Red couldn't just enter Baris; it wouldn't be a simple case of healing some sick animals. Red needed to create problems that Baris would place the blame on Habrin.

The chaos Red planned to unleash would not only attract two more of his brothers, but also potentially change the course of the provinces.

It didn't take much tinder to light the sparks. Baris was ready to burn Habrin to the ground as Habrin had done to them.

Red did a few petty things, like disrupting trade to make it harder for Baris. They sold some of their produce to get things they couldn't create independently.

When Red started selling crystalized ashes of the Baris trees he crossed the line. Baris heavily guarded the pieces that burned into bright multi-colored treasures.

So, of course, Red stole in as a thief at night to collect and sell them on the black market. Red used his fifth brother's name to enact all of this.

When Baris started their hunt for the perpetrator, they would find Kadir, not him.

Meanwhile, Red and Reu traveled to Ece. It was another Eastern province that his paternal grandfather broke. Ece went from countless citizens to just under a couple dozen.

Ece was a race of long-living humanoid creatures. Like Baris, they honored their trees, but unlike Baris, they weren't one with them. Ece went underground after the decimation of their land.

Hakan, another of Red's brothers, was in charge of the province right before Ece. That region was Ceren, and the native population was washed away and replaced by Habrin nobles who loved to have lavish ship parties. Hakan wasted countless gold on modifying past ships to accommodate drunk passengers. The port of Ceren granted Hakan a lot of control and power.

Now that Red had set up Kadir, it was time to ensure Hakan was next to fall.

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Unable to stand confinement, Merin went out among the backstreets of the capital.

There were places where women would gather to trade womanly products and tales and pass the time. It was safer than being out on the streets, even if you were married in Habrin.

She had no idea how to be a parent, and her fear was clawing out of her stomach to grip her by the throat.

Merin would attend these weekly meetings to drink tea and spend quality time with other women.

She took the time to maintain a disguise painstakingly but only needed to color her silver hair black.

Letha and Zoltan would always accompany Merin. Given the nature of the meeting, Zoltan would be posted off-aways to keep an eye on things.

His quick smile was on display, and Merin tuned him out as Letha fell to the other man's charms.

She finally grew annoyed with them and left them both at Zoltan's usual lonely post.

Merin wasn't a doddering fool; she could care for herself just fine if push came to shove. Though Red had given orders, Letha ignored her and followed her into the woman's hangout.

For anonymity, the ladies who gathered only used fake names.

Due to her time in the time she spent in the desert and the fact that the flower bloomed at night, Merin went by Cereus.

She was greeted by familiar faces that comforted her during her worries.

Rami and Garnet were her two closest friends in this gathering. They were the only two who would go with her to give out free food to those who needed it and were aware she could heal with ointment. Merin couldn't risk using her strings or magic openly because that could be linked to Russus Merin.

She didn't want to stop offering people relief from Febris or any other woe that made life hard.

"There's a group of elderly sick people living near the Jin bridge," Rami said. "They were sent there to stop the spread of a new disease."

"A new disease?" Merin said with puckered lips. It sounded like she finally had a possible challenge to cure.

Getting to the bridge took little time, but Merin had to be careful. Jin Bridge was near the palace, and she could disguise her hair, but her eyes and face stood out. Anyone with a discerning eye could potentially recognize her.

Merin passed out jar after jar of ointment. Some of the elderly men were inflicted with Febris that had festered into open sores that hosted bugs. Merin was becoming very familiar with the stench of death and decay. Merin thought that the Inni people went out of their way to inflict a slow, painful death. She could see how effective they were. The longer Febris stayed in the body, the more agonizing it became. If you were young enough or weak enough, you would die, but the more virile and strong you were, the slower and painful the decline.

She was undoing that damage, and while she understood and agreed with why Elan cursed Habrin, she couldn't stand by and allow children to burn for their parent's sins.