When the water level of the river finally receded to close to normal levels a few days later, Lori decided it was safe to retrieve the Coldhold from where it was stored inside a stone cube next to the dock where it usually floated.

"There has to be an easier way to do this," Rian muttered as he watched her carefully open the stone container, then slowly fill it with water to allow the boat float up the level of the river. As the water within the container rose, the boat of ice and wood began to shift as it began to displace water and started to float. "Maybe we can excavate the river here so it's deep all the way to the flood barrier, then build a covered stone shelter for all our boats? That way we can keep it maintained all year long."

"'We'?"

"Well, yes, mostly you, but I'm perfectly willing to help, and so are other people."

Lori rolled her eyes and focused on raising the Coldhold up to the river's level, one hand keeping her hat in place against the wind out of habit. When the level of water in the container was on par with the river, she lowered the sides of the container some more, until one a hand's length of stone remained above the water, keeping the boat isolated from the river's current. She turned and nodded at Rian. "All right, it's ready."

Rian nodded, grabbing the plank next to him on the stairs that she'd build on the riverward side of the flood barrier. She could probably open a hole in the barrier, but the thought of undoing all the work that had gone with it didn't sit well with her. This meant she didn't have to rebuild it next year… and that—sigh—it was probably permanent. Rian was able to maneuver the plank so that one end rested on the dock and the other rested on the lip of the remaining stone container that had been around the boat, creating an impromptu bridge. That done, he turned to retrieve a coil of rope that he'd left next to the flood barrier, and tied one end to the stone post that they usually used to secure the boats. Letting out some rope from the coil, he slipped the rest of the coil through one arm. Wearing the coil of rope, he carefully began crossing over the plank.

Lori couldn't help but wince as she saw the plank flex slightly with his every movement, but Rian didn't seem to care, instead moving slowly over the plank until he reached the walls of the container. Resting one foot on the stone, he carefully stepped from there to the outrigger of the boat. Visibly sighing, Rian moved quickly, slipping off the coil of rope and tying it around a thick wooden post on the boat.

"All right, we're secured," Rian called out. "You can drop the rest of it now."

Lori nodded, and moved the rest of the stone downwards to join the stockpile under the dock, ready to encase the boat again in the event of a dragon. No longer isolated from the river's current, the boat would have begun to drift away from the dock, but Rian began pulling on the rope, tugging the boat closer to the dock before the current could properly take hold. He loosened the knot around the post, then tied it again with the rope shorter. The boat was just close enough that one could take a long step onto the walkways on the outriggers from the dock.

The boat drifted with the current slightly until rope grew taut, keeping it in place. To her eyes, the boat looked completely fine. "The boat looks completely fine."

"Yes, but we probably have to replace all the containers of your blood. It's been a while, they might have gone bad or something."

Lori blinked and frowned as she realized it had been some time since she imbued the bindings of the Coldhold though her blood rather than through her connection to her core. Ugh. She hated it when he had a point. "Ugh, I hate it when you have a point. Yes, I suppose it would be best to replace the blood."

"We have to check the insides of the water jet driver too," Rian said. "It might have deformed from moisture, or there might be cracks. It's technically a pressure vessel, so any cracks—"

"I know how pressure vessels work, Rian!"

"Hence why we need to check over everything, like I said."

"Fine…" Lori grumbled. "Get on it then."

Rian nodded. "I'll have someone tell you when we're opening the driver. Maybe we can seal any gaps or cracks with bone or something."

"When you get around to sailing it—" was it still called sailing when the boat didn't have a sail? "—take it outside the demesne for a moment. It will let me know if I really do need to replace the blood."

Rian nodded. "Yes, your Bindership."

Lori turned away, leaving Rian to his own devices. Near them, the laundry area was full of people washing clothes, and had been ever since the water had receded enough for people to walk around barefoot with trousers legs and skirts pulled up. It reminded Lori she needed to do the rest of her laundry. Her pillow, blanket, her bedroll…

Shaking her head, she headed up to where the second row of houses were under construction. Beams had been placed to support the roofs, and workers were in the middle of putting together other beams to give the roof its shape. Already one of the houses had been roofed with planks, and a second house was a quarter of the way covered. The roofs in question were angled to let snow slide off in the winter and dump them behind the house so that people were less likely to be trapped in their house by snow.

The high angle of the roof also meant that Lori had needed to raise the walls between houses more to be able to support the roof beams, which she had done over the past few days. It was annoying, having to redo work she'd considered finished, but she hadn't realized what having roofs at such angles had meant.

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She spent the rest of the morning making holes in the walls for windows and fitting in the few doors that the carpenters had managed to make, sinking their hinges into the stone and adjusting the stone to form a proper doorframe, and helping fit and secure wooden beams into the stone walls by reshaping them with earthwisps. It was all minute adjustments that took up more time than they seemed as she went from place to place, adjusting the stone, then climbing to the next place where the stone needed adjusting. The stonemasons could probably have done the same, but it would have taken more time, and people had been needed to help move beams and planks, and so they were working there in the meantime.

They worked until lunch, prioritizing placing the beams so that most of the construction could be continued without her. Once the beams were placed, all she'd need to be involved with would be placing the doors and the frames for the window shutters. After that, she'd be mostly able to step away from the project, allowing her to deal with River's Fork. Any other things that needed her intervention could probably be done after she came back. By that point it would mostly be installing the rest of the doors and window frames.

At lunch, Rian was slightly sweaty as he sat down across from her, putting down a plank full of writing in black char on the table in front of him. Riz seemed equally sweaty, but that was normal, since Lori had seen her assisting the carpenters with carrying the beams and planks. Her new lord—Lori checked her rock: Yllian—was the same, since he would have been working with the wood cutters. Lori wasn't as sweaty, since she hadn't needed to carry anything heavy today, but climbing up to the beams so she could properly see the stone she needed to reshape had still been an exertion. Umu and Mikon, for their part, were equally disheveled. She'd seen the two of them in the laundry area earlier, doing laundry together.

Shanalorre seemed the freshest among them, sitting quietly with her fingers laced together and her back straight in a way that made Lori remember her mothers chiding her about her posture and once more made her wish for a backrest. Lori herself was mildly sweat-stained from climbing up and down ladders to be able to get to where the beams met stone walls. While firewisps changed the temperature of the air around her, that didn't actually change the uncomfortable feeling of humidity on her skin as moisture was trapped in her sleeves and her body sweated from exertion.

The feeling of the air on her skin was wonderfully refreshing as Lori laid out her raincoat and hat on the bench next to her before she sat down. "So, is the boat usable?" she asked Rian.

He blinked at her, glanced at the plank, then turned to look towards the kitchen. "Uh, could that wait for a moment? It's my turn to get the food."

Lori stared at him blankly for a moment. Then she sighed. "Fine. Go get it and come back."

Rian nodded, getting up to make his way towards the line where food would be distributed, followed by Riz.

Yllian glanced after them and grimaced, making to stand up.

"Stop," Shanalorre said. "Stay here and rest, Uncle Yllian. I'll go and get the food for us."

Yllian, who had paused immediately, let his weight settle back on the bench as Shanalorre rose and followed the other two as Lori frowned after her.

"Something the matter, your Bindership?" Yllian said blandly.

Lori moved her gaze towards him, her frown deepening for a moment, but… well, he was one of her lords, after all. She supposed this was a reminder that he was still loyal to Shanalorre, and that her authority over him was because the younger Dungeon Binder had ordered it of him. Best she remember it.

Rian, Riz and Shanalorre soon came back with food, Lori taking a bowl from the five presented. Shanalorre placed one of the bowls she was carrying in front of Yllian before walking around the table to put down her own bowl and the plate of bread, only then seating herself.

As Lori began eating, Rian glanced at his plank again for a moment, frowning thoughtfully as he visibly weighed and summarized his findings in front of her. Finally, he nodded as he came to some conclusion. "Regarding the usability of the boat, we're still checking over everything, but so far it looks good. Some of the planks that are supposed to protect the ice from impacts had things growing on them, and a few had mold, but so far none of that seems to have spread to the structural parts of the ship. However, it means it will take a bit longer than we thought since we'll need to thoroughly examine everything."

Lori frowned, swallowing what was in her mouth. "How long?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. If we focus on checking all the major structural beams for damage, we should be able to make it to River's Fork in a few days, but I don't feel comfortable going out to sea and going to Covehold until we do the more thorough check."

Next to her, Shanalorre was roused from her meal, her head coming up. "If I may interrupt, Lord Rian?"

Her lord blinked in confusion and glanced towards Lori. She shrugged, allowing the interruption as she started eating her soup. "Uh, go ahead, Great Binder."

"Because of the nature of our housing, mold and other causes of wood decay has been a concern for us as well," the other Dungeon Binder said. "While I cannot do anything about the matter, as I do not have the adequate training or knowledge, I have been able to discern the difference between wood that has been infested with mold and wood that is untouched. The life between the two contrasts enough for me to be able to distinguish between them. I can also identify subsurface rot to a degree by the voids left behind. Once the Coldhold is within the boundaries of River's Fork, I believe that I can assist in identifying any structural defects in the wood of the structure."

Tearing some bread to dip in the soup, Lori found herself staring at Shanalorre. That was… She hadn't thought about it, but on consideration, that would be something the other Dungeon Binder could do with her connection to River's Fork's core. Even if she didn't know how to do anything with the life in her awareness besides heal, there would be a difference between the life of something alive and the life of something that wasn't anymore. Lori remembered that much, even if it was from some novels she had read years ago…

"Uh… huh," Rian said as he seemed to take a moment to comprehend her words. He turned towards Lori. "Ah, is that all right with you, your Bindership? After all, she's volunteering, so it doesn't go against your views of making children work… And she and the Coldhold will both be in River's Fork at the same time in any case, so…"

Lori frowned, pausing in dipping the bread in her hands. "Fine. She may assist in identifying potential points of failure. However, the whole boat is still to be manually inspected, in case there are defects she is unable to identify. What else?" She dipped the bread in her soup.

Rian looked awkward for a moment. "We, uh, also need your help airing out the inside of the boat. There's a bit of a smell down there that… well, honestly I was sort of hoping it would go away over the winter, but that didn't happen. Thank you for keeping the light imbued, by the way. It was really helpful."

Lori grimaced, but… well, an airing would probably be good, since she'd be traveling inside the Coldhold herself. Best that it be tolerable to do so. As to the smell, well, time and airwisps could deal with that—wait a moment…

"I might be able to assist with that," Lori said thoughtfully. "There was something in the almanac for removing smells… I'll look it up later."

"That would be helpful, if there is such a thing. All in all… call it half a week at most?"

"Hmm…" She pointed. "Rian."

"Eating, your Bindership."