So, I'm trying to update daily. But I missed it because writing mysteries SUCKS! Whether you believe it or not, I didn't mean for the story to take a turn in this direction. It just happened. It felt natural and in-character for everyone. So, again, sorry about the delay. Hopefully, I can get back to publishing daily after I get passed this stupid mystery I've cornered myself into. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Don't forget to Favorite, Review, and tell your friends!


"Bro, are you sure?" Jake asked as he came to Finn's side. "Three days? is that all you need?"

"It's best for both, Jake. I will make all attempts to save these men as is now another duty in my already full palate." He sighed and rubbed his head. Why did he do this again? "But if there's nothing more to find then I will end it there and do as I have come here to do and be done with this issue. What do they take me for? A solution? Am I suddenly the answer to all of the kingdoms' problems?"

"I don't know, bro, but if you ask me, I would have asked for ten days. We can at least do some due diligence."

"I am doing due diligence, Jake. I just don't want to give it too long."

Suddenly a fireball landed in front of them, and an angry Phoebe glared at Finn. "You… You pretend to help me then you turn your back? Three days isn't enough time to prove them innocent!"

"If they are innocent, the evidence will show. It doesn't take that much time, my lady." She went to grip him, but Finn stopped her with another question. "Would you have rather I not accept? Should I have told then that I am not under any circumstances to act as investigator? I could have denied the validity of your vote, but I didn't. I am choosing to help you. As such, I will. Now, if you are done wasting time, we need to go to the prison so we can speak to them about their case. We'll start there, look for the evidence and present our findings to the king. Simple as that…" Finn crossed his arms. "Do you trust me with that much? Or do you want to continue arguing about the three days I have to help you?"

The princess cooled down then growled but became docile. "I… I just want them to be safe. I can't lose them, Executioner. They're more family to me than my own father…"

Finn raised his brows. "All three of them?"

She shrugged. "Well, yeah… they practically raised me. My father assigned them to me as teachers. I learned everything I know from them. Manners, conduct, and even reading and writing."

Finn squinted. "Really… strange."

"What?" Jake asked.

"Don't you find it odd that the three closest men to the princess suddenly become treasonous criminals? And the king doesn't suspect that his own daughter isn't doing the same…" he mused but started walking faster to the prison.

Now that they were thinking about it, it was. The princess found a new confidence in Finn and Jake got excited. "Cool, the Executioner Investigations Service is open for business."

"Don't advertise that," Finn scolded pointing at Jake.

Phoebe caught up with Finn even though his pace was rather fast for her. "Do you really think that they were targeted because of me?"

"It could be a coincidence," Finn replied, "But it's a start of something. We need to find out why they were charged with treason. I want to know what they were doing, and I need the warden to point me at the witnesses who outed them."

Finn ordered the guard to step aside then opened the door where the warden was working. He looked up and had only gotten a few words out, "Executioner, back so…"

"Did the king give you the order to arrest these men?" Finn asked.

"No, the order came from Counselor Elpenor. He discovered some rather disturbing letters with the signature and seal of the condemned men."

"They were to each other?" He asked.

The warden nodded, "Most of them. they're here in the evidence chest. Why are you asking? You don't have…"

"By my invocation and the king's order the executioner has been given leave to traverse the town as he sees fit to investigate the three men," Phoebe explained.

"I see," The warden nodded, "I'll give you everything I have."

The warden unlocked the chest then handed the obsidian parchment letters to Finn. Finn gave a few to Jake and both of them began to read.

"Whose seal is this?" Jake asked showing the letter to Phoebe.

"That's Casper's… Why would he use his seal on such a condemning letter?" Phoebe asked as she took it.

"That's a good question," Finn added, "And a signature…? Do you have any extra obsidian parchment?"

"Yes, here," The warden handed him some unused parchment and a writing utensil.

"Thank you," Finn took the items motioned to the door. "Open the prison." The prison was opened, and Finn handed out the parchment to the three. "Here, sign these."

"But there's nothing on them," Cain said as he stared at the burning pages. "What am I signing for?"

"If you want freedom, sign them," Finn ordered. "I need to see what your signatures look like."

The men hesitated then looked at the princess. Seeing as they were looking for her approval, she assured them. "It's alright. Do what he says."

They signed one by one, having only one utensil available then gave the parchment back to Finn. Finn compared the signatures and hummed. "They certainly mach. Darius, does this letter look familiar?"

Darius accepted the parchment, and he was bemused. "Wha… I've never even seen… How did my seal… Executioner, you must understand, this letter was not written by me!"

"Warden!" Finn called.

"Yes, Executioner?" He asked as he came front and center. "Is this all the evidence you have on these men?"

Phoebe looked nervous, like Finn was just throwing them under the wagon, but she waited for Finn to say it upfront. "Most of it, Executioner, the rest of the evidence stands with the witness of Counselors Elpenor, Cepheus, and Lupin."

Finn nodded. "I will speak with them then. As for the letters… I must take them with me. I hope you understand."

Phoebe relaxed. Perhaps Finn wasn't planning to just take the evidence at face value. Maybe he did plan on keeping his word.

The warden shuffled nervously but replied, "Of… course. Whatever you need for your investigation."

"Dude, these letters are a bit inconsistent," Jake said to Finn quietly. "Look where they put the seal and sign the letters. It doesn't all look like professional quality."

Finn looked at what Jake found. "A counselor would know better."

"I can't see Elpenor, Cepheus or Lupin ever framing or hurting Cain, Casper, or Darius. They are on the same political side in the kingdom. All of them have the same position. What would they gain? And why would three men seek to take the throne? It's not like the kingdom would fall behind them."

Finn shuffled the letters and handed them to Jake, "Hold. I want to see what they have to say about the evidence. How were these letters found?"

"An investigation was held when Counselor Elpenor reported what he heard. You will have to talk to the captain of the guard about who it was reported to. I don' know much more than that."

"Then we have a lot of talking that we need to do, "Jake, question these men. I want to know what they were doing up to a month prior to the day of their arrest. Ask them what they were doing before they were arrested as well. I am going to find the other three counselors. Look for me in the antechamber when you finish. Write everything down as well."

"Got it, bro," Jake winked quietly.

"And…" Finn took his bag and opened it on the spot. The warden, three counselors, and the princess all tried to get a peak of what was inside, but Jake decided to spread over him.

"Sorry, folks. Private stuff," He winked.

He felt a tap and shrank. Finn fixed his sleeve and gave his bag back. "Hold onto that if you would."

"It's safe with me," Jake smiled with a thumbs up.

"Alright, see you in a bit," Finn tapped his shoulder then left the prison, the warden staying with Jake and Phoebe trailing behind Finn. Finn noticed shortly as heard her tripping behind him trying to catch up to his pace. "Don't you want to hear them defend themselves?"

"I've heard their stories. I want to know what Elpenor, Cepheus, and Lupin heard. And how they had come to discover their supposed crime. And I want to hear the captain justify a raid in a counselor's room."

"The raid was precedented by the report. That's not he problem, my lady. The problem is how they found the letters and how they failed to notice the letter's rather odd structuring." Finn looked at the two Jake showed him. "An official letter has a structure to it. Why breach that? It just makes the trick less legitimate…"

"Maybe, if someone is framing them, they didn't know."

Finn shook his head. "There had to be a reference nearby somewhere that they could look at. When Darius looked the letter over, he was confused. I think that was the first time he saw it. Does he have his seal next to his desk?"

"I don't know," Phoebe replied following him into the castle.

"One thing at a time. The room first. The counselors shouldn't be too hard to find."

Finn followed Phoebe to Darius's room first. It was mostly clean since the servants had tidied up the room since the raid. Finn looked for the desk then began his search.

"His desk is well organized. Shouldn't be too hard to find everything." Finn examined the surface first, but no seal was found. He tried for a drawer, but it didn't budge. "Damn. It's locked." Finn's eyes peered at the inside of his coat. A mechanism on his belt was itching to be used. "Do you mind looking around for the key?"

"Maybe he kept it at his nightstand," She mused as she turned away.

Finn quickly went for the item and picked the lock to every desk drawer before she even made it to the nightstand to look. He pulled the first drawer open. "Ah, never mind. The drawer was just stuck." He looked inside. And it was equally as organized as his desktop. "Obsidian parchment, pen, sulfur ink… no seal…" He pulled the next drawer. "Nothing… no seal. Does a counselor keep their seal on them?" Finn turned and asked Phoebe.

The fire princess shook her head. "No, such a thing is too valuable to lose. Even to keep it on you risks your whole office. Even my father has to protect his seal. He has no other way of proving his legitimacy of reign. The royal seal is basically the whole family identity."

"Then where would he keep such a precious item…?" Finn asked aloud. He went to the closet and checked for a safe or for loose flooring. Nothing. "Hmm… we'll need to ask them where they keep their seal next visit."

"Maybe we can't find it because it was stolen," Suggested Phoebe.

It was a possibility. Finn considered all the reasons he could think why the seal was hidden. But if Phoebe was right, their innocence would be proven almost straight off the bat. The letters were the only real evidence against them. But now they needed to find out what was witnessed by the three counselors.

"If we can't find a seal in this room, I doubt we'll find the seal in the others. Especially if its so well hidden. We can ask them later. Let's find one of the counselors. I'm sure this Elpenor would be willing to share everything he knows. If what you say is true, that is."

"He will," the princess assured, "Elpenor is good friends with Cain. I'm sure he will be more than willing to help us."

With a little asking around and Phoebe's help navigating the halls, they found Elpenor in the dining room and with the Cepheus and Lupin as luck would have it.

"My lady, this is a pleasure," Elpenor stood in respect and bowed.

"Please, no need to be polite," she said with a smile to them.

They sat but before Lupin took his seat he gestured to an empty seat beside them. "Would you like to join us, your majesty?"

"No, I can't," Phoebe replied, "We have some important business to attend to."

"Some rather grim business at that," Finn added, breaking his silence knowing the counselors were trying to ignore him. It wasn't personal, but his presents made the room awfully cooler to them. "I've heard word that you witnessed the three counselors plotting against the king?"

The men's appetites were spoiled. They were silent at first, but Cepheus spoke up. "Yes, very grim indeed. We could hardly believe it ourselves… I… I still believe we were mistaken."

"But their voices were so distinct," Lupin said as if arguing with Cepheus. He leaned onto the table and spoke directly to the councilor. "We know those men; we've worked closely with each."

"But the idea that they'd plot against the king is… I just don't understand it…"

Elpenor sighed and stood to his feet, no longer wishing to eat. The presence of the Executioner seemed to be sickening him. "This is what we know, dear executioner. We saw three men that day, only three, speaking quietly in the back alleys of the Firepit."

"The Firepit?" Phoebe asked in disbelief, "What were you doing back there?"

"The Firepit, is that some kind of bar or ghetto?" Finn asked.

"A ghetto, yes," Lupin replied. "We were reprinting them in the next council. We had hoped to create a new bill offering some financial leniency to clean the alley up. Improve some living conditions. Things of the like."

"A noble cause," Finn shrugged, "So you decided to gain perspective. Where is the alley?"

"You'll find it in the furthest east side of the city. I suggest you not go with him, My lady, the people there are not fond of the kingdom. Very few were even willing to talk to us," Said Elpenor.

"I want to see this through," Phoebe retorted, "I'll go in a cloak."

"Then I bid you luck," Elpenor and his fellow counselors stood to their feet to leave.

"Where are you going?" Finn asked, "I haven't finished with my questions."

The counselors all seemed nervous. "Really, now, we have many responsibilities to attend to," Said Lupin.

"Sit… down," Finn ordered sternly. All three remained seated. "Now, what did they say?"

"What?" Asked Elpenor.

"What did the counselors say… councilor?"

Elpenor looked at his fellow councilors then cleared his throat and replied. "I don't remember what they said exactly. But initially I thought I heard wrong when I heard a plot to kill someone."

"Counselor Elpenor stopped us before we headed on. We hid nearby as the councilors were talking."

"What we thought might have been the counselors," Cepheus corrected. "They were cloaked. Like us. But they seemed to be there for a different purpose than the bill we were working to propose."

"You listened to three men you thought were the counselors? And then reported them?" Phoebe asked irritably, "why didn't you get the guards to apprehend them instead to be sure?"

"We stayed and made sure we heard every word. Just in case they wanted to exact their plan within the week. That way we'd know their plan. But they only spoke of techniques. Logistics. Schematics of the castle. No clear plan was made."

"Councilors have free reign to examine the schematics of the castle?" Finn asked, his arms crossed, and a brow arched.

Lupin shrugged. "All who work the castle do."

Finn sighed. "I would have thought your father would prioritize security better. Now we have a full castle of suspects."

Phoebe groaned and rubbed her head. "Thank you for your time, counselors. I am sorry if the Executioner has spoiled you meal."

"It's no trouble, my lady," Said one of them.

"Princess, if I may," Elpenor stopped her, "Why the Executioner? An outsider? Why not one our own or the captain of the guard? A watchman is accustomed to investigations especially."

The fire princess fumbled with her hands and watched as Finn wasn't bothering to wait for her. She thought of a response as quickly as she could and gave him the best she could offer. "You reported them, Counselor. And I know even less of the others. I have no connections, no friends within this castle. Perhaps one as renowned as the Executioner… I just thought… One who is said to be bound to honor a code was more trustworthy than one who can change their rules." She left and the eyed each other as she left.

In some manner, as she thought about what she said, it made sense to her. She manage to catch up with Finn and looking at his back a smile formed. The more she followed and worked with him, the more confident she felt in her decision. "Yes… I think that's right."

"You said something, my lady?" Finn asked as he shook out his sleeve. Something was bugging his around his wrist it seemed.

"It was nothing. Are we going to the Firepit?" She asked.

"No," Finn Answered, "I want to meet Jake first and compare notes. Hopefully he's already at the antechamber."

Finn and Phoebe made it to the antechamber where Jake was sitting down and kicking his legs back and forth. "Hey, dude! There you are!" Jake stood up and shuffled through his notes. "I got everything right here."

Finn took them and looked them over. "What did you get sin summary?"

"Basically, they were in different places the whole time. They were working on some bill to make life in a place called the Firepit better. Darius was running some numbers through the treasury to see how costs would add up."

"Darius is very skilled in business," Phoebe exclaimed eagerly, "He thinks often about how the treasury should be used."

"Casper then?" Finn asked as he read on.

Jake shrugged, "Caspian was drawing up blueprints with a construction crew. Just to see what material would cost. He made regular visits with the company."

"We could speak to them and affirm his story!" Phoebe said her excitement starting to make her glow brighter.

"Hush, princess, we don't want anyone to hear us," Finn hissed. "But we can certainly do that. What about Cain?"

"Cain was writing the speech," Jake shrugged.

"Cain is the party representative," Phoebe explained, "When the six got together, he'd always speak for them! That all lines up!"

"Yes," Finn agreed, "Granted, you know them better, so I have to believe you. But none of these notes nor what you're telling me says that they paid any visits to the Firepit itself."

"They never said they paid a visit," Jake shook his head.

"So, if they had all these notes to pay, construct, and present their case, why didn't Elpenor, Cepheus, or Lupin mention they were doing this for the bill? And why didn't I find any equations in Darius's desk?"

Phoebe's mood began to sink. She was hoping what Finn might have considered about the other three counselors held no water. "Maybe during the raid, they were considered trash?"

"Or maybe its in the letters," Jake shuffled through them quickly. "Nope. Not in the letters."

Finn scratched his chin looking up from Jake's notes. "I didn't find their seals either… did they mention where they hid their seals?"

"Yeah, when we talked about the letters," Jake nodded, "All of them said they locked them in their desks."

"They were stolen!" Phoebe exclaimed.

Finn sighed. "It appears so... But so many questions still. We might have enough o Parden the counselors. Jake, go with her majesty and escort her to the councilors. I want to know more about this project and their parts in it as well as what they think the other three counselors are responsible for. Obviously this bill was important to them… and possibly trouble for others… I need to see an old friend. Can I see my bag?"

Jake handed it over, "You think he'll be around? I mean, he goes everywhere, man. He might not even be there."

"We have time to look if he's not," Finn said as he opened a large pocket with several bottles. He took a glass bottle with a fancy label. Some sort of pedigree coal. Phoebe didn't have to look long to know what it was.

"Ooh, whoever you friend is, has refined taste."

"And that will give him looser lips," Finn muttered under his breath. "I'll go talk to Flambo. Meet you back at the prison."

Jake gave a thumbs up. "Got it bro. Ready princess?"

Phoebe shook her head and looked down at Jake then looked back at Finn. "Wait, I want to go with you."

"The Firepit is dangerous… but this place, in perilous. I don't have time to protect you, princess. Please, stick with Jake. For your kingdom and your friends."

"But…"

Jake pulled at her dress, stopping her from perusing Finn. She watched as he disappeared behind the castle doors and then dropped her head. She loved watching him work on the investigation. Her curiosity was beginning to itch.

Jake, seeing her grow restless, smiled. "Relax, Flame Princess. The Executioner will get the info he needs and be back to meet us in the prison."

"I… I'm not all that worried about it him, sir. I'm just… I was hoping to… never mind. I'll take you to see the councilors."

"You don't' have to call me, 'sir'," Jake said waving his hand. "Just call me Jake. I'm a cleric from the Church of Justice and handler of the Executioner."

"The handler?" Phoebe asked, "Why does he need a handler?"

"Eh…" Jake shrugged, "Actually, I'm more of an escort to be honest. I just keep him in check, make sure he doesn't abuse his position. He may be the most isolated citizen of Ooo, but he's also got a lot of perks to make sure he lives out his… uh… punishment."

"Punishment? The Executioner is a criminal?" Asked Phoebe. Her hands were folded in front of her as she remained composed.

"In a spiritual sense, yes. But literally, I think he's about as innocent as… a werewolf. They don't know what they're doing is bad. They just transform, kill, eat, and be werewolves. They can't always help it."

"I see." Her brow raised, and her face exposed her confusion. But Jake didn't notice. "So, what was his crime."

"Not his crime. The Executioner's crime," He corrected, "Don't you know the legend? Everyone knows the legend by now."

"No, I've… never heard of the Legend of the Executioner."

"That's 'cause it's not called that. It's the Legend of the First Murder. The Book of the Prophet Larry, Chapter three. It basically says the first murder just up and killed his own brother because he got jealous. The entity of justice saw his sin, an abomination against life itself to great that it could not go unpunished lest the world lose balance. But the murderer begged for his life and the entity took pity on him. But he would not let him go unpunished. So, he cursed him and any who inherit his name. If he was going to kill, he would have to do it in the name of Justice, to withhold the sin he unleashed on the world. As more murders happened, his job was to bring balance back and kill the murderers. Then it spread out to other injustices. Ones that tipped the balance of civilization. His roll became permanently known… as the Executioner."

"Why not kill him and be done with it?" Phoebe asked. "Wouldn't that bring the world back into balance?"

Jake shrugged. "I don't know much about it. it's been some time since I read ol' Larry's book. But it says that the entity knew that others would seek unjustified retribution against the executioner. So, he made sure that anyone who sought to deliver such injustice would be cursed too. They would be doomed to enter the night sphere and suffer…" Jake changed his voice to sound playfully spooky, "A Great Damnation."

"Oh my…"

Jake chuckled. "Yeah, unless the Executioner doesn't have any kids. Then your bloodline takes the curse."

"Has that ever happened?" Phoebe asked.

Jake inhaled sharply and rubbed his neck. "A convo for another time. Right now, we should be trying to get your counselors out of jail. Speaking of which, where are we going anyway?"

Phoebe looked around and realized they were walking the circular hall for some time. "Err, sorry. I got so tied up talking about the Executioner I forgot to take you to the Councilors. This way."

"It's fine. If anyone can do this in three days. It's Finn."

"Finn?" Phoebe echoed curiously.

Jake gasped and closed his mouth shut. "Uh… Finn? Who's Finn? Did you say Finn?

Phoebe put two and two together quickly. "Wait… that's his name?"

"Shh!" Jake shut her mouth and looked around. "Saying his name is bad, Princess. I shouldn't have said it out loud. Just keep it to yourself, okay?"

"What's so bad about his name?" She asked frustratedly, "You keep saying its bad but why?"

Jake shivered and put his hands together. "Uttering an Executioner's name without the rites will bring a curse on you. His name died with him when he was initiated." Jake again shut his mouth. "Which you didn't hear me say! Stop asking questions! There's nothing to ask! He's just cursed. Everything's cursed. Forget it or you'll be cursed too!" He broke into a run up some stares they were climbing.

That had been the strangest thing Phoebe had seen and heard. She let him run ahead but dwelled on the name she had just learned. "Finn…" It brought chill up her back. One she never felt before. It… was thrilling. "Finn…" She felt as though she had taken a bite from a forbidden fruit and the taste was all too succulent. All too tempting to not taste again. "Finn… Hmm." It was so short. So.. innocent. She pictured the menacing figure of the Executioner. His gaze stern and piercing, his coat waving in the hot wind, his form standing over the guilty as they were on his knees before him. but through it all, under that shell, he was names something as innocent, as kind and gentle, as that short simple name. "…Finn."


*gasp* Jake... what have you done!? What will happen to Flame Princess now? Only time will tell I guess, 'cause I have no idea. I'm just figuring this out as I go, like you guys. And it's taking me for a trip! An edgy trip. But hey, a little bit of edginess never hurt anyone. Anyway, hope you'll stick around for the next chapter.