“Quite a sizeable army”, Harden whispered to his sister as the caravan of men passed by them. In fact, it was not particularly impressive compared to the Tyrell armies, so Harden was quick to alter his statement. “For such a small house”, he added, thinking of his own house’s small, almost non-existent forces. Living in the Red Mountains, the Santons lacked the resources to amass large armies. Instead, they relied on their cunning and wit to nestle themselves into the Dornish politics. The two siblings watched the army march by, but made no effort to make themselves seen or heard. Instead, they started slowly moving toward House Tilden’s castle, urging their horses slowly forward. A light breeze caressed the grassy fields, providing a much needed break from the scorching sun rays above their heads. Being from Dorne, one could assume that the siblings were used to the heat - but living in the mountains was cooler than living in the Dornish desert, so they welcomed the wind.

“We should investigate whether Lord Tilden and his family have left, or whether they are staying”, Eira told her brother. For a couple of minutes, they debated whether they should travel beyond Carsley Keep and gather more information about the rest of The Reach, but both of them were tired after days on horseback and needed something else to do than rushing across The Stormlands and The Reach, watching armies march them by. “If they remain in the keep, we can pray to the gods that they will let us know what their plans are… or at least let us know what plans they know others to have.”

Harden found it difficult to argue against Eira’s reasoning, so they soon found themselves close enough to Carsley Keep to see its walls rising above their heads, blocking the sun slowly descending from its highest point in the sky. It was afternoon, perhaps even nearing the end of the afternoon, when they rode up to the gates of the castle and declared who they were.

“Harden and Eira of House Santon in the Dornish Red Mountains”, Harden proclaimed with a loud and deep voice to the guards. “We are the children of Lord Elden, and we are here to meet the Lords and Ladies of House Tilden”, he continued, watching the guards with a furrowed brow. Eira knew the look - it was the look of her brother as he tried to make the impression of a great and powerful man. He sure could look the part, with his dark looks and tall stature, but knowing her brother made his impression less… impressive. Harden was a skilled rider and a great swordsman, but he was less of a politician who visited the houses of great nobles. Not that anyone from the Santon family was, but Eira liked to think that she was blessed with more of diplomatic skills than the rest of the family. Still, she kept silent. She knew that the rest of the Seven Kingdoms were not like Dorne, where she was born with more rights than most other women in all of Westeros. Most guards would not appreciate a woman shouting her demands to meet the noble lord of a house, so for now, she left Harden to speak.