The Hand That Mocked Them

(I feel the exact same way the entire time)

"And where do you suggest we find a virus?"

"Are there not sickhouses or hospitals in town?"

He nodded. "Certainly. But..." His eyes lit up. "Oh, I have a better idea."

"Which is?"

"There's a mass grave out in the woods from when plague hit this town a few years ago. I'd be willing to bet the bodies there will be easier to access."

Kivvien shook his head. "The virus likely won't be active, and I will not be associated with the desecrating of graves."

"It's a mass grave," he pointed out. "And I've heard of the plague staying on bodies for decades after. That's how it always resurges; some poor fool finds a corpse that nobody buried, breathes on it or touches it, and unknowingly carries it home."

"We can collect from the sickhouses far more easily."

"But we would have to collect tissue, and that wouldn't go over well with the doctors."

"I've never had an issue collecting from hospitals in the capital."

"Then kindly teach me your ways, sir; I've not been welcome there."

"Well being in good standing with the public and the local universities does most of the heavy lifting."

"Nobody knows me here," he said with a shrug. "That's all I mean. I prefer it that way."

Kivvien sighed. "How exactly did you fall out of favor with the college?"

"I made some rather ambitious and very illegal experiments," Laurean replied airily. "Most of them successful."