After a long day of teaching classes, Professor Layton settled back in his office chair with a hot cup of tea. A few sips of the hot Earl Grey made him relax quite quickly, until his door slowly creaked open. Luke Triton walked in, carrying a smallish box. The Professor set down his teacup and rose from his chair, turning to greet the boy.
"Good evening, Luke." He received his young apprentice with a smile. "I appreciate you coming to see me, but I really was about to head home." His eyes traveled downward to the package in Luke's hands. "Hm? What have you got there?"

"A lady dropped this off at home while you were here, Professor." Luke handed the box to Layton. "She didn't say who it was from. She just dashed off."

The label read out: To Professor Layton, From Melody Dent. "Dent… Now I know I've heard that name somewhere before…" Layton seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Ah! That's it!"
Luke looked earnestly at the man. "Did you think of someone?"

"Vincent Dent was an old student of mine. He went on to become such a successful archaeologist, many newspapers labeled him the 'King of Archaeology'"
"Oh! I remember he was interviewed just last week! Melody Dent was his daughter! They called her the 'Princess of Archaeology' to go along with her father's nickname."

Professor Layton smiled. "Exactly right, my boy. I wonder what Miss Dent wants?"

A small blade tore through the paper around the package, and the cardboard flaps popped open. Inside, there were two enveloped addressed to Professor Layton, and a pyramid shape wrapped in thick cloth. The Professor opened the first envelope and pulled out an elaborately decorated card.

"Professor Hershel Layton and one guest are cordially invited to attend the gala in honour of Dr. Vincent Dent's latest discovery," he read off the royal purple page. The rest underneath were the date and area of the event. Hopefully the second envelope would bring more detail into this. Layton tore open the second envelope, reading the letter inside with a worried expression. "Oh my…I had always feared something like this would happen…"

"What's going on, Professor?" The letter fell into his hands, and Luke read aloud. "Dear Professor Layton, I don't know if you've heard much about me, but I trust you have some recollection of my father, Vincent Dent. Whether you only know him as your student, or if you've seen his work in archaeology, I want to tell you that my father is nothing more than a horrible thief. He has stolen priceless artifacts from most of the dig sites he has visited, if not all of them. Though I'm only his daughter, I've been trying to get him apprehended. However, the police haven't been listening, so I've decided to turn to his old teacher for help. Right now, he is working on what could be his most incredible find yet, and I fear for what could happen to the treasures he uncovers. We have both been working on this mystery, I in secret and he in public. Hopefully everything I have provided will be enough to aid you, for I fear I am running out of time. –Melody Dent."

Below the neatly written plea for help was a small paragraph with the heading "My Favourite Book". It read, "My favourite book has a violet cover. It tells not a tale of fiction, but the story of many people. It bears my name in gold lettering, and is hidden where you would never think to look."

Luke carefully took out the pyramid piece and pulled off the protective cloth. Underneath was an elaborate, yet ancient-looking tetrahedron puzzle decorated in four Egyptian hieroglyphs; the obelisk, the man, the reed, and the sail.

"I would assume this has something to do with Vincent's discovery." Layton took the tetrahedron, turning it over in his hands. A small slip of paper within the cloth held their only clue to the puzzle: "The Sphinx holds the key". "I have a good theory of what this could mean..."

At that moment, a loud whirring sound blared from outside. A strong wind sent the curtains fluttering around, and the occupants of Layton's office shielded themselves, dropping to the ground. When it finally died down, Professor Layton looked out to the yard, wondering what could have happened.

Outside, in the massive school courtyard, a violet airship had landed, and one of the passengers had come running into the building. A few moments later, there was a light knock at the office door, and it was pushed open.

"Professor! It's been such a long time!" The man's voice was deeper, but still recognizable.

Layton turned to greet his old student with a smile. The young man bounded up to him, giving off an air of happiness. "Vincent! Is that your, er, ship out there?"

Vincent looked over to the window and smiled. "Of course! I came to pick you up for the gala myself! It's in a couple days, but I was thinking you would like to see my discovery for yourself!" He beamed and looked over to Luke. "Hm? Is this your 'young apprentice', I've heard so much about?"

Staring up at the loud man who had swept into the room, Luke tried to find his words. "...My name's Luke." He crossed his arms, making quick assumptions from Melody's letter. "I assume you're Doctor Dent?"

He stepped forward, but his mentor put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Exactly right, Luke." he looked back to Vincent. "Now, I don't mean to insult you, but why have you come so soon, Vincent? We only received your letter this afternoon."

The man's bright expression changed. "What? But, I received confirmation that you were attending yesterday morning! I didn't want you to spend any extra expense, so I came to get you right away!"

The Professor smiled in an attempt to cheer up Vincent. "There's no need to worry. It's wonderful that you're already here. I was just about to accept your invitation anyways."

After a few moments, the zeppelin was starting up, carrying Luke, Layton, and Vincent.

"The bunking cabins are off down that hallway." Vincent pointed a thumb off to the right. "It'll take us almost a day to reach Cairo, so make yourselves comfortable!"

The long flight would allow Layton a while to work at the tetrahedron, and possibly gather information about his curious ex-student. This was only the beginning of an adventure that would delve much deeper than anyone had expected.

-End of Chapter One-

Let's review the mysteries we've encountered so far:

Vincent Dent: An old student of the Professor's who seems to have make an incredible archaeological discovery. His daughter accuses him of being a thief, and summons the Professor's help to catch him. However, he doesn't seem to be hiding anything, as far as we have learned.

The Tetrahedron: Within a package sent from Vincent's daughter, there was a pyramid-shaped puzzle covered with hieroglyphs, bearing only the clue, "The Sphinx holds the key.". What could this mean? And what is the puzzle's connection to this investigation?