Fred wanted to ask about how to see the sky, to get out of there, but he found himself relaxing, and became more curious about Jim and the green letters. "So who are you again, Jim? Are you a spirit too?"

Yes, in a sense. I'm certainly not alive, like a human or other creature. But I'm not an Earth Spirit like you.

"How are we talking? Why can't I hear you? Why is it like words on a screen with you?"

It's just the connection we have. I didn't make it, it just is. I wish I could hear and speak to you, I really do. This is all I know how to do.

The green friendly letters hung in front of Fred for a while. They didn't seem to fade away, at least until he stopped looking directly at them."

And I'm so glad you want to learn more about me, but first, I'd really like you to see sunlight. Is that okay?

"Yes! Hell yes. I want that."

Good, because it's easy. You already know how to dig. So dig up, at an angle. "Which way?"

Where the worm was.

Fred looked at the wall, but the worm had burrowed away while they'd been talking. Fred set to the task, "pushing" a hole into the dirt, at an upward angle.

Yes, that's the right way. You're only about twenty spans away from the surface, so it won't take long.

"Uh, what's a span?"

Hmm. We do have some things to work out. You were human? Remember how tall those were?

"Yeah, about two yards, more or less. My buddy told me that a yard was about the same as a meter."

Good, easy. Your yard is very much like a span. Span, yard, meter, all about the same.

"Okay, that makes sense. Hey, where are we that nobody uses yards or meters? What country is this mountain in?"

Let's focus on seeing the sun first. I think fresh air will help everything.

Fred knew Jim had something he didn't want to say, but agreed that the digging was most important. As he pushed, he saw interesting things happen. First, he ran into chunks of stone, but they melted away as fast as the dirt had, so they didn't hinder him. He also ran into a big tree root, but instead of melting it, the root seemed to grow and stretch away to one side of the hole he was digging upward. Then, after a few minutes, he reached what was clearly turf, which melted away as easily as everything else. And sunlight speared through the completed hole.

Fred thought he should be blinded by the sudden light, but he wasn't. He could feel the warmth, though, and joy rushed in to him, replacing the stress and pressure he'd been carrying inside. "Oh, wow, that's wonderful. Look at that."

Jim let him just enjoy it for long minutes. Then he typed

Hey, it's great, but I want you to tell me where you are now.

"At the top of the hole." And then Fred looked below him, and saw that he'd climbed from the original room/hole, almost out into the world. Except that climbed wasn't the right word, since he had no arms or legs. Did he float up? And then he realised that he wasn't really at the top of the hole, since he could still see all of the room/hole below. This was dizzying. He could see everything all at once, more or less. It seemed that he was "near" wherever he was paying attention to, also everywhere.

As if reading his thoughts, Jim said,

You're a spirit, so you can see everywhere at once. Well, everywhere you've been at least once. For someone who was once human, I'm sure it's very strange. But you'll get used to it, I assure you.

Welcome to your mountain. It's in a mountain range called the Skdovians on the continent of Derkalfh, and within the human kingdom of A'wheriwe. On the World of Aeru.

"All that, huh? Couldn't be in Spain? I heard the beaches in Spain are nice." Fred said in a bit of a daze.

I know this is so much to handle all at once, and I think you're doing great. Sit here for a while and enjoy the fresh air. When you're ready, try to stick your head out of the hole, and look around.

"My head??"

You know what I mean. Go look outside. When you're ready.

Fred sat there. Floated there? He was supposed to be a ghost, or spirit, but he didn't feel ephemeral or transparent or wispy. He was just… there, feeling quite normal, for someone who couldn't see himself. But he took Jim's advice, and just parked it under the sunlight, while he contemplated that he was an Earth Spirit of the Mountain, on yada yada on the continent of whatever on the world of Aeru. Yeah, it WAS a lot.

Was he going to cry? Was he supposed to? It was very hard to remember who he'd been, in the past. Was he the kind of person to cry? Then he had a sudden thought. What if he was dying, and this was a hallucination? A rush of possibilities overwhelmed him.

"Wait, am I dying? Is this the kind of life you live in the last few moments before the doctor pronounces you dead? Or am I hooked up to a machine? Are you a new way of communicating with coma people? Am I in a virtual game? Are you a game master? Can you unplug me? Have I got a Vr helmet on? Is that what this is? You know… like that…" He petered out, finally giving Jim a chance to respond.

No. Nothing like that. You are here, and this is where you need to be, and you're not dying. In fact, Earth Spirits are very tough, and have long lives. You're fine.

"Okay, but it's so weird. I mean, I suppose I couldn't be hallucinating. I remember hallucinating a long time ago, bad drugs or something I guess, and it didn't feel anything like this."

Yes, you're not hallucinating. You're just a Spirit…

"Earth Spirit of the Mountain, yes, you said that already."

It was quiet between them for a while. Then Fred decided he was ready to see outside. So he stuck his head out of the hole. At least, that's what it felt like, though he knew, ya know, no head. And it was weird. For one thing, it felt like he was pushing against a rubber sheet, that wouldn't let him climb too far out of the hole. For another, he couldn't see very far. Like the whole place was very foggy. But the sun still shone brightly. He could see the ground all around the hole, and a big tree quite near, sitting on a green slope. But he couldn't see up or down the slope, or in any direction very far. Finally, the colors weren't what he expected. The greens and browns were just… different. Fred moved back into the hole.

"Okay, why can't I go out?"

You're not an Air Spirit. It's that simple.

"Couldn't I be a Prance-In-The-Meadows Spirit?"

You are what you are. You are part of the earth. Sunlight is nice, but it's not really your domain.

Fred popped out of the hole again, as far as he could. After a few moments, he ducked back down. "Why can't I see very far?"

You don't really have eyes. Humans can see for miles in certain conditions. You see in a very different way, one that's more suited to "seeing" and managing your domain.

"Which is the earth. The underground."

Yes, exactly.

"Okay. So, it's been a long day. I think I'll have a lay down now."