Heirdalis,

It strikes me in the chest like a fist when anybody insults the duchy I
have come to call home. To call the men and women spineless furrows my
brow. In undertaking the path to becoming a Lorekeeper it feels as
though, like all those who've trod before me, I'm shouldering the city's
moral and general well-being, as well as training to bolster the
front-line.

But then when those words are spoken from the mouth of one so as
yourself, the blow to the chest clatters on my breastplate like a pebble
tossed by a goblin child. The furrow of my brow is only disappointment
and pity that you should try and claw back dignity in this manner.

It was when I was a year or so ago when standing at the crossroads you
interrupted the vibrations of an apprentice practicising her weaving or
even weaving her defenses (for it was during the latter stages of the
southern campaign) and at the mere notion of her displeasure you
scuttled like a leashed dog to fetch more pearls, whimpering and
snivelling in such a manner as I had never seen before! And so you have
the position to call all of Kinsarmar "spineless" when you cowered at
the feet of an apprentice?

You call the Duchy by names you could never understand to speak them
with any authority. You have been man-handled and treated roughly and
without compassion, I will give you that. But you were given a lot of
freedom and tolerance, your actions unbecoming of any man or woman of
such a privileged city. It was men like Duke Elith that have fought
through the years to give you that freedom to speak - to act - to form
your own beliefs.

And so where are you now, Heirdalis? When I last heard, you were
wandering the highlands creating a nuisance, in the kind of company that
likes to lurk in the dead ruins of a city plagued with roguery. And so
you can surely speak with a noble voice and point the finger at those
who are so much less than you.

And to top it off you shot yourself in the foot with your own
blunderbuss..

I've said my piece.

Squire Baensson of Kinsarmar


Penned by my hand on the 2nd of Tenebrae, in the year 579 AD.