The Lost Sonata

The Lost Sonata is a story written as a Halloween 2020 Special for Town of Haven.

Sypnosis
"When the group hears a mysterious music being played. They will be sent into an unexpected adventure... Will they be able to solve the mystery of The Lost Sonata?"

Chapter 1: Cliff Manor
It is Winter on one silent afternoon. Everything seems normal. Orion was in his room, playing video games, Mei is learning spells, Evelyn was taking a nap, Jashley is in her room painting in an empty canvas, Dexter is currently reading mathematics book, and Neko is reading and trying new potions on his spell book.

Suddenly, while everyone is busy with their everyday lives, they suddenly heard music, a sonata, to be precise. Played by what appears to be a violin.

Orion looks around the room to find out the source. Strangely, nothing was in his room that was playing the sonata.

Just as when they thought it was nothing, the music continues playing, giving the group chills down their spine.

Orion, worried, messaged his friends to meet at the cafe.

Minutes later, they meet at the cafe, discussing the strange music.

“Did you guys heard this one strange music?” Mei asked

“I did…” Neko answered. “It brings chills down my spine!”

“Exactly!” Jashley answered. “If I’m correct, it appears to be a violin.”

“Yea but… where did it came from?” Orion asked.

“Im not sure…” Evelyn answered. “But I think I might have an idea…”

Evelyn opened her phone and showed some information to her friends.

“Before I took a rest, I read this one article online about a man named Jason Cliff. He was a well-known musician of Haven, but was then retired. He also states that he usually hears music, even if he is not playing any violin. Not only that, he said he saw a ghost and asked anyone who encountered the same thing online for help…”

“Well lets meet him I guess…” Dexter spoke. “Do you know where he lives?”

“Yea…” Evelyn answered. “The article said he lives at his manor a bit far from here.”

“Well then lets go.” Orion spoke.

The group got out of the seats, called a taxi and headed towards the retired musicians manor, which was located somewhere in the hills a bit far from Haven. They later arrived at the estate, hopefully to find the answer they were hoping for.

“Here it is… the Cliff Manor.” Mei spoke.

As they approach the front foyer, they saw a grocery bag on the steps. Orion sniffed it, and had a serious question.

“Strange… It smells fresh… It just fell recently…” Orion said. “Who would drop these behind?”

Jashley shrugged and headed towards the front door. Just as she was about to knock using the door knocker, she saw a female figure behind a window next to the door. She was floating behind the window, staring at her for a few seconds before disappearing.

“What the…” Jashley spoke. “Did I just…”

“What is it?” Neko asked.

“I don’t know… I think I just saw a ghost…”

“Then it could mean something…” Dexter responded. “Knock on the door, Jashley.”

Jashley knocks on the door. Strangely, the door opens, no one was even there. The group, without a moment of hesitation, entered the manor.

“This manor looks fancy…” Mei spoke. “But where’s the musician?”

They suddenly heard a door rattling nearby. They followed the sound, leading to a locked door to what appears to be a storage room.

“If this door is locked, then the key must be nearby…” Neko spoke.

“I found it…” Evelyn picked up a key laying on a nearby round table. Neko unlocks the door, and inside was a man tied to a chair by a rope, with a tape secured on his mouth.

“Holy sh*t!” Orion gasped. “I was expecting some items to fall off when we open the door, but this is not what I had in mind!”

Jashley unties the man and removes the tape, giving the man a moment to breathe.

“Oh thank you…” The man answered. “My name is Mr. Wilson. And I am the butler of this manor for Master Jason…”

“Wait… If youre the butler, then how did you end up inside?” Dexter asked.

“You see, I recently arrived at the manor after buying at a market. I was about to open the front door when I was suddenly knocked unconscious by someone and tied me here.”

Orion then realized. “Which explains the dropped grocery bag we found earlier!”

“I will be able to call the police, but im not sure if the phone is going to work because of the current weather. Now… im guessing you all are here to pay a visit for Master Jason after what he encountered?” Mr Wilson asked.

“Exactly…” Mei answered. “We also wondered if you know where he is?”

“I do… Please, follow me”

The group followed the butler to the second floor of the manor, heading towards a door on the other side of a hallway.

As Mr Wilson opened the door, the group then witnessed a lady sitting beside a man who appears to be laying in a bed, possibly as a result of a disability, before disappearing into thin air.

The man then spotted the butler and the group entering the room.

“Good afternoon… My name is Jason Cliff, a well known and retired musician." He spoke. "Im sure you all are here for a reason... Yes, i do hear music. But not only that, i see a ghost..."

"Was it a woman?" Jashley asked.

"Indeed it was... And in my dreams, i think i found out the reason why she is haunting us..."

"In my dreams, i see her hiding something in a music box... Music sheets... Of her own composition... And then, she was running... Running away from someone... Perhaps she fell or was pushed, but she drowned in the lake... I dont know who was chasing her..."

After telling the backstory, he told the group what to do.

"The woman, Emma, was haunting us because she wanted us to find her music sheets for me..."

"For you?" Orion asked.

"Yes... It turns out even if she is a ghost... She somewhat cared for me..."

Mei realized. "That explains why she sat beside him!"

"As i was saying, she wanted us to find her music sheets for me, but in my condition, i cant do very much... Which is why she is asking you for help... The first music sheet is in the living room... Good luck to you six..."

The group then headed towards the living room where, much to their shock, an unknown figure took 2 sheets of paper from a musix box inside a drawer. The figure then spotted the group and ran towards the manor`s backdoor. Unbeknownst to him, he dropped one of the sheets of paper.

"Who was that?" Neko asked.

"Were not entirely sure... I wonder why he tried to take that sheet of paper..." Dexter wondered.

Evelyn gasped as she picked up the dropped paper. "Thats not a sheet of paper, thats one of the music sheets!"

"Oh sh*t! Then we have to go after him!" Orion responded.

The group followed the figure, running out of the backdoor and into a nearby plaza



Chapter 2: Plaza
The group came to a stop as they all lost track of the figure... They stopped by a well to think about their next plan.

"Now what?" Orion spoke. "We lost both that figure and the second music sheet..."

"Relax, Orion." Jashley spoke. "We`ll find him..."

While thinking of a plan, they found a newspaper article:

"The world famous violin, created by famous luthier Benjamin Maxwell, is missing. Along with its owner, Emma Bluesteel."

Suddenly, they heard noises in what appears to be an abandoned chapel. They slowly opened the front door and saw the figure searching for something. Minutes later, he left, leaving an open music box in a chapel bench.

"Wasnt there another music box back at the manor? The one where he found the first music sheet from?" Neko asked.

"There was..." Mei answered. "Maybe this music box is a decoy..."

Emma`s ghost then suddenly appeared, pointing at the stone mural behind the chapel table before disappearing.

"I think she wants us to look behind this mural..." Evelyn spoke. "But how will we be able to break this?"

Orion and Neko shifted into their werewolf form and began punching the stone mural, creating a hole in the middle. As the werewolves shifted back into the human form, they began inspecting whats behind the mural, revealing another music box.

"This must be the real music box..." Dexter spoke as he opened it, revealing another music sheet.

"I wonder why we were looking for these..." Orion spoke as he held a music sheet. Neko looked at the music sheet Orion was holding. He was then gasped as he saw a drawing behind it.

"Orion, give me that music sheet!" He spoke.

"Why?" Orion asked.

"Just give it to me..."

Orion gave the music sheet to Neko. Neko then took out another music sheet found in the manor earlier. He then placed the music sheets onto the chapel table and flipped, revealing what appears to be map fragments...

Neko pointed at a drawing of an estate. "This is the Cliff Manor..." He then pointed at the plaza. "This is the plazza..." He then pointed on what appears to be a drawing of a town, along with an arrow pointing towards a text labelled "Porto Town".

"He could be headed to the town of Porto, near the mountains ..." We can take the train heading for Porto at the nearby station."

As the group got their train tickets, they saw the figure entering one passenger car. So they decided to enter the passenger car beside the ones the figure was in.



Chapter 3: Train Ride
The group were sitting in a table... Discussing their plan about getting the figure, which they decided to refer him as a thief, to give a music sheet, which according to Orion while they were discussing, was also found in the manor in the same music box.

"You know... in a simple way, we can disguise ourselves to avoid detection..." Jashley spoke.

"Yea but... Where are we supposed to get our own disguise? We just left our houses..." Dexter asked.

"Are you trying to underestimate me?" Mei spoke. She casts a spell on herself and her friends, wearing different outfits and hats to cover themselves.

"Well done, Mei... Lets go, guys." Orion spoke.

They entered the car where the thief was currently in... It was a dining car. The thief appears to be talking to someone on his phone. The group walked and sat towards a seat infront of him. They then act as if they were talking about something, while eavesdropping onto the thief.

"What do you mean 50? I cant just give you the music sheet until we made a better deal." The thief spoke. "No... if you do not promise me a better payment, then ill find someone else who can..."

Evelyn whispered. "Thats it! Maybe if we posed as buyers, then maybe we can find a way to get the music sheet!"

"Good idea, Evelyn!" Neko spoke. "Ill make an anonymous note."

Neko finished writing the anonymous note: "Me and my colleagues will offer you double of what you are getting now. Meet us at your cabin."

"Great, now we need to devise a way to pass it to him without suspicion..." Orion spoke.

Mei asked Jashley to follow her to the car they were in earlier. Meanwhile in the other car, Mei created a fake rat and casted a spell on herself to change into what appears to be a waitress outfit. Back at the dining car, Orion, Evelyn, Dexter, and Neko wondered whats taking them so long, before Jashley can be heard yelling in the other car.

"A rat! Help! Please, somebody get rid of it! Im allergic to rodents!"

A waiter waiting on a bar located at the second floor of the dining car heard Jashley`s screams and ran towards the other car. "How embarassing! Dont worry, miss, ill get rid of it!"

Mei then walked out of the car and headed towards the bar while in her waitress outfit.

Orion and the others saw Mei heading towards the bar, he then laughed and whispered. "Mei, you smart son of a b*tch..."

Mei managed to find the thief`s order and decide to make it, which was only a cup of coffee. Mei then finished making his order and placed Neko`s anonymous note onto the small plate before placing the cup of coffee on top of it. Mei then placed the thief`s order sheet onto the tray and walked back to the other car and changed back to her disguise.

Soon after, the waiter then walked out of the car. "Thats the end of that rat! Now, back to work." He spoke.

Jashley and Mei came out and went to Orion and the others.

"Mei, Jashley, you two are absolute genius." Orion whispered.

"Thanks..." Jashley whispered back.

"We sure did pull it off perfectly." Mei whispered.

The group then act once again as if they were talking before they stopped and read magazines and newspapers. They then spotted the thief getting out of his seat and walked towards another train car, while reading the note.

"Well done, guys." Evelyn whispered. "The plan worked. He might be headed towards his cabin. He`ll lead us straight into the music sheets."

As the thief left the dining car, the group followed. They then stopped to see which was his cabin. The found the thief entering his cabin and now theyre thinking of a way to confront him. As they approach the cabin door, they heard voices. However, they were muffled through the wood.

Orion then used his werewolf hearing and then whispered to the group on what they were saying.

"You leave me no choice, partner." And then, they heard thumping noises, as if something fell.

"Somethings wrong..." Mei whispered. "We need to find a way to enter the cabin."

Evelyn found a card hidden in a vase and inserted it into the door. The door opened and the group entered, only to find an unexpected sight that they could not believe.

The theif was double crossed by his own partner. His partner jumped out of the train window, with the thief unconscious on the floor.

"If he was just a hired goon, then who were we really after?" Neko asked.

"We dont know..." Jashley spoke. "We might as well have to search both the cabin and the thief."

Emma`s ghost then appeared, pointing to a briefcase placed on top of a table.

They found a phone on the thief`s pocket and unlocked it. They then headed to its phone history, with most of its recently contacted was someone named "Florian".

Dexter returned to the briefcase and successfuly unlocked it, which the code was surprisingly "Florian". They open the briefcase and found the thief`s travel book. As they looked through it, the found a music sheet. The content in the page that was covered by the music sheet in the travel book shows a photo being circled by a red marker. In the photo was an old building, with the words "Haven Conservatory" written onto it, which coincidentally, was also on the music sheet.

Some time later, the train arrives in Porto. And the authorities took care of the thief. But the group`s journey wasnt over. They were still curious on who was the mastermind behind all of it. And so, they grabbed a taxi and headed towards a conservatory, hopefully to find the final music sheets. They were ready to face the music.

Untitled515.png Chapter 4: Haven Conservatory
The group soon arrived outside the conservatory which was closed. Strangely, a man is stanging outside of the conservatory in the middle of a rainy weather.

"Fancy meeting you six here..." The man spoke. "You all like music too? I was here to watch a performance, but it turns out the conservatory is closed for renovations. Well, i must be off. The rain`s getting worse. You six shouldnt be out without an umbrella. Until we meet again."

The man then walks off. The group then stared at each other in silence for a brief second before breaking it.

"Well that was odd." Evelyn spoke.

"And strange..." Neko spoke. "We should focus on getting inside... The music sheets could be inside."

Orion used a trick to open a closed window and went inside.

"Wrong room..." Orion spoke. "Oh hey nevermind... You guys might wanna come in here."

The rest of the group entered through the open window. And through the window lies what appears to be a theatre. Emma can be seen playing her violin before floating towards a door where she pointed at it for the group before disappearing.

The group went through the door, which turns out to be the door leading to the backstage. Orion then turned on the lights, showing a door on the opposite side of the backstage door. The door contains a label "EMMA BLUESTEEL" written on it.

"Well this looks promising." Evelyn spoke.

The group entered the room, which turns out to be Emma`s dressing room. Emma`s ghost then appeared, pointing towards a mannequin before disappearing. As they looked at the mannequin, which was missing its arms, there was a note attached to it.

"Follow the mannequin`s shadow"

The group was confused at first, but when they flipped the note, there we scratches on the back of the note, Mei used a pencil to shade it, showing the drawing of a mannequin.

"Im guessing we need to find the other parts?" Dexter spoke.

"Could be..." Jashley spoke. "Lets split up to look for them faster."

Minutes later, they found the missing parts, Orion found the left hand, Jashley found the other, Dexter found the left arm, while Neko found the other. Mei and Evelyn were waiting for them back at the dressing room.

They returned the parts to the way it showed on the drawing. Orion then noticed the mannequin`s shadow from a spotlight on the floor, with both hands pointing towards a clothes rack full of dresses.

"Follow the mannequins shadow..." Orion thought to himself. "Maybe this is what the note meant! Guys, lets pull the clothes rack!"

The group pulled the clothes rack, showing a hole on the wall with a trapdoor on the floor hidden behind it. The pulled the trapdoor open and went down the trapdoor. Inside the room were boxes, barrels, and spare theatre chairs, and one thing caught their attention.

In the table was the one they were looking for, the one that was worth the train ride. A music box lays on top of the table, waiting to be opened.

As they opened the music box, they found the final music sheets. They placed all the music sheets on the table and pieced them together, showing what appears to be a map.

Orion then pointed at the map`s locations, recalling them. "This is the manor... This is the plaza... The train... The conservatory..."

And one thing caught his attention. A drawing of tunnels.

"Is this a secret hideout? Its connected to... the plaza... But where?"

As Orion and the others finished looking at the map, they were suddenly greeted by the same man from outside the conservatory earlier.

"Why thank you, you six, for completing the music sheets for me. I knew i could rely on you all."

He quickly took the music sheets and climbed back up the trapdoor, before removing the ladder.

"I must leave you all now, but i hope you enjoy your time here in this basement."

The group then looked at the basement window to see him driving away in his car. Mei then suddenly realised an unexpected revelation.

"That was Florian! It was him all along! He took the music sheets and locked us in!"

"We must find a way to escape!" Dexter spoke.

Orion spotted a vent, shifted into his werewolf form and broke the grate. And soon, they got out of the vent.

"We made it out..." Orion spoke. "Good thing we were able to look at the map before the man took it away."

"Exactly..." Evelyn spoke. "We need to go back to the plaza and retrieve the music sheets, once and for all!"

Without a moment of hesitation, they quickly bought train tickets and rode the train back to Haven.



Chapter 5: The Caverns
As the group returned to the plaza in Haven, which is still in Winter. A man can be seen panicked.

"Whats wrong, sir?" Neko asked.

"I saw a man run and climb into the well just now, and the next thing i knew, i heard a loud explosion!"

Mei, without hesitation, climbed down the well using the rock walls.

"Wait up, Mei!" Orion spoke as he followed Mei down the well, before being followed by the others.

The group reached the bottom of the well, where on the other side was a doorway, with a small ravine in the middle. Dexter climbed back up and picked up a large flat plank, which was useful as a bridge as he placed it down. The group entered the tunnel and found two passageways. One leading to the hideout, which turns out to have belonged to Emma`s Maestro, Sam Wright. While the other seems to be blocked by a statue.

As they entered the hideout, they came to a stop as they see Florian standing next to a piano in the middle of the hideout. Luckily for the group they are still at the doorway and havent been spotted by him. Jashley saw a chandelier on top of Florian, with a rope conencted to a lever. And without hesitation, she flipped it down. Unintentionally dropping the chandelier on him, pinning him down and knocking him unconscious.

"Oh woops. " Jashley spoke.

Suddenly, Emma`s ghost appeared once more. She pointed at Florian before disappearing.

"I think she`s telling us that he still had the music sheets!" Mei spoke.

"Quick! We need to tie him up before we can retrieve the music sheets!" Dexter spoke.

The group then cut the rope from the chandelier and tied his hands up.

"Hes safely tied up." Neko spoke. "Lets begin searching."

After searching Florian, not only they found the music sheets, but a book page.

"A book page?" Orion spoke. "For what?"

The group then found a book laying on top of the piano. Inside was an unexpected story from the Maestro.

(Page 1) "All i wanted was to spend some time with her alone. Why did she run from me? Wasnt it i who made her famous?"

(Page 2) "Is it too much to ask her to play music only for me? Why was she so stubborn? Why did she have to die?"

The third page was missing. And so Orion placed the third page, and its content was unexpected.

(Page 3) "When the girl fell, his world shattered"

"Is this a riddle?" Jashley asked. "We should make a girl fall? Which?"

"I think i see it" Evelyn pointed at a female figurine on top of a shelf.

"That figurine looks like Emma!" Mei spoke.

"Allow me..." Orion picked up a stone, threw it towards the figurine and it fell towards a series of planks before the planks knocked over three bookshelves, like a domino effect. Surprisingly, the third bookshelf revealed a hole in the wall. As the group checked it out, the girls were shocked.

A message was written on a wall, a message, written in blood:

"WHAT HAVE I DONE!"

"I guess the maestro was a very jealous man..."

A tile piece was next to the message. Orion realized it belonged to the statue blocking the other passage. He then inserted the tile piece onto the statue and it moved, revealing the passageway. Through it appears to be a mausoleum, surrounded by broken stone pillars. As they inspect it... The found the mausoleum doors locked with a puzzle.

"How are we supposed to solve this?" Neko asked.

"Allow me..." Dexter answered. "Hmmmm... It seems i have match the pieces according to the clues on the sides..."

Few seconds later... Dexter completed the puzzle. The stone doors of the mausoleum opened, and inside was an unexpected sight...

The Maestro himself, sitting beside the wall of the mausoleum, now a frozen skeleton.

"Did the maestro trap himself here?" Mei wondered.

A slightly burnt photo was on the other side of the mausoleum, Jashley spotted this and decided to take it.

"Wait... what is he holding onto?" Dexter asked.

Orion gasped. "We found it... It was here..."

Orion then brings closure...

"There it was - Emma`s priceless violin, clutched by the maestro until his last breath."

"Emma wouldn`t have wanted that. We turned over the violin and the music sheets to the person she did care about: Jason."

"In return, Jason fulfilled Emma`s wish. He played her beautiful music for the whole world to hear, in what would be his last concert."

The End

Trivia

 * This story is based on Boomzap Games` "Death Upon an Austrian Sonata - A Dana Knightstone Novel", the 3rd installment of the Dana Knightstone series.
 * During making of the story, Emma`s name was almost miswritten as "Elise", the ghost from the said game.
 * It is unconfirmed whether there will be an epilogue of this story, just like in the game.
 * This could be possible, as Jashley picked up the burnt photo near the end.
 * This is the first ever Town of Haven Special story.
 * There were drafts of the story that didnt make the cut.
 * In the conservatory, instead of going through the theatre, the group had to go through the front door and would explore the front room of the conservatory.
 * Emma would originally have a sister for the violin to be given to.
 * There was a draft of the story that the group were supposed to accompany a novelist which would then inspire someone to make the Dana Knightstone games. This was then removed.
 * In the concept art, the architectural design of the conservatory would have been the Carson Mansion of Eureka, California
 * Also in the said concept art, there we ideas of having the conservatory burnt down. This was then removed as the developers find it "not fitting to the story"