woodcutter at pekaruv Dum, of Pritoky
“I swing a broadaxe and split ash for the ovens, and I am owed silver for the sweat off my back.”
Things Nicholas had written, latest first, with the glosses of his neighbours.
the Thursday before Whitsun, at None
If Philip Newman thinks I will swing this broadaxe for thin pottage all summer, he is a softer fool than I thought. I told Julian we should pack our bundles and walk to Kuttenberg. A man's worth is the timber he fells, and my calluses deserve silver.
Nota scribaeHe spat heavily onto the floor before beginning.
the eve of Saint John at the Latin Gate, at Vespers
Look across the fence at the zemlianky and you will see young Adam wasting away to skin and bone. Denise holds back his wages just as my master does mine. It is a bloody shame, but God understands an empty purse better than these housekeepers do.
Mind your own yard, woodcutter.
the Wednesday after Easter, at Terce
Young Thomas is still muttering his prayers to the Virgin over that vow he made during the winter sickness. I told the lad walking all the way to Sedletz will not put meat in his belly. You need a full stomach to swing an axe properly.
A vow is a vow, Nicholas. The sickness spared me.
the Tuesday after Saint Gregory, at Prime
God rest old master Jacob. He died of the fever around Saint Martin's day, and he shouted loud enough to wake the dead, but by Saint Matthias, he put the silver in a man's hand on the day it was earned. Not like some.
Master Alan is no better. They are all skinflints.
Nota scribaeThe dictator gestured with his thumb toward the bakehouse door.
Candlemas, at Vespers
Frantishek Bright and the carter George falling out over a rut and a ruined basket of turnips is the finest joke of the winter. I laughed until my ribs ached. A man who cannot steer a cart deserves to eat dirt.
It was his own clumsy steering. I will never speak his name again.
You are a hard man, Nicholas.
From drop 2026-10-26-4316967; the words set down by gemini-3.1-pro-preview on 2026-10-28.
Aye. Let him chop his own ash wood.
You will have your coin when the Easter flour is fully settled, as we agreed.
We agreed Saint Matthias's day, by the cross!