The now-familiar presence brushed politely against his mind and Ansen thinned his shields in response, projecting a wordless ? at his brother.
"Ansen, I've received a request for a confidential meeting. As the house is the only reasonably discreet option at present, I would appreciate it if you could manage to stay away for the next two or three candlemarks or so."
Ansen took a half second to consider Cellen's words. Cellen wasn't asking for acquiescence, this was a Herald politely exercising his professional prerogative. The senior Herald's response was automatic.
"Of course. If it's easier, I'll wait until your say so."
'Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm not sure how long this will take and I'd prefer not to set a time on it." There was a pause, then "Would you happen to know where Claudia is?"
"I do. In fact, I'm on my way to meet her. The Healers have some concerns about this fever they're seeing. Would you like me to pass on your message?"
"I would, thank you for that."
Ansen considered for a moment. By personality, most Heralds were leaders to a greater or lesser degree. Even Herald Myste, seemingly the least-militant Herald possible, was an undisputed authority in her particular sphere and no one argued with her when she exercised that authority. While this leadership trait was trained and developed during a Herald's time at the Collegium and, later, during their mentorship, it often took conscious effort to set aside that trait when working with one's fellow Heralds. When Heraldic wills and senses of duty collided, the results could be…interesting.
As senior Herald, Ansen was nominally 'in charge', a formality seldom observed in the moment. Part of Ansen wanted to ask Cellen who he was meeting and remind his colleague to report back any relevant information. It was easy, however, to ignore that fleeting instinct. Cellen would do what was right and necessary, and that was all that was relevant.
He brought his attention back to their conversation. "Healer Dhaffyd is considering postponing letting refugees return until they figure out this fever. If that's the case, the news won't be well received."
Mindspeech has the odd effect of 'flattening' tone, but Cellen nonetheless managed to convey chagrin. "I may need to know that. I'll be in touch if that's the case." Cellen withdrew and Ansen's shields settled back into place.
###
"…the normal course of injuries you'd expect. Trips and falls, muscle strains, kitchen burns, that sort of thing. It's also normal to have a 'camp cough' or some sort of stomach upset run through when you get people crammed into close quarters like this." Healer Dhaffyd looked at Claudia and Ansen as they nodded their understanding. "The locals – and the Guard – have done a very good job with water and making sure the jakes are being properly managed. It took a few days to get that set up, but for the past two moons things have been running well on that score."
"So this fever you're seeing, it's something else? Not water-fever or the flux?" Claudia was referring to a pair of diseases often associated with overcrowding and poor sanitation. Both were highly contagious and could be deadly if not properly treated.
"No Herald," Dhaffyd shook his head firmly. "First, no initial stomach pain or loose bowels. Second, we've tested all the drinking water sources multiple times. We're sure it's not those. The symptoms are completely different."
"What are you seeing then?" Ansen's brow was furrowed in thought as he tried to recall distant readings on epidemics.
Dhaffyd ticked off symptoms as he spoke. At just under four feet tall, Healer Dhaffyd presented a somewhat singular appearance. His foreshortened limbs and barrel chest further added to his distinctiveness. While he was well regarded amongst his own peers, he'd had to work harder than most to be accepted by the world at large as the very skilled professional he was. Dhaffyd wasn't bitter, but he was the first to admit that the subtle (and often not-so-subtle) social challenges he'd experienced due to his short stature had affected his outlook.
"The main symptom is fever and the symptoms you'd normally see with that: headache, nausea, vomiting, extreme fatigue. Almost all patients complain of backache, which is a bit unusual. Generalized joint aches are common with many fevers, but a specific back ache is not. Most patients experience this for five or six days and then recover with no other problems."
Dhaffyd shook his head. "Patients – or their families – show up because someone is ill with the fever and we'd been sending them back with the usual fever remedies and it seemed to be working. In the last two sennights, however, we've had nine patients return with very serious symptoms: jaundice, severe abdominal pain and bleeding from the mouth and nose. Four of the nine died and we'll probably lose at least two more."
"Was there anything notable about the four that died?" Claudia inquired. "Any pre-existing condition that might have accounted for it?"
"Nothing that we've found so far," Dhaffyd admitted, "but we're checking. We've also started an informal survey of how many went on to the 'yellow' phase of this fever. So far, it's about two in ten patients, with half of them dying." Dhaffyd's expression was grim. "This morning, twenty-two more patients have appeared so far, and more are still coming. And that doesn't count those whose families didn't seek treatment."
"That's…not good," Ansen admitted heavily. "What do you need from us?"
"I have two specific requests. First, we've asked the Guard who are doing the daily foot patrols to make a note of how many people seem to be affected. I would appreciate it if you could throw your Heraldic weight in support of that measure, especially when it comes to dealing with the Families and the local Council."
"Consider it done." Ansen echoed Claudia's nod.
"Second, we – I – could use some help trying to track down the source of this illness. My colleagues and I have tested all the food and water sources, as well as the family members of our patients. Some of the family members are ill, but this doesn't seem to be spread from person to person or from anything ingested.
"Of the Healers here, I'm the most adept at finding the kind of contamination or contagion we're looking for. I need to get out there and see if I can't find the source. In order to do that, I need to find a wagon low enough to step in and out of easily as I'm going to be doing a lot of it. I'm hoping you might have a solution on that score."
::I'll help.::
Kandrel tossed his head in a nod at the Healer.
"That's very generous of you." Ansen couldn't mask his startlement.
::Why are you surprised? He needs help, and this is the best solution. You and I can get him exactly where he needs to be.::
Ansen let his gratitude and love flow between them before the Herald turned his attention back to Dhaffyd.
"Kandrel and I will take you."
The Healer didn't try to hide his pleasure. "Thank you both. I hadn't wanted to ask, but to be honest, I was hoping you would offer."
Claudia rose and dusted herself off. "In the meantime, I'll have a word with the Guard and the Council to let them know what's happening and that the Heralds are working with the Healers on this."
"Kandrel and I will be back shortly. I want to make a few adjustments to his tack for this. I assume you want to get this started as soon as possible?"
"Indeed. I'll be ready." Dhaffyd's nod of thanks was sober.
# # #
"Milady Herald, do you have ANY IDEA what you're asking?" The head of the local Carter's Guild was stuttering with anger. "I've got nearly four dozen wagons loaded or nearly so and ready to depart the day after tomorrow. And when those return, they are due to be reloaded and sent out again. It took us days to work out the routes and schedules if we're to get everyone out by fall. No way in hell can we stop now!"
"What my colleague is trying to say is that he's concerned you haven't considered the implications of this decision…" the Master Cooper tried to interject, his tone soothing as though he were speaking to a small child. Claudia tried not to grit her teeth.
"It's preposterous, that's what it is!" The Master of Mines shouted over both of them. "My people need to get back to work, back to their homes. You can't keep us here, we're not prisoners!"
"Are you daft, man? Do you want to send this illness out there? You're being even more dunderheaded than usual and that's saying a lot!" The representative from the Miller's Guild's face was so close to the Carter's that spittle was flecking the Carter's cheeks.
"You just want to keep us trapped here, buying your that crappy last-year's sweepings you pass off as flour, you greedy grubber!" the Carter shrieked back.
Claudia sighed and let them shout at each other. The sooner they got the fear out of their systems, the sooner she could get them accomplishing something.
"How are things going with you and Dhaffyd?" She reached out for the calm sanity that was a fellow Herald.
"Nothing so far, but we've managed to eliminate several things." Ansen sent her an image of the three of them. The Herald had rigged up a sturdy pillion pad for the Healer, complete with clever looped straps to act as stirrups. Dhaffyd's physique didn't allow him to straddle Kandrel's back easily, and the 'stirrups' gave the Healer something to brace himself against – not that it was necessary with Kandrel. A second set of straps gave him something to hold onto aside from Ansen's coat.
"Dhaffyd's checking the flocks of geese at the moment. He says sometimes animal diseases can make the jump to humans, so he has to eliminate that possibility."
"Good luck."
"I've a feeling you're going to need it more than we do."
# # #
"I'm sorry Herald, Kandrel." Dhaffyd stretched in the doorway of the barn. "Food and human vectors aside, animal contagion was the next most likely possibility. There's a respiratory virus carried by mice that we sometimes encounter and I thought perhaps we were seeing some variant of it." He shook his head in negation. "That's it for birds and animals I'm afraid."
"What's next then?" Ansen offered the Healer a water flask. The barn had been dusty.
"It gets much harder," the Healer admitted. "It could be anything at this point. Even a fungus in the soil. We may literally stumble across it. Or, we may never find it."
"Hm," was Ansen's only response. Then, at a prod from his Companion, he added "Kandrel is wondering if you want to continue to look or if you want to focus your energies on dealing with the outbreak."
"Kandrel asks good questions." Dhaffyd sighed. "It's never a clear choice. If this was something spread readily from person to person, we could manage it with a quarantine protocol. But this is, apparently, being transmitted or caused by something. And if we can find it, we might be able to shut down this disease before it gets worse.
"If neither of you has any objection, I'd like to continue looking. If we don't find anything today, we can set the search aside for now. If need be, we can take it up later. Thanks to your help, I've managed to get far more done than I expected, and even a negative result is something since it helps narrow things down."
Ansen simply gave brief nod and held out his hands, ready to boost the Healer up.
# # #
"Cellen? Are you free to talk?"
"I am. Things here wrapped up about a half candlemark ago and I was making my notes. What's up?"
"I'm here too." Claudia's Mindvoice was a light alto, somehow distinctively her.
"We've found the source of the illness. I'm looking at it now. All several million of them."
The image in Ansen's mind was of a stagnant pond, one of the hundreds left from the inundation. As the water had receded, these impromptu ponds had emerged, slowly drying over the course of the season. With nowhere to drain, these were left to dry on their own. The area was dotted them.
"Puddles?" Cellen's mindvoice was puzzled. "Are people drinking out of them?"
"Not the puddles." Ansen was weary – and frightened. "Mosquitos. The disease is being carried by the mosquitos."
"Oh crap."