The room got a lot more somber with Arran's question. He could almost feel the ice forming as Rachel dropped her head and Barbara pursed her lips, trying to figure out what to say. "The easiest thing to say is that there's a plague, but...."<br/><br/>She looked at Rachel who shivered a few times before looking right at Arran. The girl spoke in a very pained voice, "There's a really bad plague going around. No one's ever recovered once they catch it so the guards are keeping anyone who might be sick outside. But for people who have to travel outside like mom..." She grabbed a handful of her skirt in each and and squeezed, scrunching her face up and shaking her head before continuing, "It's a slow death sentence so dad needs to go out and find something that'll help with it. But no one's heard of anything so far."