Weekly Digest 76- (#233 - #235) (Patreon)

The Winter Community Meeting

With her third so-called community meeting, Lori was resigned to the fact that she would have to attend. Unfortunately, she just couldn't see how she could reasonably get out of it. If she just left and told Rian to handle any decision-making that came up in the course of the meeting, he would no doubt indulge his strange fetish and put it to a vote. So, despite the fact that Rian already knew what he was supposed to inform people of, she still had to be there.

Her presence felt like a waste of the time she'd spent talking to Rian, listening to him telling her of what people apparently considered vital issues and making her decisions about them. They'd spent some like looking over her map, made by ex-milita scouts so many months ago, still marked by the locations of dragon scales even though they'd collected most of them already. Well, the ones on this side of the river, anyway. They'd only gotten the ones closest to the demesne on the other side of the river, since there were more vial things to collect. Besides, it wasn't like the dragon scales were going anywhere.

With everyone informed that the community meeting would be happening far in advance, people had taken the opportunity to prepare. To that end, people had apparently been randomly accosting Umu, Mikon and Riz and trying to get them to convince Rian of one thing or another, or even Lori directly. While it was relatively normal for people to just walk up to Rian with issues or just childish complaints that they expected him to do something about, and it seemed like Riz had experienced something similar during her time as Lori's temporary-Rian, the two weavers were not prepared for it. Umu, especially, had become irritable as a result, and Lori had actually heard her yelling for someone to stop bothering her, though she hadn't seen the incident itself. The three had started walking together, and spending their time in Rian's house between meals to avoid people, or so he said.

Shanalorre's presence had not been intended. She had been just about to return to her demesne when two more women had gone into labor, causing her to extend her stay. That stay had happened to coincide with the planned community meeting. Lori had been considering postponing the meeting until after the other Dungeon Binder had gone, but none of the topics to be discussed were anything that actually hadto be kept secret. What did it matter if Shanalorre knew how they planned to expand their agricultural fields?

Then Shanalorrre had approached her and asked if she could stay to observe the community meeting…

"I wish to see how such a meeting is conducted," the other Dungeon Binder had said. "I have been considering conducting something like it, and this is an opportunity for me to observe the format in action."

…

Well, nothing they would discuss really needed to be kept secret anyway.

After breakfast, the dining hall was reorganized for the meeting, with a table and bench being moved to one end of the dining hall opposite her Dungeon's entrance and everyone sitting on their benches to face that way. To her surprise, Shanalorre had moved to a different seat. However, instead of sitting at a table close to Lori, as she had expected, the younger Dungeon Binder had moved to a table to the side near on wall, where she seemed to be observing both Lori and the crowd.

"All right, is everyone ready?" Rian said, his voice pitched to carry, tone insufferably cheerful. "Has everyone gone to the latrines? If you decide to leave in the middle of the meeting to take care of that, we're not repeating everything for you."

There was a brief laugh. Several people did, in fact, stand and headed for the latrines.

"Well, while we wait for people to get back, I'd like to welcome Binder Shanalorre and her people, who have joined us in today's meeting. She has asked to observe how we do this, so everyone please help us show her. Also, on behalf of everyone in the demesne, but especially our newest members and their parents, I'd like to thank Binder Shanalorre for her assisting our doctors and medics, and all her help in keeping people healthy this year." Rian stood and bowed to Shanalorre. Surprisingly, other people did so as well, standing up and turning to bow in acknowledgement towards Shanalorre.

Why was she getting bows? Lori didn't get bows like that. Actually, when was the last time she'd actually gotten people bow down to her…?

The younger Dungeon Binder actually looked bewildered by the sudden shows of respect, but nodded to people in acknowledgement.

"Ah, but don't worry Binder Lori, we all still like you more. You're the best Dungeon Binder we've ever had, right everyone?" Still standing, Rian bowed again, this time towards Lori. His bow was clearly much deeper than the one he offered Shanalorre.

As Lori stared at him, seemingly everyone else in the dining hall rose as well, all bowing to varying degrees.

Finally, Lori managed to roll her eyes. "Rian, s-stop wasting time and conduct this meeting already."

"As you command, your Bindership," Rian said, straightening up with a smile and turning to face everyone else before sitting down. Everyone followed his example, sitting back down on their benches as well. "All right, looks like everyone is back from the latrines, let's start with something minor. I'm sure you've all seen out nice new flood barrier outside? Well, right now, we're looking for a volunteer or volunteers to stand on a flood watch. It's technically an easy job, just standing on the wall and keeping an eye on the river so we'll have some warning when it starts melting…"

Lori wished she had a chair. A proper chair, with a back. You just couldn't fall asleep properly while sitting upright on a bench…

"Now, over the past week or so, I've received a lot of petitions. However, I would like to open this discussion with one of my own. Yes, I'm shameless setting everyone's concerns aside to push forward something that I want done. I'm a lord, you all know we do things like that." For some reason, that garnered a laugh. "Ahem. Now, as to my petition… could everyone please stop bothering Umu, Mikon and Erzebed with petitions and issues? Especially in the baths? None of them work for Binder Lori or myself in any sort of capacity, and anyone harassing them are simply wasting their time. I officially did not hear a single word about any issue that was pressed on them and wasn't brought to my attention, so if your matter doesn't come up in this meeting, that's why. Umu and Mikon aren't even the main representative for the weavers, so please stop bothering them."

"If they're being bothered, they should just punch the annoyances in the face," Lori pointed out.

Rian turned and gave her a flat look. "You want two skilled craftswomen whose trade relies on the dexterity of their hand movements to punch people in the face?"

Ah, good point. "Ah, good point," Lori conceded. "Just kick them, then."

"I don't know how long it's been since you've last worn as skirt, but kicking with them on is far more difficult than if you're wearing trousers."

"And just what do you know about kicking someone while wearing a skirt, Rian?"

"Moving on!" Rian said loudly, to more laughter. "Speaking of the weavers, there was a petition from them to plant ropeweed in the Dungeon's farm on the third level to be harvested for fibers and to act as a seed crop for planting more ropeweed. They have also requested that ropeweed become one of our main crops to provide material for fabric thread and fabric." Rian made a show of looking down at his sleeve. "Well, I'm sure no one will object to that last. It's very nice and warm. However, her Bindership has decided it will not be planted in the Dungeon farm for the time being."

There were murmurs at this, though they sounded more confused than angry.

"Her Bindership had concerns that we currently don't know how the plant will react to being planted in the sort of controlled conditions of the Dungeon," Rian said. "So far, it's most grown along the river bank, or close to it. The growing conditions for it are different enough from the growing conditions of vigas and most of the farm crops we have down there that growing it might be too difficult. So, for the moment, ropeweed will not be grown as a crop in the Dungeon."

"However, her Bindership will allow potted samples and one of the growing planters near the tubers for trying to grow the plant in the Dungeon, and she has also authorized cultivating the plant above ground. Once we have a better idea of what kind of conditions the plant needs to grow to best affect, then she has agreed including it in the dungeon as a permanent crop there."

A few hands rose, and Rian pointed. "Weaver Amokat."

Lori followed his gaze and blinked. A woman who looked like Mikon—light pink hair, same features—had stood up. Unless that was Mikon? Lori looked around, and found another woman who looked like Mikon sitting somewhere else with Umu and Erzebed while she sewed the hem of a pair of trousers.

The woman, who from context was a weaver named Makat, said, "Where will it be planted then, Lord Rian?" She even sounded almost, but not quite, like Mikon!

"We'll get to that," Rian said. "Planting the ropeweed will be part of the overall expansion we will be conducting of the demesne's above-ground agricultural land in the coming year. We didn't have a lot of opportunity to really plan it earlier this year, since we were busy with trying to gather enough food to not starve, get roofs on houses, clearing enough trees for us to actually start building… all that stuff. However, this year we have all that sorted now, so we can plan how we're going to expand now."

The Mikon-faced woman looked unsure, but nodded and sat down.

"Now, before we get to that, we'd like to discuss a matter that will probably impact a lot of people first," Rian said. "As this winter has shown, despite our best efforts everyone's houses were not entirely prepared for winter, and specifically winter storms." There were mutters and nods about this. "Now, I'd just like to be clear, I'm not blaming anyone. We were all caught by surprise by the storm, and if it hadn't been for Binder Lori, we'd probably have had a much harder time digging ourselves out of our homes.

"However, over the coming year I'd like everyone to keep the aftermath of the storm in mind and share ideas for improvements that can be made to everyone's homes. We've already raised the chimneys, but if you have better ideas—I personally would be very grateful for any further ways I can keep my house warm—please tell me and everyone else you know. All I ask is that you keep in mind that our houses might have something unnatural happen to them next time a dragon passes by, so as much as possible it should be something that's easy to rebuild."

There was what seemed like a collective resigned sigh at the reminder, but people still nodded.

"But, uh, don't make those changes any time soon," Rian said, suddenly looking awkward. Theatrically awkward. He was making a big production of rubbing the back of his head and deliberately looking awkward. "There is a possibility that we might have to abandon some of the houses closer to the river, as well as the shelter, um and the old bath houses."

This caused an outcry, which were probably from people who think they lived in the affected houses.

"I know, I know!" Rian said. "But depending on how high the flooding gets, it might be too dangerous for people to continue living there! We'll have to see what the case is when the river floods after winter. The flood barrier should protect us, but when the rain starts, that wall is going to keep water inand might start its own flood. And if that happens you know Binder Lori isn't going to lift a finger to help us until she's made sure the Dungeon isn't going to flood."

"I wouldn't," Lori nodded. "My Dungeon is more important."

"To be fair, getting water out of the Dungeon would be a lot harder than getting water out of any of our houses. Anyway, it's not certain, and I'm sure if it became necessary her Bindership will take action. I wouldn't presume to guess what that action is, but I'm sure she'll do something. She always has before, and she hasn't let us down yet. Well, except for that time she sat on a moving rock…"

"Youtried to go hunting beasts while you were dead on your feet from lack of sleep," she retorted.

"I hadn't gotten enough sleep, so of course I had a bad idea. What's yourexcuse?"

"Moving on! What is the next topic, Rian? Come on, we don't have all day!" Really, why was he being distracted by pointless tangents? "Really, why are you being distracted by pointless tangents?"

"You started it," he muttered. "All right then. Next, I'm told that the vigas in the Dungeon farm is ready to be harvested…"

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Land, Again

"… as seed crop for the next harvest, then," Rian concluded. "Speaking of which, now that she's done with the flood barriers, Binder Lori will probably need more people to roll rocks for her again so she can build more farm plots."

Lori nodded. Yes, all the soil in the third level had to be deal with, after all.

"And speaking of farming…" Rian paused, as he set aside the stone tablets he'd previous been referring to for different ones, "we will also be expanding the current fields once winter is over." There were excited murmurs at those words. "I realize this much has been obvious, since with all the trees we've been felling we have much more new space. I'm told we have more than enough hands to handle such an expansion come harvest time. Growing ropeweed will be part of the expansion, as well other crops whose seed crop has been growing in the Dungeon farm over the winter. The tentative allocation of space for crops will be put up in the passageway once it is finished."

"Her Bindership has also agreed for the need to establish a new, much more permanent tannery. After examination of its location, she has decided it's much too close to the river in the event of a flood. We ask the tanners and hunters who have been treating and processing the hides and skins so far to help choose a better site that's further inland and away from the river."

People made faces at that for some reason. Fortunately, Rian seemed to understand. "Yes, yes, we're aware there will be a smell, but would you rather the tanning alchemicals get into the air or into the water you drink? By now all the men have used the evaporator enough to know how much of it the tanners have on hand. Do you really want all that gold water to get into what you drink?"

The meeting continued on and on. Unlike previous meetings, where people aired whatever they were (allegedly) thinking, to which Rian either responded or she made a ruling, most of it was announcements of her decisions, as well as reminders. There was the planned next trading expedition to Covehold, which Rian would be joining again so he could see if he could find buyers for the beads she'd made.

The beads themselves weren't mentioned, but Rian had informed her there was a good chance Shanalorre knew already from gossip and rumors. Since it was early in the year, they didn't have much of a stockpile of leather and furs yet to trade, but after a few weeks, they will have gathered more than enough of a surplus of salt to sell. Rian also put out the reminder that they would be resuming going back to the ocean to harvest salt, and asked for volunteers who might take it up as their… well, not exactly trade… occupation? Yes, their mostly permanent occupation.

Speaking of occupations, there had been the request from the waste haulers that the binding she had used to desiccate the Dungeon's latrines before they'd been able to dig out the others be added to all latrines permanently. The petitioners had been very straightforward about the fact this was from a wish to reduce the smell, with making the waste far lighter and easier to move around being a secondary consideration. Lori had been mildly inclined to deny the request, but Rian had pointed out how it could reduce the likelihood of people getting sick, as well as making her demesne more sanitary, and she had finally agreed. It would mean making modifications to the latrines to better vent the water that would be extracted from the waste, but that was a relatively minor change.

Lori had debated using their copper to draw out wire to help make such bindings permanent—she didn't know off the top of her head how many latrines they had in the demesne, but that just meant there would be exactly that many binding for her to perpetually renew. The alternative as to use beads to maintain such bindings, but that would still need wire, even if in lesser amounts.

Those considerations weren't mentioned in Rian's announcement, however. Only the fact that she'd opted to provisionally install such a binding on the Dungeon's latrines—once she had time to make the changes needed to vent out the steam that would be produced—while the matter of doing so with the rest as still 'under consideration'. Said consideration would involve measuring how much wire it would take to connecting all the latrines to the core, and what she could also connect the wire to in the meantime…

"Now, I've received some petitions from people who wish to move out of the shelter, and have confirmed their willingness to live together," Rian continued. "To that end, we will be building two new houses—"

"We?" Lori interjected flatly.

"—her generous Bindership who is far too good for us has agreed to build two new houses once the snow melts and the ground is clear enough for her to begin work," Rian said smoothly without even changing expression. "It will most likely be built at the top of the rise, near the row of houses there. There is also the possibility that it will be the start of a second row of houses, but her Bindership has still made no definite decision on that." Rian glanced sideways at her but said nothing more. He had wanted her to make a second row of houses and move everyone there, then use the old houses are workshops, storage, or temporary housing for any immigrants. His reasoning was that it would cut down on people comparing each other's homes, as well as moving them a bit further up and away from the river.

"Since this will drastically reduce the number of people living in the shelter," Rian continued, "once arrangements for the remaining residents are made, the shelter will be reallocated, though at this time we're not sure what it will be. Though it probably won't be made into storage, given how vulnerable it was to a dragon the first time. If you have any suggestions as to what the shelter can be turned into, please inform me as to your ideas—not right now!—and I'll propose them to her Bindership."

Rian looked down and set aside the tablets in front of him, pulling the last, which was just his wooden plank. "Now, we're almost done. Her Bindership and I have spoken and she has declared we will be building more support buildings this year. We will probably be able to build a dedicated sawmill, once an appropriate site has been chosen—" there were a burst of happy sounds at that, probably from the sawyers and carpenters, "—and it shouldn't be too much trouble to add a gristmill to that, as we will hopefully have more vigas this year."

That produced a general increasing in happy sounds in general, and Lori added her own happy sound to that. Just the thought of having more bread on a regular basis…

"Finally, we will be expanding to better take advantage of the land on the other side of the river. I know that will difficult since we have to cross over by boat, but now that we have things properly set up on this side, we have a bit more leeway to go exploring there and think about how we can use what's there." Rian shrugged. "Off the top of my head, I think we should move all attempts to tame and domesticate chokers and any other small beasts we discover to that side of the river, where we can keep them away from the crops we already have… and, you know, people they might attack?" There were people nodding in the crowd. "Though I ask everyone to be careful when they do so. We've left that side mostly untamed ever since we established—"

"We?"

"—ever since then-Whisperer Lori established the demesne. Any beasts there have had all that time to adapt, and they probably haven't learned to be wary of people, so— and some of you are giving me that 'stop telling us about what we already know' look, so I'll shut up now." There was laughter, both from Rian and some people in the crowd. "All right then. Now, for the moment we will not be trying to expand the agricultural fields to that side, since between the river and lack of infrastructure any grain we plant is just going to get eaten by beasts and bugs, but it should be all right to try and plant what saplings we can coax from to sprout, and if anyone can manage to get a whole field of ropeweed going, that would be absolutely wonderful. I'm sure we'd all want a new set out trousers and shirt this year."

There were sounds of agreement at that, and Rian sighed, setting aside. "Well, that's all the matters prepared in advance. Now we come to the difficult part of the meeting. All right everyone, does anyone have any issues they want to bring up—that doesn't involve land!" he finished hastily.

"When are we going to get land?" someone said before Rian had even managed to finish talking.

"What did I just say?-!" Rian just barely managed say in a reasonable volume, clearly exasperated. "I justsaid it! And I said it this morning before breakfast too! And yesterday after dinner! And in the baths every day before!"

"Easy for you to say!" someone in the crowd said, hiding in anonymity. "You're already a lord. What about the rest of us?"

"So you want my job where you have to talk to Binder Lori every day for the rest of your life and do everything she tells you?" Rian said.

There was silence.

"That's what I thought…" Rian said, looking sideways at Lori. "So do you want to skip this question?"

Lori considered it. "I will answer," she said eventually, "if the idiot who brought the question has the nerve to stand up and show me his face to hear it."

There was another brief silence. Then there was a wave movement from the crowd A nervous-looking man suddenly found himself sitting exposed while everyone who had been around him finished stepping away, some raising their hands to point.

Lori nodded. "You, stand up. Everyone else, you may sit down again." After a moment, she added, "And thank you."

The man looked nervously insistent on sitting until someone pulled him up to his feet on their way back to their bench. Then he stood, and went from just being nervous to looking nauseous.

"I am not going to remember your name, so spare me any pointless introductions," Lori said, a binding of airwisps amplifying he sound of her voice. "In a way, you're all every lucky. No matter how annoyed I become of any of you, most of you can always go back to hiding into faceless anonymity to annoy me again. Most of you. And even when you have the misfortune of my remembering you, Rian will do his best to protect you. Unless you annoy him." Lori glanced sideways at her lord. "I'm sure you've noticed he's looking very annoyed right now."

The lone standing man suddenly looked even more nauseous. Rian, for his part, made a show of leaning back with his arms crossed, mouth set in a very straight line. He didn't say a word.

"Now, I could take this moment to lecture you on the various histories of land ownership," Lori said. "I could point out that in nearly all demesne, the land is considered owned by the Dungeon Binder, and any who 'own' land are technically maintaining a hereditary, transferable lease, which they have to pay rent on in the form of land taxes. And I suspect that some of you actually know this. Most of you, probably."

"Actually, that's news to me, but it would make so much sense," Rian said. He didn't smile, his face remaining set, his mouth returning to a line.

Lori nodded. "If I had to guess, some of you are here because of explicit promises from…" Lori hesitated and frowned. "Uh, the dead ones."

"I'm going to assume you forgot their names after they died because you had to stop using them," Rian sighed. "Whisperer Elceena and Deadspeaker Ahnree."

"I'll take your word for it," Lori said, shrugging. They were dead, after all. No point remembering. The soul is well known for disappearing after death. It was why claims didn't survive past it, after all. "I might not remember names very well, but I can remember what I overhear. That woman was entirely too free with promising land to everyone." She shrugged again. "Perhaps if she had actually lived, she'd have carried through with her promises. Perhaps they were all just the lies she knew you wanted to hear, to make you follow her. However, she's dead, and her promises with her. I'm the Dungeon Binder of this demesne. And I didn't promise any of you a thing."

Lori didn't see anyone actually wince, but it felt like they should.

"You, nameless annoyance," Lori said, making it clear she was talking to the man who was standing. "You asked a question. You will be answered." Lori didn't even bother to not glare. "Previously, I said that the matter of land allocation will be come up a week after I think of a way to charge taxes, did I not?" She ignored his frantic nod. "Between then and now, I came to several conclusions. Firstly, I've concluded that the most important use of land we currently have is growing food. Does anyone dispute this? Does anyone feel that there might be a better use for the land than planting food that will keep us from starving?"

No one replied, which was almost surprising. No one let out a forceful 'yes' of dispute either, which she thought might actually have been within the realm of possibility.

"Good. The second most important use for the land within the demesne is growing needful materials that isn't food, like wood or ropeweed. Would anyone care to dispute this?" Again, there was a lack of replies. A few were actually nodding. "The third most important use is for erecting infrastructure, whether that be homes or needful facilities like the clay pit, the tannery, and the baths." More nods. "I will give the people who keep pestering for land a chance. One chance. Here and now, you may make the case that you need land for any of these things. That you can and will, develop that land to grow food for the demesne, or use it to erect infrastructure that we need such as the tannery and the clay pit."

Lori saw people straighten in their benches. Next to her, Rian head snapped to look at her in surprise.

"There will be conditions, of course," Lori said. "If you claim you need that land to grow food or cash hcrops, then you will have to prove you can use it to grow the item in question. By yourself, without assistance from any of the other farmers, or anyone else. You cannot use any of the demesne's tools like its shovels, hoes or whatever to prepare your fields. You can't use any of the demesne's buckets and pots to get water. You can't take water from the irrigation cistern, or use any of the desiccated waste as fertilizer. And of course, you'll have to source your own seed grain."

There was an exclamation at this, but for some reason a few people started laughing.

"However, I am not unreasonable. Should you remove it from the latrines yourself, you can have all the nightsoil you can carry. You'll have to make your own shovel and bucket, lest you carry it in your bare hands, but I think that's only reasonable. The same goes for if you wish to use it to grow needful material cash crops. And if you wish to set up a facility, then you will have to prove you can do so yourself." Lori tilted her head. "However, in that particular instance, I will not deprive you of material assistance. I am aware that while many craftsman know how to use the tools of their trade well, actually building the tool is usually best left to other people. Therefore, in that instance, you may try to convince the smiths and carpenters to build you what you need for your facility. How you will compensate them for their time is up to you, but you will need to provide the materials they will require."

"This is outrageous!" another person hiding in anonymity declared. "It's unfair!"

"It's what the potter, the tanners and hunters who operate the tannery, the ones who operate the kitchen, the weavers, the ones who operate the mushroom farm, the sweetbugkeepers, the ropers, and the sawyers do," Lori said calmly. "It would be disrespectful of their skills and efforts to not hold others to the same standard. Incidentally, I am hereby awarding the ownership of the claypit, the kiln and the attached drying shed to Gunvi the potter, and the land that the tannery currently stands on will be in the joint ownership of the people who operate it. Oh, and whoever has been making charcoal as well. Though I shall inspect the extent of the land you have been using before making a final declaration." She knew someone had been making charcoal in her demesne for some time now, she'd just never needed to meet them.

Lori was half-expecting stunned silence, but instead she got an uproar.

Still, the airwisps amplifying her voice managed to cut through the noise. "We will discuss takes at a later date. Now, who would like to step forward and justify why they should have land?"

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Denied. Next!

Unsurprisingly, there were a few who had the nerve—or possibly complete lack of sense—to step forward and try to justify themselves to her. Also unsurprisingly, many were selfish idiots.

"You'll be able to farm a thousand square paces of farmland by yourself? With the restrictions I've placed?" Lori said flatly.

"It will be difficult, but with the assistance of my family—"

"Denied. Only you yourself are applying for land, not your family. If they will be working on the land with you, they will be part of the joint ownership of the land in question."

"As head of the family, I'm of course representing them."

"Given you visibly did not discuss this with any of the people next to you prior to coming forward, I doubt anyone gave you the authority to speak on their behalf. Again, denied. Next!"

Persistent selfish idiots.

"So, you intend to use the land you're asking for to grow ropeweed."

"Yes, your Bindership."

"Do you even know how to grow ropeweed?"

"I'll be learning as I go, of course, but it's a plant with seeds, so it can't be that difficult."

"And you base this on your prior experience as… what?"

"I've had ample time to study the growth of weeds."

"Doing what?"

"…I was a beastherd."

"Denied. Next!"

Bizarrely confident selfish idiots.

"You want two hundred square paces of riverside property to start domesticating seels for meat and fur…"

"Yes, your Bindership. I understand it's a lot to ask for, but the fursh clearly need the space to feed themselves, since if they were penned in a smaller space they would likely starve. Given that the coming spring is their breeding season, I intend to trap and pen the juveniles so that I can begin domesticating them, and so that I can begin learning how to best care for them long term."

"I see… and your experience with seels?"

"Well, in truth, I don't have much, but if children can deal with them it's probably not that hard—"

"Denied. Next!"

On and on it went. Some she denied regardless of their argument, because she had no need to justify her decisions, but mostly because they were clearly just trying their luck to grab something. Some actually had good proposals, but either asked for far too much land than they reasonably needed—which meant it was probably just trying to grab land—or clearly had no experience with what they were proposing.

While there weren't that many idiots, some of them were very long-winded, going on and on about why they deserved to be given land, more so than anyone else. They actually had lunch in the middle of it, with the kitchen workers getting up to get the food ready, and people coming from their tables to get their bowls and bread while idiots continued to be idiotic. Rian had slid her a note on his plank that people were less likely to pay attention to someone talking when they were eating unless that person was talking to them, so this way there was less chance the idiots—not that he used that word— would be able to sway people with their arguments.

Lori didn't know why that mattered, or whether it was even true, but she put the trivia aside for future consideration.

However, between the selfish idiots, there were actually a few who made a sensible argument.

"A waterwheel and drophammer?"

Lori vaguely recognized the man as one of their blacksmiths. "Yes, Great Binder," he said. "It will make forming sheets far more efficient, as well as blades for tools. And… with a water wheel, we should be able to build a rig that can more efficiently draw wire."

Lori had raised an eyebrow at the blatant hinting. "I see," she said flatly. "Have you identified a suitable location for such a thing?"

"Not yet, Great Binder. It will have to be far from the proposed sawmill and gristmill, however, for safety reasons. "

Lori nodded. "Identify a suitable location and inform Rian, and we will resume discussion on this subject."

"Thank you, Great Binder."

"Next!"

Rian kept notes next to her, seemingly keeping track of people, the amount of land they were asking for, and why.

"We already have a mushroom farm. De—"

"Wait, your Bindership! Please, just hear out the rest!"

"What else could there be?"

"I know we already have a mushroom farm, but a mushroom farm outside would be easier to expand, letting us grow more, and the spores would be less dangerous to anyone working in it. We need the land because we can make it bigger than it currently is."

"…" Lori gave the woman a level look. "You may begin with a plot twice the overall size of the current mushroom farm," Lori finally said. "Same restrictions as everyone else. If you achieve some sort of success, you may continue, and we will discuss this further. If it is unsuccessful, I'm taking the land back. You have until next winter to bring about some kind of quantifiable result. Next!"

Admittedly, some ideas were more likely than others, but Lori had decided to give anyone who placed an emphasis on arguing for the feasibility of their idea over how much land they needed a chance. Were her conditions predisposed to make things difficult for anyone who wanted to try farming on their own? Very much so, since it deprived them of tools, resources and assistance when it came to labor. She was already prepared to say no.

"A curing shed?"

"Yes, your Bindership. W-while the cold rooms allow for storing food nearly indefinitely, properly cured with smoke and salt, meat is lighter, takes up less space, and easier to store. I-it would be easier to carry smoked or cured meat as provisions when going out to sea to collect salt, and we'd be able to carry more food. Trying to catch and butcher fursh on the Coldhold takes up time, and the blood draws beasts on land and dillians and other toothy things in the water, which make it difficult to gather salt. "

Lori raised an eyebrow. "Hmm… while that does sound advantageous, it seems a lot to go for provisioning just one boat. Is there anything else?"

"Cured and salted food tastes differently from food that's been frozen to preserve it," Rian said, one of the few interjections he's made since people started coming forward. "So it will also add a little variety to our meals. The hunters did a little smoking early on, but then they became busy treating the furs and hides, so all our meat has been frozen since then. Properly cured meat doesn't need to be kept cold, however, so storing them would probably be a lot easier and require less work on your part."

Lori considered that. "Are you certain you can build all you need for this?"

"Yes, your Bindership! Once a suitable shed's been made, all you really need is fresh meat, salt and firewood."

Lori tilted her head. "Do you have any objection to putting your 'curing shed' on the other side of the river?"

The man hesitated. "The only problems I can really see with that is the chokers there possibly getting into the shed and eating the meat, and perhaps the shed catching fire in the night without anyone being able to put it out."

"Hmm… is there any strong reason you would not be willing to live on the other side of the river, should a house be available there."

The mans' eyes widened. "Um, well… no bath house?"

People laughed.

Lori considered that, and nodded. "A thought for later, then. Very well, provisionally prepare what you need, and we shall test the capabilities of your 'curing shed' once fresh meat is once more available. Speak with Rian about where it may be located, we wouldn't want it to be in the middle of the vigasfield. Next!"

The proposals she didn't outright refuse weren't so much her saying yes as her tentatively saying maybe. If the idea was viable, and if it did need the land being asked for to be done effectively… then she'd be a fool to say no. But just giving land to people, even if it would technically be a long-term hereditary lease that would be paid for with land taxes, just because people asked?

That would just be idiotic.

Eventually, there were no more people coming forward. Well, untrue, there were some people she had denied earlier who thought that they could still argue their case, but while Lori had no memory for silly things like people's faces, she had a lord who did.

"Is that it, then?" Lori said, ignoring the ones Rian assured her had already spoken. "Very well. Now, are there any other matters that need to be brought up?"

"—ease, you Bindership, just hear me out—"

"—talked to my family, they've agreed that—"

"—was promised! I gave up everything to come here, I deserve—"

"Sit down and shut up, you idiots!"

Lori didn't know who yelled that last, but she nodded when they did. "Thank you," she said over the sounds of people being made to sit down and shut up, most likely by the hands of other people rather than their own will. "Any other matters? Raise your hand and be acknowledged if you do. "A few hands rose. After Rian pointed out the hands of the ones who had were still trying to justify why they should have land, Lori picked at random. "You," she pointed.

An older woman stood up, her dull purple hair just beginning to be streaked with white. "Your Bindership, since you've begun awarding land to some people—" Lori almost, almost said 'next!', "—does this mean you'll begin taking taxes soon?"

Silence fell.

"Not at this time, though I am certainly closer to it than the last time the subject came up," Lori said. "Rest assured that as much as you all dislike the thought of having to pay taxes, I dislike the thought of having to calculate how much you all owe me. That being said… All the proud new land owners—or rather, the new owners of a hereditary, transferable lease—will be required to pay taxes on that land." Lori shrugged. "We will come to an arrangement."

"I feel I should point out we don't really have any money in the demesne, as such…?" Rian said from next to her.

"Yes, Rian, I am very aware. However, it's not the amount of beads they possess that is of value. It's their skills, and the ability of those skills to make things gain even more worth. As I said, we will come to an arrangement. Does this answer your question?" Lori addressed that last to the woman who had raised her hand to ask.

The woman looked uncertain, but nodded hesitantly.

"Sit, then." She sat. "Next… you."

A man with long bright green hair and a beard stood. "Your Bindership," he said, voice, surprisingly soft but firm, "there's been talk of another expedition to Covehold, but what exactly will that mean?"

Lori glanced sideways at Rian, and found him looking right back at her. She pointed at him, and he nodded.

"The next expedition to Covehold will be to trade salt and, and try to find a market for the demesne's other available goods," Rian said. "Her Bindership and I have discussed it, and have decided that, for the moment, salt gathered by the Coldhold will be counted as a communally owned commodity, though of course those who volunteer to help gather it will be given some consideration for their assistance. But basically, the surplus salt that we will be taking to Covehold will be used to buy things the demesne needs that we currently can't make on our own, or at least not make easily. On the list of things to buy next time is paper for everyone's windows, more medicines, and more seeds, though that last will be hard because everyone keeps a tight hold of the seeds only they have. So unless we rob someone, we probably aren't getting hold of cloudbloom or white blood saplings any time soon."

"Don't get caught," Lori said immediately.

"I'm not going to rob some demesne to get cloudblooms," Rian said. "Just like how I didn't rob a bank!"

"I can order you."

"Your Bindership, how exactly are you planning to enforce that order from all the way over here? If anyone has any other trade goods they want to add, inform me. It's not required that it be a communal contribution, but her Bindership probably won't let us carry it without a cargo fee. If you need something however, tell me and we might be able to work something out that will satisfy her Bindership, even if she'll want to slap duties on it."

The green-haired man nodded and sat down.

"Next!"