[-Sentinel-]

Pieter sheathed his weapons. With trembling hands, he dug into his purse and put four gold crowns in the collection bowl of the shrine; two for himself, two for Illiiya. The goddess probably deserved quite a bit more, but too large a sum would only invite the greed of the first peasant who saw it. It was best to serve Shallya with actual deeds, not money.

Plus, Pieter was a bit of a cheapskate.

He waited for the villagers to reach the shrine before emerging. He probably did not look good - muddy, wet, dissheveled, ashen-faced. But since Illiiya looked worse, he had no grounds to complain. He did not expect much sympathy in any case; it would not surprise him in the slightest if he and the Elves were blamed for the disaster at the barrow, since Mr Waite was no longer around to take the heat.

"I... I suppose Talberg told you the gist of it?" he asked no one in particular.