The work on the boat continued, the finishing touches that would make it livable for any length of time. A latrine. Beds, which would fold up for space. A large rudder, to be able to shift its course. And of course the large water jet to propel it.

"I'm an idiot," Rian sighed over dinner. He'd managed to get ahead of the women this time, and had presented Lori with two bowls of stew. She'd picked one.

"Yes, you are," Lori agreed, eating in a leisurely manner.

"You don't have to agree so quickly. That's just mean."

"I was merely supporting you." There seemed to be fried or grilled mushroom in the stew tonight. It chewed quite nicely.

Rian sighed again, absently stirring his bowl before taking a small spoonful, chewing and swallowing. "Anyway, on a related note, the boat needs to be slightly rebuilt. When the carpenters were carving out the blocks that would become the boat's water jet, I realized it needed to be mounted on a support beam since if we tried putting it straight on the ice, there's a good chance the ice might crack from the strain. Actually, since it's meant to reverse, the water jet block needs to have support beams on both sides to secure it to."

Lori nodded. "Sensible thinking for a self-declared idiot."

"Yes. A pity I didn't think of it when we were initially placing the beams. So, uh, can you melt the ice without letting water soak into the wood? I hear that's bad for them. We'll need to put in more beams to brace the water jet against, and distribute its thrust through the whole structure." He closed his eyes, rubbing his eyelids. "I suppose it's too much to expect that we built it right the first time. This is my fault, they were only building what I told to."

"Yes, it is."

"Your idea of what supporting me entails needs some work."

Lori shrugged.

"It was a perfectly understandable oversight, Rian," Mikon said reassuringly. She was sitting next to him tonight, with Riz on her other side. "You've never done anything like this before. Since you realized before something broke or anyone was hurt, I think you're doing very well."

"I suppose," Rian said. He shook his head, getting his next mouthful ready on his spoon. "Well, no use dwelling on it. Anything in particular you want me to get you from Covehold, your Bindership?"

"Tool glass," Lori said instantly. "New boots. A book. ANY book. I need something to read."

Rian swallowed "What, even a…" he frowned, trailing off as he thought. "I'm trying to think of the most boring subject possible, but everything I'm thinking of seems like something you'd find interesting or possibly be too horrifying to give you."

Lori raised an eyebrow. "Such as what?"

"Like a book on tax law," Rian said. The three seated next to him twitched. "I'll see what I can do about the book. I remember them not lasting well on the way here."

"That was over the ocean," Lori said. "This is a much shorter journey." She frowned, then clucked her tongue. "I've just realized that the boat needs a binding to drain water out of it. It will need to be washed at least twice a day to keep down Iridescence growth, and to ensure that water doesn't pool inside. Having water filling the insides of you boat is probably detrimental to it."

Rian slumped, and his forehead hit the table. "Ugh, I forgot all about that." He sighed. "You're right, I have to account for that. Will it make the ice more likely to melt?"

Lori shook her head. "No, it shouldn't affect the behavior of the ice, besides making it slippery—"

Rian suddenly groaned again. "Ugh, the water's going to drip through all the floors, isn't it? We're only making it from wooden planks, and we don't have much in the way of sealant for it. Keeping things dry is going to be hard…" He glanced at her. "But you don't care, because you have no intention of ever needing to travel for that far or that long, do you?"

Lori nodded. Not cheerfully, even if it was a cheerful thought. "Why risk my death? I need to protect the demesne."

"Well, all the more reason for me to go," Rian said. "Otherwise no one will want to volunteer to go on it."

"Which reminds me, be the one to ferry miners to River's Fork next week," Lori said thoughtfully. "Find out how many guards Binder Shanalorre intends to send to accompany the prisoners. They're her prisoners, after all."

"By which you mean pointedly hint that she should send her own guards, lest you just have their throats slit and toss them into the river?" Rian said.

That… hadn't occurred to her.

It should have.

"That would be helpful to imply, yes. They will need to bring their own supplies for themselves and their prisoners, and we'll need an estimate of how much that will be so we can prepare the storage area." Lori finished her bowl, scraping it clean with her spoon. She resisted the urge to get another serving, letting her stomach settle and reminding her she still had fruit in her room.

"Not to sound lazy, but that sounds like something Riz should do," Rian said.

Riz blinked. "It is?" she said, surprised.

Rian nodded. "I'll come along, but I might be best if you do this. It'll allow you to start getting used to doing this sort of thing for her Bindership, even if it's only on a temporary basis. We can do this together and if you make any major mistakes I can step in and take over."

"Don't make the same mistake he does and just call her 'Shana'," Lori said, pushing her empty bowl aside. "She's Dungeon Binder Shanalorre. You will be representing myself when you speak to her, and as such you will show her proper respect, lest she take offense and decide to go to war with us."

"She won't," Rian told Riz, shaking her head. "She's a very reasonable person. Disturbingly reasonable."

Lori rolled her eyes. There was nothing disturbing about Shanalorre, she was a very calm, mature and reasonable person. Lori wished more people were like her.

"Actually, did you know her, when you lived there?" Rian asked.

Riz shook her head. "No. I vaguely remember Binder Koshay's daughter, but… no, I don't know her personally. I don't think we've ever exchanged words. She was always with her parents."

"Then I'll introduce you, and you can get used to talking to her in case Lori thinks of more things to extort but is too lazy to try to get personally."

Riz's eyes went wide, and she glanced at Lori.

"It's called political negotiation," Lori said blandly. "Well within Rian's duties. And as my temporary Rian when he leaves, you'll need to learn to conduct them."

A vaguely horrified look came over Riz's face. "Glittering blood," she said, and Lori noted the words, which sounded like invective, "I'm an officer."

"A temporary officer," Rian said, seeming to understand what Riz was talking about. "Temporary commanding officer, but still a temporary one. But the key word is 'temporary'. When I come back, you get demoted and go back to Um duty."

"Really?" Riz said, sounding desperate.

"Yes," Rian said. "Just don't perform exceptionally well, and you should be fine."

"Don't do well, got it," Riz nodded, clearly holding tightly to the words.

"I won't tolerate uselessness," Lori said. "I know how well you've performed until now. I expect at least that level of competence."

"See? Just be as competent as you've been until now, and you'll be fine," Rian said cheerfully.

"If there is any drop in competence, you will be punished."

Rian frowned at her.

Lori shrugged. "There have to be consequences. While her position is a temporary one, I expect her to maintain the standard she has previously set. Should your performance be unacceptable, you will be barred from this table."

Riz stiffened. So did Mikon. Umu, for her part, grinned for a moment, then had the presence of mind to suppress her expression. She continued eating dinner with a cheerful air, though.

"Are you… turning eating here into a privilege?" Rian said, sounding confused.

"I understand, Great Binder," Riz said, voice suddenly determined. "I won't fail you, provided this position is only temporary."

Lori tilted her head. "I will hold you to that."

She suddenly pointed at Umu, who paused in her eating. "Don't interfere," she said sternly.

The woman sighed, but said, "Yes, your Bindership."

Riz glared at the blonde, while Umu began patting her on the shoulder, seemingly trying to calm her down, even as the pink-haired weaver sighed tiredly.

Rian sighed. "I'm missing something again, aren't I? Is this some kind of secret woman thing?"

"No, there's nothing secret about it, you're just ignorant," Lori said blandly.

"If I don't know, you're not going to tell me?"

Lori nodded.

"But what if I need to know?"

"Then you should get better at noticing," Lori said, her tone unchanged.

Rian sighed. "Fine, don't tell me. I don't care. But if it turns out I needed to know, you'll only have yourself to blame."

"No, I won't."

Rian rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I have a favor to ask."

"Is this going to be another thing I have to build for you with Whispering?"

Rian shook his head. "No, this is a normal favor."

Lori glared at him. "And the reason you can't ask someone else…?"

"They don't have much room at their house," Rian said succinctly. "You have the entire demesne."

"I'm not going to give you land."

"I'm not asking for any! Just a small favor! You won't even have to do anything, just drop something in a corner and forget about it until I bring it up again."

Lori raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening…"

"Can you store the things that I can't bring along with me to Covehold somewhere? Just throw it in a corner of one of the vaults and don't drop any scales on it. I don't want to leave it in the shelter, since someone might trip over it or something, or it might get lost," Rian asked.

"Can't you just bring it with you? You can't have brought much," Lori said irritably.

"I won't be the only one on the boat, and storage space will be precious," Rian said. "Between the choice of bringing along some of my other clothes and some more food, the food is a better choice. Please? If I don't come back in half a year, you can have it all."

Lori stood just enough to be able to reach out across the table and grab the front of his shirt. She twisted her fist just enough for the fabric to tighten around his neck.

"You are not going to be gone for half a year," she said through gritted teeth, her voice low and determined. "You will be back well before winter, with time to spare, healthy, safe and mentally sound, because I am not dealing with these idiots by myself, is that clear?"

"I hear you, but this is sort of sending me mixed messages…" Rian said, his throat vibrating against her knuckles, words slightly strained.

Scowling, Lori released him, and Rian patted at his shirt as if afraid she'd torn it or something. "I will store your possessions on the condition you come back for them," she said sternly.

"I'm completely willing to agree to that," Rian said.

"And you're leaving your sword here."

He blinked. "My sword?" he repeated, sounding confused.

"Yes. That's something you're certainly going to come back for."

"What if I need it to defend myself?"

She stared at him. "Don't put yourself in a situation where you need to defend yourself," she said.

"You say that like it's my choice," he muttered. "Fine, fine, I'll leave it here. Maybe I can find a nice, solid stick or something."

"Good. You'll have something to come back to."

Rian raised an eyebrow. "Are you worried I won't come back?"

"I am not dealing with these idiots by myself," Lori repeated. "And do not forget that we have an agreement." She nodded in the general direction of the list of laws and rights on the wall that hid the core, which most people seemed to ignore nowadays.

"Please tell me you're not going to repeal our agreement while I'm gone," he said.

"If you're not back by winter, I will."

Rian sighed. "It's always something with you… fine, yes, I'll come back. I promise. Otherwise I'm terrified of what you'll come up with when you finally get around to implementing money and taxes."

Lori glared at him, then nodded sharply. "Fine. I'll prepare a place to store anything you can't bring along."

"Thank you, your Bindership," Rian said. He sighed. "That's one less thing I have to worry about. I'm not afraid of anyone stealing from me, but treating my things carelessly because I'm not around is another thing entirely. I'd put it under the bed, but I expect someone else will start sleeping on that. After all, it's not like I'll be using it, someone else should get to…"

"You will come back, won't you, Rian?" Umu said, voice quavering only a little.

"Of course I'll come back. Why wouldn't I?" He shrugged. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go. This place is home now. I've done a lot of paperwork on behalf of this demesne, I'm not letting all that work go to waste."

Umu sighed quietly. Behind Rian, Mikon reached out and patted her shoulder reassuringly.

Lori stood up without a word, and headed to her room to retire.

"Good night!" Rian called after her. "See you tomorrow!"

Lori waved a negligent hand in acknowledgement, her thoughts spinning but not binding together.

He said he'd come back. He'd promised, repeatedly.

He meant it… right?