Gimodon@sonic.net on 13/8/2010 at 05:01
I think tuberculosis?
jtr7 on 13/8/2010 at 06:48
It could be as simple as pneumonia that killed the old man. It strikes swiftly, and Cutty contracted whatever he had in his brief time in prison. He felt it was the damp of the prison that had rotted his lungs. There's no precedent for Cutty dying of consumption.
I think it's horrible discontinuity to have anyone ill for a long time who can afford a health potion or two.