About a week has passed since the first exploration of Blackshire Keep by its heir and his companions. Ysnor has retreated to the cone-topped parapet of the tower, leaving the tower "observatory" (and the whole of the submerged castle, for that matter) to Feli Kurai and his friends.

The foppish fox has since had his trousers mended from his encounter with the bunny-monster, and has had the sense to stay clear of the air-pipes for the time being. Born-in-Shame has caught a few more fuff'nars, including a nest of 'narlings, and has been keeping them in a collection of trunks. Every once in a while, the trunk asks, "Dead?" in little squeaky voices with a Sylvanian accent.

Scarlet has had opportunity to do further research in the magical laboratory, while everyone else has been spending a great deal of time cleaning up the mess in the Garden Hall – The smell, after all, has been disagreeable enough to stink up not only the entirety of the submerged castle, but the tower as well. (The swamp doesn't reek this badly.) This excavation yielded several more of the aforementioned captured fuff'nars.

Finally, the dead foliage from the Garden Hall has been excavated (and dumped into the swamp), and it seems as if all fuff'nars have been ferreted out of every nook and cranny of the castle, including the previously unexplored servants' quarters at the west end of the lower level. Our heroes take a well-deserved break at the top of the tower…

Jynx is found to be slouched down in one of the pieces of furniture that passes as a chair in Ysnor's living quarters. Covered in scratches and scrapes from the removal of the foliage, he winces as he picks a few thorns from his hands and tail. "Well, that was sure fun," he says sarcastically. "At least the smell is gone."

The foppish fox bounds up the stairs. The backside of his trousers sports several mismatched patches around the base of his tail. "Well! Such dreadful work! It's a good thing you had me around to provide moral – and musical – support!"

Born-in-Shame just wearily collapses in a corner, leaning against one of the rare bare spots along the wall.

The black Khatta shoots a scowl at the vulpine. "I'd have preferred a bit more muscle support, myself." He simply shakes his head, and wearily gets to his feet. Taking a canteen of fresh water, he pours a beaker full, and hands it to the cheetah. He signs with his free hand, "Perhaps you should take off that armor for a while.It might help you relax a bit, not to mention that working in it's probably what exhausted you."

The cheetah nods, and hands the canteen back. Then, he proceeds to unfasten a series of clasps and releases and … well, lots of mechanisms. Surely armor isn't normally this complicated to remove.

When that is all done, the cheetah is still adorned in robes and what looks like some sort of uniform … and his helmet. He doesn't take that off just yet.

The foppish fox blinks a few times. "Ah … quite the fashion statement, I must say!"

Jynx simply blinks, and backs away from the cheetah. He hasn't had the best experiences with mechanical items. "Well, feel better now? Maybe if you take the mask off, you'll cool off quicker."

The cheetah signs, "For only a moment. While the sage is gone." He carefully removes the helmet, and sets it down almost reverentially to one side. He does not meet anyone's gaze, as he reaches for the canteen again. His thirst is quite evident, as he downs most of its contents in a matter of seconds.

The black feline peers down at the face. "See? That wasn't so hard." He looks at the spotty cat curiously. "Why won't you take the mask off around the Little-One? She's no threat."

"The sage is a female. It is not proper for me to show my face around a female," signs the cheetah. "I have been forced to break that tradition far too many times already since arriving here … and during my imprisonment on Abaddon."

The fox looks at all the finger-wiggling. He looks utterly clueless as to what is being exchanged.

Jynx simply blinks. "Why are you forbidden to show your face around females?" signs the Khatta, who then grins. "Seems like it would make it hard to pick up a date on a Saturday night."

"I do not know the meaning for 'Saturday'. What holiday is that? But as for my people, our faces are not varied like yours are. We have … little genetic variance. Without our masks, we look alike," signs the cheetah.

The black Khatta retakes his seat (if it can be called that), and makes a half-hearted attempt to relax. "You look alike? All of you?" He peers closely at the cheetah. "You look different from others of the People that I know. And what are 'genetics'?"

The cheetah pauses, then points at the statue. "Your ancestor was black. You are, too. But I saw your sister. She is white. Yet you are related. That does not happen amongst our kind."

Jynx takes a sip from the canteen, and cocks his head at Born-In-Shame. "So you all just… look alike? Men and women both? Spots and all?"

The cheetah smirks, and signs, "There are certain differences between genders, but … " His ears perk up at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. He hastily puts his helmet back on.

The black Khatta turns his head as well. "Well, that didn't last long."

A distant clank of metal can be heard from down below, followed by a few thumps as something seems to fall down the steps. Footsteps follow, and then the sound of metal being lifted off a block. The noises increase in volume, until a knife is deposited near the opening by little white hands. Soon after, Scarlet's head pops into view and the little one hefts a large book into the room. She then sits down upon it and smiles. "I found so much to tell you! That lab carries piles of the most interesting things!"

"Be careful," signs Born-in-Shame. "No railing."

The Khatta puts his canteen back on the floor. "Oh does it, now?" He peers at the book. "I don't mind if you go looking through the lab, but I'm not sure if you should bring that stuff up here. No telling what half of it does."

Scarlet lifts her hands to return the wave she thinks Born-in-Shame gave her. She then turns to Jynx and nods to him, patting the book she is sitting on. "Well you see, Master Kurai, I found all manner of history about your castle. Being that I am a mage, I was also able to understand the uses of most of the potions and the history of both the K'uravel and the Sword of the Necromancer King. I also found a great deal of information regarding a crater within the forest, a focal point for monster activity."

Jynx eyes the Aelfin. "I said I didn't want you around that sword. Dagh only knows why they kept it around anyways." The feline shifts his position in a vain attempt at comfort. "But what crater are you talking about? I didn't see one when we came in."

The foppish fox says, "Hmm. If she can go poking around underground, does that mean I can go check out the Conservatory again? I found it rather … a-mewse-ing!" He laughs at his own joke, before anyone else gets a chance to. (Not that anyone would, of course.)

"But Jynx, I could not just ignore a potentially dangerous magical creation. If I had, you would not know now that the sword in the armory is cursed. If it were to escape, it might float around the castle in order to drink our blood and steal our souls." The Aelfin taps the ground with her feet, leaning forward to rest her head on her paws. "The crater was formed during the reign of the first Duke Phelix Kurai, by a meteor. Because of the supposedly mystic nature of it, the Duke required that no one go near it. After that occurred, the court mage disappeared, and then that's when monsters started appearing in the woods. It's all in this book."

The fopfox says, "I think I had a fairly good idea that the sword was cursed. Normal swords don't go yowling… " He adopts a "monster" pose. "BloOOOOOOOoood!"

Scarlet giggles a bit at the fox and wiggles her paws at him. "Yes, true enough. But we didn't know Jynx's ancestor was the one who defeated the Necromancer King during the War of the Necromancers. Jynx has quite a heroic family."

Jynx lobs an empty beaker at the fox. "Quiet, you!" He then turns his attention sternly back to Scarlet. "I don't care about what you learned; I don't want you going near that armory again, period. That stupid sword has been there for years. It can stay there for a bit longer." He sighs, and takes another sip, then perks his ear at this next tidbit. "War of the Necromancers? I've never heard of that."

"Which ancestor?" asks the fox. "He seems to have an awful lot of them!" He nods sagely, as if this were something unusual…

Scarlet reaches over to pick up that knife she hauls around, and lays it across her lap. "I did not go into the armory, Jynx. You should not be so mean. I found all of this in the lab, because your ancestors keep some very detailed notes. I found all sorts of things out. If I was not here, you might never know that this castle was made entirely from one rock, or that it was not always flooded. It was not flooded before the meteor arrived. Oh and about that, the meteor is deep within the Whispering Wood, and it is very dangerous. However, I think we may learn a lot if we go there." A pause, and the Aelfin runs a hand across the sword and considers before going on. "You may or may not have noticed, but Sylvania has quite a lot of paranormal activity. A while ago in the past, several powerful Necromancer Lords tried to take over this country with armies of undead. They were eventually driven out, but due to their war, Sylvania never quite recovered. That is why Sylvania is merely a loose network of fiefdoms."

The foppish fox just nods his head up and down as if he understood all this perfectly. "In other words … it's a really messy, dismal place, and has been ever since zombies started crawling over it? Only natural, I say!"

The Khatta smirks. "Yeah, I sorta noticed." He gets up, and goes over to a window, gazing out. "Why would we want to go out to the crater, if that's where all the monsters are coming from?" He turns back around, ignoring the fox. "Did those books say anything about why the meteor did all this? And who's the Necromancer King?"

Scarlet hops off the book, which seems to be a history of the keep, and walks over to where Jynx is standing. "Because the link between the meteor arriving, and all the disasters that brought your family land to this state, is too much to ignore. Supposedly there is a crystalline object at the center of the crater and that might be what is creating all the monsters. You are the heir to this keep, and you are its lord. Do you not feel you need to try and clean your family land and ease the lives of the people who live here?"

The foppish fox blinks. "You mean we have to kill all the monsters? Isn't that just a tad bit … ah … overzealous? I mean, this place is just a swamp, after all!"

Jynx furrows his brow, "Crystalline object?" Why does that sound familiar? "Well, it's curious, yes, and it'd be nice to get rid of the nasties." He gives a small snort. "But as for all that family hoopla, I don't know. I've had bad experiences chasing down my roots before." He fishes a piece of jerky out from his pack, and gnaws on it. "What does it say about the crystal object?"

"Unknown, sir. Apparently there is little record of it, beside it being crystalline," Scarlet answers. The Aelfin turns to regard the others, each in turn, before turning back to Jynx. "We should try and help rid this place of monsters if we can. I doubt the poor people of your village see such skilled people very often, and ones who might help them besides. We have an excellent knight, a mage, a… " There is a pause as the Aelfin tries to describe the fox. It seems to take her a few seconds to think of something. "… A fox, and a heroic person such as yourself. This could be your chance to make a bright history for the Kurai family, starting with yourself."

Born-in-Shame pulls a book from some bindings under his robes. "If we fight the undead, this book may help. The Peacemaker loaned it to me." It looks like a fairly heavy book. Maybe it's meant to serve as a blunt instrument for smashing zombies into submission. It's certainly not light reading material, in any case.

The black Khatta grimaces, "I don't know about that hero bit." He gives his little rag-tag group a glance over. "And they're not my villagers; I'm no Lord. But, if that crystal thing is what I think it is," he sighs, "we'd better take care of it once and for all." He looks over to the cheetah, and at his book. "Can I see that? Was it given to you by the Redeemer-Of-Shadows?"

The armored cheetah nods, and hands the heavy book over to Jynx. Its cover looks as if it were carved out of rock. The title proclaims the book to be the "Sylvanian Heresy".

Ah, a smile crosses Scarlet's face. "Grand! I see you are as modest as you are dashing." The Aelfin then skips over to the history book she uses as a chair,and sits down on it. One might think she brought it up here just to give herself sufficient seating, its usefulness being a secondary concern. Once down, however she reaches over to a wand marked with the letter "F" and unties it from her belt, taking a moment to examine it and the sword.

Jynx examines the book, from every which way he can. "This is indeed strange. I wonder where Zoltan got it from?" He tries to open the book and take a look inside, giving a side glance to the Aelfin. "I see you still have that dagger, and that wand. What's it for anyways?"

The Aelfin holds up the knife first, the blade wobbling in her hands. "This is the Knife of Omens, created by my people long ago. It glows when danger abounds." Next the wand is held up, and she seems to be able to manipulate it well enough. "And this is the 'F' wand. It creates magic when 'F' words are mentioned, and each word only works once."

Born-in-Shame shakes his head, looking toward the book. "I know not from whence it came."

As the Aelfin speaks, holding the wand, a glowing letter "F" appears each time she mentions the letter. Apparently that part doesn't wear itself out. Each time the "F" appears, it is rendered in a different style.

Plopping the book down on the ground, the Khatta begins to flip through it. "That's strange… What good could that do?"

"What good? Well, let me see. Oh, yes. Let me try this." The Aelfin lifts the wand, and points it at a broken piece of wood that doesn't seem to hold any importance. "Ahem. Fudge!"

Jynx looks back and forth between the Aelfin and the book, trying to keep up with both at once.

A smell permeates the room. It smells like … fudge!

The foppish fox licks his lips. "All right … where is it? I'm starving!"

The Khatta stops perusing the tome, and sniffs the air, "Where is that coming from? I didn't see any food down in the kitchen!"

The Aelfin once again hops off her book, and wanders over to the piece of wood. She kneels down, and picks it up to inspect it for change. "Well, hopefully this is no longer wood, but in fact, fudge." A grin crosses her face, giving one the impression she really does like fudge quite a bit.

The smell of fudge permeates the room yet again.

"Oooo! GIMME GIMME GIMME!" The foppish fox rushes over, grabs the piece of wood, and shoves it into his mouth!

"It changes things?" the feline asks. "I hope it can do more than fudge. Might come in handy." He goes back to looking at the Heresy book, trying to figure out just what it's all about.

The fox starts chewing … or … gnawing, really. His eyes cross. He spits out … a piece of wood. "PTOOIE! You're … GACK! … trying to poison me!"

Scarlet looks at her empty hands and then to the fox that stole her wood that would be fudge. "You silly fox! I was trying to discover if it truly was fudge. Apparently it is just a smell, or perhaps an illusion. If I were to gesture around and mention food, I don't believe we would get any food – just the smell."

Jynx looks up at the fox. "Good, maybe it'll keep you quiet for a bit." He closes the book, and carries it over to the history tome. "We'll need to keep these close when we head out. They may give us some insight into what we're up against." The cat places the Sylvanian Heresy on top of the book Scarlet brought up, and places them on a table.

Born-in-Shame gets up, goes over to the Heresy, and binds it up again in the cloths he had under his robes. He tucks it away, then signs to Jynx, "I will keep this close. Must return it to Peacemaker."

The fox looks around, as if expecting food to appear. He sees that Scarlet's hands are empty, though, and whimpers in disappointment.

After taking up the wand again and giving the fox a good prod with it, the Aelfin wanders over to the hatch that leads to the stairs. "I brought along a number of potions as well, though I was unable to tell what one of them might be. The others, I believe, will be quite useful during our trip to the crater."

The fox whimpers at the prod. But then, he whimpers at most anything even remotely disagreeable.

The black Khatta wipes his paws, getting the dust off from the books. "Well, go ahead and bring them up, I guess. Just be careful. Who knows if they're explosive or something?" He goes over to the hatch to help the Aelfin bring up the vials.

The little one wanders back down into the darkness to direct Jynx to a box of vials, powders, and other more disturbing items. It seems she gave up on bringing this box up, as it lays about half way down the stairs. After Jynx helps her bring it up, she begins digging through it back in the upper room. "I want to give everyone one a potion, and I will instruct you all in their use."

It looks, in the better light of the tower room, as if there is a total of ten vials. With the exception of two milky-looking potions, each one is a different color.

"Well, what do they do?" Jynx asks Scarlet expectantly. "I hope you know for sure. I'd hate to get turned into a bug or a Jupani or something… "

The foppish fox says, "Hmm. I propose a toast!"

The Aelfin begins to distribute the potions to the floor beside her, putting them into categories. "Well, you might make a nice Jupani, Master Kurai." The Aelfin giggles before she begins pointing them out.

"The white ones are healing potions, and I want you and the knight to each carry one, since you two are the people who fight. The red, stormy, and cold ones each hold some magical effect. I will hold those, since I am a mage. The others hold various useful effects, especially the clear one, which has invisibility. Finally, do avoid the glowing potion, since I have no idea what it does."

All total, on the floor there are indeed ten potions. Two white milky ones ( the healing potions), a stormy one, a red one and a frosty one (designated for Scarlet), and the remainder are pink, "invisible", glowing, plus one that looks smoky, and one that looks brown and kind of chocolate-y.

The black Khatta peers at the potions, "Well, at least you know what the others do. You can carry the glowing one until we know what it does." He takes one of the white potions, and shakes it

Scarlet lifts her wand a bit and points it at the fox. "Now you had better not drink these, because we need them. Also I cannot be completely certain what they all do, so drink them at your own risk." She smiles a bit and offers the fox the pink potion to show she isn't mad at him. "You should drink this if you get a tummy ache from eating that wood." That done, she turns to the others as she begins putting the potions not handed out into her bag. "I will carry these offensive and dangerous potions, just in case. It would be very bad if any of you broke one by accident."

The black Khatta peers at the potions. "Well, at least you know what the others do. You can carry the glowing one until we know what it does." He takes one of the white potions, and shakes it. "I hope you're sure about these things. I don't think it's wise to trust strange potions." He tucks the vial into his pocket. "If all else fails, we can try them out on the fuff'nars, or better yet," he grins, "Mister Bard over there."

The foppish fox gives Jynx a puzzled look, with an upraised eyebrow. "Now, just what does that mean?" He stuffs the pink vial into a pouch in the liner of his cloak.

"Maybe you'll find out when you go to sleep tonight," replies the cat as he stands back up. "Well, if we're going to go look for this crater, we'd better get prepared. Maybe Ysnor has some maps or something we can use. The forest isn't a good place to just wander."

"I suggest we not use them unless we have no other option, as that may be dangerous. Thankfully, between this wand and these items, I may be able to help if we have some manner of danger when we head towards the crater." The bottles are finally all safely tucked into the Aelfin's pouch. Ears perk as she hears mention of the map, however. A delicate hand is raised to point at the book she brought. "There is a detailed map in there, sir."

Jynx hands the other white potion to his cheetah companion. "There is?" He pads over to the book and opens it. "Where at? Maybe it'll give us a good look of the land."

The girl walks back to the book and taps it with the wand. "It is pressed under the first page." She offers helpfully. If Jynx were to look at her and her rather stuffed pouch, he might notice a little doll arm hanging out of it.

Too quick for anyone to really notice, a numeral "1" floats in the air, just behind Scarlet's back, and then fades away.

The map shows a representation of the Whispering Wood, and Blackshire Keep … though minus any indication of a swamp. (But then, the deed map didn't show a swamp, either.) There is a path meandering through the woods that leads toward a spot where the "Crater" is indicated.

The Khatta is too involved in the book at the moment however, and pulls the map from the book, spreading it out on the table. "Well, that seems to be the place, but I hope the path is still there." He looks to the Aelfin. "When do you think we should leave, and how? I doubt getting closer to the crater will make things any less dangerous."

Scarlet smiles bright as Jynx asks her what they should do. Her, the mage apprentice! Standing a bit taller, the Aelfin looks around the room again and nods once. "I suggest we go back to town and arrange supplies before we all starve. After that, we should make certain this castle is safe and free of any dangers, and seal that cursed sword as best we can. Perhaps we should go within a week? There is much I would still like to examine. Perhaps if we can clear this castle out, we can sleep below. Certainly a good sleep would help us."

Born-in-Shame signs, "I think I found all the 'dead-dead' creatures. I found some collars and muzzles for some of them, too."

Jynx nods to the Cheetah, "Good. With them gone, we can sleep in some actual beds. I'm putting the dead-deads under your control." He then turns back to Scarlet with a nod. "Sounds like a plan to me, except for that sword part. I still say leave it alone for the time being. We can go get provisions tomorrow when there's more light, and we've had a chance to rest up."

"About that sword, sir. I would like to, when this is all over, offer you the chance to be rid of it." The Aelfin's smile drops slightly and she twiddles her fingers around the wand nervously. "I, for a considerable fee, will take it upon myself to rid you of it and see it is disposed of. You would like it gone from here, yes, Master Kurai?"

"I'd like to see it gone, period." The black feline grimaces. "And I'll think about it. I just don't trust that thing, regardless of who has it. When we get done with the crater, my mind will be made up hopefully, but until then, the rule still stands." He looks the Aelfin squarely in the eyes. "Paws off."

"You keep thinking I plan to touch it. I would not even remove it from its magic bindings. If I do move it, I will move it within the case," Scarlet replies, folding her arms and casting her eyes down. "I am not that little, Jynx, sir. I can do what I am told. I would not dare to go against the order of the lord of these lands. Wynona would never do such a thing." During her little speech, that doll arm shifts so that it hangs out more. Of course, this does little to help her argument of being a mature and responsible mage.

"I don't care if it's out of the case, in the case, upside down or rightside up – I don't want anyone near it until we get back." He starts to pack the books inside a rough sack, noticing the toy out of the corner of his eye. "Where did you get that?"

The Aelfin blinks confusedly. "Where did I acquire what, s… " She pauses as she looks down, her inner ears turning a shade of red as she blushes upon noticing it. "Oh, this? This is… " Scarlet, considering a sly response, pauses before answering, "This is nothing, Master Kurai."

The foppish fox giggles, and adopts a falsetto as he mocks, "Oh, this is nothing, Master Kurai! Ooo!" He bats his eyelashes.

Jynx gives a small smirk, closing the bag. "Okay then, a week it is. Maybe we should see what else we can scavenge from the castle for the trip." He rolls his eyes at the fox, but can't help but grin.

The Aelfin raises her eyebrows a little as the fox makes fun of her. She sticks her tongue out at the fox indignantly before shaking the wand at him. "You should be nice! I saved you from being eaten, you know. I should turn you into a Fuff'nar." A snort, and the Aelfin turns around to dig into her pouch and remove the hidden doll. The taller members of the party might notice it's a black Khatta doll dressed in regal robes.

The wand emits several sparks.

From nowhere, a disembodied voice squeaks, "Dead?"

The foppish fox clutches his floppy hat down tight over his ears. He looks around, with wide eyes …

The larger black Khatta arches a brow at the little doll, and seems about to say something, but abruptly freezes at the dreaded word. "What in the name of… " He looks at the fox, then glares at the Aelfin. "What did you do?!"

Following in time with the fox, the Aelfin spins around, clutching the wand and the doll to her chest in fright. "N-nothing! It must have responded to my mention of a Fuff'nar. I do not believe it is real, just like the fudge was not real," Scarlet responds quietly.

Something strange is happening to the fop-fox's ears. They seem to be getting bigger. And his tail … it now has stripes! The wand sparks again, and the air is permeated with the smell of fudge.

Jynx backs quickly away from the foppish fox. "It seems real enough to me!" The feline gets a chair between himself and the former vulpine. "Undo it, quick!"

The foppish fox wails … but it's in an increasingly squeaky voice! No doubt about it … he's turning into … the fop-fuff'nar!

"Say 'fox' or something – Hurry!" yells the cat.

The fop-fuff'nar looks at the others, and, with a very forlorn look on his face, he squeaks, "Dead?"

"Wow! Amazing! That is some impressive magic!" Scarlet exclaims as she spots the fox'nar. She giggles and points at him with her wand. "I am not sure if I want to. He was mean to me, and he has been getting us in all manner of trouble. Perhaps it can be a good lesson for him." Oh, it seems the Aelfin is enjoying this turn of events, for she giggles so hard she falls to her knees.

The fop'nar looks very upset now. "Dead? Dead?" he squeaks.

Jynx glares down at the Aelfin. "He'll be getting a lot more mean if he turns all the way into one of those little terrors!" He looks over to Born-In-Shame, "Get ready to catch him if you have to!"

Born-in-Shame is already on his feet, in a defensive stance. He nods to the black Khatta.

It takes the Aelfin a good few seconds to stop giggling enough to say anything at all. Eventually, however, she takes up the wand and points it at the fox'nar. "Oh, you all are no fun! Very well. I transform you into a fox!"

More sparks emit from the wand … *PAF* There's a burst of smoke … and when it clears, the fuff'fox is slowly transforming back to his usual self. "Dead? De – dear me!" He pats himself over, making sure that he's back to himself again.

The foppish fox exclaims, "I do say, I was overcome with the almost irresistible urge to chew on our dear mage's ears for a moment there! Whew! That would be most unseemly!"

There is some strange music emitting from somewhere outside. The hunchbacked rat pokes his head down from the conical attic – where he currently resides. "What is all the ruckus, Master?"

As he speaks, bubbles start issuing forth from his ears, for no apparent reason. He doesn't seem to notice.

The black Khatta heaves a sigh of relief, then grins at the fox. "That it would. Let that be a lesson though. You'd better behave, or I'll have her turn you into a 'fungus', or a 'female' or something, just to teach you a lesson." The cat grins, having fun with the 'F' game. "'Feline' would help you be less an eyesore – " He stops as he looks at the Skreek, "Umm… Ysnor?" The cat then looks to Scarlet as well, and blinks. "Uh… how did you get that clown makeup on?"

A couple of inflated bubble-berry balloons float in through one of the windows. More follow, of all colors of the rainbow. More can be seen floating upward outside.

The wand is carefully tied to the mage's belt again, just to be safe. The doll is left laying across her lap where she dropped it. "You should be more careful Mr. Moppish Mox. If I had… had… had not turned you back, you would have been the Moppish Muff'nar," Scarlet tells him in words plagued with laughter. She still seems to be having a problem talking, and she also seems to be avoiding the letter "F". Due to her amused state, she doesn't notice the bubbles yet. Of course Jynx's words, and outfit, are more obvious. "Oh no! I said 'fun'! I, suppose this is its idea of fun. It is, in a way."

Jynx blinks, and looks down at himself.

The black Khatta seems to be dressed to the nines, looking as if he's the ringmaster for the Circus of Wonders.

Cherry red just is not his color, though.

From an unknown source, calliope music plays outside the tower.

The Khatta gives a long-suffering look at the ceiling, and then glares down at the Aelfin. "Okay, fun's over. No more touching that dumb wand until we absolutely need it. Now make this stop, and watch what you say."

Quickly the Aelfin unties the wand and readies it again for more magic. "I should f… undo this event. Ahem, let me see." She holds the wand up and attempts to fix what has happened. "Fashion!"

A shower of sparks erupts from the wand, dazzling the eyes of all present…

When the sparks clear … well … things are definitely different. This is some wand indeed!

Jynx blinks as the sparks momentarily blind him, then reluctantly opens his eyes to see the wand's effect.

The foppish fox looks … positively foppish. His clothes are no longer patched. They look nicer than anything he's worn before. And his fur is all nicely trimmed and brushed and slicked back in all the right places. He smells lightly of roses.

Born-in-Shame doesn't look much different, really. He just looks as if his armor has received quite a bit of buffing and polishing, and his robes have been cleaned to bring out the colors more brightly.

The black Khatta … looks like a duke. Duke Kurai, to be more precise. He looks as if he has been attired like his ancestor in the painting. (He hasn't gotten any pudgier, though, thank goodness.) Plus, his fur is back to the way it looked at Eve's play.

And Scarlet … well …

Scarlet looks like an arch-magess, adorned in flowing robes, decorated with all sorts of shiny baubles in just the right places. Her staff is unchanged, though it looks as if it has been cleaned up and polished … and her circlet is still intact. If only she weren't so short, she would be a commanding presence indeed.

Ysnor, meanwhile, looks as if he's a butler for a fine estate – aside from the fact that he's a hunchbacked rat, that is. The monocle looks kind of out of place, especially since he's still upside down, looking down from his perch on the rafters.

As an added bonus, the spell seems to have dusted and polished all the furniture, cleaned the cloths, and given the tower room a good spritz of spring freshness. My, but this wand is handy around the castle!

Jynx looks down at himself reluctantly, but his expression changes to one of amusement as he takes the new threads into consideration. "Well… This isn't so bad… " He looks around the room. "Not that bad at all. Maybe that wand is good for something!" He looks at Scarlet. "But you had better put it up for now, just to avoid any further mess-ups."

The foppish fox says, "The dramatically-sweeping cape is so you, Master Kurai!"

The Aelfin meanwhile gawks at her attire as she stands up to examine herself. Her staff drops from her grasp, as almost does the doll and wand. "By the Star! I … look like an arch-mage!" She twirls in place before tucking away the wand and the doll, and taking up her knife and staff. "We all … we all truly look amazing! I, I… "

Ysnor takes the monocle from his eye and looks at it in disbelief. He shrugs, then puts it back into place.

Sheathing the knife she picks up in the now-present jeweled scabbard at her belt, the Aelfin then picks up her staff and taps it against the ground enthusiastically. "I am so happy! I had always wanted to be with in an adventure, and now… now it has happened. Oh Jynx, this is the most fun I have ever had. I know I do not merit these clothes, but knowing what I do now, I promise someday I really will be worthy of them." She curtsies to Lord Jynx, her baubles flashing in all their splendor as she moves.

Still a bit amazed at the finery he's currently dressed in, Jynx starts to undress said finery and neatly fold it to the side. "Well, I guess these can be our travel garments for when we go shopping tomorrow. But for now, let's get some sleep." He pulls his bedroll out from the duffel bag, and sets up a makeshift bed, getting into it. "Good night, you guys… and just a reminder… " He eyes the fox and Aelfin. "… No touching stuff until tomorrow, and that goes double for you." This last part is aimed at the fox. The Khatta then gives a toothy yawn, and curls up sleepily in his bedroll, soon off to dreamland.