Otin raised an eyebrow. "We haven't even met the woman yet. Why would she possibly think we want to kill her?"

  "I know that and you know that, and that's the reasonable thing to think, but Binder Lori… well, she believes otherwise." Yllian shrugged as if he simply accepted that color-brained reasoning.

  "Well, surely you can explain that we harbor no such intention—why are you smiling like that?" Tsad said.

  "Because I'm trying to stop myself from laughing in your face at the idea. It would be rude," Yllain said, still smiling. "There are some things you can explain to Binder Lori. But trying to tell her what other wizards are thinking isn't one of them. She believes any wizard she encounters will try to kill her to take her demesne and acts accordingly."

  "And why would she think that?" Xiasam said, the Mentalist clearly interested. Xiasam, stop treating this like one of your novels where you tried to understand the mentalities of the strange imaginary people!

  "Near as any of us can tell, it's because it's what she genuinely feels she would do in their position," Yllian said his tone somewhere between tired and exasperated. "She came to the new continent to become a Dungeon Binder, and surprisingly she's actually quite good at it. Certainly better than Koshay, not to speak ill of his memory. It's just she believes every wizard who came here also did so to gain the power of a Dungeon Binder, because why wouldn't they?"

  "But…" Tsad waved his hand towards the edge of the demesne and the glittering colors beyond it. "If someone wanted to become a Dungeon Binder, they could. Why would anyone try to kill her for hers when they could just found a demesne literally anywhere?"

  "Because why settle for one demesne when you can have two?" Yllian said, his tone unchanged. "Supposedly the only reason Binder Shanalorre is still alive is because she doesn't actually know how to Deadspeak, and therefore is not considered a threat. Several militia wizards, however…" He sighed. "Your presence loudly blew on her alarm whistles. We would have been here sooner if Rian hadn't needed to convince her you were sufficiently distant as to not be an immediate threat and could be negotiated with. As it is, we are officially warning you that any Mentalist or Horotract in the air trying to approach the center of the demesne will probably get struck down with lightning or whatever applicable binding, so… please don't approach the center of the demesne for the moment. She really is worried you're here to kill her."

  Otin snorted. "Unless she happens to be former militia, that's not really a worry. Civie lightning isn't that all that dangerous at a distance."

  "Yes, well, this civie is a Dungeon Binder who's been studying dragons," Yllian said. "I'm told she has better now, and even if she didn't, you would know better than me how dangerous 'civie lightning' would be if imbued by a Dungeon Binder."

  "Surely it can't be that much more dangerous?" the Whisperer said.

  "It goes where she points, and acts like the lightning I've seen you use does. I think that's dangerous enough for anyone. Besides, she's the Dungeon Binder. It seems a terrible idea to begin your stay in her demesne by deliberately testing her patience, don't you think?"

  "Yllian, this woman sounds unreasonable and possibly insane," Xiasam said. "Why does it sound like you're trying justifying her attitude?"

  Yllian sighed. "Because as strange as she is, she's been keeping both her demesne and our own alive by doing the Whispering work for both singlehandedly. When Koshay and Laven died, all we could do to survive dragons was barricade ourselves in the mine and hope that the dragon didn't drop anything that would kill us, that we wouldn't run out of air or water, or people wouldn't get so sick from having to shit in a corner that Binder Shanalorre couldn't heal them…" He shuddered. "Binder Shanalorre has my utmost respect for trying to be a proper and responsible Dungeon Binder for the demesne after her parents died, and actually doing a decent job of it despite her lack of magic, but I'm man enough to admit I prefer proper latrines, clean water, proper food storage and solid defenses in my dragon shelter."

  "That's just good sense, and whose idea was it to allow a child to take on such responsibilities?-!" Tsad said, looking aghast.

  "The one who pushed her to claim the core originally was Lasponin, but actually acting as a Dungeon Binder was Binder Shanalorre's decision," was the bland reply. "If Las had his way, he'd be in charge despite having no qualifications for the role. She was most insistent that as the demesne's Dungeon Binder she had a responsibility to the demesne. And at the time, most of us thought that letting her try to handle managing the demesne would serve as a distraction from the fact Koshay and Laven had both recently died. And to her credit, she was quite capable, within the limits of what she could do."

  "You still shouldn't have let her!" Tsad insisted.

  "Well, Lasponin tried, and she asserted he was incorrect by striking him repeatedly," Yllian said. "What were we supposed to do, take away something that gave her life purpose and meaning for the sake of making us all feel better and slowly driving her to cut her wrists open?"

  "You exaggerate," Yhal scoffed.

  "Actually, I'm not. Back in spring, once there was literally nothing more she could do, she cut one of her wrists open and almost bled to death," Yllian said blandly. "The Great Binder now has a standing order that no sharp objects are to be allowed in Binder Shanalorre's presence. And while it's not official, I am informed that she's kept busy and not allowed to sleep alone since she has a blanket and her house has exposed rafters."

  There was a moment of horrified silence as they all realized what he meant.

  "It's been an eventful year for us," Yllian said. "We were just getting settled for what we hoped would be a restful autumn and winter before you all showed up, and now the Great Binder is… well, in fear for her life because of your presence. Fortunately, Lord Rian managed to convince her not to do anything rash, although you could help with that by not getting close enough to her to be seen. Instead, the two of us were sent here to meet with you and inform you of what of the terms and conditions were for residing in River's Fork demesne and the Great Binder not summarily trying to kill every wizard she sees."

  Yhal frowned, glancing towards the tree where the civilian was hiding behind, and caught sight of the branch they had been holding spinning through the air. He shook his head at the sight of the man playing at swords, his estimation being revised downwards slightly. While certainly not as bad as many nobles he's met, the carefree attitude seemed similarly spoiled. "What terms and conditions?" he asked, his tone neutral.

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  "I think that's something better explained by Lord Rian over there," Yllian said, inclining his head in the direction of where the civie was. Raising his hand, he made a gesture, which one of the militiawomen who'd accompanied the so-called lord saw and called to his attention. The man stopped playing with his stick and turned towards them at Yllian's nod, walking towards them with the kind of too-energetic step of a child or swindler.

  "Hello again," he said cheerfully as he came close. "Is it my turn to now, Yllian?"

  Yllian nodded. "Lord Rian, this is Tsad, a Deadspeaker and instructor of Deadspeakers; Xiasam, a veteran mentalist and highly educated scholar; Otin, a veteran Whisperer and very worldly, and Yhallisu, who I'm guessing is in charge of this expedition." Ah, Yhal had never really mentioned that, had he? And it wasn't like they were all wearing rank insignia anymore.

  "I am," Yhal acknowledged, giving the little civilian his best 'don't cross me, boy' stare.

  The little civilian looked him in the eye. "My condolences," he said. "Between you and me, getting here was the easy part."

  Yhal didn't let his expression shift, even as the words sounded too true to deny. "I was told you had terms and conditions for us."

  The little civilian nodded. "Although before I begin, I feel it would be smarter to ask if you still wish to continue settling in River's Fork, given all you've heard so far. I mean, if you've decided that you'd rather not stay in a demesne held by a child and ruled by a Dungeon Binder who lives in another demesne, I'd like to know now instead of after I've spent time explaining matters to you."

  "Given all I've heard, it does seem only sensible to simply found our own demesne and invite our fellow members of the Company to live there instead," Yhal said, simply saying the first thing to come to mind. As he said it though, he had to admit the idea had some merit. They had plentiful supplies and equipment, and from the looks of things far more wizards. Why not just establish a new demesne instead of trying to inject new life into the one that had been previously established? Well, he knew why not, but the civie didn't need to know that.

  The civilian nodded. "I see. I knew that the militia were all skilled workers, but I haven't realized it was to this extent. So you'll be able to clear enough land to build well-insulated homes for all your settlers, raise snow-proof storage buildings for your supplies, and build a secure Dungeon that can act as a functional dragon shelter in the two months or so we have before winter starts? Amazing!"

  Yhal looked at the civilian, who gazed up at him with clear, guileless eyes, and knew he was being mocked. "I'm willing to keep our options open," he said, not letting any of his irritation show. "Founding our own demesne is one such option. Simply settling in River's Fork as originally planned is another."

  "Ah. Smart. Best not to do anything hasty." The annoying civilian gave him a bright smile as Yhal saw Otin say something, though no sound reached his ears. Xiasam nodded, looking amused and saying something back that was equally silent. Some kind of airwisp binding, then. "Very well. Now, her Bindership had no problems with any settlers coming to live in her demesne. However, all members of the Golden Sweetwood Company who do so must acknowledge the authority of the Dungeon Binder as being above that of the company. She cannot and will not allow a foreign entity to act as a separate authority from her in her own demesne. That's just asking for trouble. Secondly, her own laws supersede the company's own, for the same reason. If you can all follow those two conditions, she has no problem allowing the majority of people to settle under the dome of River's Fork."

  "The majority," Xiasam note. "And who are not counted among this majority?"

  "Wizards," the civilian said bluntly. "Yllian did tell you about how she thinks you're all planning to kill her, right? However, this doesn't mean that they're to be thrown out or anything, merely that they'll be under additional terms and conditions."

  "Such as?" Otin said as the two older wizards fell into what seemed like a well-practiced routine.

  The civilian turned towards the Whisperer and visibly paused. He glanced back at Xiasam, and then at Tsad. Then he sighed, turned away from Otin, and returned his focus on Yhal. "Such as the fact they will need to be ready to vacate the area under the dome should Binder Lori come over to do work at the demesne, to assure her none will be in any position to make an attempt on her life should she need to be in River's Fork."

  "Vacate the dome?" Yhal said.

  "Yes. Yllian told you about the dome, right?"

  "We were informed about the dome, yes."

  "Oh, good, I don't have to explain that. She originally wanted to have all wizards reside in housing outside of the dome, but I was able to talk her out of that. In addition, any Whisperers and Deadspeakers who take up residence in the demesne will also need to assist in imbuing and maintaining all the various bindings and meanings that keep the settlement functioning, since their presence means Binder Lori can't do it anymore. These include the binding that brings water from the river to the bath house, the binding that heats up the water so it's warm, the binding to keep the food storage room cold, the binding that keeps the fruit trees ventilated so they don't overheat and die from the meaning on them—you might want to tell your Deadspeakers that the meaning they use for accelerating the growth of trees creates too much heat for this climate—the binding that keeps bugs out of the dragon shelter, the meaning that accelerates the growth of the fruit trees and firewood trees…"

  They had a bath house? There had been no mention of a bath house in Yllian's letter. Did they have a steam hut too? A bath house is nice, but surely if they had that they'd make a steam hut, right?

  "That's certainly a lot," Otin said.

  The civilian shrugged. "A single civilian has been able to maintain all those bindings, so I don't see how there should be any significant impediment."

  "I thought that your Dungeon Binder thought we were here to kill her?" Xiasam said.

  The civilian sighed. "Yes, but that's my problem to deal with, not yours. Suffice to say she believes none of you will have the time, opportunity or imagination to try if you're all too tired doing something more productive. I believe the militia utilizes a similar method in keeping people out of mischief?"

  Yes. For raw recruits. "The militia has discipline for such things," Yhal said.

  From the looks that Yllian, the militiawomen who'd come with the man, Xiasam, Otin, and Tsad were giving him behind the civilian's back, they apparently thought that was too blatant a layer of colors for even a civie to swallow.

  "How laudable." the civilian said, sounding completely fooled. "Thirdly, no wizards of any sort are allowed to approach Lorian Demesne through any method for any reason without Binder Lori's explicit authorization. Even I wasn't able to talk her out of trying to kill any wizard that tried to approach her demesne on sight, and to be honest, after all these warnings any who tried deserves what happens to them." He paused, tilting his head, then nodded. "Yes, that's about it when it comes to terms and conditions. Beyond that, you're simply expected to contribute to the demesne in any way you can. Help with any woodcutting, building repair, hunting, butchering, keeping an eye on the children… Any questions?"

  The civilian gave him a bland, innocent look.

  "And why," Yhal said, "would we possibly want to place ourselves under this madwoman's power?"

  "I leave Yllian to answer that question," the civilian said. "He'd know better than me what you all would actually want out of a demesne and Dungeon Binder." He looked towards the river, looking up at the sky above it. "I should get back and make sure she's staying calm, Yllian. Can you take care of the rest?"

  Yllian nodded. "I can handle things here, Lord Rian."

  "All right, then. No need to rush, but a decision of some sort within three days would be nice. One way or another, the sooner the better. Winter is coming, after all."

  "No promises, Lord Rian," Yllian said, glancing towards Yhal. What?

  "Well, see you later. Otin, Xiasam, Tsad, it was very nice to meet the three of you. Hopefully in a few days I'll be welcoming you as residents of River's Fork, but if not…" he paused, tilting his head. "Well, let's set that bridge on fire when we get to it."

  Nodding to Yllian one last time, he began to walk back upriver, all but two of the militiawomen falling into step behind.

  For a moment, Yhal and the three wizards stared after him.

  "Well, now that the civie is gone, we can finally get down to serious matters," Yhal said dismissively. "Yllian, how much of what he said was actually relevant?"

  "All of it," was the immediate reply. "Rian is not the sort of man to waste our time." Huh. That would be a first for a civie.

  "If you say so…" Yhal said skeptically. He sighed. "So… how bad is this Dungeon Binder? You said she's been keeping you alive. How alive?"