Ink's Notes: DID SOMEBODY SAY AIR? No, I said "it's time to update this story you fluffing slacker—"
Hooo boy, this is a long one! Our mystery list just keeps on expanding as things begin unraveling. Unravelling? Words and spelling. OK, I just googled it, why are both spellings right THIS IS UNIMPORTANT LET'S JUST GET TO THE CHAPTER NOW
Chapter Six – Grave Consequences
The sun had set and the moon and stars shone in the night sky, which almost seemed to have come about as Professor Layton and his comrades walked out of Felix Fortel's Fantastic Emporium (For lack of a fancy word for Store that starts with F). Professor Layton adjusted his hat, nudging it back just a smidgeon to allow himself to take in the night sky.
"There's so many stars out!" Flora exclaimed, gazing up at the night sky in wonder.
"Of course," Robin smiled, placing a hand on Flora's shoulder. "In places where there isn't much artificial light, you can see more stars than you'd normally be able to."
Chopper snorted through his nose with a noise that sounded sort of like impatience, and Luke turned to look at the reindeer, nodding a few times in response to the unspoken words before turning to face the Professor. "Chopper says we should hurry and check out the graveyard. He's worried we might miss the specter if we stand around for too long." Chopper nodded to confirm the translation, although he looked to be nervous for some reason. His expression was not missed by Luke, who turned back to look at him with concern. "It's okay if you don't want to come with us. I understand if you're scared." Chopper visibly bristled, then shook himself out and stomped on the ground a few times, standing as straight as he could manage. "Are you sure?" The reindeer nodded. "If you say so."
Luke turned his focus back to the group as Layton offered a friendly smile to Chopper. "It seems our animal friend is a bit apprehensive about the situation," he observed. "Luke, can you stick close to him? I think he would feel better if you did."
Luke nodded, adjusting his hat. "Leave it to me, Professor!" he declared, grinning at Chopper. The reindeer nodded to him in response and began walking in a direction that the group hadn't ventured towards just yet. Not to be left behind, Luke and Flora hurried along after him, followed in short order by Layton and Robin.
The walk didn't take very long with Chopper leading the way, and the party arrived at Old Ashton's graveyard without any incident. The graveyard was eerily quiet compared to the quiet hum of the city proper, despite its relatively small size. Chopper nuzzled his nose against Luke's ear, telling him that in the distance he heard the sound of running water, and it didn't take long for Luke to realize that it was probably the river that he'd rescued Pyrrhos from the day before. To the side of the graveyard, near the entrance but not necessarily in the way of anything, stood a small building that looked a bit ramshackle and worn down – the kind of building that most people would associate with a haunted house.
So it was perfectly understandable that Luke, Flora, and Chopper all bristled and yelped in surprise when Robin calmly walked over to the door of the building, raising her hand to knock. When she hesitated, then folded her arms across her chest in a contemplative stance, Layton approached her position, and after a moment of debating if they wanted to be left outside, alone, in a graveyard, Luke, Flora, and Chopper carefully followed.
"Is something the matter?" Professor Layton asked Robin, and she motioned for him to be quiet. After a few moments, the group heard what sounded like some sort of hissing noise, followed by a soft, male voice that was barely audible from their position.
The Professor frowned, and was about to knock when Robin simply reached down, gripping the doorknob to turn it, opening the door for them and stepping inside, motioning for the others to enter after her. Chopper entered after a moment's hesitation, followed by Luke and Flora, and Professor Layton after them, looking somewhat uneasy from entering a house without permission. Robin closed the door after them, and they traced the sound that they'd heard earlier to a small living room which was currently occupied by two people.
The first of the two was a pale-skinned woman, who looked as if she rarely went out during the day. Long black hair framed her delicate face, two bangs – one on either side of her head – reaching down to her chin, while the rest of her hair was draped over the side of the chair she was seated in, looking as if it could easily pass her butt. She looked as if she were dressed for a funeral, wearing a solemn black dress with long sleeves that were so long that the fabric had been specially cut so that it covered her index fingers but not the rest of them. Black heels matched her hair, and her eyes were so dark and dull that they looked almost dead.
The second of the two was a dark-skinned man, who – despite his skin tone – also looked as if he hardly ever went outside. His hair was short and oily, as black as hers was, and he dressed in a white, three-piece suit with a red tie. Despite the formal attire, he was not wearing any shoes, and his eyes looked to be as dead as the woman's were. His attention was currently focused on the woman – or, more specifically, her arm – as he worked on carefully disinfecting a wound on her forearm. Each time he dabbed it with a cotton swab, the woman let out a hiss of pain, eyes shutting in a wince, and he attempted to soothe her with soft words to take her focus off of the pain. It took some time before he decided he'd apparently done all that he could do, and he took a few moments to carefully wrap a bandage around the woman's arm, tying it tightly, then placing the tools he'd been using on a small, silver tray that rested on a table beside them.
Content that the man was finished treating the woman's wound, Robin knocked on the wall next to the doorway which the group was currently standing in. The man jumped in surprise, immediately grabbing a scalpel from the tray of medical supplies and pointing it at the five of them, only lowering it when he noticed Luke and Flora among them.
"Pardon the intrusion," Robin apologized, tipping the sunglasses atop her head slightly like one would tip a hat. "My name is Robin Nico, and this is Professor Layton, his apprentice Luke, his daughter Flora, and–"
"We've met Horny," the man curtly interrupted her, leveling an icy glare in her direction.
"His name is Chopper," Robin calmly corrected him, polite smile not leaving her face and her tone of voice remaining completely neutral.
"Right," he flatly responded, his tone indicating that he didn't particularly care about the new information at all. Despite the harshness in his tone and words, his voice was soft, as if he didn't use it very often. Robin maintained her calm smile, Layton doing the same, while Luke and Flora stood in front of Chopper protectively. When it became apparent that none of the five had any intention of saying anything further, the man frowned and continued speaking, looking past them for a moment. "What are you even doing here? I could have sworn I locked the front door."
"It was unlocked when we arrived," Flora frowned, gently gripping Chopper's fur and leaning into him, shying away from the man.
"You'll have to forgive me if I don't immediately believe the words of someone who's apparently broken into my house," he flatly said, eyelids lowering as he leveled a deadpan stare at Flora, though none of the outright malice that he'd been directing at Robin and Layton was in his gaze.
The woman reached forward with the arm that wasn't bandaged, tugging gently on the man's sleeve. "Perhaps… we should hear them out?" she asked, her voice soft and somewhat hoarse, the pause in her sentence seeming to indicate that she was carefully formulating her sentences before she said them. It seemed likely that she didn't really speak that often, either.
The man turned his gaze to look at the woman, his features softening slightly. "Neph, I'm not about to trust people who just randomly walk into peoples' houses, even if they are boss-man's friends," he frowned, although he did set the scalpel back onto the tray that he'd picked it up from in an apparent act of civility.
"Let's at least... hear them out," she smiled sweetly at the group, moving her arm in a sweeping motion to tell them to take a seat. After a moment of hesitation, the group accepted her request, awkwardly sitting on the furniture that she had motioned to.
"Thank you for your hospitality, miss," Layton smiled at her.
"There is... no need for such formalities," the woman gently tilted her head to the side, her bangs moving on her face as she did so. "My name is Nephele, and this is my partner, Hanuel. You are… Mayor Canera's friends, yes?"
"We are indeed, ma'am!" Luke smiled brightly at her. "We're here in Old Ashton on his request to investigate the specter, and we were wondering if you had any information."
"Oh? Is that why you're here?" Nephele straightened her head slowly as Hanuel picked up the tray, set it down where it would be out of the way, and moved back over to take a seat next to her. "In that case, kindly leave the property and don't come back." The tone shifted from polite to malicious so suddenly that even Professor Layton flinched and withdrew an inch from the sudden shift. Her friendly smile had become a menacing glare so quickly that Luke and Flora were now gripping each others' hands for comfort in apparent terror. "It is not something that we require assistance with, nor is it something that someone such as yourself would be able to handle."
"What makes you say that?" Robin asked, leaning forward, a sort of morbid curiosity in her voice.
"Hmm, let me think," Hanuel hummed, folding one leg over the other as he crossed his arms. "Maybe it's to do with who do you think you are and this is our town, or maybe it's more along the lines of, seriously what is your problem and what could you possibly figure out that we don't already know?"
"…You're being awfully rude," Flora frowned, clutching her dress in her free hand.
"You'll have to forgive me if I don't exactly leap at the opportunity to help someone who walks into peoples' houses without permission, especially when I know that I locked the door, which means that you somehow broke into the building." Hanuel seemed to be particularly bitter about that.
Layton looked over at Robin, who shrugged her shoulders. "When I turned the handle, it was unlocked," she explained. Chopper stared blankly at her, and she sighed in apparent self-admonishment. "Though, I suppose it was rude of us to enter without knocking."
"Damn straight it was," Hanuel grumbled, then stood up and stretched his arms above his head. "Neph, I'm going out."
"Mm?" Nephele looked over at her partner, her prior malice apparently forgotten. "All right, be careful." She smiled at him as he walked out of the room, waiting until she heard the sounds of the front door opening and closing before she turned her attention to the people before her. "I must sincerely apologize," she said, "But I don't believe that I can host you for any longer."
"Are you sure?" Luke asked, trying to press the woman who at least seemed somewhat willing to give them information.. "Surely there's something that you can tell us."
"There is nothing I can tell you that is not already known," Nephele frowned, her eyes flattening into a glare that she directed at the group. "Now, kindly leave, before I lose my patience."
Professor Layton met her gaze silently, holding it for a moment before he let out a sigh and stood up. "Thank you for your assistance and hospitality, Miss Nephele. We're sorry to have bothered you." He motioned for the rest of the group to come along, and they stood up to follow him out. "If you change your mind, do let us know?"
"I'm sure that I won't," she calmly responded, glare gone and replaced with an almost haughty expression. "You should return to the inn. It's gotten rather late."
Layton simply nodded in response, allowing Chopper, Luke, Robin, and Flora to exit before him, before casting one last long glance at Nephele and walking out of the room. The party retraced their steps to the front door, exiting the building and walking out into the graveyard, where an odd fog seemed to have rolled in.
"I don't like them," Luke frowned, crossing his arms. "I think they're suspicious." Chopper nodded twice, as if to agree with his statement.
"Now, now, Luke. We can't go accusing people without any evidence," Layton smiled at his apprentice. "They may have been rude, but that's no reason to suspect them of anything."
Yo-hohoho, yohohoho…
Flora blinked a few times, then glanced up and around as Luke turned back to look at Layton. "How do you mean, Professor?" he asked.
"Well, we did enter their house without permission," Layton pointed out, lifting a hand to his hat. "They had every right to be upset with us, even if we did only want to help."
"I think it was awfully suspicious how they immediately dodged the subject and told us to leave when we brought up the specter, though," Luke frowned, unfolding his arms. "And Nephele didn't say she didn't know anything, she said that there was 'nothing they could tell us that wasn't already known'. What did she mean by that?"
"Perhaps it was simply her way of saying they don't know any more than the townspeople?" Layton offered, though the smile on his face said that he might have another idea why she would say that.
Yo-hohoho, yohohoho…
"Um, Professor?" Flora spoke up, attracting the attention of the others. "Do you… hear that?" The other four blinked, then quieted down to try and listen to whatever it was that Flora was hearing.
Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.
Sea wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide…
O'er across the ocean's tide. Rays of sunshine far and wide.
Birds they sing, of cheerful things, in circles passing by.
"Singing!" Luke exclaimed, his expression lighting up as he looked around. "Professor, the specter must be nearby!"
"It sounds like it," Layton nodded in agreement, a small smile on his face. "Shall we see if we can find it?"
"Perhaps we should split up to cover more ground," Robin suggested, moving her gaze around as if trying to decide which way to go. "Flora, why don't you come with me? Layton, you take Luke and Chopper." Flora moved over to Robin, clenching her hand tightly. "If we don't find anything by the time the singing stops, let's all meet up here again."
"That sounds like a plan," Layton said with a short nod. "Then, let's be off." With those words, each group took off in a different direction at a mild running pace, being careful not to trip in the dark and the fog, but moving quickly enough that they might be able to catch the specter – even if it was just a glimpse of it.
PUZZLE SEVEN
The specter is somewhere nearby! Maneuver your way through the graveyard to try and track it down. The music will get louder as you get closer to it, but be careful – if you move too haphazardly, the specter might run away before you can catch it!
Luke, Layton, and Chopper kept a steady pace as they carefully maneuvered around gravestones, being careful not to disturb any offerings or natural formations as they did, following the music that carried throughout the otherwise quiet air.
Bid farewell to weaver's town, say so long to port renowned.
Sing a song, it won't be long, before we're casting off.
Cross the gold and silver seas, a salty spray puts us at ease,
Day and night, to our delight, the voyage never ends.
"Is this some sort of a sailor's song?" Luke asked Layton between breaths as they ran, only taking a moment to spare him a glance as he scanned their surroundings.
"I'm not certain," Layton admitted, a hand moving to his hat to make sure that it was firmly in place. "It's not a melody that I've heard before, although the lyrics seem to indicate as much."
Chopper suddenly pulled to a halt, prompting the boys to do so as well. He lifted his head suddenly, his ears twitching as he turned to look out into the distance. The music itself seemed to have suddenly stopped as well, and Luke felt a sudden pit of dread begin to form in his gut. As he opened his mouth to ask Chopper what was wrong, a scream pierced the air – one that all three of them recognized.
"Flora!" Luke and Layton exclaimed, abandoning all premise of searching for the specter as they darted over towards where the sound had come from. Even in their haste, they were careful to be certain they didn't trip on or trample over anything, and before long they arrived at where Robin and Flora were.
Robin was crouched carefully on the ground, one knee on the dirt and the other raised to support Flora, who looked pale and seemed to have passed out. Robin was holding the girl in her arms, and only took her eyes off of her when Luke, Layton, and Chopper arrived on scene. Layton's fatherly instincts took over and he moved over to Flora's side, nudging her gently, eliciting a soft groan in response. Flora's eyes gently fluttered open, and Layton took over supporting his foster daughter, gently brushing her hair off of her face.
"…Dad…?" she softly asked, voice soft and delicate from having just awoken, her gaze drifting over to look at her father.
"I'm here, Flora. Are you all right?" he carefully asked, not wanting to stress her too much after what he suspected had happened.
"I… we saw the specter," she shivered, gripping her arms from the apparent cold, and confirming Layton's suspicions. "But… I didn't get a good look… I don't remember what it looked like… Robin and I were moving around, and I turned around, and I just remember seeing white, and then…"
Layton looked over at Robin, who shook her head sadly. "I turned around when she screamed, but whatever was there was either already gone or in the process of making itself scarce. I felt it would be best for me to stay with Flora to ensure no harm came to her, so I didn't make chase."
Chopper moved over and gently nuzzled Flora, and the two adults carefully lifted her and placed her on the reindeer's back. "I think we've done enough investigating for the evening," Layton said, letting out a long breath as he did so. "Let's head back to the inn. We've had a long day."
PUZZLES SOLVED – SEVEN
CURRENT MYSTERIES:
The White Specter – Several residents of Old Ashton have reportedly seen a mysterious white specter. It only comes out between dusk and dawn. Pyrrhos reports that it has footprints, meaning that it might not be as ghostly as the residents first assumed, and it has apparently had an encounter with two residents of Old Ashton known as Nephele and Hanuel. It seems to have an affinity for music, as following the sound of what seemed to be some sort of sailor song led Robin and Flora to have an encounter with it.
Missing Food – According to Aimi, food that is about to go off has been going missing. There may be some connection to Michi in regards to this, but the residents find it unlikely that she would steal anything. Felix admits to having given Michi food that's about to go off, but is hesitant to link her to anything else.
Missing Supplies – According to Aimi, some supplies from the hospital and the general store have gone missing. Zdeslav and Tzidkiyahu report that two sets of footprints – one sandaled and one barefoot – have been found in the vicinity of the store. Tamrat believes that a skilled doctor is behind the thefts at the hospital, and Felix says that there's no real link when it comes to things that are stolen from the store aside from them being easy to spot.
Robin Nico – A woman with an air of mystery around herself who is working as the Professor's assistant. She has experience working with children and is very good at moving silently and quickly despite her footwear of choice being high heels. She also seems very comfortable around Chopper, to the point that they act as if they're close friends despite having just met.
Michi – Mayor Senkou's daughter, whom he notes has been growing more distant lately, as if she's hiding something, although he's not sure what or why. Silo suspects an animal, as she's been requesting leftover food from him and Felix at the general store. The residents don't seem to believe she's behind the other thefts, though, as she's only been asking after food.
Nephele and Hanuel – Two mysterious residents of Old Ashton who have apparently lived there longer than the other residents. Pyrrhos claims that they've had an encounter with the specter. They are apparently rather reclusive, to the point that some of the town's residents find them suspicious. The two were initially friendly, if somewhat irritated, but when the specter came up they immediately started acting hostile.