When we arrived at a gravesite in one of the richer districts of the city, I was even more confused. I asked Uncle Finneus what we were doing, but he just waved me forward, saying I would see soon enough, and there was no point in explaining. I firmly disagreed with the statement, but it did not appear like Uncle Finneus was going to explain, so I followed him into the place. When we stopped at a newly dug grave that did not yet have a headstone, I paused. "Uncle Finneus, you aren’t going to make me dig up this grave, are you?"

Uncle Finneus set down his briefcase and leaned against his shovel, shaking his head with a smile. "No, I’m not going to make you do it by yourself. Why do you think I also brought a shovel? We are going to be digging up this grave."

I sighed, "Will you at least tell me whose body we are digging up? It can’t be someone random, can it?"

Uncle Finneus was already two shovel loads in and drove the tool into the ground before answering, "This is the grave of Arbutus Bagmun, that human whose death the rabbit was investigating."

Seeing Uncle Finneus start to dig, I also began moving the soft earth off the dead body below. "Ok, but back to my question at the house, why are we doing this now when we are in such a rush to finish this thing with the Trafficking people? Uncle Finneus, I mean no disrespect, but it doesn’t seem like you're taking this seriously at all. Let alone the victims, we could easily become victims ourselves. Ortelius is a very powerful man if he’s able to traffic thousands of people a month. That’s a ridiculous number. Yet we’re out here digging up the grave of someone who has nothing to do with anything." !

Uncle Finneus glanced at me and grinned, “We will see child, we will see. Let’s get the body exhumed first, we’ll see if I’m wrong or not.”

It became evident to me that being a gravedigger is a very easy job. Sure its boring, but all you are doing is moving dirt, sticking the body wrapped in linen inside the hole, then filling the dirt back in. Perhaps with my uncle also digging the job is easier, but I digress. When we dug the body up, it had already begun to rot, so much so that I wasn’t sure how Uncle Finneus was going to be able to gather anything from it. But since it appeared that I had used up my questions for the day, I kept my mouth shut and just watched him. Uncle Finneus moved around the body poking it here and there before going over and retrieving a vial and two syringes and a knife. One of the syringes was filled with a clear liquid, while the other appeared to be empty.

“When a body decomposes,” said Uncle Finneus as he used the knife he had grabbed to make a long cut from the decomposing body’s sternum to the navel, “The blood does not dehydrate inside the arteries. Instead, it drains out and pools into the easiest place. This usually finishes around the twelve-hour mark. Given that Albertus was found within an hour of his death, and most likely was lying on the ground for an extended period of time as the investigators carried out there short investigation, there should be plenty of dehydrated blood to find.”

He finished making the long cut, then made two diagonal cuts from the shoulders down to the sternum. I had never seen the inside of a decomposing corpse so when he peeled back the rotten skin and the smell hit me, I threw I think I heard Uncle Finneus chuckle at me, but didn’t have a chance to see, as the rest of my dinner decided it needed to come out. By the time I finished, Uncle Finneus already had a pile of organs set aside while he stored a kidney inside a jar. He then injected the syringe with the clear liquid into the dehydrated blood that had pooled behind the dead man’s organs. Taking the other syringe, he mixed the clear liquid with the blood, then sucked it all up into the syringe and stored both the kidney and syringe in his briefcase. He sat back onto his heels with a satisfied look on his face while I wiped leftover bile from my mouth. "Alright, Bartholomew. Time to fill back in the grave. I’ve gathered what we needed to do the tests, so we can fill in the hole and leave. Perhaps it's best to scoop up the bile you left on the ground and throw it into the hole as well. Best not to leave behind too much evidence of our passing."

I nodded my head and began to shovel dirt back on top of the corpse, once again questioning why my mother sent me to live with my uncle. If she knew half the things she was making me do. No, perhaps not; after all, she was the one who told me stories about what Uncle Finneus had gotten up to when he was living in the forest back when my grandmother was a child. I sighed again, throwing a bit more dirt on the half-rotten skull so it would quit looking at me with its empty orbs.

When we made it back to the house, it was well past midnight, not that one would be able to tell upon walking into the waiting room. While Uncle Finneus hurried off into his study to begin performing tests on the samples he had gathered, I stared wide-eyed at the argument that was going on between the three people who had taken over the house.

Gabriela was the one currently yelling at her husband, "No, that has nothing to do with anything, Alessandro, you are misconstruing this entire investigation over something you wish to be true. Focus on the facts, it's clear that the duke is not at fault in this situation."

The rabbit snorted in derision, "Gabriela, how could you possibly think that? From everything he is saying, it's clear that the duke is the mastermind behind this entire plot. I would even go so far as to say that he is probably partners with Ortelius in this whole trafficking scheme. I don’t know how to make you see it clearly, if you have not been able to reason it from the story Lawrence just told."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Ahhh, you are so annoying sometimes," shouted Gabriela. "How many times have I told you about the time I worked with the man? I was by his side for two years and got to know him. I’d go so far as to call him a friend. The man I know would not do such a heinous thing if he wanted power. Ten years ago, he had enough political power to take over Rotege in a day. I thought there would be some explanation, but this is ridiculous; there has to be something else going on."

"Bahh, you knew someone ten years ago and think that they will stay like that for the rest of their lives? Open your eyes, woman. People are not born evil; they become dastardly thanks to what life hands them and how they react to it. Even if you had talked to the man a year ago, there is no sure conclusion that he did not transform himself from then till now," spat Alessandro.

"Alle, we are talking about the slaughter of an entire city. That is not something you wake up one day and do. This wasn’t a rebellion; it was a slaughter. I know the people that work under him. Sir Joseph Stolun served the duke’s late father and watched him grow up. He of all people would know the man’s true nature, and he had nothing but good things to say about him."

Lawrence, who had been sitting on the couch watching the argument go back and forth, coughed and raised his hands. "I don’t mean to interrupt, but I’m confused by the connection between what I said, and the duke. You guys are talking about the Duke of Borth, aren’t you?"

"Oh, I guess you wouldn’t have heard, would you?" said Gabriela. "I’m sorry, I should have explained. The Society of Magic has accused the duke of leading a coup against the king. I don’t know the entire situation, but at the moment, the society has come to the king’s aid and is in a stalemate with the duke. The country appears to be ready to break out into civil war."

An exclamation of joy came from the study where Uncle Finneus was performing his tests, and a second later he was running out with crazy eyes, "I knew it, Bartholomew, I knew it. The substances match. That bastard Ortelius wanted to keep everything in-house, and it will be his downfall. Things are starting to come together, nephew."

"Uhm," I blinked slowly, trying to follow what my uncle was saying. "Uncle, I’m not quite keeping up. What matches? Does the death of the wizard have something to do with the auction house?"

I looked over at the three people who had been discussing so passionately just a second ago. They all had their attention on Uncle Finneus. Uncle Finneus, in contrast to the sudden quiet, winked at me and looked over at the others with a grin. "There was a depressant found inside Albertus's kidneys. Funnily enough, it matches exactly the depressant I was given when George's men threw me in the cage with you, nephew. Now why would an ex-wizard who committed suicide have a depressant in his system that is used by a powerful trafficking organization in the same city? Now that we have found a connection with the death of Albertus and the Auction house, that must mean that the politician Albertus was investigating is also a part of said Auction House. And considering the death was done semi-regularly, this means that this was not the first time the Auction house has carried out a murder and that instead of hiring outside the organization, Ortelius has an internal group that takes care of such things."

Alessandro rolled his eyes at Uncle Finneus and chuckled, "That’s a pretty weak connection even for you, Burgeon. It's not like a drug like that is the sole property of a particular organization. I’m sure there are many criminals in this very city that use the drug for all sorts of devious reasons."

Instead of getting annoyed, Uncle Finneus’s smile grew larger, "Ahh, perhaps you would be right, but I so happen to have a matrix analyzer and the latest edition of the Empire’s molecule patent index. And as it turns out, this particular molecule, known as phencyclidine, was originally discovered forty years ago by a brilliant researcher from Glueburn. Octavius Voltari who just so happens to be the uncle of the very rich Ortavius Voltari who just so happens to own ‘Catherine’s Motley Treasures’ and is the mastermind behind what seems to be one of the largest trafficking organizations in the Empire. What do you have to say to that, rabbit?"

Lightning started to shimmer around the rabbit, making his fur begin to stand on end. "Suck it, Burgeon."

"Now, now," said Uncle Finneus, offering the rabbit a wink. He shook his head ruefully and glanced over at the ex-mercenary. "So, Lawrence, were you able to recover your memories?"

Lawrence nodded his head, offering Uncle Finneus a tired smile. "Yeah, that’s what we were discussing when you guys first arrived. My mission that I couldn’t remember affected the political events surrounding Rotege. I don’t know if you know this, but the duke apparently started a coup."

"Yes, yes. I know all about that," said Uncle Finneus with a wave of his hand. "I’m more interested in your lost memory. Tell me, how did you end up in a cage in Glueburn. Or have you filled out the questionnaire I wrote out? Never mind. Just tell me the story from the beginning and make sure you cover all the questions while you do. It’s better for me to hear everything, so I don’t miss any of the important details anyway."

Lawrence looked towards Gabriela and Alessandro as if asking for help. When he saw their expectant faces, he sighed and began his story for what appeared to be the second time that night.

"Well, as I mentioned to you before my memory had returned, I was going on an escort mission with the company. But as it turns out, this was not the last mission I was on. We finished the escort and were about to join another merchant caravan when we received a message from the Duke of Borth, exclusively inviting our company to perform a mission for him. Obviously, when a duke summons you, you move as quickly as possible. The amount of money offered by the nobility for jobs is far higher than that offered by merchants. And sometimes, if the nobleman or woman likes you, they might hire you away from the mercenary company, which secures you a good job and provides the company with a little extra cash as they have to buy out your contract.

Anyway, we moved as fast as we could and arrived at the meeting point. Obviously, the Duke wasn’t the one waiting for us; instead, it was a couple of his knights, together with a steward or some such person. All that I know is that the man was flying the duke's flag and bore clothes with his insignia on it. I was not within earshot when our commander discussed the details of the contract, but we were soon marching again, and the details of the mission spread through the ranks. We were going to provide security for the city of Borth that night. Apparently, some type of severe food poisoning had made its way through the city guard, making them all unavailable. While the Duke could use his personal guard, he was hosting a party that night and could only give up a skeleton crew. According to the commander, our job was just to guard the city walls every night until the normal guard shifts had recovered enough to perform their duties.