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I've known my elderly neighbour for more than a decade. He lived alone in a house he inherited from his aunt. He has no other family apart from two siblings who also inherited the house with him. The aunt said it couldn't be sold for as long as he was alive and living there. Over the years we've become very friendly.
About four years ago he said to me that his siblings were just waiting and hoping for him to die so they could sell the house. He seemed very angry and concerned about it. Almost like he thought they were going to try to do something to make it happen.
About a week later he gave me a bag with two large bundles of banknotes amounting to a very substantial amount of cash. He said his siblings were sniffing around and he was terrified they'd find his money and take it. He wanted it out of the house and asked me to keep it safe for him. He just said that if he ever died "it's yours, just don't let those bastards (the siblings) have it".
I wasn't sure how long he wanted me to keep this money but he would regularly come in to my property for a cup of tea. I'd always let him see that his cash was safe, in my safe.
Then covid hit and he simply disappeared off the face of the earth. As he was in his 70's, obese and with multiple underlying conditions I assumed that maybe he was taken somewhere to shield and that he'd be back eventually. But he never returned. The house has been sold. He didn't have a mobile phone and I have no way of knowing if he's in a care home somewhere or if the worst has happened.
I still have his cash waiting for him and it will always be his money as long as I know he might still be alive. But I don't really want to keep it in my home anymore. If I put it in the bank I can't really expect not to have to answer questions and as I have no proof of where I got it they might think I'm a drug dealer.
Any ideas what to do and where do I stand legally?
hi! i was wondering if there are any restaurants in tokyo, japan (or japan in general) that serve traditional japanese breakfast? like what parents may prepare for their children at home?
I’m not sure if a “japanese breakfast restaurant” or “Japanese breakfast” in general is even a thing but please let me know if it is, and if there are particular foods Japanese people eat for breakfast.
or if you have a recommendation of any restaurants to eat at in the morning (early morning about 7am-11am) please let me know too x
thank youuu
The night before Memorial Day my little pig started showing signs of sickness. He’s 5 years old, a senior. He was lethargic, not eating or drinking, not using the bathroom or moving around. He lost a ton of weight overnight. He was just laying down making a sound like he was having difficulty breathing. Of course no vets were open since it’s a holiday, so he went a full 24 hours in this state. I hand fed him and bottle fed him since he couldn’t on his own. Yesterday I called first thing in the morning to a vet an hour away, which is the closest exotic vet. They didn’t accept new patients, but with how critical his condition was they let me come in. I was thinking it was going to be a 50/50 chance he survived, I kept my hopes up too high. I did all I could, I let them take an x ray and nothing showed up that they could tell. Next I let them take blood work, and with how dehydrated he was they were able to just get enough to see his white and red blood cell count. His white blood cell count was extremely high, and they said he had an infection of some sort that they couldn’t pin point, it could have been cancer. She told me euthanasia was on the table, as if we even did treatment we wouldn’t know what we were treating, and he was also suffering from gastrointestinal stasis from not eating, so his organs were already shutting down. It was an uphill battle she said, even if he survived this he would most likely become sick again. I decided to euthanize him. I held him as they did the anesthesia, and he fell asleep in my arms. I can’t seem to get the image of his limp body out of my head, as he was always running around, energetic and happy. I’ve been in complete shock since he passed. I went home and immediately took down his cage, but I’m keeping his things to remember him by. I can’t help but feel like I didn’t try hard enough to keep him alive, even though the vet told me he was in such critical condition. The option wouldn’t be on the table if he was fixable, right? I just wish I was able to tell him how much I loved him, and what was going to happen and why. I have difficulty with the concept of death, and what happens after. I’d like to think that he’s no longer in pain, and he’s living his best afterlife. I don’t like to think it’s nothingness forever, but if it is atleast he isn’t in pain and he had a good life. I just feel so guilty for playing god, and making that decision for him. I wish I could have asked him what he wanted. I wonder what would have happened if I tried treatment. Atleast I was holding him and there for him in his final moments, seeing him so dilapidated I know he was probably going to die anyways. With my cat who passed a couple years ago, I could tell by her face it was the end, and I saw that with my Guinea pig yesterday. I ended up having to pay 700$ for all of this, and I’m not even worried about the money as I’m glad he went peacefully and with dignity, as he wouldn’t have if he died at home naturally. Just everything together, having to put down my pet, losing almost a grand, and missing work because I’m an absolute mess that can’t stop crying. Could anyone give me kind words to help me get past the guilt and grief? Thank you for listening 😢💗
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Table of Contents ---
Spring 4985, 18 Buromoth The road to Hamerfoss was north out of Smilnda. By horse, the journey took only two days, one and a half if ridden hard. By foot, it generally took four days, but escorting a heavily loaded wagon would take the squires six.
On the first day out, Thom and Rerves released their excited energy through constant chatter. Talking about how happy they were to finally be on their way to
real training. Occasionally Shon would join in.
On the second day, they spoke about how much easier it would be to concentrate without the girls around. Shon didn’t join much in this conversation.
On the third day, they confessed to missing Daisy and Ania. Suspecting they missed the conversation, Shon attempted to chime in more often.
The fourth and fifth days were plagued with spring rain, and the boys did little more than complain, particularly about their new leather armor chafing when wet. Shon couldn't help but grumble in affirmation. He'd hated the armor from the first day.
The sixth, and final, day saw a stop to the rain. The boys spent their walk beside the wagon carefully dodging puddles after Thom submerged his entire boot in one deeper than expected. There was very little talking between them now, all three too nervous and excited for their imminent arrival.
The road outside the city had been the only part with flat fields and open skies on either side. For the rest, they'd traveled through forest, with only the occasional clearing maintained explicitly for travelers to camp. Tall evergreens growing close together blocked the view of anything beyond the road at their feet, giving Shon and the others very little to look at as they marched.
Two sturdy horses pulled the wagon of supplies for the fortress. Barrels of food and crates of scrap metal as well as sacks of letters and the Squire's personal bags, weighed down the laden wagon, the wheels carving deep channels in the muddy road.
Shon had already sketched the wagon, the horses, the Paladin driving them, and his fellow Squires many times over. He even managed a few landscape drawings, for lack of better subjects. He had no idea how the other two managed to calm their excitement before sleep. Perhaps that was why they talked so much every night.
Walking ahead of him, Rerves readjusted the hilt of his short sword while Shon pulled at the neck of his armor for what seemed like the hundredth time each. They hadn’t been trained in the proper use of either, and Shon wondered again why the Paladins had insisted the Squires wear them. They'd been ordered to guard the wagon, but who would be stupid enough to waylay a Temple cart so close to a fortress full of knights? Of course, monsters such as the draken and drakwalves were always a threat, but what were three untrained boys supposed to do against something like that?
Shon sighed, letting his hand fall limply from the gorget. It was no use. No matter how many times he tried to shift it, it would just rub somewhere else until he grew uncomfortable enough to try again. He attempted to distract himself, letting his eyes unfocus and picturing himself going through his kata as he walked in a daze. Master Veon-Zih always said that mental practice was just as important as physical training, though in this case, Shon was just glad it gave him something to focus on besides his nerves and discomfort.
He was about to start the second kata when he nearly ran into Rerves. The taller boy had stopped walking, and Shon arched an eyebrow at him before realizing that the wagon had also stopped.
There was no way they were there already… Stepping to the side, Shon saw what had stalled them. A man in what looked like poorly kept half-plate stood in the middle of the path. A large war ax strapped to his back.
The stranger scratched at his short beard, scraggly and peppered like his hair, “Ho traveler, where you headed?” He called.
The three boys looked to the Paladin driving the wagon, watching as his eyes narrowed, “We are bound for Hamerfoss, good ser…”
“Ah, so the toll you’ll be payin' will be comin' out of them coffers then,” the stranger called, his face splitting into a grin as the boys looked back his way.
“There is no toll on this road, good ser.” their Paladin stated. As if their heads had been placed on a swivel, the Squires returned their gazes to him, but only for a moment as the stranger answered again.
“There is now.” the bandit lifted his hand, the Paladin stood, and the boys looked between the two with wide eyes, not sure what they were supposed to do. The bandit whistled, a sharp sound that sent birds flying from the trees as four hooded figures exited from the gloom to surround the wagon and its three terrified Squires.
The Paladin drew his longsword, ordering the boys, “Protect the wagon!” They turned frightened eyes on each other for only a moment before looking back at the bandits. Each now holding swords of their own.
The knight lept from the wagon and charged the leader, who'd reached for his ax. Thom and Rerves fumbled for their short swords, and Shon dropped into a low stance, his fists held at the ready and heart beating furiously.
“Shon, sword!” Rerves yelled, his voice somehow steady as the four hooded bandits stalked closer.
Shon actually felt himself blush despite the situation and pulled his sword from its scabbard like the rest. He felt off-balance, the weight of the weapon throwing off his well-rehearsed stance. He didn’t have time to adjust before the bandits charged. Two went for Rerves, leaving one each for Shon and Thom.
Shon tried to relax, to stay alert and ready to move, as he'd been taught. But his palm was sweating and he clinched the hilt tighter than intended. Focused on the bandit heading his way, the chaos around him blurred, becoming indistinct, like a drawing left in the rain. Shon held his ground and lifted the sword to one of the ready positions he'd seen the Paladins practice. His attacker was quite a bit taller than he was, and Shon lifted the sword above his head as the first swing came down hard from above.
The hilt shook in Shon's hand, and his attacker didn't hesitate to swing again, this time sweeping around and aiming for Shon's left leg. Clenching his teeth, Shon pivoted the sword down to block again but misjudged the length of his blade. The bandit's long sword passed below the point of Shon's block to strike just above the knee. He felt the impact, but could only imagine the damage, refusing to look and thanking Hengist the limb hadn't buckled. As the shock of the hit ran its course, the attacker flicked his sword up from inside Shon's failed guard, knocking the weapon from his hand.
The short sword flew free, but Shon had already begun his counter, aiming with his free right hand at his attacker’s extended wrist. The hit would have knocked the attacker's arm aside at the least, but with his now empty left hand, Shon struck the same arm from the outside at the elbow. In an instinctual effort to save the joint, the bandit twisted awkwardly, but predictably, bringing his head lower and closer.
Cartilage crunched beneath his knuckles and Shon's attacker reeled back, gripping his nose under his hood and cursing loudly enough for others to hear over the clang of metal and chaos.
One of Rerves' attackers disengaged from his two-on-one fight to aid his friend, who was now backing away from Shon as fast as he could. Shon hesitated a moment then dashed to his fallen sword.
Again Shon felt unbalanced with the weapon in hand. He tried to shift his weight to offset the difference but barely had enough time to bring the sword to bear as the second attacker swung his two-handed greatsword at Shon's right side.
Taking his own weapon in both hands, Shon managed to absorb some of the force of the blow, but he still wasn't strong enough to fully block the strike. His arms buckled, giving way for his opponent's longsword to hit his upper arm. This second hit hadn't fully registered in Shon's mind when the new attacker shoved his shoulder into Shon's chest, trying to push him over.
It worked. Shon fell to the ground with a splash and smack as he habitually swung his hands down to slap the ground, dropping his sword again, but breaking the energy of the fall. Just as Master Veon-Zih had taught him. Perhaps expecting Shon to be winded, the attacker didn't follow through with another attack on the prone boy; instead, turning to look at the companion Shon had punched.
Shon didn't hesitate. Still on his back, Shon twisted his hips, scissoring his legs to either side of the bandit's leg and kicking him behind the knee and inside the shin. The bigger man went down, and Shon swung his legs up, rolling onto his shoulder blades before jumping directly to a standing position. Or at least trying to. The leather armor was heavy and awkward, and he wobbled when he landed on his feet. As he attempted to regain his balance, another whistle rang out from the front of the wagon.
As one, the attackers disengaged from their respective defending Squires. The one Shon had knocked down rolled away and was helped up by his companion sporting a bloody nose. The Squires didn't pursue. Their hands shook with adrenaline, and their eyes tried to dart every way at once.
"Stand down, Squires," it was the Paladin. The knight had sheathed his sword and was moving back towards the wagon, but the boys could barely manage a glance at each other before focusing back on their attackers. Still very much on edge. It wasn't until the attackers in question also sheathed their weapons that the Squires began to slowly straighten, looking between the Paladin, the lead bandit, their attackers, and each other in quick succession.
"You all did very well," the knight said, reaching out to ensure the horses were still calm. They'd hardly moved, causing Shon to determine they must be warhorses, perhaps one was the knight's own partner.
"Not bad, not bad." the lead bandit started forward, slinging his ax back over his shoulder as he moved. Rather than being reassured by the gesture, the Squires dropped back into their fighting stance.
The Paladin snapped, "It was a test, boys. Relax and sheath your swords before you hurt yourselves." The lead 'bandit' laughed out loud at that. It was a booming sound like a bark straight from his belly as he threw his head back and planted his fists firmly on his hips.
"First time seeing battle, even a mock one, and you can't help but be on edge. It's the same every year," he said, the strange speech pattern he'd used before completely gone. He gestured, and his four underlings removed their hoods. The one with the bloody nose still had it pinched, his head tilted forward.
Mock battle… Shon's leg and arm throbbed painfully with every heartbeat, and his knuckles stung as he clenched and unclenched his fists to try and relax. But now that it was over, he realized that both hits had been with the flat of the blade.
The ringleader continued, "These fine Squires are going to be the newest Paladins of Hengist. After their vigil next month." the four attackers saluted and the younger Squires exchanged glances again before finally putting their swords away. "And I," the man slapped his chest, "am your new Weaponmaster. Master Daunas Mung. It will be my job to train you in combat at Hamerfoss."
Rerves was the first to recover. He smiled, but his voice held a hint of sarcasm, "I wish I could say it's nice to meet you, Master Daunas," he tried to laugh, "perhaps once my heart has stopped trying to beat its way out of my chest." That caused the Weaponmaster to bark his own laugh again. Thom smiled nervously at Shon, who was taking slow, measured breaths to calm his own heart.
The Paladin took a moment to examine their various bumps and bruises but only used his magic to heal the senor squire's broken nose. The much larger party continued together towards Hamerfoss, Master Daunas riding with the Paladin in the wagon while the older Squires chatted amongst each other. Thom and Rerves didn’t join in the chatter, both looking as anxious as Shon felt. He could hear the two uninjured seniors making fun of the two who had fought him and wasn’t sure if he should be embarrassed or proud. He'd hardly used his sword, -dropped it twice!- and the sword was the sacred weapon of Hengist. The symbol of the god himself.
Eventually, -finally- they left the woods and immediately saw the fortress situated in the middle of a vast field. Hamerfoss was one of the oldest structures still being utilized in Clearhelm. As such, it wasn't nearly as visually impressive as some of the newer Temples in the cities. Even so, as they approached the south gate, the three new Squires gaped at its great stone walls in awe.
The outer curtain wall was twenty stones high, -at least four of the boys stacked one on top of the other- with two layers of iron portcullises, their bars as thick as Shon's forearm. Walking through the first, the boys looked up and saw the faces of Paladins looking down at them through holes in the ceiling, built for dumping hot tar or oil on invaders trapped between the portcullises. They moved a little faster through the second.
Beyond the wall was one of two open courtyards, with training dummies, archery targets, and sparring rings separated by neat stone walkways. The smell of hay and horses wafted over the whole place from the stable against the south wall to their right, and the ringing "tink, tink" of a hammer on metal filled the cool air from the smithy built into the side of the fortress proper.
"Welcome to Hamerfoss!" Master Daunas gestured widely to all before them, and Shon fixed his eyes on the fortress itself, rising up like an indomitable mountain before him. It was about fifteen feet taller than the curtain wall, with one great tower in the center jutting up another fifteen feet above that. The roof was lined with battlements where archers could rain death on an invading army.
Turning his head, Shon could see three of the four bastions at the corners of the curtain wall and the armored figures that must be more Paladins standing guard. His left hand twitched as he longed to unpack his journal and draw every detail. The bare, dead-looking vines covering the face of the west wall, he was sure they would bloom in a few short weeks and cover the stone in green; the squat smithy coming out of his workshop to wipe the sweat from his brow in the cool air of early spring; and the slack-jawed expressions of awe on his companions' faces as they tilted their heads waaay back to try and see the top of the fortress's tower. But there would be plenty of time for that. After all, this would be his home for the next four years.
"Well. Don't just stand there gawkin'! Unload the wagon." Shon jumped in surprise and glimpsed Thom and Rerves doing the same. Master Daunas must have startled them out of their awe as well.
Shon was grateful as Rerves cleared his throat and took charge. His habit of speaking first and taking control had annoyed the girls back in Smilnda, but as Thom was used to it and Shon didn’t like giving orders, it worked out well for the boys. "Thom, you get the horses settled. Shon, you start handing me things out of the wagon." Without a word of argument, Thom nodded and went to the horses, murmuring gently as he began removing their harness and Shon climbed into the bed of the wagon to lift one crate at a time down to Rerves.
Master Daunas snorted, turning away from the new boys to give orders Shon couldn't hear to the older Squires. The young men saluted in unison, one moving to help Thom and two coming back to the wagon to help Shon and Rerves. The last jogged to the blacksmith, who waved him towards the smithy. He returned a moment later, carrying a small box and marching towards the smith, who was speaking quietly with Master Daunas.
"Shon, come on!" Rerves whispered, gesturing with both hands impatiently. Shon shook his head to clear it, handing Rerves another crate. He'd been paying a little too much attention to Daunas and the smith.
"Sorry," Shon murmured, but if Rerves heard him, he just took the box and set it with the others. It didn't take long for the four Squires to finish with the wagon. Shon hopped down with his own pack over his shoulder just as Thom came out of the stable with the senior Squire to meet them.
"Horses taken care of?" Rerves asked, and Shon blinked at him, thinking,
Of course, they were; Thom wouldn't have come out otherwise… "Yep, all settled and ready to go," Thom answered with a smile. Shon would've simply nodded. He was never one to waste words on things that didn't need to be said, and now more than ever, he found himself so focused on taking in everything around him that he could hardly think of words to say.
It seemed Master Daunas had been waiting for something to be said out loud, though, because he turned towards them at the sound, "Alright lads, this here is Nangran Flintchest. He's our resident Smith, and he'll be making all your equipment." The man was only as tall as Thom, but his shoulders and chest were broader even than Master Daunas, with hands the size of shovels and a beard that hung to the middle of his chest.
"Line up, smallest... largest…" As he spoke, Nangran pointed first to the right, then to the left of Shon, and didn't bother to see if they obeyed before turning away from them to open the box the older Squire had brought. Taking out a long measuring tape and a ratty-looking notebook, the smith tossed the young man the notebook without explanation and headed toward Thom with the measuring tape. Thom quickly positioned himself to the right of Shon with Rerves on Shon’s left.
Nangran motioned with his hand, grumbling only "Arms…" Without need for further explanation, Thom stepped forward and lifted his arms like a 't', visibly swallowing down his nerves. Shon watched closely as the smith took the smaller boy's measurements. Around his chest, his bicep, lower arm, from shoulder to elbow, elbow to wrist, neck to waist, and much more besides. Thom stood stiff, following the old man's clipped instructions with hesitant jerky movements. Shon thought it should be awkward to work around their armor, but Nangran didn't seem to notice.
"Sword?" Nangran asked, and Thom made a confused sound. But the smith waved a massive hand in his face, "Not you, boy. Daunas, what sword?"
Master Daunas had his arms crossed over his chest and was tilting his head back and forth from one side to the other, absently scratching his beard before he finally said. "Two hands." he then pointed at Shon, saying, "Bastard." Shon wrinkled his nose, but the offense was short-lived when Daunas pointed at Rerves, saying, "One hand."
Nangran sniffed, "One each..." he stepped over to Shon and motioned for him to raise his arms. Shon stiffened but obliged, keeping his eyes fixed forward as the old man ran his measuring tape all across Shon's body, fighting not to flinch each time the Smith brushed against him.
"Yep," Daunas answered. They were talking as if the boys weren't even there, and the older Squires just watched. Didn’t they have anything better to do? "And that one," Daunas continued, nodding towards Shon, "is a lefty." Nangran snorted without comment and continued measuring, while the Squire with the notebook scribbled a little something extra besides the numbers Nangran mumbled to him.
But then the smith ran his hand down Shon’s forearm, touching the skin of his wrist, and pulled away in surprise. Shon jerked his hand back but quickly returned it with a nervous swallow. The smith stared at him, his brow furrowed, "You're cold as ice boy. Nervous?"
Shon shook his head, but the smith continued to stare, so he added, "No sir. I'm always cold."
The smith hummed and went back to measuring around Shon's wrist and back up his arm, "They say cold hands make a warm heart," Nangran muttered.
Beside Shon, Rerves and Thom snickered. "Whoever says that has never met Shon," said Thom, who had relaxed noticeably once the smith had finished with him. Face forward, Shon glared sideways at him, but there was no real anger in it, and Thom snickered again.
Master Daunas let out another bark of a laugh, "I see you get along well! That's good; you'll want friends in training." Shon tried to relax, taking a deep breath through his nose and letting it out through pursed lips. He did get along with his fellow Squires. He felt his lips tilt up in an almost imperceptible smile. He would even go so far as to call them friends. Even if they did poke fun at each other. Or maybe it was because they did.
Smith Nangran moved on to Rerves, and Shon looked from the larger boy to the smaller and back again before focusing his gaze on Master Daunas. It seemed neither of them was going to ask the adults to clarify what they meant by the sword assignments, so he would have to. Feeling more at ease, he asked, "I thought we were going to be trained in all weapons…"
Daunas must've seen where Shon was going because he spoke at the pause provided, "Oh, you will, boy. But I was watching you fight back on the road. You didn't think we staged that little raid just for fun, did you?" Shon didn't answer. He
had thought it was just for fun. Perhaps some kind of hazing ritual. When Shon didn't say anything, Daunas continued, "You boys haven't been trained, so your movements were on instinct, giving me an idea for what fighting style you may lean more towards." he pointed at Shon, who crossed his eyes to focus on the finger, "You, boy, are going to be a problem. You're the one old man V's been training."
Who? Shon refocused on the Weapon Master's face, arching an eyebrow in confusion. When Master Daunas didn’t respond to the look, Shon guessed, "Master Veon-Zih?"
Daunas continued, "He's got you jumping around with no mind to the armor you'll be wearing or the weapon in your hand. You'll have to work twice as hard to adjust some of those habits." Shon was taken aback, shocked, and a little afraid… He didn't want to lose what he'd already learned… but Master Daunas continued, "But with a hand-and-a-half sword, you'll be able to switch between one and two-handed maneuvers." he smiled softly, and Shon realized his emotions must have been showing on his face more than usual because the Weapon Master seemed to be comforting him. "You mark my words; you'll favor the bastard sword for sure."
Nangran finished with Rerves and began rolling up his measuring tape. He turned his back on the boys but spoke to them as he took his notebook back from the senior Squire, “Take that leather off and put it in the wagon. I’ll have better ready for you by first watch week.” The Squires exchanged looks, then began following the command, stripping off the leather armor and thick gambeson and trying in vain to straighten the sweaty wrinkled uniforms underneath.
“You four,” Daunas addressed the seniors, who moved from parade rest to attention in perfect unison, “show these three around and give them the rundown of how things work around here. You three,” he looked over his shoulder at Shon and the others, scratching his neck again, “this is your last day of freedom, enjoy it while you can.” all seven Squires saluted and Daunas sighed, giving a lazy salute in response before walking off, muttering to himself, “I need to shave…”
The older Squires approached the younger, two of them snickering after Daunas was far enough away not to hear. Shon arched an eyebrow at them and, seeing the expression, the tallest explained, “He’s normally clean-shaven. He let his beard grow out all week for the wagon raid.”
“You’ll be doing one too, in your last year.” another of the four added.
“Sorry about your arm,” the one who had fought Thom said, holding out his hand to the younger boy, “You really did do well, considering.” Thom shook the young man’s hand with a grateful smile at the compliment.
The two who had fought Shon exchanged looks with each other then looked at him, their expressions expectant. Shon arched his other eyebrow instead. Did they really expect him to apologize?
They had attacked
him. And he was four years younger than they were.
“So…” the one Shon had bloodied started, drawing the word out.
“Who taught you how to fight?” the second interjected.
“Master Veon-Zih.”
When Shon didn’t elaborate further, the two exchanged silent shrugs. Shon looked away from them, frustrated. They could communicate with each other fine in gestures and expressions, yet,
he was expected to explain details they didn't need? Would they even know what a Monk was? Did it even matter? He was here to train as a Paladin now.
The only one who hadn’t spoken yet cleared his throat, and the other three turned his way immediately. Apparently, he was the unofficial leader of this group, just like Rerves was the unofficial leader of theirs. “We'll show you the barracks first. You should shower and change your uniforms before we walk around the rest of the fortress.”
“You have showers here too?” Rerves blurted in amazement, then snapped his mouth shut, blushing.
The two who were prone to laughing did so again, “Why wouldn’t we?”
“I bet we need it more than most of the official Temples.” the two laughed again.
Thom shuffled his feet nervously but said, “They told us things would be a lot rougher here.”
“They were probably just trying to scare you,”
“They were talking about the work,” the leader said sharply, then turned towards the fortress.
Shon and the others quickly grabbed their bags and rushed to follow. The leader continued to talk as they fell into step behind him, “Your day will start just before sunrise, at fifth bell. You will get dressed, make your bed as quickly as possible, then gather with the others in the courtyard,” he gestured with one hand at a wide-open spot on the training grounds, “From there we run. Around the fortress ten times in formation. After that are drills and then breakfast. After breakfast, we have prayer, followed by lectures, then heavy weapons and armor training, then lunch.” they made their way into the fortress and up a long flight of stairs to the third floor, “After lunch, there's more classwork, then light weapons and combat training. You’re then given an hour of free time to shower and rest before dinner. After dinner, there is mandated study or prayer time, then another hour of free time before lights out at ninth bell. Once every season, we take four weeks to stand watch, one week for each shift.”
He took them down a long hall lined with doors on one side. Shon tried to listen and count the doors at the same time and was glad he did when the leader stopped beside the ninth, “These three rooms are yours. Go ahead and get a new uniform and meet us back out here.”
One of the nicer boys stepped forward to open the first door, “This one is Rerves, followed by Shon and Thom.” Shon entered to find a small room barely six feet square. Directly across from the door was a bed that took up the entire wall and a small high-set window that looked out over the training field. Beside it was a small desk with a single wooden chair. Under the bed, Shon found a long shallow box full of neatly folded uniforms. His name was embroidered in the lining of each piece, and on top was a pinned note with instructions detailing the laundry procedure. Shon only skimmed it, it was the same as the fortress in Smilnda, and most likely the same the Provence over, perhaps even the kingdom.
He left his pack by the desk and returned to the hall with one of his uniforms to find it empty. Glancing down either side of the hall, he shrugged at Thom’s questioning look when he was joined by his two fellows. They waited at least ten minutes before the seniors returned, without their armor and holding their own spare uniforms. They looked nearly as disheveled as the juniors. The leader gestured for them to follow again and said, “Once you get your armor, you will keep it in your room. It's your responsibility to keep it oiled or polished as appropriate.” well, they would be good at that at least… Had they been left to wait while the seniors cared for their armor? Shon didn’t bother to ask, following the four deeper into the fortress.
They were taken to the showers, a single large room with spigots set into the walls and drains in the floor. The seniors started to strip down, placing their dirty uniforms in a basket by the door and setting their clean sets on the benches set along the same wall. Thom, Rerves, and Shon all exchanged looks before following their lead.
There were only ten showerheads, and Rerves finally asked, “How many Squires are there here?”
The seniors each moved to their own showerhead, and the room was quickly filled with hot steam, “Twentyone, including us, but we will be gone in a month, so that will leave seventeen.” one of them answered, stepping under the hot water with a grateful sigh, rinsing the sweat and dirt from the road off his surprisingly well-muscled body. Shon counted the shower spigots again as he moved towards his own. Almost twenty Squires and only ten showers at a time… it sounded like a nightmare. But at least they had hot running water.
Though he had above-average cold tolerance and preferred the winter chill far more than the summer sweat, Shon always enjoyed a truly hot shower. Master Veon-Zih liked to argue that baths were far superior, but in Shon's experience, baths always cooled off too quickly, which was why most ordinary citizens of Clearhelm used the public steam baths.
After they were washed and dressed, the real tour began. They were shown the hall with the officer's rooms, the infirmary, the mess hall, the library, and the classroom. “There’s only one?” Thom asked, peeking into the room with a blackboard across the far wall and long tables situated in front.
“Tomorrow is the last real day before the watch weeks start. You'll spend those four weeks catching up on foundational stuff. Kingdom-wide law, and your assigned sword dills, that sort of thing. After that, the lessons are given in a four-year rotation, so your first classes after the watch weeks will be new to both you and everyone else." the leader explained.
The nicest one elaborated, “You’ll have the same schedule we did, so comparative law, followed by history, then theology, then comparative cultural studies.” Shon wasn’t sure what he looked forward to least on that list. Though all would be better than fighting for a shower…
"There's also etiquette, monster studies, combat tactics and command, and war history and theory." his friend added, and Shon was relieved that at least most of those seemed more interesting.
Next, they were shown some of the less-used rooms. The war room, full of charts and maps and only used for large-scale tactics training, and an indoor sparring room that looked like it was never used.
“This is supposed to be for heavy weather.” one of the laughers said with a snicker.
“But Master Daunus says your enemies won’t let you move a fight inside, so why practice there,” added the other. Shon happened to agree, but also wasn’t looking forward to training in the rain after having walked in it for two days.
Lastly, they were shown the chapel, not as fine as the one in Smilnda but with the same sweet incense and warm comfort. The atmosphere seeped into Shon’s bones as they approached the head altar for a brief prayer and a blessing from the resident Cleric. He was a young man with pale brown hair and green eyes. He smiled warmly down at the new boys, saying, “Welcome to Hamerfoss, Squires of Hengist.” which in turn made each of them glow with enough pride to banish the nerves of their first day and daunting future.
***
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Table of Contents ---
All comments and criticism is welcome.
I would think running for you is hard. Being a BIG ASSHOLE and all. They do say, everything is bigger in Texas. I guess that includes ASSHOLES like you!!!
My (24f) great aunt passed away a while back. She was my grandpa’s sister and when my grandma passed shortly after the birth of her 2nd child, my great aunt moved in with my grandpa to help him raise his children. She never married or had children of her own.
Since my grandpa already passed away almost a decade ago, after my great aunt’s death my dad and aunt just basically split anything of values in half. My grandpa already sold their childhood home before his death so other than money there wasn’t a lot to pass down. My great aunt, however, was an artist, so there were sketchbooks lying around. She was also a great cook and had scribbled her recipes all over, some on the back pages of the sketchbook. They were shared among the grandkids, me and my cousins. I received 4 sketchbooks as my “inheritance.”
My parents divorced when I was young. My mom went to live in her wife’s country, so I spent most time with my dad. He remarried when I was 11 and my stepmom had a son Jacob who’s the same age. Jacob and I get along wonderfully. I consider him both my brother and one of my closest friends. We lived 3 hour away from my extended family so they weren’t close with Jacob who often spent Christmas with his dad.
Jacob went to culinary school after a year in college and not liking it. He now works in a bakery while also selling custom order cookies and cakes and other sweets via online channels.
Since Jacob was making the sweets for sale, I thought he would benefit from my great aunt’s recipes more than me, so I gave him copies of the recipes. He was really excited and said he would work on “prettying up” the finished products a bit and have them ready for custom orders.
As it turned out, my great aunt’s recipes were a big hit, big enough that Jacob needed to set the number of orders he could manage at a period of time and have customers placing orders in advance. I did receive my royalties in the form of food being periodically mailed straight to my front door which worked just great.
One of my cousins follows Jacob on social media and learned of the recipes behind Jacob’s products. She then told the rest of the family and everyone was upset that I allowed my great aunt’s recipes to be commercially used like this. They said Jacob should pay for the recipes because he’s making major profits from them.
I was like that’s ridiculous. The recipes are mine and I refuse to charge my brother for them. My cousins told me that to be fair the profits from the recipes should be shared among the family of my great aunt and Jacob should not get to just reap benefits from our family recipes.
My dad stayed out of it but agreed with me that I was free to share the recipes with whoever I wished. I just told my cousins that should any of them plan to open a bakery, I will stop Jacob from using the recipes as to not be a threat to them. In the meantime, they’re not to bother Jacob in any way. My cousins called me selfish and refused to talk to me. AITA?
hi! i was wondering if there are any restaurants in tokyo, japan (or japan in general) that serve traditional japanese breakfast? like what parents may prepare for their children at home?
I’m not sure if a “japanese breakfast restaurant” or “Japanese breakfast” in general is even a thing but please let me know if it is, and if there are particular foods Japanese people eat for breakfast.
or if you have a recommendation of any restaurants to eat at in the morning (early morning about 7am-11am) please let me know too x
thank youuu
I want a cat so bad man. Grew up with a cat, and I miss having a friendly little ball of fuzz around :( I've had rats and I'd love to have some again, but they're too expensive for me right now. I could comfortably afford a cat, and our appartment is big enough for one, and we have amazing outdoors areas i could take it for walks in. I'm just so dang depressed and disfunctional and I struggle to keep it super tidy. One part of me bets that if having a messy apprtment = hazard for precious baby I'd manage, but man. What if I can't? I don't have a lot of energy and some days (most, lately) I can barely feed myself twice a day and clean up after.
Leaving the family cat and dog behind when moving was probably the hardest thing abt moving, save from leaving my brother behind.
I don't want to make things harder on my partner, he does so so much for me, without complaint, but he has enough on his plate!!
I know a pet would do me wonders but agh. I'm so torn :( What sparked this thing into existence again is that my friends landlord found 7 kittens and they need homes in a couple of weeks. I just had my bday and I've saved up some money, and it would cover the starting expenses. Idk I just needed to get this out. My mother thinks its a bad idea, my mom friend thinks its a good idea and shes logical and reliable and probably knows me better than anyone.. my bf is willing to take no responsability so it'd be my cat and I'm totally onboard with that.
Thank you for reading, sorry it got so long and if it was disjointed, ive been crying lmao. Any input would be warmly welcomed💖
FTM of 4 month LO. Went back to work beginning of May. Mom my insisted on doing all childcare when I returned to work and now has literally lost her mind. My LO has been reflux so she’s A LOT of hands on care. Every time my mom has her she wants to do whatever she wants and doesn’t listen to what my husband and I have told he we’d like her to do. She doesn’t handle stress well and gets easily frustrated and I kid you not is acting like a 2 year old. She has literally stormed out of our house multiple times just leaving the baby crying in the crib when I am still working (from home). She’s not told me she cannot handle 8/9 hour days or days in a row after again agreeing on all of this.
I’ve had multiple conversations with my mom about her behavior and she is not receptive to any advice or changing her behavior and believes my husband and I are the problem because we are not sleep training a reflux baby etc.
Unfortunately money is tight so having free childcare was really needed but it’s not good for our LO or us or her for that matter considering. I had to reach out to back up nanny who starts next week but is unavailable for 3 days out of the week as with another family.
Trying not to stress myself and now have to figure out how we’re going to afford child care as my husbands job doesn’t pay well. My husband can help a little.
Guess lesson learned about not having family members watch??? My mom needs some serious help which of course not reception to getting. Bad situation over here :(
I’m 21F. I don’t even know how to explain it. I feel something, something that is bothering me but I can’t identify what that is. I have anxiety and I’ve stayed home a lot, developing agoraphobia but slowly I’m getting out of it. Even in summer I’m planning work/vacation draw away from my home for 3 weeks.
I’ve been trying these days to improve my anxiety by trying not to worry about any thoughts that come up, focus on the now which has helped a lot but there’s still something there. Maybe it’s anxiety again, I’m afraid of the unknown so that feeling may never leave. Any advice?
Just finished my lesson for the morning/day. Trying to get up to 2 per day but at least one pass on ALDO every day for 94 days straight.
20 character groups, 5 characters per group, 20WPM, 20 characters in the set, 10 times.
I actually added 3 characters 4 days ago all at once. I find that if I stick on a character set for too long I start losing interest or for whatever reason I seem to plateau at about 70-75% average copy speed on the keyboard while listening. First practice after the letters was 63.6%, followed by four days in a row of my average improving every single day. Put up a 73.2% today for my average.
I've adjusted the koch method in the way that follows. Might not work for everyone but seems to be working for me. My score-keeping at this point is just out of habit and I can see my progress trends over time. Instead of trying to get to 90% I'm mainly focused that the character is being accepted by my brain if that makes sense. There's a feel to it so hard to describe, but usually happens when I start posting some 80%+ scores. If I hear "dit dit" for instance then 'E' gets a double tap automatically. "dah-dah-didit-dah-dah" is still coming with a pause while my brain wrestles with what it just heard, but starting to get better (it's one of the new characters this week). "dah-dit-dah-dah" is tripping me up pretty badly as well as "didit-dah-dit." Once I have those at the cusp of instant recognition, regardless of the score, I'll add another letter.
I haven't done a slow-copy (13WPM by hand) in a while so I need to schedule that in somewhere. I think my ARRL track is about 8 minutes long for that one, and haven't gone to town in a bit so haven't listened to my recorded 20WPM file in a bit. I know when I go back to them I'll be picking up more. At this point when I listen to those infrequently it really drives home how much of this practice is being absorbed as it feels like a pick up a lot more each time.
Anyway, 3 month mark, roughly, that's where I'm at. Hope the other active learners are doing well also.
dah-dah-dididit dididit-dah-dah
When I was 8 years old in catholic school, I remember going off to recess, and the principal called me in her office. I never used to get into any kind of trouble, so I found it weird.
Turns out, I was there for hours, and she had permanently barred me from ever going outside to recess if I didn't tell her my personal information about what my life was like at home. My life was great at home, but I wasn't gonna give her details on my personal life like that, it made me highly uncomfortable that she kept asking me.
This personal hell lasted for over ten full days straight. Ten full days of missing out on spending time playing outside at recess with my classmates and my best friend. I was livid. I didn't want to be trapped in the principals office, and yet here I was - all because the principal made me out to be a moving target because of the fact that I was different. I didn't have much back then, but I was grateful for my mom working hard, especially in making me a handmade textbook cover for school which I fondly treasured.
I begged and pleaded to have permission to leave and join my other peers for recess, but to no avail. The teacher who was there in the room, right beside me where I sat, didn't even offer to help me at all. She just stood there, watching me be uncomfortable. It felt like if I was getting interrogated by the police for a crime I never committed. I looked up at her, begging her to at least tell the principal to let me go out for recess, but she remained silent.
After ten days of going through personal hell, my annoyance and agitation grew along with my desperation in my final attempt to break myself out of her office, as my principal was a white woman - I lied and make up some story of abuse, just so she could stop asking me, then I ran out of her office in tears.
** I never really got the chance to tell my story because according to the school, I was framed and made out to be like if I just solicited information on my own, but I live with the daunting trauma in hating Catholic School because of being held against my own will in the principal's office.**