Weekly Digest 89 - (#282 - #284) (Patreon)

Questionable Assistance

After breakfast, Lori inspected the reservoir. She needed to deactivate the bindings on 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 evaporation chamber was coated with debris, and Lori had to make a scrapping 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 again 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 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, starther 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 morepeople 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 everything all the messages he needs to convey."

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. He's 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, his was very unlikely to be confrontational, and his sarcasm was better concealed and rhetorical."

…

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 in 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.

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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 lord 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 satisfied 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.

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Lori Needs Her Note-Taker

"Rian, I believe Shanalorre has informed you of her findings and conclusions."

Rian sighed. Now that Lori was actually looking, he did seem tired. He also wasn't smiling or any form of cheerful, whether genuine or annoying. In fact he… actually, he reminded her of herself after a long day working one of her more unpleasant jobs. "As I told Shana," he directed a flat look towards the other Dungeon Binder, "I'm fine. I appreciate the concern, but this is nothing I can't deal with."

"So, you don't think that you need more time to rest and recover, need shorter shifts at River's Fork, and are jealous of the fact I won't need to go there any time in the immediate future?"

Rian's expression changed, and it wasn't to form a smile. "I'm fine," he insisted, even as Riz, Mikon and Umu all gave him concerned looks.

Lori stared at him, then nodded. "Well, if you say so."

Across the table, Umu, Mikon and Riz all turned to frown at her. Rian simply nodded tiredly, letting out a sigh and slumping slightly. Given he'd already been a little slumped, it was more of a forward slouch. Next to her, she heard Shanalorre sigh for some reason.

"If you are fine as you say, then you will be able to assist me with my upcoming experiments."

Rian's head rose up. "Experiments?"

Lori nodded. "I will need someone to take notes for me. My previous experiments while utilizing a replacement note taker were unsatisfactory." She sighed, remembering the experience. "I had to repeat myself constantly, and he wrote very slowly."

"Ah, yes, that. Yllian told me about that." Rian chuckled quietly, a small smile on his face. "Are we doing it this afternoon?"

"No, I still have wood to cure. We will proceed tomorrow. When did you think I intended to perform my experiments?"

Rian frowned again. "Can you wait a few days? I have to be back in River's Fork by then."

"This takes precedence. The Coldhold will go without you. Find someone capable and put them in charge in your stead."

"If I could do that, I'd have already done it. Most capable people are already in charge of something else, and those who aren't are working on something that needs their specific skill set. And you promised Riz you wouldn't make her an officer ever again." Rian sighed. "Is this some kind of ploy to make me stay and rest?"

Lori gave him a flat look. Then she turned towards Mikon. "Has he been sleeping well at night?"

"Yes, your Bindership," the pink-haired weaver said immediately.

"A full night's sleep? He doesn't get up and stay awake restlessly in the middle of the night?"

"Despite our best efforts, no."

For some reason, the other tables sounded amused as Rian raised a hand over his eyes.

Lori nodded, turning back to Rian, who was looking at her from between two fingers. "I doesn't seem like you need any rest. However, just to be sure, I'm sure these three will be more than willing to make sure you're well rested for tomorrow."

"Of course, Great Binder."

"You can rely on us, your Bindership."

"We'll make sure he sleeps well, your Bindership!"

Rian sighed. "I'd accuse you of mothering me, except my mother would never do anything like this."

Lori couldn't help the twist of envy that coiled her insides. "How fortunate for you. Every time I so much as mentioned someone I talked to, my mothers would start telling me to get to know them better, that I should become friends with them, asking me if they were nice, when would I meet them again, how I should ask them to have lunch with me, advising me on how I could lure them into my bed…" Lori shuddered. "They were the ones who kept telling me I should study and learn, then they'd spend so much time telling me to waste my time doing pointless things…" She shook her head.

"That… listening to you talk about that is causing me almost literal pain," Rian said.

Lori waved a hand dismissively. "Well, it doesn't matter. They were wrong anyway. Because I didn't waste any of my time on any of that nonsense, I'm a Dungeon Binder now. So clearly they were wrong."

"I… can't refute that, since you are, in fact, a Dungeon Binder now, and also just as clearly never listened to any of their advice. Even though it might have helped, since you'd have more experience remembering names…"

Lori rolled her eyes. What did names matter? If a name was important, she'd remember it. Or at least remember to write it down. "If a name was important, I'd remember it. Or at least remember to write it down." Wait, did that mean the names on her ceiling were important? "But we are getting off-topic. Tonight, have a good night's rest so that you can take good notes tomorrow. I'll take the notes with me to the curing shed this afternoon to read over them, and give them to you after dinner."

Rian looked amused. "You want to give me interesting reading material… just before you want me to get a good night's rest? You… remember what reading is like, don't you?"

"I'm sure that these three will find a way to keep you from rereading everything more than once."

"What exactly do you think they're going to do?"

"It would not be appropriate to say in front of a child."

Rian rolled his eyes. "In that case, may I say you have a very dirty mind, your Bindership."

"I blame my mothers. I would elaborate, but I don't want to, and there's a child present."

"Almost literal pain…"

"Food."

Rian paused. "What?"

Lori pointed towards the kitchen. "Food. Get some."

Rian opened his mouth. Rian closed his mouth. "Right, right. Getting food, your Bindership." He got up, Umu getting up with him as the two went to get lunch.

When he'd left, Lori finally let herself sigh in relief. Good, it seemed like she wouldn'tneed to declare a holiday after all as she had originally thought she would need to. Rian had regained some of his cheerfulness when she'd mentioned notes and experiments. Hopefully, that would be enough to deal with the problem.

And if not… well, then she might have to declare a holiday after all. She needed her note taker!

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During lunch, Lori observed Rian, which admittedly amounted to her staring straight ahead as she ate instead of sitting with her eyes on her food. Fortunately, he noticed nothing amiss as he reported on the day's matters, and probably thought she was simply being attentive as she usually was.

"The crops are doing well, and we've been managing to keep the chokers away from them," he said, now actually smiling at little as he reported. How had he missed that he hadn't been smiling earlier? It wasn't like trying to remember facial features, after all! "Fortunately, no one's really gotten hurt from doing that, and we've added a little choker meat to our food, though it's not really a lot compared to other beasts. A choker barely feeds three people, four if they don't mind the meal's a little lean. However, we have a decent surplus stored up, so that's not a problem."

"I'm concerned they'll try to dig up our tubers when they are nearly grown," Shanalorre said. "Thankfully, at the moment they seem to hold no interest. There had been no choker-related injuries brought to my attention so far."

"The mushroom farm, thankfully, hasn't been molested by them," Rian continued, "but that's more of a supplement to our food rather than a staple. Our production hasn't yet reached the point we can live off the stuff if need be. The local varieties are delicious and gives the stew more flavor, but they're not as nutritious as the strains that have been produced made specifically to sustain populations." He sighed. "We… might have to send some to River's Fork so they'll stop complaining about the food being so bland. On the subject of food, however, I think we should exchange some of our stored meat with some of River's Fork's fruits. While we didn't have any such problems from our diet last year, best to broaden our range of foods in any case."

"Do it," Lori said instantly. Her mouth was already watering at the thought of pink ladies, micans, hairy blueballs and golden buds.

After lunch, Lori took a detour to her room to find the stone tablets that had the notes she needed. There… were a lot of stone tablets that had to be sorted through to find the tablets she needed. Had she really made these many tablets over the past year? She was pretty sure she'd given some to Rian, so why was there so many here in her room?

Thankfully, she found the notes she needed all grouped together, so she was able to remove them and put them on her plank to carry. The tablets wobbled slightly, some of the displaced stone from creating the inscriptions creating bumps that meant the tablets didn't lie flat on top of each other. Lift them carefully, watching her footing as she took them to her seat at the curing shed.

Her detour had taken her a bit longer than she had thought it would, so she hastily activated the bindings of the curing shed and checked the conditions inside. Ugh, she might have to stay here a little longer than usual, just to be sure the wood buried in the middle of the stacks were properly cured.

It started raining as she finally sat down, and she scowled up at the sky, only to hastily stop because it let raindrops fall on her face. Adjusting her hat and making sure her rain coat as closed, she carefully picked up one of the stone tablets—binding the waterwisps off the tablet and her fingers so nothing would be slippery—and held it up to read.

These weren't the original notes, of course. Rian had written those on his plank in black char, the writing oversized because of the size of his writing implement. Despite this, his notes managed to be decently readable, and his own thoughts that he wrote on the side of the margins were isolated from what she had dictated to him. When she'd transcribed them to stone, she'd done so with smaller, clearer writing, and had set his own contributions off to one side, since they were usually relevant.

That meant each stone tablet had maybe two planks worth of notes on it, but given each was a direct transcription, the notes, findings, and conclusion were organized very well. She'd probably have to take a day to organize everything into something properly concise, but today wasn't that day.

It was another thing on the list of things she'd 'do when she had time'.

Most of the notes, as was proper, were records of their experimental procedures. It was very tempting to just skip over this and look at the conclusions, but that was poor scholarship. Besides, some of the experiments she had genuinely forgotten about, so she needed to read them to put the results and conclusions into context.

The pile of notes grew smaller as she stacked the tablets she'd read on her other side so they wouldn't get mixed up. One of the notes nearly fell when it slipped from her wet hands, but fortunately it landed on her lap, which absorbed the blow enough that it didn't visibly crack. She still claimed and bound the earthwisps on it to reinforce its structure, since it seemed like it had caused internal cracks, and she didn't want to have to recreate the notes another time.

…perhaps she should try using bone for these notes? Even with the bones regularly being used for glue and fertilizer, they always had a surplus of the stuff, and it was far lighter and more durable than rock.

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Decreed Perpetual Non-Officer

"So, did you manage to read all the notes I left you?" Lori asked at breakfast the next day. She carefully watched Rian's face.

"I tried, but no," Rian said. For some reason, he was giving her a very flat look. "It was made very clear that I needed my rest, and that staying up to read wasn't considered resting."

Lori sighed. "Well, read it later when we get back. For now, eat, we might not come back for lunch."

"Should I have the kitchens set aside some food to bring with us, then?"

Lori considered the question. "I suppose. Tell them to ready about… six jars." The watery stew—it wasn't quite the soup they'd had during the winter—wouldn't be at its best without some bread, but if Rian could fix that, he would.

"Are we taking that many people with us?"

"There might be ropeweed to be harvested in the area," Lori said. "If there is, someone should, and it certainly isn't going to be you, me, or whoever Riz is going to bring along."

"Wait, I'm coming along?" To her credit, the directed the question at Rian.

He reached out and patted her hand, giving her a gentle smile. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

That made her nod. "All right then, I'll see who can come along."

"Then I better go and talk to the kitchen while there might still be some food to put away." Rian stood up, and headed for were breakfast was still being served.

For a moment, the table was filled only with the sounds of eating as Lori and the other women focused on her food. Lori felt like she was forgetting something, though. She'd done something… and now she was supposed to do something else…?

It was only when Rian came back, carefully stepping over the bench between Umu and Mikon and reporting that the kitchen would set aside the food—Lori wondered what happened to the surplus of each batch of meals. Did it just get added to the next batch to be eaten?—that she finally remembered. Reaching down, she felt around inside her belt pouch, and felt the thin, hard shape there.

Lori took the piece of bone she'd made the night before and set it down on the table next to her food. A rectangle a little smaller than her flat open hand, its thickness was about half the width of her smallest finger. As she had surmised it was both lighter and more robust than bone. The little rectangle had survived getting dropped from multiple heights, and she even tried flexing the thing to see if she could break it. The sheet of bone had survived the experience. "Erzebed. This is for you." She pushed it across the table.

The four on the other side of the table blinked and peered at the little square. Rian was obviously the fastest reader, because he started snickering first, clearly trying to keep from progressing into open laughter.

"Seriously?" he managed to get out as Shanalorre turned her head sideways to try and better see the writing on the card, the other Dungeon Binder's cousin leaning forward over the table to try and see what the fuss was about..

Lori shrugged. "Given how often she has led, I wanted to affirm that I am honoring our agreement."

"It's an agreement now?"

"She asked, and I agreed. Hence, an agreement."

Shanalorre's cousin finally reached across the table for the little rectangle of bone, which Riz pushed towards her with an amused smile. The little girl picked it up, turning it over in her hands and looking at it intently. Then she let out something between a sigh and a whine. "Shasha, what does this say?" she asked, holding the little bone plaque towards her cousin.

Shanalorre took the proffered rectangle. "Erzebed, Decreed Perpetual Non-Officer," she read.

Rian started snickering again as Riz gained a strange expression on her face, and the murmuring of the dining hall took on a tone between amused and confused.

"What does that mean, Shasha?"

"It means Binder Lolilyuri promises that Riz will never be an officer, Yoshka. Since it's in writing, it is an official document," Shanalorre said.

"Glittering officers!" Yoshka cried.

"Glittering officers!" many of the children seated in the table behind Lori echoed.

"I could not possibly comment," Shanalorre said. "Many of the officers I know are fine people. Also, if mushka asks, I refuse to take responsibility for your language. It is the unfortunate result of growing up surrounded by militia."

Lori took the plaque back from Shanalorre and once more slid it towards Riz, who finally took it hesitantly. "As promised Riz, you are not, are not eligible to be, and will never be an officer."

"How wonderful!" Mikon said brightly, taking the opportunity to give the militiawoman a hug that the weaver probably not have normally gotten away with. "Congratulations, Riz! It's what you've always wanted. Not being an officer."

"Congratulations, Riz…?" Umu echoed, looking a little confused.

"This feel very strange…" Riz said, still looking at the plaque.

Rian finally got his snickering under control. "Well, at least you never have to worry about being promoted up to officer, Riz," Rian said. "Do you want someone else to come with us so you can enjoy your never-promotion?"

That seemed to rouse Riz from her strange melancholy. "No, no, I'll go with you," she said, putting the plaque down in front of her on the table. "Have to make sure nothing eats you out there, after all."

Rian smiled, and Lori decided to stop watching his face. He seemed to be back to properly smiling and being cheerful, so it looked like she wouldn't have to be forced to declare a holiday after all!

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It had been some time since she had ridden Lori's Boat. The demesne's only wooden boat had once belonged to River's Fork, one of the many things created by the Deadspeaking of its first Dungeon Binder. It had come to her demesne along with most of River's fork's population after the first dragon that they had weathered, and she'd had it ever since.

Originally, it had only had a simple water jet driver that she had to activate and deactivate manually, as well as imbue near-constantly. Over the past year, there had been other improvements. Stabilizer fins made of bone, outrigger floats to keep it from sinking too far on one side of another, a small extension was added to the back to be better able to hold the improved water jet, now-steam jet driver…

Still, it had been some time since she'd last sat on this particular one of their boats, and Lori remembered why. There were no benches, so they had to sit down on the floor of the boat, which was far too close to the water for Lori's liking. Rian had taken charge of the steam jet driver, slipping into the role as if he'd never stopped operating one. Riz sat next to him, but rather than doing so for intimacy, she was actually watching the shore. They actually saw some chokers drinking from the river, their surprisingly pale plumage stark against the dark browns and vibrant greens of the plants around them. Somehow they still managed to fade into the grasses and growing ropeweed.

Seated at the front of the boat to keep it counterbalanced was the friend of Riz's who was coming along and two other people with baskets and sickles. The latter two were here to gather what ropeweed they could, if there was any that could be harvested. Since they were heading for the edge—the new edge—it was likely that there were plants there that hadn't been harvested. While it wouldn't be a lot, they were going there anyway and the boat had the room for it, so why not?

The sun was shining, the skies clear of clouds, which meant they weren't sitting in slowly-rising water as Lori used waterwisps to make the water flow over the side back to the river. Hopefully it lasted until they went back.

It wasn't long before they reached the edge. The sharp, curving line was as stark as it always was. On one side, the trees were dark, with trunks in different shades of brown, their leaves a rich green. The ground beneath the trees was dark with wet dirt, decaying leaves and other detritus. On the riverbanks, a mix of grass, ropeweed and other small plants grew, lush, verdant and vibrant.

On the other side, everything was covered by the same glittering, many-colored Iridescence. The growths covered trees from roots to crown. Only the leaves, which were soft enough to ripple in the wind, were not completely covered, the Iridescence a light, perpetually growing dusting thin enough to let the natural green show through. Everything caught the light and shimmered in rainbow hues as they moved, the endless facets constantly changing with every slight shift in angle. Only right at the edge of the river, where spray and flowing water lapped at rocks, was anything free of the Iridescence.

Not far beyond the edge, Lori actually saw a large beast drinking at the river, Iridescence washing away from its skinless, hard bill as it lapped at the water. If it weren't for the fact that it stood in bright sunlight with dark forest behind it, the beast would have faded into the background of the rest of the Iridescence. The reminder made the squirming inside her almost become shudders as she remembered the nights and days keeping watch as they had traveled, a binding of waterwisps ready to become a water-cutter at the slightest sign of beast-like movement.

It never failed to make Lori's insides feel like they were alive and squirming inside her. Even Riz, who presumably had been out in the colors many times when she'd been in the militia, had an expression of resigned distaste on her face, a feeling Lori was very familiar with. For that matter, so did the two with the sickles and baskets.

Rian's voice was incongruously cheerful as he said, "Riz, could you get ready to tie up the boat to a tree? We don't want to stop right at the edge, since who knows what beasts are hiding out there that we can't see."

Riz tore her gaze away, reading down for the wooden anchor made from hook-shaped branch segments as Rian carefully maneuvered them closer to shore. Once they were close, Riz leapt out, and secured the anchor around a small tree, wrapping the hook with the rope. Only then did the others get off the boat, carrying their tools with them. Riz's friend handed her one of the spears they had brought along as the other two looked around, inspecting the plants growing around them before beginning to cut down and harvest the growing stems of ropeweed.

Lori was the last one down after she handed Rian the box containing her glassware and tools. She didn't want to risk slipping as she stepped off and breaking them. The water was high enough that it managed to get into her boots, to her annoyance. She had to sit down a moment and take her boots off so she could remove her socks and dry her feet. She was not going to be doing experiments with wet feet.

Once her feet, shoes, and socks were dry the latter had been put back onto the former, she picked up her staff and the box, and walked towards the edge. Riz, her friend, and Rian fell in behind her, leaving the two harvesting ropeweed behind.

"So," Rian asked brightly, clutching his plank and charred stick eagerly, "what are we going to do first?"

"Now," Lori said as she bound waterwisps in the river, "we're going to clear a workspace."

The river surged onto the shore, flowing upriver into the riverbank beyond her demesne's borders.