Rasheeka asks Afentis Hefione about how the Laosian calendar works, and learns that the year is divided into five seasons, and the dates indicate which day of the current season it is. Further, the year is divided into ten-day segments, each day having its own name, and the tenth day is a holiday, during which no work may be done by slave or freeman (save for certain essential offices, such as the town guards).

Rasheeka is very surprised by the news of a day in which not even the slaves have to work, and she plots to go see Neyemen Yejsk on that day to find more about his people. However, when she meets up with her fellow slaves during their meal, and she informs them about the nature of the holiday of Kyriaki, she decides that she really ought to use the time to teach them something of the language of Laos Enosi, and makes arrangements to do so.