The tree was barely visible, just a span of its top poking above the tumbled rock. All of the fairies were hanging out on it, flying around, yelling at each other, and making little "I can`t hear you" motions with their hands to their ears. "Kumbanaka! Where are you?!" Fred shouted.

　　"Under a lot of rock, Fred. Please dig me out."

　　Fred did so, almost instantly. Kumbanaka was alive, but hurt, with an obvious broken arm. Free from the stone that had fallen on him, he rolled over with a big groan. There was a giant bleeding gash in his leg, too. "The tree is still here, Fred, so I`ll be fine very soon. See to the rest of your domain."

　　Fred didn`t answer, he just used his immense power of Earth to set the tree shaft back the way it had been, cleaning all the rubble from the tree (the fairies cheered), and rebuilding the top part of the shaft that had fallen in. After that, he focused on the unstable places he`d spotted before. It was stone. It was his domain. So it was easy for him.

　　Finally, he looked out on the town. The red-roofed tower was leaning. The force of the blast had come very close to toppling it, and it was profoundly unstable. The three walkways that connected it to the next tower had all broken off and fallen down. Fred didn`t wait until all the humans had gotten out. He just fixed it all, magically, almost without thought. After that, he looked around some more, but nothing required his attention. All the humans were picking themselves up and attending to the wounded. Fred left them to it.

　　All of Martin`s various bits had started to sparkle. "Thank goodness I don`t have to pick up dragon parts," Fred thought, though his magic was really doing that for him. As he watched sparkles happen everywhere he looked, he noticed the hole that he`d dumped the running bomber into. It had collapsed on the bomber, who was still trapped inside. But the bomber`s head was visible, and it didn`t look like the guy was in danger of dying. So Fred left him there.

　　Just as people started dragging their wounded friends into the front entrance, Priestess Sharfroen and her team exited. They quickly arranged a growing circle of wounded, while the priestess stood in the center, and sang a magical song of healing. Fred thought it was a beautiful song, and the thought that he was the only one who could hear it was kinda sad. But then he remembered it was healing, including to ears, and everyone would be able to hear it again soon.

　　Fred looked again at all the creatures in his domain. The deeper areas, like the Ogre Zone and the Cave Zone, seemed completely undamaged, and the creatures inside seemed unfazed. Fred was amazed to see the lioness still sleeping. Many of his other creatures seemed disturbed and nervous, but none were harmed, though Fred was sure they`d been deafened, just like the humans.

　　"Okay, you better, Kumbanaka?" Fred asked him. Kumbanaka had dragged himself back into his lair, and was sitting down on his comfy chair. Several of his new shelves had collapsed, and the central treasure pedestal that he and Fred had built had fallen over and broken. "Let me get that," Fred said, and fixed up the pedestal. He then found the gold token, and placed it back on top.

　　"Thank you, Fred. I`ve certainly never experienced anything like that before. Did Martin get away?"

　　"Away in a million pieces. He`ll be back in twenty minutes, and I`m sure he won`t be happy with me."

　　"Ah. Well, we can tease him about all the places he traveled to. Ho ho."

　　They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Kumbanaka said, "But we will have to make sure this can`t happen again. And we`ll have to discuss it with your Jim. And Martin, whenever he stops raging and sulking."

　　"Yeah. Seriously, that was terrible. And I didn`t see it coming. I haven`t seen a lot of stuff coming, really."

　　"What do you mean?" Kumbanaka asked gently.

　　"Well, I mean this stuff. I didn`t see these guys til they`d already put the bombs inside. And I didn`t see the two kings show up until they were already here. And I didn`t see that the kids were in trouble til they were already being whipped. I`m worried I`m not seeing what I need to be seeing."

　　"You are only one Earth Spirit." Kumbanaka replied.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

　　"Yeah, but Earth Spirits aren`t supposed to focus on one thing, and forget about others. Jim said one day I could take over the whole mountain. How`m I gonna do that if I can`t even manage what I`ve got now?"

　　"A troublesome question, yes. But you`re not alone. And you haven`t tried everything, yet. In fact, you`ve hardly tried anything."

　　"What da ya mean?" Fred asked.

　　"You haven`t built a wall, yet. Those bombers might have been denied admittance to a walled town." Kumbanaka observed.

　　"I guess. But I still can`t be everywhere at once. At least, I can`t look after every human."

　　"No, but humans can."

　　"I can`t tell them what to do."

　　"Of course you can. You have. You can`t speak to them, true. But you house them with your constructions. You limit them with your choices. You guide them with doors and hallways and all your other decisions. If you build a wall, with limited entrances, it`s a sure bet that the humans will guard and regulate those entrances for you. I`ve been through this town, and the number of officious bureaucrats and lazy guards is increasing by the day."

　　Fred didn`t say anything in reply, and they sat in companionable silence until Martin came back.

　　"... throw it, Fred? What? Shit. Shiiiit. I died again, didn`t I? Fuck."

　　"Are you alright, Martin?" Fred asked.

　　"No, I am fucking not alright, Fred. I am& Well, it didn`t actually seem to hurt that time. But I still fucking died. Twice today! Right? I did come back on the same shitty day, right?"

　　"Yes, Martin. You were away for thirty minutes. Just like my magic always works."

　　Speaking quickly to get a word in, Kumbanaka said, "You saved everything, Martin. The bombs were indeed fearsome, and if left in place they would have caused much more serious damage to the entire domain of this Earth Spirit. Fred and I will not soon forget your selfless bravery."

　　"Oh, shove sand in it, Kitty. I only did it to keep you two from hectoring me."

　　"Thank you, Martin," Fred said solemnly. "You really did save us."

　　"Just leave me alone," grumped Martin, and he went back to bury himself in his gold. Fred showered more gold coins on him, as he always did to try to placate Martin, but he was also thinking about what else he could do to show his appreciation. No ideas came to him immediately, though.

　　But he did think about the bombers, and the fact that he had one trapped. He looked at the bomber hole again, and saw that a couple of the townspeople had found the bomber (in the hole) and were talking to him. Fred looked more closely, and saw that the man was dressed in rags, and looked a bit starved. He was feeling better, though (probably all of Fred`s domain magic), and was slowly digging himself out of the pile of dirt that had nearly covered him. Fred dipped into his magic sight, but the guy wasn`t a secret demon. He wasn`t magical at all.

　　Fred wondered if someone could question the prisoner. He knew he couldn`t, so he explained the situation to Kumbanaka.

　　"You captured one of the bombers?" Kumbanaka said.

　　"Yeah. He`s just a human. He looks like shit. But mebbe he knows something?"

　　Kumbanaka took the hint. "When night falls, I shall go forth and find out what he knows." Fred thought about telling Kumbanaka not to torture the guy. But he had very little sympathy for the bombers, so he stayed silent.

　　Fred`s domain was quiet for the rest of the afternoon, as everyone and everything attended to their own recuperation. When dusk fell, no party started. But Jim showed up.

　　Hello, Fred. How are you?

　　"Holy shit, Jim. I gotta tell you!"

　　Fred detailed the bombing, how the men had snuck bombs into his domain, how Martin had saved the day, and how powerful the bombs were.

　　That`s amazing, Fred. And terrifying. I have to tell everyone else about this. Perhaps this is how Kincho Za was killed.

　　"Kincho Za?"

　　Yes, the Earth Spirit I`ve lost touch with. Kincho Za wasn`t a very big or prosperous Earth Spirit, not like you. I can imagine that just one bomb such as what you described could have killed him.

　　"Okay. Yes, tell everyone. But I`m not sure how to stop them from doing it again. I didn`t see the bombers coming. Kumbanaka told me to build a wall."

　　That would seem prudent, and not a challenge for you. If you`re worried about a siege, perhaps you should raise more than one.

　　"Okay, but also, I built& well, I rebuilt the teleport temple."

　　Oh yes, I see. It`s very nice. In fact, your reintegration of the original stones of the place is artistic genius. And is this a fresco? What does it mean?

　　"Heck if I know, but I figured somebody might want to look at it."

　　Perhaps you could get Martin to look at it. He could use something to take his mind off his death.

　　"Two. Two deaths. He was killed by the humans first thing this morning."

　　Oh, that is unfortunate.

　　"Yeah. But I`ll tell him. Oh, and the kids are gone. Ya know, the original people, with the dirty kids who I made the bath for?"

　　Yes, I see their village is empty now. Fred, these bodies haven`t been cleaned up. Oh, it looks like they rest on the exact edge of your domain.

　　"Really? I didn`t think of it. I guess I could extend out a tiny bit and get them to clean up."

　　It might be wise. Noone needs scavengers coming around. And if more blue-vested types come wondering what happened to their friends, they might find clues that could lead them back to the villagers. Wherever they`ve gone.

　　Fred didn`t bother acknowledging this good advice. He just pushed his domain out to properly cover the wagon with the bodies. Then, for good measure, he grabbed the wagon and drug it into the earth, forever hiding it. "Done."

　　If the children are gone, what will you do with your bathing room, and your garden?

　　"I dunno. I haven`t thought about it."

　　Nothing says you must. It`s not a pressing concern. Go ahead and build some walls, Fred. You`ll feel better. I must go tell everyone.

　　"Okay, thank you."