Matt fingered the unbroken wires. Other than the fact that the cameras were not working they did not seem to be damaged. At least not on the outside. However as he handled them Matt caught a faint burnt scent of scorched wiring. Something had shorted the camera's out. "Would you mind if I picked a few of these up after the dinner? I'd like to examine them further with the tools I keep in my personal crime lab." So his crime lab was more or less his basement, but it served his purpose. The man nodded, "Yes of course. We will have them ready." matt nodded back. "Now is there anyway I can get the layout of the grounds?" The servant frowned puzzled, "Why do you want that?" Matt looked back at the cameras, "They would have had to move the stolen sylesti across the grounds. Seeing the layout might give me an idea on how they did it." the servant nodded. "Follow me, then."

(Since things are kinda slow with only the two of us I thought maybe while Risa is out she could get captured or something while Matt could end up captured after the dinner by same group of villains. Maybe they could end up handcuffed together or something. It would at least bring them together in the same mystery. What do you think?)

Matt looked up when a servant came announcing that the guests would be arriving shortly. Setting the camera back down he followed the butler back towards the mansion, with the feeling that in spite of the named jealousies that none of the guests were the suspect he was looking for.

(Sounds good. Sorry I haven't been on, I've been a bit busy and my brain is still dead. My little break might've fixed it, though.)

It wasn't long before Resa found what she was looking for. No place in Esior city still made glaives except for one that made replica weapons for museums, although she doubted the glaive the cloaked man used was from there. They branded everything they made and there was nothing in the report about this brand on the weapon. She wrote down the address anyway and added a few blacksmiths from outside the city that specialize in custom weapons. If she didn't find anything she could always expand her search area.
Something pulled at her pants leg. Charisma was tugging at her and whining. Resa looked at the time, she had been in the library a little longer than planned it seemed. She usually fed the sylesties at this time. She scooped up Courage who had fallen asleep on his blanket and left the library.
Resa hated finding her own way, she'd much rather follow an order than struggle to keep herself busy like she did today but knowing she had something to do tomorrow made her feel better.
She pulled up outside the replica maker's and went inside, leaving Charisma and Courage in the car. She thought she might as well get this one out of the way tonight as it was on her way home.

As Matt had suspected the dinner was uneventful. He was introduced as a childhood friend and listened to the small talk as well as the subtle verbal barbs that were passed with the plates. It actually made him grateful that he was not rich, it was not a society he wished to be a part of. He did well with the little amount of small talk he was required to do. Although he did surprise a few by being a little more knowledgeable about the contests than expected. Other than the thinly veiled insults it was actually a rather boring meal. Afterwards there was the dessert and retiring to the so called smoking room for beverages and more of the eternal small talk. It was late by the time the guests left.

The lady turned to him hopefully. "What was your impression detective?" Matt frowned, "I may have reason to believe that none of your guests is the culprit this time. There have been other recent incidents that may be related to something far larger. Could I take a look at the grounds again. I'd like to investigate the possible escape routes. The fact that its dark would actually be helpful in this case." Seeing his clients household giving him perplexed looks he explained, "When your sylesti was taken it would have been dark out. This way I'm more or less seeing the same terrain as our thief or likely thieves." The lady nodded. "Anything that you feel will help you find my Nephini. If I am not needed I think I will go to bed. " Matt bowed politely, "Sleep well, hopefully I will have news for you soon."

Within a few minutes Matt was outside flashlight in hand. The loosened Bluestar's bridle, "Now if you hear me give the signal, or if I'm not back within an hour or so you know what to do." The Qitari snorted softly in answer and stood watching as his owner faded into the gloom. Matt paced slowly his eyes roving the dark grounds. Things always looked different after dark. He paced down several different paths before coming to a large fountain. From here the dark bulk of the mansion was obscured by the shapes if the barns and other buildings. "A secluded escape route", Matt murmured to himself. He risked turning on his flashlight and searched more thoroughly He smiled when something caught in the stones of the fountain was illuminated by his flashlight. What do we have here? Leaning close he used some tweezers to pluck the item from its place. It was a hair' a Nephini hair. Matt smiled to himself as he placed it a small bag and hid it in a small inner pocket.

He continued down the path and into the thick wooded area. He moved further into the underbrush turning off his flashlight. It was some way past the burbling fountain when he heard something.It sounded like a low whine. Carefully Matt moved forward. Through some bushes he spotted a selection of cages. While he did not see a nephini he did recognize a puffadore he had glimpsed earlier that day. Bingo, he thought. Before he could back track he heard a slight sound behind him. He ducked just in time to avoid a large branch smashing into the back of his head. Grabbing the branch he twisted and managed to pull his opponent through the bush and send them both stumbling into the clearing. Kicking the other man's legs out from under him Matt managed to commandeer the branch and give himself some breathing room. The figure was dressed all in black complete with a face mask. The figure rolled over to their feet then lunged at Matt. He was able to twist away from the incoming fist, but the other hand slapped into his arm with a stinging sensation. Stumbling back Matt plucked a tufted dart from his forearm. Barely managing to dodge another lunge Matt reached out and grabbed the mask. Unfortunately his vision was so blurred that he could not make out the face of his attacker. The last thing he remembered was feeling something crash into his jaw and the dark ground seeming to rush up to meet him.