When Paulus watched the Templar’s party leave via the muddy road to the north instead of by riverboat, that was his first real evidence that something was wrong with the Oroza.

Until that point, he’d convinced himself that it was in his own head, at least partly.

After all, just because the plague had been called the drowning didn’t mean it actually had anything to do with the water, and plenty of people besides him were allergic to shellfish.