No. 002 - Lost and Found

[reminded]

[Action?]

[Somewhere, a puzzle sits. Abandoned.

Why? How? Nobody knows. But it looks innocent enough. Little blocks in playful colors, purposefully arranged inside a handcrafted house of wood. The blocks slide easily with a nudge, almost as if they were born to do so. It looks like the big red block would fit perfectly into the space on the right. In fact, it looks like it would be a pretty easy task. Might as well give it a try, right?

But this cheerful little puzzle has a dark secret. To the savvy, it's worth 99 picarats and requires a series of 81 moves at minimum to complete. To the not-as-savvy, that means it's a lot harder than it looks. This is not a puzzle for the weak.]


[Voice, evening]

Good evening, Luceti. I’ll only be a moment. I seem to have lost a puzzle of mine -- a sliding block puzzle, to be precise. Has anyone seen it? I would appreciate any word.

(( OOC: I don’t count on him actually getting the puzzle back, but it can be spotted anywhere and everywhere. And if you'd like to play out puzzle frustrations with someone other than Layton, go right ahead! Puzzle destruction is also a thing that is acceptable. Just sayin'.

P.S.: a video of the puzzle if you want to see it in action. ))

Comments

[immamartillo]

That's good. He seems like the kinda kid--

["...who needs friends."]

...I mean, um, it's good for him and Czes. To have people around and all that.

[reminded]

[Layton couldn't refuse for that very reason.]

They do seem to get on fabulously, which I couldn't be more pleased to see. I sometimes wonder if Luke's time with me has distanced him too much from his peers.

[immamartillo]

Yeah? Czes doesn't know too many kids his age either...

[Well, his apparent age, but Firo doesn't know how much Layton knows about that so he'll try to avoid that topic.]

What do you guys do, anyway? He always calls you the professor, are you his teacher?

[reminded]

Ha ha ha. That's a good question. He sometimes assists me at the university or on investigations, but I would say that we are simply very good friends. Though he calls me Professor, I don't believe I've ever taught him anything he didn't already know -- his growth has been all his own.

[immamartillo]

Wait, you're sayin' that little kid works at a university?

[Much of the rest of that is lost on him. Firo knows few people who have gone to college, or even high school, so he's both skeptical and impressed.]

[reminded]

Not officially. [A paid job for a then-13-year-old might violate university rules, as a matter of fact.] Rather, he helps keep my office tidy, waters the plants... anything I find myself too busy to attend to myself. It's more like volunteer work on his end.

[immamartillo]

[He laughs at his silly leap in logic.]

Right, that makes more sense.

But, wait, you said he helps on investigations, didn't you? Are you a detective too?

[reminded]

Oh, nothing of the sort. My friends and my curiosity lead me to unusual circumstances, is all. I met Luke that way -- I received a strange letter from his "father", and I had to investigate.

[immamartillo]

How strange could a letter be that you hafta investigate it?

voice/written

[reminded]

I'm glad you asked. I remember it well enough that I can write it down for you. Just a moment, please.

[And exactly one moment later, he submits this message:]

Hershel, my dear old friend, I must
earnestly seek your help again. Our
little town is in the most extraordinary
predicament. At night, a mysterious giant
shrouded in fog has been laying waste to
our homes. I am convinced you can help
stop this madness. Please come soon!

voice

[immamartillo]

What? No, that's fine, you don't have to-!

[Oh well. He reads it carefully--though not carefully enough to realize the vertical message. Aside from the sheer oddness of the story, it doesn't seem like it'd warrant an investigation.]

...Looks like your friend had a bit too much to drink.

[reminded]

[You can't stop the puzzles, Firo.]

I don't blame you for thinking so. I was skeptical too, but a hidden message in the letter compelled me to investigate right away. You might be able to see what I'm talking about.

[immamartillo]

[He stops to read it again, though rather hastily as just the thought of another puzzle frustrates him.]

...I don't know, your friend's playin' a joke on you? The monster's really supposed to mean somethin' else?

[reminded]

Ha ha ha. I'll tell you that his story was very much true, and that "he" in this case was actually Luke.

[immamartillo]

[The plot thickens! And now Firo's even more confused.]

Luke? But you said-!

...Did he think you'd only believe it if it came from his dad?

[It doesn't take a genius to know that kids are used to having their concerns brushed aside.]

[reminded]

Most probably. He really is quite impressive. It takes a special sort of 10-year-old to possess so much foresight.

[immamartillo]

Or one who's never been taken seriously.

[It's not a dig at Luke but some bitterness left over from his own childhood.]

But he's still gotta be pretty sharp to hide a secret message in there. So what was it?

[...Firo, it's right there. And you don't have any hint coins anyway!]

[reminded]

I make it a policy never to give out free answers to puzzles.

[Unless a town is being destroyed or something. He'll give people some slack then.]

[immamartillo]

But you're fine with givin' out free puzzles?

[With a sigh of frustration he looks back at the letter. And then it hits him.]

...Wait. "Help SOS"?

[Now he feels silly.]

[reminded]

[Feel sorry for Maiza, who has to humor this every day.]

Precisely. A call for help within a call for help. Who could ignore that?

[immamartillo]

[He does. At least Maiza's better mentally equipped to handle this.]

...But the actual letter already asked for help. What's the point in puttin' in a hidden message just to say that again?

[reminded]

[Fair question.]

It was a test. I was a complete stranger to Luke, save what his father told him about me. He wanted to know if I would be worthy of the task, and even more, if he would be able to trust me with his suspicions.

[immamartillo]

I guess that makes sense... So did you help him out? There couldn't have really been a giant, right?

[reminded]

Yes... and yes, though not quite in the way we expected. It's a very long story. In the end, Luke decided that he wanted to travel with me, and we've been fast friends ever since. [That was what they were originally talking about, right? Right.]

While we're on the topic, how did you and Maiza come to know each other?

[immamartillo]

You must've really impressed him.

[He pauses before answering Layton's question, trying to remember if Maiza ever mentioned the professor knowing about his job. He doesn't want to spill it if his friend is keeping a secret.]

Huh? Oh, well... I sorta had a run in with a guy he worked with, and that guy...

[He doesn't want to mention that he was dragged kicking and screaming to the Martillo hideout and eventually adopted because that sort of sounds like kidnapping.]

...introduced us.