Laine sat on the porch of a "Ten-Household Building," opening a hardcover notebook.
He had used half a month's saved-up allowance to get this "luxury item" from the town's Points Exchange.
The paper was coarse, and the mouth of the ink bottle was a little chipped.
He unscrewed the ink bottle, carefully dipped into the ink, and wrote today's date in his journal.
The writing was crooked, the ink varying from dark to light, but he pressed down hard.
Eternal Radiance Calendar, Year 1374, October 3rd. Sunny.
Day off. Don't have to go to the Lord Pig's Mansion to haul planks. I saw Barton go to the Newly Cultivated Land this morning. He's the deputy captain, a bastard built like a bear.
He read it over, then scribbled out the word "Pig" and drew a heavy circle beside it.
The atmosphere in town is off. Lord Barrett called back everyone who had the day off. They carried logs and food into the swamp. At the watchtower outside of town, there are more guards on duty, day and night.
