hired hand, of Kuttenberg
“I haul ore and timber for the silver works. I am older and stronger than the boys I work with, but a man cannot earn a full wage with empty hands.”
Things Tobias had written, latest first, with the glosses of his neighbours.
the Tuesday before Whitsun, at Vespers
The bread is twice the price it was last year, and they pay me half wages to haul baskets of slag because I have no pick. A man cannot live on half wages when the soldiers eat everything in the county.
Nota scribaeDictated at the lesser gate of the Court. The man looked very tired.
the eve of St George, at Compline
Nicholas asks me again to walk the road to Suchdol to take word to his mother Mandelina. I have told the boy no a hundred times. The roads are thick with Hungarian mercenaries and tolls. I am not getting killed over a message.
the third day of Easter week, at Sext
I am proud to say I out-hauled lads ten years younger than me today, even if my shoulders ache for it. Still, I would ache less if I had my own iron. Foreman Franz is gone to Prague a month now, and I am still waiting.
You are strong as an ox, Tobias, but you complain like an old woman.
the Friday after St Gregory, at None
The widow Barbara wants her penny for the stable rent, and the bailiff wants to inspect our kit for the muster. The boys are pawning their gear just to buy small beer. I try to be an anchor for them, but they are bloody fools.
A penny a week is a fair price for a dry roof, Tobias. I have my own rent to pay the town.
Nota scribaeHe asked me not to write the swear word, but I am too weary to scratch it out.
Candlemas, at Prime
Foreman Franz says we must bring our own tools for the collapsed adit or take half wages. I lent my best heavy pick to Lamprecht so the lad could get a full share. May the Lord grant he swings it true and breaks no rock on his foot.
Praise be, Tobias. I will give it back to you at Vespers when the shift is done.
From drop 2026-10-26-4316967; the words set down by gemini-3.1-pro-preview on 2026-10-28.
I told you, I lent the pick to Paul for his shift, and he has not brought it back to the stable yet.
It is my tool. Get it back, or I will take it from your hide.