Professor Kman and the Curious Sheet Archive - Story Thread

[EFitTrainr]

   
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Chapter 1:
 Stachenslow

     A strangely shaped red car drove down a quiet road in the rural part of England.
     
     "I don't understand, Professor, why are we going to help solve an inheritance dispute?" asked a young boy in the car.

     "You see, shadowkirby, this is no ordinary inheritance dispute. I suppose I should explain," replied a tall blonde man in a top hat, "Quite recently, Baron F.S.M. passed away. When his will was read, however, everyone was astounded. The will stated: 'I, Baron F.S.M, leave my entire estate to the person who can find the Golden Eighth Note.' Needless to say people were confused, and an entire search of the village turned up nothing."

     "Wow, that sounds exciting! That must be your famous intuition acting up again, eh, Professor?" shadowkirby exclaimed.
   
     "My famous-? Oh, no, the baron was an old friend of mine, and I had been invited to the reading of the will, however, due to teaching my music class, I could not attend. And besides, the letter I was sent piqued my curiosity. Would you care to take a look?"
 
     "Sure thing, Professor!" shadowkirby took the letter from Professor Kman and opened it. "It's a map! But, there are no directions!"

     "Take a look at this piece of paper, shadowkirby." The Professor handed shadowkirby another letter.
 
     "What's this? It looks almost like... a puzzle!" Shadowkirby quickly read through the puzzle, which involved a village that was on a road different from other roads. "I believe it is... this one, Professor!" shadowkirby pointed to a village on the map.

     "That is correct, my boy."

     "So that's what intrigued you, eh?" shadowkirby knew as well as everyone else how much the Professor loved to solve puzzles.

     "Indeed it was. It is rumoured that everyone in the entire village knows at least one unique puzzle!" The Professor seemed to be filled with glee at the prospect.

***

     After what seemed like an eternity to shadowkirby, the Kmobile (his name for the Professor's odd red car) finally pulled up to a village gate.

      "Password, pleeeaaaasseeee." A slow, droning voice called out.

      "Pardon me, sir, but we're to help with the inheritance dispute. My name is Professor Norschel Kman," the Professor replied, sticking his head out the Kmobile's window.

      "That's exactly why we need a password," the voice replied, "The village of Ennessemm has been overrun by treasure seekers, looking for the Golden Eighth Note. However, I've been having a bit of trouble with this puzzle. Maybe, just maybe, if you can solve it, I'll let you in."

      "What puzzle would that be sir?" asked the Professor.

      "I have three gears here. Can you place them in this machine to get it to run correctly?"
The Professor took a look at the machine and said, "I believe I can. Shadowkirby, would you run over here and give me a hand?"

      "Of course, Professor!"

      "Excellent. Now, take this gear, and place it in the bottommost slot. I'll take care of the other small gear, and put it in the top slot. Then, you can help me put the larger gear in the middle."  The two puzzle solvers placed the smaller gears in the top and bottom, and put the largest gear in the middle together.

     "What! You've gotten it to work!" The slow droning voice had turned into a slow, excited voice. "So, um, I actually didn't require a password, it's just that the gate was broken and we couldn't open it. Just give me a second..." The gate slowly began to open. A tall, skinny man with piercing blue eyes stepped out. "Thank you very much, Mr. Kman. My name is Stachenslow, and if you ever need any help with your investigation, just come to me!" Stachenslow shook the Professor's hand rather vigorously.

     "Of course. Is it not the duty of every true gentleman to help those who need it?"

     "Indeed it is, my good man. Now, you'll be needing lodgings during your stay in Ennessemm. Our best hotel is right there. The price to stay is remarkable, as well. You only to solve one puzzle a night!" Stachenslow pointed to a 3-story building.

     "Wow, a puzzle a night!" repeated shadowkirby. "Let's go there first, Professor!"
The Professor and shadowkirby entered the hotel. "Hello, young chaps! A young boy dressed as an older man greeted them. My name is Wario Pianissimo. I'm in charge of this hotel, and have been all 70 years of my life!"

     "Professor, isn't he just a kid?" whispered shadowkirby.

     "Just a kid? Oh, no, no, no. I have grandkids, though! Now, are you interested in a room tonight?"

     "Yes we are, Mr. Pianissimo. I have heard that the fee for one night is one puzzle, is it not?" inquired the Professor.

     "Oh, yes, it is. Now let me just find a suitable one... say, how about this one about my grandkids?"

     "That sounds delightful," answered the Professor.

     "Alright, so, Jimmy was having a conversation with Mary. He said to her, 'Say, Mary, if you take my age next year and multiply it by two, I'll be three times your age!' Mary replied, 'That's right! And, if you take my age right now and multiply it by two, I'll be your age next year!' How old are Mary and Jimmy right now?"

     "Let me try this one, Professor!" yelled shadowkirby.

     "Alright, just try not to be so loud."

     Shadowkirby took a notebook and began writing down calculations. After a few minutes, he exclaimed, "Here's my answer! Jimmy is five, and Mary is 3!"
 
     "Very good, my boy! Now, as for your rooms. I'm going to give you rooms 1 and 2 on the third floor. Does that sound acceptable to you?"

     "That sounds very good. We're going to stop by the F.S.M. manor, and then we shall return here," the Professor explained.

     "I await your return, good sirs!" Wario Pianissimo waved goodbye to Kman and shadowkirby, and went back to his office.

[EFitTrainr]

Chapter 2:
(Un)Familiar Faces

     As the Professor and shadowkirby left the hotel, they realized they had no idea where they were going. "I believe that we should ask some of the townspeople for directions. Baron F.S.M. was well known in the village of Ennessemm, and his manor's location should be common knowledge." The Professor walked up to a man with short, black hair, and appeared to be of Asian descent. "Pardon me, sir, but could you direct us to the manor of Baron F.S.M?"

     "Let me see if it is in the cards..." he said mysteriously. He pulled out a set of cards with strange markings... and promptly dropped them all over the ground. "Oh no, I always do this!" he said exasperatedly.

     "Could we be of assistance, sir?" asked shadowkirby.

     "I doubt it... I had my cards arranged a specific way, but I don't remember which ones went where. I do remember a few things, though. Maybe, if you're good at puzzles, you COULD help me."

     "Tell us what you remember, then!"

     "All right, let's see..."

     "I have 6 cards, marked with a star, a square, a circle, a triangle, a rectangle, and a diamond.

     The diamond comes after the star. There are 2 cards after the diamond.

     The square is after the triangle.

     The circle comes after the star.

     The rectangle is between the diamond and circle.

     The circle is last."
     
      "Hmm..." shadowkirby wrote what the man said down in his notebook. After looking at it for a while, he picked up the cards, and put them in the order of triangle, square, star, diamond, rectangle, then circle.

      "Incredible! That's exactly the order they were in! My name's Jerry, by the way. Now, what was it you were looking for?"

     "We were looking for the manor of Baron F.S.M," answered the Professor.

     "Ah. First, head down Mario lane, then take a left on Animal Crossing."

     "Thanks, Jerry!" said shadowkirby. The puzzling duo then headed down to Mario lane, when shadowkirby's stomach rumbled. "Gosh Professor, we haven't eaten since breakfast! Can we stop for a snack?"

     "That sounds excellent. Look at that sign, a little farther down the road. It says "Winter Café".

     "But it's summer, Professor! I hope it's not closed!"

     "Let's take a look." When the two headed down the street a little farther, they could see people inside the café. When they tried to open the door, however, it was locked.

     "Well that's odd. Professor, do you think the people in the café are staff?"

     "I don't think so, shadowkirby, they appear to be enjoying food and drinks. But take a closer look at this lock."

     "What- there's keys around the door knob. But why are there so many? It would take forever to try them all!'

     "Shadowkirby, I believe we are being presented with yet another puzzle. Look at the keyhole. It has a very distinct shape. By looking at the shape, we are able to narrow it down to these 3 keys. Now, if we look at the center of the lock, we can see that the key should be round in the middle. That narrows it down to only one key, so we know that this must be the one."
     
     "That's amazing, Professor! Now let's head inside, I'm starving!" shadowkirby put the key in the lock, and turned it, causing the door to open.

     "Ah, yet another who solved my door puzzle! You're a new face around here, aren't ya?" A young man with long multi-colored hair greeted Kman and shadowkirby. "My name's Winter, and this here is my café. Now what can I get you two?"

     "I'll take a cup of Earl Grey, if you don't mind," said Professor Kman.

     "I'll take one of those cookies! The icing on them looks delicious!" shadowkirby requested.

     "Ah, our famous puzzle cookies. You see, there's a story behind them. When I bought this café from its previous owner, he sold it to me on the condition I would continue to serve puzzle cookies. The way they work is if you can solve a puzzle, you get a free cookie, for a maximum of one cookie a day."

     "What's the puzzle, then?" asked shadowkirby.

     "I'll give you an easy one, since you're new around here."

     "Now take a look at these 4 cookies. There is one chocolate cookie, one chocolate-chip cookie, one peanut butter, and one raisin. You can't tell which is which by looking at them, because they all have frosting. What's the minimum number of cookies you'd have to try to figure out which cookie is which?"

     "That's an easy one, Mr. Winter, sir! The answer is 4!"

     "Really? Are you sure about that?"

     "Um, I'm pretty sure, let me take another look."

     "Alright. Take your time."

     Shadowkirby looked at the cookies one more time, and guessed, "Three! You'd have to taste 3 cookies, because once you've tasted three, you'll know what the final cookie is."

     "Very good! Now, which cookie would you like?"

     "I'll take the chocolate chip, please!" shadowkirby took the chocolate chip cookie from Winter and began to eat it. After a few bites, he said, "How's your tea, Professor?"

     "It is very good, shadowkirby."

     After a while, the two bid Winter goodbye, and continued their trek to the manor.