Since the humans had gone straight for the eggs, Fred could now safely assume that they knew what the eggs were good for, and that they would be taken to the demon gates, so those gates could be closed. This would save all of Aeru, and it was very much what Jim had been working to achieve. It was a good thing. But in this moment, Fred counted the cost, and knew that however bad he felt about the situation, the Golden Wurm was feeling much more pain.

　　Fred looked over his domain. The army was still camped in its place, and the refugee camp that was also in the east fields had grown even a bit bigger than the army. Fred could see that the pilgrims were still occupying the Healing Complex and the two white towers, so he figured that there should be around fifteen hundred non-combatants in his town. He knew that the Emergency Bunker he`d made would hold that many, and if not, he could always expand it. Looking into said bunker, he saw a few humans wandering around inside it. "I`m glad they know it exists," Fred thought.

　　Looking up to the Forest Temple, Fred saw that the teleporter magic was now yellow, not blue. "I guess they got it connected to somewhere?" Fred thought. As he watched, he saw a human soldier walk out of the big magical yellow glow. The man strode forward, and shook hands with the wizards gathered around. Much talking and congratulating seemed to be in order.

　　Fred tried to see where the golden eggs had gone. He assumed he could just look for a sack being carried by someone, but it was hard. All the humans looked alike, and they ran around like ants in a hive, and eventually Fred gave up. "I hope they got to where they need to go," he shrugged.

　　After thirty minutes, the two Silver Wurms came back to life. Fred watched the wurms all embrace, and then all three cried out together in the most mournful howl imaginable. The wurms were in the deepest part of Fred`s domain, but the howl could be heard everywhere, and it freaked the humans out. Many just sat down where they were and cried, not knowing why. Others ran around in random directions, as if they had to get away somehow.

　　"And now we see the suffering that your magic has truly wrought, Oh Mighty Earth Spirit," said Martin scornfully. "Like any slaver, you remove all feedoms from your slaves, force them to work for you, and then sell their own children right in front of them. Are you happy with what you`ve done, Fred?"

　　Fred didn`t answer; it was all too complex. One part of him was already raging at Martin, telling him to shut up and fuck off, and all that. Another, more analytical part of him knew that this was just how Martin was, and how he worked. He couldn`t help taking advantage of a bad situation to crap on Fred and try to dominate him. It was rather depressingly predictable.

　　Another part of Fred knew that Martin`s words were true. Fred`s magic was coercive, including to creatures that thought and felt and loved and had no business being coerced. As though any did, really. Well, mebbe that big demon guy. He didn`t deserve to be let loose to run around and kill people. Mebbe the ogre, too, come to think of it.

　　But Fred`s magic wasn`t any sort of justice for evil. It was coercive in service of a plan to protect the whole world. Which didn`t make Fred (or the Golden Wurm) feel any better.

　　Fred decided to turn it all off for now, and discuss it with Jim at dusk. He went back to Shelley, his personal anchor and happy place, and laid down next to her. She and her family looked just the same, and though her den was a tiny, obscured part of Fred`s large domain, he could "zoom down" and just be with her.

　　Closer to the end of the day, a bit of Fred noticed that the humans were on the move. Not all of them, but plenty of them were heading for the Emergency Bunker. He assumed that, by now, everyone in town knew how close the demon army was. The humans weren`t rushing, exactly, but they were quietly and efficiently moving themselves into the bunker. Fred could see that they were all non-combatants (of course), and that some of the acolytes were taking charge of organizing the move.

　　He also noticed another smaller group of refugees that had organized and were leaving his town. They gathered at the south gate of the City Wall. Many of them had horses and pack animals. After an hour of preparations, the group of three hundred or so people left the city, moving purposefully south, through the wooded fields. "I hope they stay safe," Fred thought.

　　At dusk, Jim spoke up.

　　Hello, Fred.

　　"Jim! We should talk."

　　Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

　　Yes, we should. Your information about water and the demons saved lives today, including Uamanth. After I told him what you told me, he was able to intercept and throw away the bombs that were tearing his walls apart. He quickly learned the throwing technique you described, and he used it. He was also able to redirect some water and flood the battlefield. This gave him back control of the ground, and when he started shifting the ground under the army`s feet, they retreated!

　　Well done, Fred! Your great ideas saved him!

　　"Okay, well, good."

　　Hmm. Apparently something has happened.

　　"Well, for starters, the demon army is coming tomorrow. Kumbanaka found that out."

　　Goodness. Tomorrow morning?

　　"Don`t know. Just sometime tomorrow. The humans are& Some of them just left. Some of them are going into my new bunker. Some of them are talking to me."

　　Talking? To you?

　　"Yeah. She`s an old lady named Tabitha. Says she`s an Earth Mage, and she`s got a dragon spell that her grandma stole that lets her talk to me. We told her she came at the wrong time, but she needs the healing magic, she said."

　　Okay. Interesting.

　　"And the teleporter is open now."

　　Amazing! Are humans traveling through it yet?

　　"Yes, I saw some come out of it."

　　That could be a powerful tactical advantage, if you had more time.

　　"And the golden eggs were stolen. Taken. By the humans."

　　The eggs of the Golden Celestial Wurm?

　　"Yes, this afternoon. It was horrible."

　　Where are those eggs now, Fred?

　　"I don`t know. The fighters shoved them into sacks, and ran out of the wurm lair, and I lost track of them. I`m sorry."

　　Don`t be. This is amazing! Fred, did you use your mage sight to look for the eggs? They are highly concentrated magic.

　　"No, I didn`t think of that."

　　Do it now, please. We have to know where they are.

　　"Okay."

　　Fred looked down into the wurm lair, and turned on his magic sight. He saw the powerful, colorful magic of the three Celestial Wurms, all clustered together around the one black egg that remained. The black egg itself was lit up with bright magic. Fred looked carefully at the egg, to remember it`s magical "look", then started up in the town, searching for the same sort of magic.

　　This was difficult. As normal, the humans carried around a lot of magical items, so the human spaces were a riot of magical colors. But there seemed to be more than ever; as though the humans had strapped on every magical item they could get their hands on. Fred was still pretty sure he could spot the Celestial egg, though, so he looked carefully in all the towers, and in the Glass Citadel, and in the Temple Complex, and even in the Forest Temple and the army camp.

　　But he finally admitted defeat, to himself and to Jim.

　　No, this is brilliant. This is everything I ever wanted, Fred. The humans must have already taken the eggs through the teleporter, or carried them away on gryphons. In which case, they can only be taking them to close the demon gates. Oh, Fred. I feel like crying with relief!

　　Fred had never heard Jim like this. Jim wasn`t normally a sharer, about his own feelings, anyway.

　　"Could the humans have just stolen the eggs? Like, to sell? They are gold. And magic."

　　Well, how did the attackers behave? Did they kill all three wurms and collect all the treasure?

　　"No, they focused on the eggs only. They left the mom alive, and took her eggs away right in front of her. It was horrible."

　　I`m looking at the wurms right now. All three are healthy. And they still have the black egg. The humans were so focused on the golden eggs, they left the black one behind. Oh, how wonderful.

　　"No, it`s not wonderful. I`m a slaver. My magic, the magic you gave me, traps wonderful creatures underground, and takes away their rights and futures, and it`s making me sick."

　　Oh. Oh, Fred. I think& You`ve been talking to Martin?

　　"Yes. Yes, I have. And he says the most evil things, I know. But it`s true. Those wurms lost their kids, and they`ll never get them back. And I made that happen."

　　To save the world, Fred. Aeru and I made you for that job, and you`ve succeeded in every way. Fred, if those eggs get used correctly, by the humans you`ve been supporting and nurturing, then the demon invasion could be stopped within days. Perhaps even hours. Freedom for the entire world. Freedom that you will have given them.

　　"I didn`t ask for this, Jim. You got my soul out of a pot of& of leftovers, and stuck me in this mountain, and programmed me like a machine&"

　　NOT like a machine. Not like that at all. We gave you the knowledge you needed to succeed. And you did. Brilliantly! But we knew we couldn`t rely on machines. We needed souls, who could think and reason and feel and make decisions for themselves. If Aeru wanted to rely on slaves, she would have had me create machines.

　　I haven`t been clear. Aeru loved her spirits. And when the demons cursed her old Earth Spirits, and they all wasted away while she struggled to rebuild from the last demon invasion& She loved them, and missed them, and she wanted to make more, and make them better, so they could survive and resist demon curses, and stay with her forever. She doesn`t die, like mortals do, and her spirits aren`t supposed to die like them either.

　　She lost her Earth Spirits, exactly like the wurm lost her eggs, and felt exactly the same way. So if you know that the wurm loved her eggs, then you have to know that Aeru loved her Spirits. The wurm will lay more eggs, and make a new family. And you, and your peers, are the new family for Aeru. Not machines, not tools, new family members who are loved.

　　"It& it just doesn`t feel right, Jim."

　　I`m sorry you`ve got complex feelings right now, Fred. and I don`t want to dismiss them. But tomorrow you`ll be attacked by the true face of evil and enslavement. It might clarify things for you. And I`m gonna be right there with you, the whole time.

　　"Alright. Alright."

　　Fred knew that neither of them wanted to continue the conversation for now. Instead he did another full check of his domain. He started with the town, where, for once, there was no party at all. The humans were very busy, but also very subdued. They knew what was coming.