The rest of the day, as well as the next, were without incident, barring the occasional additional episodes of '… … …'. No one noticed, as such episodes were common enough to not be noteworthy, like Binder Lori not remembering people's names.

Binder Lori had sequestered herself in her rooms again during those days, expanding the boundaries of Lorian Demesne once more. It was a process Shana was naturally curious about, but Binder Lori's orders had been clear. She was not to learn more about Deadspeaking, and asking about the methodology of expanding one's demesne surely violated that order. Well, it was only an idle curiosity. Besides, as she was not capable of Whispering, she would no doubt be unable to utilize whatever methodology Binder Lori was utilizing.

According to Lord Rian, the demesne had grown a little under 17 paces as a result. Combined with all previous growth, the demesne had nearly reached 5 taums in width, or it would after another day or two of Binder Lori expanding the demesne.

The day after, the Coldhold finally returned from the sea. Shana felt the boat enter the boundaries of River's Fork Demesne from downriver at about late morning. Once she was certain it was the vessel and not the arrival of the next batch of people from the Golden Sweetwood Company, Shana dutifully informed Uncle Kolinh so that the demesne would be prepared for its arrival. Lord Rian and Binder Lori were both absent, having gone to River's Fork so that the latter could work on some improvements to the dragon shelter there, and Lord Rian had left him in charge.

Once she had done so, Shana went to gather the children under her care. With the Coldhold now confirmed to arrive later that day, she set them to preparing to leave. This involved returning borrowed clothes, borrowed toys—or in some cases, getting those toys back—and getting them to put their clothes in their packs properly instead of just pilling them on top of each other. The soonest they would be leaving was the next day, and it was likely when they would be, so she needed to get everyone ready.

Fortunately, aside from getting toys back—most of which were either little carved wooden beasts, dolls made from straw and bits of wood, or game boards made from plank scraps—there were few difficulties. Most of the older children knew how to pack, and could assist the rest. Shana helped Yoshka put her clothes in her leather pack, and managed to find the little wooden beast she had carved for her cousin, which had been very difficult to make given the restriction on her regarding sharp objects.

Shana had to mediate a few times, as there were disagreements about whether something had been lent or given, and if any of the adults were forced to become involved in the matter they wouldn't care about the validity of arguments. Fortunately, reminding the arguing children that such involvement would result in the adult in question deciding to take the toy or piece of clothing away from both was usually enough to get them to calm down.

Most of it was due to issues of forgetfulness, and once someone was sufficiently reminded the item in question was peacefully—mostly—returned to its rightful owner. In one instance, the borrowed toy—a straw doll that belong to Adgwyne—had been damaged, and the one responsible—Galef—had been trying to hide the fact by claiming the doll had already been returned and that Adgwyne must had somehow lost it. Shana had needed to step in directly here, and eventually the truth had come out. As it was a straw doll, Shana had taken it to Wizard Taeclas, who had been able to repair the damage.

It had resulted in a cooling of relations between the two girls, which was unfortunate, but outside of the purview of their well-being. Their being was well, Adgwyne was merely angry at Galef for damaging her doll and then lying about it. It could well have escalated to a physical altercation, but fortunately Adgwyne decided to prioritize the safety of her doll and left, leaving Galef guilty and miserable.

"I'm sure this can be mended with an apology," Shana advised. "Later, once she's calmed down."

"Well, what if I don't want to?" Galef cried, stomping away before Shana could reply.

…

Despite not having Binder Lori's difficulties when it came to remembering names and faces, sometimes Shana could understand why the woman would wish to delegate all 'dealing with people' matters to Lord Rian. Why did people sometimes act in complete opposition to the goals they clearly wanted to achieve?

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

…

She should probably ask Lord Rian. Perhaps he could explain it to her.

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At dinner, Shana ate at Binder Lori's table, as she had been unable to speak to her or Lord Rian when they had arrived. The latter gone on his rounds speaking to the various people who had been left in charge of one matter or another, and the former had taken refuge in her room. Judging by how sweat-soaked the Dungeon Binder had been, she had probably gone to enjoy a bath and a change of clothes.

"—ished our salt supplies, as well as River's Fork's," Lord Rian was saying as Shana carefully hollowed out one of Yoshka's ball-like buns of bread, mixing the excavated food into her cousin's stew. Once there was a reasonably-sized hollow, she began carefully spooning stew into the bread, making sure there was an even proportion of meat, sliced tubers, and pieces of vegetables. "They also reported no sign of the Golden Sweetwood Company, but then if they actually saw anyone, whoever they saw would have arrived right after the Coldhold."

Once the bun was filled with stew, Shana carefully handed it to her cousin, who began eating it enthusiastically. Unfortunately, there was more enthusiasm than care, even if Yoshka was no longer as messy as when she'd first seen Lord Rian fill his bread like this and immediately asked Shana to make one for her as well. Shana kept attention of her gaze on her cousin in case she made a mess, and she would.

Binder Lori nodded as Shana broke off a piece of her own bread and dipped it into her stew. She had to admit that the stew paired with the bread very well, although she was far more restrained than Yoshka. "How much longer before the boat fittings are finished?"

"The carpenters tell me they'll be able to start assembling the fittings tomorrow. We'll be using the hull of your boat two, since you said you preferred using the walkway on the outrigger for getting on and off boats."

Binder Lori looked confused for a moment as Shana used Yoshka's spoon to scrape off some of the stew that had gotten on her cousin's face so it wouldn't drip down. "My boat two?"

"Yes. You know, that first boat we had Lidzuga make that."

"Lori's Boat Two?"

"Yes, your boat two, that's what I said."

Binder Lori's unamused stare into Lord Rian's innocent expression was interrupted by the sound Wizard Taeclas laughter. Unamusement turned to bemusement as the two regarded the woman, who was bent over with one hand on her stomach and another over her mouth, her shoulders heaving in clear merriment. Next to her, Rybelle looked concerned, glancing between Lord Rian and Binder Lori.

"Congratulations, Rian. Someone thought you were funny," Binder Lori said dryly as Yoshka finished her stew-filled bread, and Shana took a moment to use a piece of bread to wipe Yoshka's stew-stained fingers to keep her from licking them.

"That or the joke was so terrible I've induced some sort of health issue," Lord Rian said as Rybelle visibly relaxed.

"Oh, so you admit your jokes are terrible."

"It depends on the context and what material I have to work with. Breathe, Tae, breathe. Let the air in sometimes."

The Deadspeaker nodded shakily as she got her laughter under control. "S-sorry. I wasn't expecting it… sorry…" After succumbing to one last attack of giggles, Wizard Taeclas returned to her food with a wide smile on her face.

"If I may interject, Lord Rian," Shana said as Yoshka started eating her stew with a spoon, "would the Coldhold be available to ferry the children to River's Fork tomorrow, or will we need to delay the transfer to give the ship's crew time to rest?"

He glanced towards Binder Lori, who waved a hand dismissively to indicate he should answer Shana's question, before turning back to respond. "It shouldn't be a problem," he said. "I can operate the ship myself as long as I have someone help me with operating the driver and spotting what's ahead." He looked towards Binder Lori again. "You'll be doing more work on the reservoir tomorrow, right? Do you mind riding on the same ship as the children, or do you want to take one of the other boats so you don't have to wait for the children to get ready before leaving?"

"Why would I need to wait for the children?"

"Your Bindership, you know how long it take for a ship full of adults to get underway, and that's when they know they need to hurry. How long do you think a ship full of children will take to get everyone onboard and done with saying their goodbyes?"

For a moment, Binder Lori was silent as Shana went back to her food, her spoon starting to scrape the bottom of her bowl. Then she nodded firmly. "Prepare a different boat for me. I intend to leave directly after breakfast."

Auntie Riz sighed. "I guess I'll start looking for who can come along after dinner, then."

Lord Rian winced. "Sorry, Riz."

"Eh, still better than being an officer."

"If you were an officer, you could order someone else to do it for you," Binder Lori pointed out.

"…still better than being an officer," Auntie Riz repeated firmly.