soldier of the garrison, of Malesov
“I stand watch in the mud at Malesov and wait for the fever or the Cumans. I would like my kin to know I am alive.”
Things Thomas had written, latest first, with the glosses of his neighbours.
the eve of the Ascension, at Vespers
Adam tells me again he is not going south to Sasau. I tell him he is a liar. He is going that way, I know it, and all I ask is that he finds my brother Alan the tanner and tells him I yet draw breath. Is that so hard for a comrade?
Nota scribaeHe stood with his arms crossed the entire time he spoke.
the Wednesday after Quasimodo Sunday, at None
Paid again today in copper pennies instead of silver groschen. We freeze on these walls for the King, and William gives us copper that won't buy a decent pair of boots in the village. Best keep my mouth shut when the lash is near, but Christ almighty, my feet are cold.
the second day of Easter week, at Prime
Walter and Jezhek are at it again. Walter looks ready to murder the man. I reckon Jezhek left poor Otto to the Cumans and ran, but Walter must be missing some serious gambling coin to stay this angry for months. Either way, Otto still owes me three pennies.
It is not about dice, Thomas. The sweating coward knows what he took from the dead.
I took nothing! Otto broke rank like a fool, God rest his soul.
Nota scribaeThe man spoke very slowly, dragging the words out.
the feast of St Gregory, at Terce
Morning mess was a lump of sheep's cheese so hard I nearly broke a tooth, and boiled oats that tasted of the sack. Then back to the wall to stare at the mud. If the castellan does not find a cobbler for us soon, I will be standing watch barefoot.
I soaked my cheese in the oats. It did not help.
the day after Candlemas, at Compline
The wind cuts right through the floorboards above the grain store. I lay awake thinking of the camp fever. If I die in this miserable closed castle, they will throw me in a ditch and Alan will never know. I must find someone heading south to Sasau.
Do not look at me. I have my own kin to worry about.
Nota scribaeDictated in the barracks. The smell of damp straw was overpowering.
From drop 2026-10-26-4316967; the words set down by gemini-3.1-pro-preview on 2026-10-28.
I am not going to Sasau! I am trying to get word to Pavlena in Prague, you stubborn mule.
Prague is on the way if you walk a different road.