When Shana reached the little orchard where they grew the majority of their fruits—there were also the ones growing on the trees that were part of the dome—she found Lord Rian and Lord Yllian speaking to some people, while off to the side Wizard Lidzuga seemed to be pointedly ignoring the situation in favor of focusing on tending to their fruit trees.

  "—n't just let people pick fruit as they please, Yhal," Lord Yllian was saying. "These are going to our winter stores. And it's the same with the one growing on the dome. Yes, the children are picking them, but they're better suited for climbing, so they do it as their contribution to the demesne."

  Shana vaguely recognized the man he was speaking to, a man who was—she shied away from completing the thought. She couldn't afford to show that kind of weakness in front of Captain Yhallisu, probably retired. Especially since she recognized some of those with him. Wizards Otin, Xiasam, Tsad, Lafhaiel and Makoi, the last three of whom were well-known to her. They had visited often in her youth because—reasons. There were also a few men, women and children who'd obviously seen the trees and the people with the collecting baskets and thought that they might be able to get a snack, who were looking disappointed.

  She couldn't afford to show weakness, lest someone decide to kill her to take away the Great Binder's demesne.

  "I mean, you're free to pick from any of the wild ones out in the woods, but I'm not sure if they'll be in season," Lord Rian said with a negligent shrug. His walking stick hung from the inner crook of his elbow as he leaned back against a tree, looking relaxed and at his ease. The man was very good at lying with his whole body. Eyes flicking to her, he made of show of straightening up and trying to look like he hadn't been lazing. "Your Bindership! What can we do for you?"

  The sudden announcement did exactly as Lord Rian probably intended, diverting the flow of the conversation as everyone turned towards Shana. The people of River's Fork, including Lord Yllian, immediately turned to give her respectful bows. Their visitors proceeded to look confused as they saw three young girls, without anyone who obviously looked like a Dungeon Binder. But given the common depictions of Dungeon Binders, their expectation would be someone wearing fine clothes made of thread-of-magan floating in the air to avoid walking on the ground, so…

  Well. They would learn. Reality tended to be far more bland and far more terrifying.

  "Lord Rian," she said evenly. "Lord Yllian. Is something the matter?"

  "No, just a little misunderstanding and overeagerness, your Bindership," Lord Rian said, slowing down just enough to clearly enunciate the honorific for emphasis as he gave her a nod that didn't quite include enough upper-body movement to be a bow. "It's all sorted now. We'll soon get back to getting all the fruit plucked and ready for storage." He tilted his head in feigned curiosity, because if he was really curious he'd lean towards something like a barkwing to a flame. "Or am I wrong?"

  His expression was mild, even cheerful as he directed the question at Captain Yhallisu, who gave him an annoyed but dismissive look in turn, and then visibly put Rian out of his mind. He turned towards Shana as did the other wizards and unfulfilled fruitpickers with him. For the second time that day, Shana found herself being regarded by people who looked at her with recognition, curiosity and pity… but they did not see a Dungeon Binder, only a child.

  Shana was surprised to realize how… irritated this made her. She had never sought out to become a Dungeon Binder. It was something that she had been convinced—though some people stated that they felt she had been tricked—she needed to become for the good of those residing in River's Fork, something only she could do to grant them safety and a greater certainty of survival. But since she had become a Dungeon Binder, she had done her best to fulfil the responsibilities and duties expected of her.

  When had she become proud that she was a Dungeon Binder? It was a strange, senseless pride, but pride nonetheless.

  She met their gazes with her most serious and impassive face. "Greetings, Captain Yhallisu and party. I am gladdened that you managed to reach River's Fork in such good health, although I wish it was in better circumstances. To what does the demesne owe your company this fine day? It is my understanding that you are not scheduled to begin discussions for joining our demesne until the day after." Her tone was polite, as even and neutral as she could make it, showing neither pleasure or displeasure.

  Wizard Otin's eyebrows had risen, while Wizard Xiasam was staring at her intently as if she was a wooden puzzle to be disassembled and restored. Wizard Makoi had an expression of vague amusement at what he no doubt saw as affectations, while Wizard Lafhaiel clearly thought she was just being cute.

  As to Wizard Tsad…

  "Shana! Yoshka!" the man exclaimed. Tall and muscular—even with the reduced rations they'd no doubt had to endure while crossing the ocean—Wizard Tsad had an imposing stature, cliff-like chin, sharp jawline and piercing eyes that… well, that was completely at odds with his cheerful nature, gentle disposition, and tendency to act like a doting uncle to everyone around him, regardless of their age. Shana could recall the many times she'd listened to his stories of what where in hindsight very color-washed accounts of militia life that made it sound like a large group of friends simply spending their days having fun. "Are you all right?"

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  "Dyadya Tsad!" Yoshka cried in recognition, waving at him in greeting. "Sweety?"

  "Sorry, Yoshka, I don't have any sweets," he said, stepping forward with the clear intention of giving her and Shana a hug—

  —and found Karina jumping into his path, her seeling rod in her hands. The tool wasn't pointed at him—Karina was well aware of how dangerous it was, so the bone point was actually angled away to minimize the possibility of any accidents involving poking someone's face—but even so having a little girl with what appeared to be a child-sized spear was enough to give the Deadspeaker pause.

  "Excuse me," Karina said politely as Shana continued to hold Yoshka's hand to prevent her from rushing to Wizard Tsad. Her little cousin looked up at her curiously, but Shana merely shook her head and picked up the smaller girl to keep her from running off. "Are you a wizard?"

  Wizard Tsad blinked at the strange question, but had dealt with enough children to know how to deal with them. "Yes, I am, little girl. My name is Tsad, and I'm a Deadspeaker. What is your name?"

  "I'm Karina! It's nice to meet you! Sorry, but if you're a wizard, I can't let you get close to Shana, or you might kill her."

  Out of the corner of her eye, Shana saw Lord Rian's hands rise up to cover his face, seemingly appalled. Soon after, however, his shoulders started to shake with silent laughter.

  The statement, delivered with such an innocent smile, clearly shocked Wizard Tsad as well as all others in hearing range. The fruit pickers all looked towards Lord Yllian and Lord Rian in confusion, and the former pointed towards the latter, who mouthed 'Lori' and rolled his eyes. There were looks and nods of comprehension, and they went back to what they were doing.

  Wizard Tsad and those accompanying him were not privy to this exchange, and could only gape at Karina, who was still smiling even as she planted her feet to obstruct his way.

  "I don't have any such intention," Wizard Tsad said slowly. "I simply want to greet Yoshka and Shana, who—"

  "Binder Shanalorre," several people picking fruit immediately corrected, including Lord Yllian. Lord Rian looked delighted for some reason.

  Wizard Tsad paused again at the interruption. "What?"

  "While the correct form of address is 'Great Binder', 'Binder Shanalorre' will also suffice," Lord Yllian said. "This is her demesne." His face was completely serious.

  The muscular Deadspeaker's expression made it clear that he was trying to decipher if this was some sort of joke at his expense, which… was partially true. Shana personally had no strong feelings as to how she was addressed, but Binder Lolilyuri had made it very clear what she thought of anyone—most especially Lord Rian—referring to Shana with a diminutive, all while seemingly being blind to the irony inherent in that stance.

  Fortunately for him, someone else verbalized the thought. "Is this some kind of joke?" Wizard Makoi said, looking bemused.

  "Why would we make a joke about showing proper respect to the Great Binder?" Lord Yllian said as Wizard Tsad tried to step around Karina, only to find her moving sideways to continue to bar her way.

  "She's a child," Captain Yhallisu said self-evidently as Wizard Tsad moved to step the other way, with Karina continuing to intercept him.

  "And how is that relevant?" Lord Yllian said. "The Dungeon Binder is the Dungeon Binder. To treat her as anything less would be disrespectful to the safety she grants us."

  "While I do not mind such casual address," Shana said, having had to rethink her plan of stepping around Karina to keep her friend from standing between herself and any potential danger, "I would caution you against doing the same with the Great Binder, Dungeon Binder Lolilyuri." The syllables of the name—correctly pronounced—rolled easily off her tongue now, a gesture of respect the woman had always appreciated. "She does not tolerate such slights, and I do not blame her. Unlike myself, she is a far more worthy bearer of our mutual title. That being said, as once-militia, I expect that you are more than familiar with the concept of showing respect to rank and need not any exposition on my part regarding the concept. Act upon that principle, and the Great Binder should have no reason to be displeased."

  As expected, they stared at her, and she met their gazes. Captain Yhallisu and Wizard Makoi were both glancing between her and Lord Yllian, while Wizard Lafhaiel… actually seemed impressed, possibly by her vocabulary. Wizards Xiasam and Otin were both staring at her intently, and she wondered what they discerned. Unfortunately, while having an awareness of life was quite useful for gaining a rudimentary understanding of their physical state—such as how quickly their heart beat, and whether they were sweating—those were merely physiological reactions. Life did not allow her to discern their mental state, for the life in the brain did not react the way life in muscles in other parts of the body did. The brain did not relax or contract, and the only truly discernable difference occurred during sleep. Still, their gaze as they regarded her was… telling.

  For his part, Wizard Tsad looked vaguely horrified.

  "As to the reason I am here," Shana continued, "I wished to speak with you, Captain Yhallisu. Ah, correction, retired Captain Yhallisu."

  "With me?" the man said, glancing at Lord Yllian as if wondering if he had put me up to this.

  "Yes. While you have not yet made your decision as to whether you will be settling in River's Fork—" at these words, all of the visitors who were not wizards turned their gazes towards the man, "—I wished to speak with you to clarify what you can expect when you do so. From what I have gathered from Lord Yllian and Lord Rian, you seem to have certain expectations, and I believe it is only prudent to inform you now of how realistic those expectations are, rather than after you have finalized your decision."

  The man didn't reply for some time, continuing to look at Yllian.

  Finally, he sighed and turned to face Shana. "I suppose… that is, if it pleases the 'Great Binder', I would be amenable to speaking with her."

  He spoke the words awkwardly, as if he was merely playing along with some child's game. Was that what he thought this was? That she was merely playing, and Lord Yllian was humoring her?

  …

  Most of what Shana knew about how to conduct one's self as a Dungeon Binder, she had learned from interacting with and observing Dungeon Binder Lolilyuri… which included Binder Lolilyuri's preference for violence as a solution for disrespect. It had been months since she'd needed to utilize that part of her observations, but it appeared a new opportunity for it had arisen…

  "Very well," she said. "We can speak in my office. Follow me."

  Not waiting for a response, she turned and began to walk away. Not long after, Karina fell into step behind her with a cheerful cry of "It was nice meeting you, Wiz Tsad!"

  She didn't turn to look if anyone else followed.

  Eventually, the collection of life that was Captain Yhallisu began to walk.