Hailton tapped one finger along her chin, thinking deeply.  As Ylene got out of the fountain she moved her fingers in a simple arcane pattern and a breeze whipped up, surrounding the drow, knocking stray droplets of water from her body.  Her nipples tightened in response to the sudden cool breeze, but if the teifling noticed, she didn't comment.  Instead she said, "The thing that bothers me the most about this is that if it is a cover up, who could be involved?  My mentor Magus Linfei?  I don't know if he had any reason to be involved in something like that.  But in fairness I don't know if he even knew your mistress.  I've been in Laelith for about six months, and I haven't exactly been tearing up the social circles since.  My work keeps me very busy and slightly reclusive."<br/><br/>"You ask why would you not keep the dagger in the academy or at the guild house?"  She sighed, "Yes I think you've hit on the right answer... out of sight out of mind.  Bring in a junior mage, have her help with the translation, then tell her to hang onto it.  Now no one is looking for it, no one is thinking about it.  If the dagger disappeared, people might question why... but if you know where it is..."<br/><br/>She straightened one of her locks of hair that had fallen forward of her horns and added, "But in fairness, is it worth dismissing that the blade was forged of cold iron and glazed in such a way as to appear like underdark steel?  There's several blacksmiths in town, but I don't know enough about them to know who would have enough skill to do a job like this.  Then again, that could be a dead end too.... a smith hired to craft the dagger could be completely innocent."<br/><br/>She held out Ylene's clothing as the drow got dressed and said, "Well I don't know the whole story.  I was brought in the day after the murder to read the inscription.  My mentor was working with the Laelith Defenders to solve the crime as the official representative of the Mages Collective.  I translated the inscription the best I could, then I was dismissed.  The next day a captain came to my apartment to simply confirm the translation.  Then she left me the dagger, along with a note from my Magus Linfei, saying I was to hold onto it.   I asked him about it the next day, or the day after, why I was holding the dagger.  But he didn't really have a good answer other than he wanted it held someplace safe."<br/><br/>She sighed, "I didn't think much of it at the time, but now it does seem a little suspect."