Bertelis's eyes drift after Zarinna for a moment - he's a man of principle, but he's not literally carved from stone - and for a crazy moment it looks like he will wander off after the apparent hookup-turned-mother-to-be of his friend's child. But even he can see he doesn't want that - he just wants to be confronting something other than the truth.

Back in the privacy of their camp next to the Pink Peacock, shows Wighard the letter.

"This ... is madness to me. The last I heard from them, it was a mysterious illness with odd features like striking people mute, and he forbade me from coming home. Perhaps there were letters between that one and this in which things got worse. But now, they have a name for it - have you ever heard of a vermilion flue? - and it is raking through the region with much desolation. And my step-mother has vanished entire - what curse is this that takes people, voice first? He did not mention my young step sister; she must be with him still... but to say there is no one left to search for her is to say that my three brothers, each knights like myself, have sought and... at best found nothing, at worst disappeared themselves. To say he may not be long for this world is all but to confess that he suspects he is plagued, or will soon be. But the -audacity- of him to write these things then ask me not to return... I cannot have it! I cannot simply read, a nation removed, about my family turning to vapor and memory!"

He had begun the confession quietly, so that Wighard alone might hear; but by the end of it he is in such a state of animation that the rest of the company (and probably some boggled pilgrims) have likely heard the pertinent details. He touches his forehead, his eyes closed and expression tight with turmoil. "I would endure the shame of defying his wish rather than the shame of standing aside. The pilgrimage, once we pass through Axe-Bite Pass, must continue to Couronne. I am bound to go this way, much as I want to cut across Bastonne straight to Bordeleaux. But the difference in land travel, going home or to Couronne, is ... not so great. It may be a day or so faster to get to Couronne, given how well patrolled and cleared the pilgrimage road is; and how that travel is exempt from the need to check with regional lords before passing through their territory. If we go to Couronne, and do not linger but ... but charter a boat the same day to take us around the cliffs of Lyonesse and down to Bordeleaux... It may be only... three days longer than cutting overland. If the winds are favorable. But Manaan has always loved the sons of Bordeleaux. He will not spite me here."

Finally, he opens his eyes, and looks around at those 'Sluggers' who have chosen not to hide the fact that they have easily overheard. "... On top of all this. The stranger, who they say brought the plague to my father's lands and those around him. And the 'sudden emergence' of this evil weapon, in Mousillon. It is to much, yes? To many chances at once? My father's lands are not adjacent to the river, but they are close enough that if a plague, or plague carrier should come from there, it is not outlandish to think they would make it that far."