"Mmm. Why is this so delicious." 

"I don't know! I should try the other patients on it and see if they like it." She mixes up more.

Leareth expends quite a bit of willpower to sip it slowly rather than gulping it. 

She pets his hair, kisses it, does her decontamination routine, goes and gets more honey - they probably already have broth around in the infirmary.

The infirmary is relatively quiet and civilized this morning, even a bit less crowded; some people must have been feeling recovered enough to head back to their rooms. Gemma is fast asleep on a vacated floor-mat while two of Leareth's Healers quietly make rounds between the patients. 

They're looking pretty solemn, though. One of them Mindspeaks her. :Lord Kathar's wife died last night. Took a turn for the worse very suddenly: 

:That's - thank you for telling me -: She shakes herself a little. "Uh, Leareth wound up finding broth with honey in it weirdly tasty this morning, I thought I'd try some other people on it," she says aloud, "does anybody thinks that sounds great -"

Several people are really thirsty and think that sounds surprisingly good! Most of the others are still asleep. 

A little while later, Shavri politely taps Belrun's shields. 

:Yes?:

:I think we have a kind of serious problem: She sounds shaken. 

:...what is it?:

:I, um - listen, absolutely nobody here except whoever's wife was yelling about it thinks this was your fault, it's obviously stupid. But...we sent word to Haven by Mindspeech relay, about cancelling the meetings and trying to quarantine it here, and - it sounds like some people there came up with the same theory. No one's sick in Haven, thank the gods, but I guess they think that means we must've caught it here. Anyway, a - lot of people are very upset and panicked about it, apparently. Including some of the Heralds who don't really know you: 

:I don't exactly have a spare job opening for another Companion about it! Leareth's sick too - I'm happy to be Truth Spelled in front of anyone who wants to watch -:

:...I mean, a lot of the problem is that our entire government is currently quarantined in a tiny town and nearly all sick with a plague, and Haven is waiting in uncertainty. We should probably Truth Spell you anyway, honestly, but I'm worried it won't be very convincing to people in Haven until we can actually go back there in person: 

:Ideally I would still not be near a Heartstone. But it can't travel over Mindspeech, would they like to send a Herald over to just within range to have their Companion talk to Amshalan et al?:

:Oh, that's an idea. I'll have Vanyel suggest it on the relay when he's next in contact: Pause. :Oh, the other awkward thing. Somehow Randi's preexisting illness is public in Haven now? Or at least everyone in the Palace is gossiping about it. I don't know how it got out, but...: 

:- oh dear. I don't even have a guess, I don't know enough about how gossip circulates here:

:My best guess is one of the Heralds found out from their Companion - I think all the Companions know - because it seemed relevant to, er, how worried to be about his being in a town with a plague going through it, and then they were careless talking about it out loud in front of a stablehand or a servant or something. But, I don't know: 

:Well, if it's out that far it'll be everywhere soon. Do you have an idea how long he has -:

:When Gemma and I last talked about it, we guessed five years. Maybe less: 

:I'm really sorry:

:I'm worried this is going to make Treven look less acceptable as Randi's heir, because of his age. People aren't going to feel great about him inheriting at fifteen or sixteen: 

:If he's otherwise a good pick and really buckles down for those five years it wouldn't be outrageous, but it's not ideal, yeah - current King's Own situation doesn't help -:

:It really doesn't. Normally Rolan would be giving us helpful advice on this - I'm not sure what he thinks, actually, he hasn't told Randi's Companion his opinion: 

:Has he said anything at all?: