Part MMMDCCCXXVII: Of Paths and Pageantry
Of Paths and Pageantry
Fifteenth Day of the Ninth Month 294 AC
There were not many royal works across Westeros that smallfolk and great lords alike could be said to praise, but chief among them was the Kingsroad. Whether it helped get a noble's harvest or herds to market or a merchant's goods from one town to the other it was generally accepted that only the king could afford the expense of having made it, and more to the point maintain it. It had actually been something of a surprise to find that it was maintained out of the royal purse, albeit with the 'aid' of local lords. That aid often came in the form of what is recognized in the Imperium these days as blatant graft and corruption.
A helpful undersecretary had sent you some of those old notes of payment, the ones that had not mysteriously found their ways onto the hearths of those same lords. If Darry had managed to get three times his money's worth on what minor repairs he had helped in, a fact which he announced with pride as a form of resistance to the Usurper, you do not even want to think of how well the Freys came out of the whole business. Dragons on the Stag you shouldn't wonder...
There is a part of you that wants to be upset really, but when you give old Walder that much rope you really should not be surprised that he ties you in knots for your folly, and as with many things to do with the throne in Westeros changes have been made. The Kingsroad as well as the new arterial roads in Dorne and the North are now the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation and they have set about that task not only with enthusiasm, but also with the experience gained east of the Narrow Sea. True there had not been that much work done in deserts, but some parts of the Orange Shore are arid enough to give warning of the challenges and the Dornish were more than happy to help those they saw not as foreigners building invasion routes as might have been feared, but as valuable friends and rich trading partners.
Up North things are a bit more hectic at the moment because many of the roads are built for winter, but there is a lack of trained engineers who understand what a Northern Winter is like first hand. Still, the grumbling is more about presumed ignorance than malice and is usually followed by an offer of aid, some of which is actually useful besides. You do chuckle a touch at a report from one wit of a supervisor who posits that 'we will all come out of this bear whisperers'. She obviously has no small skill at diplomacy as there have been no complaints about that part of the construction.
Upgrade the Kingsroad to Imperial Standard and Building Arterial Roads in the North and Dorne: 33 (Success)
If only all infrastructure projects could go as well. Oh certainly the conversion of the Dragonpit to the Dragon's Ring had gone well, with the people of King's Landing flocking to see local champions, knights and warriors from farther afield test their mettle.
Meanwhile in Oldtown Duke Baelor Hightower had arranged a opening festival at his own expense and, he assures you in a private letter, made personally certain that the single competitor who showed signs of being touched by the Deep Ones' power was not harassed for showing himself so openly. Hightower certainly is not shy about beating his own drum, but then again according to the local Inquisition he is not lying either so one can hardly find much fault with him.
No, the real trouble comes from further west in Greyport where between the lack of reliable local contracts and the unease of many of the local tradesmen in working with an Ironborn lord the schedule has slipped and slipped again. The delays turned what was already lukewarm anticipation cold with few spectators showing and no reputable knights on the sands. That of itself would not have been so bad had it not been for the fact that some of the few warriors interested in participating were tritons drawn in some part by Theon's piety. It has thus become common to associate going to the Circle in Greyport with showing obeisance to the Ironborn lord and his strange sea god. So far there has been no actual unrest, but the Circle is also obviously not bringing the people of the city together.
Rowdy Entertainment
What, if anything, is so be done?
[] Leave it as is, interest in the Circle will grow in time
[] Advise Theon to take a page from Baelor's book and try to make a festival to show off the Circle
[] Write in
OOC: I kept getting stuck trying to write the research updates so I did something else instead.
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