Inside the mansion is a grand library filled with hundreds of books, comfy chairs, and desks. At one of them sits an elven woman, scribbling away at what appears to be a story-in-progress, her long mahogany hair hiding her face from view. She pauses as she hears the door open and turns to greet you, her green eyes serious.

"Ah, hello. I was told to expect visitors concerning the recent robbery. Please, sit down. She motions to a collection of comfortable chairs and sofas by the fireplace, and moves to sit in an antique wing chair of carved oak.

"I suppose that I should start with a recitation of my activities the day before the event took place," she sighs. I awoke early that day to go purchase some more ink for my quills--I prefer quills for my writing, so much nicer looking. The brief trip to the local supply store left me in a grumpy mood because of all the Christmas music... I hate Christmas music. Grates on my nerves." She spreads her hands in a supplicating gesture.

"Clutching my shopping bag, I made my way here to begin my work. I knew I had to cut it short that day because of the dinner party, so I took the liberty of leaving a change of clothes in the coat closet the night before... it was much preferable to walking back to my forest home and having to stop even earlier." Elara smiles

"I digress, sorry. So, I spent the majority of the day writing my latest story at my favorite desk, stopping at a quarter to 5pm so that I could get ready. Surprisingly, I had very few visitors during the day, doubtless because everyone was out holiday shopping. Oh well.

I descended the stairs and entered the dining room, nodding to the others before taking my seat at Someone's left. Dinner was... an interesting affair...." She frowns slightly, eyes distant for a moment. "The food itself was quite good, though the arguments between other members set my teeth on edge. I suppose that my bad mood didn't really help anything, but after Someone stormed out of the room I felt that it was time to leave.

'That's it,' I cried as I got to me feet, 'I hate this holiday! Goodnight everyone, please excuse me.'

And with that I left the room and returned to the library and my work. I don't know how late I stayed up writing. I heard various sounds during the night, mice scurrying about, Laian muttering in his room... I have very good hearing you know...." she points to her long, pointed ears.

"I dozed off at some point, though. I awoke the next morning to find the presents had been stolen and everyone in an uproar. I don't know if that helps you much in your investigation, but I will gladly answer any questions you have."

I have asked of you questions, I believe in Red's thread before I noticed you have made a statement here of your own. I will repeat it here so fret not lady elf.

Did you stay in the Library on the night in question, reading books? Did
you also hear the noise in the night that Someone70 also heard? If you
did happen to hear it, what did you see upon arriving to the scene. You mentioned how keen your hearing is, surely you did not miss something as piercing as a tuning fork shattering.

It also appears that some of your ink is at the scene, can you explain this?

Greymantle : "Oh, good, you found the library without incident. I did indeed stay here in the library that night, though I was writing, not reading. I fell asleep at my desk... though I am unsure of the time. I didn't hear the sound that Someone describes, however I do admit that I am quite the heavy sleeper so if it happened after I fell asleep I may not have heard it. The safe is on the far side of the mansion from the library, and two stories below, so that might be why I was not awoken."

Elara blinks at the mention of the ink.

"Are you certain it was my ink? There are several inkwells here in the library that I keep in the storage cupboard over there." She points at a large cupboard against the wall near her desk. Rising she walks over to it and begins to open it. "Surely, I would notice if one my my inkwells had gone missing... oh my... there IS one missing! How is that possible? I just restocked this the day of the party!"

I thank you for verifying that detail, but the real question here is what purpose would an inkwell serve at the crime scene? Other then pointing a finger at a person that uses such things to have been present during the theft.

One could easily counter the fact that anyone could have crept into the Library and stolen it, I might add.

You had mentioned you had visitors on the day the theft occurred, might any of them been one of the present suspects?

interesting, did you hear redruns music after the meal then?if you were up late can you verify the time at which it ceased?
did you return to the library imediately after the meal?could anyone have snuck in whilst you slept?
was the library unlocked when you headed down to the meal/ to the shops?
for the purpose of the investigation i should like to see the 2 outfits and examine for any significant ink marks.
when did red borrow that book from the library?were you there when he did?
could he have taken an inkwell when he entered to take the book?

thenumberone : "Do you mean the book Laian borrowed? He took that weeks ago. The library is never locked that I know of, since it is a communal area, and I don't lock the cupboard either so anyone that comes in here has access. As I said, I am a fairly heavy sleeper, so it is possible that someone could have come in and took an inkwell even then. I did immediately come back to the library from dinner, though, and nothing seemed amiss... though I admit that I did not check the cupboard.

As for the music, I heard it start up sometime after the meal, and I think that it was still going when I went to sleep. Honestly, I am not too sure... I have grown so used to Red's music that I tend to tune it out."

Elara rises from her chair and goes over to the closet and pulls out a black gown of simple but pretty design and brings it over to the inspectors

"Here is the dress that I wore that night, and I am wearing my work outfit that I was wearing that day... it has many ink stains on it, given the nature of my work... but you are free to inspect both.

There doesn't appear to be any stain on the dress.... the work outfit is covered in ink stains, old and new... one looks less than an hour old.

Greymantle :

"Was the inkwell itself there, or just an ink stain? That might help, since if there is an inkwell it could be checked for fingerprints.

I have many visitors usually, since people often come to talk to me about their problems and get advice. It was mostly some normal members that day, so I don't think any of them even knew of the presents."

We haven't come to the fingerprint aspect of the investigation yet, just covering the basics. There was a stain if I recall correctly, a broken tuning fork and a keypad all of which could have the suspect prints on them.

As far as the day's visitors you mentioned, most of them you recalled were normal people. What I am looking for is the ones that are staff members, if you can recall that is what I'm looking for. Please, take a moment to reflect, it is important Elara.

*He took a long stretch, and leaned against a wall looking over some books as he spoke."

May I call you Elara? My name is Greymantle, a pleasure to meet you.

Greymantle : "Yes, you may. And nice to meet you.

Elara pauses to think, tilting her head to the side slightly as she does so. Righting her head, she looks you in the eye.

"None of my visitors were staff members that day. I assume that they were all busy getting ready for the party, or out holiday shopping."

Who would I need to talk to about fingerprints? Hmm, the head inspector I guess. he is likely working on it as we speak and produce some sort of results soon.

What sort of story are you working on? Sounds intriguing, I read alot.

You are very open about how much you hate this holiday. Clearly, it infuriates you, especially when the staff act so childish. Do you see that you seem to have more motive to take EVERYONE's presents just to ruin the holiday you hate so much (Grinch)? You were able to verify some details of other's stories. But can anyone verify the details of your story?

rcarter2 : "Apparently Red came to speak to me after the dinner, but I was so absorbed in my writing that I did not hear him... I do that a lot. I do not know if you've ever become so into something that you tune all other things out, but if you have then you understand.

It isn't that I hate the holiday itself... just the music and the bickering. I don't even celebrate Christmas itself, since I celebrate Yule.... Regardless, this season is supposed to be a time of togetherness and light and laughter, and we couldn't even get through one dinner!"

Elara looks truly upset, with a hint of sorrow underneath the anger

Greymantle : "Yes, I would assume the professor working with the BSA would be the one to talk to about that. My story is an epic adventure about a dwarf on a quest for a demi-god."

*Nods in understanding*

Hence the quiet of the Library, to garner the silence to intensify the focus.  You could say the same of anyone who plays a game, not wanting to miss a vital detail in a quest or battle in order to survive or defeat it. One could also say the same of anyone creating art, you get so absorbed into it that everything around you becomes tunnel vision.

Problem with that is you become so oblivious that you cannot focus on anything else while you are in it. Nearly anything can happen, say like having an inkwell stolen right before your eyes.

I can understand that. In your opinion, who had the greatest motive, and why?

"Hmm... it is difficult to say, really. Given the value of the presents, I might be inclined to think that someone that needed money might take them. If they were taken out of malice, I don't know why the thief would have taken such care once they were in the vault when they were so hasty and destructive getting into it... clearly they wanted the presents to remain in good condition."

Well, the game is done, the mystery solved. Thank you all for participating.

*closes*