Chapter 3: Tumbleton

The lands belonging to house Footly was indeed bountiful with livestock and farmlands, Rhaegar mused as he rode alongside the convoy upon his horse. He could see the smallfolk working in the fields stretching across the plain lands. Something that he noticed once leaving behind the Crownlands was that there were far fewer hills in the Reach. It made for ease of travelling by land but at the same time, this left the land easy to move an army.

Unfortunately, the lack of proper roads would slow down any carts. The land was always muddy with regular rains which most certainly extended travel time. Nonetheless, the journey was quite enjoyable so far. Unlike the Crownlands the Reach was filled with people. Tumbleton was only five leagues from King's Landing yet he saw at least five or six villages in his travel so far. These villages were not some shoddy shacks but well-developed settlements protected by landed or hedge knights.

Up ahead Rhaegar could see the castle of Tumbleton. The castle overlooked a sizeable town outside its walls and he could see a lot of people gathered in the town even from a distance. An honour guard from House Footly was already escorting the royal procession with caltrop banners flapping in the wind. The men of House Footly had their shields painted reflecting the banner of their lord.

Rhaegar himself was in the colours of his house. He wore a black doublet with red trimmings along with black boots and a red clock on his shoulders. The clock was fastened on his shoulders with a pin of a silver three-headed dragon. His silver hair was neatly pulled back behind his ear and because of its length, it was irritating him quite a bit. Usually, he would have tied it in a ponytail but his father had ordered the servants to make him princely.

Being the prince that he was he had the honour of leading the convoy beside Ser Corlys Velaryon. Behind them were Ser Addison Hill and Ser Robin Darklyn flanking my father. Ser Baelium was riding alongside a hedge knight who carried the Targaryen banner just a few paces behind him.

As the procession rode through the town Rhaegar took note the people were—well not expressive, he settled. He guessed they were just as confused on how to deal with the situation. A few decades ago these people knew their kings to be Gardners of Highgarden. Now a Tyrell rules from Highgarden while sworn to a king that has his throne outside their homeland. At the very least the people were not hostile but there were wary glances thrown his way. He was certain a lot more of those glances would be reserved for his father as well.

Then a powerful screech blared across the sky. The people searched for the cause and Rhaegar could see a few promptly fainting at what they saw. He had no need to look up to know the cause because the gigantic shadow that enveloped the town was proof enough. But the urge was there in the back of his mind and that urge won out. He turned and looked up balancing himself on his horse. Sure enough Balerion the Black Dread was up in the sky with its gigantic wings spread as wide as possible.

Looking from down below he felt like an ant under the magnificence of his father's mount. The dragon was pitch black and anyone that gazed upon its gigantic form would have fear in their hearts. Looking back he wondered just how the hell he managed to ride Balerion.

Another screech filled the air and Starfyre emerged from the clouds. The blue-silver dragon provided a much more elegant contour to the dragon-kind. While intimidating Starfyre projected an unholy beauty. It was like comparing a car from the 50s to a car after the 80s. Starfyre was sleek and was made for speed rather than raw strength. The two dragons sped past the town and circled the seat of House Footly.

"The people inside the castle must be in awe and fear of the dragons flying over their heads. The Field of Fire is still memorable to the Reach." said Ser Corlys

That brought a smile to Rhaegar's face as he sat up with his head held high on his horse. "That's good Ser Corlys. It is good that they remember. Let's hope that memory serves them good for ages to come."

The convoy paused once inside the walls of the castle. Rhaegar noticed the members of House Footly by the way they were dressed. All of the males were dressed in black with a white Caltrop stitched above their right breast. The women were dressed in differing colours of gowns. Rhaegar dismounted his horse and stood to the right of his father who moved to greet Lord Willam Footly.

"Tumbleton is yours, your grace." Lord Willam knelt followed by his entire house.

"Rise my lord." said his father while motioning subtlety at him with his hand.

"The Seven have blessed you with a beautiful home and family Lord Footly." said Rhaegar keeping his eyes steady on the Lord of Tumbleton. The man was definitely older than father with a lot of grey hair but fit like a warrior in his prime.

"Thank you, my prince. May the light of the Seven bless you as well." said Lord Willam and then the Lord of Tumbleton began to introduce the rest of his family.

Lady Alyssa formerly of House Tarly was the wife of Lord Willam. She was also the sister of Lord Rickon Tarly who was the current lord of Horn Hill. The lady was polite but distant. Most likely she did not look forward to housing the same people that killed her father in the Field of Fire.

Then came the children of Lord Willam. The eldest son and heir was Melvin Footly who was a portly man and had a wife and a daughter of his own. Rhaegar also became acquainted with the younger sibling Jon Footly followed by a number of cousins and nieces of Lord Footly.

By the time Rhaegar acquainted with the many Footlys of Tumbleton Lord Willam had bread and salt brought. And just like that, they were given guest rights and entry into the castle.

Dinner was grand and house Footly didn't disappoint one bit. The noble houses of the Reach were famous for their extravagant feasts with harvests aplenty. The same could be said of those in the Westerlands but Rhaegar was sure in feasts no one could beat the Reachmen. His belly was filled to the brim with roasted mutton and chicken, bread, milk, pigeon pie, boiled eggs and the steak and kidney pudding which was his favourite. Of course, Westeros never had that pudding until he invented it in the kitchens of Aegonfort.

If nothing else Rhaegar was sure his name will be famous for discovering this dish. Although, he was surprised that his dish became popular in the Reach. He was also interested to learn just how that happened. He could speculate but he would be looking into the cooks of Aegonfort once he returned back home.

He spent the better part of the night reading a book on the travels of Maester Tonnel. The man had a strange fixation on the Reach as half the book was about the lands held by the Reach lords and the innumerable septs in the former kingdom of Gardners. While a boring read the book certainly highlighted the geography of the Reach in great detail. It also emphasised on the differing natures of people in the Reach especially those in the Dornish Marches. Nonetheless, he fell asleep after an hour in his room that was assigned for his stay. When he woke up it was early morning and the sun was a placid red in the sky.

The plan was to stay at Tumbleton for two days before they continued their journey further west. In two days his father wanted the survey of the land to be done which was easier said than done. There were servants of the crown to do that but his father wanted him to be involved in the process. He had to say that his father was a smart man that valued soft power. On hindsight, it should have been obvious to many but the fearsome reputation of his father garnered from the wars of conquest suppressed the image of a brilliant statesman.

Anyhow, Rhaegar managed to sneak out of the castle early in the morning on a horse, his identity shielded under a black robe. Of course, he was not foolish enough to go on a ride around unfamiliar lands without protection.

"I think this is a bad idea, my prince. If your father finds out we will be in serious peril." warned Ser Baelium who was similarly covering himself under a black robe.

The two of us were riding our horses through the vast lands of House Footly. To maintain the secrecy they had to abandon their shields and armour. Instead, they both wore chainmail under the robe and leather doublet. They had their swords by their side of course as it would be foolish to ride around without a weapon.

"Relax my dear knight. My father won't even notice we were gone. We will be back in a jiffy." said Rhaegar as they sped through the land taking in the sights.

The lords of Westeros had the luxury to sleep at this hour but the smallfolk worked the fields early in the morning. With summer still in full swing, the smallfolk were busy working in the fields or doing business to put food in their bellies. The Citadel had warned the summer may only last for two or three months which had lit a fire in every holdfast across the land.

While they had no specific destination in mind Rhaegar made his way towards the banks of the Mander. The lands of house Footly would end there and he was curious to see the fishing villages of the Reach. For a time they rode in silence taking in the differing sights across the land. Maple and Pine trees were most commonly seen in their travels. Rhaegar even noted a modest Cherry farm in their journey.

"Up ahead my prince. I can see the village." Ser Baelium pointed.

Sure enough, Rhaegar could make out some modest wooden structures. He urged his horse towards the village but he was sad to find that it was scarcely populated. He had expected the village to house more people but this one was barely inhabited.

"All the villages we saw till now were well populated. Why is this one abandoned?" he asked out loud?

"Maybe the village suffers from bandits my prince." suggested Ser Baelium

"Maybe." Rhaegar hummed noncommittally as he took in the state of the village.

"We should return my prince. If this area is threatened by bandits we do not have the numbers to properly defend."

"We are close to the village Ser. Why not just spend some time here and find out why it is abandoned?"

"We can do so with more men some other time, my prince. For now, it is better to retreat." Ser Baelium insisted.

Rhaegar hesitated but he caved in when faced with a stern stare from his sworn shield. He would have insisted on visiting the village if he had Starfyre with him. Unfortunately, his draconic friend was taking a nap and he had better sense not to disturb a sleeping dragon. Dragons were hostile if their sleep cycles were disturbed. It won't matter whether it was the rider that disturbed their sleep. The dragons would roast anyone that disturbed their sleep. Plus he had also found out that he was not flame resistant much to his chagrin.

The ride back to the castle was quite uneventful but he did occasionally made a stop in some of the villages scattered across the land. From these villagers, he managed to learn of a bandit group widely known as the Strangers. According to the smallfolk, the bandit leader was a former Septon that went mad worshipping the Stranger. The Black Septon as he was known would raid a village and sacrifice those he judged unworthy of life to the Stranger. As a token of his purge, he would leave a black seven-pointed star in the village he would strike. The Black Septon was dispassionate in his crimes. He would kill women, children and men. He cared not for titles as a lot of septons and septas were also victims of this Black Septon.

"This Black Septon and his band of fellow outlaws seems to be a work of art. I can't believe this group is in the Reach." said Ser Baelium as they continued their journey back to the castle.

"You know of them?" Rhaegar asked in surprise.

"Yes, my prince. This Black Septon was an outlaw in the Crownlands but that was before his grace launched his Conquest."

"I see. What do you know of this Black Septon?" asked Rhaegar in interest?

"If rumours are to be believed the Black Septon was a Septon or a poor fellow that was in love with a local woman. In an Ironborn attack, this woman was raped and murdered. From then on this Black Septon went on a crusade to gather followers of Seven to attack Black Harren. As you can guess it didn't work well for him or his cohorts."

"If that's the case why is the Black Septon here in the Reach? For that matter why is he attacking villages?" asked Rhaegar

"That is what worries me, my prince. The Black Septon was supposed to be fighting against heathens and the tyranny of Harren Hoare. By all accounts, the Black Septon should be old enough to not even walk properly much less lead a raid."

"So you believe we have an imposter?" asked Rhaegar

"Most likely yes." Ser Baelium nodded

"Then this bandit group has to be stopped." said Rhaegar before throwing a curious look to his sworn shield. "What do you say about a hunt for these Strangers and the Black Septon?"

That gave pause to Baeluim and stared incredulously at the prince he was sworn to protect.

"What do you mean?"

*****

"What do you mean?" asked Aegon staring hard at his son as if his son had taken leave of his senses.

"I wish to organize a hunt for this bandit group that call themselves the Strangers. They have been terrorising the smallfolk and I mean to put an end to the chaos they unleash upon the land." said Rhaegar not flinching or backing down even as he took the full brunt of his father's stare.

"My prince I will have some of my finest knights to hunt for these miscreants and trust me these bandits will be captured and punished." assured Lord Willam

"How many times have you sent your knights to finish these bandits out Lord Footly?" asked Rhaegar

"Answer my lord." Aegon said noting the reluctance on Lord Willam's face.

"Three times." Lord Footly admitted reluctantly.

"How many bandits have your knights captured or killed?" asked Rhaegar to the lord of Tumbleton.

"Few my prince." said Lord Footly

"The real Black Septon was someone who fought against the tyranny of Harren Hoare and his Ironborn reavers. This new Black Septon is a fake and most likely a Crownlander."

"How do you know he is a Crownlander?" asked Ser Corlys from Aegon's side.

"The story of Black Septon is indigenous to Riverlands and Crownlands. Hardly anyone here knew of the true story behind the Black Septon. This leads me to believe that this outlaw is a Crownlander and most likely well experienced in warfare. He must have fought in my father's army in the Conquest."

"How do you gather he fought in my army?" asked Aegon curiously

"The Smallfolk says the Black Septon wears a steel armour painted black and a helmet painted red. The Targaryen army in the Conquest had red helmets." said Rhaegar

"This Black Septon could have taken the helmet from a dead soldier." said Ser Corlys

"True but how did he know to emulate a legendary figure of a remote place of Crownlands? He left no witnesses that saw his face to give us a description nor did he leave any clues of his next attack. He has expertly evaded well-trained knights of House Footly and he concentrates his activities on the border of Crownlands and Reach. This means that he is an experienced fighter who has experience in leading men to battle and he is a local of Crownlands." explained Rhaegar in one breath plunging the room into silence.

"What do you wish to do about this Black Septon?" Aegon asked eventually.

"Find where he is going to strike next and end his life along with his bandit group." said Rhaegar

"My prince you are barely ten and three namesdays old. You can't expect us to allow you to seek out this bandit." Ser Corlys protested.

"You were the one who taught me that a knight's sword should be raised to protect the innocent and weak. If I can't even protect a village then how can I be of any service to my king or my brother?"

"You are not a knight yet. Leave this matter to knights who are trained to handle such tasks." said Ser Corlys

"You were also the one that taught me that a few words spoken in ceremony do not make a true knight. Noble actions make one a true knight, you said. I mean to be a true knight through my actions and let the gods judge me whether they are noble or not." said Rhaegar not backing down from the renewed staring contest with his father.

Aegon let out a sigh and leaned back in his seat.

"You will have seven days to hunt this outlaw after that you will return to my side and leave this matter entirely."

Aegon's proclamation was met with a smile from Rhaegar and a scandalous look from Ser Corlys.

"Your grace I must protest. The prince is a good jouster and swings his sword well but he is not ready to go on a hunt for a bandit." said Ser Corlys earning himself some surprised stares from the assembled knights, lords and members of house Footly.

It was not well known but Ser Corlys was distantly related to Aegon through the king's late mother. Not to mention the Lord Commander was also the son Daemon Velaryon the Master of Ships, one of the closest friends of the King. It gave certain privileges to the Lord Commander.

"Your protest is noted and that is why Rhaegar will be under the protection of Ser Addison Hill and Ser Baelium Brune." said Aegon giving an impeccable stare directed at Ser Corlys. "He will also take some of the knights in my service. I am of course sure that Lord Willam will also support this venture with his men."

Aegon looked imploringly at Lord Willam who was quick to nod in agreement.

"Good. Now, where do you propose your search will be for this Black Septon?" asked Aegon once again turning his attention to his son.

"I won't be searching, I will just be waiting."

Rhaegar's answer only brought confusion to everyone present. While everyone speculated what that meant Rhaegar merely gave a playful smile at his father.