Honestly, I agree. When the publisher initially suggested adding a price, I was vehemently against it, mainly for reasons of accessibility and not invalidating the many people who have recommended it as a free game.
Right before the Steam release I was asked to reconsider changing it temporarily at least. I appreciate the trust and effort Monster Theatre has put into the Steam release of Mortholme, so I decided I should trust them in turn and help the launch. Evidently it hasn't been taken well, which I figured might be the case.
It'd be nice if I could've had better business plans from the start, but I just make games. No studio, no clue if people value what I make. Got to play it by the ear; this one was certainly a dissonant note.