After that, more groups of humans came to battle Fred's creatures. As before, they were very cautious. For the rest of the day, the humans carefully avoided the lair of the metal beast, while fighting and killing the lizard twins, the bear/boar team, and the wolf. Several times, Fred got to see the Treasure Sprites in action. Copied swords, daggers, and other items appeared on the floor, after a creature died, and the humans quickly scooped them up and displayed them proudly when back outside. "I guess that's working, then", Fred thought. He hadn't really thought it wouldn't' work. He'd just not paid much attention to it. Which, he guessed, was the point of the automatic system; to be automatic.

At the end of the day, no men had died, though several had been mauled so badly that Fred wondered if that was true. Once they took the injured men far enough away, he couldn't see them, and only assumed they were getting good treatment. Some men also came back, and dumped more items and equipment into the entrance. "I guess they like getting their stuff copied", Fred shrugged, and called out to Jim again. Still nothing. Fred crawled back in with Shelley's family, and hugged himself tight.

As the night progressed, Shelley's family seemed more restless. They were still quite green, but some of them kept leaving the nest for the outside. They would always come back after an hour or so, so Fred calmed down and accepted it as the new normal. "So long as you guys come back and be with me", Fred said to himself.

They will.

"Jim! Are you there?!?"

Yes I'm back. I'm sorry I was away.

"Oh my god! Where did you go? I was so worried! I didn't know what to do! I thought I'd go crazy! You need to tell me before you go away again! Okay? In fact, just don't go away again, okay? You're the only person I can talk to. You know that, right? Right?"

I said I was sorry. My business was urgent. That's all.

"What business? What if it happens again?"

You can survive without me. In fact, you just did. Get a grip.

Fred didn't like this new Jim. This was the first time Jim didn't seem 100% supportive of him.

"What's wrong with you? This was really scary for me."

But you're fine. In fact, things look good to me. You've accepted a Gortragg, and the humans have started regular delves, and brought you many new Treasure Sprites.

"What's a Gortragg? That scary metal beast?"

Yes, that's it. Another fearsome creature to challenge the humans. You should be proud.

I'm scared. Why did you go away? Why don't you tell me?

As I said, my business was urgent. And I can't promise I'll be here constantly in the future. You're an excellent Earth Spirit, and you really don't need me. Or anyone. Be strong.

Fred was torn between telling Jim how much his counsel and presence meant to him, and how much of an ass Jim was being right now. He didn't do either, and the silence stretched on uncomfortably. Finally he said, "I need somebody to talk to. If you aren't here, who do I talk to?"

Fred waited for Jim's answer, but was distracted by a new human entering his domain. It was a robed and hooded figure, clearly skulking and sneaking inside, hugging the wall, avoiding the light. Fred was immediately suspicious. "Jim, are you seeing this guy?"

Yes. Very strange.

The figure scuttled through the main hall, and stopped near the entrance to the ogre's lair. There he shrugged off his cowl, revealing a lean, pimply face surrounded by tangled, greasy hair. The man started muttering. He brought out some sort of feathered charm, and began rhythmically waving it around. His chanting sounded like what a ten year old boy would imagine what an evil wizard's spell would sound like, and his high weedy voice completed the absurdity. Fred giggled. It was just so stupid.

Then Fred started feeling dizzy. "Hey, why is my head spinning? Jim?"

I don't know. This guy is doing something to you!

Fred started to itch, and then felt a burning sensation beginning. The weedy wizard kept chanting and gesturing, but Fred wasn't laughing anymore. He moved to the ceiling, and carved out a big stone disk. Then he dropped it on the guy. Splat.

The burning and itching faded immediately. Fred felt completely himself within seconds.

"Jesus! Who was that guy? How could he hurt me? Nobody's supposed to hurt me, right, Jim?"

I… I don't know. You're right, nobody should be able to harm an Earth Spirit. Especially not one so anchored in its mountain. It's bizarre.

"This is why I need you, though! What do I do if there's more of them?"

Well, there are. I'm certain he wasn't working alone. And I need to go investigate this. Look, I need my full attention on this, but I understand that I didn't tell you when I was… away… and how long I'd be. So I'll make a promise to you. I'll be able to talk to you at least every dawn and dusk. I won't miss checking in with you then. Is that okay?

"Well, yes, that would be much better, I guess. I just didn't know, before."

Okay. Well, your power is tied to your domain. So KEEP DIGGING! Grow stronger! It can save you. I'll be back.

Befuddled, Fred watched the cleansing sparkles begin to leak from under the rock disk he'd dropped. They increased, then finally stopped. The big rock disk shifted, suddenly free from the smushed carcass underneath it. And two Treasure Sprites popped out from beneath the disk. Fred looked closer. One held the weird feathered charm the wizard was using. The other seemed to hold the guy's robes. "Huh. I guess those count as treasure. Go figure."

Fred absentmindedly moved the rock disk back into the ceiling. He didn't want a hole there; he wanted to be able to do it again, if other weedy wizards tried to invade. In fact, he decided to do some prep work. He tranmuted the whole ceiling above the main hall into stone, and then carefully cut one ton blocks into the ceiling, leaving enough rock to suspend them. Fred could quickly and easily cut them loose as he needed. He thought about pest control, and smiled. He spent some more time doing the same to almost every large piece of ceiling he had on the first floor, including in the various lairs.

It was still midnight, and Fred was way too amped up to go back to cuddle Shelley. So he got back to work on the second floor. He finished each of the three round rooms he'd been working on. He tried to make them different sizes, but he also understood they'd probably go through some modifications to make them perfect for whatever showed up to occupy them. He didn't need to reinforce their ceilings with rock. This far down, it seemed like it was ALL rock.

Then he proceeded with his plan to dig upward from the central hub, to make a huge vertical chimney that would let the big creatures have direct access to the rooms of the second floor. He expanded the hub to about fifteen spans wide, and then began pressing the whole ceiling upward. It was slow work, and Fred knew the dawn was fast approaching, when he suddenly "broke through" to a cavity above the hub chimney.

It took a second for him to "claim" the cavity above, such that he could "poke his head up" and see what was inside. It was clearly a sepulcher. "What? What even is that word? How do I know it? Why didn't I just think GRAVE? I don't even know myself anymore." Fred stopped to take a breath and shake his head. You know, metaphorically.

There was fancy writing on the walls, and a big stone coffin on a raised platform. "Sarcophagus? Dias? Why are these words in my head?" Fred wondered. It was weird and annoying.

Wow! This is interesting.

"Jim! Just in time. Yeah, I just found this. What is it?"

It looks to me like a king's tomb, of a kingdom from a lost age.

"Lost age? How many ages does this world have, that it lost some? "

Oh, the world of Aeru is old. Millions of years old. And humans have existed within the world for most of that time.

"Wow. Huh. So, we're just another blip of time, then? Here and gone in a blink?"

Humans are, yes. You are not. You will be alive for a very long time. So long as you keep crushing any wizards that want to cause you trouble.

"How long could I live? A hundred years? A thousand? A million?"

As long as you want to.

"Really? That long?"

Yes. I hope it's a very long time. I like you, Fred. So does Aeru. I want you to be around for a very long time.

Somehow those words hit Fred hard. He couldn't remember the last time someone had said that they liked him, and wanted him around. It seemed a rare and precious thing, though Jim's green letters made it seem so simple and matter-of-fact.

"Okay. Okay. I like you too. And I guess I like Aeru. Though I've never talked to her. Hey, so what do I do with this old king?"

It's going to get cleaned up. Look. He had several precious ornaments, and there's a nice sword and shield. This is going straight into Treasure Sprites. You're going to be more popular than ever.

"That's it? He'll disappear, and nobody will know who he was ever again?"

Somebody must have loved him, to build such a tomb for him. He had his time. Now you have yours. But I have an idea. If you don't want this room to go away, you can relocate it. Keep it around. The humans might be fascinated by all this writing. Maybe there's a creature just waiting for this sort of lair to inhabit. Give it a try.

"Yeah, that's a great idea. Huh. Okay, where do I put it? Down here on the second floor? Up on the first? No, let's put it on the ramp."

Fred stretched himself (in a weird way that nonetheless felt perfectly normal now) to encompass the whole tomb that he'd uncovered. It wasn't very big, as his rooms went, just a few spans in each direction. Then he proceeded to "drag" it through the rock, just as he'd drug the plants. It was slower, but still seemed second-nature. The pocket of rock moved until it was off to one side of the spiral ramp, about halfway down from the first floor. He stopped to consider, and saw that there was an obvious doorway on one wall of the tomb. He lined that up, and made a short connecting hallway to the ramp. Perfect. Now humans could come in, and look at all the writing, and maybe someone would remember. Fred felt good about it.

All the valuable stuff in the tomb (and the mummy in the coffin) finished dissolving into sparkles and Treasure Sprites. Several Treasure Sprites popped into being. Fred sat back and watched them wander and bounce out of the tomb room, like they were balloons carried by air currents. "Hey, Jim. Can any of the humans see these sprites? Like, with magic or something?"

"Jim?"

"Huh, I guess he's gone again."