Ink's Notes: YEP I GOT AN UPDATE FOR THIS STORY AFTER- ... LIKE NINE MONTHS? I THINK THAT'S RIGHT. SOUNDS RIGHT. LET'S GO.

(...if you want to know why I took so long - I've been very sick, motivation took a dive, writer's block hit hard, and writing is hard anyway let's do this shindig!)

Chapter Four – Silonus And The Twins

It was only the next morning that Layton, Luke, Flora, Robin, and Chopper set out to begin looking for clues. When they left Senkou's house after the sun had set, the Professor had at first suggested going to the graveyard to see if they could find the specter, but Robin had pointed out that the younger members of their group were worn out from the trip over and it would be more beneficial to look for things in the morning. Besides, that way, they could look into the missing supplies and food during the day, and check around about the specter at night.

The moment they set foot out of the inn, their plans had been completely and utterly derailed by Luke bringing up the fact that, in their haste to get some sleep, the last thing they'd eaten yesterday were Aria's cookies and he was starving. Layton and Flora exchanged knowing glances while Robin asked Chopper if he could lead them to any restaurants that happened to be in the area, and the reindeer (whose words were being translated by Luke) said that he knew a place that smelled nice. He led the group about two blocks down the street from the inn to a place called Silonus', and Flora realized that it was the same place that Floriana had recommended to them the day before. As animals weren't allowed inside of the building, the group sat outside on the patio, with Chopper sitting on his hindquarters at the side of the table.

They'd barely had a chance to sit down and start looking over the menus (which Layton was interested to note had braille as well as the English words) when they were approached by an odd looking man. He had ginger hair and a heavy scar over both of his eyes, which, based on how they were forced shut, indicated towards the fact that the man was blind. Luke and Flora silently thought that might explain his choice in wardrobe – his clothing was all mismatched and rather bright in coloration. A long and bright slate blue overcoat with a popped collar covered his top half, the inner fabric a bright blue as indicated by the upturned sleeves. He wore neon green gloves, and his bright yellow pants had upturned cuffs of the same color as his overcoat. Bright pink shoes with neon green soles complimented the purple hat with a green brim, and a white feather decorated the side of it.

Robin was about to open her mouth to say something to the man when he bumped into a chair that was in his path, nearly tripping over it but catching himself on it, spinning around and taking a seat in it with a smile as if he had meant to do that the entire time. Flora began to clap in appreciation, while Luke just sat there with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Robin brought her hand to her mouth in a laugh, and Layton adjusted his hat and smiled. "Hello, sir. Who might you be?" he asked.

The man, responding to Layton's voice, got to his feet and approached the table. "Hello, and welcome to Silonus'!" he greeted with a wide smile, resting a hand on the table itself so that he could lean on it. "I'm Silonus, but you can call me Silo. What can I get for you?"

"Some breakfast," Luke bluntly put in. "A helping of every breakfast food that you have." Silo turned his head towards Luke, tapping his hand on the table a few times as he did so. Robin had a feeling that he was using some form of echolocation to determine what he could about the group. "And I do mean every breakfast food you have, don't hold anything back."

"I must say, I don't recognize your voices," Silo hummed thoughtfully. "Are you from out of town?"

"We are," Flora nodded resolutely. "We're here on Mr. Canera's request to investigate the specter, and we've also learned about some things that have been going missing lately."

"Is that so?" Silo asked. "Well, tell you what. How about I get you your breakfast, then you help me with something in exchange for me telling you what I know about those things that you're investigating?"

"That would be greatly appreciated," Robin gently nodded with a smile. "Have you got any salads or something similar for our reindeer friend?"

"Oh? Horny is here with you?" Silo asked, and Chopper all but fell over at the name. "I suppose that explains why he wasn't with Pyrrhos when the children came by for breakfast earlier this morning."

"…His name is Chopper," Luke said, and Silo chuckled in amusement. "Anyway, you should probably take the others' orders as well."

"The others' orders?" Silo tilted his head, his hat coming somewhat loose- an act which he evidently felt happen because he lifted his free hand up to push it back into place. "The order of one of each breakfast item isn't for all of you?"

"No, that's all for Luke," Layton explained. He noticed Robin and Chopper exchange an odd look, as if they knew someone similar, and filed the information away for later. "As far as what I'll have… let's see. What do you recommend?"

Breakfast had come and gone, and despite the sheer amount of food that Luke had eaten and his somewhat lacking table manners when going about it there was no reaction from either Robin or Chopper. At least, not the reaction that Layton was expecting – their reaction was less on the side of how he could eat so much and more on the side of keeping an eye on their food as if he were going to steal it. Not that Luke would, but it reinforced his earlier thought that the two knew someone who had similar habits with eating and wasn't as much of a gentleman as he and his apprentice were. Layton wondered if the two knew each other from a time before they'd met in Old Ashton, and if so how they did, but felt it would be rude to ask such things in the company of Silo, who had made himself comfortable at the table about three quarters of the way through their meal.

"You said you wanted our help with something, Silo?" Robin asked, gently tilting her head with a smile as she placed her cutlery on her plate to indicate she was finished eating.

"That's right, miss," he said, getting to his feet. "As you may have noticed, my current store layout has been causing some problems for me lately." Silo moved to step away, but his foot hooked onto the chair and he went tumbling backwards, managing to catch himself with his hands and flip up into a handstand, then turn his body in something of an impromptu cartwheel to get back onto his feet. Luke and Flora both applauded the display of skill, and Chopper looked as if there were stars in his eyes. "And while I don't mind a chance to show off, I have lost food on a few occasions…"

"You want us to help you rearrange the layout of the restaurant?" Robin asked for confirmation.

"That I do. Preferably in a manner that allows me to easily move from table to table with orders," Silo explained.

"All right," she smiled, getting to her feet and gently moving towards the restaurant, her footsteps not making a sound. "I'll see what I can do."

PUZZLE FIVE
Silonus has requested that his restaurant's layout be rearranged so that he can move from table to table without being hampered by chairs or clutter. Move the tables around so that he has a clear path from the kitchen to each table and the door so that he can deliver food to people sitting on the patio.

Robin hummed as she examined the layout of the restaurant, then brought a hand to her mouth in thought. "Well, then. That wasn't so hard after all," she smiled, pointing at the area before her and then turning to the group as she motioned outwards to the restaurant floor. "Silo, I've determined a good layout. Is there anyone who can help me move things accordingly?"

"Ah, there is," Silo responded with a smile. "The twins should be in the kitchen, if you don't mind going to get them?"

Layton was about to ask who the twins were when Robin disappeared into the kitchen, returning shortly afterwards with two tall men. True to Silo's word, they appeared to be twins, with matching black hair and green eyes. They even dressed in the same style of clothing, with a sleeveless shirt under an unbuttoned tee shirt, as well as long pants and dark boots to match. The one on the left seemed to prefer lighter colors, having dark gray pants and a light gray button up with a white undershirt, while the one on the right wore black pants and a dark gray button up with a light gray undershirt. Layton silently thought to himself that if it weren't for the contrast with the colors on their clothes and the subtle ways their hair differed, it might be impossible to tell them apart.

"Wow, they look so much alike!" Flora observed, and Layton took a moment to note that she had come inside with him while Luke and Chopper waited outside. Flora approached the two and greeted them with a smile, holding out her hand. "My name is Flora. What about you two?"

The twins looked between each other, then the one on the left began moving his hands and signing to Flora. Flora blinked in confusion, which became bewilderment as Robin turned to the two and began signing back at them. Their conversation seemed to last for a few minutes, upon which the two moved around the restaurant floor to move the tables to where Robin had apparently directed them to do so.

"You speak sign language?" Layton asked. It wasn't a skill that she had mentioned she had when they'd first introduced themselves to one another.

Robin turned to him with a smile. "It's a skill I've acquired over the years," she said, patting Flora on the head gently. "The one wearing the lighter colors said his name is Zdeslav, and the one wearing the darker colors said his name is Tzidkiyahu. We're free to call them 'Slav' and 'Kiya' if we'd like." She paused. "Did I pronounce that right?" she called to the two, and they took a moment to stop moving things to give her a thumbs up. With that confirmed, she turned to look at Layton again. "They work here in the kitchen with Silo, and sometimes help Felix out at the local store. We should probably stop by there later, if what Pyrrhos mentioned yesterday about things going missing is true."

Layton nodded and filed the information away for later, then turned to Silo. "While they arrange things, you mentioned you had some information for us?"

"That I do," he said, adjusting his hat somewhat. "I don't know how helpful it will be towards your investigation, but the mayor's daughter has been stopping by each night at closing to ask for food that we won't be using. I consulted Felix, and she's been doing the same at his store, although he's more hesitant to give things to her because it would hurt business."

"The mayor's daughter has been asking about food?" Layton asked.

Silo nodded. "Perhaps she's found a stray animal?" he suggested. "Not that I would be able to see such a thing, but I'd like to know what it is."

"Perhaps she's also connected to the food and supplies going missing, then?" Robin suggested as she moved over with the twins. Zdeslav tapped her shoulder to get her attention, and once he had it he signed a message to her, to which she nodded with a frown. "Although, Zdeslav says she's not the type who would steal anything, so unless she's particularly desperate for some reason that might not be the case."

Tzidkiyahu nodded, getting her attention then signing something to her. Robin's eyes widened for just a moment, an act that didn't go unnoticed by Layton, and she turned to look back at the group. "Tzidkiyahu said that they've done some investigation of their own, and found sandaled footprints in the area, as well as some bare footprints that don't match anyone they know," she explained.

"That seems like as good of a place to begin investigating as any," Layton smiled, adjusting his hat. "Should we head over and see what information this Felix has for us?" Without waiting for a response, Layton gathered his things and moved towards the door, Robin taking Flora's hand and walking them over to his position.

"Ah, one more thing," Silo spoke up before they could walk out the door. Layton turned to face him as Robin and Flora went ahead outside to fill Luke in on the information they'd gathered. "Would you happen to know anything about Bink's Brew?"

"Pardon me?" Layton asked. When Silo repeated the question, he frowned. "I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with it. Why do you ask?"

"Well, they say when you lose one sense you rely on your others, so I have crazy good hearing," Silo responded, "And sometimes when it's late at night I hear someone singing something like…" He cleared his throat, and sang in an awkward tone that indicated he wasn't quite used to singing. "Gather up all the crew, time to ship out Bink's Brew…"

Layton paused as he mentally reviewed some information from the previous day. "Where would you say this music is coming from?" he asked.

"Somewhere in that direction," Silo answered, pointing in the direction he was speaking about. He seemed to realize this wasn't a very helpful answer, so he turned his head towards where the twins were signing back and forth to one another. "Zdeslav, Tzidkiyahu, could one of you mark a map to show where the music I hear seems to be coming from?" Zdeslav nodded, moving over to where they were, and Layton took out the map that Aimi had given to him the day prior to allow him to mark it. He looked it over quietly as Silo thanked Zdeslav and the twins made their way back into the kitchen.

"Based on this, it appears that the singing you've heard is coming from the graveyard," Layton observed. "And from what Robin told me, Pyrrhos said that the specter likes music. Perhaps there's a connection."

Silo nodded, although Layton had a feeling that he didn't really understand a word of any of this. Layton simply smiled and thanked Silo for his help and the food, before walking out of the restaurant to rejoin the others.

"Did you have a nice conversation?" Robin asked with a mysterious smile as she stroked Chopper's fur.

Layton smiled back at his assistant. "I did. Shall we be on our way?"

PUZZLES SOLVED – FIVE

CURRENT MYSTERIES:

The White Specter – Several residents of Old Ashton have reportedly seen a mysterious white specter. It only comes out between dusk and dawn, and it seems to enjoy music. Pyrrhos reports that it has footprints, meaning that it might not be as ghostly as the residents first assumed, and it has apparently had an encounter with two residents of Old Ashton known as Nephele and Hanuel. It seems to have an affinity for music.

Missing Food – According to Aimi, food that is about to go off has been going missing. There may be some connection to Michi in regards to this, but the residents find it unlikely that she would steal anything.

Missing Supplies – According to Aimi, some supplies from the hospital and the general store have gone missing. Zdeslav and Tzidkiyahu report that two sets of footprints – one sandaled and one barefoot – have been found in the vicinity of the store.

Robin Nico – A woman with an air of mystery around herself who is working as the Professor's assistant. She has experience working with children and is very good at moving silently and quickly despite her footwear of choice being high heels. She also seems very comfortable around Chopper, to the point that they act as if they're close friends despite having just met.

Michi – Mayor Senkou's daughter, whom he notes has been growing more distant lately, as if she's hiding something, although he's not sure what or why. Silo suspects an animal, as she's been requesting leftover food from him and Felix at the general store.