Morning had barely settled over the capital when the marketplace came alive.

Merchants arranged baskets of fruit and vegetables while blacksmiths hammered glowing iron

beneath the warmth of their furnaces. Children darted between crowded stalls as customers

bargained loudly over prices.

Near a bread stall, the tavern servant from the previous night stood surrounded by a handful of

curious listeners.

"I heard it with my own ears," he insisted. "The ministers were talking about it."

An elderly woman frowned. "Talking about what?"

"The cure."

The small crowd fell silent.

"What cure?" another man asked.

"The cure for the ailment that's been killing people."

Several heads turned toward him.

The servant...