The rooftop of the largest tower in the castle had been turned into something of a watchtower. Misha stared down at the city, able to see the entire capital of Redford in one sweeping glance. It was so tiny below; the buildings were practically all little toys. The rigid gridwork of streets looked like a game board, the people and carriages running up and down them no more than specks. Even so, there was a distinct energy to the way they moved through the city.
The rainy season had come to an end, and the mysterious plague that had assailed the capital had been gone for close to a month. The heat of summer hadn’t quite left the air, but the wind was starting to get cool in the mornings and evenings. A new season would soon be upon them.
What a strange feeling.
The lockdown in the capital had been lifted a few weeks prior, so the city had returned to its usual lively state. The markets she could see in the distance seemed to be back to their old, burgeoning selves.
There was no sign of the plague left. The nature of the disease had been discovered, and a cure had been acquired. The Red Eye plague was no longer a fatal condition.
That said, even those who were cured often had lingering damage in their bronchial tubes, lungs, and livers. They would likely be fighting those symptoms for the rest of their lives. Of course, considering how many had died of the disease, they could only be grateful they had at least been spared that fate. But as the days wore on and many found their bodies not quite as capable as they had once been, they would no doubt feel frustration mounting.
Misha had been working proactively to alleviate the future suffering those people would encounter. She had searched out medicine to help recover and strengthen the damaged organs of the victims, as well as medicine to suppress the inflammation of the bronchial tubes many of them suffered from, and had arranged for such medicines to be delivered regularly to them. She even went so far as to get involved, albeit in a rather minor way, in drafting a law to help draw money from the royal coffers to help reduce the financial burden on the victims. She had also worked to take measures to ensure the Red Eye plague never returned and was still deeply involved in the royal herb garden, leaving her with barely a moment to breathe in her daily life.
Luckily for her, once the People of the Forest had declared they would help, they were committed for the long haul. Toma, the man from the People of the Forest who had brought the herbs along with Kent, was actually a bit of an eccentric, having taken an interest in the disease before it made it to Redford.
He had apparently been involved in researching it as a rare disease that only appeared in the far north, attempting to understand and develop remedies for it. He had recognized that the symptoms of the Red Eye plague were very similar to the disease he was studying, and so he had spent a number of years trying to learn more. As he saw the similar weather patterns from this year matched those of the previous outbreak of the Red Eye plague in Redford, he had warned the elders of the People of the Forest that a new outbreak might be imminent.
Upon hearing that warning, one voraciously curious elder by the name of Nel immediately had gone running, determined to see it for himself. Toma had originally wanted to travel with him, but because he was the only one who had any contact with the people of the far north where the disease was originally found, Nel had ordered him to go harvest the herbs they would need to treat it instead.
“He just grabbed all of my research results and ran off by himself. I didn’t even have time to complain...but I guess he was right. I was the only one who had any contact with the people in the north. I just wish he had also sent someone to help me transport the herbs.”
Miranda patted him on the shoulder in sympathy as he grumbled, his eyes distant. Considering the expected number of victims in Redford, a single carriage full of dried herbs wouldn’t have been nearly enough.
Though madleaf was plentiful up north, he hadn’t been able to get a huge haul of the stuff in one go. Instead, he’d had to set up a network to deliver the herbs little by little as they were prepared, work that was very much beyond his expertise as a researcher. Even so, when he had finally made it to the capital, being able to see the results of his research and how it actually impacted the lives of the victims of the plague had been endlessly satisfying. On top of that, Redford had requested that he personally remain in the kingdom and direct their future research, so things had turned out better for him than he could have hoped.
Back in the village of the People of the Forest, it was difficult to focus on only your own research. On top of having limited funds to conduct such research, they also had to meet the quotas of the village in order to sustain their livelihood there. But the laws of the People of the Forest forbade them from seeking outside funding. He could always cut ties with his village, but that would mean giving up access to the vast knowledge and advanced tools they had developed.
Now, he had permission from the village to work for Redford, so he would be able to devote himself fully to his research without having to spend time or energy worrying about funds. As much as the village still put some limits on him, it was an enviable position for any researcher.
“The new respirative method for administering the medicine is certainly groundbreaking, but it is too difficult to give to unconscious patients that way, so I’d like to improve it further. I’d also like to develop a liquid form of the medicine. If we could inject it directly into the bloodstream, it should be even more effective. There is also the issue of the way the disease progresses. I’m curious why it has such a different impact on people compared to birds. It’s incredible that the parasite changed so much in such a short time, so there are plenty of things worth looking into.”
It was honestly scary how Toma smiled in fascination once he got started talking.