[center][i]“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” [/i]
[sup][color=silver]- Benjamin Franklin, [i]Poor Richard's Almanack[/i][/color][/sup][/center]
[hr]
[color=lightgray]The sun had set long before by the time the last of the poor folk finally left the kitchens. It had been a long, weary day but Widow Wanda was glad as she piled the last of the pots into the sinks for the young woman learning the ways of the Widows to clean ready for the morning. The smiles on the faces of the needy as she served them the rich gruel and freshly baked bread she and the others of the temple had spent the early hours preparing for them was all the comfort she needed to know her toils were not in vain.

Nodding her head to the supplicants the Widow made her way down into the cellar which served both as the storehouse for the mission's daily meals as well as her own personal quarters. Lighting the lantern which hung from the wall beside her bed she took a moment to centre herself as she thought back over the day. Many dozen parishioners had passed through her humble doors, and many had things to talk about over a warm meal.

Wanda didn't know why her superiors asked her to keep her journals on the trivialities of every day life, but she knew their reasons must be only for the best of reasons. After all, they were all doing the Good Work of Lord Daigon, and every deed was in service of others. As her pen scurried over the pages, jotting down every rumour and whisper she could recall, sometimes pausing for a moment to look back on earlier notes to link in one minor detail or another to previous mentions of a similar topic, just as she'd been taught while studying in the Fallen Keep.

After a while her eyes were beginning to droop. Setting aside the pen and stoppering the ink bottle carefully Wanda folded away the notes, forgetting about them once more as she moved to lay out the ingrediants ready for the next day. She'd heard rumours of war and bandits on the roads, and knew that meant new faces would likely be appearing at her doors soon. Each with a new talre to tell, and new stories to share.[/color]