Late at night, a young lady is walking home from the market, when suddenly she is accosted by two knife-wielding bandits. As the villains attempt to steal the defenceless lady's coin, a small spark of light appears from nowhere, exploding into a massive fireball that engulfs the bandits before they have time to even think of escaping.
Case information[edit]
- Time of crime: Late evening
- Location: Road to the Court
- Accused: Espella Cantabella
- Charges: Murder, witchcraft
- Victims: Robbs and Muggs
- Cause of death: Burns
- Defender: Phoenix Wright, assisted by Maya Fey
- Inquisitor: Zacharias Barnham
Before the Trial[edit]
Welcome to the Witches' Court, Sir Apprentice Baker. Why are you being asked to defend someone in court, anyway? After all, you and Maya are just a pair of simple bakers, right? While you try to answer this question, Espella arrives. She confirms that she asked for you to defend her, but that she doesn't know why she's been arrested, and begs you to help her. Apparently you've done this for her before, and her story of you defending her before stirs something inside of you... Maybe you really are more than just some baker? Time to enter the courtroom, the ominously-named "Chamber of Fire".
Once inside, it seems the "Inquisitor" (or maybe you're more familiar with the term "Prosecutor") is running late... fashionably late, of course. Apparently Inquisitor Zacharias Barnham is quite the crowd favourite... at least, they're certainly more interested in seeing a guilty verdict being handed down, than any form of true justice being served. Prepare to cross swords of justice!
Barnham begins by explaining the details of the case. It was raining until just before the murder occured. The accused was returning from the market, when she was held at knifepoint by two thieves, Robbs and Muggs. She then apparently killed the two in self-defence. But - and this is the main point of the trial - she used witchcraft to do so, which is illegal in all circumstances in Labyrinthia.
Barnham now calls his group of eyewitnesses to give their testimony... Hold it! Four witnesses at the same time?
Group Testimony: What We Saw Tonight[edit]
- Wordsmith: The delicious scent of mid-evening dinner permeated the air, and a soft light shone faintly in the distance.
- Mary: Muggs grabbed the girl by the arm. It looked like he almost pushed her to the ground!
- Kira: I heard a faint voice cry out. The next moment, those two villainous men burst into flames!
- Knightle: There was not a trace of fire to be seen in the area! Without a doubt, "magic" must have been used!
What We Saw Tonight: Cross-Examination[edit]
Press Wordsmith's statement. After he rambles on for a bit, Barnham submits a drawing of the crime scene. He explains that, as it was dark at the time, the accused was carrying a lantern. The Lantern is added to the Court Record. Present the Lantern on Knightle's statement. Objection! ... And with that, the old Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney, is back in business! If Espella was carrying a lantern, then obviously the victims were killed by the fire inside that!... or not, since the flame of a small lantern would be nowhere near enough to kill two men. The Judge returns to the original claim that the accused used "magic". For now, you have no choice but to accept the fact that magic exists in this world, and that applying real-world logic probably isn't going to cut it here. Just when it seems all is lost, the Judge is interrupted by the arrival of Professor Layton, who brings you the Grand Grimoire, a tome containing information on all of the world's magic.
Luke and the Professor will now explain how to use the Grand Grimoire as a source of evidence. Touch the "Grand Grimoire" icon on the Touch Screen, or press 
, to open the Grand Grimoire. You can browse through bookmarked pages with 
and 
. Once you have the book open on a spell, you can present it against a witness' statement by touching the "Present" button, or pressing 
. Currently, only the Ignaize spell is bookmarked - the spell the witnesses claim to have heard. The Professor asks you to look at the Crime Scene Illustration again. At least you can still look for contradictions the old-fashioned way, and there's one contained in this drawing. Point out the contradiction. First, look up the spell "Ignaize" in the Grand Grimoire. It says that a "sceptre", the Talea Magica, is required to cast the spell, but according to the drawing, Espella wasn't holding one. Point your magnifying glass at Espella's right hand (in which she is holding the lantern) and present it. Barnham, though, isn't giving up so easily. He holds up the Talea Magica found at the scene, and points out that, as it contains two "magic gems", it can be used to cast two spells. One is Ignaize, the red gem, and the white gem is for Dimere, a vanishing spell. Dimere will be bookmarked in the Grand Grimoire. So, if the witch made the sceptre invisible with Dimere, that would explain why it is not contained in the illustration. The Talea Magica is added to the Court Record, after a failed attempt to have it dusted for fingerprints (since forensics don't exist here). Instead, the witnesses offer up another testimony.
Group Testimony: About the Talea Magica[edit]
- Knightle: When I saw her, the witch was carrying a large milk bucket in one hand and a lantern in the other...
- Mary: The girl had the lantern hanging from her wrist... Her hand was contorted in a strange way!
- Kira: I got a good look at her hand, and it looked for certain that she was gripping something.
- Wordsmith: The witch was holding a sceptre in her right hand! She did not drop it once before she was apprehended!
About the Talea Magica: Cross-Examination[edit]
Present the Lantern on Wordsmith's statement. The lantern is broken and covered in mud, implying that it was dropped, but if Espella was holding a sceptre in that hand, then it couldn't have fallen off her wrist. Kira interrupts, making the Professor become suspicious of her. He questions the strength of her eyesight. She admits to having lost her Glasses, which are added to the Court Record. The Judge orders the witnesses to testify further.
Group Testimony: About the Talea Magica (cont.)[edit]
- Knightle: The girl was not holding the sceptre in the same hand as the lantern... Which means, it must have been in her other hand!
- Kira: The accused is holding a milk bucket in the court illustration. Who's to say she wasn't also holding the sceptre in that hand?
- Mary: That milk bucket is lighter than it looks. Even Snowy could carry it! So she could have easily held the sceptre as well.
- Wordsmith: I did not see this milk bucket. Everything felt like an illusion...
About the Talea Magica (cont.): Cross-Examination[edit]
Press Mary's statement. How exactly did she know how light the milk bucket was? She admits to having taken the bucket from the crime scene. The Bucket of Milk is added to the Court Record. Present the Bucket of Milk on either Wordsmith's or Knightle's statement. It turns out that the crime scene illustration is inaccurate, as the bucket shown in it has a rope for a handle, whereas the actual bucket has a wooden handle, making it impossible for someone to hold both it and the Talea Magica. Apparently the concept of "logic" doesn't exist here either... but Barnham is no fool. He raises the possibility that the witch dropped the sceptre after casting the spell, and orders the witnesses to testify again.
Group Testimony: About the Sequence of Events[edit]
- Wordsmith: Of course! The lantern fell to the ground after the incantation of "Ignaize"! SPLOOSH!
- Mary: I'm as sure as Snowy is white. I made certain to keep my eyes peeled on that milk bucket, after all!
- Kira: Besides, how can you be sure the lantern fell just because it has a little mud on it?
- Knightle: These eyes do not lie! I saw the lantern in the accused's hand when the incantation was uttered!
About the Sequence of Events: Cross-Examination[edit]
Press Wordsmith's statement. He says that the "SPLOOSH!" was the sound of the lantern falling. But the glass is broken, so why didn't he hear that? Mary appears to notice something during Wordsmith's ramblings, though. Run through all four statements, then press Wordsmith's statement again. Time for a new technique of cross-examination. When you press a witness to make them explain their statement further, other witnesses will occasionally notice something in their statement. If you notice this, use 
or 
to look at the other witnesses, and question anyone who looks suspicious. Test this new method by questioning Mary. She explains that she did in fact hear the glass of the lantern breaking, and it was after she heard it that she heard the incantation for Ignaize - contradicting everyone else's testimonies. If this really is what happened, then it's impossible for Espella to have used any magic!
It appears that you've won, but just as the Judge prepares to hand down his verdict, he is interrupted by some guy from the audience, who claims to have witnessed the entire event (while downing a bottomless flagon of... something, apparently). After the witnesses huddle to discuss their "strategy", they proceed to testify again.
Group Testimony: The Mystery of the Witch's Sceptre[edit]
- Kira: It's clear as day... Espella is a witch! We are NOT backing down on this!
- Wordsmith: When she dropped the lantern, the sceptre was not yet in her hands.
- Mary: The sceptre must have been hidden by magic and carried on her back.
- Knightle: The rogues grabbed her by the hand that held the lantern, so she must have had another way of holding that sceptre.
- Some Guy: That's easy! The girl just put the bucket down on the ground and picked up the witch's scep... scept... magic stick!
The Mystery of the Witch's Sceptre: Cross-Examination[edit]
Present the Bucket of Milk on "Some Guy"'s statement. If Espella put the bucket down on the ground, it should have mud on it, since it was raining shortly before the crime occured. Barnham suggests that Mary simply wiped the bucket clean. "Some Guy" will now change his testimony.
- Some Guy: That witch there was holdin' the stick. I even heard her say the incantation thingy. ... That's right, I witnessed it all!
Press "Some Guy"'s statement. He claims that the five witnesses all saw clearly what happened. Question Wordsmith on "the five of us, we saw what that witch went and did! We saw it clear as day!" Wordsmith says that he only remembers seeing four witnesses at the scene of the crime. So why are there five people claiming to have witnessed the crime? One of them is the witch.
Barnham asks the witnesses to mark their locations at the time of the crime on a sketch of the scene. The resulting Area Map is added to the Court Record. You are now asked to show the court exactly where the real witch was at the time of the crime. Present the area between where Espella and the victims were located. But no one other than the accused and her apparent victims were here, so how did the real witch stay hidden? Open the Grand Grimoire and Present Dimere. Since Dimere is the other spell usable by the Talea Magica, the witch could simply have used that to become invisible! The Judge orders the witnesses to testify once again.
Group Testimony: What We Saw and What We Didn't See[edit]
- Knightle: You wish to know where we were all standing tonight? It matters not! Would the flames not burn just the same?
- Kira: That flame... I never saw anything like it! It quite literally left me speechless... I couldn't even so much as scream.
- Some Guy: I heard the tiniest cry, and then when I turned around, the blighters were roastin'... So I rushed right over!
- Mary: I heard the incantation, then the flames suddenly erupted... I'm certain of it. I only saw three people there with us!
- Wordsmith: As I said, there were only three others present. Like that man there, who was stumbling around like a newborn calf.
What We Saw and What We Didn't See: Cross-Examination[edit]
Press Wordsmith's statement. Question "Some Guy" on "That's when the wobbly-legged gentleman came running over." After an argument, "Some Guy" will state that he fell over a rock while running towards the crime scene. When asked if there is any point to this testimony, choose Question further. "Some Guy" will explain that he wasn't watching where he was going, because he heard someone call his name. Finally, you discover that "Some Guy" is actually called Emeer. Apparently, none of the other witnesses knew this before now. Professor Layton has Emeer add this statement to his testimony.
- Emeer: I hurried to the scene! But then I ended up tripping when I heard someone call me name from behind.
Press Emeer's statement. He's fairly certain that he heard his name being called from somewhere behind him. If that is true, then Emeer's testimony contains a clear contradiction. But you've got no evidence in the Court Record... Professor Layton instead suggests that you look for contradictions between each witness' testimonies. Check the Area Map again. The only person standing behind Emeer at the time of the crime was Kira. Question Kira on Emeer's statement. If she was in so much shock that she was left "speechless", how could she have callen Emeer's name?
You now need to prove that only Kira could have been responsible for calling Emeer's name. Present the Area Map. The Judge is not impressed, but just as he prepares to hand down a penalty, Kira interrupts, and requests to be allowed to leave. She claims again that she doesn't know Emeer's name. Is there another explanation for what Emeer thought he heard? Open the Grand Grimoire and present Dimere. According to Dimere's description, the incantation used to make something visible again... is called Amere!
Why did the witch reappear?[edit]
Now Barnham claims to have spotted a contradiction in your reasoning. Time to start thinking outside the box now. "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains must be the truth..." If Kira really was the witch, why did she feel the need to make herself reappear at the crime scene? To cover up her crime. What could a witch possibly have needed to cover up? Present the Glasses. Maybe she didn't lose her glasses "a few days ago", but rather tonight, at the crime scene, and made herself reappear in order to search for them! That still doesn't explain why Kira needed to reappear, though. Why did she need to show herself? Kira isn't wearing her glasses right now, so obviously she couldn't find her glasses. She also needed to dispose of the Talea Magica in order to frame someone else for the crime, since it contained a Dimere gem - making reappearing at the scene the only way for Kira to avoid suspicion if her glasses were discovered at the scene. But can you prove that Kira actually lost her glasses at the crime scene? There is one place relating to the crime that hasn't been searched... because it was impossible to search it. Present the Bucket of Milk. If Kira's glasses are found inside the bucket, that will confirm that she was the real witch. The Judge searches the bucket, and finds... Kira's glasses. Kira finally realises that the game is up, and admits her guilt. She explains her reason for trying to frame Espella, and pleads for her life to be spared, but ultimately is put to the flames nonetheless.
Espella Cantabella is found...
After the Trial[edit]
Talk to Professor Layton and Luke:
- What happened in London: The Professor explains the situation that led him and Luke to meet Espella.
- What happened on the ship: Espella explains what happened on the ship, how she got arrested, and the first trial in which you and Maya defended her. She claims that the tag she took from PC Badger was a clue, but to what?
- The stuffed toy's tag: While on the ship, Espella tried to remember where the Professor and Luke were from, so she could find them again. The tag she took from PC Badger had "London" inscribed on it, so she took it in order to remember the name of the city of London. The Professor suspects that the person really responsible for attacking Olivia may be one of the witches hunting for Espella.
Maya suggests that everyone returns to the bakery for the night, but Espella says she cannot go right away, and will rejoin you later. Inquisitor Barnham, however, claims differently, stating that she is now accused of an even greater crime... Professor Layton suggests that you and Maya team up with him and Luke in order to solve the mystery of Labyrinthia.