It was going to be a simple plan, really. Get up in the morning, and go out to see the castle with that creepy Skreek, Ysnor. However, one feature of Sylvanian weather … is that it is frequently very bad. This whole week has been like that. Storms blew in with such ferocity as to break off weaker branches of the trees, and to generally make it a very unpleasant prospect for a cat (or anyone else, for that matter) to go out sight-seeing.

There were occasional opportunities to meet with the locals, but the welcome still hasn't gotten warmer than the original spectacle of shutter-slamming that occurred the first time the adventurers walked into town. Oh, sure, a few polite greetings and well-wishes and "nice weather we're having, isn't it?" but there is still that air about things. Uneasiness. Madame Xanadu would probably be cawing, "Bad karma!" left and right.

At last, the weather settled back into its normal gloom, but the sun hasn't shown itself yet. (It's a wonder that anything can grow here!) So, with the dim, cloud-muted light of a new day, Feli "Jynx" Kurai and his companions head out to see Blackshire Keep, poling across a swamp in a small barge owned by the hunch-backed Skreek, Ysnor.

Jynx rides along through the grimy, slimy bog, choosing to bring along only his duffel bag with a few clothes and food, leaving his massive trunk back at the inn for now. Hetwitches his tail with visible annoyance: wet, wet, and more wet! Not good for a Khatta! "How much longer, Ysnor?"

Ysnor, hunched over his pole, pushes it, propelling the barge forward through the muck. "Heh, eheh … not much farther, Master! We are almost to the end of the road!"

Born-in-Shame, in full armor (Let us hope he doesn't have to swim in it), holds a torch, keeping a wary watch for any more "friendly critters" … though none have approached the boat so far … except for biting bugs, of course.

Swatting at one of the said bugs, the black Khatta gives out a sigh. "This is a road?" He shrugs, and pinches his nose shut at the noxious smell.

Ysnor nods. "Eheh … Oh! Oh! There it is!" He bounces on his feet – not a wise thing to do in a barge, but it stays upright – as he points to a dim light visible ahead through the fog.

There's a scuffing noise, and the barge jerks as it feels like it scrapes its belly on some rocks just below the water's surface. It must be a shallow spot, but the barge passes over it.

Jynx attempts to peer through the gloom at the faint light, only to sink his claws into the barge's side as it bumps the shallow spot. "Is that it? The castle?"

The Skreek nods vigorously. Then, he pulls up his pole, and slides it into a couple of loops alongside the barge's edge … and draws out a paddle instead. He stoops down and starts using it … splashing bits of grime onto the Abaddonian cheetah, the foppish fox and the black Khatta as he does so.

A shape resolves itself in the fog. It's a tower, with lights at the top, and it's getting closer.

"Hey!! Watch it!" The Khatta hisses at the Skreek, fur on edge as he tries to dodge the water. Shivering, he looks up at the massive tower, trying to make it all out.

As the barge draws closer, the fog parts enough to get a better view of the tower. Actually … the tower isn't all that massive after all, as towers go. It's a stone tower with a single parapet at the top, covered with a conical wooden roof. A tattered banner of some sort flutters from the top-most point, but it can't be made out in the darkness. The tower rises from the muck, and it has a rickety-looking wooden dock at its base.

Jynx blinks at the sight. It doesn't seem to be the most inviting place in the world, but at least it's dry! "Hurry, Ysnor, let's dock! I want to get inside as quick as possible."

Ysnor paddles the barge up to the tower, splashing even more water on Jynx and the rest. At last, the momentum seems to be enough, and the barge slides up to the dock. Ysnor uses his paddle to slow down the barge, pushing against the dock as it gets close enough … and then he hurriedly leaps off and secures a couple of ropes between the barge and the dock.

The foppish fox remarks, "A great tower, for a great hero! Yippee!"

Scarlet huddles towards the back of the barge, keeping her robs clutched tightly too her. "I might be a water mage, but even I would like to get inside," she mentions to Ysnor.

A very soggy Khatta glares at both the fox and the Skreek, then shakes himself off. Once the barge is secure, he jumps up onto the dock, hefting his duffel bag over his shoulder. "Okay, everyone on their feet. I want to get inside as quick as possible."

Ysnor skitters up to a door set in the wall of the tower. To either side is a drop into the muck, and the construction of the door seems as if it were added as an afterthought. The door is a bit high off of the docks, and the waterline suggests that the docks sometimes get a bit damper than this.

The rat fumbles with a big blocky wooden key, and manages to pop the door open after a few tries. It's dark inside the door, and he fusses with a lantern just inside the doorway to provide some illumination. (All the lights appear to be in the upper room.)

Walking up to the door after the Skreek, the Khatta peers inside with a grimace. "Home sweet home, I guess." It's not like the old place, that's for sure. He looks back to the others to see how they are doing, waiting for Ysnor to get a light going.

The Aelfin doesn't hesitate when she is asked to depart the vessel. Using her staff to push herself up, she shuffles across the barge and hops onto the dock. "Jynx, sir, I want to thank you again… a… a… " The Aelfin is interrupted by a oncoming sneeze. A week in this damp weather and the little creature has a bit of a cold.

Finally, the Skreek gets the lantern lit. It's a good thing that Jynx didn't go charging in the door at the first opportunity. Just beyond the entrance … is a sheer drop!

The interior of the tower has a spiraling stairway that hugs the wall, corkscrewing upward … and quite a distance downward as well!

The Skreek shuffles up the stairs. "Eheh. You like it, Master? I will show you your new home!"

"Don't thank me just yet, and Star bless you." The feline pads up to the staircase, and peers downwards and upwards. He sets his ears back in nervousness. "Uh, it's… quaint." He lightly pads inside, making sure to keep close to the wall. "Lead on!"

Rubbing her nose in a way that is a bit too reminiscent of a certain white Eeee, the Aelfin walks inside next to Jynx. "Thank you." She follows along, sounding quite miserable. Upon reaching the stairs, Scarlet takes a moment to peer down into the depths of the castle, eyes going wide. "My! This place is certainly bigger than it looks. I wonder where the lab is."

Ysnor holds a well-melted candle in one paw, and he giggles, "Eheh, the main lab is far below. Ysnor has never seen it! But the observatory is above. Ysnor stays there … but will be happy to move into the attic to make room for you, Master Kurai!"

The stairway passes a couple of slot windows, just wide enough to launch an arrow through, and at last Ysnor reaches the top of the stairs. He sets down his candle, and grunts as he heaves open a trap door in the ceiling with his hunched back. It slams open, and the Skreek continues up, into the topmost room.

Jynx crawls up after the Skreek, his damp fur still standingon end at the sheer strangeness of the place. "How old is this place? And where are we going?" He then remembers the light coming from the tower. "Is someone here already?"

Ysnor says, "I leave the lights on. It keeps the monsters away. Eheh, heh!" He shuffles about the room, which seems to be a packrat's hovel. Come to think of it, it probably is. It is a cylindrical room, with stone walls, anda sturdy wooden ceiling and floor. The wood must have been replaced since the original construction of the tower, but it still seems to be of great age.

Short legs simply don't work well with many steps. The Aelfin falls behind the group as she slows down to catch her breath. Eventually however, she makes it to the rest of the group. "Perhaps I should work a spell to remove the dampness from this castle, or push the moisture in the sky somewhere else," the Aelfin can be heard mumbling as she arrives. Once she gets into the tower, she sits down and takes some time to wring out some of her soggier robes. She still does her best to smile and show she is having fun, despite being a walking sponge.

Born-in-Shame takes up the rear, his armor creaking and whining with each step. Stealth is definitely not his strength, even if he otherwise keeps fairly quiet.

The foppish fox bounds about the top room, looking at everything. He heads up to a telescope mounted in a window, and peers through it. "Ooo! I see … nothing! What good is a telescope in a place where the sky is always cloudy?" There are four windows circling the room, and each one has a telescope mounted in it, with brass (yes, brass) fittings badly in need of polishing.

"Monsters?" Jynx flattens his ears with a slight look of worry, taking in the room. It sure is shoddy. "Um, this isn't all there is, is it? Somehow I imagined the place to be a bit… bigger." He pads over to one of the windows, ignoring the telescope for now, and looks out.

Ysnor says, "Eheh, heh … It has a really big basement, Master! But … but you don't want to go there."

Outside, the sky is mostly cloudy, though occasionally there's enough of a gap for a peek of the Procession or the stars beyond. In the faint starlight, the fog seems to glow eerily … and little pairs of red eyes can be seen here or there in the trees or between them.

After the Aelfin has managed to dry out at least some of her robes, she stands back up with the help of her staff and dusts herself off. At the mention of the basement, her ears – all four of them – perk up. "Oh! The basement! Can I go there, Jynx? Please? There is supposed to be a lot of magical equipment there?" she pleads.

But there's something else odd that the Khatta sees out the window. Water laps at the area where the "shallows" were … and the shallows don't appear to be a sand bar or any rocks. They seem to be a well-defined line of … stone? … just beneath the surface of the water. Like a walkway just partially submerged. Or the top of a castle wall.

Ysnor shrugs apologetically. "When your Great-Great-Great-Great-uh… Many-Greats-Grandfather Phelix the First built this castle, Master … eheh … it was a lot taller!"

The Khatta stares at the strange walkway, peering at it intently. "What's down in the basement? That seems to be where most of the place is."

The foppish fox pulls a sheet off of a black marble bust of a feline face. "Ooo! Is this your Great-Grand-Pappy, Master Jynx? Looks like you!"

Jynx looks at the Aelfin, somewhat in annoyance. "Not yet! We don't even know what's down there!" He blinks at the fox, then looks at the bust. "Like me? But I look like my other grandpa… "

Scarlet lowers her head and pouts some. "That is not any fun at all," she tells Jynx. The little one wanders off to one of the windows to look down at what Jynx was commenting about. She peers at the water for a moment, and flicks an ear before turning around. "Perhaps this area flooded? If these was a large castle here, and the water flooded this land, then maybe this is just a tower and the rest of the castle is under the water?" she offers.

The feline bust only looks like Jynx so much that it happens to be a black Khatta. It doesn't seem to have any leonine features at all. Still, maybe there's something about the eyes. Grampy didn't look all that bad, actually, but it could have been artistic license. Nobles go for that sort of thing, after all.

There are some strange runes engraved in the pedestal that the bust is affixed to, but it's nothing that Jynx can make any sense of.

Jynx blinks at the head statue. Seems there are several ebon felines in his family. He stoops down at the runes, failing to make them out. "What do these things say, Ysnor? I've never seen this writing before."

Ysnor shrugs. "Ysnor does not read."

The Khatta sighs, "Well, at least we're here." He drops his duffel bag onto the floor, and stretches from head to tail. "You never did tell me why we should avoid the basement. I want to see as much of this place as possible." He rummages through his bag for a strip of jerky.

The Skreek says, "Ysnor never has gone there. But Ysnor's father said never to go there. Bad magic is down there. Ysnor has obeyed Ysnor's father."

As she waits for someone to offer a thought on her idea, the Aelfin lifts her delicate white-furred left hand to trace the wall beside her. She turns to regard the wall for a moment, and then bites her lip and nods. "This wall. This … building. This is all very unusual. I believe this castle was created by mystical means, at least partially," she tells the others.

Ysnor nods to the Aelfin. "Eheh. Phelix Kurai the First was a magician. He could shape stone with his hands."

"You've never been down there?" Jynx glances over to the trapdoor, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Hmm, you also didn't have a Kurai with you before." He scratches his chin.

Scarlet inclines her head to Ysnor, smiling a bit. "It would certainly seem so. This construction is similar to that of the College Esoterica," the Aelfin tells him before turning to Jynx. "Master Kurai, maybe your ancestor was an earth mage? That would be the sphere I would think would handle such things."

The Khatta pads over to the trapdoor, looking down through it. "Maybe… "

The foppish fox bounds about the room, yanking sheets off of various things that have probably been covered for a very long time. One of them is a painting leaning against a wall, perched on top of a well-worn sofa. "Oooo! Look! Family portrait!" Indeed, it is a painting of a Khatta family. The father is a tall black Khatta who looks … just like Dominic, only black. His wife is black as well. So is his daughter. His son, only a kitten in the picture, is a dark gray.

Jynx jerks his head up at the fox, glaring at his angrily. "Hey! Be careful! That stuff's fragile, you might – " He breaks off as he stares at the picture. Forgetting the trap door for now, he pads over to the portrait. "Who's this of, Ysnor? It looks… familiar… "

"If there is truly magic down there, I should be able to sense it," mentions the Aelfin to Jynx. The Aelfin turns her head towards the fox and asks him a question, thumping her staff against the floor. "Did not Jynx mention something that needed to be read? Do you know where that is now? I fear I was not paying attention at the time."

The fox points at the bust. "I think he's talking about that weird squiggly stuff, Madame."

Ysnor points at the painting. "That is Phelix Kurai the Third. That is his wife, Selina. That is Alysin. And that," he lastly points at the kitten, "is little Nekodemus."

The black Khatta peers curiously at Ysnor, "Nekodemus?" He peers closer at the picture. "So Alysin and the rest were black like me… " he mutters, then looks at the little gray kitten. "Is he my… grandfather? He and Phelix look somewhat like my dad… "

Ysnor scratches his chin. "How did you say, eheh, you were related to Duchess Alysin?"

"She was my great Aunt, or at least that's what I was told," the Khatta says to the hunchbacked rat. "I never met her that I can remember."

Ysnor looks as if he's in deep thought, then says, "Then … eheh … Nekodemus must be your grandfather … and Phelix the Third your great grandfather!"

The foppish fox peers at the painting, and then looks at Jynx, then back again. "I can believe it."

Jynx peers at the picture again, "Well, that makes sense. Now I see where Dom gets his mean looks!" He peers more intently at the little kitten. "Did they all used to live here?"

"Oh, those," says the Aelfin with a nod as she points at the runes. "They appear to be runes of the sphere of earth, but I am afraid I do not know what they mean." The Aelfin smiles a bit and turns towards the picture to inspect it. "What a lovely family you have, Master Kurai."

The black cat gives a little smile. "Thanks. Too bad I never got to meet any of them."

"Well I can see you turned out well enough, so I would assume they were nice people as well. And I believe I am correct; your great grandfather was a mage of the sphere of earth," Scarlet tells Jynx.

Ysnor says, "It was Phelix the First who was a mage. Ysnor does not think his children carried on the tradition."

Ysnor strains as he says, "Ysnor remembers … remembers … uh … court mage. Yes. Phelix the First had a court mage. But the mage went crazy, and monsters came. So Phelix the Second didn't like magic very much."

Scarlet giggles a bit, tapping Jynx with her staff lightly. "I hope you like magic?" she asks him.

Born-in-Shame makes the sign of the Star again, across his breastplate.

"So it wasn't Phelix that caused the monsters to come?" Jynx asks the Skreek. "Who was this mage, and why did he do this?" He looks down to Scarlet with a shrug, "I've never really been into it myself, but I never realized I had a mage in my family!"

The hunchbacked Skreek shakes his head. "Ysnor does not know. But maybe … " He shudders and shrinks down a bit. "Maybe there are answers in the basement? But that is not good to go there."

Ysnor pats Jynx on the back … or as high on his back as he can reach. "Master Kurai will be happy to stay up here where it is nice and safe, instead!"

The Khatta scratches his chin, and looks back over to the trapdoor. He gives a small nervous jump as the rat pats him on the back. "Oh, uh… yeah… up here… sure… " He slowly pads over to the trapdoor again, and peers down curiously.

"Well now you have me, Master Kurai. I will show you the power of magic, and maybe your family in the future will remember me, and not be so worried about it, mm?" Scarlet tells Jynx reassuringly as she walks over to the trapdoor and peers from under his arm down into the depths of the castle.

"Yeah, magic… sure." The feline looks over his shoulder at the rat and the others. "How far is it down there?"

Ysnor shrugs. "Ysnor does not know. Do not fall. Ysnor drops a rock and does not hear it hit bottom."

The bottom cannot be seen, lost in darkness.

Scarlet lifts her head up a bit. "Oh, I forgot to ask; do those monsters in the forest have anything to do with this castle, Ysnor? They were certainly magically changed," the Aelfin can be heard to ask.

Jynx walks over to the hunchback, and smiles at him. "Say, you don't have another candle, do you?"

Ysnor nods. "Yes, Ysnor has plenty of candles! I keep many … so that no monsters come while Ysnor is away. I have … yes, Ysnor has something better for you!"

Quietly taking up a nearby candle, the little Aelfin turns with it to the trap door. She tries her best to be silent as her form disappears down the opened hatchway and onto the stairwell below. If anyone were watching, they'd see a bobbing flicker of candle light move down the stairs.

The Skreek starts rummaging through piles of junk. Well, it's not precisely junk … Some of it could be rather valuable, really. At least, that which isn't broken, such as bits of pottery and torn bits of fabric. He pulls out something shiny, and polishes it with a dirty rag. "This is for you, Master Kurai!" It is a brass lantern.

The black Khatta's ears perk up at the lantern, and he takes it from the Skreek, "This is perfect!" Taking the already lit candle, he tries to light the lantern. The feline then makes his way back over to the trapdoor, and opens it wide, shining the light downwards.

"Hey!" Jynx calls after the Aelfin, "Wait up!" With that, the Khatta disappears down the open hatch, and begins descending down the stairs to the depths below.

As Jynx retreats, the Skreek can be heard crying out, "Noooo, Master Kurai! You aren't supposed to light it that wayyyy!" Hmm. Something smells funny.

Partway down the steps, the Khatta stops, and looks at the lantern. "What are you talking about?" he calls up to the Skreek.

The Aelfin hasn't made it too far down the stairs thanks to her short legs, but she is far enough where it will take Jynx a bit of catching up to get to her. She also pauses when the Skreek yells to Jynx and turns to look up above at what he is doing.

The lantern looks fairly odd as lanterns ago. It has some sort of a glass lens on it, which is darkened slightly by the touch of the candle. Strange. There are some runes on the lantern, and a little lever on it that says "On" and "Off". The lever points to "Off".

The foppish fox bounds down the steps after Jynx, while Born-in-Shame takes up the rear, his armor slowing his progress considerably.

"Ack!" Jynx yells, as he bats out whatever enflamed part of the lantern he lit. "Heh, oopsie… " He flips the switch to the "on" position, and check to make sure he didn't damage it too much.

"What are you all doing up there? You are very slow!" echo the words of the Aelfin, followed by the sound of giggles. The little one does stay where she is, however.

The glass heart of the lantern glows brightly, illuminating the interior of the tower. Much better! The shadows cast by the lantern are fairly creepy, though. Around the interior of the tower, at odd intervals, are windows … or what used to be windows. They have been blocked up. Good thing, of course, or the muck would pour in.

The black Khatta whews, his ears flopped in embarrassment. "Okay, on we go." Illumination now in hand, he starts off back down the stairs. "Everyone be careful; we don't know what's down here."

The adventuring party continues downward, past more blocked-up windows. This would be a very bad drop. At last, they reach a stone floor, which is largely clear, except for a pile of debris, some puddles of water, and a few bones in a corner. Some more stairs continue downward.

Scarlet waits until Jynx catches up with her to continue downward any farther, but also waits to tease him. "Master Kurai, perhaps I should hold that device? I would hate for you to further break it," the Aelfin mentions before giggling into her free hand.

There is a single door at one end of the cylindrical chamber. It is closed. A wooden sign hangs over it. In faded letters, it reads, "Bee Wear of Pants".

Jynx shines the light around, trying to get a good look around at all of the floor. "No thanks, it's staying with me," he idly says to Scarlet. The feline then shines the light over the bones. "I wonder what these are from?"

The Aelfin doesn't seem too upset for not getting the light, as her intent was just to tease the Khatta. "It would seem a very unlucky person," she answers the Khatta quietly, as she frowns a bit and takes a step forward to inspect them.

The bones are too badly decayed and crumbled to make anything of them, really, except that it at least was bigger than one of those 'bunnies'.

The foppish fox sings, "In face of death, our hero stares,"

"But boldly on, he proudly dares,"

"And while the sounding trumpet blares,"

The Khatta frowns at the bones. "I wonder how they got – " He swivels to glare at the fox. "Will you shut that up!!!"

The fox sings more, "Our hero – AIEEEE!"

The fox pouts.

The foppish fox mutters under his breath, "… has bunched-up underwear… "

"Hmph." Jynx pads over to the door, looking up at the sign. "'Bee Wear of Pants'? What the heck?" Shrugging, the Khatta slowly places his paw on the door handle, and carefully eases it open.

The Aelfin walks over to them and bends over to pick up one of the bones. "How very sad. Whomever this may have been, they did not even receive a proper burial," the wee one mentions quietly before standing up to inspect the bone near Jynx and his light.

Born-in-Shame makes the sign of the Star again. He seems to do that a lot. Especially since arriving in Sylvania.

An eerie glow seeps into the chamber from beyond the door.

There's a room past the door … It is shaped like a half-circle … and there are several statues that can be seen set in alcoves along the curved outer wall. There are also five doors, all closed. Two larger statues stand closer to the middle of the room, one to the right, one to the left.

The ceiling is fairly high … and curved. It appears to be made of glass … and outside of that glass is the water of the swamp!

Peeking his head in, the Khatta opens the door the rest of the way, then pads inside. "Wow… I wonder what this place was for?" He looks up at the glass ceiling, and winces. "Hope that things stays intact a bit longer." Forgetting it for now, he pads over to the statues, and peers at them each in turn, also giving a quick glance to each of the doors.

The statues are feline. One of them, a male Khatta, must be the one and only Phelix. Or, correction, Phelix the First. He wears accouterments befitting a mage. Across from him, the other statue is of a lithe and beautiful feline, evidently his wife, adorned in Sylvanian finery. She would be Feli's Great-Great-Great … well, several Greats before being his Grandmother, anyway.

Forgetting about the bone, the Aelfin walks inside behind Jynx and lifts her head to the ceiling. "My! This would be a wonderful place for a magical ritual. Surrounded by water, and so low to the ground," she can be heard to say. For a moment she simply stares at the ceiling in wonder, before she turns her attentions to the statues near the walls and the doors close to those.

The door … probably to the west … Well, actually, they are double doors, and they appear to be the largest and most ornately decorated. A plate reads, "Master Bedroom".

To the right, circling around the room, there is a plate – in a slightly different style – which reads, "Neko's Room". The room to the right of that reads, "Guest Room". However, heading to the left of the Master Bedroom, the first door reads "Alysin's Room". Left of that is another "Guest Room". If one heads further left or right, though … there is a large opening into a larger area of this dome.

This "room" just outside the tower stairwell is actually a semicircular balcony overlooking a great hall. It is filled with lush vegetation, some of which creeps up along the supports holding up the dome. The vines are interspersed with green, glowing mosses, and luminescent flower bulbs … as well as several more mundane varieties of flowers. Some of them are quite large, however, from fist sized to head-sized, to perhaps even bigger than that, down in the overgrown gardens.

Stopping in front of the room marked as Alysin's, the Aelfin reaches up to attempt to push the door open and see what awaits her inside. Having seen the picture, after all, one might assume she chose this one because it is relevant to her in a way.

"Wow, I need to look up my family tree more often!" Jynx gazes up at the statues for a bit longer, then goes from door to door. "Master Bedroom… I guess this was Great-Grandpa Phelix's room. Guess we can see what's in there, and the others too." He opens the door to the Master Bedroom, and peers inside.

The doors to Alysin's Room and the Master Bedroom open simultaneously, creaking loudly.

Inside, the rooms are quite dark. No glowing mosses inside. However, the lamp-light reveals once-luxurious furnishings, now under quite a bit of cobwebs and dust.

Skylights let in dim light reflected from the murky water above … reflected back from the glow coming out of the Garden Hall, apparently.

The black Khatta takes a step inside the room, shining the light around to get a better look at the master room.

Scarlet says, "I wonder if there is anything remaining, after all this time has passed." The Aelfin girl walks into the dusty room with her candle in hand and begins searching around for anything of interest.

A four-poster bed dominates the Master Bedroom … though the cloth is in dire need of replacement.

Meanwhile, Alysin's room has a smaller canopied bed, the curtains drawn shut. The room there is decidedly more frilly and feminine in style, though in no better condition.

The foppish fox noses around, inspecting the statues in the main room.

"Hmmm, reminds me of Mom and Dad's room." He shines the light around. "Not much here I guess." With a shrug, he leaves the room, and makes his way over to Nekodemus's room. "Maybe Grandpa Neko had something interesting." He nudges the door open, looking back at the fox. "Careful with that statue!"

A little squeaky voice calls out of the darkness in Neko's Room. "Dead?"

"Oh, Dagh!!" The Khatta leaps back from the door, drawing his dagger. "It's one of those little nasty things!"

The Aelfin meanwhile walks over to the furniture present and inspects that, until an unfamiliar squeak rings out from the distant room. The girl tilts her head slightly and walks out of the room to investigate.

The foppish fox lets out a blood-curdling shriek, as he hides behind the statue of Phelix the First.

Born in Shame draws his sword.

A cute little fuzzy head pokes its way out of the bedroom door, sniffing at the spot where Jynx just stood. "Dead?" it repeats in its squeaky little voice.

Jynx backs away from the miniature abomination, keeping his dagger at the ready. "Dugh! Where did that thing come from?"

Upon spotting the little head, the Aelfin darts back into the room she just left and loses the door behind her, opening it slightly to watch what happens. Chanting can be heard from where she hides.

From Alysin's room, a muffled squeak can be heard. "Dead?"

The chanting noise in the other bedroom is replaced by the sound of screaming.

The first fuff'nar sniffs at the foppish fox, then pronounces, "Kill!"

The foppish fox screams just as loudly as the Aelfin, as the little horror leaps up and latches onto this tail.

"Grrrrrr!" goes the fuff'nar, as he hangs onto the wildly-dashing fox's tail by his teeth.

The Khatta continues to back up until he reaches the statues. "So much for using the rooms; they're infested!" He looks over to Born-In-Shame, "I hope you know how to use that thi – wha?" He dodges as the fluffy horror yells, then runs over to the fox. "Hold still so I don't slash your tail!"

"Help!!" screeches the Aelfin from the other room as her form can be heard bouncing off the door. The screaming stops; worried chanting can be heard this time.

"Born-In-Shame, go help that Aelfin!" Jynx signs to the cheetah. He aims his dagger as best he can at the Fuff'nar on the tail, and slashes down at it.

Born-in-Shame charges toward Alysin's door … and smashes down the door!

The Khatta's dagger finds its mark. Ewwwww. Well … one fuff'nar down.

The Khatta pries the dead creature off the fox's tail, and tosses it to the side. "You'd better put something on that tail!" He then turns and charges over to Alysin's room, wincing at the now damaged door.

The sound of chanting is replaced by another scream, and also a crash. It seems the Aelfin was standing against the door at the moment the armored one crashed through it. Scarlet briefly becomes an air mage up until she crashes into the floor by the bed with a groan.

Born-in-Shame is standing in the room, past the door, looking left and right in search of his adversary. He turns back around … and then notices that the door isn't flat against the floor like it should be. He makes a sign of the Star … then lifts the door up with one hand.

Underneath is one mushed fuff'nar. Two fuff'nars down.

Jynx grimaces, and helps the small Aelfin up to her feet. "Well, that takes care of that. I wonder where those things came from?" He sheaths his dagger back in its holder, and makes his way back over to Neko's room. "Now, take two."

"Ooooooo." The water mage lifts her head dazedly as she looks around with lost eyes. When she spots the squished Fuff'nar next to her head she winces, and rolls away. She takes Jynx's hand and stands up. Staggering around, the Aelfin finally just leans herself against a wall and glances towards the silent one. "Now, if you would, would you please stay here and guard me while I cast a spell? And please, do not flatten me again?"

The knight nods his head, and makes some sort of weird sign with his hand.

The foppish fox runs up and throws his arms around the black Khatta. "My HERO! Thank you so much for saving me and not letting me get eaten alive by that … that … monster! I shall sing your praises forever!"

The Aelfin smiles at the knight after he nods. She makes a slight unbalanced curtsey to the man as well. "And thank you for saving me once again, dear knight." Thanks given, the Aelfin lifts her hand and stares intently at the mushed Fuff'nar. After a while, she just closes her eyes.

The Khatta shines his light back into Nekodemus's room, only to jump about five feet as he is set upon by the fox. "Ack! Okay, fine, you're welcome! Just do it later!" He pushes the tone-deaf vulpine off his person, and goes back to exploring his grandfather's room, an annoyed scowl upon his face.

The black Khatta finds the room to be decorated as appropriate for a kitten. There is a crib in the corner, a truly regal affair, as would be befitting the son of a Duke. The room is filled with stuffed animals … though they look like they've been torn up by wild beasts, stuffing scattered everywhere. The creatures used to be cute animals, as well as Korvs, Humans, Rhians, Khattas, Eeee and Jupani in doll-sized versions of local attire.

The chanting dies down shortly after it began and the water mage calls out to her compatriots. "Jynx, these Fuff'nars are not magical like the creatures in the forest were." That said, she nods to the armored man and turns to walk through the main area and over to where Jynx went.

Jynx picks up a few of the various dolls, a lop-sided grin on his face. It's somewhat weird that while his grandpa aged, it doesn't seem as if the room aged with him. "They must have got out of here rather quickly," the Khatta mutters to himself. Putting the toys back in the crib, Jynx leaves the room, closing the door behind him. "Well, I figured that much. I'm just curious as to how they got in here." The feline doesn't stop walking, and makes his way to the other half of the cylindrical chamber.

The Aelfin follows right alongside the Khatta, nodding to his words. "I am beginning to doubt the flooding caused them to depart, because as a earth mage he may have built this castle underwater for a reason. However, it is also possible he built it above ground and it flooded somehow, which seems a bit likely, due to the plugged up windows in the stairwell."

Along the way, the feline peers at the other, less obvious statues.

The less obvious statues set in nooks along the rooms appear to be of felines of indeterminate identity. They wear fanciful costumes, and might represent some sort of mythic heroes, or perhaps important figures in Sylvania's history. The costume styles look Sylvanian, though they still change from figure to figure significantly.

Jynx hmms at the statues, not recognizing any of them, and continues on his way. "Too bad the rooms are in such bad shape. It looks like they were in a hurry to leave when they did."

"Perhaps you can hire some workers to fix these rooms? Given time, I could eventually weave spells that could at least move some water around and help make this castle a bit nicer," offers the Aelfin as she walks along beside Jynx. "This is certainly a wonderful castle, at least how I see it began in its greatest days. I am sure it could be again with work."

The foppish fox smiles. "Yes, as soon as you get rid of all the fuff'nars, of course. Hmmm. Hey, big armored fellah. Can you check that Guest Room for me? I want to see if it's a good place to sleep, and you're obviously good with fuff'nars."

"Maybe, but for now we need to keep looking around. If it is cursed, it might not be worth fixing up," replies the black cat. He looks back to the fox and cheetah. "It's your own funeral if you want to sleep down here, but go ahead and check them out if you want."

Born-in-Shame looks like he tries to shrug, but it's hard to tell in that armor. He opens the door to one of the Guest Rooms and disappears inside.

"Dead?"

*WHACK*

The Aelfin frowns slightly, but soon regains her happy smile. "Well, I know some people in the Mage's Guild who could work with the curse. Of course, they do require rather heavy fees. I should have asked for more. I still am not certain how I will pay for my training." The Aelfin looks around for a moment and adds. "Oh, Jynx, I haven't felt any magic here. At least not of a enchantment level."

Jynx sighs and rolls his eyes at the sounds, continuing on to the other side of the floor. "Well, for now I'll take that as a good thing. If fuff'nars are all we have to worry about, then our problems aren't that bad."

Born-in-Shame walks out of the room, holding a couple of Fuff'nars by their tails.

The foppish fox claps his hands together. "Splendid! You are so useful to have around!"

A sigh escapes Scarlet's lips as she talks with Jynx. "I do hate to see anything die, however. But I do suppose it is necessary at times like this." Upon hearing the fox's words, she bites her lip a bit as if fighting the urge to say something.

"It's either them or us," replies the Khatta. "They have no problem with eating you, the nasty little things."

"I just wish they would look a bit worse. When I pictured monsters, I imagined tall fire-breathing three-headed dragons," notes the Aelfin.

Born-in-Shame keeps holding the fuff'nars by their tails.

Jynx looks back to the cheetah, "Just get rid of them. We can't have those things running around." He peers over to the other side of the cylindrical chamber, trying to get a good look.

Born-in-Shame looks to one fuff'nar, then the other, and walks over to the foppish fox.

The foppish fox backs away. "Whoa! Whoa! You don't expect me to do anything with them, do you? You caught them … they're yours!"

Where the half-circle balcony ends, a marbled railing protects one from a fall to the Garden Hall below. The Garden Hall continues the arc into a full circle, underneath the glass dome. The floor of the Garden Hall is full of vegetation, and two curving staircases descend into the foliage. Barely can be seen is an overgrown stone table, and some other stonework that has been claimed by the greenery. It appears that there are some hallways cutting back under the balcony … and at the far end of the dome, three corridors continue off to the east in a straight line. There is a catwalk that goes out from the balcony, circling the dome where it begins to curve upward, and across the way can be seen what was once another balcony. However, it would have been open to the air, but it is now sealed off, lest any of the mire pour in.

One of the fuff'nars twitches. The other one does, too.

The foppish fox shrieks, his scream echoing through the dome. "They're alive!"

The Khatta's eyes go wide at the impressive sight of the garden, even if it is overgrown. "Looks like Phelix and Selina had green thumbs." He starts his way down the stairs, looking this way and that.

After a moment of studying the room, the Aelfin nods to herself and turns to Jynx, giving her opinion of what happened. "Given the way the balcony over there is filled, this castle must have been flooded over a long time ago. If you could clear all this water out, which may be difficult, this land would have very nice… " The Aelfin stops abruptly when the fox screams, turning around to give him a look. Rather than moving to help, she scurries after Jynx instead.

The fox dashes about the balcony. Born-in-Shame just stands there, still holding the now-struggling fuff'nars by their tails. They growl and fuss, trying to bite at something – anything.

"Then kill them!" Jynx calls back to the fox and cheetah. "Gimme a break… " He continues down the stairs.

Born-in-Shame disappears into the Guest Room. There are some banging noises.

The plants of the garden are truly a sight. Flowers of all sorts blossom, though they're quite a tangled mess, and many have thorns. One must watch one's step.

Some of the buds even glow, as do clumps of light green moss. Some of the plants almost look friendly, their petals closed together so that they look as if they have smiling mouths.

Being safe rather than sorry, Jynx avoids the plants altogether, and finally makes it to the bottom floor. He shines his lantern towards the middle of the garden.

"You know," starts the Aelfin as she follows along Jynx, "I was considering that sign back there. 'Be Wear of Pants'. Do you believe there could be some enchanted clothing here?" Turning her head from the Khatta to regard all the plants along with Jynx, she smiles and lifts her hand to point at them. "These are extremely pretty. What a talented family."

It's now easier to see past some of the taller plants … and between the spot where the two staircases curve together to the floor, there is a fountain! The statue in the center looks like a graceful feline angel, carrying a pitcher, from which issues forth an endless stream of water. It's actually crystal clear … unlike the muck in the swamp outside. Many of the plants crowd the fountain and its source of water.

The black Khatta's right leg gets caught in some vines, despite his attempts to keep clear of the plants. After all, they're everywhere. Getting through here could take a bit of clearing of the vegetation first.

"Yeah, I guess we have a few skills," the Khatta says proudly, "and as for the clothes, I have no idea." Jynx keeps his mind off of a certain article of clothing best forgotten. He tries to kick his legs free of the vines, blinks up at the fountain, and makes his way to it. "Wow, this thing is beautiful! I can't believe the water is still clear."

Four ears shoot up as the Aelfin's eyes open in surprise. "Jynx! Those plants, they are… carnivorous! It's not 'be wear of pants', it is 'beware of plants'!" she tells him quickly while backing away from the vegetation.

The vine seems to be especially friendly. Just like the big smiling pod it is attached to. The vine curls its way around Jynx's leg.

Meanwhile, another vine gently rests on the Aelfin's shoulder.

The foppish fox pokes his head over the railing. "Did you find anything edible down there? I'm terribly famished!"

Without a cue, the Aelfin lifts her hands up into the air and begins chanting quickly. Suddenly disturbed by the vine, she tries to scoot away from it while waving her hands frantically at the fox who just appeared.

Blinking at the Aelfin, the feline soon feels the flora that has attached itself to his leg. "Ack!" He screams, and pulling out his dagger, slashes at the vine. "Back to the stairs!" He struggles to make his way back up.

The foppish fox smiles and waves to the Aelfin, but then jolts at the scream. "Oh no! More horrors! Oh! Can you bring up a piece of that vine for me? That looks delicious!"

With an expert stroke, the Khatta severs the vine on his blade, thus freeing himself. However, several other friendly vines are creeping out to welcome him. The "smiling pod" slowly opens.

"Shut up!" Jynx screams up at the fox, "Get Born-In-Shame over here!" Now free, he runs from the vines towards Scarlet, slashing at her vines as well.

"Oh!" exclaims the fox, and he disappears from sight.

The vines trying to cling to Scarlet fall away at Jynx's expert bladesmanship. Now is probably the best time to run …

… which Jynx does as he bolts for the stairs, "Back up, now!"

The Aelfin ceases chanting with a frown and quickly runs for the stairwell she arrived at, assuming that is where Jynx runs as well. "Jynx, if I can get to somewhere I can cast a spell freely, I can clear the room!" she can be heard to shout to him.

"Fine! But do it when we get back upstairs!" replies the Khatta as he sprints up the staircase.

Vines try to reach up the staircase … but the Khatta sprints all the way up to the top, and the Aelfin's padding steps are still faster than the plants can manage.

For the moment, it looks like they are safe.

Once he has reached the top, Jynx slumps against a wall, panting. "Okay… go… ahead now… "

Born-in-Shame comes out of the Guest Room, carrying a trunk. It's considerably smaller than Jynx's trunk, and evidently lighter.

The foppish fox babbles, "Carnivorous carrots! Bad broccoli! Criminal cabbage! Do something!"

Once upstairs, the Aelfin falls to her knees so she can catch her breath. "Just… like… Wynona… " A smile creeps across her face and she staggers back to her feet for the second time today. Leaning against her staff for a Moment, she calls off towards the others. "Sir knight! Please come here and guard me. Mr. Fox, do be quiet for aw hile. Being interrupted in this could be quite fatal!" That said, the Aelfin reaches into her bag and removes a bottle of water which she sprinkles around herself. Another bottle full of black liquid is also placed in front of her, unopened. Preparations done, the Aelfin lifts her staff to the sky and begins chanting.

The fox abruptly slaps his hands over his mouth.

Remembering the last time Scarlet cast a spell, Jynx quickly gets back to his feet and leaves the room entirely. "Watch out, she's gonna cast!"

Born-in-Shame adopts a defensive position between the mage and the staircases. So far, nothing's creeping up here. Yet.

The foppish fox blinks. "What do you mean, 'she's gonna cast'?" He sees the Khatta running, and his vulpine danger sense kicks in. He dashes after the Khatta.

The Khatta quickly ducks inside Nekodemus's room, and shuts the door, waiting for the spell to happen.

"Be careful with Born-In-Shame!" he calls out to the Aelfin.

The foppish fox, whose tail pokes out from underneath the crib, remarks, "Yes, he'd be really hard to replace! Plus, his name provides a whole host of rhyming opportunities!"

"Dagh," mutters Jynx as he opens the door, "Born-In-Shame, hey! Get back!"

Alas, Born-in-Shame seems to be busy, defending the diminutive damsel from possible attacks by vines. Perhaps he's hard of hearing, or perhaps it's some of that chivalry stuff.

The foppish fox notes, "Well, you know, even if he dies, you can still make poems about him. Tragedies and all that. Let's see. Shame … Lame … Same … Tame … Maim!"

The Khatta grimaces, and closes the door again, making a small prayer to the Star.

Arms lifted towards the heavens, the Aelfin begins chanting her arcane intentions. Her words stay in Rephidim Standard usually, though on occasion she slips into Aelfin or uses terms that might as well be a whole new language unless you are a mage. While casting, she tries her best to wave to the talkative others to give her some peace. "Answer my call, oh life blood of that born in the soil. Listen to my words of changes, oh power, of that which flows. I will demand your compliance, your bending to my will, my intentions your reality."

Born-in-Shame stays at the ready, watching for the vines. So far, they do not come.

The foppish fox mumbles, "Fame? Blame? Aim? Game?"

Time passes and the Aelfin continues to chant. Her words become more obscure over time, much of them being spoken in the Aelfin language. She keeps up her chanting for nearly an entire hour, and the winds of magic are obviously stirred. Mists begin to gather around her, forming odd shapes and faces to those with imagination. At last she seems ready to let her spell fly, for the mists begin to fade into nothing and the water circle around her begins to steam. "Life blood of plants, blood that flows through the greenery within this garden, I demand your transmutation.Green blood to suds, life stream to cleaning oils, soap! Change!" And with that, she swings her hands out from herself and releases the pent up power.

The fountain starts gushing … bubbles!

Suds start erupting from various places in the garden. Bubbles float about. One of the smiling pods belches. The rest follow suit.

Jynx cracks the door open a bit, and peers out.

The foppish fox pokes his nose out right below Jynx's head. "Gesundheit."

The fox explains, "I know a little Bosch."

The Aelfin falls to her knees and drops her head to the ground to pang raggedly. Her staff tumbles to the ground and she simply rests where she fell.

The black Khatta arches a quizzical brow down at the fox.

The foppish fox shrugs, then ducks as another air-ripping burp echoes through the dome.

Suds start leaping from the fountain … shooting with greater force than the water seemed to have before. Suds splatter off of the glassy dome. The windows needed washing anyway.

Realizing that he's not going to be vaporized or anything by the spell, Jynx slowly opens the door all the way, and pads over to the Aelfin and cheetah carefully.

As Jynx ventures out … a gob of suds launches itself across the room …

The black Khatta shrieks, and attempts to roll away from the deluge!

Alas, too late. The black Khatta turns into a sudsy Khatta. For what it's worth, the fox gets hit, too. "Whine!"

"You… you can come out, now," Scarlet calls out to the others, speaking softly, exhaustedly. She collapses onto her side just in time to notice Jynx and the fox get a bit cleaner. She giggles softly.

Born-in-Shame slowly shakes his head.

*Spittooee!* "Ack!" Jynx slips to the floor, spluttering and shaking off the sudsy water. We wipes his eyes, and opens them. "Did it *cough* work?"

Another gob of suds launches upward, arcing gracefully under the domed ceiling.

Born-in-Shame bravely intercepts the gob of suds, blockingit with his massive shoulder-pads! However, the splatter is still enough to hit Scarlet as well.

Getting back to his feet, Jynx wipes himself off, and keeps an eye open for more suds as he rejoins the knight and mage. He looks down at the garden.

The garden looks very soapy. That really ought to kill the flowers. So much for a green thumb.

One of Jynx's ears wilts. Part of him is sad to see the garden go. The rest of the parts remind him that said garden tried to eat him, and the thought is forgotten. "Is it safe to go down there yet?"

The suds shower the Aelfin, creating quite a few gatherings of bubbles along her person. A foam mustache is perhaps the most notable of these, and she doesn't seem to notice its presence. Slowly, the Aelfin gets up and wanders over to look at the garden below. "It should be, though we should all go at once just in case. And what do you think of my magic? I thought this place needed a bit of cleaning."

Born-in-Shame wipes suds off of the visor of his helmet.

The Khatta wipes the rest of the suds off of himself, and looks at Scarlet, "Well, it comes in handy, I'll give it that." He looks down at the plants, seeing if they're still alive.

The fountain gets less sudsy, and starts gushing clear water again, though with less force.

If the plants in the garden are alive, they're not showing any signs of it. The whole garden is buried in suds. Not so much as a vine quivers.

Not all of the plants seem to have been covered, though. Those vines which are clinging to the walls of the dome still appear to be intact. However, those didn't seem to be of the mobile variety, either. The glowing bulbs along their length still glow, providing light to the chamber, along with bits of clinging luminescent moss.

Pulling out his dagger, Jynx starts to make his way down the steps again. "Well, here we go again. Watch yourselves though; there's no telling if they're done for or not."

The foppish fox makes a wheezing noise, and coughs. Bubbles float out of his nose and mouth.

The foppish fox says, "Watch out! Soap is – "

The Khatta's footing is lost for a moment, as his paw slips out from underneath him. Uh oh!

The fox covers his eyes. "… slippery."

"Myah!!" the Khatta says in a primal bit of surprise, flailing about and trying to regain his footing!

"Magic on the surface is so much easier on the ground. That would have taken me all day to cast on Rephidim." The Aelfin wanders towards the stairs where Jynx, well, makes a less than graceful descent. "Jynx! Be careful!" Scarlet calls out as she rushes to try and help him.

The best the Khatta manages to do is to grab something solid. Well, actually, slightly furry and not all that solid. A fox. "YAIIIIEEEEEE!" shrieks the fox, as both of them slide down the staircase.

"MEOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAIIIE!" bellows Jynx as he rolls down the stairs, hissing and spitting with each bump.

The Aelfin skids to a stop where the two were, much too late to help them. "JYNX!" she calls helplessly after the two.

The vulpine and feline tumble into a pile of vegetation and suds, sending bubbles flying every which way.

Thankfully, it softens the landing.

Born-in-Shame makes his way down the staircase, at a much slower pace.

Shaking his head, and wincing at bruises, the feline groggily looks at what he is sitting in, and skitters away from it as quick as he can. "Gah!!"

The plants do not move. Looks like the suds must have done them in. Ditto for the non-mobile flowers. What a mess.

Once he realizes this, Jynx gets painfully back to his feet."Ow… ouch! Why does it always have to be so rough?" Popping a crick in his back, he wobblingly looks around the now dead chamber.

The chamber looks very soapy.

Scarlet walks with Born-in-Shame, using the man as a mobile rail to keep her from falling down the stairs himself. "At least they all will be clean," Scarlet mentions. A flurry of giggling follows.

The ex-Garden Hall appears to form a half-circle "U" shape, at a level lower than the bedrooms and the balcony. The tower continues all the way down to the floor, and a doorway can be seen that provides access to its base, in addition to the doorway up at the balcony level.

At each end of the "U" is a statue. The statues, however, are covered in suds. Odds are that they're probably feline, though.

"Yeah, until they start to rot," replies the cat as he walks over to the fountain, using the clear water to rinse the suds from his head and face fur. He pads over to the statue, and tries to make it out under the suds. "Look for any other ways out. There has to be more down here."

Underneath the balcony can be seen two hallways that curve into darkness, just outside the grand staircases … while two doorways branching off from the area of the room "hugged" by the staircases lead into two chambers just beyond the fountain. Opposite, there are five doorways leading off along the curved wall of the room. The largest is a double door, while the others are normal-sized.

Surprise, surprise! The statue underneath the suds might not be feline, after all! Rather, it appears to be human.

The foppish fox cleans himself off, then sing-songs musical phrases to himself. "She killed them all with bubbles, saving us on the double, sparing us from trouble … Uhm … With her magical mumbles? Nonono, that's not it."

Jynx notices the hallways out of the corner of his eyes, but takes an interest in the statue first. Taking a pawful of the water from the fountain, he splashes it up on the statue to wash away the suds.

The statue, larger than life, is of a male human with a beard and mustache. He looks like some sort of royalty.

Scarlet walks over across the room towards one of the doors. Being she is so short, her head barely pops up out of the suds, but she doesn't seem to mind. Upon reaching the door to the left of the stairs, she reaches over to open it.

he Khatta blinks up at the statue, utterly confused. "What's a statue of a human doing in my family's estate?" He peers around the base for any sort of identification.

The Khatta's search reveals a nameplate. More scraping away of now-dead plants, and a name appears. "Justinian."

At the doorway the little one twirls around to see what Jynx is asking about. Peering just above the suds she studies the statue and smiles. "Maybe he was one of the members of the royal family of Sylvania? Once upon a time Sylvania was unified under human rulers."

Jynx scratches his chin in thought, an ear flopping to one side in confusion. "Maybe, but why would he be in here?"

Inside the door is what was once a kitchen, most likely. Pots still hang from the ceiling. Best not to try to find any food in the pantry, though. It might have spoiled by now.

The foppish fox cleans off a statue at the opposite end of the "U". "Hmm. So, where's the statue of the dashingly handsome fox?"

"Perhaps your family served them long ago? This does seem to be a castle of the well off, and vassals of kings are certainly well off," Scarlet calls out to Jynx.

Jynx makes his way over to the fox, and looks up at the other statue. "What did you find?"

"Uhm … I guess this must be the Queen?" guesses the foppish fox. It's a female human, in similarly regal raiment.

The black cat nods. "More than likely. I'll have to make sure I remember to ask Ysnor about all this." He looks for a similar nameplate at the base as on the other statue.

It takes some scraping, but a nameplate reveals the name, "Odette".

Once the Aelfin turns back to actually inspect the room she Opened, her face wrinkles up. The Aelfin takes a step inside to inspect the room for whatever of interest may still be around, hoping for some sort of towel.

There are remnants of cloths … but most of them look as if they've been chewed on at some point … and they don't look like they're in terribly good condition regardless. Being in a castle at the bottom of a swamp for several generations does not do nice things to cloth.

"Justinian and Odette," Jynx muses to himself, "Make sure you remember those names." Moving away from the statues, the Khatta crosses the hall, and goes to the side of the garden opposite the tower base, peering down one of the side hallways with his light shining into it.

The foppish fox says, "I shall help you remember it … in song!"

The foppish fox skips, as he sings a song. "There was a human named Justinian,"

"He was fat, but now he's thin again,"

"His wife is Odette,"

"This is the kitchen! Nothing here, but chewed rags!" Scarlet calls from the doorway of the kitchen once she has left the room proper. Her little head looks around for a moment before she decides to inspect the next closest room.

The fox keeps singing, "A thin one, I'll bet!"

The black Khatta sets his ears back, but says nothing. At least the annoying vulpine is trying.

The fox finishes, "And my song is over, so I'll begin again!"

The fox starts singing the same song. Again.

"Stow it!" snipes Jynx as he starts down the old hallway.

The fox whines! "I'm just trying to help!"

The next room that Scarlet finds appears to have once been the pantry. All the cabinets and shelves are bare, save for things that are long past being edible. Several bones – too small to be human or Khatta, thank goodness – look well-gnawed upon.

Meanwhile, the brass lantern held by the black Khatta shines down the southernmost hallway branching off to the east. The hallway has a curving southern wall and ceiling, which is glassed-in, just like the central dome. A bit of ambient light filters in from the Garden Hall, and a few of the glowing mosses and plants have made their way in here as well.

Off of the southern hall, there appear to be four doorways … and then the hallway curves out of sight. Outside the glass, some very ugly-looking fish gape at the Khatta. Some of them have fairly sharp teeth. One of them casually makes a meal of the other one in short order. Best not to go swimming out there.

"Eww." The little Aelfin quickly closes that door the minute she can to escape the scent of decay that is bound to come from such rotted items. She quickly walks away from that area in favor of the next closest door on her door-opening tour. While walking, she offers what she found, although in a odd tone. After all Aelfin, sound odd when they are plugging their noses. "I found the pantry, and it smells quite bad!"

Alas, it appears that the Aelfin has wandered too far away from the Khatta to be heard. Or vice versa.

The black Khatta grimaces at the fish, and refrains from looking out the glass any more. He shines his light into the first room he comes too, peering inside.

The first room appears to also have a door opening back to the Garden Hall. This room appears to have once been a sewing room, given the partially-finished quilts, the foot-operated sewing machine, and various other assorted tools and fabrics about the room. The fuff'nars apparently never figured out how to get into here, for there are no signs of chewing on the contents.

Meanwhile, Scarlet, having abandoned the pantry, finds her way through the suds, over to a doorway more to the north end. As she opens it … an armored warrior is standing on the other side! Oh. It's just Born-in-Shame. His candle sits on a table in the middle of the room, illuminating the chamber. Weapons and shields and pieces of armor are mounted on the walls, on racks, and a few are scattered about the floor.

Looking about in the room for just a bit longer, the Khatta decides that there's not much of interest here, or notright away anyway. He looks over his shoulder, suddenly realizing that he is alone. "Hey," he calls out, "where'd everyone go?"

"Right here!" announces the foppish fox, poking his head around the doorway. "All the musical accompaniment you could ever want!"

Scarlet places a hand over her chest as Born-in-Shame manages to startle her. She smiles a bit and shakes her head as she walks inside. "You scared me." A pause, and the Aelfin walks over to reach up and take a sword off the wall that doesn't look too big.

Whoof. It's heavier than it looks. Must be steel! Why … this must be worth a fortune! It crashes to the floor.

Jynx scrunches his nose up at the thought of more music, but is nonetheless glad to have some company. "Stick close. We don't know what's down here." He looks back into the Garden Hall. "Let's go see what the others are up to before we go On. This place isn't going anywhere." He heads back to the Hall, and towards the doors where he hears the crash noise originate from.

Inside, Jynx can see the Aelfin and a sword that is maybe just a bit too heavy for her, which is on the floor in front of her. Born-in-Shame seems to be examining the walls.

Nearly falling over, the Aelfin staggers a few steps and giggles a bit. She heads back over towards the sword and tries to pick it up again. "I am just not as big as you, dear knight." A hand is raised to wave to the others when they arrive.

The Khatta walks over to the Aelfin. "Careful. That's family property!" He examines the room, wide eyed. "By the Star, I've never seen so many metal weapons!"

Born-in-Shame's perusals seem to be unrelated to the value of metal. Rather, he seems to be more fascinated with the chitin ones, oddly enough.

Jynx notices the cheetah's interests, and looks at him strangely. "Why are you looking at those worthless things when we have all this iron around? It's unbelievable!"

The Aelfin gapes as she examines the blade. "Jynx! Jynx! It's something my people made, I believe!" Scarlet tells Jynx, bouncing up and down on her toes. "My people haven'ttraded weapons in a very long time, at least not in the village I grew up! How fascinating!"

Born-in-Shame's interest at last alights upon a sword set over a work-table. It's a very large sword. It looks about as large as a Gigi wave-board. The cheetah picks it up, and waves it around. Amazingly, he doesn't hit anyone or anything.

The Khatta looks back to Scarlet. "Your people made? Why would they need that big a sword?" His eyes quickly go back to the cheetah as he waves the enormous blade about, and his fur stands on end. "Watch it! What the heck kinda sword is that?"

The cheetah puts the sword back. He turns around to Jynx and signs, "Big."

Jynx sets his ears back at the cheetah, and nods to him."Uhh… yup!" He doesn't pursue the matter further. Turning his attention back to Scarlet, he looks at her little blade. "What do you have there?"

Scarlet shakes her head quickly. "No, you see, my people must have made it for someone else, meaning, my people and your ancestors may have traded long ago! Why, one of my ancestors could have been standing in this very spot talking to one of yours! Isn't that amazing?" She continues to examine the sword with great interest.

"Life," hisses a whisper from … who knows where? "Life-blood. I hunger."

The Aelfin dagger (or sword, depending upon your size) suddenly flickers with a pinkish glow.

The Khatta begins to nod to the Aelfin, but jumps back as he hears the hissing voice. "What in the name of Dagh… ?" He watches the small blade glow, and hisses to Scarlet, "Drop it, drop it now!"

The foppish fox shivers … and dives under a worktable. "Ouch!" he shrieks. A couple of caltrops clatter onto the floor, tossed from underneath the table. "Whine!"

The pink glow dazzles the little Aelfin, and her eyes light up. "Amazing! An enchanted weapon!" The words of Jynx catch her attention and she looks up, and around the room. "Jynx, the voice isn't coming from this. But it is magic," Scarlet replies.

"Whine!" says the fox. "OH! Someone left some gum under here!" Munching noises follow.

"I don't care!" Hisses Jynx, "Drop it now!" He unsheathes his own ebon dagger, and looks around for the source of the voice.

There are no ghosts or goblins visible. A fox hiding under the work-table, yes, but it's not his voice that's causing this particular disturbance.

Scarlet clutches the weapon tighter, shaking her head. "I don't think my people would ever make a cursed weapon. Jynx, I sense something else magic here. The voice isn't coming from this weapon."

Swords here, shields there, armor there … Well, there is an odd display case that's covered with runes and chains, but it looks as if the chains have rusted to the point of falling apart, and the display case looks as if it has been shattered by a piece of masonry that fell from the ceiling during some sort of disturbance.

Inside the case, a sword rattles within its scabbard. The scabbard is black and ivory … ivory of a hue that suggests bone. Unpleasant designs cover the hilt and the scabbard. A sign on the display case reads, "Sword of the Necromancer King. Do not Disturb."

Noticing the case, Jynx backs away from it, also steering clear of the Aelfin and her dagger for safe measure. "Ne-Necromancer King?" The feline's bristled tail swishes from side to side nervously. "I think it's best if we get out of here now… "

Born-in-Shame signs, "I shall destroy it!" With that, he hefts the surf-sword off of the wall, and marches over to the display case.

"No! Stop!" Jynx runs to intercept the gung-ho cheetah, "Just leave it be!"

The cheetah pauses, holding his attack. His expression, as usual, is hidden under his visor.

The Aelfin holds the pink glowing weapon she found carefully in her arms as if it were a child, perhaps showing just how much this find means to her. "Necromancer?" she asks, looking around the room to spot the aforementioned sword, "Necromancer! Mages of the sphere of spirit; they summon spirits and raise the dead!"

A pink bubble suddenly emerges from underneath the work-table. It slowly grows … then … *POP!* It bursts. "Whine! It's stuck in my fur!" comes a voice from under the work-table.

Born-in-Shame backs away from the case, but he still holds the surf-sword at the ready.

The black Khatta nods, "All the better reason to leave it alone!" He looks to the cheetah, "If they could have destroyed it, they would have done so long ago," he signs. "Let's go see what else we can find. I'd rather keep my soul where it is for the time being!"

Born-in-Shame slowly nods … then reverently places the surf-sword back up on the wall. It's probably just as well not to be swinging giant wave-board-sized swords around in castles with glass walls which happen to be submerged under large bodies of water.

Born-in-Shame signs, "Where now?" to Jynx.

Jynx makes his way to the northern door leading outside of the room, making sure to keep clear of the talking sword. "Just follow me… I think."

"BloOddd… " mutters the cursed sword, and then it falls silent again.

The sword Scarlet is carrying is carefully carried back towards the exit door as the Aelfin watches the other magic blade in the room carefully. "That blade, Jynx … We might want to come back and secure it better. It seems as if the binds holding it are quite old. I would hate for it to do something while we were all asleep."

The foppish fox pops out from underneath the work-table, prying at a pinkish mess on his face. "Marvelous … urgh … stuff! Still keeps its flavor … ungh! … for so long!"

Heading out the northern doorway, Jynx nods to Scarlet. "We can come back and do it later, but for now, I'd just prefer to leave it be."

The nod is returned by the Aelfin, and the talking sword is given one last glance before she leaves it be for now. The other magic sword is carefully placed against the wall near the Aelfin so she can reach into her pouch and remove some extra strapping and some thin cloths. The sword is partially wrapped up and then carefully bound to her staff so that they can both be carried easier. Because of the weight, Scarlet needs to hold the bound items with both hands.

The door to the north opens up … revealing a hallway which is the mirror image to the one that Jynx explored briefly earlier (when he found the Sewing Room). To the west, the hallway heads back into the Garden Hall. To the east, it heads past several other doorways, until it curves out of sight further on to the east.

Like the southern hallway, this corridor has a glass wall – on the north side, this time – which curves up to form a ceiling. Ambient light from the Garden Hall filters in through the glass, supplemented by a few clusters of luminescent moss that cling to spots along the floor and walls.

The black Khatta heads east, stopping at the second doorway. "Let's see what's in here." He pushes the door open, careful not to barge in.

As the door opens, a thin line of light widens to reveal that this chamber already has its own source of illumination. In the center of the room is a desk littered with books and scrolls and strange instruments. In the center of it is a large crystal growth that glows with an inner light.

Shelves are lined with books, vials, more strange instruments, amulets, and talismans. Charts are affixed to the walls – and to the ceiling – showing stars and the Procession, along with various symbols that must be associated with them. A chart of the Twelve Spheres is affixed to the inside of the door, along with a pictogram of the planets of the solar system – the known planets, that is – and their associated runes.

Jynx's fur bristles as he looks at the light source, "Oh Dagh, is that… another one?" Throwing his better judgement to the wind, he carefully enters the room, tip-toeing to the light, peering at it, then the rest of the room. "I'm guessing that this is the lab Ysnor spoke of."

A small stove at one end of the room is apparently meant to provide heat. No telling if the stovepipe reaches back up to the surface, though.

The foppish fox pokes his nose around, then says, "Hmm. While you look around at all this magical stuff … maybe I'll go check on our friend Ysnor. He must be getting pretty lonely up there with all of that treas – er, junk he keeps stashed away in the tower."

"This castle has no end to amazing things, Master Kurai!" Scarlet tells Jynx as she arrives at the door to the lab. "Astounding! Your relative was certainly a well stocked mage. Do you mind if I look around, sir? I would love to study all these items."

The Khatta nods, "Yes you may, but be careful." He looks at all the various books and components. "Some of this stuff might be dangerous." He inspects the talismans, wondering if any resemble the one he got from Third-Vision.

The fox shrugs, then darts out of the room. He can be heard strumming and singing to himself, "Jynx is a wonderful guyyyyyyy!" The music fades, leaving Born-in-Shame, Scarlet and Jynx alone in the lab for the time being.

None of the talismans seem to resemble the item that came from the Priest-Queen. They seem to have a different style about them entirely, though to a non-mage such as Jynx, he wouldn't have the training to make hide nor hair of the details.

Jynx spins around and watches the fox go, "Huh? What was that all about?" Shrugging, he goes back to the talismans, then to the books. "Well, not much that I can use here. Let's go to the other rooms, and then come back here when we've seen everything else."

Having been given permission, the Aelfin wanders over to one of the shelves. While balancing her sword carrying staff against her shoulder, she reaches over to take a book. The Aelfin then settles down with her staff across her lap and the book laid out before her and opens it to study what is within.

The text is titled, "Magic Made Easy". It seems to be a primer on the basics of spellcasting. It has a copy of the chart of the Spheres that's on the door, within the inside of the front cover.

The Khatta heads out the doorway, looking back to the Aelfin. "You can take that with you if you want, but let's look around a bit more." He pads out the door, and further down the hall.

A wooden rod falls off of the shelf, and bounces off of the Aelfin's head. It clatters onto the floor. A calligraphic letter "F" can be seen embossed in a seal on the curious little wand. A sweet smell fills the air. Smells like fudge!

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, the passageway begins to curve just a bit. It seems there are just two more doors to try. Door Number 3, and Door Number 4. After that, the corridor curves sharply to the south, around a bend.

Jynx stops at door number three, and looks inside. "Hmm, this is getting monotonous… "

Just about to get up, the Aelfin is struck by the falling wand. She flops back down on her rear as her upward movement is thwarted and reaches over to pick up the staff. "Hmm, whatever is this?" The Aelfin tilts her head and proceeds to inspect the item.

Inside the room Jynx explores is a fairly nondescript collection of … junk. Chairs are stacked up, along with items of furniture with sheets thrown over them. This particular room has an additional door on the opposite side, but it's blocked by a toppled stack of chairs.

The Khatta hmms, and decides that he's seen all this room has to offer. He proceeds onto door four.

The fourth and last door down this corridor opens up into … some sort of studio. There are a couple of easels, some short tables, and a pedestal where perhaps a model is meant to pose. Half-finished paintings hang on the walls, and there is the crude beginning of a clay sculpture over in the corner. The clay has long since dried and cracked, having never been fired in a kiln. There's a kiln in the corner, incidentally. The studio also has another door opposite the one the black Khatta peeks into, though this particular one isn't blocked. However, judging from the curvature of the corridor, the hallway will probably lead to the same place anyway.

"HUUUUUULLLLLOOOOOO!" comes a deep, resounding, ethereal voice from somewhere above.

Jynx peers at the various paintings, trying to make hide or hair of them. He is startled a bit at the sudden voice, and calls back, "Who is it?!"

"HUUULLLLOOO! OHHH! THERE YOU ARE!" booms the disembodied voice. "I MADE A NEW SONG!" the voice rumbles. "WANT TO HEAR IT? COURSE YOU DO!" A strange noise like a cello, played very, very fast, can be heard, reverberating through the room.

DOWN IN THE SWAMP, LIFE IS A HASSLE,

THERE'S NOT MUCH POMP, IN KITTY-CAT CASTLE,

BUT AT THE BOTTOM, JYNX HAS SURE GOT 'EM,

The Khatta clasps his paws to his ears in annoyance, shaking his head, and goes back to inspecting the paintings.

'CUZ HE'S A REGAL SORT OF GUYYYYYYY!

The song drones on, going into even more inane lyrics, though at a lower key than is generally heard from the fox.

It seems the Aelfin never did follow Jynx, for she never catches up with him.

One painting looks like an attempt at the family portrait now hanging in the top of the tower. It looks like Phelix III is a bit shorter, and Selina is a bit more plump than they appear in the final version.

The music stops. "UHM … EXCUSE ME… "

Jynx blinks at the painting, beginning to wonder which one of the works is more accurate. Hopefully the one upstairs. Blinking curiously at the fox's song, the Khatta heads out southeast doorway. "Scarlet? Born-In-Shame? Where are you?" He calls out.

Another painting looks like it's of a castle. It has fairly mundane-looking squared-off walls, with parapets at each corner. A tall tower pokes up from the center. The tower looks a lot like the one in the swamp, though there's no sign of a dome. Perhaps the dome is within the walls of the castle. Hmm. Not too much water here. This particular castle is up on a rock.

Heading out the southeast doorway, the Khatta finds himself on a raised dais … at the east end of a grand hallway. The ceiling is arched, and formed of glass panels, showing a similar view to that afforded by the Garden Hall dome.

"HELLO?" echoes the booming voice, which seems to be originating from the ceiling of the studio. "I SEEM … I SEEM TO HAVE MY HEAD STUCK IN THIS PIPE."

The Khatta looks out into the hall, noticing another door to the south. He flattens his ears at the voice, "Where are you?" yells the feline.

The grand hall stretches westward, where double doors lead back to the Garden Hall. This would be a great place to throw a ball, really. That is, if it were a little easier to get to. Guests would probably have a rough time coming down the tower, after all, let alone the swamp. Double doors – even larger – also go to the east … or … well, maybe that's where double doors should go, but it looks like they've been sealed off. Must have been the way out.

There are some whining and clanking noises … and Born-in-Shame comes along the northern corridor, stepping out onto the raised dais.

"I'M UP HERE, WITH ALL THESE PIPES," says the booming voice. "UH OH. I'M NOT ALONE."

A tremendous roar echoes out of the studio, followed by a booming, bellowing … scream. "HELP! IT'S GOING TO EAT ME!"

A little after Born-in-Shame arrives, the little Aelfin walks up from the corridor Jynx just left. Her pouch seems a bit thicker now, and besides that staff-bound sword she is also carrying a wand. "Jynx? Did you need me? And what is that noise?" she asks once she spots Jynx.

The Khatta starts to head for the southern hallway, but freezes at the sudden roar. "What? Where are you?" He sprints down the Grand Hall back towards the garden hall. "We have to find that stupid fox!" He calls out to Scarlet, "He's about to get killed!"

Born-in-Shame points to himself, then points upward … and starts marching down the Grand Hall, westward.

More booming roars and horrible screams come from the studio.

Born-in-Shame picks up his pace, running as fast as his armor will allow him, toward the Garden Hall.

The black Khatta and the armored cheetah come back into the Garden Hall. It's still soapy.

Jynx hesitates, trying to figure out the source of the fox's voice. "We have to go back up, hurry!"

The Aelfin breaks off and begins running back the way she came. Being both weighted down and short, she really doesn't move all that fast. "I think I can find him!"

Suddenly, the wand in the Aelfin's hand flashes, sending out several sparks.

A little ball of light emerges from the tip … and it forms into … a blinking arrow!

The words, "Fox in this direction" form in mid-air, and the arrow points upward.

Jynx screeches to a halt, and watches the wand. Without question, he heads back up the stairs, trying to get to where the wand points.

The Aelfin just stares at the arrow for a moment eyes wide. Not one to look a gift message in the grammar, the Aelfin nods to the words and gives them thanks before rushing in that direction. Again, she probably is just about as fast as the Savanite.

Some running and clambering later, Jynx finds his way back up to the wooden docks. Born-in-Shame is a bit behind him. The fog obscures a lot, but the marvelous brass lantern is a pretty good light source. In short order, he is able to spot several pipes that are poking up from the mire … and there appears to be a fox with his head stuck in one of them, right next to the barge, which has been poled out next to the pipe in question.

"What are you doing out there, you idiot?!" Jynx screams out to the fox. "How are we supposed to get to him?"

There is a white fluffy fuzzy bunny-creature … that appears to have swallowed the fox's tail, and is gnawing at the base of it. That must smart terribly.

The black Khatta looks about for any other sort of barge, since he's not about to swim out after the vulpine.

Born-in-Shame shakes his head slowly.

The barge appears to be the only buoyant device within range … unless one tries swimming. And that might be a very bad idea – aside from the usual disagreeable nature of it to a Khatta.

The fox kicks and screams, but the sound is muffled by the fact that his head is stuck in a pipe.

Reaching out from the dock, with his claws sunk into the wood, Jynx reaches out for the barge, trying to bring it close.

Eventually the Aelfin manages to arrive just after the others. She pants softly at the doorway for a moment, before wandering out onto the soggy turf and spotting the fox. "Oh, my! Oh my! I, must do something!" she says. The mage places her staff and the sword attached to it down. She lifts her hands up, keeping the wand in hand. She begins chanting a spell.

Alas, the barge is too far away to reach. Jynx couldn't even jump that far, really. Too bad the pole and the paddles are on the boat.

Every once in a while, the wand emits sparks for no apparent reason.

Jynx grimaces, and looks around for any sort of limb or such to pull the barge in. "Try and get the barge closer if you can!"

"Gnargnargnargnargnar!" goes the fluffy-fluffy bunny-thing. "AIIIIIIII!" goes the fox.

After some time spent chanting – and sparking – the Aelfin's spell seems to be complete. The barge starts drifting away from the fox and the pipe … and back to the dock. It's now within reach of the Khatta.

The Khatta grabs the barge, and jumps into it, poling it out to the fox. "Hold on, we're coming!" You idiot…

Born-in-Shame gets on, too, making the barge bob momentarily. Soon, the barge is back over by the fox. The white bunny-monster gnaws on the fox's posterior, while the fop struggles in vain. "HAAAAAALP!"

Having done what she can and too exhausted to cast another spell so quickly, the Aelfin settles down on the ground and just watches for now. She takes her staff up again and places it across her lap, and then lays the wand in front of her. Propping her head up on her hands, she watches the others while talking to the wand. "Thank you for your help. I am not sure I would have known where to go without your assistance."

*PAF* A glowing numeral "4" appears in the air for a moment, before fading away.

"Hold still," says Jynx in an annoyed tone. Taking out his dagger, he aims a careful slash at the evil Lapine.

That rather catches the Aelfin's attention. After all, she didn't expect it to do anything again. She studies it a moment before asking it a question. "Four? Do you understand me, sir wand?"

The bunny-thing is sliced open … and it evaporates into a puff of red mist. The fox's tail is still intact, amazingly enough. The backside of his trousers … well …

The wand doesn't do anything.

The black Khatta tugs at the fox's head, trying to dislodge him from the pipe. "Just what in the name of the First Ones were you doing up here? You're lucky to be alive!"

The fox's head pulls out from the pipe with a loud *POP*, and the feline and vulpine tumble back into the barge. "My hero!" cries the fox.

Jynx shoves the fox off of himself, and glares up at him. "Answer my question, what were you doing?!" Hissing under his breath, the cat starts to pole back to the dock.

A amused giggle can be heard from the shore as the Aelfin shakes her head. "What an amazing place. So much magic. Anyway, thank you." The wand is picked up again and attached to a strap on her pouch, so that it will hang freely and won't need to be carried when she walks. Once finished with that, the little one turns back to watch the others, glad that the fox is safe.

The fox whines, "I was on my way up, and I decided to take a little peek outside … and I noticed one of these pipes … and I wondered where they all went, and … " He whimpers.

The barge bumps against the wooden dock. Born-in-Shame disembarks, and secures the ropes so the barge won't drift off on its own.

The cat shakes his head as the arrive back on the dock. "Well, from now on you stay with us. If you wander off again like that, I'm not going to come after you." He jumps up out of the ship, and helps the cheetah secure the mooring line.

The fox just whimpers. His lute, meanwhile, floats on the water … and bumps gently against the dock. The fox says, "Oh joy!" and fishes his lute out of the water. He shakes it a few times, and an ugly fish falls out and splashes back into the mire.

"You are quite the hero, Jynx. You as well, sir knight." The smile on the Aelfin's small muzzle broadens and she once again uses her staff to help herself up. "As for you, Mr. Foppish Fox, you should be more careful! You should feel lucky Master Kurai was here to save you at all."

The fox whimpers some more and nods, keeping his head low.

Jynx journeys back into the doorway in the side of the tower, and scowls at the fox. "C'mon, we still have a bit to explore, and I want you within my sight!"

Some retracing of steps, and the adventuring party finds its way back down to the Garden Hall, and then into the southern hallway, just outside the Sewing Room. Three more doorways line the northern side of the corridor, heading eastward, until the hallway curves northward back to the Grand Hall. The south wall – and ceiling – is glass, showing freakish fish swimming about in the muck outside.

Jynx continues where he left off earlier, passing the sewing room by and heading for the next door. "Let's see what's in here. Stay close, foxboy, or I'll claw your tail out!"

The fox whimpers.

The Khatta swings the door wide, and steps inside.

The door opens, revealing a floor littered with toys. They look to be in better condition than Neko's Room, free of fuff'nar tooth-marks.

The walls of the room are painted in a cheery mural that depicts a forested countryside. The woods are populated with smiling, happy deer, fluffy little bunnies, singingbirdies, frolicking squirrels, and other forest denizens that Jynx probably hasn't seen before … except, of course, during his trip here to Sylvania in the first place.

The little Aelfin seems to be a bit slower now, considering she has gathered more than a few items from around the castle now. She tags along behind Jynx as usual, looking into the room he enters. "I am still quite amazed at this place. This certainly wasn't the boring trip you described."

On the painting on the wall, there is a representation of a castle … though it's a bit shorter than the one shown in the studio. Perhaps this is a painting of the castle when it was just starting to sink a bit, but wasn't submerged entirely.

Jynx picks up a few of the toys, and examines them. "Eve would have a field day in this place. Nekodemus must have loved his toys." He looks at the happy walls, and shudders. "More of those beasts." He peers at the painting.

Some of the toys look like they might have appealed to a little girl more than a kitten boy. Perhaps a younger Alysin played in here as well.

The child-like mage walks over to some of the more feminine toys and picks one up to study it. "I am always interested to see what amazing toys other races played with as children. It warms my heart to see such joy filled objects."

Putting the toys back down, Jynx starts out the door. "Well, be careful with them, they're old. C'mon, we've just a little bit left to see, then we should head back up to Ysnor. It's getting late."

Among the more 'feminine' toys are dolls in various pretty dresses, and a few male dolls in formal attire. Like the races represented amongst the stuffed dolls in Neko's Room, they seem to be mostly comprised of Khattas, along with Humans, and Korvs, and maybe a token Rhian and Eeee.

The black feline leaves the cheery play room, and heads on to the next door. "There seems to be more down here than I thought!"

The third door along the hallway opens into a room that – like the store room that corresponds to it in the northern corridor – also has a door that leads across to the Grand Hall. This one, however, is not a store room, but rather some sort of study. A fireplace is set against one wall. Across the room is a trophy case, containing numerous curios, such as a Chronotopian Egg decorated in Lapis lazuli, and a little clockwork canary beside it.

The doll Scarlet picked up is smiled upon, and hugged carefully to the Aelfin's heart. It is carefully put down before the Aelfin begins walking for the door. Once at the door, the girl sighs a bit and quickly rushes back into the room to pick up a black male Khatta doll. It is carefully put in her pouch before she rushes off to join Jynx.

There is a Himaatian rug on the floor, and several comfortable-looking – if old – chairs are placed to face toward the fireplace. Mounted heads of wild beasts hang on the halls … though the effect is somewhat gruesome, since the wild beasts in these parts look rather like several talking species.

Jynx inspects the trophy case, shining his light into it to get a better look. He suppresses a yell of alarm when he notices the heads, his fur on end as he is reminded of the Three Thieves Inn.

There are various curios within the trophy case, which bear further inspection later, perhaps. There's a small coffin of some sort – perhaps of Babelite design? – next to a small ruby scepter. An ivory torch is on the upper shelf, next to a jeweled scarab. There's no telling exactly the value of the gems, or whether some of them are just cut glass, but even if they are fakes, they're pretty nice-looking ones.

The shortest member of the party is much less silent about it as she walks into the study. A scream that is quickly stopped issues forth from her muzzle. This is then followed by a bit of giggling as she wanders further inside.

Born-in-Shame pokes his armored head into the room at the sound of the scream.

Jynx flattens his ears at the noise, and glares at the Aelfin. "Try and be quiet! We still don't know what's down here!" He grumbles as he passes the Aelfin by, headed for the hallway once more and the next and final room.

"I am sorry, Master Kurai. It is just seeing those heads on the wall, I thought for sure we would be dealing with yet another threat." That said, the Aelfin follows Jynx out of the room towards the next one. Even though she was yelled at her mood doesn't drop a bit, and for what it is worth, she seems quite happy to be here.

The last door … has the sounds of music coming from behind it! And a singing fox. Hmm. Sounds like someone sneaked ahead.

The Khatta pops his claws with a hiss, and flings the door open. "What did I tell you?!"

The fox jolts at the sound of the door opening, then adopts a pose next to a marble statue, standing perfectly still.

Born-in-Shame takes up the rear of the group, following the Aelfin into what appears to be the Conservatory.

A grand piano is set in the center of the chamber, and various other instruments hang on walls or sit on pedestals about the room. A doorway to the northeast leads, presumably, back to the Grand Hall.

A few statues of beautiful felines in togas stand in alcoves. Perhaps they are the Mewses.

Ignoring the room's interior for now, Jynx storms over to the vulpine, and grabs him roughly by the ear. "Born-In-Shame, watch this moron. And if he tries to wander off, slug him in the gut!" He tugs the fox over to the cheetah, then lets him go.

"Ow, ow, ow!" cries the fox, as he is yanked over to Born-in-Shame. The armored cheetah places a heavy hand down on the fox's shoulder.

Quite used to the fox being dealt with by now, the Aelfin wanders over to the piano and tilts her head to regard it oddly. "What an unusual contraption," she can be heard to say.

With a nod to the cheetah warrior, the Khatta now turns his attention to the room. "Looks like they liked music too." He looks up at the statues. "Too bad they aren't real. They're not that bad looking!" He goes from instrument to instrument, giving each a once-over.

Jynx nods to the Aelfin. "I wonder how you use it?"

"How preposterous!" exclaims the foppish fox. "It's a piano, for Music's sake!"

"I have no idea, sir. I have never seen a… piano, before. Perhaps you are supposed to tap your hands upon the flat surface?" The Aelfin lifts a hand to point at the top of the piano.

The fox struggles in the armored cheetah's grasp. "No, no, no! The keys! Lift the lid, and there are plenty of ivories to tickle! Unhand me, you tin can!"

"Quiet, you!" hisses the Khatta at the fox. "When we want you to talk, we'll tell you!" The black feline runs his paw over the wooden surface of the piano, then gives the room a final once-over. "Well, this seems to be it. We'd betterget back up top. Ysnor might think we've gotten eaten."

Resting on top of the piano is a real beauty of an instrument. It is a harp … finely crafted such that one part of it has been sculpted to resemble a beautiful female feline in flowing drapery.

The harp has been gilded, making it a prize fit for royalty. It also has a few strange sigils inscribed upon it, inlaid with … well, some sort of metal or something.

The fox struggles in Born-in-Shame's grasp, but the cheetah just stands there like a statue, despite the vulpine gnawing on his gauntlet.

Jynx, just now noticing the harp, picks it up carefully, and examines it. "This thing is astounding! We can bring it back up to Ysnor to prove we've been down here." He looks at the strange sigils, and idly gives it a strum.

As the harp is strummed, the room fills with music…

All at once … the statues of the Mewses begin to sing!

The Khatta bristles!

Unfortunately, it's in some strange language that nobody present understands. It still sounds nice, though.

Jynx sounds momentarily entranced by the music once he relaxes, but snaps back to reality with a shake of his head. "M-Maybe we should leave it here, on second thought… "

"I think that would be wise, since I am not certain how many more spells I can cast today. I would hate to be unable to help in yet another emergency," Scarlet tells Jynx as she quickly looks between the statues. "So much magic, Jynx. Your ancestor must surely have been a master mage. Any of this is far beyond my ability."

With a yawn and a tired stretch, not helped any by the melodious singing of the Mewses, Jynx replaces the harp to the top of the piano. "Let's head back. It's getting late, and I'm getting tired." Making sure all are accounted for, the black Khatta starts back towards the Garden Hall, fighting fatigue and the barrage of questions that run through his mind. He must have the strangest family tree on the face of Sinai…

"Certainly." The Aelfin follows Jynx out of the room and towards the stairwell upwards. She smiles and looks down towards all the items she gathered along the way. "It will be nice to be able to examine these things more closely. I may never get any sleep."