Unfortunately, Jynx's younger sister, the Countess, also has a key. "Jynx! Murder on the train!" she bursts in shouting. "What do you think about that?"

The black Khatta sits at his desk, a look of concentration spread across his brow as he studies a stack of papers. The look transforms into one of surprise as his sister bounds through the door, with all hair's on the cat's body standing on end. "Eve!" Jynx shouts, "How many times have I told you NOT to just come slamming into my office like that? I have a lot of work to- wait, murder?" He jumps from his chair. "Was someone killed on the train?"

"Not yet!" Eve says excitedly, waving a hand-written letter in her left hand. "But mom's latest letter says she and dad went to this 'mystery dinner' thing that's all the rage among the upper crust in Rephidim now. They stage a murder with actors, and it's up to the guests to solve it! Isn't that neat? We could do it on the train!"

A look of relief lights Jynx's face, and he sits down in his chair with a relieved sigh. "Dagh blast it Eve, you scared me half to death!" Shuffling the papers to one side, he looks back up at his little sister, tail twitching. "A murder mystery? Is it like a play or something."

"Yeah, mom says the actors where really good and hardly hammed it up at all," Eve replies with enthusiasm. "Dad didn't care for it though. Said having the waiters interrupt every so often to bring in the next course broke the illusion. But we've got a whole train to use, not just the dining car."

Jynx shakes his head, leaning back in his desk chair. "Mom and Dom have way too much free time on their hands nowadays. I wonder how much time he actually spends at the store." The Khatta taps his chin with a claw, then looks at Eve with one eye open. "Well, what would it cost us to run this thing? We'd have to hire actors and stuff, and it'd keep us from letting normal passengers on… " He frowns, "I'm not so sure… "

"We could reserve special cars for the play," Eve suggests, clutching the letter to her chest. "And Oops and Uh-oh are already designing a car for swinging scythes and cool deathtraps."

Jynx blanches at this. "Death Traps? Those two? Are you nuts!" His tail sticks out straight to emphasize his point. "Knowing them, they'll make them real! You know how literally they take things!"

"Oh, I'm sure they wouldn't actually kill any of the passengers!" Eve says, rolling her eyes. "Oh! The lady that brought the letter is waiting out in the hall too. She wanted to talk to you!"

Jynx flattens his ears, "Still, I want you to watch them every step of the way to make sure. You remember what they did with that 'blender' thing they built… " The black cat shudders at this memory and gets up from his chair. "Did the courier say what she wanted?"

"I wasn't really paying attention," Eve admits, holding up the letter. "I mean, I was reading the letter. But she definitely wanted to talk to you about something."

The black Khatta lets out an annoyed 'humph' sound at being distracted from his work, and walks over to the door. "I hope it's important, I have to finish that iron reconciliation by tomorrow." As he walks out the door, the feline pauses. "And do not mess with those papers! I can't send paper dolls to the central office, and don't act like you don't know what I mean… "

"You're such a grump, Jynx," Eve says, pouting. "You'll turn into a troll if you don't relax a little."

"I already turned into a troll three years ago," retorts Jynx, "when I had to learn all this accounting stuff." The Khatta continues down the hallway to the castle entrance, stifling a yawn as it escapes his muzzle. "Dagh," he mutters under his breath, "I need to hire an accountant… "

The entryway is deserted, as the mysterious courier has already moved on into the domed hall, where she is investigated one of the weirder looking plants. The Khatta is wearing a maroon cape over a pinstriped black and gold robe, with a wide-brimmed red hat festooned with colorful Creen feathers worn at a slight angle atop her head. The tip of her tail is visible at least, and has the telltale color mix of a Calico.

Jynx pads into the hall, buttoning a few of the lower buttons on his shirt so he doesn't look like a slob. "Hello miss. My sister said you wished to speak with me?"

The woman turns to face Jynx, and a smile breaks out on her patchwork-colored face. "Feli Kurai!" she exclaims, spreading her arms with intent to hug. "It's been just ages, hasn't it?" she asks as she steps forward.

The black Khatta blinks in confusion, silently wracking his brain, trying to place a name with the face before him. "Uh… yeah! Long time no… see?" Awkwardly, Jynx steps forward into the embrace, a look of puzzlement on his face. "To what do I owe the, er… pleasure?"

After the customary squeeze, the woman releases Jynx and says, "Well, I ran into your parents while I was on break from the College, and it reminded me about how my instructors and Auntie Fyiara sometimes mention you, so I thought I'd come down and give you a look-over! Isn't that an amazing coincidence? Not that I believe in coincidence, mind you, being a Chaos Mage. In training."

"Auntie Fyiara? Um, how's she doing?" Jynx puts his paws in his pockets, trying to hide his lack of recognition. "And how's college going?" The feline has no idea what he's talking about.

"Oh, she's the Dean of Chaos up on Caroban now you know," the woman says, and gives Jynx a wink. "Not that I get any special favors or anything." Standing back at arm's length, she looks over Jynx and says, "Wow, you've really grown up. When we were kids you always seemed so… gangly."

"Oh! You're from the old neighborhood-," Jynx blurts out, catching himself as he realizes he's giving his bad memory away. "I mean… yeah! Heh, I guess I filled out some, your twenties'll do that to you. You've, um, grown up too… "

The Calico cants her head to the left and gives Jynx a suspicious look. "You don't know who I am, do you, Feli?" she asks.

Jynx stares at the calico for a few moments, a big oblivious grin plastered on his face. He then slumps in defeat, "I'm sorry, I… I guess not." The cat walks over to one of the hall's benches, and takes a seat, proffering the other feline one was well. "I've been so busy lately, and it's been so long since I've been home, I guess my memory is a bit fuzzy." He winces. "It seems like another lifetime ago."

"Well, I'll never forget," the lady says, sitting next to Jynx. "It was my sixth birthday party, and the first time I'd met you. You ate way too much cake, got sick on the Kavi clown, and then fell into the reflecting pool. You really leave a powerful first impression, you know. I'm Cleo, by the way. Cleo Jellicloison." She holds out her hand, as if meeting Jynx for the first time.

"Cleo?" The black Khatta shakes the calico's hand gently, a small hint of recognition crossing his face. "Hey wait, I do remember that!" At first the feline is amused, but then he frowns as the scene comes rushing back. "Oh… oh yeah. That thing… " He shakes his head, then looks up to the woman with a sheepish grin. "I guess I blocked it out of memory, for obvious reasons. Besides, that clown had it coming." He thinks a bit more. "Your mom and mine used to go to the park together, right?"

"Yes!" Cleo says, gives Jynx an around-the-shoulders hug. "Although, I have to admit that I didn't come here just to see you. I'm doing research on Titanian distributed collapse fault tolerance systems as well, and your locomotive engine is really ideal for that."

Jynx earblushes at the sudden hug, giving a small, awkward smile. "You used to hang out with Eve and me, now I remember. We'd always put bugs in Dom's store displays to play with later. I remember getting chewed out for all the returns he got over that." The cat laughs, then cocks an ear sideways at the mention of the tolerance systems. "Er, you'll probably want to speak with Eve about that, she's the brains behind the train system, I just handle paperwork and PR now and then. I wonder why she didn't mention it was you?"

"Oh, she was just a little thing back then, and we moved into the Merchant Quarter once Daddy's business picked up," Cleo says, then puts a hand on Jynx's chest. "I'll get to the mechanical stuff later though. You're the really interesting item here. Why, less than half of the apprentices in Chaos believe you actually exist!"

"Hmm, I guess she was just a baby… " The black Khatta startles at the sudden touch, then perks his ears up at the comment. "R-really? Why is that?" The cat laughs, and relaxes a bit. "Have they heard about my not-so-normal lifestyle?"

"Oh yes, didn't you know? Aunt Fyiara thinks you may be the strongest strange attractor on record!" Cleo says, smiling. "Would you like to come to Caroban with me for a few tests? Or I could probably do some of them right here if you like."

Jynx draws back at this, curling his tail around his feet defensively. "Tests? What kind of tests?" He eyes the calico dubiously. "You're not going to try any kind of magic stuff on me or anything, are you? I don't have the best track record with that kind of thing… "

"Oh, I don't have near the skill needed to do any of the magic tests," Cleo says, putting her hand on Jynx's shoulder to either calm him down or, perhaps, make sure he doesn't bolt. "These would be simple things, like… flipping a coin a certain number of times."

Jynx relaxes visibly. "Flipping a coin? What will that prove?" The feline smoothes back his headfur. "I mean, besides making me look like some sort of Darkside Mobster."

Cleo giggles, and says, "Well, it's just a very simple test for warped probability. The coin should come up heads or anchors a statistically equal number of times, you see. So if you're altering probability, it would show up in the data."

"You think I could alter a flip of the coin?" The black feline smirks. "I need to hit up the games in the bazaar then – I'll be rich!" He blinks, "Er, richer… whatever."

"Well, not consciously," Cleo explains. "You'd need to be a Chaos Mage to try that. So you shouldn't try to make the coin land a certain way."

Jynx scratches his head, "I wouldn't know how anyway." Putting his hands back in his lap, he goes silent for a moment. "I don't know if I can go to Rephidim or not, there's so much to be done here." The feline sighs. "Still, it'd be nice to see home again. It's been a while."

"Rephidim?" Cleo asks, sounding surprised. Then she giggles and gives Jynx a nudge on his shoulder. "Oh, silly… the College is on Caroban now. It's a completely different sky island!"

Jynx blinks, and then shakes his head. "That's right! See, I told you I was out of touch." The Khatta laughs, and stands up from the bench. "Maybe I can convince Eve to take over the accounting for a while, I'm due a vacation anyway. Where are my manners – would you like to see the rest of the castle?"

"Oh, I'd be honored to, Duke Kurai," Cleo says, in a mock-formal tone, and loops her arm around Jynx's.

Jynx smiles as the calico takes his arm, and starts to lead the way towards the Garden Hall. "It's still not much to look at, it's mostly just me, Eve, and Gnarr's family here. Oh, and Ysnor too. Some of the rooms have been cleared, but most of them are full of junk." As they pass his office, the black cat peers inside for his sister.

Eve senses Jynx and spins around, smiling innocently. "Oh, hello again!" she says, still clutching the pages of the letter to her chest. "I see you've met!"

"You could say that," Jynx grins to his sister. "Eve, this is Cleo. Cleo, the last time you saw this furball, she was in a stroller." He tries to peer behind the white Khatta, making sure his desk is intact.

"Oh, so you're an old friend of Jynx's?" Eve asks, using the more familiar name. "Did mom send you down to marry him?"

Jynx scowls at Eve. "What? Marry? Are you insane?" He twitches his tail in annoyance. "No! She used to live down the street from us on Rephidim. She's come from the College to visit." He peers at the paper clutched in his sister's paws. "Why are you still reading that? I know you miss mom, but sheesh."

While Cleo giggles behind a paw, Eve says, "You needn't be so cross, Jynx. It's just that mom worries about you being here all by yourself… and dad sent a note as well. He says that he hopes you're not loafing around like a bum all the time."

Jynx smacks his forehead in exasperation. "Loafing? What in the name of Dagh are they talking about? Do I have to get a portrait artist to send them a picture of all the paperwork on my desk?" He sighs, "And what do they mean, 'alone'? I live with six other people for crying out loud." He turn to Cleo, "See what I have to put up with?"

"Well, a man of your station… shouldn't you have a wife and attendants to handle things?" Cleo asks, eyes twinkling. "You really do seem a bit tense, Feli."

Jynx looks at the calico quizzically. "Not you too! Ugh!" Twitching his tail in frustration, he adds, "I'll get married when I find someone, and when I'm ready! I've said that to Mom and Dom a million times." He looks to Eve, "I'll bet you've been encouraging them!" Smoothing out his frazzled fur, the Khatta leads Cleo back to the office door, and steps out. "Anyway, I'm showing Cleo around the castle, Eve. If anyone comes calling, they can wait until I'm finished. Shouldn't be too long."

"Okay Jynx," Eve says, then goes back to sitting in the chair and rolling herself around the office.

"Do you and your sister attend many social functions here in Sylvania, Duke Kurai?" Cleo asks curiously.

Starting back down to the Garden Hall, Jynx gives a somewhat noncommittal nod to the calico. "Every now and then. Eve attends way more than I do, she really gets into playing dress up and having a night on the town." He gives a small chuckle, "I try to go out now and then, but the pomp and circumstance doesn't really work for me. All things being equal, I'd just as soon go listen to the musicians at the Kurai Town Tavern." The feline smiles.

"Oh, so you probably have a local girl then," Cleo suggests, with a wink. "I imagine the Duchess probably has a beau in town as well… some strapping young farmboy, no doubt, with muscles of iron."

Jynx shakes his head. "Nope. No girlfriend at the moment. The railroad keeps me too busy. As for Eve, if she has a boyfriend, she hasn't told me, but then again you never know with her." He laughs, "I don't even think I could imagine her with a guy, you know? She's still my little sister and all." The black Khatta then turns to Cleo with a questioning look. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I'm just nosy," Cleo claims. "I mean, it's not quite the scandal that it used to be, back when Savanites where slaves, but having a fling with one is still certain to cause gossip back on Rephidim. What do you do on the railroad that keeps you so busy?" she asks, looking over another of the bizarre plants in the indoor garden.

"Having a… fling?" Jynx blinks in confusion at this, but continues the conversation anyway. "Mostly all the paperwork. Eve handles a lot of the planning, like where to expand, negotiating with landowners – that sort of thing. But I have to make sure the bills get paid, that our sales equal up, you know, all the dull stuff." He shrugs, "I didn't used to do this sorta stuff, back when I was adventuring and all. But once all that ended and I came back to the castle, I figured someone had to take care of those details. Might as well be me."

"Oh, why did you give up adventuring then, instead of hiring an accountant?" Cleo asks, brushing away a curious vine.

Jynx steps carefully around a potted shrub. "I guess I just needed a break. You know, you can only go on so many trips before you begin to reason that you're pushing you're luck." The cat smiles. "It seems like I'd been going nonstop since I was sixteen or something, and a lot of the time stuff just… 'happened' anyway. Kind of like your chaos thing I guess." He laughs, then flicks his tail wistfully. "Still, paperwork is kinda boring."

"If you don't mind me saying so, Feli, paperwork does not agree with you," the Khatta woman says. "You are all wound up, and snapping at shadows. Why, I almost though you were going to bite your sister's head off! Surely you weren't always so… so… grumpy?"

Jynx shrugs, "Maybe, maybe not, but it's gotta get done, eh?" He thinks over the calico's comments. "I don't know. I guess I've always been a little like that, or that way at times. I guess it just drives me crazy that Eve plays all the time, while I'm stuck here working. It's been that way since we were kittens – she always got her way." He sighs.

"But you don't actually have to do this work yourself, do you?" Cleo asks. "And if you let us run some tests on you, who knows… maybe we can find a way to keep 'stuff' from happening to you all the time."

"I guess not," Jynx replies, "or at least, I guess I could take a break from it. I had thought about hiring an accountant anyway – my math isn't so good." He grins. "And it'd be nice to take a vacation again."

Smiling, Cleo says, "So it's agreed then, you'll come with me back to Caroban, courtesy of the Sphere of Chaos?"

Turning to the calico, Jynx smiles and nods. "Sure. I'll be nice to get off the surface for a while. I've never been to Caroban before, either." He looks sideways at Cleo, giving a small grin. "You said you saw my parents – this isn't some sort of plot of theirs, is it?"

"Do they usually plot against you?" the Calico asks. "Really, your mother just asked me if I'd drop off the letter, since I was coming this way to look at the locomotives."

"If you listen to Eve much, you'd think they do!" Jynx laughs, and shows Cleo up the stairs. "Do you have anywhere to stay while you're in Sylvania? We won't be leaving right away, will we?"

"I have a few days before I need to leave. My airship leaves from Chronotopia, and then I'll have to transfer to a Collegia ship," the woman says.

"You can stay here if need be," Jynx offers. "We have plenty of spare rooms, and it'd be great to catch up with you. Heck, I bet even Eve would love to pick your brain for blackmail."

"Brainth marthter?" Ysnor calls from the balcony. "I don't know if Mith Butterlump knowth how to prepare them properly, thir."

Jynx gives a start at the Skreek's sudden appearance. "It's a figure of speech, Ysnor, not literally! Cleo, this is my butler, Ysnor. He kinda… came with the castle." The Khatta turns his attention to the hunchback. "Ysnor, could you make certain that a room is available for Miss Cleo here?"

"With or without 'atmothphere' my Lord?" the servant asks.

"Without," the Count glares at Ysnor, "If by 'atmosphere' you mean all that spooky junk of Grampa Phelix."

"I'll jutht evict the thpiderth then, marthter," Ysnor lisps, and waddles his way back to the tower stairs.

"I wouldn't have minded a bit of atmosphere, really," Cleo whispers to Jynx, leaning in close enough that her whiskers brush his ear. "I mean, it'd be interesting to get the full Sylvanian experience."

Jynx earblushes at the calico, "Well… you probably don't want a lot of this stuff. Some of it has, er, crazy magic." He thinks this over. "Then again, you're a chaos mage, you'd probably love that stuff." He grins.

"Maybe to examine later then," the Calico says, then seems to get a thought. She fishes around in one of her pockets and produces a Five-Shekel coin. "Just for fun, how about you give this a flip for me?" she asks.

Dusting off one of the stairway's steps, Jynx sits down and takes the coin. "Alright, but I doubt you'll be that impressed. I mean, all that stuff was just coincidence anyway." Placing the coin on his thumb, the black Khatta gives it a flip.

The coin goes up and hangs for a moment, then drops down and lands on its edge between two of the floor tiles.

Jynx peers at the coin, then up at Cleo. "Um… coincidence!" He picks up the coin, and places it back in his paw. "Best two out of three." He flips the shekel once more.

Up it goes, and down it comes, although the arc is a bit wider this time. Just before it hits the ground, one of the odd carnivorous plants snatches it out of the air like it was a bug and swallows it.

"Oh for Dagh's sake!" Jynx fishes around in his pocket, and pulls out another shekel. Glancing at the calico, then to the Skreek, he flips the new coin.

This one actually reaches the ground, rolls for a bit and finally flops over. Cleo goes to pick it up, and declares, "Anchor! Oh… wait." Turning it over, she looks puzzled. "Why would you have a coin with two Anchor sides?" she asks.

Jynx's tail frizzes, and he snatches the coin from Cleo's paw. He studies both sides, then looks to the calico wide-eyed. "Coincidence!"

"Well, 'coin' thertainly, thir," Ysnor says, nodding sagely. "I'll go get that room prepared then, now," the Skreek says, and hastily scurries off before Jynx can direct his ire at him.

Jynx stands up from the step, dusting off his tail absentmindedly while staring at the coin. "You don't think… do you?"

Cleo just smiles and shrugs. "I'm a Chaos Mage … in training. Coincidences are things we tend to question. But once we get you into a more controlled environment, perhaps these little quirks won't happen."

The black Khatta just nods, and leads the calico around the upper hall of the keep. "Huh… yeah, I guess so."

"I don't suppose you have a bathtub?" Cleo asks Jynx. "I've been travelling for days now and haven't had a chance to really freshen up. Plus I've got this bubble-bath soap that makes multi-colored bubbles that taste like peppermint."

"Each room has its own bath," Jynx says, placing the coin back in his pocket while still keeping his gaze on it. "If you like bubble baths, speak to Eve. She's into that sort of thing too."

"My, how opulent," Cleo says, putting her other hand against Jynx's shoulder. "I suppose you take showers then, yourself?"

Jynx brings his attention back to the here and now, and chuckles. "When I have to. Water's not my thing, but I guess you gotta smell good now and then."

"Oh my, you haven't outgrown your kitten-fear of water yet?" Cleo asks, obviously suppressing a smirk.

"Kitten-fear?!" Jynx glares playfully at Cleo. "Hey, some of us just get uncomfortable around the stuff! No fair calling us kittens!"

"Is it because you were always… well, falling into it?" Cleo asks.

Jynx harumphs, "Maybe, or maybe I just think there are better things I'd rather be than soaked!" The black cat smiles. "Besides, if you'd seen the moat monster we used to have here, you'd think twice about water too."

"I think more about the bubbles, honestly," Cleo says, then reaches out to tap Jynx on the nose. "You should try bubble baths, Feli. Once you do, you'll never think of washing any other way."

Jynx stops at one of the guestrooms, peering inside to check Ysnor's progress. He grins at the nose beep. "Bubble baths are for girls anyway," he retorts, "what would the hunters back in Kurai Town say if they saw me in one?"

"You bathe in public?" Cleo asks, her whiskers twitching. "I'd like to see that! I mean… that sounds unusual."

Ysnor is sweeping, from the cloud of dust that issues out of the doorway, and muttering to himself as usual. But the room seems to be gradually becoming habitable.

Jynx flicks his tail, "Hypothetically, I mean!" He smirks, then motions to the room. "This'll be where-", he coughs as the dust hits him in the face, "wh-where you'll be staying – cough! It looks like Ysnor's getting it ready pretty quickly."

"Jutht need to check the pillowth for thcorpionth, Thir," Ysnor says from somewhere inside the room.

"Does he clean your room as well?" Cleo asks with a bit of concern.

Jynx frowns, "I wasn't aware that was a problem." He grins sheepishly to Cleo, "My grandmother redid most of this place, but that was a while ago." The cat shakes his head, "Nope, I do that myself. Martinette would have smacked me if I did otherwise."

"Your grandmother believed in being self-sufficient, I take it?" the Calico asks.

"That's putting it mildly," Jynx replies. "She helped me put this place back together and make it habitable again – with Ysnor's help of course. Although if Dom knew she had been here, he'd have thrown a fit."

"Few men seem to get along with their mother-in-laws," Cleo notes. "Although my mother is really sweet, I must say. A bit disappointed that I followed in my aunt's footsteps, but… she still has my sisters!"

Jynx looks at the calico in puzzlement. "Uh… yeah. Well, in Dom and Martinette's case, there's a lot of history there. Not something I'd really like to go into… "

"Oh, I see," Cleo says, grinning. "Your father must feel threatened by strong women, is that it? I hope you don't take after him, do you?"

Jynx's expression sobers up a bit. "Well, like I said – it's something I'd rather not go into." He clears his throat awkwardly. "As for strong women, they don't bother me. Heck, Grandma Martinette taught me how to fight."

"Oh, I'd love to see where you practice!" Cleo says, clinging to Jynx's arm with both hands now. "Do you fence, or use a saber? Swords are so… uh… dashing!"

Jynx's ears wilt slightly. "Swords? Um, no… I don't use swords. I'm actually trained in using… well, these." The cat points to his twin daggers, strapped to his belt. "It's kind of… a family tradition."

"Daggers?" Cleo asks. "Don't assassins use those?"

Jynx looks skyward with a sigh, "Once again, it's a long story." He shrugs, "I also know how to fight hand to hand. That's mostly what Martinette taught me."

"You sure live a dark and mysterious life, Feli," Cleo says. "Especially for a clumsy little boy and a mediocre accountant," she adds with a giggle.

The black Khatta smirks, and gives a shrug. "Oh well, you only live once."