... Eh, this was pretty clearly still setting foundation for its plot. I would sorta get being evaluated for an axe if you got twelve chapters of setup and not much else...
Bt apparently this was being looked at as early as chapter 6. Like, come on people. Complex stories need to set foundation. And the first pursuer came over in chapter 4. We WERE getting detailed looks at characters spaced out, they were just foreshadowed all at the start.