cargo tallyman and message runner
“I tally timber and grain for the merchants and keep a sharp mind, for I am meant for the assayer's ledger, not the mud.”
Things Robert Walker had written, latest first, with the glosses of his neighbours.
the Monday before Whitsun, at Compline
Master Martin leaves for Prague shortly after Corpus Christi. I have forty-two groschen wrapped safe, but trade is slow and the soldiers scare the wagons away. Eighteen more. I only need eighteen more or the clerk's position goes to a brewer's nephew. I cannot wield a mallet for the rest of my days.
Nota scribaeHe counted on his fingers the entire time he spoke.
the feast of St Pancras, at Terce
I ducked down an alley today because I saw a tabard on the corner. The King's Hungarian soldiers are a blight, taking good wagons and stopping trade. I saw Simon yesterday. His stump is healed, but a man cannot tally grain with one hand, much less fight. God keep me from the levy.
Aye, Robert. Keep your hands safe. The king's war only pays in blood and missing pieces.
the third day of Easter week, at Prime
The baker gave me half a loaf for counting his flour sacks this morning. I will save the crust for tomorrow. Every copper I do not spend on meat goes into the brick. My mother Klara knew I was meant for better things, and I will not let her memory rot in a hovel.
the Thursday after St Gregory, at Sext
A terrible argument with the carters from the lower town. They tried to claim six loads of timber, but my tally stick clearly held seven notches. They muttered foul oaths at me, but numbers do not lie. Foul language belongs to labourers and mercenaries, not a future clerk of the Italian Court.
A bit of sweat and a curse never hurt a man who works for a living.
Nota scribaeThe carter called him a whoreson, which he asked me not to write down.
Candlemas, at Vespers
The bells rang for Candlemas, and I spent the day by the market. Trade is dismal. The entry fee for the assayer's apprenticeship is exactly sixty groschen, and I have scarcely half of that. I am freezing on bare floorboards every night, but it will be worth it when I wear a clerk's robes.
Nota scribaeHe was shivering so badly I could scarcely make out his words.
From drop 2026-10-26-4316967; the words set down by gemini-3.1-pro-preview on 2026-10-28.
Come home and learn a real trade, boy. Wood doesn't care about your grand Prague dreams.
I will not end up breathing sawdust like you, father.