Weekly Digest 99 - (#314 - #316) (Patreon)

The Dragon Arrives During Lunch

They were in the middle of having lunch when Karina began to hear a faint sound. It sounded vaguely like a distant dry branch being snapped, but it must be loud if they could hear it over the sounds of everyone talking and eating heartily over the long-delayed meal. Karina looked around in confusion, as did the other children around her.

As she did, she noticed Shana was shaking. Her friend was holding her spoon and fork in clenched fists, and there was a little mess on the table where food seemed to have spilled, which Karina gave a disapproving frown at. She dutifully took her spoon to scoop up the spilled food and ate it, then ran her finger along the tabletop to scoop clean up what was left of the smear. There. No food wasted!

That done, she put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. Shana was completely tense, all her muscles clenched tight. Tears were starting to well from her eyes, and her chest was starting to heave. Karina could hear air whistling as it went in and out of Shana’s nose far too fast.

“Shasha? Are you all right?” Yoshka asked from Shana’s other side as Karina heard movement and a bench scraping across the floor behind her,

Karina reached around and very, gently rested her hand on her friend’s left cheek, then started shaking Shana’s from side to side to get the other girl’s attention. Her eyes, meanwhile, were watching Shana’s hands, especially the way they were both still tightly clutching their wooden utensils. If either hand looked like it was going to move…

She’d seen Shana slap herself in the face before, when she seemed to be having nightfrights in the middle of the day, and right now she was still holding a spoon. So she put her hand on the side of the face Shana hit and shook her to get her out of the nightfrights without any slapping.

After a while, she felt the tense muscles in Shana’s shoulders relax, no longer as tight as pulled cords. “Karina, could you please stop doing that to my face now?”

“You’re not going to slap yourself?”

Karina felt hot breath on her wrist as Shana sighed. “Yes, I won’t slap myself. The panic attack seems to have passed.”

After one last look, Karina drew back her hand. On Shana’s other side, Yoshka grinned and put her hand of Shana’s face, because it had probably looked like fun. The young girl mashed her cousin’s cheek with her palm, giggling as she did so.

“Please stop that Yoshka, you’ll get food on my face,” Shana said. Her cousin giggled one last time, but put down her hand. “Thank you.” There was a moment’s pause as Shana glanced down at her utensils, then at the table. “Karina, what happened to the food I spilled?”

“I ate it. It was going to waste.”

Shana sighed in a way that was actually verylike Wiz Lori, usually when she was muttering about people being idiots. “Karina, I keep telling you, you’ll get sick eating food right off the table. Stop doing that! The demesne has plenty of food, there’s no need to get sick eating a spoonful to keep it from going to waste.”

“But it’s wasteful!”

“It’s even more wasteful if you get sick!” Another sigh. “Come here!”

Shana put her hand sideways on Karina’s forehead, the way she’d seen the aunties, medics and doctors do to check for fever. Karina stayed still expectantly, but just like the times Shana had done it before, she didn’t feel anything.

“There,” Shana said. “If you still feel pains in your stomach after this, or it feels like your stomach is bubbling, tell me right away, all right?”

“Yes, Wiz Shanalorre,” Karina said, in the same tone she’d say it to Wiz Lori.

“Binder Shanalorre. I’m not a wizard, just a Dungeon Binder.”

“I thought you needed to be a wizard to be a Dungeon Binder?”

“I can state confidently that’s not the case. I wasn’t, after all.” Sighing, Shana pushed away her food. “Excuse me a moment. I need to find Lord Rian.”

“I think he already knows the dragon is here,” Karina said, glancing over her shoulder at the table behind them. The bench directly behind them was empty—even with her gone, no one sat on Binder Lori’s bench—while across the table from the empty bench, Ateh Mikon and Ateh Umu were eating along, a space between them where Lord Rian usually sat. "Finish your food first. Lord Rian is probably busy right now."

Shana frowned for a moment, but her face smoothed and she nodded. "Yes, you're right. Lord Rian doesn't need me to inform him that…it…" She trailed off, so Karina put her hand on Shana's face again and shook her.

"Ah!" Yoshka cried. "Can I do it, Ateh Karina?"

"All right, Yoshka," Karina relented. "Don't press too hard."

Karina took her face off Shana's face, and Yoshka proceeded to mash her palm on her cousin's cheek.

Shana blinked. "—has arrived over the… Yoshka, would you please kindly stop doing that?"

Yoshka grinned, but didn't stop.

With a patient expression on her face, Shana gently took hold of her cousin's wrist and pulled it back. Yoshka pouted, but drew back her hand. "Shasha, peel this for me!" she said, holding out the mican she'd pick for her fruit with the meal.

Shana took the fruit, scoring it with one of her nails until she could get a finger underneath and started peeling, making the rind open like flower.

From outside, Karina could hear the sounds of whatever the dragon was doing growing louder. It no longer sounded like a branch snapping, or even several branches snapping one after another. Instead, it sounded like someone was striking a thick metal pot like a drum repeatedly. Possibly with a hammer in either hand, from how fast and loudly the sounds were being. There was also a smell like rain in the air and… something else…

Karina glanced towards the door, and it seemed like she wasn’t the only one. She couldn't actually see the door, of course, since there were other tables in the way, and she didn’t want to try to wiggle out of the bench just to look. "Ateh Koyan, can you see what's happening?" she asked.

Ateh Koyan looked very similar to her cousin Ateh Mikon, and had the same pink hair and similar yellow eyes, which she shared with all her sisters. However, unlike Ateh Mikon, unless Ateh Koyan made an effort to smile she always looked like she was glaring, even when she was asleep. Fortunately, she was often smiling when she helped take care of the other children. The woman was also looking towards the door, a concerned expression on her face. It made it seem like she was glaring. She glanced at Karina for a moment, who gave her an encouraging smile, and Ateh Koyan smiled back.

"Lord Rian has his ear to the door," the weaver said. "He's gesturing to Master Kolinh… some of the volunteers are moving to sit next to the door, but they're not getting their spears. Ah, they're eating. So perhaps Lord Rian doesn't think it's anything to worry about right now."

Indeed, not long after—Karina had finished her own food and was in the middle of eating her fruits—Lord Rian made his way back to his table and announced in a loud voice that, "All right everyone, go back to eating. Weird sounds coming from outside when a dragon passes by is normal, and since the door isn't being battered down, I don't think it's any worse than the screams from last time." Karina considered that, and found herself nodding in agreement, and several people seemed to be doing so as well. "We should be safe for now. Binder Lori put in a lot of work to have the Dungeon better protected. So when this is all over, let's all thank her when she comes back by giving her what she wants most: no one talking to her and pretending she doesn't exist unless she talks to us first."

There were laughs at that. Karina thought it was one of the weirder jokes Lord Rian liked to make. It wasn't what people did, after all. When they saw Wiz Lori, they stepped out of her way and gave her a bow, not ignore her.

"And on the note of special things we're doing for our Dungeon Binder… Onezto, how's that chair coming along?"

Uncle Onezto called out, "It'll be ready by the time she gets back, Lord Rian."

Lord Rian nodded. "Great. As to everyone else… like the bed, don't tell her we're making her a new chair, all right?"

"Yes, Lord Rian," Karina said, her voice mixing with everyone as they said pretty much the same thing.

Lord Rian nodded. "Good. Hopefully when this is all over, all we have to do is fix a few roofs. From the sound of it, we'll be losing some crops again—" Karina sighed at that, and she wasn't the only one, "—but that's why Binder Lori has been making more plots in the Dungeon Farm." He clapped his hands together, smiling at everyone. "Now, everyone finish eating so we can wash up, and then start taking turns at the baths. Be sparing with the water, but at least take a bath to wash up after all today's lifting. And then…" Lord Rian began to chuckle. "Well, Binder Lori's not here, so… I won't tell her if anyone wants to start playing music."

There were more laughs at that, but Karina saw some people look happier at the reminder.

"All right everyone, that's it! Eat up and remember: Binder Lori is probably going to forget to do anything about the lights downstairs, so have a clean cloth to cover your eyes when you sleep!"

There was some confusion, followed by groans as people realized that Wiz Lori probably wouldforget to dim the lights so people could sleep. Karina looked over her shoulder, watching as Lord Rian sat back down and accepted a cup of water from Ateh Umu. He looked tired.

Next to her, Shana had turned as well. "Karina," her friend said, "I need to ask you a favor."

"Sure," she said instantly.

"I need you to take care of the children for me while one of the Ateh and I sleep," Shana said. "Least one of us needs to be up at all times because it's hard to tell if it's day or night, so we'll need to take turns."

Karina nodded. "All right."

They didn't say anything for a moment.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I want to go to sleep first?"

"Not really. But… why do you want to sleep first?"

"Because this way, I'll be up when Lord Rian is sleeping, so I can give him a chance to sleep too."

"Oh! That's very nice of you."

"You are very kind to say so." Shana turned back to the table, and Karina did the same, and saw Ateh Koyan and Ateh Kayas playing alistaya, clenched fists pumping up and down twice before revealing an open hand, two fingers, or still a clenched fists. As they watched, Ateh Koyan dropped a fist and Ateh Kayas had an open palm. Ateh Kayas let out a hiss, smirking victoriously as her twin sister sighed.

"Very well," Shana said. "Ateh Kayas, please get our bed rolls ready after we bring in our dishes for cleaning. I will speak with Lord Rian and join you." She turned to her cousin. "Yoshka, I'm going to sleep after lunch. Do you want to keep playing, or will you join me?"

"But it's too early to go to sleep!"

"Then you can stay up," Shana said. "But when you go to sleep later, I won't be going to sleep with you, since I have to be awake then."

"Eh?-! But… can't you sleep later?"

"Unfortunately, I need to sleep now."

Yoshka let out a whine. "Fine…! But I'm not sleepy yet!"

"That's fine. You can just lie down next to me until you are. Here, have some of my golden bud." Shana gave her cousin a few of the yellow wedges of fruit. The younger girl brightened immediately, happily accepting the fruit as she was distracted from the fact she had an earlier bed time. Yoshka still had trouble sleeping without someone she trusted next to her, so she could only sleep comfortably next to Shana.

Karina scrapped her spoon over her bowl on last time, to get the last of anything left there—her mother had told her she was too old to lick the bowl clean anymore, so the spoon it was—then took her bowl, utensils, cup, and the plate for the bread and got up to bring it to where it would be piled up to wash. "All right everyone, clean your bowls and follow me. Don't leave any food in your bowls and drink all the water in your cups!" There was a sudden rush to drink.

Shana also stood up, taking her own dishes and Yoshka's as the younger girl sat there and enjoyed her last wedges of fruit. "Yrria, Tena, are you done eating? Ah, good. Follow me, I'll show you were we bring the dishes to be washed."

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Sleep and Farming

Karina led the other children back to Shana's alcove as her friend went to talk to Lord Rian. Everyone was full and a little sleepy, but that wouldn't last. She was ready for that, however.

"All right!" Karina declared cheerfully, the way Lord Rian did. She even put a bit smile on her face. "Now, when everyone's done resting after lunch, we're all going downstairs to take care of the tubers and help with watering the farm plots!" There were groans. "Now, don't be like that! If the dragon hurt the crops outside, then all we'll have to eat is from the crops downstairs. What would you rather do, a little watering now, or having to try to catch more seals later because that's the only food we can get?"

"We just ate!" Riga complained.

"That's why it'll only be when you're done resting," Karina said. "So rest up! If anyone is all rested and starting to get restless, we'll go downstairs!"

There was another groan as everyone sat down on the floor and benches of the alcove. Other children were coming over, bringing their game boards or claiming the ones they'd left behind earlier. A bedroll had been unrolled in one of the niches in the thick stone wall that separated the alcoves, and Ateh Kayas was unrolling another one that Karina recognized as Shana's in the opposite niche.

Yoshka pouted when she saw the bedroll. "I'm not sleepy," she insisted.

"I know," Karina said, and she did. "But Shana needs to go to sleep so she can do Lady Binder things later tonight. If you want, you can just lie down until Shana falls asleep, then go back to playing. You know how Shana likes to sleep."

Yoshka's stubborn expression "Well… all right. If it will help Ateh Shasha sleep better…"

Ah, nice little sisters were all the same. And Yoshka was a little sister, even if her brother was still in River's fork with their parents. Karina really did need Shana to be comfortable enough to go to sleep, but Shana… well, she couldfall asleep, but knowing how Shana had been like last winter when she'd stayed with them because the snow had been too thick for travel, Karina knew she slept—and woke—easier with her cousin near her.

Karina smiled and patted Yoshka's head. "You're a good little girl, Yoshka. I'm sure Shana is glad she has a cousin like you."

Yoshka… hesitated. Then, quietly, she said, "Shasha doesn't smile anymore. She hasn't smiled since mushka and dyadya went away."

Karina didn't correct her. She knew a lot of people who'd… went away, getting here. "I know. But we'll make her smile. She can't not smile forever." She made herself smile. "So when she gets back, be sure to smile too so that she knows what she's supposed to do."

Yoshka's sad face became happy as she smiled widely. That got her another headpat. "Good girl. Now, why don't we wait for Shana to come back from whatever she's talking about with Lord Rian?"

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When Shana came back, the alcove was full of children again, and Ateh Kayas was already asleep, a folded towel over her eyes and nose to block out the light as best as she could. Ateh Koyan was sitting on a stool, spinning thread on her distaff, helping keep an eye on the other children, though everyone was settled down at the moment. Lord Rian had told her that children rarely actually needed an adult to watch over them. It was more that it made adults feel better that children were being watched… by someone that wasn't them.

Beyond that… well, everyone knew what not to do so they wouldn't get in trouble, even if they needed to be reminded sometimes. So Karina was able to focus on getting Yrria and Tena comfortable. First she'd shown them where their packs were, and stayed back to let the two of them go through the packs to make sure nothing had been taken. Now she was getting them to at least relax and play. It had taken a while for the new children from River's Fork a while to feel safe, that their things wouldn't be stolen.

It was something she knew Shana felt bad about, that River's Fork had become like that. Even if only a few people had actually done it, it had happened enough that everyone had become afraid it would happen to them. Shana had even said that she'd once gone into her office and found someone had gone through it, even if nothing had been taken.

"Tah," Karina greeted. "Did you talk to Lord Rian?"

Shana nodded. "Yes. It was difficult, but I was able to convince him to rest. Ateh Mikon and Ateh Umu were very helpful in getting him to agree." At the mention of her cousin, Ateh Koyan looked up briefly, but went back to her spinning. "I should have more than two hours to sleep, by the water clock Lord Rian had filled, but knowing him, I probably have a little more than that."

"Do you want me to wake you?" Karina asked.

Shana shook her head. "No, let Lord Rian have his little lapse. At the latest, I should wake up for dinner, at which point we will speak, and he will go to sleep properly."

Karina nodded approvingly. Since Shana had been the first to wake up and warn them about the dragon coming, it was only fair she get to sleep first.

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Shana's face was different when she was asleep. When she was awake, she tried to look like Wiz Lori most of the time, so she made that face that was like the face Wiz Lori made. When she slept, however, that went away, and there was only Shana's real face, which always looked lost. Like she was trying to go somewhere, but didn't know where it was.

Lying down with Yoshka on the unrolled bedroll inside the niche in the alcove, she and Shana looked more like sisters than cousins. The two were sharing a pillow and a thick blanket was haphazardly covering them, more to block drafts than to keep them warm, as the two slept with Yoshka pressed again her cousin's side.

Despite how everyone nearby wasn't making any effort to be more quiet, the two had fallen asleep quickly enough. Still…

"All right everyone," Karina said, trying to be heard without being too noisy. "Since it sounds like you're all well rested, it's time to go downstairs."

"Aw…"

"No!"

"We're still tired!"

Karina stood there with her arms crossed listening to all the complaints long enough to let them know they heard but not long enough for the uncles and aunties to get involved, beyond Ateh Koyan sighing and starting to put way her distaff, giving Karina a slightly annoyed look. Then she clapped her hands loudly, like she'd learned from seeing Lori Rian do it. "See? Well rested! Now everyone, come on, let's all go down and give everything that needs it a watering. The sooner we all go down, the sooner we'll be done and we can take a bath!"

There was a stir of interest at the word 'bath'. While Karina could remember a time not even two years ago where she'd bathed at most once a week, more often once every two, nearly everyone bathed every day her in Lorian Demesne. Even with the warm water in the baths, the feeling of the water was refreshing in the summer. Looking around at everyone's hair, Karina knew no one had managed to take a bath yet.

She clapped her hands again. "Come on everyone. Let's go down so that when we're done, we can all take a bath."

No one cheered when she said it, not like how they did what it was Lord Rian talking, but despite the grumbling, all the older children started to push themselves up reluctantly. They knew how this worked. Either they contributed a little work every day, helping with chores, sweeping the house, or in this case, helping take care of the dungeon farm's crops. They were all growing older, after all. Almost too old to be considered children.

Even by Wiz Lori.

Karina led the way downstairs, knowing they were following her. Sure, they would grumble and complain, but in the end… she wasn't actually making them do this. They chose to do this themselves, probably because, like her, they felt restless and simply running around and yelling would get them scolded. Whenever she felt restless, she did something to catch or grow more food for everyone, and there was always something like that to do.

They reached the bottom of stairs, and around them, the smell of soil, the stink of fertilizer, and the rank smell of water that had been a little filtered through both filled the air. Despite complaints, they all got to work. Big Yerart went to the arrangement of ropes and levers they used to pull up water from the cistern where the irrigation water drained to from all the farming plots. The number of those had grown since Wiz Lori had first made them, though the heights of all the crops weren't all the same since they were planted at different times.

"All right, Yhalta, Bhar, you two come with me to check and water the tubers," she called out since they were closest. "Everyone else, do a lane of crops, and make to do all of them, all right? Be careful of the pink lady saplings—"

"We know Karina, stop nagging!"

Everyone for from the bucket of watering dippers—the notches on the handle differentiated it from the bathing dippers, and all the other dippers they used in the demesne—and then lined up to get buckets from those Big Yerart were filling from the cistern. The girls in the group, Karina among them, girded their skirts to keep them from getting splashed by the smelly water, while some of the boys rolled up their trouser legs.

Karina waited her turn to get a bucket, picking it up carefully so it wouldn't spill and made her way towards the tuber planters. Bharelli was already there, carefully looking at the soil of around each tuber plant in the plot in front of her before using her dipper to splash water on the tubers. They exchanged nods as Karina moved past, getting started checking the next tuber planter. The stone box held water very well, not letting it leak out, so they had to be careful not to drown the tubers or else they’d go rotten. So Karina checked the soil, then took the handle of her ladle and pushed it down into the corner of the planter until she hit rock at the bottom, testing how wet the wood was when she drew it out.

Soon Yhalta arrived, and the three of them began to quickly go down the tuber planters. They’d all done this before in the past year, so they all knew what to do. Karina hummed as she worked, falling into the familiar, satisfied feeling of knowing what she was doing would help ensure people didn’t go hungry.

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Shana Speaks To Rian

Dungeon Binder Shanalorre, Shana to some and Great Binder or Lady Binder to most, waited patiently as Lord Rian spoke to uncleKolinh about the organization of the all-but-militia volunteers for the duration of…. the duration.

…

…

…

Shana found herself blinking, coming back to her senses as the disruptive emotions receded. After Karina and Yoshka had made their dissatisfaction with her means of bringing herself back to full wakefulness clear, she had begun to forego it, relying on them to rouse her from her apathy, but that meant she tended to stay insensate for periods of time when they were absent.

It seemed she had not been insensate for too long. Lord Rian was finishing talking to uncle Kolinh as the volunteers were moving to the benches that had been carried in from outside of the Dungeon. While only a few were actively on shift, most of the volunteers were resting nearby so they would be able to respond quickly in the event of an emergency. It wasn't an arrangement that she had used in River's Fork when she had ruled there, but she'd hardly had the level of resources and infrastructure that Lorian Demesne always seemed to have on hand.

That was her fault though. If she were a better Dungeon Binder, she would have found a way to create matching infrastructure and resources.

When the two finished speaking, Shana stepped forward. "Lord Rian," she greeted.

"Shana. You know you can just call me Rian, right?" He sounded tired, even with his smile and energetic tone.

"Noted, Lord Rian. I'd like to speak to you about your condition."

For some reason, Lord Rian sighed as uncleKolinh standing nearby turned and gave him an amused look. "Is this about me needing to rest? Because I already got that from Mikon, Umu and Kolinh."

"It's about you needing to rest," Shana confirmed.

"If you must know, I was in fact going to rest for the afternoon, once I've made sure everyone's settled in and people weren't overcrowding in the baths."

"Actually, I was going to propose I assist you by taking the night shift so you can rest properly instead of trying to force yourself to function on little naps," Shana said. "When does that begin? Karina told me that last time there was a dragon she—"

…

…

…

…

…

She blinked, then shook her head, pushing down the irrelevancies. Perhaps she should go back to slapping herself for the length of this conversation, to reduce delay. Opposite her, Lord Rian waited patiently, badly-concealed pity in his eyes. Shana simply picked up where she'd left off. "—she was asked to keep time by watching a water clock, so I assume you have begun that as… are you well, Lord Rian?"

Lord Rian's head hand bowed, and one hand had risen to grasp his face. "I knew I forgot something…" he said from behind his hand. "Thank you for reminding me, Great Binder. I'll see if I can get someone on that… and for the night shift as well, I suppose."

"You are welcome, Lord Rian. Will you be accepting my assistance, then?"

"I'm… not sure I should, Great Binder. You're the one who's been up longest of all of us. If there's anyone who needs sleep, it's you."

"I agree. However, I intend to sleep directly after this conversation to rest and prepare. I shall wake up at dinner, and we can exchange information and shifts then."

"I wouldn't want to impose on you…"

"There is no imposition. I had already resolved to follow this sleep schedule to ensure someone is supervising the children at all times, especially since there are two new children with us."

"Yes, I saw… Just two?"

Shana nodded. "Yes. Just two."

He sighed. "I'm both surprised and not surprised… Do they need anything?"

"They already have their ration of soap, they just need their own bath buckets, tsinelas for their feet, and possibly toweling. I am unsure if they have any, but the likelihood is low. Beyond that, they only need to acclimate and unlearn bad habits acquired from my mismanagement. Beyond that, Yrria and Tena are well."

"Hmm… Yes, I remember them. They were nice girls."

"They are," Shana agreed. They'd always been willing to tell her about what their parents had been doing, even after the spate of thefts from their food stores had begun. All the children told her anything they noticed when she had asked. It had been one of the few ways she'd been able to stay informed of the goings on of her demesne, since even Lord Yllian had been reluctant to report some things to her, most likely out of some sense of trying to preserve her childhood innocence.

She had not been so cruel as to invite him to consider the implications of being aware of the activities of every living thing in her demesne.

"I shall go rest now, Lord Rian," Shana said. "We'll speak again at dinner."

"I haven't agreed to this yet!"

"With all due respect, Lord Rian… you can't stay awake indefinitely. If no one else, Ateh Mikon and Ateh Umu won't let you," Shana pointed out. "You're swaying on your feet already."

Lord Rian stood straighter, stiffening his legs. "I'm fine. I was just… making excuses for the fact I'm really tired… " he sighed. "I really wish it was anyone other than you. This isn't something someone your age should have to deal with."

Shana considered all her possible responses and simply stared at him, her face blank.

"And that's a face out of my nightmares," he said. "Fine, I accept your offer of you taking the night shift. But if anything happens, if an abomination so much as scratches at the door, you wake me up and have me deal with it, all right? Lori might not like to think about it, but we can't risk you. If anything happens to her…" He fell silent, a pained, ashamed expression on his face.

"I understand, Lord Rian," she said. And she did. It was why she had been the Dungeon Binder of River's Fork, after all.

Short of bringing in a stranger from River's Fork, if Binder Lolilyuri died from being in River's Fork, Shana would be the only one capable of claiming the dungeon's core to re-establish the demesne. She even had experience doing so, having done it before.

She checked on the concentration of life she knew to be Binder Lolilyuri, ensuring that all the life in her body was functioning as it should, and that she—and anyone else in the demesne—were not injured. The inert life that made up her clothes and her staff were distinctive, and Shana had long since learned to recognize her. From her pose and the concentrations of inert life being added to her mass, she seemed to be in the midst of eating. Lunch was delayed, though given that River's Fork had probably been able to have breakfast, it might not have been so pressing for them.

Fortunately, no one seemed injured, so Binder Lori hadn't needed to enforce her views of public order. At least, she thought so. All the life seemed to be as they should, and she'd spent enough time using this one of the few abilities she had as a Dungeon Binder to know what even mild bruising looked like in her awareness of life.

She realized she'd been standing there quietly enough that Lord Rian would not unreasonably conclude that she was having one of her episodes, and made a show of tilting her head thoughtfully. "Binder Lolilyuri and Ateh Erzebed seem well," she said to assure him, knowing those would be his priorities, "as are everyone else. Whatever defenses Binder Lolilyuri established, they appeared to be secure and holding."

Everywhere were else besides the areas Binder Lolilyuri had secured were being damaged, the life being… there was probably a technical term for it, but she was not aware. From her awareness, however, what she could perceive of the trees and plants and bugs and other living concentrations of life in her demesne was slowly being… disordered was the best she could describe it, the life slowly becoming inert. It was a random change, occurring at different points of different concentrations of life to seemingly no rhythm.

Lord Rian didn't sigh this time, but his shoulders relaxed slightly. "That's… good to know."

"You shouldn't worry, Lord Rian. Binder Lolilyuri has more than merely luck to protect her from harm. I'm sure she will keep herself and everyone else safe." The fact that Binder Lolilyuri could somehow make wispbeads of various sizes was a badly kept secret that, in consideration for her sworn Dungeon Binder's wishes, she pretended not to know of. She did not know how this had led to Binder Lolilyuri making strange bound tools, and she had not asked.

"I hope so." He sighed now, then shook his head. "You should probably get to sleep. I just need to check on something, and I'll go find someone to keep a watch on the time and maybe finally sit down." Lord Rian paused, then amended. "Take a bath and then sit down. It's been a long day."

Shana nodded. "Very well. I shall inform Ateh Mikon and Ateh Umu about our conversation, then I shall retire. What do you need to check on?" she asked as she prepared to turn away.

"I'm just going to check on what's making the noise," Lord Rian said, beginning to turn away himself.

…

…

…

Shana blinked as she realized she was now gripping Lord Rian's wrist in as tight as grip as she could manage, her lungs panting at the sudden panicked exertion. "That's dangerous," she said, trying to be calm and instead being forceful as disruptive emotions affected her rational thinking. "You'll die."

"Please let go," Lord Rian asked politely, and Shana surrendered her grip, drawing back her hand. It wanted to clench tightly, but she didn't let it, relaxing and letting her hand fall to her side. "Thank you. I realize it's dangerous, but this is the first time we don't have any abominations tapping on our dungeon door asking to be let in, which is already proving the effectiveness of our defenses. I should be safe enough to see how what it's going on."

Shana shook her head in opposition. "It's never safe," she said vehemently. "And this is nothing like the previous incidents." She felt the familiar sensation of disruptive emotions rising, about to bring her rational thought a halt at the mention, but other emotions dominated, and at best it made her words stutter for a moment. "Whatever is falling out there, it has no life, inert or otherwise." She had her uncle to thank for that bit of terminology. "It is not living or once-living, neither beast, fursh, bug or plant."

"What about mushroom?"

Shana blinked at the sudden question. "What?"

"You mentioned beasts, fursh, bugs and plants, but what about mushrooms? Or slugs? Graspers? Where do dillians and islandshells and their kind come in?"

"They are not those either," she said flatly.

"Wow, you said it exactly the way Lori would have. That's both impressive and very, very disturbing."

She nodded to herself, pleased a correctly reproducing Binder Lolilyuri's inflections. "Please do not distract me with humor, Lord Rian. I will not have you die out there. This is clearly a sign of your tiredness."

He hesitated. Lord Rian visibly had to think about it. "Maybe you're right…" he said hesitantly. Eventually, he sighed. "Fine, not today then. Though I think I should still see what's out there… but yes, not now. If I need to, I can look tomorrow…"

"No," Shana said firmly. She turned her gaze. "Captain Kolinh, please ensure that Lord Rian does no such thing, and that he adheres he his stated itinerary of finding someone to keep watch over the time and then sitting down to rest after taking a bath."

"Yes, Lady Binder," uncle Kolinh said in the same tones he used when saying "Yes, Great Binder" to Binder Lolilyuri.

"It's a good thing Lori's not here," Lord Rian muttered. "She'd definitely overreact to hearing you two talk like that."