You awaken from your sleep the next morning, hungry and thirsty. You find a stream to replenish your water supply, but have nothing to eat. It is spring and there is little food available in the wild. Hungry and cold, you wrap your torn clothing about you as best you can and head off for the monastery.
You make poor time due to your hunger, and feel very weak. You dig up a few cat-tail shoots and cook them for dinner, and camp out again that night, unsure of how far the monastery is.
You arrive about halfway through the next morning. The brother at the gate seems somewhat shocked by your torn clothing, and you are certain that you haven't made a very good first impression. He sends an initiate off quickly for robes for you. He returns with an itchy, plain wool tunic. You are grateful for the covering, no matter that it is a bit musty and irritating.
The initiate shows you to your cell, where you change into the tunic. He waits outside your door, and then suggests that you should go see the Prior; it is customary for guests to make themselves known. He leads you back outside.
"The chapel is over there," he says, pointing, "if you want to go make supplication to the great Bjorn. The Abbot's quarters are in that building, and the Prior is just coming down the stairs of the chapel. You should go and talk to him if you want lodging."
You hasten over to see the Prior. He is a middle-aged man, going grey and rather red-faced. He nods and smiles at you as you approach.
"What can I do for you, my child?" he asks.
You find yourself crying, and spilling out the whole story of your master's sudden death, the funeral, and going home to find that the cottage the two of you shared had been ransacked. "It was just too much," you tell him. "I needed to get away, and find somewhere calming to stay. I decided to seek refuge here for a while, to sort things out."
The Prior smiles at you benevolently and nods his head. "You've done the right thing, child," he tells you, patting your shoulder bracingly. "The gods will smile upon you for this, and I'm sure that you will find your true direction and destiny in life here."
You return to your cell. It is tiny, but clean and dry. A straw mattress, which is comfortable enough, takes up most of the space. A porcelain basin and pitcher full of water for washing sit on the floor as well.
You decide to wash up, and then
You take a nap on the straw mat
You go to the chapel to spend some quiet time thinking about your past and future