Part 8: Lady Dahlia

[Music: About Town]





Layton and Luke are horrified to discover that a murder has taken place there during their absence.



Upon receiving a report of a murder, he has raced to St Mystere to conduct an investigation. He has his suspicions about Luke and Layton. Shortly after the murder, a servant to the Reinhold family, named Ramon, goes missing. At Lady Dahlia's request, Luke and the professor set out to gather information on his whereabouts.

Before they do that, though, they have a pair of puzzles to finish up!

[Music: Puzzles]



Starting with Gordon's since he vanishes from the room immediately after you talk to Dahlia.

...Despite that, it doesn't get moved to the House of Puzzles so he'll eventually wander back later but I don't really wanna wait that long.



2. This puzzle would be a breeze if it weren't for the spat between Brother 3 and Brother 5. What a pain they are. Sit Brother 3 next to Brother 1. That ought to keep the little guy in line.
3. You already know to sit Brother 3 next to Brother 1. Next, sit Brother 4 directly across the table from Brother 1. The rest is up to you.

There was two sets of answers posted an equal number of times for this one, but they were the exact same thing. The only "difference" is that one was a mirror image of the other, and they are...






Like it says, they're both valid answers since the order doesn't really change.



: Thank you for clearing up that puzzle, but we're still no closer to finding Simon's killer. I assure you I had nothing to do with it, so please go out and find the real murderer!
: Of course. I understand your position. It appears I am a suspect too. I'll find out what I can.





Fortunately, we can find Matthew lurking around his usual place in the entrance hall so no hassle needed here.



3. Moving clockwise, when the white side is facing up (as in the left picture of B), the black dot is two spaces ahead of the red dot. Now you should pretty much know where the black dot is. Just visualize the shape flipping over and you'll have your answer.

The vast majority of answers ended up with this as their answer. The logic thereof was very close to identical in every case too, so it stands to reason that it is...






Since the diagram isn't entirely clear if you don't already know what it means, the black dot is 2 squares ahead of the red one (moving clockwise). Then when you flip it, it gets mirrored to its location on the other side. As a result, the red and black dots in B end up effectively trading their positions.

[Music: Baron Reinhold]



: Not at all. This small cog is more than enough for us to go on. But I do wonder why you're giving this to us.
: I believe you are a good man, Professor. I'm confident you will piece together this puzzle. I appreciate the vote of confidence, Matthew.



Okay with those out of the way, we can finally begin our search for Ramon. This is also...



The third chapter.



Ah well, there's one important new thing in here now that Dahlia's left: that picture on the right.





: Look at this picture.
: What is it, Professor? Oh! Isn't that Lady Dahlia? She's holding a baby.
: That baby must be Baron Reinhold's daughter then.
: Flora was her name, wasn't it? Gosh, what a cute baby. Lady Dahlia hasn't changed much, has she?



: I suppose so, Professor... But even so, it makes me wonder. Maybe we can ask Lady Dahlia about it.



Conveniently, we can do that right now. No need to wait, so let's do that first.



: I beg your pardon?
: The picture of you holding a baby... The one in the next room.



: Huh?
: My apologies, madam, I must have been mistaken.
: At any rate, time is of the essence here. Go and find Ramon and bring him back, would you?

: If that's not Lady Dahlia in the photograph, then who on earth could it be?
: I think we'd do well to ask the butler a few questions. Perhaps he can clear this up for us.

We could ask Matthew right now, but first we'd be best suited to speak with Chelmey I think.



: This puzzle was popular in London when I left. I wonder if you have what it takes to solve it.



Maybe later. We do have a guy to go and find info about first.



Well, let's finish up in here and go ask Matthew about that picture we found.



: Certainly, sir. How can I help you?
: It's about the picture of Lady Dahlia upstairs. The one of her holding a small child.
: Ah, yes, about that old picture...



: But I certainly understand why you would mistake one for the other. They were virtually identical in their appearance, their gestures, and even in the way they moved.
: So that photo isn't of Lady Dahlia, but of an earlier wife of the baron.
: Wow. Imagine finding someone who looks that much like you. What are the odds?
: Is there a chance the two were relatives of one another?
: I've never heard anything to suggest as much, sir.



: I'm sorry to say that's all I really know about the matter.
: Not at all. You've been most helpful. Thank you, Matthew.
: How odd. The more I hear, the stranger the whole affair starts to sound.



Okay, that's that somewhat interesting affair sorted for the time being. Let's go out and see if we can find Ramon or not at last.

[Music: About Town]





: But how on earth did they end up here?
: This could be a crucial clue in the investigation. I think it best if we took these to Inspector Chelmey.

[Music: Baron Reinhold]



: These glasses belonged to Simon. We found them out in the garden.
: What the...?!



: Besides, if you have enough time to manage the village lost and found... Shouldn't you be searching for the Reinhold inheritance or whatever it is you're supposed to be doing? Of course, if you continue to interrupt my investigation, I have some ideas about what you can do.
: My sincerest apologies, Inspector.



: He reeks of smoke, and he's so full of himself. And the way he treats you, Professor! It's just too much!
: Luke, my boy, pay it no heed. Right now we have other priorities. Let's go ask around and find Ramon.

[Music: About Town]



Okay, NOW we can really begin our search for Ramon. Nothing left to distract us, and Agnes has taken up his usual haunt so let's see what she has to say about it.



: Sorry to trouble you, but have you seen Ramon around here today? He was here until just a while ago.
: No, I can't say I've seen him today, which is strange, considering how often he sneaks off the job. But enough of that! I hear you're quite an ace with puzzles. Would you mind helping me out with a puzzle I've been mulling over?
: Oh, right now? We're sort of in the middle of something... But if you insist...



Nope, can wait. Need info on Ramon first!



No one else here, so time to head into the actual village proper and see if we can find anyone to ask.



Convenient that; Marco's in his usual spot still. If anyone came through here, they'd have tp pass him. He must have seen Ramon!



: Ah, I got it, I got it. Don't tell me! I told you I got it! Out searching for somebody, huh? Looking for info, yeah? But sorry, I haven't seen your man.
: Are you sure you didn't see or hear anything that might help us?
: No, no, I've got nothing for you. Stop asking me about it!
: I see. Well, in any case, thank you for your time.
: Oh yeah, and good luck with your silly search. Two silly men on a silly search, right?



: The tower on the north side of the village? How do you even get to that part of the village?
: Do you remember that clock tower in the square? I believe we must pass through it to get to the north side of the village. Let's go and check it out.

Well, I get the feeling that Marco's hiding something about this whole thing so let's see if we can milk him for more info first.



: Thing is, I've got a hot puzzle here, and there's no way I'm waiting until later to show you. So hold that investigation, Prof. You've got a puzzle to solve.



Well, if that's all I must say I'm none too impressed either. Maybe someone's in that shop just behind him now. Might as well see what they have to say!



Oh, no one in here still? Well, there's two points of interest here. Might as well start with the jars on the left.



: Luke, those sweets just gave me a splendid idea for a puzzle. Have a listen to this.



I'm sure it goes without saying, but the candle...



Is more of the same. At least this time it's a different puzzle from the same trigger as before.



As you might have guessed already, the only requirements for this one are being on chapter 3 and also having finished Puzzle #015.



Well, nothing left to do here either so back to the village square we go!



: Yes, quite right. Hmm, someone's standing in front of the entrance.



Percy's still here, huh? Deke's taken up residence in front of the clock tower door too. Well, let's start with Percy. Might have some new info for us.



: A murder in our little village! The very thought gives me the shivers. And a great idea for a novel! Oh, excuse my insensitivity. I'm just always on the lookout for new ideas. How can I help you?
: We're looking for Ramon. Have you seen him around?
: Hmm, no, I can't say that I've seen him today.



: You know, somewhere the villagers don't normally go.
: The tower, huh...
: Oh, you should stay as far from that tower as possible. There are all sorts of bad rumours about it.
: It does seem that way. We keep running into people who say that. Just what are the rumours?
: Just, you know, bad stuff...
: There's something really scary about that tower...

[Music: Fade to Silence]



[Music: About Town]

That was a bit too vague for my liking. Let's try asking for clarity!



: What an odd world we live in. Well, you know what they say. Truth IS stranger than fiction. Speaking of fiction, I just thought up this little gem! Please give me your honest feedback on it!



Y'know, all these sudden puzzles remind me of something.



There's something right here we should check again.



Hopefully this time we can get into this place.



: Fascinating! This puzzle appears to be acting as some sort of lock for this door. How delightful! Luke, my boy, why don't you give this puzzle a try? I'm almost certain the door will open if you solve it.



[Music: Puzzles]

I would like to say right now, completely on-record, these puzzles are awful.



I loathe sliding block puzzles.

1. If all you want to do is get the ball to the goal, just slide things around and see what happens. However, if you're aiming to solve this puzzle in as few moves as possible, you'll have to think ahead. Remember that moving one block immobilizes others.
2. Only blue blocks can move at the beginning. Slide the one on the right up, and then arrange the two purple blocks underneath it in a horizontal line. Next, move the lower yellow block over to the right. This will give you some space to work with on the left.
3. If you've followed the previous hint, you should start to see the answer to the puzzle. In order to move the yellow block that's directly beneath the ball, you're going to have to move that green block on the left. To do that, go ahead and move the bothersome blue block out of the way. Got it now?



This one's pretty easy, all things considered, but as the name implies there will be more of these. The later ones are just plain nasty if you don't know the solution already.

Oh, and I don't care for getting optimal solutions here because (in this game at least) sometimes, as you can see in the video at least twice, the blocks just get "stuck" where they are and you have to lift the stylus to try and move it again. Even discounting that, the best solutions for some of these is also just plain uninteresting and still ridiculously long. It's "only" 12 here, sure, but that's still around a third of what I ended up achieving.















[Music: St Mystere]



For this one, I'll be doing something I've only done once before.



I won't be giving any of the hints here immediately. They all tell you what the answer cannot be, and why. Apart from the last one.

It just flat out tells you the answer.

So, yeah, that's not fun. Like at all.



This is one that I didn't like at first because I thought it was arbitrary and silly.



I quite like it now, though. Having done several others of a similar ilk since then doesn't hurt, either.

1. Each picture should be composed of lines that meet at different points. With these picture, if you find a single line that runs out beyond the other, you know you have to start your drawing there. Try tracing the answer out yourself.
2. Some points may be the convergence point for several lines. You need to think hard about which line to take in and out of the point in order to make the sketches work.vIf your pen is entering a point formed by an even number of lines, you will always be able to leave the point via another line.
3. One of the familiar objects below can't be drawn as a one-line puzzle. You'd be surprised by how easily some of the more complicated pictures can be drawn in one stroke.



This is just more of the same kind of thing we've seen before. These are kind of Curious Village's thing.



Fun little math riddles. We've seen a fair few already, but there'll be plenty more to come.

1. Someone in a hurry might jump to the conclusion that you need to find the lowest common multiple between the three numbers. Read the problem over again and see if you can't clear things up for yourself.
2. The three horses each run at different speeds. To measure the horses' speeds, the problem tells you how many laps each horse can do in one minute. The horses all run whole laps per minute, so at least you don't have to deal with strange speeds.



Case in point:



This one.

1. Each of the 10 jars holds 50 pieces of candy, for a total of 500 pieces. You've taken this mountain of candy and divided it into 20 bags. Pretty straightforward so far, right? If you've made it this far, try reading the puzzle again carefully.



Don't really have anything interesting to say about this one. It's just a simple, quick one that doesn't require much thought. A nice reprieve from plenty of the others we've had lately.



1. Does the order in which you light the items matter? Of course it does! Think about the item you have to light first.



Don't really like this one though.



Because I find it really hard to tell where there's multiple overlaps in the same area. It's not as bad as the barrage of triangles from #016 but it's still pretty bad.

1. Three layers here, four layers there... Label each overlap you discover.
2. Only one area of the image contains the maximum number of overlaps.