Siegfried is handsome in a long-nosed, lanky kind of way. Strong but relaxed. In the bucket of water kept by the hearth, he takes a peek at his reflection, sees his dimpled chin and thin beard, his green eyes veiled by long, womanly eyelashes. He disturbs the reflection to wash his face, sputters into hands which then smooth the water through curly locks of dark blond hair.

A bit more alert, he walks over to a bookcase in the corner of the room. In the cabinet are his tools, an entire town’s worth of commodities, manifested in wooden apparatuses. A tally stick is cut into notches and split down the middle. One half is given to the peasant, one Siegfried keeps. If they do not match up by the end of the harvest, a deficiency is detected. A wax tablet is for tallying in field.

Siegfried cannot read anything but numbers and does not need to. At the end of the harvest, he and the chamberlain Faramund, who is literate, will put together a treasury report. The bottom shelf of the bookcase is empty save for three tally sticks and a wax tablet to go with them. These represent the three households who have not yet paid their dues and as of today have only one more chance to do so. Siegfried grabs the leather satchel from the chair and places these things inside. He fastens the satchel to one side of his belt next to his dagger and the scabbard of his longsword to the other.