It was a bit over a month into living in Glueburn before I made my first friend. I had developed a habit of taking a walk before breakfast to see the city. Aside from studying, training, and helping Uncle Finneus with his investigations, I did little else, so these morning walks were my precious time alone from the eccentric environment that surrounded my uncle. On one particular morning, I was walking along when I became enthralled by the smell of fresh pastries. I followed the scent straight through a front door and opened it to find a small bakery filled with delicious breads. I ordered a chocolate chip muffin and sat down in one of the corner chairs. It was a glorious morning, eating breakfast and stealing shy glances at the pretty waitress working behind the counter.

I was interrupted by a deep male voice from my daydreams "Hello there, stranger. I can’t say I’ve seen you before. Welcome to our humble bakery. I hope you find everything to your satisfaction.”

I looked up from my muffin to see a smiling, bearded human gazing down at me, waiting for me to take his proffered hand. I reached out and took it, making sure to hide my discomfort.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Bartholomew; who are you?” I asked.

“Ahh, sorry about that. My name is George. I’m the owner of this establishment. Have you just moved into the neighborhood?” the bearded man said.

George was a large man of both height and girth. He reminded me of one of the giants of lore. However, unlike the giants who were known to be completely hairless and lived in tropical islands, he was covered in hair. He had a strong jaw, a hooked nose, and a pair of brown eyes so dark they appeared to be made of onyx. If I had to compare him to something, it would be to one of those monstrous lemurs found within the elven forest - a creature that hid in the highest level of the canopy and was rarely seen.

“Yes, I started staying with my uncle a little over a month ago. I have to say, Glueburn has been a far different experience from my youth, and I am still struggling to get a handle on the city. I have not yet seen its borders,” I said.

“You are not the only one to have struggled with the size and excitement of Glueburn. Even people who grow up in cities struggle to adapt here. Take Zara, our waitress, for example. She grew up in the capital city of the Vulpelium species, and when she first arrived here, she was too scared to leave her room for an entire week. Her brother and I had to drag her out, kicking and screaming, for fear she would become a hermit. I had to go to the temple to make sure the wounds she gave me wouldn’t scar over. Even then, it took a couple of weeks for my right eye to feel normal again,” the big man said, reaching up and rubbing his eye with a grimace and a shake of his head.

“Anyway, enough about me. Why isn’t your uncle with you today?

Surely, he could show you around the city?” George asked.

“My uncle may not be very helpful in that matter. Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen him outside only a handful of times. He is much like Miss Zara when she first arrived,” I said, taking the opportunity to look openly at the girl I had been admiring since I had walked into the bakery.

I nodded in her direction. “That is the Zara you are talking about, right?”

George nodded but continued talking. “If that’s the case, why don’t you come back tomorrow, and I’ll show you around the area and introduce you to a few of the people you ought to know? In our section of the city, we have quite a few unique individuals. You are better just by knowing them.”

“Really? I would appreciate that, Mr. George, as long it is not too much inconvenience to you, of course,” I said.

The big man laughed. “Not at all, not at all. I have Zara to watch my bakery while I’m gone. And in my culture, it is considered good luck to make the acquaintance of an elf.”

At this point, I had finished my muffin, so offering my goodbyes to George, I set off back to my uncle’s house. Along the way, I thought over the conversation I had with George. It was normal, and even pleasant, to talk to someone not as intense as my uncle. I was a bit weirded out by the comment he made about it being good luck to know an elf. So, when I arrived back home and found Uncle Finneus having a late breakfast in the kitchen, I decided to ask him about it.

“Every culture has its nonsense, Bartholomew.

It may very well be true that the Barbarians of the North have a longer lifespan if they can ever call an elf a true friend. But I doubt it. I’ve known a few of their kind, and they did not live any longer than the rest of their countrymen for having been in my company,” Uncle Finneus said.

“So, you don’t think it’s weird? Maybe he’s just trying to be my friend because I’m an elf,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not interested in being used as a lucky charm.”

Uncle Finneus looked like he wanted very much to slap me upside the head. “Did you not pay attention at all when you were talking to him? No, of course, you didn’t. If you had, you would not be asking me such a silly question. What have I been discussing with you for the past week, if not for this very occasion?”

Uncle Finneus looked towards the heavens as if imploring the gods to offer me help. He then smirked at me. “Since you’ve asked me, Bartholomew, I’ll go ahead and offer you some help. Beware of George; there is far more to him than meets the eye, even if he does have a waitress, you have a crush on. Do not trust him lightly.”

“It’s not like that at all. He’s the one that approached me,” I said, unsure how he could know that.

“Of course, it is, and there is no reason to blush about it. It is perfectly normal for someone of your age to fall in love. No reason to be ashamed of it,” chuckled Uncle Finneus, before taking a bite of his bagel.

I had no reply to that, so after muttering some nonsense about needing to study, I went back to my room and buried my head in the ‘Magic of the Codex,’ trying to distract myself.

Before I was able to succeed, a knock, once, then twice, came from the front door. I waited to see if Uncle Finneus would answer the door, not wanting to get up. When the knocking came again, I dragged myself out of bed, straightened my now bedraggled clothes, and made my way to the door.

When I opened the door, at first glance, there didn’t appear to be anyone outside. A second survey of the area left me surprised. Standing right in front of me was a rabbit on two legs, wearing a top hat and a suit. The oddest part of the creature was his large green eyes, which seemed both cute and vicious.

“Young man, if you do not invite me in, I’ll take it to mean that you would like to be turned into a frog,” said a deep melodic voice, like an opera singer who had just finished singing ‘Ah! My friends’ ten times in a row.

“I apologize for my poor manners, it has been a long day already, and you caught me off guard. Please come in. Could I offer you some tea or coffee?” I said.

The rabbit humped but followed me inside. “Coffee will do nicely. Add something to it as well, sugar would be good. Conversations with your employer give me a headache.”

I wasn’t quite paying attention to what he was saying, so I replied with confusion, “My employer?”

“Yes, dumbass, you know, the master of the house, Finneus Burgeon,” the rabbit replied.

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“Oh, he’s not my employer. He’s my uncle,” I said.

“That explains it. There’s no way he would hire such an idiot if he weren’t related by blood,” muttered the rabbit as we walked into the sitting room.

“I do not work for my uncle,” I replied, starting to feel annoyed.

“Then why are you answering the door for him?” snapped the rabbit.

It was the second time in so many minutes that I was left speechless. I debated going back to my room and leaving the rabbit to its own devices, but my mother’s teachings demanded I show at least a minuscule amount of hospitality.

After offering the rabbit a strong cup of coffee and a cheap bottle of whiskey to add at his leisure, I went back to Uncle Finneus’s study and told him about the guest in the living room.

“There’s a rabbit in a top hat drinking coffee on the couch and demanding to speak with you,” I said.

“Is he an annoying prick?” asked Uncle Finneus.

“Yep,” I replied.

Uncle Finneus looked up and offered me a small smile. “Bartholomew, why don’t you have a seat? We’ll go out and meet our visitor in a little while.”

I felt much better for the comment and took a seat in one of the leather chairs. The seats were comfortable, and I wished we could sit in there for at least a couple of hours while the rabbit stewed.

After about five minutes, a large crashing sound came from the living room.

“It seems it is time to meet our guest, nephew. Come along,” Uncle Finneus said.

When we entered the room, the rabbit was no longer sitting on the couch. Instead, he stood in the center of the room, throwing lightning bolts at a ruined painting that had hung on the mantelpiece until now. He was screaming obscenities about the nature of elves and how they were created. There were words I had never heard before and words that would get you burned at the stake in some places in the world if what I had read about the Southern Isles was true.

“Cease this nonsense, Alessandro, before I cease you,” roared Uncle Finneus.

I glanced over to see Uncle Finneus had grown large fangs, golden eyes, and a red goatee. Alessandro, the rabbit, turned on my uncle, screaming bloody murder. “Don’t threaten me, Finneus, I’m not scared of anyone, least of all you.”

The creature shot lightning out of his fingers at Uncle Finneus. I barely had time to throw myself out of the way. The lightning bolt continued past us, then exploded the wall behind us.

Uncle Finneus sprinted forward with inhuman speed. He dodged a dangerous bolt of lightning, twisting sideways, and, stepping forward, he field-goal kicked the rabbit into the wall. It was strange how loud the impact of the rabbit hitting the wall was, considering how light a rabbit of his size should be. Every rabbit I had ever encountered weighed less than twenty pounds, but the sound of the crash was like that of a boar running into a tree.

After kicking the rabbit, Uncle Finneus began hopping on one foot. “Stinking Alessandro. Stupid rabbit. Piece of shit. Come into my house and make me break my foot for no reason. Angry bugger. How have you not made an enemy strong enough to kill you yet… Bah, Bartholomew, go into my study, and hanging on the wall is some rope. Grab it for me so we can string the bastard up.”

I nodded my head and moved back the way I had come, making sure to sidestep the debris from the wall along the way.

It was easy to find the rope, and after bringing it back to Uncle Finneus, I helped him hogtie Alessandro.

“Uncle Finneus, is your foot okay?” I asked.

“No need to worry, nephew. I’ve already taken care of it as best I can. Now, do you have your warping stones on you?”

“Umm, Uncle Finneus, I don’t know what those are,” I said.

“Hmm, back in my day, warping stones were carried around by all elves starting from childhood. I wonder why they stopped giving them out? It is not like they are hard to make,” pondered Uncle Finneus aloud. “Come along, Bartholomew. I’ll show you where I keep them.”

Off we went, back into his study. Uncle Finneus, opening a drawer, took out two milky blue stones that looked smooth to the touch.

“You really don’t know what these are?” Uncle Finneus asked.

I shook my head in the negative. Uncle Finneus gave another sigh, “Those stupid elves, with their stupid rules on education. It’s like they're trying to make the race go extinct.”

Walking over to the rabbit, he tossed one of the stones into the air, where it began to orbit around the unconscious creature. “These are warping stones. They, in essence, are the most basic of magical tools. You can use them for a myriad of things, but one of the most straightforward ways is to use them to connect to another person’s magic and use the stones to shut down their magic. This can be dangerous if you don’t have intimate knowledge of the person you are connecting to, as well as their permission. That is if they’re conscious, of course. When unconscious, it’s a simple way to jumpstart the person’s magic, waking them up. In this particular instance, it shuts down their magic, and stings a bit when you do it.”

With that, Uncle Finneus raised the other stone, still holding it in his hand, and sent a bit of magic into it.

There was a howl of pain, and then Alessandro was awake and struggling against the rope. “What is this nonsense? What are you doing to me? Burgeon, are you challenging the authority of the magic society with this? We could have your head in 24 hours if you go against us. You horrible, horrible elf. I knew I should have voted to have you assassinated. Do you know how close it was? I should have, I should have.”

Uncle Finneus dusted off his hands, eyeing his handiwork. He smirked at the rabbit. “Hah, I think even your council would side with me in this matter. Not only did you violate the traditional hospitality agreement, but you also attacked using magic without provocation. How do you think your little society would react if I asked a good friend of mine to start up rumors about you going around attacking people for making you wait five minutes? You’ll be thrown out within the week.”

Alessandro didn’t respond, so Uncle Finneus rolled his eyes. “While I can see that your wife has left you, and from the low level of your magic, you’ve recently fought in a battle, I cannot for the life of me figure out why you would come to my hearth. What are you doing here, Alessandro?”

The rabbit shifted around on the stool and darted his eyes back and forth, looking anywhere but at Uncle Finneus. “This is a private matter. Why don’t you send your employee away so we can speak as equals.”

“I don’t work for him!” I yelled, throwing my hands in the air.

The rabbit snickered. “Ahh, the teenage years were the hardest for me too. Don’t worry, you’ll get through them someday. For me, they lasted a month, for an elf, I’m sure it’s nearly a decade. How unlucky.”

Uncle Finneus shook his head and sighed. “Bartholomew here is my nephew. His mother has begged me to teach him about life. He will stay. Now speak, before I toss you out on your head or call the guard.”

Alessandro slumped in the chair as best the rope allowed him. “It’s about my wife. She disappeared last month, and I can’t find her. No one can. I know neither of us like each other, but please help me.”

I hoped Uncle Finneus would reject the bastard then and there, but instead, he said, “Tell me about the circumstances behind the disappearance. I’ll help if the problem catches my interest, but I’ve had my fill of charity work for at least a couple of months.”

The rabbit looked like he wanted to protest, but in the end, offered a somber nod and began to explain the situation. “My wife and I have been on separate assignments, under the society’s orders, this past month here in Glueburn. We usually meet up every evening unless specifically planned, and on the night before last, Gabriela was supposed to meet me for dinner at a small café, ‘The Coco Blue,’ which is located on the east side of the city. When she didn’t show up, I went home. When I awoke the next morning, her side of the bed had not been slept in. I contacted the Society’s house here in Glueburn, but they had not seen her either.

Gabriela had been on assignment, spying on the illegal slave trade, which had been growing rampant for the last two years. One auction house, in particular, ‘Catherine’s Motley Treasures,’ was where Gabriela believed many of the slave auctions were planned. After contacting Gabriela’s handler and a few of her friends, I found out that the last known location was at the auction house two days before her disappearance.

You know how I am. Last night, after realizing my wife was actually missing, I charged into the auction house. I fought a few of the mercenaries and mages who were guarding the place. They were far stronger than what I was expecting. Even so, if there had just been guards, I would have broken through. But they had charms protecting the building as well. I tried all night but couldn’t find a way into the auction house to search for Gabriela. That is why I’m here. I need you to go into the auction house and find my wife.”

Uncle Finneus shook his head. “This isn’t even a case here, Alessandro. Why don’t you contact your magic society? Surely, they would not leave an agent captured in the field abandoned. Don’t come to bother me with something a three-year-old could figure out. If you need force, ask your Society for assistance.”

“I already have,” said the rabbit. “They won’t be able to send any real firepower for the next three days. A coup has arisen in the kingdom of Rotege. The kingdom’s ruler has disappeared, and the society has its hands full with the mess,” explained Alessandro.

“Tell me more about this rebellion in Rotege. Who are the players in such a game? Is the Duke finally making his move for the crown?”

“Yes, the Society has identified the duke as the ringleader, but cannot remove him from power unless the king is found. The duke is the legal inheritor of the kingdom, and if we were to remove him from power without enough evidence, the whole kingdom might crumble into civil war. But enough talk about this. Will you help me find my wife?”

“Hmm, I cannot say such a problem interests me in the least,” said Uncle Finneus.

“I’ll owe you a thousand favors if you can bring my wife back alive.”

“You are aware that she may be dead?” asked Uncle Finneus.

The rabbit shrugged. “Whether it’s salvation or revenge, I’ll still owe you favors.”

“Fair enough. What is your opinion on the matter, Bartholomew? Do you think we should help Alessandro out?”

I shrugged and thought for a second, trying to be unbiased in the opinion I offered. I eventually gave up. “I don’t know, Uncle Finneus, I’m out of my depth in all this.”

“Good, so you have some self-awareness.” Uncle Finneus nodded his head in approval, then turned back to the rabbit, “Do you have any actual evidence that the auction house is behind your wife’s disappearance?”

The rabbit snorted, “I don’t need evidence. I know that they are behind this. That organization was the only one Gabriela was investigating.”

Alessandro’s response made Uncle Finneus rub his eyes in frustration. “Did you not think that someone else could attack your wife? Have you not made many enemies on your missions for the Society? Maybe one of those kidnapped your wife as revenge against you.”

Alessandro started to breathe heavily, and then the two warping stones cracked. There was a bright light and the sound of thunder, then I was thrown backward. By the time I managed to blink away the streaks of lightning from my eyes, Alessandro had been knocked out again. Uncle Finneus stood over him, his clothes blackened, and his long white hair standing up on end. He breathed heavily and glared down at the rabbit with murder in his eyes. I dusted myself off and walked over to look down at the unconscious rabbit. I poked his head with my shoe, which caused the rabbit’s ear to twitch. Just to be sure, I leaned down and checked his artery to make sure his heart was still beating. “You’ve knocked him out a couple of times already, Uncle Finneus. Do you think you’ve caused any permanent brain damage?”

“Bah,” snorted Uncle Finneus. “Nothing more than what has already been done to him many other times.”

Uncle Finneus had me go fetch more warping stones, and we tied up the unconscious rabbit again. A few minutes later, Uncle Finneus activated the paired stone, and the rabbit jolted awake. Alessandro struggled against the rope and began cursing at us.

Uncle Finneus walked over, slapped him, and then said, “Fine, Alessandro, I’ll see if I can find your wife. And know that the favor you owe will be a large one.”