| On a Dark and Stormy Night |
Transcript |
| On a Dark and Stormy Night (also on the Professor Layton Wiki) | |
|---|---|
| Link to the template page | |
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| Investigation team | |
| Hershel Layton Luke Triton | |
| Other individuals | |
| Carmine Accidenti Espella Cantabella Great Witch Shades Chelmey Phoenix Wright Maya Fey Barton | |
| Locations | |
| Layton's Office Thames Riverside Park - Car crash site Tower Bridge Bridge Tunnel Mysterious room | |
| Puzzles | |
| Puzzle 01: Paths of Light Puzzle 02: Barton's Burger Puzzle 03: Security Showdown Puzzle 04: Walled In Puzzle 05: Help Espella! |
| Espella Cantabella |
| Are you... Mr Hershel Layton? |
Prologue: On a Dark and Stormy Night is the first prologue chapter of Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, as well as the first adventure chapter in the game. It introduces Professor Hershel Layton as a protagonist and Luke Triton as his assistant, as well as introducing the important character of Espella Cantabella. This chapter features orchestral arrangements of theme music from Professor Layton and the Curious Village.
Prologue[]
During a dark night in London, a car drove through a park at high speed. The male driver handed his young female passenger a sheet of paper, telling her to "see this man" if anything were to happen to him. As they drove, a group of robed figures attacked the car with powerful blasts of fire. One of the figures flew around two statues and seemingly brought them to life. The statues jumped in front of the car, which was unable to stop in time. The car was knocked into a nearby tree and both of its occupants thrown clear. The driver urged the woman to go without him before passing out. The woman rushed away before the police and Inspector Chelmey arrived to survey the unusual scene. Chelmey was puzzled by what he saw, but mused that there may be one man who could figure out what had happened...
Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey en route to London.
In his office in another part of London, Professor Hershel Layton was discussing witches with his apprentice, Luke Triton. He told the boy about how people in the Middle Ages believed witches truly existed, which in turn led to trials being held against them. As a thunderstorm began outside, Triton wondered if witches were real, but Layton reassured him that they were merely superstition and legend. At the same moment, a plane from Los Angeles was just coming into land in the sky over London. On board was Phoenix Wright, accompanied by his assistant Maya Fey. Wright had been invited to London courtesy of the Legal League of Attorneys as part of an exchange. He shared none of Fey's enthusiasm about arriving in London and explained that he would not be acting as an official attorney, much to her disappointment.
Layton's office[]
It began to rain, so back at Layton's office, Layton gave Triton a puzzle from his bookshelf to take their minds off the weather.
| Puzzle #1: Paths of Light For more information, see the Professor Layton Wiki | ||
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition: |
Required | |
| Picarats: |
20 | |
| Notes: |
| |
Carmine Accidenti.
The two were about to head home when they heard a knock at the door. Outside was a young woman, dressed in a red robe and holding a large book. She explained that she had been asked to give Layton a letter from his former student, Carmine Accidenti:
| Carmine Accidenti |
| Dear Professor,
It has been a long time. There is so much I would like to tell you, but at present I do not have the time. My life is in danger. I am being chased by something terrifying, and I am not sure whether I can escape. It all started in a town called Labyrinthia. A mysterious town, one you will not find on any map. I found myself there during the course of an investigation. While I was there, a series of unbelievable events occurred right before my eyes. I realised the town held a mysterious secret and decided to get to the bottom of it...but before I could, they found me. I escaped from Labyrinthia with a young woman by the name of Espella. It was my belief that she held the key to solving the secret of that town. It is not me they are pursuing; it is Espella. As such, I am asking you to help her. Labyrinthia hides an ominous mystery. This is one puzzle that appears to be beyond my powers to solve. I apologise for imposing on you in this way. Your faithful student, Carmine Accidenti |
The woman confirmed that she was this "Espella". Layton asked about what had happened, but all she could remember was being pursued and Accidenti being injured in the process. Layton assured Espella that Accidenti was most likely safe, explaining that in the time he'd known him, he'd managed to pull through even the most difficult of situations. He then admitted he was more concerned about Espella's safety, since she was the one "they" were after. He invited her to rest for a little while before continuing. Triton decided to lock the door, just in case her pursuers had followed her to the office.
Hershel Layton, Luke Triton, and Espella in Layton's office.
Once Espella had settled down, Layton inquired about her pursuers. She explained that they were witches, much to Layton and Triton's surprise. Recalling what had happened to Accidenti, Espella feared that Layton and Triton would also be in danger if they tried to protect her. After some more reassurance, Layton asked her about Labyrinthia, only to find that Espella thought they were still in the town, seemingly unaware of the names "London" and "England".
In order to give the two a better understanding of Labyrinthia, she handed them the book she had been carrying. Upon closer examination, Layton and Triton noticed the pages were glowing, with the words on those pages appearing to momentarily move. Espella explained that it was called the Historia Labyrinthia, and that all the information about the town was included inside, including everything that had happened and, strangely, everything that was going to happen. She referred to it simply as "Labyrinthia's Story".
Although sure that Espella was not lying, Triton admitted he was having a hard time believing her claims. Layton agreed, but admitted it to be fascinating. As they thought about the situation, a white dove began tapping on the window and Triton went to let it in from the rain, despite Espella's pleas not to. As the bird flew in, the light went out and the robed figure that had attacked Espella earlier appeared. The figure caused Espella to fall unconscious with an incantation, then picked her up. Preventing Layton from approaching via a powerful gust of wind, the figure vanished out of the window with Espella, leaving the office in disarray.
Pursuit through London[]
Coming to the conclusion that the figure was one of the witches Espella had told them about, Layton decided to go and search for them. Before he could say anything else, Triton insisted that he help with the search too, to which Layton soon agreed. After packing Layton's trunk, the two set off for the Thames Riverside. There, they met up with Inspector Chelmey and Constable Barton, who were investigating an incident in the nearby park.
| Puzzle #2: Barton's Burger For more information, see the Professor Layton Wiki | ||
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition: |
Talk to Barton. His "Scotland Yard Burger" has fallen apart and he cannot concentrate on the investigation without eating it. | |
| Picarats: |
30 | |
| Notes: |
N/A | |
Chelmey allowed Layton and Triton to go to the park, where they found the car that Chelmey had discovered earlier. A constable initially stopped them from investigating further, but Layton explained that Chelmey had allowed him to investigate. The constable gave Layton a puzzle to prove that he was the real Layton and not an imposter.
| Puzzle #3: Security Showdown For more information, see the Professor Layton Wiki | ||
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition: |
Required | |
| Picarats: |
25 | |
| Notes: |
N/A | |
A shadow at Tower Bridge[]
The Great Witch attacks.
Layton then examined the car and found a giant right handprint on the hood, the size of which matched the hands of a nearby statue. Oddly, the statue was holding a spear in his right hand. Layton returned to Chelmey and confirmed with him that Accidenti had been the driver, meaning that this was where he had crashed while running from the witches. Barton also said that some mysterious figures in fancy dress had passed by them while Layton was investigating the crash site. Layton guessed that they had gone to Tower Bridge and headed there. He and Triton saw a hooded figure and gave chase into the tunnel, only to find Espella's cloak and a strange pattern on a nearby wall. As Layton and Triton moved to examine it, the wall suddenly shook, dislodging some of the bricks.
| Puzzle #4: Walled In For more information, see the Professor Layton Wiki | ||
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition: |
Required | |
| Picarats: |
40 | |
| Notes: |
N/A | |
Unknown area[]
Hershel Layton and Luke Triton find Espella in the secret passage inside Tower Bridge.
Layton managed to put the bricks back together, but as soon as he did so, the bricks suddenly moved again, revealing an opening into a secret corridor. They wondered what the corridor was for, but found a more immediate matter to attend to, as Espella was lying on the floor nearby, tied up.
| Puzzle #5: Help Espella! For more information, see the Professor Layton Wiki | ||
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition: |
Required | |
| Picarats: |
20 | |
| Notes: |
| |
As soon as Espella was freed, a robed figure approached from the other end of the corridor. Layton took Espella's cloak and disguised Triton as Espella, then confronted the witches in the bridge tunnel to distract them. The lead witch told them to hand over Espella and used a gust of wind, only to be surprised when the disguise was removed. The cloak floated down to a cargo vessel passing under the bridge, where Espella retrieved it.
One of the pages of the Historia Labyrinthia, depicting Hershel Layton and Luke Triton.
The Historia Labyrinthia begins to glow.
The witch told Layton and Triton that, by interfering, they had been sucked into the middle of the Story. As she left, Layton and Triton picked up the Historia Labyrinthia, which had been left behind. Suddenly, the book flipped by itself to a picture containing Layton and Triton. Before long, there was a flash, and the two disappeared, with the book falling to the floor.
References in popular culture[]
- The title of the chapter is a reference to the well-known opening prose "it was a dark and stormy night". The chapter's setting also touches upon the origin of said prose, the 1830 novel Paul Clifford, in which said novel's first chapter also takes place in London.
Plot notes[]
The following notes deal with various details of this chapter in relation to the story explanation at the end of the game.
- The instances of "magic" in this chapter are implied to be largely hallucinations brought on by the anesthetic used to control the townspeople at Labyrinthia. In Kazuya Nuri's image gallery notes, the black, featureless appearance of the Great Witch is explained as an effect of the anesthetic.
- In the special episode "London", the statues that "come to life" and throw Carmine Accidenti's car into a tree are revealed to be robots built by Labrelum Inc.
- The spell that the Great Witch casts is similar to Fainfol, but the incantation is "Fainforma". Although Fainfol is described as knocking out anyone who hears it, in this case it only affects Espella because Layton and Luke Triton haven't drunk from Labyrinthia's groundwater.
- The hooded figures accompanying the Great Witch have a similar appearance to the Shades. Shades would be needed to carry out some of the spells that the Great Witch casts. Since their Cloaks of Invisibility do not work on non-Labyrinthians, they would be seen and would have to use some amount of stealth to carry out their work.
Other languages[]
- French - Par une Sombre Nuit D'orage (lit. "On a dark and stormy night")
- German - In einer stürmischen Nacht (lit. "On a stormy night")
- Dutch - Een stormachtige nacht (lit. "A stormy night")
- Italian - Era una notte buia e tempestosa… (lit. "It was a dark and stormy night…")
