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No. 002 - Lost and Found
[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. ))
[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. ))
voice
[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.
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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.
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...I don't know, your friend's playin' a joke on you? The monster's really supposed to mean somethin' else?
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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.]
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[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!]
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[Unless a town is being destroyed or something. He'll give people some slack then.]
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[With a sigh of frustration he looks back at the letter. And then it hits him.]
...Wait. "Help SOS"?
[Now he feels silly.]
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Precisely. A call for help within a call for help. Who could ignore that?
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...But the actual letter already asked for help. What's the point in puttin' in a hidden message just to say that again?
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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.
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While we're on the topic, how did you and Maiza come to know each other?
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[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.
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It's a shock how refreshing I find a normal-sounding story these days. Now that you mention it, what is the man's profession?
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His job? Y-you mean he hasn't told you?
[Well, shoot. Just act natural and don't blow it for Maiza, Firo.]
He's... He's an accountant.
[It's not totally a lie.]
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Well... I can't say it doesn't suit him. He certainly looks the part.
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[He can't stop himself from sounding offended. Maiza is the spitting image of the mild mannered accountant, and it's something the picciotto back home mocked him about, much to Firo's annoyance.]
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He's well-dressed, intelligent... and his glasses certainly don't detract from the look. It's a perfectly respectable profession.
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...Oh. Yeah, you're right about all that.
[Especially that respectable part. Totally.]
Um, sorry. People don't always mean that stuff in a nice way, so...
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They would use an accountant's appearance as an accountant as an insult?
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...Yeah, it's like sayin' you look... you know, weak.
[His anxiety vanishes, replaced by firmness.]
And Maiza's not weak at all.
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No, not at all. In fact, he's quite the gentleman. [Layton's praise doesn't get much higher than that.]
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You think so? ...Yeah, he is, isn't he? Interestin' way of puttin' it.
[Gentlemen are so 19th century.]
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