"Dragon! Martin. We need to talk."

"Of course. You're my dungeon; I am your dragon. I'm always happy to talk to you."

"But will you say anything that's not a lie?", Fred thought to himself. What he said was, "I'm not the first Earth Spirit to get a bunch of different creatures, and let humans in to fight them. I won't be the last."

"I assure you, I've never met any dungeons like you. Did Jim tell you you weren't so special?"

"There's a lot of things you don't seem to know, Martin."

"Hey, now, that hurts. I was beginning to believe you were a gentle soul, Fred."

"I'm the Earth Spirit of this mountain. And while you live here, with me, you play by my rules, okay?"

"What rules, O Tyrant of the Mountain?"

"I'm not a tyrant. But you can't go killing all the humans. They won't want to come back."

"And that concerns me how?" , Martin said lazily. Fred could see Martin's muzzle sticking out of his pile of gold. A little grin curled up on Martin's lip.

"If you can't play by my rules, I know it'll be trouble, but I'll have to kick you out."

Suddenly Martin was very still, except for a few coins that were sliding off of his neck, in a little gold landslide.

"You're right, Fred. While I'm in your domain, I should abide your rules. So I shall."

"... Okay, then. My rules are; no killing any humans unless they're inside your lair. Even if you go outside, you can't kill any humans. Only when they come fight you inside your lair, got it?"

"Yes, I 'got it', Fred. You can count on me."

Fred sighed. "Good. Fine. I'm glad we got that settled."

Nothing more was said that night. Fred didn't know if Martin was pouting or plotting. He decided not to care. He enjoyed the quiet. In fact, he felt that the whole domain was enjoying the stillness, as every creature slept. Even the children were gone (which Fred thought was wise of them). Fred kept an eye out, but no one came in, and nothing bothered his domain all night.

In the morning, some humans came back. They weren't ones that Fred recognized, and they weren't merchants or officials. They were just there to kill creatures and get loot, and that's what they did.

Jim checked in quickly, and was gone again. He saw the humans were back, and said reassuring words. The humans were clearly determined. While one of them was killed by the man bat, the rest worked cautiously and deliberately through the morning and then the afternoon. When they came or left the domain, Fred could see they were keeping both eyes on the sky. Fred was sure they all knew about the dragon, and these people were the ones who'd weighed the risk and decided today was a good day to come.

This train of thought led Fred to wonder; "I wonder if the humans know the demons are coming? Guess I'll ask Jim. Or, I could ask Martin."

"Hey Martin, do the humans know that the demons are coming?"

"No, Fred, the humans have very little education or historical memory. I wonder if any of them know about demons at all. They must have myths and legends about them, I'm sure."

"Huh. Why doesn't Aeru warn them, then? I mean, if she wants the humans to get ready for them."

"You keep speaking of this world as if it has a life and a will. I've never heard of such a thing. To dragons, this world is just another ball hanging in the aether. It has the same amount of mind as a stick, or a river."

"Huh. Well, if I'm gonna get the humans ready, I wonder if I can tell them somehow. About the demons, I mean."

"Don't you talk to the humans?"

"No, of course not. I don't know their language. And I don't have a voice, anyway."

"You're speaking to me quite well. I admit, in a very strange way. But I'm certain you could learn their language, and learn to speak to them, if you want."

"Aren't you using a… mind spell.. Or something?"

"Yes, a trivial thing. All dragons know it. Though not all dragons know that it pays to speak to Earth Spirits."

Fred hesitated, then asked, "Could you teach the spell to me?"

"No. It requires the mind of a dragon. I'm afraid that, if you wish to speak with humans," (here Martin made a throw-up noise of disgust), "you'll need to pay attention and learn their language yourself. They're so primitive. It can't be too hard. Various grunts and screams should get you somewhere."

"Okay. Hey, thanks. For filling me in. You do seem to know a lot."

"I DO know a great deal. I'm glad you see that now. I'm sure our working relationship will be mutually beneficial."

"Okay. What do you know about that tree? The silver one?"

"The tree right outside my door? With the ring of stones around it?"

"Yes."

"You put it there yourself. Is this some sort of test?" Martin seemed genuinely puzzled.

"I did, kinda. But I don't understand anything. The tree kinda fell into the shaft when I was building it. I liked it, so I kept it."

"And the stones?"

"I found them while digging. There's a hundred and eight of them. And they seem indestructible. While the ogre was using them as pillows, he would throw them, and hey, are you okay?" Martin was suddenly struck by a fit of coughing. Gold showered everywhere.

"You let an ogre play with them? Like toys!?"

"Yeah. Cause I don't know what they are." Fred felt defensive, and then rebellious, all at once. "Do YOU?"

"Yes. And I'm glad I got here when I did. If you insist on digging up ancient magics, and doing who knows what with them, this mountain of yours will shortly cease to exist. I suppose my real job here will be your education."

"Well, fine. That's fine with me. I need an education. Like I said, I don't know anything about Aeru."

"Doesn't Jim? Didn't he tell you?"

"He tells me how to be an Earth Spirit. What my purpose is. And he knows about all the creatures of the world. But he told me he can't keep track of all the million kinds of magic in Aeru's history."

"Humm. You told me how ridiculously young you are. I'm starting to believe you. And if this Jim exists, he must not be much older."

"Yes, he exists! And you were gonna tell me about the stones?"

"Of course. Those stones are Fwen Rounbous stones, created first by the kingdom of Gwan Wefh, about 30,000 years ago. They are powerful magic, designed to be placed in a ring, exactly as you have them. By tradition, a tree was planted in the center, where it would be the focal point of the magic. So you see, when I saw the ring and the tree, it seemed clear to me that you must have known what you were doing."

"Weird. I didn't. It just seemed right. To me. At the time."

"Passing strange, I agree."

"So, what does the magic do?"

"Health and protection. That's what the stones were designed for. As the ring ages, it gets stronger. The tree in the center is filled with magic, of course. It generally becomes very valuable for its leaves, wood, and sap. But every tree is different."

"Every one?" Fred started to wonder what would happen when the humans figured out how valuable the tree was.

"Well, I've seen two other working Fwen Rounbous rings on this world, and I've heard about dozens more. At one time they were everywhere. But the two I saw had green and red trees, respectively. No silver trees. That's about you, probably."

"Me?"

"Fwen Rounbous rings are usually part of a wizards' community, or a large city. I've never heard of one that was close to an Earth Spirit. It stands to reason that the tree, and the benefits of the ring, are affected by your domain in some way."

"Wow. Okay. So, how does it work? Do you stand in the ring and get healthier and more protected?"

"Yes. But there are more subtle effects, in a wider area, than that. I wouldn't be surprised if all parts of your domain are affected. Are your… creatures… stronger and healthier?"

"They seem just fine. I hadn't really noticed."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if the ring gives even more blessings to your domain. And yes, if something stands inside the ring, it also receives powerful blessings. And you put the ring right outside my lair, where the humans can escape to after trying to kill me. And I'm not allowed to chase them there. Do I understand the situation correctly?"

"Sorry. But you're the one telling me how pathetic humans are. Don't tell me you're afraid of them having an unfair advantage, right?"

"If a human succeeds in killing me, it will be ONLY because they managed to gather great amounts of unfair advantage. But humans are clever like that. That's only one of the many reasons I loathe them. Too clever by half." The big dragon tutted, and shuffled deeper into its gold pile.