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.In Pate’s words, “whores are Salvare’s test of servitude, a pleasurable abomination if there ever was one.”Rat’s Alley was a neighborhood of servants for the rich and a large number of bastard children.It was a place of pickpockets, thieves, and prostitutes.He told Aeden the only way he’d go was if he had a full bit.A bit was a quarter of a silver dinar.It seemed excessive and it was more than Aeden had.It also seemed strange that a man who feared being robed wanted more money.Only through excessive bargaining, did he convince Pate to sell his leather armor from S’Vothe and use that money for whatever activities he desired.Strangely, at mention of this Pate’s eyes lit up and a strange grin fought for control.It had taken three days for Pate to sell Aeden’s armor and use the money to purchase the supplies Aeden had asked for.Three days of Aeden waiting impatiently, wondering if he’d wasted his time and effort.Three days feeling ashamed at selling the armor his father had given him for his last trial.But in the end it had been worth it.Pate finally came back with the art supplies Aeden had requested.It then became a different waiting game.A game, in which, Aeden waited for the perfect time to present the supplies to Adel.Yet, the longer he waited, the more he realized there was no perfect time.So instead of making it awkward he sought help in crafting a note in his own hand and left the gift along with the note in Adel’s secret drawing place.Chapter 18“Beauty can be misinterpreted as love with such frequency that the object of desire becomes a fixation that only love can cure.” Canton of SawolTwo long months passed before the beginning of Hearvest.There were celebrations in the streets of Bodig.They were celebrations that Aeden was only able to view while sitting on a roof under a small overhang near the main courtyard.The ceremonies were a welcome distraction from the idle thoughts that seemed to always circle back to his lost home and family.It was a strange cycle of self-torture.He’d want to remember, for he felt his thoughts and memories served as a way to honor his people.If he kept them alive in his heart they would be safer and happier until the day he could avenge them.The memories would always lead to him arriving upon the charred remains of S’Vothe.Twisted, blackened bodies with outstretched hands that reached for the sky as if seeking to fend off terrible deaths.They were images forever fused into his young mind.His throat would constrict with emotion as he choked back tears in a valiant effort to hide his emotion from others.Distraction was the only way for him to remain sane.Learning to speak Heortian had become his greatest distraction, with kayles a close second.Adel had finally accepted his apology.He had discovered the pencils and paper he’d bought, with Pate’s help.They never spoke of it.Instead one day Adel invited him back to the kayles tables.It was as though nothing had ever happened.He had improved drastically in spoken Heortian and understood more than he could speak, but reading was another story.The characters used to represent words were confusing, too similar to each other.The whole affair was rather tedious.He was struggling to learn in an effort to read through the volumes of books available in the monastery library.Aeden figured the books would be a welcome escape from the drudgery that had become his life.His efforts were slow going and frustrating.Far easier were the hand gestures used almost exclusively during mealtime.Aeden learned the signs for all the different foods, a dozen simple phrases, and a few dozen objects.Therefore, despite the silence observed in the refectory, lively conversations would take place in a symphony of hand movements.Aeden’s newfound language skills were allowing him to make friends.With every word learned a new piece of gossip unfolded its ugly head.Aeden had learned that the monk who had burned himself in the plaza was from Sawol.He learned there was a growing rift between the Church and the Emperor as a struggle for power ensued.The most obstreperous of which was to the north.He learned that the older one he had seen leading prayers and who would on very rare occasion join them for meals was the abbot.Abbot Filbert was seemingly bored and had a very hands-off approach to running the monastery.His lackadaisical attitude was never more apparent than in the sloth-like nature of the monks, the disrepair of several sections of the grand nave, and the small number of Bodigan residents in attendance at Noon Prayer.It was rumored he was busy with a side business that he hoped to retire to once done with the monastery.Monahan had only become more obnoxious in his efforts to embarrass Aeden.It seemed his goal to be ever-present whenever he fumbled in his attempts to communicate more complex subjects and his missteps in Sancire protocol [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]