“It doesn’t correlate with population density,” the king said as he paced back and forth. “Not well, at least. I can’t rule out it being spread by human or animal contact since it’s mostly clustered in one part of the city, but I would think that it would have spread further if that were the case. I can’t imagine only one section of the city coming down with the bubonic plague if that’s what it is. The animals that carry it wouldn’t be confined in that way.”

The group stared at him as he thought out loud. “What pattern am I missing?” he wondered. I feel like it’s right there. Poison?”

He turned to the seated group. “Are there any wells or water sources this area would use more than the rest?”

Phipp answered him first. “There is a well in town, but people have been reluctant to dig more. You did promise them water, piped directly to every home. Most are still hauling water from the river, and quite a few cart owners have been earning their money with water deliveries.”

“Maybe that has something to do with it. This just feels like something ingested rather than transmittable.”

“Ingested?” Tyler asked.

“Drank,” Jason replied. “Or eaten.”

The king paused. “Phipp, you did say that some of them were getting better, right?”

“I thought so,” the man said. “But some have died since then, so I must have been mistaken.”

“Not necessarily,” Jason countered. “Something might have helped for a bit. Or a combination. We need more data. Information,” he clarified at the confused looks he got.

“We need a list of what they’re doing and what they’re not doing. Boiling water, washing hands, sun exposure, fresh air, that sort of thing. And everything they’re eating and drinking. And what animals they’ve come in contact with - both what they remember and what you see present in their houses,” he decided. What else am I missing?

“Oh, and where they got their water from, and whether they’re using the latrines, chamber pots, or something else.” The king paused, and the council stood up from their seats.

“I’ll make a list,” Samantha said. “I assume you want us to all work on this now?”

“Of course,” Jason replied firmly. “We’ve already wasted enough time while people are dying.” He caught a glimpse of the hurt look that flashed briefly across her face and sighed.

“I’m just mad at myself for waiting this long. I thought hurrying along the sanitation projects and giving people a list of how to better take care of themselves was sufficient.”

“You did the best you could,” Alex asserted.

“Sometimes,” the king reflected, “Quick action is required. Other times, it’s better to focus on gathering the knowledge you need to make the right decision. It’s hard to know which side of the spectrum is best. But enough of my self-recrimination. Let’s get to it.”

---

“The answers vary quite a bit,” Alex said when the group reviewed the information. “And I suspect more people claimed to boil their water and wash than actually did.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Samantha wrinkled her nose and agreed. “I have no doubt about that,” she stated.

“Let’s leave anything that isn’t consistent until later,” Jason said. “Now, what do most have in common?”

“They breathe air,” Samantha quipped.

Jason shot her a mock glare. “Short of that. But in all seriousness, let’s look for anything that everyone, or almost everyone, has in common. I say almost because people’s memories aren’t perfect.”

Except for me, Jason added wryly. It’s ironic that I got essentially perfect recall out of this deal, and the AIs - or AI-controlled characters - are programmed in such a way that they still can forget.

The group started reading through each other’s notes. Eventually, they had a short list to work with.

Alex read it to the group. “Oats, bread, oil, and water. Those were almost universally consumed,” he stated. “The majority also mentioned beans, eggs, beer, or sometimes ale. But they weren’t quite as common as the first.”

“Okay,” Jason said. “And we didn’t really see consistent habits.”

“You did get more people washing their hands and boiling water than I expected,” Samantha spoke up. “The pamphlet had quite an effect.”

Tyler laughed. “It probably did have an effect. But you know what else has an effect? The king’s council asking you directly if you are following his health edicts.”

“Oh!” Sam realized. “Very good point. I should have realized.”

“People lie for many reasons,” Jason said, “but to protect themselves or make themselves look better are always the most common.”

Alex nodded sagely, then got the group back on topic. “So what now?” he asked.

Jason picked up the first list, looked at it, and then turned his head back to the group.

Sam sighed at the look in his eye. “More questions?” she asked.

“More questions,” Jason confirmed.

---

Several hours and two information-gathering trips later, Jason stood in front of a mishmash of containers with oats, bread, and oils on the tables that had been set up for the purpose. He grabbed a container with oil in it and smelled it. “What is that?” he asked, waving his hand in front of his nose.

Phipp reached for the container. “Oil made from pig fat,” the baker stated. “Quite past its prime, it seems.”

Jason shuddered. “Why don’t you walk me through the rest of the items,” he requested.

Phipp gave him a dirty look but then shrugged and started looking in the containers. Jason stopped the man before he tasted any, so he had to guess at a few of the contents.

When he got through them all, Jason summarized the results. “A bunch of different kinds of cooking oils. Some rancid, some fresher.”

He skipped over to the table with the bread and moved to the containers of oats next. The move didn’t go unnoticed by the council.

“Why not these?” Alex asked him, pointing at the loaves he had ignored.

“Because if I start there,” the king responded, “I might not take the time to look at these.” He peered down at the containers of oats, then turned to Phipp. “What should I know about these? How are they used?”

“Well,” Phipp began, “You can make porridge or gruel out of them. Oatcakes, too. Ale, if you want, but I doubt a noble would appreciate the taste.”

“Does anything look wrong about this to you?” the king asked.

The councilman inspected the grains closely but finally shook his head. “No. What do you see?”

“Nothing,” Jason replied, “but we had to check. And the grains all look uniform, so it could be the commonality we’re looking for. But I suspect that’s not the case,” he said, finally turning back to the bread. “What do you notice about these?”

Samantha was the first to speak up. “They all have the same square cutting pattern in the crust,” she said excitedly. “That’s why I couldn’t believe you would ignore them.”

“It is a rather obvious commonality,” Jason said. “Which is why we must take extra care not to miss anything else that may be relevant. What else can we notice?”

Tyler picked up a half-eaten loaf. “It is all dark bread,” he said, looking at Phipp.

“Rye,” the baker responded. “Relatively cheap to buy and favored by those who do not have the coin for finer wheat bread.” He tore open a couple of other loaves and inspected them. “There is some maslin in here, too, I think.”

“What’s that?” Jason asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“Wheat and rye, together,” Phipp answered him.

“And what of the markings?” Tyler asked.

“I do not know who uses that baker’s mark,” Phipp answered, “but it can’t be that hard to find out.”