In the morning, Fred was watching the humans trickling back.

Jim said, Good morning, Fred.

"Jim!"

I see the humans are coming back. Has the dragon been behaving?

"Yes, and he has a lot to say. He told me about the ring of stones, and the tree."

Really? What did he say?

"He said it was a.. Okay, lemme get this right… Fen Rowdy… Fern Rainbow… Fen Roubous ring! That's what he said. He said they used to be all over, and wizards made them, and they create magic. Protection and health, he said."

That's amazing! Have you seen the effects of this magic?

"Well, no, but Martin told me that the magic would cover my whole domain. And the stones get stronger with age. Oh, and the tree is the center, so it gets the most magic, so humans are gonna go crazy for it when they figure it out."

Hmmm. As a rule, I'd distrust whatever a green dragon says. You can't assume he's telling you everything.

"I know. It just didn't seem like something he wanted to lie about. He was sure I knew about it, 'cause I'd put the stones in a ring, and put a tree in the middle. He said that's how it was always done, so I must have known what I was doing. But I didn't. Hey Jim, what about that? DID I know? What I was doing, I mean?"

It's very possible, Fred. I've said before that your magic is… built-in. Innate. A fundamental part of you, and also of Aeru. You might have a sort of historical memory, deep inside, which nudged you in the right direction. But, I think it's just as likely that your inherent magical nature let you understand the magic in the stones. So you knew just what to do without knowing why.

"Okay, yeah, that makes sense, I suppose. Hey, Martin sez that Aeru doesn't exist. I mean, he doesn't think the world of Aeru has a brain. A mind. He thinks it's just a world."

Well, I've met other dragons who've spoken to Aeru directly. She very much has a mind, and a personality. Again, it's strange that Martin doesn't seem to know certain things. Is he simply lying, or is he ignorant for a particular reason?

"I dunno. But I'll be careful. I told him, no more killing humans unless they are inside his lair."

Dragons are smart, and green dragons are devious. He'll consider ways he can kill humans without breaking the letter of your law. That's going to happen. When it does, you shouldn't blame yourself. That's an old technique of manipulators like him. He will say, 'Oh, you didn't want me to do that? Well, your rules weren't clear enough. So it must be your fault'.

"Wow, okay. Sure I can't just kick him out?"

I'm just trying to help you deal with him. At this point, I still think he'll be overall very good for you, and for the humans who want to get stronger. But I want to be realistic and honest with you, too. We may decide, at some point, that he's more trouble than he's worth. And we'll kick him out then.

"Okay, good plan. Hey, do the humans know the demons are coming? And how long til they get here?"

Some of the humans certainly know. Because the demons are already on Aeru.

"Shit, really? Around here?" Fred felt a brief moment of panic.

No. Aeru is a big world. The demons are far from your mountain. The humans battling in your domain probably know nothing of the demons, except in myth, perhaps. They are here for simple greed. You're already very profitable for them. Once they find out how much gold the dragon has, the problem will be keeping enough of them away.

"I was worried that Martin would keep them all away. He's really dangerous! And they know it."

But as you can see, humans are brave. And foolish. And risk-takers. And determined. And greedy.

"So, will the demons come here soon?"

Let me explain. Much like the last time, the demons will invade through seven gates. Seven pathways from their world to ours. Right now, one gate, the smallest gate, is open. And while the humans were taken by surprise, they are fighting back. The other gates will open, one by one, but there is time to get the humans ready. That's what you're here to do.

"Should we tell them? I mean, shouldn't the humans know the demons are here?"

They will listen to each other before they listen to us. Your job isn't to inform them, it's to prepare them to fight.

"Well, how do I do that? I mean, other than making a zoo for them?"

You're an Earth Spirit. Don't try to be more than that. Just be the best, most creative Earth Spirit you can be. I have faith in you, Fred.

"Will that be enough, though?"

Yes.

Fred wasn't at all sure. But he accepted Jim's optimism and support.

He also knew that he didn't know enough about the humans, and what they were up to farther from his domain. And he realized it was bugging him, like an itch he couldn't reach. So he did what Jim had earlier suggested, and started digging downslope.

Fred had previously made some small tunnels that radiated outward from his main entrance, and about half of them seemed intact. He assumed the other half had been collapsed when Martin stomped everything at the entrance. But since they were tunnels in dirt, and so small, it was possible that time and moisture had made them collapse.

Fred rebuilt the tunnels, lined them with rock, and started extending them downslope. As he did, more of the downslope landscape became visible to him. He again took note of how much faster he was able to make these tunnels. His tunnels passed a large line of old trees, and then started to "see" the buildings the humans had built. There were about a dozen, all made of stacked logs. They were all new construction, and (to Fred's eye) had been built hastily. One was a much bigger, two story building, but none of the buildings were exactly alike. The ground around the buildings was all muddy dirt, already rutted by many boots and cart wheels.

Fred could see that three more buildings were currently under construction, with large log piles stacked up near their incomplete frames. The building sites seemed clean and organized to him. "I guess the humans know what they're doing", Fred thought.

There were only a few humans in the whole town, though. Fred thought, "I guess the dragon really scared everyone off. A town needs bartenders and janitors and bankers, and those types of people aren't going to stick around when a dragon shows up." He wouldn't blame them. These buildings wouldn't provide much protection from monsters (much less dragons) to anyone.

That made Fred think. His underground spaces were very good protection. He wondered if he could make living spaces for the humans. He reasoned that he could build rock construction above ground, but he could also dig out tunnels and rooms underground. Then and there he decided he could create the best of both.

He picked out a plot of land right next to the other buildings. Thanks to his new tunnels, it was all part of his domain now. He wanted to be precise, so he 'drew' out a square shape in the dirt, about 75 spans wide and long. He knew he wanted to build a big 'box' out of stone, a cube that would reach a few stories high, but also several stories deep into the earth.

After thinking a bit more, he started by building the edges; four tall rock pillars grew up out of the ground, at each corner. He made the pillars two spans thick, reasoning that the humans would want really thick stone to feel safe. Once the pillars were 30 spans high, he started to fill in the lines between each pillar, to make the outer walls.

As he did so, he couldn't help notice that a few of the humans had come outside to watch what was happening. "I wonder what they think of this?", Fred thought. "They already know about me, and how I've been changing my tunnels and making lairs for my creatures. So they know it's me doing this now." He wished again that he knew their language, so he could know what they thought.

Now one whole wall was complete, and the other three were almost complete. Despite his earlier intentions to make everything precise and square, the walls weren't coming out that way. They weren't quite the same height, nor was each corner a precise right-angle. But Fred's power gave him the privilege of quickly adjusting and reshaping as he went, so when the last wall was complete, he felt comfortable that he had a reasonably sturdy box of stone, even if it wasn't perfect.

And it had no roof. So he made that next. As soon as he started to create the heavy stone roof, he realized that he'd need internal supports to hold it all up. The words 'post' and 'beam' came unbidden to his mind, but by now he wasn't too surprised at this. At five-span intervals, he created the vertical posts throughout the building, then connected the top of each with beams that had slightly curved undersides. Finally, he filled in the spaces between the beams, and the roof was complete.

Well, he thought immediately that the roof needed to slope a little bit, to let rain wash off it. That change took only a moment. Then he got started making the floors. Each one was just like how he built the roof, so it was just work. He spent the morning building out each floor, and when he reached the ground level, he paused to dig out the inside of the building.

By noon he'd dug very deep, and put in twenty complete floors, each three spans below the last. Only the first eight floors were above ground level. He ran across some more underground water while digging. "I'm sure I'll find a use for this!", He said.

He wasn't inclined to dig deeper, and make any more floors, though he easily could. Instead, he started noticing all the other things he had yet to make. Like doors. And stairs. And windows. And he thought about light, and heat, and how the air would flow in the building. "Crap. Making a building is hard." He thought.

"This is new. Why are you building this, Fred?"

Fred looked up, startled. He realized that, though he normally had the ability to look at his entire domain at once, he had been concentrating entirely on his building project. And Martin had literally snuck up on him. The dragon had left his lair, and was sitting in the town, outside the building Fred was making.

Fred gasped, and looked around for squashed humans. He didn't see any (squashed or otherwise). "What are you doing in the human town!?", Fred nearly shouted.

"I came to see what you were doing. Am I not allowed out?"

"Well, sure, you're not trapped in your lair, but I don't want you scaring all the humans away. So you can't just go walking around their town."

"Currently, I am sitting. And waiting for you to answer my question. What is.. this?"

"It's a building. To house the humans. The ones they made aren't very safe."

"From me, you mean?" One of Martin's big eyebrows went up in that condescending way.

"From anything. From demons. And yes, from you, too."

"We had a deal; no killing humans outside my lair. What gave you the idea that I'd break that deal?"

"We both have to work on the trust thing, Martin. I wasn't saying you'd break any deal. But the humans are still afraid of you. And they've got plenty of other things to be afraid of, too. And their wooden houses aren't very good protection. So, I thought about building them some strong housing. And I got excited about it, and started building, and got really focused."

"Fred the amateur architect! Are you recreating the Tower of Sidhin, or the Orjrith Rijh fortress?"

"I don't know those places. And if you know so much about buildings, maybe you can help me."

"What seems to be the problem, Oh Architect of Legend?"

"Stop. My problem is simple. The box I've made is solid stone. But it's dark inside, and there's no air flowing through."

"Ugh. You think I care if your dirty humans are comfortable? Should I knit them warm blankets, too?"

"Be that way. I can solve these problems myself. I just figured if you were bored…"

"Oh, I am. Being the official dragon of this domain is dreadfully monotonous."

"Then you can help me. How do I put in windows, but keep the building safe from…"

"Dragon breath?"

"Give it a rest. This building isn't about you."

"No, it's about demons. Who also breath fire. Paltry fire, but still. Well, you can make glass, can't you?"

"Glass. I hadn't thought about that. Let me try."

Fred tried transforming a wall into glass, and his magic didn't fail him. The thick wall became a crystal clear section of glass. Though it was almost two spans thick, Fred could tell it was near flawless. Even Martin was impressed. "You Earth Spirits certainly have control. I haven't seen such clear glass since the desert kingdom of Mure Whenvi."

Then he reached out with one huge, long claw, and forcefully tapped the glass Fred had made. It shattered.

"Hay, what the hell?!" Fred did shout this time.

"But it isn't very strong. Needs potassium."

"That makes glass stronger? Where do I get some?"

"Potash is found everywhere. As an Earth Spirit, digging around in the ground, I find it hard to believe you haven't already run into some."

Fred thought about it, imagined it, and realized that he did know about potash and potassium. He moved to another stretch of wall, began to turn it into glass, and intended to mix potassium into the glass. The result was glass, tinted slightly blue. Before he could warn Martin not to, the dragon had reached out and tapped the new glass. It didn't break.

Fred just stayed quiet for a moment, enjoying the feel of progress. Then he said, "Well, that's good for sunlight. And keeps me from making too many open windows. But what about air?"

"Chimneys. You know how to build them. I noticed you built one in the Naga's lair. Hot air rises. Make a tall chimney tube, and the hot air will rush from the building. Of course, your stairwells are natural chimneys, too. You've added your stairwells already, haven't you?"

"I was just about to," Fred said a little defensively. Would this dragon ever stop trying to push his buttons?

Fred began making stairs. He wanted one on either side of the building; somehow he knew two were safer than one. As he started building on one side, he felt as though he'd built stairs before, as though it was quite natural. So it went quickly, one straight flight of stairs per floor, back and forth. It took him 15 minutes to make a set of stairs going all the way up and down.

Then, for the other side, he had the idea of creating a spiral staircase around one of the posts. This also went quickly, though it resulted in more cramped, steep stairs. "Oh well, two stairs, people get to choose.", Fred thought.

On the roof, Fred poked a hole above each stairwell. But as he did so, he realized he didn't want a fireplace sending smoke up through the stairwells. His plan expanded to include traditional fireplaces, and a simple chimney. The air would enter through the stairwells, and exit with the smoke from the hearths. He got to work, starting with a simple straight and enclosed chimney on each of the two walls that weren't near the stairs. Then, for each floor, he made a hearth; a simple rectangular firepit, with a wide heat tube that connected upward to the chimney.

Once he was done, every floor had two fireplaces on opposite walls. Now he went back to the roof, and extended the two chimneys up another ten spans, simple stone tubes reaching into the sky. He also thought about rain, and removed the holes above the stairwells, and put holes in the walls next to them, instead.

Now that he had (what he thought was) good ventilation in the building, he wanted to put all the glass he could on the outer walls. He applied himself with abandon. Since he was just transforming stone into his 'tough glass', he felt free to do so haphazardly. So long as no glass section was too big, he didn't care to make it square, or symmetrical, or organized in any way. This felt free and avant-garde, and he didn't even care where that word came from. The glass was seemingly splashed over the walls of the building. Then he gleefully did the same for the roof.

"Hmm. How… bold and unusual, Oh Artistic Spirit.", Martin said.

"Yes, isn't it?" Fred replied in good humor.

"And every floor is completely open. No walls? No privacy?"

"I figure the humans can take care of that. If they want privacy, they can put up their own dividers. I can't make every table and chair for them."

"Humm", Martin rumbled agreeably. "And water?"

"Oh yeah!" Fred got busy making the water he found run through the bottom floor. In fact, something in his mind suggested that he make a wide, shallow pool for the water, so it would help cool off the building. Not that heat would be a problem so far below ground. But it looked nice, anyway. Of course he had to make the pool, and then (like in the naga lair) he had to change the walls of the pool into something water couldn't soak through.

Fred looked up, and realized that it was midafternoon. "Okay, Dragon. It's actually been fun working with you on this project. And thank you for the formula for tough glass. But I want the humans to come back, and decide to move in, and they aren't gonna while you're around."

"Aren't you forgetting something? One tiny little detail?"

"No, what?", Fred said, his guard up.

"What about a door, Oh Grand Arch…"

"Shit, you're right, a door! How did I forget that?" Fred immediately made a door in the front. Then he decided to make a small door in the back, and made the front door bigger. "So they can get the couches in", Fred thought, giggling. Actually, the 'ground' floor of the building was a half-span higher than the actual ground. Neither the front or back doors were at ground level. Fred simply made gentle ramps in the ground to meet the doors.

Then Fred said, "Okay, now I'm done. For now. So you gotta go, Martin. Don't visit here again. You don't have to go home, but 'cha can't stay here."

"All this work to save some humans. It won't work, and you know it. Even the little Jim voice in your head knows it. When the demons arrive, nothing will save them."

"Okay, shut up and go away. You had to ruin it, okay? Leave now!"

If Fred had a hand, it would be outstretched, and pointing into the distance as hard as he could. The dragon heaved himself up, taking his time, and petulantly huffing as he spread his wings. Then he jumped into the air, with a huge wing beat, that scattered the wood stacks and did some minor damage to the human's houses. Martin flew slowly back to the central shaft, and climbed down, out of sight, back to his lair.