guard, of Suchdol
“I walk the walls at Suchdol and try to stay out of the Captain's way. I lived through the snows on the Sazava, by God's grace, but I fear the debt I owe for it.”
Things Tobias had written, latest first, with the glosses of his neighbours.
the eve of the Ascension, at Vespers
The wind changed this morning and brought a smell of rain. I asked Bartholomew again if we might ask for a few days to walk to Sedletz. He says we are needed on the wall. I look at the sky and wonder if the lightning will take me where I stand. A vow is a vow.
Nota scribaeHe adjusted his belt six times while saying this.
the second Sunday after Easter, at None
Ralph came to the gate this morning smelling like a brewery floor. He tripped on a loose stone and near broke his nose. I helped him up, but he looked right through me. The lad is running from the Sazava in a cup of ale, but it won't hide him.
the Tuesday in Easter week, at Prime
Standa and Reginald are at it again over Jarda. One says he broke formation, the other says he died a martyr. I say he took an arrow in the gut and bled out in the snow, and shouting about it won't bring him back. They should pray for him instead.
He held the line when the rest of you were shivering in your cloaks. I won't hear him slandered.
He stepped too far forward, and the marauders made a sieve of him. It's just a fact.
Nota scribaeThe man coughed heavily before speaking.
the Thursday after Laetare Sunday, at Sext
They say the price of a loaf is going up again because the Hungarian soldiers are taking the grain on the roads. I just eat my ration of salt pork and hard bread in the mess. It fills the belly, even if you have to chew it for an hour.
The bread is worse than last year, and the pork is mostly gristle. We're eating like dogs.
the first week of Lent, at Compline
I woke sweating again. The fever is gone, but I still feel the cold from that march along the river. I remember making a promise to Saint Martin in the dark. I must go to Sedletz. Barefoot. I must. If Bartholomew won't come, perhaps I will go alone.
Don't be a fool, Tobias. The roads aren't safe for one man barefoot. We'll go when the weather truly turns.
No man leaves this fortress without my word. You'll stand your watch, Tobias.
Nota scribaeHe spoke softly, as if afraid the Captain might hear.
From drop 2026-10-26-4316967; the words set down by gemini-3.1-pro-preview on 2026-10-28.
The Captain would flay us if we asked for leave now. The monks can wait a week, Tobias. God understands duty.
God remembers what we swore in the dark when we had the shivering sickness, Bartholomew. I cannot sleep for it.