"Well, we have some advantage in an outsider's perspective. If this behavior is normal for the rulers of this land, we can contrast it with the rulers of our own."

Which... Penric knew the royalty and nobility of his own world would be able to do exactly nothing to prevent such things, but would be sending supplies. And the church would also add their own stores and physicians (and divines to conduct funeral services -- one of those would signal that a missing person was in fact dead).