SCM2814
patreon
Demesne 474 - The Other Dungeon Binder
🕑 Added 2025-03-16 16:00:18 +0000 UTCDungeon Binder Shanalorre—Shasha to a few, Shana to some, Great Binder or Lady Binder to most—double-checked that her pack contained what she would need, even though she had already done so last night and again that morning after she’d come back from the baths. Clothes, towel, her ration of soap, her bath bucket, socks and boots—in case she had to walk through the woods, but until then the tsinelas woven from ropeweed fibers would do—her bone tablet wrapped with a leather folder to protect the precious paper, the ink and pen she had been assigned…
Her blanket and bedroll were rolled up, and her glowing rock was safely tucked away in her belt pouch, ready to provide illumination that night and for however long Binder Lolilyuri remembered to imbue it. The Great Binder had asked for the rock from her that morning and had done something to the binding, presumably to make it last longer, or simply to allow the Great Binder to continuing imbuing it at a distance.
The Great Binder had given her approval of Shana going to River’s Fork, but had made it clear that any needed negotiations would be done by Lord Rian, with her to only provide support and authority to confirm his terms. Shana couldn’t fault the Great Binder’s reasoning. In all of their negotiations, even the final one, Binder Lolilyuri had always up the upper hand, whether through a better understanding of what it was they were bartering, or simply greater skill at the exercise. If Shana couldn’t outmaneuver her, what chance did she have against someone older, more experienced, and likely would not take her seriously because of her age?
Securing her bedroll to her pack, she made sure to tie back her long pale hair, pulling it over one shoulder so she could sling her pack on her back. Not for the first time, she considered cutting it short as Binder Lolilyuri did, but with winter coming she would want the modicum of warmth that long hair would provide. Hefting her pack to test how it rested, she looked around her house. Her table had been cleared of anything pertaining to the demesne, leaving only a few personal effects such as her reed hat, with any relevant matters already moved to Lord Rian’s house for him to hand to someone else. The bed had been cleared, with only the two weaver’s sleeping things set neatly on it. She had already told Koyan and Kayas they could continue living in her house while she was gone as long as they kept it open for the children of the demesne. The embers of the fireplace had been banked, the ashes neatly swept up to be given to be used for soap-making.
Satisfied that she was leaving everything in good order, Shana exited her house to head for the docks, where Lord Rian would be waiting for her.
Then she turned around and went back in again to collect her hat, placing it on her head to protect her skin from the sun and shade her eyes. Shana secured the hat by tying it under her chin, then exited her house to head for the docks to meet with Lord Rian. He was heading back to River’s Fork to pick up any replies to the mail he had delivered yesterday afternoon, as well as delivering a large amount of ice for the cold food storage in the dragon shelter, which no longer had the bound tool keeping it cool. These and other matters had come up last night over dinner, and Lord Rian was going to be implementing what few solutions had been conceived that didn’t amount to ‘have the new Whisperers make themselves useful and take care of the matter when they settle in’.
Some would have called Binder Lolilyuri short-sighted for neglecting to account for such things when she had been taking back all her bound tools from the demesne, but Shana knew better. After all, any such deficiencies would either have been dealt with by new Whisperers once they had settled in the demesne as part of their new duties, or the bound tools would be reimplemented by Binder Lolilyuri should they decide to found a different demesne. Either way, the matter would be dealt with in the near future, and would serve as a reminder to River’s Fork exactly how much they benefited from the Great Binder’s presence.
Such forward-thinking and cunning planning was exactly what she had come to expect of Binder Lolilyuri. Compared to that, Shana’s inadequacies were obvious despite her efforts to be worthy of her role.
For a moment, the thought gave Shana pause. Given she was so inadequate, should she really be doing this? Trying to overawe people with the fact she was Dungeon Binder of River’s Fork could so very easily end in failure and ignominy. It had certainly taken her much effort and a certain amount of willingness to commit violence for some members of River’s Fork to accept her, and that had been at a time when their only choices were to stay in her demesne or move to Lorian Demesne. The new settlers would not be so limited in their options as they had the wizards to found a new one. Lord Yllian had written to her—and presumably to Lord Rian as well—that retired captain Yhallisu had admitted they had no intention of doing such a thing, but intentions could change.
Could she really do this? Or would she fail once more, just as she had when she had tried to accomplish something beyond keeping River’s Fork stable?
…
She was so tired…
Shana took a deep breath to steady herself, then deliberately shook her head to try and clear her mind. Binder Lolilyuri had shown her what was expected of a Dungeon Binder: to use all means and knowledge at their disposal to improve the quality and functions of their demesne in order to improve the lives of those who lived in it. And in this instance, she had knowledge that the Great Binder did not: an understanding of how people from Lomabuyar Demesne thought, as only someone would had grown up there could have. Inadequate as she was, Shana was still a Dungeon Binder. She had a duty to the people who relied on her—both those beneath her and those above her—to act as a Dungeon Binder should, regardless of her proven deficiencies.
Given that Binder Lolilyuri had made clear her intentions to keep her distance from the wizards among the newly arrived settlers, lest they attempt to kill her—despite Lord Rian’s sound reasoning as to why the Great Binder was in less danger than she had thought, less danger was still being in danger—that meant there was only one person available to leverage the fact many in Lomabuyar Demesne were Dungeon worshippers, and would hold a Dungeon Binder in great esteem.
Should hold a Dungeon Binder in great esteem.
Despite her proven deficiencies as a Dungeon Binder, this was something only Shana could do to aid Binder Lolilyuri. And so she would. For her Great Binder. For the woman who had seen to it that what was left of Shana’s family—her cousins Yoshka and Verik, her Dyadya and her Mushka—wouldn’t starve.
…
…
…
Her left arm rose and slapped her cheek hard, and she picked up her flow of thought where it had fallen. Shana approached the dock, which was filled with activity as men loaded large blocks of ice into the conveyance moored there. The Coldhold was the largest boat that Lorian Demesne had yet to produce. With a body made of ice bound by wisps to not melt—for as long as the Great Binder kept them imbued—that was reinforced by beams of wood for structural integrity, and covered all over with more wood to protect the ice from impact and contact with rough surfaces or even friction that might shave it off, it was an absurd looking thing but it had worked reliably for more than a year at this point. Shana was willing to admit that the novelty of riding on it had yet to fade for her. There was something about standing on the roof deck of the little cabin built into it, with the wind in her hair as the banks of the river moved past… it was like being carried through the air by her mo—
…
…
…
Her left arm rose and slapped her cheek hard, and she picked up her flow of thought where it had fallen. Thankfully, she hadn’t been holding anything, so nothing had been dropped. Shana resumed walking towards the docks, idly claiming the life on her cheek and taming them into her meaning to heal it so that it stopped stinging.
Climbing the stairs over the spring floodwall, Shana looked down at the dock. She wasn’t surprised to see the Great Binder there, creating another block of ice from the river water, slowly building up the block while the air above it seemed to shimmer with a heat haze. Wooden hooks were being inserted into the ice to provide points for poles to be inserted into for lifting the blocks, or simply just handholds, as the water was frozen and shaped so that it would fit through the hatch down into the Coldhold’s interior. Wizard Taeclas must have worked very hard to shape so many hooks from fresh wood.
Seeing that things were still busy, Shana climbed down from the stairs on the landward side of the wall so she was not in the way as she waited for the boat to be ready.
“Tah, Shana!”
She blinked at the sudden call, turning towards the sound of the voice. Karina was walking towards her, a wide smile on the girl’s face as she waved at Shana. She had a heavily-laden pack over one shoulder and was holding her seeling rod in her other hand. Once, it used to be just the latest in a series of sharpened sticks, although one that Karina maintained with care until it grew too short to sharpen and she had to make a new one. This seeling rod, however, had a piece of bone sharpened to a point tied to the end of it with ropeweed—no, not tied. The bone had been fused to the stick, likely by Wizard Taeclas, and the ropeweed cords wrapped around it seemed to simply be reinforcement.
Shana nodded in acknowledgement. “Karina. Why do you have a pack?”
“I asked the Wiz Lori if I could go to River’s Fork and help catch seels to help feed all of the new people who showed up,” Karina said cheerfully, adjusting the reed hat that covered her bright-orange hair. She had been the one who had given Shana her own hat, telling her a farmer never goes out in the sun without one. “Lord Rian talked to Inay and Itay, and they said I could go as long as I stayed with you. So… can I stay with you again?”
“Of course,” Shana said immediately. Few people from Lorian actually visited River’s Fork, outside of Lord Rian, Binder Lolilyuri, anyone escorting her, and those who mined for copper—
Ah. Something she needed to remind Binder Lolilyuri and Lord Rian of, if the latter hadn’t recalled it already. If the Great Binder truly wished to avoid being in River’s Fork from this point onwards for her safety, then she would need to smelt and refine what copper ore had been mined soon.
For a moment her left hand twitched as she tried to slap herself out of habit while she picked up her flow of thought where it had fallen. “You’re more than welcome to stay with me again.” It’s not like it would be much change. Karina slept over at her house practically every night, along with at least half of the children in Lorian.
“Thank you!” Karina said.
“Ah, there you are.”
The two of them looked up to see Lord Rian looking down at them from the stairs. “Come on you two, you can put your stuff in the ship now. And Shana—”
“Shanalorre,” Binder Lolilyuri’s voice called out.
“—Shanalorre,” Rian said smoothly, though she could see how he smiled and rolled his eyes. He held out a sheet of paper that he had folded over. “Here. It’s the codes Lori and I came up with. If there’s anything she needs to inform you of, we’ll pulse or change the color of the light coming from your rock. Dragon is a red light, no pulsing.”
“What do you mean ‘we’?” the Great Binder’s voice called again.
“Her Bindership will pulse or change the color of the light coming from your rock,” he amended. “I know you usually keep it in your belt pouch, but maybe leave your pouch a little open so you notice any change in color.”
Shana accepted the sheet of paper, keeping it close so the breeze wouldn’t blow it away. “Thank you, Lord Rian. I will peruse it once I’m out of the wind.”
“You can just call me Rian, you know…” He sighed at her tranquil expression. It was what was expected of her, after all. “Well, come on you two. Karina, I think Lori wants to have a word with you before you leave.”
Binder Lolilyuri seemed to be scowling as the two of them came in front of her, but that was just the natural set of her face. Karina gave her a bright smile as she came to a stop in front of the Great Binder. “Hi, Wiz Lori,” she greeted. It was a very informal way to refer to a wizard, and completely inappropriate for a Dungeon Binder, but the only sign of acknowledgement was Binder Lolilyuri was a slight inclination of her head.
“Karina,” the Dungeon Binder said as Shana stepped aboard the Coldhold and set her pack and bedroll down on the cabin in front. “Be sure to keep your spear away from Shanalorre so she can’t use it to hurt herself.”
That… was fair. Annoying, but fair.
“Don’t worry, Wiz Lori! I remember! No sharp things for Shana.”
“Shanalorre.”
Karina blinked at her, then turned to looked towards Shana. “Shana, Wiz Lori wants to talk to you.”
Lord Rian started coughing for some reason.
Keeping her face smooth, Shana stepped up next to her friend. “Yes, Binder Lolilyuri?”
The Great Binder gave Karina a flat look for a moment, before her shoulders moved. She didn’t sigh, but it gave the impression she was doing so. “Binder Shanalorre… don’t put yourself in a situation where you could be killed by one of their wizards. Stay with Rian and the militiawomen, and don’t hesitate to hide behind them and leave them to die to escape.”
“The way you value our lives so highly is very heartwarming,” Lord Rian said, patting his chest.
“Your death wouldn’t potentially lose me a demesne,” Binder Lolilyuri said.
“Yes, but if I died, you’d have to talk to people yourself.”
“Then I order you to keep yourself and Binder Shanalorre alive.”
“As you command, your Bindership!”
Comments
SCM2814
Note to self: also commission a Lori fanservice gacha art. Practically speaking though, there's still reason to wear clothes, like keeping from getting scratched by abrasive surfaces.
Menthewarp
For some reason, i'm only now realizing that becoming a dungeon binder means that you can wear whatever you want and be in total thermal comfort, like the outlandish and exposing clothing of a gatcha game character, as long as you are within your own demense.
Sparifankerl
But she's not entirely wrong when it comes to Lori doing (almost) everything to improve life in her demesne. In that regard Lori is only somewhat deficient when it comes to trusting other wizards and, to be fair, there's a careful balance between trusting too much and not trusting enough, especially when a dungeon binder isn't trained in the other disciplines. And I really like that about Lori as a character and this story.
Sparifankerl
Priorities sorted then. And I'm impressed by how much Shana over-estimates Lori's cunning.
