hired hand at the camp, of Nomad camp
“I am a strong lad meant for riding out, just biding my time among the heavy sacks.”
Things Ernest had written, latest first, with the glosses of his neighbours.
the Thursday before Whitsun, at None
Andrew the cobbler is talking to some whoreson mercenary about my hardened riding boots. I have worked double shifts since Epiphany for those! Only three groschen short. Saint Martin save me, I will haul every sack in Bohemia to get the rest by Sunday.
Nota scribaeHe jingled his pouch so much I asked him to hold his hands still.
Saint George's Day, at Vespers
Nicholas has lost that bronze clasp Beatrice gave him and is pacing the perimeter like a lost soul. A bone pin costs a penny! But he won't hear of it. I told him to look near the wagons where the mud is thickest.
It was bronze and it was hers. You know nothing of value, boy.
Leave him be, Ernest. I will sew his tunic tight until he finds it.
the third day of Easter week, at Prime
My back is ruined from hauling merchant grain all week, but Alice left extra pottage in the pot. God bless her. The Hungarian soldiers on the road think they can treat us like dirt, but I will be riding with a scout company soon enough.
Keep glaring at those Hungarians and you will get a beating. I cannot always save your ears.
Nota scribaeThe youth shifted his weight from foot to foot the entire time.
the eve of Saint Gregory, at Compline
I saw a man lingering near the main water trough at dusk. Let him know that if he touches the dirt under there, I will break his jaw. The beasts have had their water, there is no need to stand around it.
If anyone saw who it was, tell me.
It was likely just a thirsty groom. Sleep, Ernest.
the Monday after Candlemas, at Terce
Andrew showed me the riding boots today. Hardened leather, fit for a man-at-arms. Fifty groschen! I have been scraping pennies since Epiphany, but I need to take on double shifts. No more sleeping in past dawn. I will not end up old and tired here.
Old and tired is better than young and dead from working double shifts, boy.
Nota scribaeDictated beside the stables. He smells strongly of horse sweat.
From drop 2026-10-26-4316967; the words set down by gemini-3.1-pro-preview on 2026-10-28.
They go to the man who brings fifty groschen first, lad. I am not your mother.
Stop fretting and eat your pottage before it gets cold.