The journey had been longer than Bastian intended, mostly for the sake of remaining out of sight of too many prying eyes. And it was quite the draw in to notice a dwarf traveling, especially on his way to Casterly Rock. Bastian had made an effort to avoid unwanted attention and only stayed at an inn only because he knew he could trust the innkeeper to keep his mouth shut. Their next stop had been Sarsfield, a place Bastian had been familiar with. Back when his father was Lord of the Vale, he was brought along on some of the journeys on the River Road toward Casterly Rock, making a short stop at Sarsfield to meet with the lord and lady of the house. At the time, Bastian was there to learn more of the politics and to aid in his father's council, but most of the time, his father would ignore him or undercut any input he offered-- and later take credit for his son's ideas.
But now, Bastian was Lord of the Vale, he made good efforts to maintain the alliances his father negotiated, and one of those was with the houses on The Rock. Though his visit to Sarsfield was more than just to keep alliances; for years, he had made efforts to stay in touch with the young Lady of the household, Laenah Sarsfield. They would write once a year, but Bastian figured it would be rude not to at least visit while he was passing through. She was a friend, or he liked to consider her a friend, so he felt it necessary to catch up in person.
So he arrived with his small band of guards, the group intentionally small and full of his best men to keep himself well guarded but also discreet. He left the Eyrie in good hands, having little to no worry about leaving for a few days. And it would only be another day until he got to The Rock. Now, he was worried about finding Lady Sarsfield. After being welcomed by the servants of the house, Bastian had taken a moment to wander the grounds. He had a few ideas of where the girl could be, and made his way outside to seek her out.
As soon as he spotted her, Bastian smiled and gave a small bow of his head. “Lady Sarsfield. It has been a while. I hope you have been well since we last wrote?”
@laenahs














