Ser Franklyn had gone above and beyond when it came to the roads that criss-crossed and connected the lands of our fledgling little kingdom. Gone were the days that the 'roads' of the Trident were nothing more than dirt tracks that ran through the gauntlet of enviable descriptions such as 'dirt', 'mud' and 'something' into being something that could easily be called a proper road. The roads were paved in white stone from quarries found in the eastern riverlands, and located on both sides of the roads were milestones that marked the distances travelled.
It was said that all roads led to Rome, but in this case, all roads led to Riverrun. For now anyway, but that was for the future. If there still happened to be a future for me anyway.
The roads had been built to be wide to allow the breadths of four wayns to travel side by side with little difficulty and something of an unspoken accord had been the reached that one always travelled on the left from where they went instead of just taking the whole road for themselves. To make things better, Ser Franklyn had also made sure that at the very least, an inn was placed a days ride away from each other. A place for travellers to rest in comfort and safety instead of braving the night on the road.
It still wasn't a perfect system since some roads still lacked these inns apart from the major highways. It was still early days though.
The roads had made our journey to Stoney Sept quick, without them, our journey would have been longer than it had taken us. It also helped that I had made we travelled light. I didn't particularly feel like bringing the usual royal train of servants and retainers. I had not taken any of that nonsense. It was just me, my knights and their squires along with some spare horses and supply mules.
The old sept that gave the town its name stood atop the tallest hill of the settlement, demanding the attention of all those who would gaze into the sky. It wasn't really that surprising that Willis decided to make this place his base of operations. There was just something about a blatant place of power for the Faith of the Seven other than a town named after a sept.
And what kind of name was Stoney Sept anyway?
"Your Grace," the aged Most Devout greeted outside the courtyard of the great sept. "We are welcomed by your presence in this town of ours."
I was curious as to how he knew I was in the area or coming to visit him anyway. "Your Excellency, I have somethings that I would wish to discuss with you."
His eyes seemed dull, was he losing his sight? But he nodded nonetheless. "Then please, follow me to a more private area."
I nodded as I was led inside the doors of the old sept. The sept itself was aged, none of the grandiose that had been described about the Great Sept of Baelor in the books. Instead, it was made of simple large blocks of stone and weathered beaten stained glass of a riot of colours. The most magnificent of these stained glass was at the front, seven tall glasses, each adorned with an image of the Father, Mother, Maiden, Warrior, Crone, Smith and Stranger.
We went past the altar into the back of the septon were the private residences of the septons and septas were located, a little of the light illuminating the sept leaving us to be left in the dark only for the dark to be driven away by torchlights ensconced into the walls. Willis eventually led me into his own chambers that doubled as his office.
"Now, Your Grace, what could I possibly do for you?" He asked, offering me a seat. "A confessional? Spiritual advice?"
"Much appreciated for that, but my time here in truth is for something a little more involving this realm than the next." I said shaking my head at his offer.
The Most Devout hmmed as he linked his bony fingers together. "I'm here to offer an help I can, Your Grace."
How would I go about this? Should I beat around the bush and hope he knows what I'm talking about? But then again, that really wasn't my thing, so I just decided to go straight for it plainly and bluntly whilst I'm at it.
"Well, I might have a problem that might require your help in mitigating any potential fall out."
"Go on..." The high ranking septon urged softly.
"Well," I took out that particular Seventy-Seven Stars pamphlet that had been spread around the riverlands as of late and passed it to him. "This is the problem." It then caught to me that the maester might just be a little blind as of late. "...You can read that right?"
Willis held back a snort as he unlinked his fingers to pick up the pamphlet. "I'm not so old that my sight is failing as you think, Your Grace, but alas, I have already seen this particular piece of work." My heart skipped a beat as he reached behind his desk and brought out a copy of the pamphlet.
"Well, fuck." If the septon didn't like the tone of my language, he sure didn't show it. "Well, I suppose this makes thing easier."
He let out a soft sigh before he spoke. "To put things bluntly, Your Grace, this does not bode well for your kingdom. If this knowledge was to spread to some of my colleagues they would certainly not approve of such thinking and denouncement of holy scripture." So he was the only one who knew about this? That was cool. Now all that mattered was what I had to pay to keep this between the two of us. "You have to make a decision, your grace."
"A decision." The words came out slowly. Why did I get the feeling this decision was going to be more trouble to me than I'd like.
The Most Devout nodded sagely. "Although your support has been most appreciated, there is still more that you could do. To show your faith and piety."
Oh there we go. This was going to be a long day.