tavern servant, of Tachov
“I scrub tables, haul water, and put up with drunks from dawn till the lamps burn out.”
Things Isolde had written, latest first, with the glosses of her neighbours.
the Monday after Ascension, at Vespers
The ale-wife had me scrubbing the cellar steps all day. My hands are like raw meat. And the soldiers passing through drink like dry earth taking rain. Kurva, but I am tired.
Nota scribaeThe maid looked exhausted. She wiped her hands on her apron the entire time she spoke.
the second day of Rogation week, at None
Three bowls went missing last night. The ale-wife asked if I had taken them. God's truth, I have never stolen a crumb in my life. If I find the whoreson who took them, I'll brain him with a heavy jug.
Don't let it fret you. Those mercenaries pocket anything not nailed down.
the week after Easter, at Terce
They say bread will be dearer by harvest. As if a crust isn't hard enough to come by already. I put my saved pennies in the little wooden chest my father Zdenyek left me. It is all I have in this bloody world.
Perhaps if you were less clumsy with the ale, you would have more coin.
You stepped back, you fat cow. Admit it.
the fourth Sunday in Lent, at Prime
I went to the churchyard today. My father died four winters past, just before Lent. He drank his coin, but he never let me starve. I reckon he's up in heaven now, with no wood to chop.
He was a good man, Zdenyek. Quiet, but good.
Nota scribaeShe spoke quieter than usual.
the morrow of Saint Blaise, at Sext
Gerda paraded into the tavern in her new wool dress. She stepped backwards into my tray without looking, and now there's dark ale all over her precious cloth. She demanded I pay for it! The clumsy fool shouldn't dance where honest folk are working.
You poured it on me out of spite! The ale-wife should have beaten you.
I saw it. Gerda stepped right back without looking.
From drop 2026-10-26-4316967; the words set down by gemini-3.1-pro-preview on 2026-10-28.
The steps needed doing, Isolde. We have paying guests who don't want to slip in the dark.
Ay, paying guests who piss in the corners anyway.