Lori knew this probably wouldn't last.

At some point, she'd have to go back to River's Fork again. Perhaps to build something, perhaps to fix something. Perhaps someone would do something so monumentally stupid that she'd need to become involved, like trying to attack the brat for her seel meat. However, it probably wouldn't be for some days yet. For now, she was back home and she was going to enjoy it.

"Your Bindership, remember the plan to move the malcontents here?" Rian began in lieu of any reports.

"Yes…?" There was… something wrong with this face. She couldn't quite place it…

"Going over what we have from River's Fork over the past month, they should be able to survive given the current population and the rate we've been bringing in meat," Rian said. "Granted, we need to maintain that rate at the very least, and hopefully increase it so the demesne will have a bigger reserve, but moving any more people here besides the children should be unnecessary. If the planting terraces work, that should be achievable. "

Lori considered that as she waited for Riz and Mikon to bring breakfast. Next to her, Shanalorre was acting as a post for her cousin to lean against as the young girl dozed. She obviously hadn't taken a bath yet, or else she'd be more awake. "Are they making themselves useful and taking to the new discipline being imposed?"

"Well, they're still malcontents, but they've been stealing less now," Rian said. "Admittedly, that's because we've been making things harder to steal more than any discipline on their parts. Though if they're not going to improve their behavior in River's Fork, they're not likely to do it here." He sighed. "And our demesne isn't as secured against theft as River's Fork. All the food is basically stored in unsecured buildings. The vigas, the mushrooms, the meat, the tubers, the little wild vegetables—"

Lori blinked. "We have wild vegetables?"

"What do you think is keeping our meals from being bland?"

"Salt?"

"That too. Besides, this way, you don't have to make any workshop buildings. The empty houses will be sufficient for now. Unless we need more storage for something, you probably don't have to build any more buildings until we begin construction on the sawmill, gristmill, and drophammer."

Ah. Yes, they were building those, weren't they? "Have they found sites for them yet?" During the winter, the river had been frozen over, so it hadn't been possible to find a good place along to build the waterwheels that the facilities needed. With the floods over, however…

"They've found some good spots," Rian said. "Though I'm having them build it downriver. That way our own water won't be full of sawdust floating down." He sighed. "I don't know how well they'll survive dragons, to be honest. A part of me wants to build them mostly underground and have the waterwheels be the only thing above ground, but that's just wishful thinking. The engineering would be a nightmare, and you'd definitely hate all the excavation involved."

Lori tilted her head. Yes, he was right, she would hate the amount of earthwisps she'd have to move to make a completely underground building… but she could also understand the appeal of protecting something from dragons in that manner. "Have them find a rocky area to make raising walls easier," Lori said. "I will confer with them about what sort of building will be needed once all other construction is finished."

"Are you counting the meat-smoking shed in that?" Rian said as Riz and Mikon finally arrived with food. He stood up to help them to put down the bowls, cups and platter of breads as Lori had first pick of everything. Shanalorre's cousin went next, awakened by the other Dungeon Binder. The others seemed inclined to indulge the girl, handing her the bowl of food filled with pieces of meat, tubers, some vegetables, and a few pieces of mushroom. The pieces were mostly tasteless, all their flavor drawn out in the creation of the broth that was the watery stew's base, but they chewed nicely.

Tearing her bread to pieces for a moment to give her some time to consider, Lori eventually said, "Yes, we might as well do that one first. Will it be possible to make the whole shed out of wood?"

"Hmm…" Rian 'hmm'-ed thoughtfully, stirring his bowl to try to get it to cool. "I'm concerned it might catch fire if it's all wood, but I'll admit I don't really know how to build a building for smoking. Though it might need a stone floor, or at least a packed dirt one, if only because there are more chokers running around on the other side than here, and they might be able to dig under any wooden walls to get at the meat."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Lori blinked. "Can chokers dig like that?"

"I don't see why they can't. They've got the limbs for it." He held his arms up, hands drooping down to mimic the common pose of many beasts, and scraped his fingers over the table in a movement that could be construed as digging. Shanalorre's cousin giggled at the sight, making Rian smile, which widened as she imitated him.

She rolled her eyes at the byplay as she took one of her pieces of bread and dipped it into her bowl. "Yes, I see your point. Something beneath the walls of the structure, at least. For the rest, dirt will keep from burning as well as stone, and less likely to crack." She put the bread in her mouth. For a brief moment, it was a bit too hot, before the food merely became pleasantly very warm. Ah, delicious. Though she might have to wait a little.

"It will probably flood next spring, but that's a next year problem," Rian said. "We'll have all winter to empty it out, anyway. All right, I'll inform everyone involved of the order we'll do things. You'll probably need to cure more beams and planks for it in any case." He scooped up a spoonful from his bowl and blew on it before putting it in his mouth. He immediately reached for water.

Lori grunted. Yes, she would, wouldn't she? "The first one we'll build will be the sawmill," she said flatly.

Rian let out a little laugh, and the wrongness of his face finally vanished. "What a coincidence. I was hoping you'd say that. So is everyone else. No one likes working in the sawpit when it's full of mud. At least there's a ladder now, unlike last year." He shook his head, still smiling. "So… except for curing the wood, what are your plans?"

Loir shrugged, reaching for her spoon. "I need to make more solidified air for the cold rooms." She frowned. "And I suppose it's time to do maintenance on the reservoir." She could excavate the third level, or at least dig out more farm plots… but she didn't want to think of moving around and earthwisps for a little while. Maybe in a few days.

Rian nodded as she ate. Ah, she missed never having to worry about burning her mouth! "So… you have time to make a few beads? I don't know how many we have stockpiled already, but the more we can sell…"

Lori blinked, and her eyes widened in understanding as she swallow. "Colors," she swore at herself. Argh! She'd stopped after winter had ended, since there had been work to be done, and the whole thing had completely slipped her mind.

Her lord nodded again, smiling in amusement. "Yeah… I thought it was something like that. When you're done with curing the wood that's been stocked in the curing shed, do you want to take your boat and go out to the edge to look for a good spot for a shed for you to work from? Unless you plan to expand the demesne too, in which case… uh, I don't know exactly."

She twitched. While she knew she it was probably well-advised for her to go back to growing her demesne properly, she didn't want to be laid out in bed for half the day. Perhaps in a week or so, but not now. "I'll think about it while I'm curing." She always had time to think while she was curing. "I'll need to plan the steps."

"By the way, have you checked the large bead lately?" Rian said. "It's been in that alcove for a while."

Lori stared at him. Then she swung her legs over the bench and ran down to the second level.

––––––––––––––––––

The large bead they'd broken open was unchanged from when she'd left it months ago. Lori had to resist the urge to start rearranging things in the alcove, instead sealing it shut again and going back upstairs to finish breakfast.

"So…" Rian said, glancing sideways at Shanalorre, "will you be continuing your experiments where you left off last time? Our last discovery was… well, I honestly thought you'd be revisiting it sooner, given its likely application in… well."

Lori also looked sideways at Shanalorre, who sat there looking blankly at them. Then she shrugged. "It's not like she can make beads, Rian. And even if she could, what could she do?"

"It always sounds so rude when you put it that way," Rian said.

"So? We will resume experiments when I feel like it. I have to review our notes."

"Uh, will you lend me those notes too? I don't remember them very well."

"… fine. I'll give them to you when I'm done."

"Ah, finally," Rian sighed happily, "reading material."

"Should I make myself scarce?" Shanalorre said. "This appears to be a matter I am not to be privy to."

Lori waved a hand dismissively. "Not at this time. I'll tell you when you need to be absent."

"Ah, I see. Very well, Binder Lolilyuri."

"Shana, please don't encourage this sort of behavior, it's going to set a bad example for Yoshka."

Shanalorre seemed to consider this, then turned to her cousin. "Yoshka, don't act like Binder Lolilyuri. Her behavior is not suitable for anyone who is not a Dungeon Binder, understood."

"But you don't act like that, Shasha."

For some reason, Shanalorre stared at her cousin. "As long as you don't act like that," she said eventually. "Now, clean your bowl."

"I don't have any more bread…"

"Use some of my bread."

"Yah! Thank you, Shasha!"

"I really hope this doesn't mean she's going to start more acting like you," Rian sighed. His own bowl was empty and clean. Good.

"And what would be so terrible about that?" Lori challenged.

"She'd be more likely to break her word, ruthlessly do everything she can to strengthen herself, and try to kill you when you're most vulnerable?"

Lori stared. Then she turned to Shanalorre. "Shanalorre, don't act like me. That's an order."

Shanalorre gave her a flat look. "Yes, Binder Lolilyuri. How should I act, then?"

"Continue acting as you have been."

The flat stare continued. "Yes, Binder Lolilyuri. I shall endeavor to follow your command to the best of my ability."

Lori nodded in satisfaction, then turned back to Rian. "The matter has been dealt with."

For some reason, Rian lowered his head and sighed.