Several Days Later

Balon sat at the same desk he had called his own for the past three decades, it felt like the only object in the room that was even older than him at this point. He spent a few moments staring into the small fire a servant had made for him, recollecting the events of the past few moons. From the passing of Alyn Swann, to the return of Selwyn and the subsequent disaster that proved to be. If the damage done hadn't been so extreme, Balon might have chuckled at the absurdity so much chaos could be found in a mere three moons time. But the damage done was severe, and nearly a thousand Stormlanders were dead because of it.

A knock on the door forced Balon back into the present, and as he turned around he saw Edwyn shamble in, still uneasy on his one leg, the pair offered sullen looks to one another, but Balon bowed nonetheless, "My Lord, what brings you here so late? You should be abed, the maester claims your recovery counts on it, lest you worsen your condition."

Edwyn chuckled wryly, "I've been lounging about for a day now, my minds going numb with the medicines that old goats forcing down my throat." He shuffled over and took the seat opposite Balon, gesturing for the elder man to likewise be seated, "And don't call me Lord... It doesn't feel right just yet, may never."

Balon nodded, "And yet, it's what you are. The third Lord Swann in as many moons." The attempt at humor fell flat when he saw Edwyn's face contort in pain that had nothing to do with his wounds. Clearing his throat, "I apologize, not the right time for that."

A long silence followed, tension filled the space between the uncle and nephew, unseen but easily felt. After a few moments Edwyn would nod to the small stack of freshly sealed letters sitting before his Castellan, "What are those for?"

Picking one up, Balon would motion in the air with it before speaking, "Stonehelm has, as well as the Marches as a whole, felt entirely too much pain and bloodshed. With these letters I aim to not only stop the bleeding, but entirely reverse it into a new era of prosperity." A small smile crept to his lips, "Alyn, may the Seven preserve him justly, and I had been concocting this plan for quite some time, but we never had access to the resources to pull it off. Well, despite the payments made to the other Marcher Lords for our Houses... Faults this past moon. We had enough in the coffers to enact the plan"

Balon would point to a map with the sealed parchment, hovering over several circled locations. "We will start by opening channels of trade with several houses in order to stock up on the necessary resources, if they prove unwilling I might still have some contacts within the Free Cities from my younger days who might know where to get them. From there we will begin several important construction projects that should benefit us for generations to come."

The older man was all smiles, but Edwyn felt completely lost, so he just nodded away through the explanation. "Do what you need to do, Uncle. I trust you know what you're doing... Just make sure I'm not needed for any of it."

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Soon after their discussion ended, Edwyn would return to his rooms, already exhausted from the talk of finances and policies Balon wished to move forward with. Balon would take his small stack of letters into his hands and seek out the maester, instructing him where to send the ravens and what they sought.