''From what I understood, the puzzles in the cave were categorized into three types of puzzles.'' The professor said while tracing one of the symbols on the floor.
''What do you mean, professor?'' Luke asked.
''The first puzzle needed knowledge of the country and its ways. Let's say this was the general knowledge puzzle. The second one was very physical, to a point where you needed to be a certain amount of fit to be able to cross. The limited time also factored into that puzzle.''
''Aah.'' the rest of the group sounded off.
''The third and last puzzle needed a lot of knowledge about the god Thoth and a mind capable of critical thinking. Let's call this the indepth puzzle. From the looks of it, the first puzzle in this temple seemed to connect on the same level as the entrance puzzle to the cave.''
''Wait does that mean you already figured it out just by looking through the room?!'' Luke said astonished.
''Well, a simple glance could do the trick my boy.'' the professor chuckled.
''And what about this one?'' Emmy asked while gesturing through the room.
''From what I can tell from our unfortunate little friends against the walls, this room seemed to have been a time puzzle as well. The walls would close in on the first travellers that have journeyed through here. The holes on either side of the wall fit perfectly with the stakes. If you weren't on time, you would be squashed and impaled.
''Blegh, that is disgusting.'' Adofo shivered.
''Those poor little mice...'' Luke sniffed.
''The symbols on the ground would be our way out. Who of you can tell me what animal represents the god Thoth?'' the professor continued.
''A baboon.'' the princess, Asim, Adofo and Mahir answered at the same time.
''Correct. This is where it gets physical. You would have to be able to stretch yourself over these four tiles that depict the animal in question. You would certainly have to be bendy enough.''
''Like a weird game of twister...But, what if you brought along companions? Surely that would make this puzzle a whole lot easier.'' Emmy questioned.
''Hm. Perhaps the first person that entered got trapped inside alone. Just like you were the first to drop down to the beam. Luke and I could have gotten onto it as well, but the first axe cut through the wood rather quickly, making it impossible for us to have followed.''
''So, then trap would have deactivated?'' Mahir asked.
''Yes it should have. Since we are currently not being subjected to it, I believe it is best for us to move forward. This has been an interesting discovery though. The last relic, the earring, might be in a similar structure if we were to look for it.''
''Great. Let's go everyone!'' Luke moved forward.
They walked through the next tunnel. If the professor's prediction was right, the next room would contain the final puzzle to get to the relic. They all knew the necklace was already removed long ago, but hoped to find anything to point them in the right direction. What they hadn't noticed however, were the scurrying of tiny feet at their boots. The tunnel was long and damp. The group felt glad they had not worn any thicker clothing, since their sweat made their clothes stick to their bodies. The professor lifted up his tophat from time to time to let some air in, since the thing was basically a sauna on top of his head. Halfway through, the group noticed that the tunnel had started slanting upwards.
They continued on til the end, where they heard the soft rustle of leaves. What they saw next, was not what they had been expecting at all. The space in front of them was enormous. In the middle of the room, a large, golden staircase made its way up to the top of the temple, where the trunk from the tree started. They quickly understood that this was the very same tree they had seen from the outside.
''Marvelous.'' the professor whispered, enamoured with the design.
The top of the room opened up, creating a halo of light through the open space. The pathway from the opening of the tunnel until the start of the staircase acted as a bridge. Under the bridge, water flowed alongside the walls. The room seemed to be round, with the only way through, being up.
''Should we...climb the stairs?'' the princess asked hesitantly.
''I mean. It's the only way right?'' Luke answered.
Mesmerised by the surrounding area and without much thought, both Emmy and the professor stepped forward. They were surprised by the other's action and stopped to look at each other for a moment. They were both curious. Both ready to take action. They just didn't think the other would as well…
The professor smiled at her, glad that she still had her adventurous spirit. Emmy smiled back, glad that the professor seemed to accept her. They moved to the staircase, which was even more impressive up close. The professor wondered what the puzzle would be like. He hoped somewhere that they wouldn't have to worry about it for the sake of progress. But on the other hand...he was aching for another good puzzle. The man had a bit of a problem. They walked up the stairs, keeping an eye out for anything that could point to a clue. On the top, the roots from the tree curled neatly around the staircase, as if someone had purposely grown it in that way.
''There!'' Emmy spotted something on the tree.
They moved faster and stopped at the top. On the tree trunk, five horizontal lines were seemingly scratched into the bark, together with small holes and a riddle above.
''The right key will awake the G. The invention that lasts forever. Find my gift to help you along the way.'' Emmy read out loud what was written on the tree.
''Another riddle. It seems to have been worded similarly to the one in the cave. Especially the last two sentences. They are exactly the same!'' Luke exclaimed.
''Indeed Luke. We have a bit of a head start on this one. Let's look around to see if we can find the gift this puzzle is referring to. In the cave they were the fireflies. Maybe there is some other kind of ani…''
''KYAA!'' the princess screamed out loud, interrupting the professor.
From under her long dress appeared several mice that had been hiding until their presence was needed. The princess jumped away and hurried behind Asim's back to hide.
''I a..am n..not good with...r..rodents.'' she stuttered.
''Don't worry!'' Luke said excitedly. ''They're our friends. They are here to help us with the puzzle!''
''Are you sure Luke? Try to ask them if they have eternal life, like the fireflies did.'' the professor said.
Luke squatted down to the floor and started squeaking like there was no tomorrow.
''They do, professor! They say they have been around for a long time.''
''Curious...the fireflies died the moment they had fulfilled their duty. Something about the mice seems different. Could you please ask them for their help?''
Luke squeaked up another storm before turning to the professor with a mouse in one hand and a thumbs up in the other.
Another puzzle you say? Well don't mind if I try really hard to think of one.