Caring for the infirm and the elderly as a social service had done wonders for Bernard's position, and an amusing reputation had started to grow around his being a man "for the people" when in fact, he cared little for them at all, as individuals - this well-hidden fact did nothing to hamper Bernard's playing the role masterfully.

After his public address and the solidification of his power base, things started to move very quickly for Bernard and his people. What once was just Lenoran, then Lenoran and a few nearby settlements, farms, and dilapidated villages, had become a regional phenomenon. Bernard continued to gain territory (not to mention followers) as his ideological movement spread from person to person organically.

If one were to highlight all of the area under Bernard's influence on a map, it would cover a very noticeable portion of Juldania, and it was growing all of the time. It went down to a few southern coastal towns - avoiding the major shipping ports, which would obviously attract too much attention - and stayed a respectable distance away from the metropolis that was Khartok up to the north-east.

The edges of his territory were irregularly shaped as they grew somewhat opportunistically (and even occasionally had gaps as they would jump to another town altogether, before working their way back to join the two regions together), but it was no longer just a collection of like-minded people - this was a legitimate political entity. It was truly hard to believe how well Bernard's messages had resounded with the masses, and how secure his position was becoming.

His ideas were especially attractive for those inhabitants that had so long been ignored by a theoretical, far-away government at the center of Juldania - one that existed on paper, perhaps, but was so unconcerned with the people and their well-being that Peter seriously doubted that an open claim of rebellion and secession would even garner a response (although Bernard convinced him to put that off, at least until they were certain that they could handle whatever response might come).

They had experienced a life very different than Bernard had when he was growing up as Vance in Khartok, which had been full of rules, government offices, and centralized rule of law. Here, territory was more "claimed to the crown" than it was actually governed, and as such, a strong hand like Bernard's was able to effect rapid change.

So far, Bernard had done an excellent job of not creating any long-term enemies, and the opportunities for those tragic backstories that would lead to dangerous moral stalwarts had been minimized. At every turn, Bernard tried to ensure that he brought people under his umbrella without cowing them, or forcing them, but by offering them something that they simply didn't have a way to get any other way, and that they desperately wanted.

This meant, however, that he encountered problems regularly that would occasionally tax his policies - such as when reports began to list that a good target for expansion included a prosperous, well-educated town that was in the middle of a drug addiction crisis.

This was exactly the kind of problem that Bernard would have rather just ignored. Addicts tended to be very inward-focused, so they didn't cause a lot of problems for others when they were just isolated (which would be the easiest solution, logistically speaking). However, the opportunity was just too good to ignore. Being prosperous and well-educated, they could contribute a large number of higher-skilled people to the cause. The town also had lots of resources which could be distributed to others who needed them.

There were other considerations, of course. The educated and the rich had more connections to centralized communities, which had (in turn) more governmental exposure - that could escalate things for Bernard faster than he wanted. But if he could help them, he could probably use the people's influence and connections to spread ideas even faster. The last consideration that couldn't be ignored was, of course, the possibility of rising crime.

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The Lenoran Union - as it was coming to be known - hadn't had enough crime to need a strong criminal justice system of its own to be set up, and Bernard didn't want to force it before that was absolutely necessary, since entering a strong moral system would necessarily lead to some people being unfairly punished, others unfairly escaping punishment, and eventually, cracks in his "make no heroes" policy would arise.

Bernard finally settled on an approach that was simple and logical - treat abuse and addiction as a social issue, and provide treatment. Of course, this would involve fantastically difficult logistics, as well as hunting for specialized doctors, but by giving people a path to recovery rather than a stigma of shame, they not only would fall at his feet in gratitude, but they would rely on him entirely for their survival.

The non-addict majority of the Lenoran Union's population saw this as a wonderful humanitarian effort, and so they began more programs to reintroduce recovering addicts into the workforce, before Bernard's team even had a chance to put together a plan to do so. However, one question remained - he needed to understand why these people, who seemed to have their lives together not too long ago, had all suddenly and nearly synchronously become opiate addicts.

While the integration efforts began their planning, Bernard had his people start to ask around as to the likely cause of the addiction crisis. While the answer was found quickly and easily, it led to even more mystery. The residents had been presented with a huge uptick in painkiller prescriptions from their medical practitioners (of which there were not too many in town) and apothecaries; while this was going on, a growing number of street dealers had started to spring up in the community as well.

Unbeknownst to Bernard and the majority of his people, who had been long removed from the major metropolitan centers of the country, this was getting to be a massive problem in many parts of Juldania. Opiates were, in some circles, the new recreational drug, as alcohol was for the poor. At the same time, they seemed to be getting offered as treatment for virtually any malady or complaint a person could have. The phenomenon was spreading like wildfire, but it seemed to be centered around Khartok.

Bernard did consider that an opiate crisis might end up becoming an opportunity for him, and not from a treatment and gratitude perspective, but one of conquest. As people got lazy, confused, and less effective, only chasing their addictions, a dynamic leader and a passionate group could be very influential, at a time when the status quo was ripe for being disrupted. Also, the contributions of the major cities to any potential armed conflict down the road would be smaller and less effective if their people were going through an epidemic (as artificial as it may be).

Still, Bernard was curious to learn more. This had to have a centralized source - after all, it wasn't very feasible that everyone in the country woke up one day and decided that drugs were just great, was it?

Sure enough, the healers and apothecaries hadn't gotten the idea on their own. The rising popularity of these particular painkillers was thanks to a group of medical "experts" and "representatives" that were touring around, touting the benefits of this wonderous medicine - which of course, just happened to be manufactured by the company for which they worked.

That company was headquartered not too far out of Khartok, it turned out, which explained why it was the nucleus of this explosion. Looking into it more, it appeared the company used to make a variety of medical products, but they really hit their stride when they got into painkillers, exploding in revenue and influence. To further capitalize on their new product, they had set up a network of commissioned people whose only goal was to get the opiates introduced into as many areas as possible, for as many possible treatment plans as possible.

Curiously, it seemed as if there might be a connection - official or unofficial it was too soon to tell - between the official purveyors of the drug and the illicit street dealers. The product was exactly the same, at least, which was suspicious. The dealers were often undercutting the apothecaries, but there seemed to be a kind of rhythm to pricing and supply that Bernard and his team didn't quite understand.

It was worth continuing to look into, for certain. However, while reading the reports his team brought him on their research, he saw something that chilled him to the bone - a rare reaction indeed. For the person at the top of the food chain of this opiate organization was reported to be reclusive, rarely-seen but well-known woman. She was extraordinarily wealthy, especially for her age...and went by the name of Jez.