Dear Mother and Father,
You would have liked Gronheim. Determined, childish, intelligent, and irrational. He was a bundle of conflicts, yet he stood with me when I needed him. The path from Pinefarrow to Bleakheather Woods and back was a stream of chaos that ended in Gron's death. Many fall in the face of chaos; but not this one, not today.
When we marched into the burning Pinefarrow I should have realized Gron’s greed meant that his first priority would have been to save the beer and valuables. Worse I knew he would ignore my warnings when the building came down on top of the cellar he was in. I was unable to pry open the cellar hatch but I did get to see him through the crack. The fear and acceptance I saw in his eyes weighed down my soul so much that I would have accepted any deal to save him regardless of what the cursed dagger wanted in return. The hollow chill the curse made me feel afterwards wasn’t reassuring.
I thought it wise to approach Dalia for help given recent events with this curse. After all, she is the wisest my family and she studied for years to be a stone mage. However when I told her of it the uncertainty and fear I saw in her eyes killed that hope.
The battle with the Wight was a catastrophe. Our lack of preparation and caution cost Gron his life. He wouldn’t have been distracted or worried about this cursed dagger, he would have faced it head on and bent it towards his will. I will follow in his determination, no matter the trials we face I will be the bastion for my five remaining family.