Rolf had set aside his plan to spread the Solar Core in Stoney Sept, but he felt no regret. The purpose of the Light was the redemption of the suffering; to preach hollow ideals while ignoring the orphans at his feet would be to build a temple on sand.
Do not ignore a good deed because its fruit is small, the Lightbringer had said. Do not commit a sin because its consequence seems slight.
Returning to St. Maur's meant traveling a road he already knew. But while the path was familiar, the pace was not. He now carried five children under the age of ten and a woman in the final days of her pregnancy.
Since fleeing their village, the group had lived like ghosts. Without grown men for protection, they had hidden by day and moved by night, enduring hunger whenever a cloudy sky robbed them of the stars' guidance. Had it been any longer, the youngest—little Rishi—might have already succumbed to the damp rot of the woods.
Under the warmth of the stable fire, Rolf had worked his first miracles for them. He used Sun-Mend to knit the scratches on their shins and Purification to burn away the early signs of fever. To the children, it was a game—a "Light-trick" that was funny and bright. Three-year-old Rishi had even tugged on Rolf's robe, begging, "Again, Septon! One more time! Just one more!"
But to Alayne, it was the end of the world as she knew it. When the Light washed away the chronic back pain of her pregnancy and healed the sores on her feet, she tried to drop to her knees.
Rolf caught her before she could hit the mud. "Do not kneel to me, Alayne. I am only the hand of Anshe, doing His work."
The journey east was agonizingly slow. Caden's horse and Jasmine's donkey were too skittish and bony for Alayne to ride comfortably. They were forced to crawl along the game trails at a walking pace.
"Rolf," Caden said, watching Alayne stumble over a root. "At the next thorp, we need a cart. I don't care if it's a vegetable barrow; they won't make it to the Gods Eye on foot."
Rolf looked at the ragged line. "I agree. But I don't know if our coin will stretch that far."
Caden reached into a hidden pocket in his mail, feeling the weight of his savings. "I've got silver from my days guarding the caravans. I was saving it to buy Jasmine a suit of boiled leather when he grew into his shoulders, but... I suppose the boy can wait. Saving a life is a better lesson for a squire anyway."
Rolf felt a flush of shame. "Ser Caden, I didn't mean for you to pay. This was my burden to bring them."
Caden snorted. "What, do you think you're the only one who kneels? I spent a whole night in a Sept with a head full of mutton-fat for my knighthood, Rolf. If I didn't want to help, I'd have ridden off the moment the boar died. Don't go trying to hoard all the credit for yourself." He smiled, then his face went serious. "But tell me—will this monastery of yours truly take them? Six mouths that can't work and only eat?"
Rolf didn't have a certain answer. He remembered the reports from St. Maur's—how everyone worked, even the Lightbringer. But he also knew the heart of the Word. "The Lightbringer says the Sun is for everyone. He will not turn away children."
They reached the hamlet where Rolf had bought the corn. The village elders still wouldn't let them in, but seeing a monk return with a pregnant woman and five pups piqued their curiosity.
"Where did you find this lot?" the village Elder asked, his gray beard twitching.
"A ruin in Goodbrook land," Rolf said. "The Lions took their village. These are the only ones left."
The Elder's face went pale. "The Lannisters? This far in?"
"They're moving south," Rolf warned. "In three days, they'll be on your doorstep. If I were you, I'd sharpen your scythes."
The Elder went quiet, the weight of the war finally hitting home. "You've done us a kindness with that news, Septon. I can't take the kids—we're starving as it is—but I'll give you a deal on a cart."
He sold them a rickety flatbed wagon for a single silver moon. It had no sides and no roof, but the wheels were solid oak. They hitched it to Caden's garron, and for the first time, the journey began to feel real.
Alayne sat on the floor of the cart, the children huddled around her. As the wagon creaked along, she began to sing. It was the same lullaby about the Maiden and the Mother, her voice soft and sweet.
The children began to bicker over the words.
"My Ma sang it about the Father's light!" Torren insisted.
"No, it's about the Crone's lantern!" Luna countered. "I'll swear it to the Mother!"
"I'll swear it to Anshe!" Torren shouted back.
Suddenly, the youngest—Rishi—burst into tears. The mention of their mothers broke the dam. Within seconds, all five children were wailing, their grief finally finding an outlet after days of enforced silence. Alayne, who had never mothered a child outside her womb, was frantic, trying to shush one while hugging another.
Rolf looked back from the driver's seat and caught Alayne's panicked eyes. "Let them cry, Alayne," he said softly. "Let the poison out. Caden and I are here. We won't let the dark in."
Even as he spoke, the cart hit a massive stone in the mud. The whole frame shuddered violently. Rolf checked the axle, finding it whole, but the vibration seemed to trigger something.
A moment later, Dane shouted, "Septon! Alayne says her belly hurts!"
Rolf's heart stopped. He pulled the horse to a halt. Alayne was leaning against Luna, her face the color of bone, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Alayne? What is it?"
"It's the babe, Septon!" she screamed, clutching her stomach as another contraction hit. "He's coming! He's coming now!"
Rolf felt the world spin. He was a monk, not a midwife. He'd seen men die, but he'd never seen a life begin. Don't you need a room? he thought wildly. A quiet place? Prayer?
"Rolf! Move the cart off the track!" Caden barked, snapping him out of his trance.
"Right! Yes!" Rolf guided the wagon into the tall grass. He jumped down, his voice shaking. "Children, get down! Stay back from Alayne! Dane, find me water! Jasmine, get a fire going! Now!"
The sun was setting, and in the deepening shadows of the Riverlands, the Sunwalkers prepared for a different kind of battle.
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