Lori glared at Rian. He had to be doing this on purpose!

"Lidzuga, Kutago, may I present the esteemed Dungeon Binder Lolilyuri. Best to refer to her as 'your Bindership'," Rian said cheerfully as he stood between her and the more than one person opposite her. Again! "Your Bindership, may I introduce Deadspeaker Lidzuga and his sister Mistress Kutago."

"Hello, uh, your Bindership," Lidzuga said, smiling in an annoyingly Rian-like manner. Next to him, his sister said nothing, but her eyes were intent on Lori, her mouth set in a neutral expression. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm thankful for the opportunity to live in your demesne—Kuw, stop frowning at her Bindership."

"I wasn't frowning," Kutago said indignantly.

"Then what was that face you were making?"

"I wasn't making any kind of face!"

Lori let their words wash over her as she tried her best to remember the man in front of her, even as she conveyed her continued annoyance at Rian not bringing only the Deadspeaker. Again. Pale red short-cut hair in the style that many craftsmen favored so it wouldn't get into their eyes…yes, his eyes were a sort of vibrant pale orange, but that wasn't a very reliable identifier, you needed to be very close to see those…

"You should be informed, but Rian likely embellished some of the things he told you, by omission of relevant details, at least," Lori said. "However, the offer of free housing, use of the baths, and food he at least managed to convey accurately. However, he tells me that you have a request?"

"Yes," Lidzuga said confidently. "Has Rian told you about why I joined your demesne?"

"Rian has informed me that you 'intend to sketch, record, and study the local plants, beasts, bugs and fursh'," Lorisaid. "And to do so, you are demanding 'time off'."

"Not demanding!" Rian interjected. "Definitely not demand. Asking, really. Asking very, very nicely and politely, since he passed it through me instead of just telling you directly. Right, Lidz?"

The Deadspeaker blinked at him. "Uh…"

"This is the part where you say 'yes', you idiot," his sister hissed from beside him.

Liduzga turned the other way to glance at his sister, who was merely staring at him intently. Finally, he turned back to Lori. "As Rian has said, your, uh, Bindership, I am politely asking for time off."

Lori nodded as she and he both ignored the other two. "I see. You’re asking for time off. You should know that a condition of staying in my demesne is that all need to contribute, and that those who do not work do not eat. What would be your contribution for your 'time off'?"

"Well, my research would of course be contributing to the completion of the alknowledge," Lidzuga said earnestly.

"How fortunate for the alknowledge," she said flatly. "Unfortunately, my demesne is not the alknowledge. It can't be sustained on knowledge, and requires food, resources, and the labor to collect and refine those things."

"I'm sure we can arrange some sort of schedule, your Bindership," Rian interjected. "Lidzuga no doubt understands the need to balance the amount of time and work he contributes to the demesne with the time he takes for himself to do his research.” He paused. “Actually… how much time do you think you need for research per day, Lidz?”

“Uh… well… I was thinking… half?” the Deadspeaker said.

Next to him, his sister closed her eyes, bowed her head and sighed.

“Half,” Lori said flatly. “Half.” She stared at the man, and the only things keeping her from sinking him into the ground was the fact she wasn’t in her demesne, and that he wasn’t standing on a surface she could soften with Whispering. She started taking deep, even, cyclical breaths to calm herself, feeling her lungs fill with air and her soul with magic as she did. While the intensity of what she felt at the stupidity in front of her did not abate, she was able to control herself. Fine. He wanted to negotiate so unevenly? She could do that too. “All right. Which half?”

Beside the Deadspeaker—no, she wasn’t going to bother remembering his name, she was too furiously annoyed—Rian winced, as if finally aware of her displeasure. Luckily for him, he was not the recipient of it at the moment.

“I’m fine with either half, your Bindership,” the recipient said, looking relieved for some reason.

“Very well then. You can work during the half of the day when the sun is up and have the time off you want during the half when it’s not. Or would you rather have it the other way around?”

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Rian blinked. Then he smiled, before quickly turning to face away from the Deadspeaker and raising up a hand to cover his mouth. On the other side, the sister—her name also unfortunately forgotten—nodded tiredly for some reason.

“Um, if I do it like that your Bindership, then when will I sleep?” the Deadspeaker said.

“Whenever you want, as long as it’s not during work hours,” Lori said flatly. “Your previous employers would no doubt have been furious at you for sleeping on the job, and I am no exception. You’ll have half the day of. Whether you want to use that time to sleep or do research is up to you.”

“But… that’s…”

“If you say ‘unfair’, I will have Rian throw you into the river,” Lori interrupted coldly. “You come here to my demesne asking to be excused from work when you haven’t even done a single day of it yet?-! How dare you!”

“Rian said—”

A hand slapped over his mouth. “Brother, be quiet,” his sister said firmly. He squirmed, turning to look at her and muffled words came through his fingers. “I said be quiet! Stand back and let me do the talking.”

The Deadspeaker sighed though his uncovered nose, but obeyed, which was probably the first intelligent thing he’d done in her presence. The sister stepped forward, bowing slightly toward Lori, which was better than nothing. “Your Bindership. I apologize for my brother. While I could say he’s usually hard working… you’re probably not going to believe that right now.”

“No,” Lori said bluntly.

The sister nodded. “Very well. Then, I’d like to represent myself first. I don’t know if Rian has told you, but I was working as a papermaker in Covehold Demesne before someone decided to accept Rian’s offer to live here. However, that is not the full extent of my skills.”

“Oh?”

“In addition to papermaking, I have also worked as an apprentice printer, and I’m trained in bookbinding as well as document preservation and restoration to the standard expected of the Mystery’s libraries.” Lori, unfamiliar with what exactly that standard was, simply nodded in acknowledgement. “I know how to make writing ink, and while I’m not a trained carpenter, I know how to make the glues used for bookbinding, which is also used in carpentry, and I’m a quick study.”

Lori nodded. “Do you know how to spin thread?”

“No, but I’ve seen it done and I’m willing to learn.”

“Would you be willing to clean latrines?”

The woman made a face. “As long as the process is sanitary and I’m not expected to use my bare hands.”

Well, that was fair. “And do you have some sort of request? Time off, perhaps?”

“Yes,” the woman said immediately. “Please give my brother another chance. He’s a skilled woodworker, he’s diligent, and he does work hard. He simply said some very stupid things earlier.”

“Tah…!”

“Brother, stay quiet, I’m trying to wash away your mess!”

Lori considered the woman, idly regretting that she’d forgotten her name. Then she considered the Deadspeaker. On the one hand, Rian had made mistakes concerning people before, and this was looking like another one of them. On the other hand… her lord must have had some reason to think he was worth recruiting. Unless he and… uh, what was her name… Taeclas? Unless he and Taeclas had been the only ones who had accepted Rian’s offer… which was annoyingly not unlikely.

“In your opinion, how much time off do you think his work is worth?” Lori said.

“The offer you quoted, at minimum,” the woman said immediately. “However, once he’s had time to get to know your demesne’s carpenters and woodworkers and become part of the workshop, he will begin producing quality work as well as increase their efficiency. Given the necessary raw materials, my brother can make anything.” That last was not said with confidence. It was not a boast, nor was it announced with pride. It was a simple and straightforward statement of fact. “By then I’d say he’s earned half a day off a week as long as he’s finished all his work for the day.”

Lori considered that. Then she nodded. “You can stay. Welcome to my demesne.” Then she turned towards the Deadspeaker. “Your sister has asked me to give you a second chance. Consider your words very carefully.”

The Deadspeaker had a strange expression on his face that made him look like he was constipated. Then he looked sideways towards his sister, who gave him a narrow-eyed look in return. His expression became reluctant, but he sighed. “Your Bindership. As my sister has told you, I’m a woodworker. I have experience in both carpentry and furniture making. In terms of Deadspeaking, I am skilled in diagnosis, healing, woodworking, boneworking, leatherworking, plantworking, fleshworking, and deadcrafting. I have no professional farming experience, but I’ve worked in dungeon farms and know the necessary meanings.”

With everyone word, Lori felt less and less inclined to give him ‘time off’. All of those skills were very useful to the demesne! The more time they were being used for the demesne, the better!

“I’m afraid I will need proof of these skills to judge the quality of their output,” Lori said. “As such, I am instituting a probationary period of four weeks to assess you.”

“That’s… fair, I suppose,” the Deadspeaker said.

“The workday is from after breakfast is finished to a little before sunset. Your evenings are yours. Do research, sleep, I don’t care what you do then. For the duration of the probation, you will be given room, board and necessary sundries as promised, since you will be contributing. Do you understand my conditions so far?”

The Deadspeaker nodded carefully, as if expecting for some sort of trap.

“During that time, I expect you to at minimum exceed the productivity of Wizard Taeclas. You will not speak to her to convince her to reduce her productivity during this period. If you can exceed her productivity by a notable margin, then at the end of two weeks I am willing to reopen the discussion of your ‘time off’. If I come to a satisfactory conclusion, it will be implemented at the end of the four week period provided you are able to sustain that level of productivity. This will ensure that you are capable of a contribution equal to another Deadspeaker in less time, which will justify the time off. Do you understand?”

He nodded again, then licked his lips and said, “Yes, your Bindership.”

“If you fail to exceed Wizard Taeclas’s productivity, then you are clearly not capable of contributing enough to be worthy of special consideration. In which case, you will have a choice.”

“A… choice, your Bindership?”

“Will you use your nights to do your research regardless… or will you sleep to be better prepared for the next day?”