"It's not just the jewels, Herbert. Look at all the bones! There's professors in Altdorf who'd pay good money for these!"
- —Tyle "the Ghoul" Grubsch, Body Snatcher[2a]
If there are to be any advances in anatomy and modern medicine, physicians need corpses to study. But the process of acquiring cadavers is not a pleasant one for these highly educated gentlemen of science. So to whom do they turn? The Resurrection Men are one part grave robbers and one part criminal syndicate.[1a]
There is almost no way in the Empire today to legally acquire a corpse for medical study; a few condemned prisoners are turned over, but the demand for these is high and inevitably these corpses end up in the hands of only the well-connected. Anyone else must confine their researches purely to the theoretical or turn to the Resurrection Men.[1a]
Embalmers play a key role in this organisation, for it is they who know what corpses can be stolen with little fuss. They also prepare the corpses, ensuring that putrefaction does not spoil its value. Rarely are they the actual thieves – they leave that grisly task to the grave robbers. There is no doubt that there is real money to be made, as a properly prepared corpse sold to a rich physician is worth ten gold crowns at least. Of course, the Resurrection Men are despised as ghouls and vandals, but as long as there is money in dead flesh, you can be assured that this trade will continue.[1a]