The three made their goodbyes with Jacques and then continued further down the path, eager to reach their destination. Hershel had decided that their first course of action would be to pay a visit to Anton and Katia. The Professor knew that if he could trust any in this town, it would be them.
They stopped by the woods near the edge of town as they found an ornate gate blocking their path.
"Oh my..." Hershel breathed.
"What is it, Professor?" Flora inquired, taking a step back. Her hand hovered before the gate handle.
"Oh, don't worry, Flora. I simply remember this gate being in a state of disrepair. One part was mangled and was barely hanging on. The other lay glumly on the musky path. I know that the town was all an illusion, but seeing it now, repaired and standing strong... It is almost..."
"Best we move on," Dimitri cut in; striding forwards and pushing open the sturdy gates. He held it open and gestured for the other two to follow. Flora smiled and thanked him, while Hershel took a second to gather himself and then move on.
They come to a fork in the road and a thick gust of wind blew around them, sending a chill down Hershel's spine. The others seemed to feel it too and they all stopped. Although it was only mid-morning, the woods still felt dark and brooding, the bustle of trees towering over them, blocking out the light. Hershel had remembered that the pathway was clear the last time he had visited it, but then he remembered the illusion and realised there was fifty years for the trees to grow.
"I feel like something could jump out at any minute..." Flora muttered, holding her arms as she shivered in the breeze.
"Come, Flora," Hershel said, smiling for her. "There is nothing to worry about. The only thing we need to fear in these woods is catching a cold."
"Which..." Dimitri added. "Seems a likelihood the way you are shaking like you are caught in a freezer. Best we not dawdle."
With that, the group made their way through the overgrown forest, stepping over fallen branches and ogling at weird and mesmerizing mushrooms. The two followed Hershel who seemed to remember the way clearly from his last visit. Eventually they came to a large lake and the Professor stopped as he seemed to have a similar reaction to the last gate's appearance.
"What is it, Professor?" Flora asked, concernedly. She noticed Hershel's grim face and felt that rising feeling of fear form in her stomach.
"When I came here with Luke, this lake was frozen over. A thick fog hung over and clouded our view ahead. Now, the lake is as it should be and the way ahead can be seen quite clearly. It is... odd to say the least. To see these locations that were once an entirely different sight. Truly, the mysteries of the world are stunning, wouldn't you say?"
Dimitri eyed the Professor as he had done many times the past few days and sighed inwardly as he thought of the troubles that were plaguing the Professor now. This was very unlike anything he had dealt with before and he just simply did not know what to do. To ease the Professor's distempered mind was something not many had had to do before.
"When you crossed the lake last time, Professor..." Flora murmured, kneeling down and placing her fingers in the water. She yelped and whipped them out, rubbing them on her frock. "At least... in the illusion, the lake was frozen and you found your way across easily."
"I wouldn't say easily..."
"Yes, well... illusion or not, the lake had to be frozen still otherwise you would have fallen in. But... ice-cold as this lake is now, it is quite clearly liquid."
"A fine point you make there, Flora. There could be a number of reasons why the lake is no longer a large ice arena, though I would assume the primary reason is that when Luke and I visited here, the whole town was in a chilly state. Well, chillier state than usual. You saw before with the wind how cold this town can be, and this is relatively warm compared to my last visit. The ice simply... melted, the spring sun a somewhat stark contrast to the winter veil."
"Well this is quite the dilemma, indeed..." Dimitri sighed. "The ice would have allowed us fast travel and with little ease..."
Hershel broke into a chuckle, placing his hands over his stomach.
Flora and Dimitri almost did a double-take. If they never saw this side of him when he was in his usual demeanour, it was even more of a surprise now.
"What has tickled your funny-bone?" Flora exclaimed.
"I...I apologise... It's... It's just that..." The Professor laughed for a few more moments and then wiped the tears away. When he had regained his composure, he stood upright and looked at the two, his expression that of joy.
"When I had to cross with Luke, the travel was anything but that with ease. Crossing the lake was a puzzle of its own."
Dimitri and Flora stared at each other in bewilderment and then started to grin.
"Well," Dimitri said cheerily. "it's good to see you in fine spirits, Hershel."
"I would say so too. I haven't felt this way in quite a while."
"Well, I would hate to spoil this newfound outburst of glee, but we are still tasked with crossing this lake."
"NOT TO WORRY!" A voice called out, startling them all; Dimitri squealing rather high-pitched. Flora glanced at him, stifling a giggle.
A figure was approaching on a boat, and as they drew closer, the Professor smiled with acknowledgement.
"It is good to see you, Miss Dorothea."
"And you!" the maid called back, pushing the oar with more ease. Soon she was in front of them and she held the boat steady. "When you're ready, just climb on board. Katia and Mr Herzen will be delighted to know you've come."
"I believe introductions are in order," Flora exclaimed, smiling at Dorothea.
"Miss Dorothea is a servant to the Anderson household," the Professor explained, taking Flora's hand and helping her into the boat. "She is also a friend to Katia, the granddaughter of Anton Herzen whom you know already."
"Only from the papers at first!" she said defiantly. "You never told me much. I had to ask Luke and he was more than happy to tell me!"
"I do apologise, Flora. I had not told you much for that exact purpose. I know that he was eager to tell you and even asked politely if he could. I believe he gave the story the embellishment it deserved. Certainly he is a better storyteller than I."
"Well, you don't need to be hard on yourself, Professor," she giggled, blushing.
"I think that is enough, you two," Dimitri laughed, stepping elegantly into the boat after Flora. "We shouldn't dally all day."
He muttered something under his breath as he found his spot on the boat.
"What was that?" Hershel asked, stepping into the boat, one hand holding his hat steady and the other being held by Dorothea as she lifted him on carefully.
"Oh nothing... I just thought of how you said that to me once before."
"I did?"
"I believe we have more pressing matters at hand, don't you, Hershel?"
Hershel nodded and remained silent. Something was bothering Dimitri and it was best not to pry too far. He remembered that Dimitri too was suffering just as deeply as he himself was.
Dorothea pushed off with the oar and soon they were moving swiftly through the dazzling blue lake.
"Master Herzen has been going on for weeks now how he would like for you to visit again. He always shies away at the last second though as he picks up the phone. He says that he knows you are an awfully busy man."
"Well, I have not been busy much these past few weeks. As much as I would like to visit Anton for a chat and a lovely cup of tea, I fear that the reason behind my coming here is graver than just a check-up."
"How so?" Dorothea gasped, but then shook her head. "Sorry about that... I don't mean to pry into your affairs, I just-"
"It is quite alright, Miss Dorothea. This news is something you may well be aware of if you have visited the town much. I would tell you now, but I wish to deliver the story once to everyone. Is Miss Katia home as well?"
"Well she always is. Taking care of Mr Herzen all the time she is! Even with all the frantic things that have been happening lately in her life." Dorothea turned her head from rowing for a second and smiled at the Professor. Suddenly her expression turned from happiness to lament and she bowed her head, gazing forward, concentrating on the task at hand. "She loves that man to bits... It is such a shame the way things have been going on between her father and him though..."
"Mr Anderson is staying here as well?"
"Oh yes! He often visits from Dropstone. I would say it is to see his granddaughter of course, but between you and me, I think it is also because Dropstone is so deserted these days. Out of the hundred or so residents that used to live there, more than eighty of them came to live here in Folsense. I had to run an errand in Dropstone a few months back and I felt spooked at how quiet the place was. I only saw one person and that was the man I had come to see in the first place! But what am I saying?! I shouldn't be gossiping..."
"Oh, no," Dimitri smiled, waving her concern away. "This little talk has actually been quite useful, if not informative at the least."
"Well that's good to hear!"
"What is this tension between Mr Anderson and Anton? If you don't mind me asking," Hershel said, his face adopting a stern expression as it usually did when engaging with new mysteries. Dimitri and Flora smiled, knowing that this grim expression was not one of misery, but the Professor back to his old self.
"Well, I found it extremely odd at first," Dorothea noted, a hint of curiosity in her voice. "Being snappy out of nowhere. Yelling at him for no apparent reason. Maybe Mr Anderson is just getting grumpy in his old age... Anyway, I started to find it less weird as I saw a similar thing happening in town with the townsfolk. People snapping at each other, couples who never had an argument in their lives were now screaming at each other over trivial things... Scary to say the least..."
"Yes, we witnessed some of this behaviour earlier today in town. Jacques and Laurel were fighting over borrowing issues. It was most unusual."
"Oh, I would say! That Laurel was always so sweet. One time a man came by and knocked her tea set over. A tea set that she had been carrying right from across the village. He apologised and readied himself for a scowling - I was walking by at the time - but the old woman just smiled and waved it all away. Anyone else in that situation would have been right peeved. I knew I would..."
"Yes, this is quite an odd phenomenon sweeping across the town..."
"Oh, but that's what seemed even weirder with Mr Anderson. After seeing what had happened in town over the next few weeks, I had assumed that the same thing was happening to him too, but then he started doing something else." The group huddled in closer to listen to Dorothea's story. She had them on every word. "Where the others had just had a little tiffle and then left like nothing happened, Mr Anderson would stay that grumpy for hours. And what's more, I would see him sneaking out of the castle at night and heading into the forest. He's been doing that most nights now. I have tried following him a few times - worried for him, of course - but I keep losing him when he gets to this here lake. It's very weird... It sort of makes me afraid to come down to the lake anymore. Like there's some dark, terrible secret... I had to though when I saw visitors though. I didn't expect it to be Professor Layton and his friends."
"Have you told Mr Herzen?" Flora asked timidly, clearly spooked by the tale.
"Oh no. It is not my place to be spying on Mr Anderson. To tell him would get me sacked, whether I'm friends with Katia or not. I wouldn't risk our friendship like that!"
"And has Mr Anderson been doing any other strange things?" Dimitri pondered.
"Well, he has hushed phone calls with someone called the Heartbreaker. I guess it's some kind of codename. I eavesdropped on quite a few of these conversations myself. Again, just out of concern..."
The boat touched land, sending a jolt across the boat and the group held on as the boat swayed back and forth.
"Well, here we are. I'll run ahead and let Mr Herzen know that you've arrived. He will be thrilled once he hears it's you!"
Dorothea jumped out of the boat with glee and started jogging towards the castle, which Hershel now looked at for the first time.
"Oh my..."
"It's magnificent!" Flora breathed.
"It's... unfinished!" Dimitri pointed out, examining a large section of scaffolding on one half of the castle.
"Well, it's only natural," Hershel explained. "When I was last here, the castle was destroyed. Before we left, Anton and Katia explained that they wished to rebuild the castle, only this time, less gloomy."
"Well I'll say!" Flora exclaimed.
What was once a dark and menacing lair of evil, full of jagged ends and hanging moss, was now an elegant and charming structure with large white bricks and blue roofs. The whole place looked a lot brighter and happier. Even the surrounding countryside was filled with bright green grass and vibrant flowers. The hole still remained around the castle, but Hershel could see the beginnings of an attempt to fill it all up. The area that was filled was already covered with fresh grass.
"Soon, this castle will be quite a marvel!" Hershel smiled.
"It already is!" Flora said, still besides herself.
"Indeed, and they have come very far in just a year. I would say a few more months and it shall be complete."
"A lot more joyous than what we have heard..." Dimitri murmured, stepping out of the boat and landing with a loud thud that shook Flora to the core.
"Yes... Not only do we have to worry about the Legulus mystery, and the distempered townsfolk, now we know of Mr Anderson and his shady activities."
"And this Heartbreaker person!"
"Perhaps... Though I wouldn't put him at the forefront our story just yet. We do not know how he connects. None of the paths link up, and yet at the same time, it seems as if there is a diverging path. That these mysteries have some sort of connection is no coincidence."
*****
"And they are seeing the old man now?" the brooding man murmured darkly said, sipping at his tea, his eyes glowing like embers over the brim of the cup.
"Yes, sir," the guard replied. "They were last spotted crossing the lake with the maidservant."
"Trying to hide from us in the woods, eh? Well, that won't work, Professor. Little do you realise how deep you are in this already. Like a fly caught in a web, you have flown right into my little den, my trap, if you will. Now all the pieces are in play, and sweet, sweet justice can be returned to this wretched world who stole my-"
With the sound of smashing doors, a guard came tearing into the room, his face drenched in sweat.
"What is it?" the man at the desk demanded, placing his cup of tea down with a clank.
"SIR... THE DEVICE WASN'T IN FROENBORG EITHER!"
"A shame... I thought as much though... I was sure that it would not be found anywhere other than at a site of the Azrans... Still, I knew that the Russians had acquired a certain item of... great value... What did they have then?"
"Sir, it was..." the guard reached into his pocket and produced a small scroll. The glowering man snatched it out of his hand and rolled it open, studying its contents with great detail.
"Yes... Yes!" He folded the paper and threw it onto the desk in front of him. "Another clue, no less, but still vital. It speaks of the device being in the infinite vault of Akbadain."
"But sir, the vault was-"
"I'm well aware what happened with the vault and that Targent agency... No, if you'll cast your mind back to a few months ago, a team of archaeologists from London were doing a search in that vault, or what they could search for, and they found a great number of curiosities."
"Sir, I thought we had searched those though."
"Indeed we did, but that was before we realised exactly what it was we were looking for. We must have had our hands on it at that time and we... WE THREW IT AWAY!"
"So the archaeologists have it... Do we know who?"
"Oh yes... We should have known all along... It seems we are visiting our old friend, Dr Schrader again."
*****
"Hershel, it is good to see you again, old friend!"
"And it is splendid to see you too."
Anton threw his arms around Hershel and hugged him tight. At least, as tight as he could with his strength.
"Do forgive the mess... Usually Dorothea cleans it, but she's been so busy preparing Katia these last few days..."
"Preparing her for what?"
"Well, her wedding, of course!"