When Lori woke up, it seemed like an ordinary day like any other. She had a quick wash, breaking in the new bar of soap and setting aside what was left of the old one for her laundry. She should probably do her laundry soon.

Her boots were wet in a small puddle of water, and she took a moment to get them dry and put some oil on them from the small supply she had managed to get Rian to procure for her. Hopefully her boots would keep lasting a little longer.

Once properly dressed, with new dry socks, Lori headed downstairs for breakfast. She still felt tired, like she hadn't gotten enough sleep—

There was someone on her bench.

Lori paused as she saw two people sitting on her bench. Not on her spot, but a little farther down, at one end.

With the sort of serenity borne of boiling rage, of the sort that melted glass and metal, Lori stalked towards her table. Sinking them into the floor? A bit problematic, her bench might sink with them. Lightning? Tempting, tempting… Steam? Steam in your lungs was agonizing, or so she'd heard, a protracted death as your lungs burned from the inside, filling with your own blood, and even with a Deadspeaker, recovery was painful…

The shorter of the two on the bench turned and Lori almost stumbled as she found Binder Shanalorre looking towards her. The pale-haired young girl—no—the younger Dungeon Binder turned and swung her legs over the bench's seat to stand and face her. "Good morning, Binder Lolilyuri," she said. "I have come as agreed upon. Missus Keyyara is still not ready to give birth, so at your Lord Rian's suggestion, we are taking breakfast." The other one at the bench also stood, the older man moving to stand behind the girl.

Last night's events—or possibly very early this morning's—finally returned to Lori's memory as she turned a flat look towards her lord. "He did?" Lori said mildly.

"In my defense," he said, sitting slumped with his elbows on the table, Riz actually sleeping with her head on the table next to him, "I tried."

Lori looked significantly at the other person who had been on the bench.

"I said I tried, I didn't say I actually managed it," he said, stifling a yawn. "I leave these things to more awake minds."

Lori glared at him for a moment more before turning back to Binder Shanalorre. "Welcome to my demesne, Binder Shanalorre," she said. "I apologize for not greeting you sooner, but I was asleep."

Binder Shanalorre nodded. "I apologize for not presenting myself to you as soon as I arrived," the younger Dungeon Binder said, "but I fell asleep soon after I entered your Dungeon."

"Ah. Perfectly understandable. Shall we sit and wait for breakfast, then?"

Binder Shanalorre nodded, and Lori walked over to sit at her usual spot in front of Rian. The other Dungeon Binder sat down about a pace away, adjusting her seat on the bench to get comfortable. The older man pursed his lips for some reason, glancing at Lori, and found she was giving him an intense glare. Frowning, he moved to sit back down.

"Not you," Lori snapped. She pointed at the opposite side. "Sit over there."

"What?" the man said.

"You're not to sit here. Sit over there." Really, Lori was pointing to where he should sit and everything, why didn't he understand?

Rian gave out a tired sigh. "As I tried to delicately tell you Lord Yllian, that's the Dungeon Binder-only side of the table. Everyone else sits over here. Please sit down before my Dungeon Binder loses her temper. If you're not sure where to sit, just sit in front of your Dungeon Binder, like I'm doing?"

After frowning, looking around, and glaring for far too long, lord whatever-his-name-was pursed his lips and did as Rian said, sitting on the opposite side of the table from his Dungeon Binder. Lori gave him one last glare for good measure, then turned towards her lord.

"You look terrible," she said.

"I've been awake all night, sledding in the dark and cold," Rian said flatly. "I think we might have to skip our usual morning trip. I'm in no more condition to operate a sled. In fact, there's a good chance I'll pass out asleep right after breakfast."

Lori frowned, then sighed. "Fine, fine. Go to sleep after this. At least tell me you've arranged a guide for Binder Shanalorre?"

"Yes, we have a guide lined up," Rian said. "Talked to her days ago, she'll probably come by after breakfast." He looked over his shoulder and sighed. "Speaking of which…" With clear reluctance, Rian stood up, stepping over the stool and walking towards the kitchen. Riz made a muted sound of complaint, but otherwise didn't move.

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"Were you planning to do something, Binder Lolilyuri?" Shanalorre said.

"A minor project," Lori said dismissively. "Your presence will necessitate putting it on hold, for the moment. Are your accommodations to your liking?"

"They are adequate," Shanalorre said. "Their warmth is greatly appreciated. I've been sleeping in my office for the past red month because of the difficulty of getting myself up to my usual residence."

"How inconvenient. I hope you overcome the problem in time."

"The matter will hopefully resolve itself in the thaw."

"Ah. Procrastination. A problem-solving method my lord is fond of. I suppose there aren't many possible alternatives, given the resources available to you."

Shanalorre tilted her head. "I admit, I had not thought of it like that. Incidentally, Binder Lolilyuri, may I compliment you on the extent of your Dungeon? It must have required extensive work to accomplish."

"Yes, it did. It is still not yet complete, however. The third level will still be expanded to house our Dungeon farm, once the ground thaws and we have access to more soil. I take it your own Dungeon is not as extensive?"

"I don't have one," Binder Shanalorre said.

Lori waited for elaboration. None came. "Should it not have been a priority during the demesne's initial construction?"

"It should have been," Shanalorre said.

Nothing further was said, so Lori shrugged and regarded her duties as host done. After all, her guest no longer wished to speak, she certainly wasn't going to press her. Lori preferred not talking, after all.

On the opposite side, Riz continued sleeping, while lord whatever-his-name-was kept glancing back and forth, occasionally turning to look directly behind him. Around them, the dining hall filled with people waking up and talking. There was a mildly excited air to the words, probably because they had visitors, or because someone was giving birth. This would be… huh, the first birth in her demesne, wouldn't it? She'd have to find out what the date was and make a record of it or something. That was the sort of thing that needed to be recorded, right?

Rian, Umu, and Mikon eventually arrived carrying food. Rian put the two bowls he was carrying down in front of Shanalorre and lord whatever-his-name-was, while Lori reached for one of the bowls Mikon put down, grabbing a cup of water as well. Soup, with thin cuts of stewed meat and boiled tubers. The same as usual. She stirred it with the spoon for a moment before taking a sip. Ah, delicious. Across from her, Riz was being roused awake so she could eat.

"Rian," she said after she'd had a few spoonfuls to warm her stomach. "Find out what the date is today, if you can. This is the first birth in our demesne, so I'll probably need to record it or something."

"34thof first storm," Shanalorre said, interrupting her rather enthusiastic consumption of the soup in front of her.

There was a beat, then Lori turned to stare at the other Dungeon Binder. "What was that?" she asked.

"It's 34thof first storm," Shanalorre said. "Or first red, if you prefer."

"Ah… are you sure, Binder Shanalorre?" Lori said hesitantly. After all, a lot of people had forgotten what the date was.

Shanalorre nodded. "I'm sure," she said.

Well… all right, then. "Thank you," Lori said simply. "I will note it later. Rian, remember it for me."

"Gonna sleep after breakfast…"

"I'll remember it for you, Lord Rian!" Umu said as she sat next to him.

"Thank you, Umu," Rian sighed.

"Are you at least awake enough to remember how many visitors we have?" Lori sand blandly.

"Six," he said. "Four militia, and our guests here. They're… uh, around here somewhere." He made a vague circling gesture with his finger, then yawned, covering his mouth with one hand. "I've arranged for them to get some soap so they can use the baths if they want, though I'm not sure if they brought towels…"

"I brought mine, Lord Rian, as you recommended I should," Shanalorre said. "Lord Yllian, did all of you pack your towels and spare clothes as well?"

"Yes, Great Binder," her lord said.

"Good. I probably won't need you while I'm assisting with the birth, so you have my leave to use the bathing facilities we've heard so much of. With Binder Lolilyuri's permission, of course?"

Lori waved her hand. "Of course, of course. Feel free to use any of the baths, as well as the laundry area should you need it, though you might need to make other arrangements to dry your clothes afterwards."

"Thank you. I look forward to it."

They all went back to eating, since there wasn't much else to discuss. Rian was tired and his mind wandering, and anyway, Lori didn't wish to discuss any of their current projects with their guests present. They'd find out about the beads sooner or later, but Lori would rather it be later rather than sooner. Lori also sent Rian to get a second bowl of soup for their guest when she finished, since she still seemed hungry. She'd been staring at her bowl, at least, so Lori supposed as much.

Well, two bowls. After all, if they were going to feed their guest, she was going to eat some more too! A pity there was no bread…

After breakfast, Rian's guide arrived.

"Hello, I'm Karina," the brat said. "Lord Rian asked me to show you around, help you get to places, and answer any questions you might have. Are you Binder Shanalorre?"

Lori gave her lord a flat look. He simply shrugged in response. She supposed there were worse choices—far worse. The thought of Landoor being Shanalorre's guide…—but why a child?

"Yes, I am Binder Shanalorre. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for agreeing to act as my guide."

The brat tilted her head. "You sound funny. Are you all right?"

"I am well. Possibly I sound strange because I am sleepy."

"You don't sound sleepy…"

"I am sleepy. I was woken up last night and had to travel here on a sled."

"Well… I suppose… Where do you want me to show you around?"

Lori took this as her cue to rise. "Well, I'll leave you with Karina, Binder Shanalorre. Be welcome in my demesne, and should anyone attack you, I'll drown them out in the snow. Riz, please make sure everyone knows this so nothing unfortunate happens."

"Yes, Great Binder," Riz said, still sounding sleepy. "Drowned in the snow, got it."

Lori nodded. "If you'll excuse me, Binder Shanalorre, I have things to attend to. Rian, see me after you've had a chance to sleep."

"Yes, your Bindership! Will sleep as ordered!"

After all, she had bindings to imbue, expansion to perform, and once Rian was awake again she was having him take her out to the edge of the demesne so she could make beads. The former two, she could do from the safety and isolation of her sealed off room, where Shanalorre's militia—whose faces she wouldn't be able to tell apart from everyone else—wouldn't be able to ambush and kill her.