[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIII

[-Sentinel-]

"We can depart a few minutes apart and meet just outside the north gate," suggested Elsa, beginning to saddle her recalcitrant horse. "Let's go halfway to Selsan and back. That road's quite beautiful."

During the ride, she entertained Jarla with anecdotes involving her brother, such as the time she had hired a lady of negotiable affections to seduce Adelbert in hopes of getting him to loosen up a bit, only for the paranoid Adelbert to draw a sword on the poor woman; and also the time Adelbert had endeavoured to recover Father Hieronymus' two runaway owls and actually managed to find and bring back one. She spoke highly of Adelbert's bravery in the face of mortal danger, in spite of his middling combat skill. However, she carefully steered clear of mentioning the trouble his stubbornness had gotten him into on at least one notable occasion, his bitter and rather one-sided enmity with then-Captain Sforza, his scheming to support Duke Alvarr, or his falling-outs with Rhadegund and Aisha.

"I want you to know," she said at last, reining in her horse, "I do want justice for Adelbert. But please understand that it took Sieghard, Ludo and I a couple of years to attain the kind of status that you've achieved in mere weeks. It's a lot harder to wager ten shillings you've earned by the sweat of your brow than ten shillings you've won with a good hand."

She cast a long gaze at the brown, autumnal fields on both sides of the dirt road. "Not to mention that the Reaches finally have a shadow of a hope for peace and stability. None of us is keen to throw it away."