Strange Aeons

cold winter. The air is crisp with a heavy frost that is slow to thaw. Rumors abound that the plague is once more abroad in the city -- knowledge that weighs heavily on the populace. Numerous houses have already been boarded up; people have again taken to slaughtering stray dogs, wearing too-strong perfumes, and applying arsenic under the armpits. The Pest House is filling, and deaths are on the rise. Now you hear that Queen Elizabeth is unwell, and will probably die before spring. Everyone is wary of others, and foreigners certainly are carriers. It is a depressing time to be about in the city.