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Demesne 434 - Very Commendable Watchfulness

It was time to step out of the safety of the dungeon. We didn't want to, but sometimes adults had to be responsible and do things like that, otherwise the alternative was having the children do it, and Lori would kill us all if that happened.

As I vividly remembered the incident with the islandshell, we had been making preparations in the three days before Lori had finally opened the defenses. Large shields were made from planks, leather and ropes, with Tae and Lidz contributing to fuse...

Weekly Digest 137 - (#431 - #433)

Doing Great

When I woke up, the lights were dimmed, and I could hear several people making various sounds they were usually too dignified to make while awake. It wasn't just snoring. There was snorting, whistling, loud sighing, bubbling tongue flapping, and… was that babbling? Yes, someone was talking in their sleep, the words slurred and indistinct because their mouth wasn't forming the words properly. It sounded like Tae.

…

Yes, that was defin...

Demesne 433 - Someday

Just because Lori told us—well, wrote to us—to go outside didn’t mean we did so immediately. For one thing, just because she thought it was safe to come out didn’t mean it was. I distinctly remember stepping out of the dungeon and finding an undead islandshell—an infant one, fortunately—trying to eat us even though it no longer needed to. Fortunately, it had eventually run out of imbuement, proving the superiority of procrastination over other problem-solving methods...

Demesne 432 - A Worrying Routine

It took over a week for the dragon to finally pass over us, and during that time things just barely had time to fall into a comfortable routine. At least, everyone else got to fall into a routine. The routine I fell into could probably be called comfortable from the outside, but those looking didn’t have my worries.

For one thing, it soon became clear that while Lori was remembering to dim the lights to let people sleep, she was doing so inconsistently. Kee...

Demesne 431 - Doing Great

When I woke up, the lights were dimmed, and I could hear several people making various sounds they were usually too dignified to make while awake. It wasn't just snoring. There was snorting, whistling, loud sighing, bubbling tongue flapping, and… was that babbling? Yes, someone was talking in their sleep, the words slurred and indistinct because their mouth wasn't forming the words properly. It sounded like Tae.

…

Yes, that was definitely Tae, she just said 'Good morning, your...

Weekly Digest 136 - (#428 - #430)

Reading Words

Karina hummed happily as she tended to the tuber planters in the dungeon farm, making sure they were properly watered and that the growing tubers were properly covered in soil. The walls of the tunnel where the planters were housed echoed with sounds from the main part of the farm, where inay and itay and the demesne's other farmers were checking on the crops that they'd transplanted down from the fields. They hadn't been able to move all the crop...

Demesne Deleted Scenes! Chapter 245 to 371!

Unfortunately, not all the stuff I write gets used. Here are a bunch of unused scenes that I thought were too good to just get rid of. Not all are complete, but I preserved them for posterity and future inspiration. Consider this 'soft canon', something some would do or say in the right circumstances, but which they didn't actually do.

---------------------

From Chapter 245:

"Do you remember when you said you would allow me to stay and live in your ...

Demesne 430 - Conspiracy

I worried about Lori.

That was part of my job, of course. As her lord, I was a professional Lori-worrier, botherer, feeder, and talker. Usually, I worried that Lori wasn’t getting enough sleep, or using her magic for too long, or deciding it would be more convenient for her if she killed everyone in the demesne—except for the children, of course—and lived alone. Usually she remembered she didn't know how to butcher beasts and seels, or know how to make her own soap (oil and wood a...

Demesne 429 - Cutting Wit

"I feared this day would come," Lord Rian said, looking up at the red words on the ceiling. He was standing at the edge of the space the children were playing in, the watching children peering around him. "It was only a matter of time, I suppose, but I'd hoped we'd have more time. Now even that hope is gone, and there is no escape."

Lord Rian's face was sad like he wanted to cry, his shoulder slumped like he was carrying something heavy, his hands hanging down at his sides.

"Lord ...

30/4/24 Update - Impending Volume 3 End

So, quick update. We're coming closer to the end of volume 3, at which point I intend to take a short break from writing demesne. However, I don't know how much longer it will be until that end, as I still have some more to write for volume 3. I'm talking content, not word count, as there are some things i want to get written down before I take my break.

That being said, if volume 3 is still ongoing in June, then i'm announcing that I will be taking 2 breaks that month. One wi...

Demesne 428 - Reading Words

Karina hummed happily as she tended to the tuber planters in the dungeon farm, making sure they were properly watered and that the growing tubers were properly covered in soil. The walls of the tunnel where the planters were housed echoed with sounds from the main part of the farm, where inay and itay and the demesne's other farmers were checking on the crops that they'd transplanted down from the fields. They hadn't been able to move all the crops from the fields since there hadn't been enou...

Weekly Digest 135 - (#425 - #427)

A Cold Wind

The dragon did not arrive that day, which was fortunate, because it had taken all day for the three adult seels Lori had been able to drag out of the water to be skinned and butchered. From the rate the dragon was approaching, there was a very really possibility this would be one that lingered, and they might be stuck inside the dragon shelter for a week or more.

At lunch, Lori checked on her demesne. Rian had still not given the signal, altho...

Demesne 427 - Simple Solutions

Unfortunately, the problem with the world turning sideways is you still had to deal with it.

Keeping a grip on her darkwisps while continuing to work on her demesne was a challenge—and an irritating inconvenience—but nothing she couldn't do! it forced her to work slowly and carefully, but putting care in your work was a good thing! Haste was wasteful, after all!

…

Why hadn't her school taught her how to work on two bindings at once? It was clearly an impo...

Demesne EX SS 35 – Learning With Kutago!

"This is all your fault," Kutago said, leveling an annoyed look at her brother.

He sighed, but didn't protest the accusation. "I know, I know," he said, not meeting her gaze and focusing on his breakfast.

"We could have been living here, but no, you just had to ask for days off as soon as you opened your mouth."

"I know, Kuw, I was there."

"And it turned out you didn't actually need to, because it was too hot to work in the afte...

Demesne 426 - Beneath The Dragon’s Shadow

By the time they ate, the drinking water had been replenished one last time, the latrines had been cleaned, the dragon shelter had been sealed, Lori had imbued the blocks of reserve—reservoir?—ice, and the defenses of her dungeon had been set in place. Her dungeon's entryway had been turned into a moat filled with boiling water that had been bound to remain liquid, the lethal lighningwisp binding had been activated, and she had firewisps to keep the water's heat from transferring to the a...

Demesne 425 - A Cold Wind

The dragon did not arrive that day, which was fortunate, because it had taken all day for the three adult seels Lori had been able to drag out of the water to be skinned and butchered. From the rate the dragon was approaching, there was a very really possibility this would be one that lingered, and they might be stuck inside the dragon shelter for a week or more.

At lunch, Lori checked on her demesne. Rian had still not given the signal, although all the voids of wisps that denoted peop...

Weekly Digest 134 - (#422 - #424)

The Year's Second Dragon

Over the next week, Lori once more fell into a routine. Two days of expanding the demesne, a day to do other work, then back to expanding the demesne. She'd also conceived of the idea of forming bindings of firewisps on the borders of her demesne to help continue encouraging Iridescence growth overnight, as well as binding large amounts of darkwisps that the night brought to give the Iridescence wisps to consume.

That latter seeme...

Demesne 424 - The Possibility Of Invisible Dragons

Eventually, all the preparations were finished. Everyone was inside the dragon shelter, the box-like planter was crammed full of uprooted crops and dirt—and Lori had needed to make two more—the necessary bindings had been formed and anchored, and the multiple doors that secured the dragon shelter had been shut. Lori had even had the time to carefully raise a stone barrier outside of the dragon shelter’s entrance using the mining tailings, an added layer of protection against a large dra...

Demesne 423 - Time Until The Dragon Arrives

Lori hadn't realized how uncomfortable all their other boats were.

Sitting at the bottom of Lori's Boat, her back against the back of the boat, Lori was already missing her chair on Lori's Shed Boat. Her legs couldn't seem to find a comfortable position… or at least a position as comfortable as sitting upright. How had she used to think this was an acceptable means of travel?

To keep her mind off the discomfort, she focused on contin...

Demesne 422 - The Year's Second Dragon

Over the next week, Lori once more fell into a routine. Two days of expanding the demesne, a day to do other work, then back to expanding the demesne. She'd also conceived of the idea of forming bindings of firewisps on the borders of her demesne to help continue encouraging Iridescence growth overnight, as well as binding large amounts of darkwisps that the night brought to give the Iridescence wisps to consume.

That latter seemed to help increase the growth rate somewhat, if only by p...

Weekly Digest 133 - (#419 - #421)

Sweet Talk

"And the demesne is officially five taums in diameter." Rian announced at breakfast the next morning.

Lori nodded, a bland look on her face. "Wonderful. And how much more surface area does that add?"

Rian paused, then sighed. "Wait a moment, I need to write this down," he said, grabbing his bone tablet and burnt stick. "Let's see, three and a bit…"

Lori waited patiently as Rian hunched over his tablet, muttering to himself.

...

Demesne 421 - Boat Shed Bead Making

Once Lori had gotten used to the placement of her bead-making table—with both the table and her chair slotted into place she couldn't just push off from the work surface—it wasn't all that different from when she'd made beads in her ice shed.

…

No, that was a lie, there were significant differences. Thanks to the open sides of the boat, she had significantly more air circulation, such that she didn't have to really place any airwisps to keep herself cool. The sunshade and th...

Demesne 420 - A Very Strange Place

All right, Lori was willing to admit that the strange three-plank chair was actually fairly comfortable.

Sitting on the chair, she was able to lean back comfortably, and the texturing on the seat meant that she didn't slip off. The breeze from the boat moving so fast blew on her more consistently from her higher vantage, although that meant she had to remove her hat lest it blow off, but that was fine.

Yes, it was nice to not have to sit in water any time someone used a ladle to s...

Demesne 419 - Sweet Talk

"And the demesne is officially five taums in diameter." Rian announced at breakfast the next morning.

Lori nodded, a bland look on her face. "Wonderful. And how much more surface area does that add?"

Rian paused, then sighed. "Wait a moment, I need to write this down," he said, grabbing his bone tablet and burnt stick. "Let's see, three and a bit…"

Lori waited patiently as Rian hunched over his tablet, muttering to himself.

"All right!" he declared. "We started with ...

Weekly Digest 132 - (#416 - #418)

I Am Not A Child. I Am A Dungeon Binder

"There you are," Binder Lori said as Shana approached the Coldhold. "That was quick. We'd just sent someone to go inform you we were leaving." She frowned. "Why are you carrying that child? Is she injured?"

"She is uninjured, Great Binder," Shana said, adjusting her grip on her cousin. "She simply does not want me to leave." An idea occurred to Shana. "Should we indulge her and have me remain here in River'...

Demesne 418 - Shared Transition

Having Karina sleep over that night had been a comfort. While it didn't make the ache of being separated from her cousin again go away, it was… nice… to have her friend nearby. She had wanted to apologize to Koyan and Kayas, as it meant that one of them would need to sleep on the floor again, but they had taken one look at Karina and had actually looked relieved. They'd even given the girl a nod of approval as Koyan added her bedroll to the bed and Kayas had swept the floor before laying ...

Demesne 417 - Here With Me

Binder Lori was still muttering colorfully as the Coldhold slid into the dock outside of the dungeon. From the way there were few people coming from the baths or using the showers outside, dinner was in progress, or would soon be. Shana wondered if she should still take a bath before—

She glanced towards Binder Lori, and decided to take a bath. The Great Binder probably wouldn't appreciate smelling her sweat.

The ship docked, Auntie Riz jumping onto land to tie them in ...

Demesne Special - Ryan Is An Isekai In Space! - April Fools 2024!

Ryan did not miss hot, humid summers. The feeling of swimming in hot water just from walking around, covered in sweat because the water vapor in the air increased its thermal capacity, wanting to die just make it stop… thank goodness the baths and the river were right there. At least the occasional gust of wind felt nice and cool. Well, cool for him. Even after seven years on this planet, the latitude still felt slightly chilly for him even in summer. Well, during summers ...

Demesne 416 - I Am Not A Child. I Am A Dungeon Binder

"There you are," Binder Lori said as Shana approached the Coldhold. "That was quick. We'd just sent someone to go inform you we were leaving." She frowned. "Why are you carrying that child? Is she injured?"

"She is uninjured, Great Binder," Shana said, adjusting her grip on her cousin. "She simply does not want me to leave." An idea occurred to Shana. "Should we indulge her and have me remain here in River's Fork?" For all that she knew she had responsibilities to fulfil, if th...

Demesne Patron EX SS 34 – Happy With My Wife In Our New Demesne

Rybelle woke up to another wonderful morning with her wife in her arms.

She stayed right where she was, just looking at her dearest Tae. Even asleep, Tae’s face seemed set in a happy smile, her lips slightly parted as if she was about to grin.

As much as she loved her wife though, Rybelle still checked to see if Tae had drooled in her sleep, patting the bed sheet beneath them. Mostly dry, although it smell of their sweat and lovemaking. She'd have to wash it properly soon… but...