After breakfast, Lori inspected her Dungeon's water reservoir. She needed to deactivate the bindings of unseen light so she wouldn't hurt or blind herself. The thought of being blinded made her shudder, even if Shanalorre's healing would probably be able to restore her eyes from any damage caused by unseen light. She needed her eyes.

The bottom of the evaporation chamber was coated with debris, and Lori had to make a scraping tool with bone to fit onto the end of her stone-shaping tool to get it all off. Cleaning it probably wasn't necessary, but simply leaving the debris there did not sit well with her. Once the debris had been scraped off and gathered in a bucket to be dropped off into one of the tuber planters—it had to be good for something—she was able to seal up the evaporator and activated the wisps inside it again.

Once that was done, she went off to start curing wood. Thankfully, it wasn't raining this morning, so her seat outside the curing shed was dry as she sat down and put the bindings of airwisps, firewisps, lightningwisps and waterwisps in place inside the shed. Still, she wore her rain coat and hat to keep any rain off. When the curing was well underway, Lori settled down to consider her future priorities.

She should probably resume making beads again. While expanding her demesne was better for the long term, having beads for Rian to try and sell to power bound tools was better for the immediate future, at least if he managed to find a way to do so. If he could… we'll, they'd need stock to sell, then. Optimistically, they'd be able to sell the beads for wispbeads of similar size, which… meant that she'd have to make the beads about those size for ease of transaction.

On the subject of bound tools, though…. She would need to continue her research on the subject. Or, more accurately, start her research on the subject. While she still had no idea how to make glass, she believed she had an idea of what it was for now. It… probably wasn't as simple as she thought, but it was her only line of inquiry at this point.

It would no doubt be intermixed with experiments with the white Iridescence. There were several experiments that they had noted but not performed because of concerns about them being too dangerous to do in the little alcove within her Dungeon. Which… probably meant she'd need to make a location suitable for conducting experiments outside her dungeon. Probably not a full shed, but at least a roof to keep the rain off.

As to the rest… well, she was leaving those to Rian to inform her of when her intervention was needed. So… not her problem!

She was debating whether to prepare some bindings when Shanalorre approached her.

"Binder Lolilyuri, may we speak for a moment?" she said after stopping some distance away and giving Lori a bow. "A matter has arisen of which has given me cause for concern."

Lori eyed her for a moment. "Is something the matter with the children?" Shanalorre's previous reports were that the children were adjusting. Mikon's cousins had moved to live in her house, helping tend to the children. From reports, the change had been a lateral move rather than an improvement of their circumstances—there were even more people in the house than the one they had left—but a second floor was in the process of being added to Shanalorre's house, which would give them more room, even if only Shanalorre and her cousin had a bed at the moment.

Shanalorre shook her head. "The other children are adapting admirably, especially since we have arranged for me to relay messages from them to their parents and back." Is that what she'd been doing? Well, Lori supposed it made sense. "I will need to accompany Lord Rian next time he—"

"No," Lori interrupted. Shanalorre blinked. "You will be remaining here from now on. Any messages from the children, Rian can convey. We can give him a plank written with all the messages he needs to relay."

Shanalorre hesitated. "If that is the case, it is Lord Rian that I wish to speak of."

Lori frowned. "Rian? What about him?"

"I am concerned about his well-being. He appears to be tired and at the edge of his patience."

… What? "What?" Lori said, straightening up in her seat.

"I am concerned about his well-being. He appears to be tired and at the edge of his patience," Shanalorre repeated.

"Yes, I heard you the first time. Explain what you mean."

"I… believe that Lord Rian is exhausted from dealing with the malcontent elements of m— of River's Fork Demesne. Over the past two weeks, he has been increasingly sarcastic, confrontational, and has moved to initiate conflict by challenging people to fight him."

That… huh. "That sounds like a completely understandable response, given the individuals he has been dealing with in River's Fork."

Shanalorre nodded. "Yes, it is. However, Lord Rian does not usually respond in such a manner. His usual tendency is to encourage, aid, and counsel people, even those who act in an unpleasant or confrontational manner. The fact that he acts in this understandable manner is concerning. His cheerfulness has been more feigned than is normal, and there have been moments where he does not even bother to do so. In my previous interactions with him, he was very unlikely to be confrontational, and his sarcasm was better concealed and rhetorical."

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…

The beginnings of concern began stir. That… put that way, it was very unlike Rian.

Shanalorre continued. "Lord Rian has been recovering and returning to his usual disposition slower and slower with every shift in River's Fork. Today, he has clearly not yet recovered his equilibrium. I am concerned he will not recover himself before he has to leave and return to River's Fork, which will likely exacerbate his condition. Lord Rian is currently not in optimum condition. I believe it will impair his ability to work and deal with the matters you have assigned to him."

"I see," Lori said, her voice even. "What do you recommend, then?"

The other Dungeon Binder paused. For a moment, she just stood there, not saying anything, her head tilted to one side as she visibly considered how to reply. Eventually, she said, "I believe Lord Rian needs more time to rest and recover. I do not think that the performance of his usual duties will impair his recovering, but it is likely that the duties will not performed to his usual standard. Therefore, I would respectfully suggest that he be allowed more time to recover here in Lorian before he has to return to oversee matters in River's Fork. An additional day or two of recovery perhaps. Alternately, it might also help to shorten his time in River's Fork. He does not seem to enjoy being there."

Lori nodded. "I see. Go find Rian and tell him all that."

Shanalorre blinked in surprise. "Binder Lolilyuri?"

"This sounds like a 'dealing with people' matter. Rian is in charge of those. Tell him and he can decide to deal with it himself or bring it to my attention."

Shanalorre stood there for a moment, staring at her as if she couldn't understand the simple instructions. "I… see. Are you… sure, Great Binder?"

Lori nodded. "Yes. Rian would best know how to deal with something like this."

"… It is Lord Rian who is experiencing this difficulty."

Lori waved a hand dismissively. "It wouldn't be the first time Rian has neglected to take care of himself. Ask him about the time he tried to go hunting while deprived of sleep. If you need assistance getting him to rest, Umu, Mikon and Erzebed would be quite willing to give you aid."

A small breath escaped the other Dungeon Binder. "… very well, Great Binder." Shanalorre bowed once more before she turned and left.

Lori wasn't sure if what Shanalorre had described could really be regarded as problems, but if Rian was losing his cheerful disposition that was his main means of manipulating people… well, that was concerning. While it wouldn't make him useless—at the very least, he was still quite capable of tending the demesnes' affairs—it would certainly impact his utility and ability.

Hopefully, being informed of his current state will prompt him to correct it.

––––––––––––––––––

Lori was in the middle of preparing and imbuing some bindings that she could use to make beads—she'd decided that tomorrow she'd go out and at least test how the change of seasons affected bead making—when Shanalorre approached her again.

"Binder Lolilyuri," she said after giving Lori a quick bow. "I've spoken with Lord Rian. While he listened to my observations, he dismissed them and claimed he was 'fine'. When I pressed, he said he would deal with it later when he had time. I decided to cease pressing, but I followed him on his rounds and assessed that he would be too busy for the rest of the day to do so."

"Did you include your recommendations on how to correct his condition?" Lori asked.

"Yes. He informed me that because you are the one who set the current schedule of shifts, he cannot override it without consulting you and you authorizing it." Shanalorre hesitated. "I think he is also mildly jealous that you will be remaining here for the foreseeable future while he will continue to administer River's Fork."

He was? "He is?"

"That is the conclusion I reached upon interacting with and speaking with him. However, it is possible that I am incorrect. You would know better than I would, since you have known him longer."

… no, she wouldn't. She really, really wouldn't. That was why she had Rian in the first place.

Well, she'd take care of it when she met with him at lunch, which should be pretty soon. The cloud cover was thin enough she could tell the angle of the sun even though their obstruction, and it was almost directly overhead. "I'll take care of it when I meet him at lunch."

"… if I may ask, Great Binder, what do you intend to do?"

Lori shrugged. "If he needs rest, he will be made to rest." She supposed suspending the shift schedule for a few days wouldn't do any harm. "I suppose suspending the shift schedule for a few days wouldn't do any harm."

"Actually, it would. The Coldhold and its complement are needed for the current hunting arrangement that support's River's Fork. Karina also adds her own substantial contribution. While she has taught—or re-taught, in some cases—some of the other children how to catch seels, they're not as good as she is."

…

"We will discuss the matter with Rian."

Shanalorre tilted her head sideways. She let out a small sigh. "I… see. Very well, Great Binder. I am glad to have been of assistance."

Lori supposed she had been, though a part of her wondered if it really counted as assistance if the actions resulted in MORE work, not less. "Concerning the matter of food for River's Fork, how are the tubers progressing?"

"The initial batch has sprouted, and we have further buried them to try to increase the yield. We have also begun a second plot. I must add, however, that according to Karina before it will be at least two more months before the ones we first planted are ready to be harvested. Hopefully by the time we will have been able to prepare an area in River's Fork to plant them."

"I'll leave that to you," Lori said. "Is there anything else?"

The other Dungeon Binder hesitated. "If I may be so bold, Lord Rian once said that there needed to be more lords and ladies to assist him in managing both demesne—"

"That is my decision," Lori said firmly. "If that is all, you may go, Binder Shanalorre."

Shanalorre bowed. "Thank you for your time, Great Binder." She turned and wandered off, presumably to do something productive, or check on her cousin to see if she was still alive.

Lori was finally able to relax again, leaning back against the stone wall behind her and took a moment to check on the bindings inside the curing shed to make sure everything was progressing properly. She'd need to deactivate the bindings to head inside for lunch soon. Once she was certain everything was to her satisfaction, she closed her eyes, pulling down the brim of her hat to give herself some more shade.

If Rian actually was tired… well, while she didn't want to resort to it, but there was a measure that she could implement that might be able to deal with that. The thought made her sigh, but it couldn't be denied that it seemed to work. As with many things regarding other people, she didn't understand why, but it did. She could work with that, exasperating as it was.

Though there was no way she would be doing it by herself.