After they left, Uncle Finneus returned to his seat and began to smoke a pipe, staring off into space. I, on the other hand, was starving after listening to such a long story and went in search of some fruit.
Chewing on some Blackroot, I said, “Uncle Finneus, with how sincere and excited you were acting with Garnachi, I would have thought we would already be out searching for Mashda. I mean no offense, but why are you just sitting there?” I asked.
Uncle Finneus sucked on his pipe and breathed out three individual rings of smoke, each a different color. “Bartholomew, you heard the story, same as I did. Where would you start looking for Mashda? You’ve been living here for some time now, at least enough time for you to figure out this much using my method. Where do you think we should start?”
I had prepared for this question and began to count off my ideas with my fingers, “He needs to have a magically dense area if he is going to hide the spells and energy, he’s using to run his lab. He’ll need to be close enough to poor people, so it's not too inconvenient to make one of them go missing. He also needs someplace big enough, or secure enough, that no one will wander in and surprise him. After all, magic traps only go so far, until the wrong person wanders in, and then you're on the run again. All of that together, and I think he would have bought a warehouse down by the dock, then would have insulated the whole thing. Or maybe he bought one of those run-down inns in the eastern part of the city. Then again, I guess he could have just killed a rich person and taken over their mansion.”
Uncle Finneus nodded his head and puffed out more smoke. “So, if the two of us were to go outside right now, where do you think we should start? Do we just go wander around, looking for something out of place?”
I felt my cheeks redden as I tried to think where he would go, “I don’t know exactly. No, I think it's more likely he bought a warehouse down by the docks. I think we should go down there and talk to some of the dockworkers to see if a group of strange people had taken over one of the warehouses. Even if they aren’t there, isn’t it better to go look rather than just sitting around doing nothing? Mashda could, in fact, be killing a child, this very instant.”
Uncle Finneus nodded and puffed out more circles of smoke. “Indeed, he could, Bartholomew. But you should never make your decisions without thinking through all the information. Especially the information you know about the person you are tracking. Just because you have been unable to blunder your way into where to search for Mashda, this does not mean that I have been unsuccessful. At this moment, I’m sure there is already a runner on his way here to bring me the news I’ve been waiting for.”
“Uncle Finneus. Garnachi left only a minute ago, how could you possibly already have a runner delivering information to you?” I asked.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“Ahh, but who says that I sent the runner after Garnachi arrived here? Child, I’ll have you know I sent out no less than four scouting parties last night, with orders to report at three o’clock today. They are running five minutes late, but given their normal punctuality, I’m sure they will be arriving any second.” Said Uncle Finneus.
I raised an eyebrow and looked at him with disbelief, “Uncle Finneus, how could you have possibly known what to even look for before Garnachi showed up? You had no information.” I paused, thinking about how he had received a few more letters in recent days than he normally did. “Garnachi wasn’t the first one to tell you about the disappearances. You were told about them through the mail, and have been investigating the disappearances, haven’t you?” I accused.
Uncle Finneus nodded his head and puffed out one last ring before snuffing out the pipe. “Why yes, I have a nephew. Well done, for figuring that out. This is why I say don’t judge a person’s competence or incompetence based on information. Because you never know if the other person has far more information than you or far less.
Anyway, yes, I received a report that an ursa-like creature had been seen wandering around the southern district crying like a wounded babe. Witnesses claim it ate anything removable, from children to logs, to even a large stone. This went on for two days last month, with the residents unable to convince a guard squad to come to help. Then, after two days, the creature disappeared. Not a single other person has seen it since.
Then last week, a bird creature standing ten feet tall showed up. According to the letter I was sent, it looked to be a mix of a Roc and a Hippopotamus. This creature was again, wandering the streets, though was less aggressive than the last. The only attack I heard of, was against a group of street thieves. Their boss was the one who sent me the letter.”
“Ok.” I said, “But how do you know if that had anything to do with Garnachi and his brother?”
Uncle Finneus started to explain in his usual loving way how everything was connected, and I was just being an idiot. Before he could continue for too long, there was a knock on the door. Uncle Finneus sighed, shaking his head, “It appears that our visitor has arrived. Would you mind going and answering the door, Bartholomew?”
I opened the door, and a small, skinny human boy, no older than the age of ten, darted past me. “Hey, wait a second,” I said.
I reached out to grab him, thinking about the burnt furniture I just had to replace. Then decided not to worry about it. He was a ten-year-old, what harm could he do?
Walking into the sitting room I found the boy handing Uncle Finneus a letter covered in dirt. Uncle Finneus took the letter and without looking up said, “Relax Bartholomew, this is Joseph. He assists me in some of my communications. Specifically with the rougher side of the city.
Thank you, Joseph. This is exactly what I was waiting for. There should be a bag waiting for you by the front door.”
“Thanks, Mr. Burgeon,” cried the boy, and he raced to the front door. A second later, the front door slammed shut and the little boy was gone.
Unsure what to expect, I took a seat and looked towards my uncle. Expecting at least some information when he was finished reading the letter. I watched as he finished line after line of the script before he leaped to his feet with a cry of triumph. “Come along Bartholomew. We have no time to lose.”
He appeared to believe that was a good enough response. He flew to the door, grabbed his coat, and left without closing it behind him. I hurried after, making sure to lock the door behind me. By the time I was on the street, he was at least fifty paces ahead. I chased after him, while he ran like he was hunting for his last meal. I was soon out of breath from the constant sprinting and decided that I needed to train more, then and there. After crossing at least, a quarter of the city, and arriving at the train station, Uncle Finneus turned back to look for me.
“Uncle Finneus,” I gasped between breaths, once I had finally caught up to him, “Why are we in such a hurry, and where are we going?”
Uncle Finneus raised an eyebrow, “Nephew, we are going to Renfield to figure out everything that is going on. I thought I mentioned this. Now enough questions, I need to focus right now. There are too many threads to untangle all at once.”