Weekly Digest 132 - (#416 - #418) (Patreon)

I Am Not A Child. I Am A Dungeon Binder

"There you are," Binder Lori said as Shana approached the Coldhold. "That was quick. We'd just sent someone to go inform you we were leaving." She frowned. "Why are you carrying that child? Is she injured?"

"She is uninjured, Great Binder," Shana said, adjusting her grip on her cousin. "She simply does not want me to leave." An idea occurred to Shana. "Should we indulge her and have me remain here in River's Fork?" For all that she knew she had responsibilities to fulfil, if the Great Binder told her she had to stay…

Binder Lori just gave her a blank look, then turned towards Lord Rian. "Rian, deal with this and get us underway as soon as possible. I'll be downstairs in my room." She turned away, climbing down to the Coldhold's lower deck.

The two of them stared after her.

"Sure, make me the villain who tells sad little girls 'no'," Lord Rian sighed theatrically, shaking his head. He carefully made his way over the outrigger ramp and onto the dock. Lord Rian carefully knelt down. "Yoshka?" Shana turned so that Lord Rian's face would be in Yoshka's view. "Hello, Yoshka."

Yoshka sniffed. "Hello, Lo' Rian."

"Could you please let Shana…" he paused out of habit, but there was no corrective cry of 'Shanalorre', "let Shana go? We can't leave without her."

Shana felt Yoshka's face rubbing against her as her cousin shook her head. "Don't want her to go. Want her to stay."

Lord Rian nodded seriously, then glanced towards Lord Yllian and made vague looking gestures that involved pointing at Yoshka, then gesturing towards the dome. Lord Yllian nodded, and began hurrying away, presumably to get mushka or dyadya. That done, Lord Rian turned back to face Yoshka. "Have you asked her if she wants to stay?"

"Want her to stay!"

Lord Rian nodded again. "She can't stay, Yoshka. Shana has things she needs to get back to in Lorian. Tell you what, if you let her go, I promise she'll come back to visit. Right, Shana?"

Shana nodded. "Yes, Yoshka. I told you, I'll come back. I'll always come back. So please, let me go."

Yoshka's face rubbed against Shana as her cousin shook her head in denial. "No!"

Part of Shana still agreed with the sentiment, still wanted to not be separated from Yoshka. Still felt that without her cousin, she would be all alone. However, the fact she could think such a thing again without losing her flow of thought meant that said part of her was no longer overreacting to the notion, despite the distress that it caused. That the distress was no longer overwhelming also added credence to Lord Rian's advice about pain becoming endurable given time. Time and subjecting oneself to the pain in question.

She wondered if she could live like Lord Rian, feeling the full pain of the loss for seven years and still ongoing… who had he lost?

No matter what she and Lord Rian said to try and convince Yoshka to let go, her cousin wouldn’t move. She just clutched at Shana with single-minded stubbornness holding as tightly as she could. Shana was reluctant to try and physically remove her, and Lord Rian seemed to be of the same mind, although the way he kept glancing towards Binder Lori’s room at the front of the ship told her he was concerned as to her reaction if he did so. Which… was a valid concern, certainly.

Shana was relieved when Lord Yllian arrived with mushka in tow. "Mushka," she greeted. "Could you please take Yoshka so that we can leave?"

"Don't go!"

"As you can see, Yoshka doesn't want to let go of me, and isn't listening. Could you please take her?"

"No! No! Tota, Shasha's going away again! I don't want her to go!"

Mushka frowned. "I thought that since we had enough food again, all the children would be coming to live here again."

"Yes, that is the case," Shana confirmed.

"Then why are you going back there?"

…

"I am not a child. I am a Dungeon Binder, and the Great Binder wishes me to be near the bulk of her population should healing be required."

Mushka's expression became disapproving, but Shana ignored it. Mushka Vyshke was one of the few people who still insisted on treating Shana like a child to a degree that it had interfered with Shana's ability to properly perform her duties at the time. She had performed them regardless, and mushka had become distant from her as a result… a result that she lamented but had chosen not to correct. As a Dungeon Binder, fulfilling her responsibilities was more important. "You should be at home."

"Yes," Shana agreed. "That is why I need you to take Yoshka so we can leave."

"Don't leave!"

She raised a hand gently rested it on Yoshka's head, stroking her hair. "I need to, Yoshka. I promise I'll come back. But for now I need to leave. It will be like the times that dyadya had to go out on deployment. He left, but he always came back, didn't he?"

Yoshka shook her head again. "Don't leave!"

Shana sighed, looking towards mushka pleadingly. "Mushka, please…?"

Mushka's face remained disapproving, but she said, "Yoshka, come here. It's time for Shana to go."

"No! Don't want her to go!" Despite her words, however, Yoshka's grip loosened.

It was enough to let Shana kneel down and wrap her arms around her cousin, placing a kiss on her forehead. The urge to hold Yosha tight and not let her go, to keep the two of them together, arose within her. It was simply an urge, however, childish and petulant, if understandable. She knew that even if without Yoshka, even with her cousin far away, she would … she would be lonely, but it would be something she would be able to deal with, as she had during the winter. "I'll come back soon, Yoshka," she said. "I promise."

Picking up Yoshka again, she took her to Mushka.

“No! No! Shasha, don’t go! Tota, don’t let her go! Shasha!”

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Yoshka's cries slowly faded away as the Coldhold moved further and further away from the docks. Shana had sat stoically on one of the ships benches, unable to think of how to respond beyond waving goodbye. There was turmoil within her, but not enough to disrupt her flow of thought.

Lord Rian looked pained at the cries, and the aunties who had been escorting the Great Binder were all uncharacteristically subdued. The only sounds were the splashing of the waves and the cries of bugs coming from the shore.

…

Had Binder Lori ever placed the binding to repel bugs on the Coldhold? Given that they stored food on the ship, as well as bug-vulnerable goods—and would have people residing in it for long periods of time, of course—perhaps it was a matter she should point out.

Eventually, Lord Rian said, "Shana? Are you—that is, how are you?"

Implying that she wasn't right at all, by any of the usual standards. Shana considered her response. "I am fit to perform my duties and see to my responsibilities."

"I… see…” Lord Rian was silent for a few moments, then sighed. “Shana… whatever Lori thinks, you are still a child. It’s all right to act like it sometimes. That includes being sad when you’re separated from the people you love.”

Shana didn’t reply, simply gazing out into the water, letting the turbulent emotions inside her run their course. They hurt, but she was used to that sort of pain. It was why she was here, after all.

The Coldhold traveled in relative silence, even Auntie Riz and her friends not speaking save for when Auntie Mekari calling out possible hazards in the water ahead and whether it was time to start turning left or right. They passed beyond the border of River’s Fork Demesne, and once more the life in her body was cut off from the whole, an island unconnected to the awareness that her connection to her core afforded her. She could no longer feel the life that clung to her clothes, and had to reach out and claim to feel the ones on her skin, a product of the dustlife upon her…

Some time after they had left the demesne’s borders, Lord Rian glanced to the side, then leaned towards the open hatch next to him. "Cottsy, could you stop the driver?" he called down. "Riz, could you start stringing the bow, please? I need to go tell her Bindership that the typhon beast is there on the shore."

Shana turned to look ahead of the boat, in the direction Lord Rian had gestured towards as Auntie Riz grabbed the bowstave among the spears that had been set aside. Sure enough, on the shore of the river was the typhon beast. The burns on its back were mostly scarred over, though not all of the burnt patches had started growing new feathers. As was often the case whenever she glimpsed the beast, it was leaning down and carefully drinking from the river, its long tongue lapping up the water as it took care to not get wet. Some blood was already dripping down its chin as the Iridescence there was washed off by splashes, but it continued on regardless.

It was probably a simple life, being such a beast. Eat smaller beasts, walk around as one wished, sleep when one wished, be watchful for other beasts that might eat it, although that did not seem to be a concern for the typhon beast. It’s sole worry would probably be needing to be on guard for Binder Lori wanting to kill it. Though actually, the beast wouldn’t know that last, so it wouldn’t actually worry about it.

What an idyllic existence.

“—ould I have the arrow? You’re the one always fondling it. Shouldn’t you know where it is?”

“It has to be here somewhere! I know I left it on the boat!”

“Didn’t you take one of the smaller boats to go to River’s Fork? The one we sent back home because you were planning to go back on the Coldhold?”

Shana glanced towards the hatch to the lower decks as a scream of frustration sounded. The scream was soon followed by a snarling Binder Lori climbing out of the hatch, her staff in hand. She looked around until she spotted the typhon beast along the shore. It had glanced up, seemingly hearing her scream, and seemed to be sniffing the air. Its snout was pointed towards them, and Shana wondered whether it was catching their scent.

“Do we have any other arrows?” Binder Lori demanded. “Something I can put a binding on that we can throw that far?”

“Unfortunately not,” Lord Rian said as he climbed out of the lower deck as well. “It’s not like we were planning to shoot it with anything other than your magic arrow. Don’t you have something else you can use to hit it?”

“Nothing that can kill it! I don’t have anything that can send firewisps that far, and any water cutter I make will delaminate well before it will hit!”

Lord Rian sighed. “Do you want us to try and get closer, then?”

Before Binder Lori could reply one way or the other, the typhon beast raised its head. Whether it had finally finished its drink or some sort of instinctive caution, it began to turn away, striding away from the river and among the Iridescence-covered trees.

Binder Lori’s colorful language chased after it.

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Here With Me

Binder Lori was still muttering colorfully as the Coldhold slid into the dock outside of the dungeon. From the way there were few people coming from the baths or using the showers outside, dinner was in progress, or would soon be. Shana wondered if she should still take a bath before—

She glanced towards Binder Lori, and decided to take a bath. The Great Binder probably wouldn't appreciate smelling her sweat.

The ship docked, Auntie Riz jumping onto land to tie them in place, and the aunties stepped off, followed by an annoyed Binder Lori, who took a moment to kneel at the edge of the dock and splash her face with water. Shana followed after them, turning to head towards her house to collect her bucket and a change of clothes. 

"Cottsy, could you stay with the ship for a bit?" she heard Lord Rian saying behind her. "I'll come back with some men to get the fruits inside. Just take a break and keep the bugs from getting at them, all right?"

"Right, Lord Rian. Be quick, all right?"

She returned to a house that seemed almost barren compared to how it had been for the past two seasons. The piles of bedrolls and packs were gone, and all that remained were Koyan and Kayas' as well as her own. Her own bedroll was still laid out on the bed—she hadn't had time to put away her one effects, as she'd been concentrating on getting the children organized—with the breeze-making bound tool atop it. That would probably need to be returned to Binder Lori, as there were no more children who needed to be kept comfortable living in her house.

Shana collected a change of clothes, her towel, her soap, and the rock she used for scrubbing, carrying them in her bath bucket as she headed to the nearby baths. It was empty at this time, and she had her pick of the shelves to place her things. Stripping off her sweaty clothes, she loosely folded them up to carry with her, tucking her soap among them.

The first splash of cool water was absolutely refreshing, as were the next three, and she enjoyed the feeling of her skin cooling and most of her sweat getting washed away. Taking her soap, she rubbed it between her wet hands to lather it up a little before she started applying the suds to herself. The routine of it all was… not calming. Her insides were still filled with turmoil. Steadying, that was it. the simple activity that didn't require much thought, only repetitive motions as she passed her soapy hands over her limbs, followed by her scrubbing rock to dislodge dead skin and the sludge left behind by her sweat.

As she scrubbed, Shana heard voices from outside. The echoes and multiple voices made the words hard to discern, but the tone was light-hearted, friendly and lightly teasing.

"—to ringing bells and clappers now, Riz?" she heard a muffled voice say.

"I'm starting to see the appeal," most-likely Auntie Riz said. "Also, I'm going to kill Mevt when I next see her."

"Ah, you finally figured out how she colored you. Better late than never, I guess."

"You all knew?"

"What, you think you're the only one she colored? Why do you think she never made sergeant? "

"Forget Mevt! Who's better at ringing, Lord Rian or—oh, colors!"

"What's the ma—oh, colors."

Shana finally looked towards the entrance of the baths. "Aunties," she greeted, even as she continued to try and reach between her shoulder blades with her scrubbing rock. While she could touch that far back, there was a spot she couldn't reach with the rock no matter what angle she tried to bend her arms to get at it from. "Could one of you assist me? I can't reach my back"

Auntie Riz quickly volunteered, which put an end to the conversation, and finally scrubbed that spot that Shana kept missing. After scrubbing with her rock, she lathered herself one more time before pouring water over herself to finally wash it all off. She would have to wash her hair soon. It was getting too hot and too oily.

Now that she was finished with herself, she set about washing her clothes. Laying her dress on the floor, she poured water on them, then started folding and pounding them on the stone. While it wasn't as effective without soap, it was sufficient to get most of the smell of sweat off, and helped cut down on how much laundry she had to do. Her loin cloth followed, and that received some soap, as well as a thorough wringing to get as much water out as she could. That would be enough for her to wear it after her bath.

With everything finished, she folded the wet dress, took her rock, soap and loin cloth, and left the bathing area to dress. After leaving her bath bucket in her house so that her soap and rock would dry, she hung her wet dress on the drying line she and her neighbors shared for drying their clothes like this, she headed down to the dungeon to eat.

At the docks, she could see Lord Rian and some men still in the process of unloading all the fruits from the Coldhold. They were moving quickly and efficiently, carrying reed baskets and sacks of various fruit. Lord Rian was among them, carrying a basket himself. He would probably be delayed to dinner, as he would still need to have a bath to make himself presentable. She let the men carrying fruits enter the dungeon first before trailing in after them.

The dining area was already full, and many people were in the middle of eating as other stood in line to collect their food. Binder Lori, her hair still damp, was already eating, as were Mikon, Umu, Wizard Taeclas and Rybelle. There were two spare bowls of stew and bread, for which Shana was glad. No doubt they were for her and Lord Rian, meaning she didn’t need to line up. She slid into place on the shortened bench that had been set at the table for her and Yoshka’s benefit after Binder Lori had gotten her chair. The table behind Binder Lori was occupied by other people now, and Koyan and Kayas seemed to be eating withe their family

“Ah, Shana…lorre, there you are!” Wizard Taeclas said after glancing at Binder Lori. She’d taken of her head cloth, so the Great Binder must have already said her name at least once recently. “Good evening!”

“Good evening, Wizard Taeclas, Mistress Rybelle” she replied. "I apologize for my absence today. Tomorrow I should be able to resume my usual duties in assist you with imbuing the crops."

"That's all right, Shanalorre," Wizard Taeclas said. "I was nice to have a little break to see to the vegetables."

Shana nodded, turning to th other women on the other side of the table. “Good evening, Mistress Mikon, Mistress Umu. Auntie Riz will be with us soon, I believe. Lord Rian will be more delayed.”

“We know, Lady Binder,” Mikon said, her food noticeably untouched. “Nothing to do but wait, I guess.” Next to her, Umu was poking at her bowl, visibly debating whether to start eating.

The stew was as hearty as always—actual hearts excluded—and there seemed to be more mushrooms than usual. She supposed that meant there’d been a harvest today while they’d been out. She and Wizard Taeclas had yet to utilize Deadspeaking on the demesne’s mushrooms, as it was not considered an efficient use of their efforts, so the mushrooms were growing at their natural rate.

Shana ate her dinner quickly, listening as Lord Rian and Binder Lori spoke about what more needed to be done for River's Fork's dragon shelter. There was talk of doors and more excavation, and Binder Lori did in fact mention the need to seal the mine against water. Those matters were none of her affair, as she couldn't really assist with anything there beyond imbuing the wood with life should Wizard Taeclas assist in fusing any wood together.

Without Yoshka to tend to…—she shook her head—Shana was able to eat without interruptions. When she finished, she looked to the side out of habit, but there was no one there.

…

She shook her head and picked up her bowl, plate, cup and utensils to take them to where they would be washed. After that, she headed into the cold pantry where the meat and fruits for the following day were placed to warm enough to be handled, between which were jars of water to draw in the cold. Shana tested the jars until she felt one that felt fairly cold in her hands, taking it to bring back to her room. The door of the pantry was already shutting behind she before realized that there would only be her, Koyan and Kayas at the house tonight. She had collected the jar out of habit, as Yoshka and some of the children who were… who had been in her care had not yet tired of the novelty of drinking cold water.

…

"Shana?"

Shaking her head at the mention of her name, Shana turning towards the familiar voice. "Good evening, Karina," she greeted.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going back and living in River's Fork!" her friend said.

…

Why did people keep thinking that? The misconception was surprisingly widespread. "No, I'm staying here," she answered. "Are you here to get cold water?"

Karina nodded. "It's for when Malli and Siithia wake up thirsty in the middle of the night. If you're here, does that mean Yoshka and the others are going to be back?"

Shana shook her head. "No, they have returned permanently, since River's Fork is now producing enough food to be able to feed them without issue.. Here, take this." She handed over the jar she was carrying. "I took it before I realized I didn't need it. I'll just get a warmer one. Without the children, there's really no call for cold water in my house."

"Oh, thank you. So, you're all alone at your house again?"

Shana shook her head. "Koyan and Kayas are still living with me. It's the least I can do after all their assistance, and I have the room." She turned and opened the pantry again, taking one of the jars nearest the door. Those were always the warmest ones—

She heard rapid footsteps behind her, and when she turned around with a jar in hand, it was to see Karina rushing away. Shana blinked in confusion. "Good night then, I suppose?"

The Dungeon Binder hefted the jar of water in her hands and headed back towards her house.

Everything was dark when she opened the door, insufficient light passing through the paper screens from outside, requiring Shana to draw her glowing rock from her belt pouch and place it on the table to illuminate the room. They would probably have to keep those closed full time from now on. With no more children residing in the house, Binder Lori would no doubt allow the binding that kept bugs out of the building lapse, as well as remove the breeze-making bound tool. There would be no more need for them.

Placing the jar of water on the table next to the rock—they should probably see about getting at least one cup, since there were only three of them in the house now—Shana got started laying out her bedroll on the bed. She had just finished covering it with her blanket—it was far too warm even for the thin sheet, and her comforter had been set aside so that the down stuffing wouldn't become squashed down—when there was a knock on the door.

She looked towards the entrance expectantly, waiting for Koyan and Kayas to step in, but the door remained closed. Instead, the knock sounded again. Huh?

Placing her pillow on the bed, she went to the door and opened in.

Karina stood there, holding a small pillow, a bath bucket and a filled pack. "Can I sleep here?" her friend asked.

"I… don't see why not…" Shana said, slightly confused, but stepping aside to let the girl enter. "We have plenty of room now. Make yourself at home." Karina stepped inside, placing her pillow on the bed and her pack bucket along the wall before turning back towards Shana. To Shana's surprise, she suddenly found herself being hugged. "Karina? Why—?"

"Yoshka's gone back, right?" Karina said. "I didn’t want you to be lonely because Yoshka's away."

Shana's heart clenched slightly, but she maintained her composure. "I am not alone. Koyan and Kayas are here with me."

"And now me!"

"… and now you, yes."

Karina smiled at her, but it was a strangely sad expression. "I'll talk to inay and itay, and ask them if I can sleep here for a while until you feel better."

"…shouldn't you ask me if you can sleep here first?"

"I did ask. You said 'yes'."

Ah. She had, hadn't she? Well, actually she'd sai—

…

…

…

…

…

Shana blinked and found her face pressed against Karina's shoulder. Tears were flowing down her face, and her shoulders were heaving as Karina stroked her hair.

"It's all right," Karina said softly. "Everything is going to be all right. I'm here, and tomorrow night everyone else is going to be here too. You're not going to be alone."

…

Shana closed her eyes again and let herself cry. 

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Shared Transition

Having Karina sleep over that night had been a comfort. While it didn't make the ache of being separated from her cousin again go away, it was… nice… to have her friend nearby. She had wanted to apologize to Koyan and Kayas, as it meant that one of them would need to sleep on the floor again, but they had taken one look at Karina and had actually looked relieved. They'd even given the girl a nod of approval as Koyan added her bedroll to the bed and Kayas had swept the floor before laying hers out on it. The two didn’t comment on her reddened eyes.

The bed was a bit more cramped with Karina occupying it with her instead of Yoshka… but the three of them still managed to fit without too much trouble. Shana found herself occupying the middle position on the bed at Karina’s insistence. While she had no real objection to sleeping there—if Karina wanted to sleep on the outside of the bed, than as host Shana would indulge her—there was something about that particular berth that bothered her, and she couldn’t articulate why.

Shana lay there, trying to sleep and eyes closed as she waited for slumber to overcome her, as she let her idle mind turn over the question. What was it about lying between Koyan’s warm mass to her right and having Karina lying on their side with one arm hugging Shana to her left that brought about a strange feeling of both comfort and disquiet…?

It was only as she was falling to the inexorable gravity of sleep to drown in the darkness behind her own eyes did Shana realize what was it about the position that bothered her.

Lying there felt like sleeping between tota and tyatya.

Perhaps it was because of her muddled thoughts as she slipped into unconsciousness, but there was no pain at the realization, only a warm peace followed by blackness as she fell into the da—

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The next day, Shana woke up and left the comforting abyss of empty, thoughtless sleep, and for a moment she was warm.

And then she remembered and everything hurt all over again. Tota was dead. Tyatya was dead. Dyadya resented her. Mushka had grown distant. Yoshka had left and wouldn’t be coming back…

She lay on the bed, staring tiredly up at the familiar ceiling and taking deep, deliberate breaths, hands folded over her stomach. With each breath, she felt magic filling her, enriching the life within her, energizing her thoughts to wakefulness, even if she didn’t want it to…

She closed her eyes trying to ignore the world a little longer, ignore her pain, ignore herself…

Eventually, Shana opened her eyes. She dabbed at her face, but it was dry. She’d already shed her tears last night.

Next to her, Karina still slept, every breath whistling against the side of Shana’s head, the girl’s arm and now a leg still draped over her. She tried to get up, but quickly realized she wouldn’t be moving without waking up her friend.

Carefully, so as not to disturb Koyan sleeping next to her, Shana began to nudge her friend awake so she could get up.

She had duties, after all.

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That night, Karina had slept over again, and this time she had invited other children to join her. Shana should probably have been annoyed that Karina has inviting people to her house, but after all this time, the sounds of children in the confines of those stone walls as she was getting ready to sleep was comforting to hear. Not everyone stayed—not many had their own bedrolls, and there wasn't enough for them to share with someone else now—but two or three would sleep over very other night or so, even if the reed mat was all they had to lie down on.

On the third night of this, Shana had laid down her bed roll on the mat with them, letting Koyan share the bed with her sister. It had seemed only right to join the children, since they were staying for her benefit… well, ostensibly for her benefit. All the children who came in to stay in her house always walked towards the breeze-making bound tool and stuck their face close to it to feel the breeze before joining everyone else on the reed mat.

Even with the mat and her bedroll, the stone floor was hard, and Shana was both glad that she'd had Yoshka… sleep on the bed and ashamed she hadn’t tried to get more padding for the children under her care. She could have gotten some of the straw from the first harvest of the year, at least, and Binder Lori would likely have authorized it.

With each passing day, Shana expected Binder Lori to request that the breeze-making bound tool be returned, but the order never manifested. Lord Rian continued to supply her with the necessary wispbeads to utilize the device. The thought occurred to her that perhaps she could bring up the subject, but if she did, she might be ordered to return the bound tool.

Well, as long as she hadn't been told anything to the contrary, Shana supposed she had no reason not to keep using the bound tool. The children who spent the night in her house certainly enjoyed it, and she was willing to admit that it felt much more comfortable going to sleep with it keeping the room relatively cool.

…

If Binder Lori still hadn't made mention of it when the season turned, Shana would bring the matter of the bound tool up herself. She wouldn't want Binder Lori to think she was defying her or anything.

And by then the weather would be cool enough the bound tool wouldn't be needed anymore.

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The conversion of Lori's Boat Three into a mobile work shed had taken a bit longer that had been estimated, and Lolilyuri had also been too busy to really check up on it before now. After expanding her demesne for two days, she'd gone back to River's Fork Demesne to continue excavating the water reservoir, bathing area, and catch basin, followed by another two days of expanding her demesne before going back to finally finish the excavation. The doors had also been finished by then, and she'd installed them to let her block off her sleeping alcove and the reservoir. It was only after another two days of expanding the demesne—with Rian had cheerfully predicting that today's expansion will be what finally pushes the demesne to being five taums in diameter—that she'd finally remembered to check on the boat.

It was a little bit before dinner, and Lori looked at the boat dubiously, with its higher sides that were supposed to keep out splashing water out of the boat. Wooden poles had been mounted vertically on the boat's corners, at the end of which lengths of cleaned and polished bone had been inserted, fused to the wood with Deadspeaking.

Lori had been expecting those features—well, not the bones, she had thought she would have to soften stone and wrap it around the poles—but those were not the only things that had been added to the boat.

In the middle of the boat, solidly slotted into a plank that ran laterally above the bottom of the boat, was a chair. It was… was a very strange chair. It consisted of a plank that was inserted into a slot into the lateral plank at an angle, with another shorter length of plank joined to it with a cross lap joint. The latter plank supported the seat, another wider plank which was also cross lapped to the first plank and angled slightly upward. The three pieces of wood somehow came together to make a chair-like shape.

In front of the chair were a pair of trestles that slotted into holes on two more lateral planks—no, wait, that wasn't a plank, that was a beam, and on a closer look the 'plank' the seat was slotted into was also a beam—that had been added to the boat, forming legs for a tabletop that was absent, although Lori recognized the dimensions.

“Well, what do you think?” Rian asked. His voice was as cheerful as usual, although this time it seemed to be genuine.

“Why is one of the outriggers gone?” Lori said. Indeed, only one side had an outrigger extending from it.

“Because after testing a deliberation, we’ve ascertained that our riverboats only need the one,” Rian said.

“Why did all the other before have two, then?”

“Well, the other before consisted of your original boat, your original ice boat, and the Coldhold. We had to use two outriggers on the first because we couldn’t cut into the boats hull to secure the beams need for the outriggers, so laying them on top and pinching them into place was the best way to mount them. If we’d done only one outrigger, the wood would have popped off. However, we have Deadspeakers now, so we have more building options available to us.”

“And those options mean we only need one outrigger?”

“Pretty much. We have better ways to secure the outriggers to the boats now. Don't worry though, we took into account the trouble you have getting in and out of the boat because of the high sides and made those little steps. See?” He pointed.

Lori turned her gaze in that direction, and sure enough, little steps had been built into the inner sides of the boat, interrupting the bench-like seats on the long sides of the boat. Ah. She'd been wondering what those breaks in the wood were. There steps were positioned opposite each, with one lined up with the ramp to the outrigger. There was a bone-topped pole next to each of the steps, likely meant  as a handhold while climbing up or down. “And the chair?” she said.

“Well, we thought you’d be more comfortable in a proper sitting position when you get to work making beads rather than having your legs folded up. When the trestles and chair are pulled out, the planks can act as more bench seating. The trestles are sized to fit your bead-making table, and we made sure it was a snug fit. You don’t have to worry about your table sliding around." Rian grinned. "Go on, try it out. We can still to adjust it if it's too short for you."

"What do you mean 'we'?" Lori said as she tentatively used the steps to get down, one hand on the pole next to them to steady herself.

"Hey, I'll have you know I actually did help with making the chair," Rian said.

"… you designed that strange thing, didn't you." It wasn't a question.

"Well, we needed to make a chair in a hurry, and this was actually the fastest way to do it. And I'll have you know it's actually comfortable and easily disassembled for storage."

Lori gave the alleged chair another skeptical look, then sighed. Well, while Rian might have designed it—or more likely just had the idea for it—the carpenters were no doubt the ones who had built it, and they wouldn't have put it here if it was likely to fall apart when she sat on it! If nothing else, she knew her carpenters were too capable to make that mistake!

The boat shifted under her as she walked towards the chair. Tentatively, Lori sat down, leaning back to rest on the upright plank.

…

Huh. It… wasn't immediately uncomfortable, which was a good sign. And while she couldn't be sure, the rocking of the boat didn't seem as obtrusive from this position…?

Shaking her head, she stood up. "I suppose it's usable," she said. "I'll take it out tomorrow." She gave Rian a piercing look as she carefully climbed back up the steps—very helpful—and back onto the dock. "You did remember to put the jar outside of the demesne yesterday, didn't you?"

"Yes, your Bindership," he said. "I lit a fire near it and everything, so it should have iridescence all over when you go get it tomorrow."

"And did you—?"

"Yes, I put it at least twenty paces away from the edge of the demesne so it wouldn't end up inside the demesne after you expanded today! I told you that already!"