In the morning, Fred suggested his plan to Jim.

I don't know, Fred. I do know of another Earth Spirit that I… you… could direct Martin to. But I'm not sure it would be good to do so.

"Why not?"

Well, for one thing, you saw how disruptive Martin was when he came to your domain. Do you want him to do that to someone else's humans?

"No, of course not. But Martin still thinks I'm just making you up. I thought this would be an easy way to prove it to him."

I told you that the dragon would get under your skin, and try to get you to do things you didn't want to do.

"Well, you're right, he is getting under my skin. I'd be asking you about kicking him out, if he weren't teaching me useful things."

And he IS useful. I taught your direct control technique to over a hundred Earth Spirits in the last twelve hours, and several of them are already successful. That's very valuable, Fred. I suspected you could possibly benefit from the presence of Martin, but right now I'm very pro-Martin. I hope he continues to teach you things about yourself and this world.

"Well, okay, but what about this other Earth Spirit?"

Her name is Virginia.

This shocked and excited Fred, in a way he wasn't prepared for. Another person like him! And a woman! Fred suddenly felt how lonely he was, having no contact with peers of any kind. It overwhelmed him; he took a few moments to collect himself.

"Is there any way I can talk to her? I mean, any way? Can I write a letter?"

Can you? You don't have paper or a stylus. Would you write it on a stone tablet? Does Virginia read and write the same language you do?

"Um, okay, I agree there are hurdles. I just wish I could talk to her. Isn't there any way?"

Believe me, I wish there were. I think it would be very beneficial for all of you Earth Spirits to talk to one another. It's a lonely life for each of you. I just don't know a way right now.

"Well, what if I told Martin he had to be very careful? He could go over there, and pass a message from me to her."

Do you really trust him to do as you say, and make a good first impression for you?

Fred knew the answer was no. He just wished so much that it could be yes. This was depressing.

I'm sorry, Fred. But I want this to happen, too. I'll keep searching for a solution, so don't lose hope. And don't worry about what the dragon thinks. He's just as tangled in your magic as every other one of your creatures, so he can't really hurt you or work against you. His uninformed opinions are just that.

"All right."

We'll talk this evening. Bye.

"Bye", Fred said listlessly. He tried to understand, but he felt emotionally whipsawed, and now he was really down. So he went to his happy place; Shelley's den. The kids were leaving, but he noticed that a couple were jumping out of the pool. "They went swimming! Well, that's not bad."

The rest of the day was very uneventful. The regular groups of humans came to battle the regular monsters. The tree raiders didn't show up. The black-clad sneaky scout woman did, but only long enough to check up on everything. The kids seemed to stay away during daylight hours.

A large group of adventurers decided to try their luck against the mummy, and they worked very well as a team, using shields and fire to handle the mummy quickly and with few broken bones. "Wow, that mummy is strong!", thought Fred. The Treasure Sprites seemed even more numerous, and Fred watched as a human exulted and picked up a copy of the nice sword the Four Tropes had left behind so long ago (it seemed to him). His teammates also grabbed pleasing loot.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen the Four Tropes in a while. I hope they come back." Fred thought.

Fred also caught sight of the two men (who'd carried the banner). They were in Fred's domain, battling the wolf and then the man-bat. They seemed like they knew what they were doing. And the "jester" had changed out of his bright clothing, for something more practical. "Don't wanna get that fancy costume dirty, I bet." Fred thought.

Evening came. Jim checked in, but had nothing really new to say, and didn't stay long. The fighters left as night fell. The kids came back, filling their sacks and rushing off, to feed their families, Fred hoped. The humans went back to camping in Fred's new building.

Fred was bored. And he also felt he should follow up with Martin about the idea that Jim had shot down.

"Hey, Martin. Can we talk?"

"Of course, Oh Mighty Spirit." Came the reply. "What should we talk about this evening?"

"Ugh. You know I'm just Fred. Just call me Fred."

"Alright, Fred."

"Look, I talked with Jim about my idea. You know, you go out and meet another Earth Spirit? Well, Jim says he knows of one you could visit, but isn't sure it's a good idea." Fred realized he was blurting out something that he perhaps shouldn't. How to say this without hurting Martin's feelings? "You are so big, and if the Spirit isn't expecting you, you could be really, well… big. And intimidating and stuff."

Martin sounded amused more than hurt. "I assure you, Fred, I can be the height of eloquence and propriety when I wish. I can also change shape; become like a human, if that's what is called for. So I think… Jim's worries are unfounded."

""Well, I gotta admit, I don't just want you to believe me. And Jim. Now that I know there's another Earth Spirit somewhere near. Near-ish, I guess. I don't know really. But I'd really like to talk to… them."

"I could pass a message." Martin seemed so helpful.

"Yeah, but I don't write. And I don't have paper and a pen to write with. And I don't know if she reads my language."

"She?! Fred, you didn't tell me you had that sort of longing in your heart."

"Look, I don't. I remember being a man, yes, but I'm an Earth Spirit now. I just wanted contact with a peer. This is not a thing."

"Okay, if you insist, then I'll accept that this is not a thing." Fred could hear the huge smirk in Martin's voice. He sighed to himself. Martin continued, "But I could still carry a verbal message. I understand we still have a trust issue, so I won't push it. But there is another way."

"Another way?"

"It was called The Drums In The Deep. The old Earth Spirits would talk to each other over vast distances, sending pulses of sound through the very rock of the world. It was actually very soothing to hear, back in the day."

"How do I do that?" Fred asked, eagerly.

"No idea, really. I only know it's possible. You know how sound works, right?"

"Kinda. No, not really."

"Sound is just pressure waves, traveling through air, or water, or earth. Humans make those pressure waves with many different, clever tools. The simplest, however, is a tympanum. A drum. A skin or sheet stretched over a tube or bowl. When struck by a mallet or hammer, the stretched skin vibrates, sending out pressure waves."

"I do know what a drum is. So you're saying the old Earth Spirits had some big drums deep down, and they sent messages using them?"

"I only heard them. I didn't see the drums themselves. But yes. That's exactly what the old ones did."

"Wow. This is a cool idea."

"But impractical. Even if you made such a drum, how would the others know to listen? Or reply? And what code would you create that they could interpret?"

"That's where Jim comes in!", Fred said excitedly. "He'd be the go-between, to tell everyone, and share the proper codes with everyone."

"Oh, Fred. I'm not sure you can trust Jim for this. I mean, he could have carried messages for you before. Why didn't he?"

"Because he had other priorities. And he didn't even tell me that there was another Earth Spirit that close until we started talking about you flying over to see them."

"Exactly my point. I'm here. I'm real. You can see me. Jim is… a voice in your head. I know you don't like me to criticize him, but you have to admit, there's a difference between us."

"I know you don't think Jim exists. But he does. And this is a perfect plan to prove it to you."

"He's supposed to know all about Earth Spirits. You say he made 209 of them. That's a weird number, by the way. So if he knows so much, why didn't he tell you about The Drums In The Deep?"

"Well, I'll ask him. But I have an idea. Jim told me that the last time demons came through, they left a curse on all the Earth Spirits. That's making them get sick and die. So maybe there aren't many old Earth Spirits left, and the ones that are still around didn't do this Drums in the Deep thing."

"I think I'd have heard of a sickness among the Spirits, trust me. I've been around for a very long time, Fred. Earth Spirits just don't get sick. That's not possible."

"Yeah, but you said you haven't talked to an Earth Spirit in a long time. How do you know if they got sick or not?"

Martin huffed, and buried his head in his coins. "Well, they just don't."