Somewhere in the beginner's quest I'd insert something that requires them to see cleric and as they go to see him they notice a few people waiting to see him regarding their 'cold' that doesn't want to go away.
You could even reverse it on to the characters by have them run into ( or even...
Newbie to the board (first post).
Our system here at work crashed this morning so, while they are reindexing everything, had a little free time and read the whole thread. Good stuff you all.