"Most of our records date back 2,000 years when the Eternal Emperor rose and formed the Eldarin Empire. Before that, with the High Vostner civilization, most of the records were fragmented, lost, or destroyed. While there have been efforts to piece together ancient history, it has been a challenge."
"The Eternal Emperor rose to power as a supreme legend, as he had been over level 150."
There were worried looks at that statement, confirming that the gnomes had low levels. I talked about how the Eternal Emperor consolidated power, crushed the dwarves and elves, enslaved lots of beings, and created a reign of terror.
"The death or disappearance of the Eternal Emperor also has a veil of conflict and mystery. Some blame his children, others his wives, some his generals. Once he was no longer present, everything fell apart. Everyone raced to seize power themselves, and slaves fully rebelled."
A few gnomes were taking notes.
"Human society fragmented into various kingdoms and nobility. Remnants of the bureaucracy and military of the Eldarin Empire. The dwarves and elves didn't have the population or strength to bounce back after their defeats and remained in their remote areas on the edges of the Eldarin Continent."
The gnomes were paying close attention now.
"After the fall of the Eldarin Empire, several institutions arose to prominence. The Five Star Institute of Healing, devoted to healing skills, and The College of Advancement which focused on the rapid advancement of skill levels through systematic training stood out among them. I graduated first in my year at the College of Advancement out of a class of 10,000."
"That included elves and dwarves?" Safan asked.
"Yes. The second-place finisher was an elf," I replied, and he nodded. "Not all such institutions that existed after the fall of the Eldarin Empire were good. The terrorist group called The Dark Cabal is an obvious example."
"Silence!" Safan shouted and slammed his small hand on the table. I quickly closed my mouth. "The mention of such a group is on the list of forbidden topics. All who heard that name, speak no more of it. It is an evil group. One that we do not want to think of. I know your thoughts might shift towards it with questions. But just imagine the worst beings you can. Do you disagree, Justin?"
"Ah, no disagreement from me. But they are responsible for some major incidents on the Eldarin Continent,"
"A scheme. A dark scheme. Do not underestimate the power of names. Divination skills can detect people speaking names where they shouldn't. Even thoughts carry risks against such skills."
"They can track us here with just words?"
"Yes. There are such skills out there. Do not underestimate our security measures. Councilor Baldeenk, do you agree with me?"
"Yes, Councilor Safan. Such a topic would fall under forbidden knowledge. Do not spread it. I trust all of you will keep silent." The rest of the gnomes listening in all nodded. "Good. You may continue, but please avoid mentioning that group if possible or refer to them obliquely."
Given their reaction, I kept quiet about the Xanatos' curse. That would probably create an uproar. I gave an abbreviated version of more recent events and what I had seen with the beastkin.
"The beastkin, savage as always," Baldeenk said, shaking his head.
"It isn't a surprise. We routinely wipe out their adventuring teams, but they persist."
Now that was interesting to learn and explained why the beastkin were struggling so much. If their adventurers were being wiped out by whatever the gnomes were doing, the situation took on an entirely different dynamic.
They were still savages, but there was less incompetence and more active sabotage keeping the beastkin suppressed.
"What about your history? Why are the gnomes so secretive?"
Baldeenk looked at Safan who let out a sigh and began speaking about the gnomes' history.
"Long ago, the gnomes were one of many races that lived on the surface. We were smaller, weaker, and struggled to gain skill levels unlike the more aggressive races. Our people experienced hunting, enslavement, and unspeakable horrors."
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They seemed far less aggressive than the beastkin or even humans.
"Approximately three to four thousand years ago, a large group of our people entered the dungeon. Some say they were forced, but others claim they went in willingly. Regardless of the reason, their goal was not to fight, but to hide. They constructed this settlement. In time, the memory of our people faded away. We built a near-perfect society. One of understanding, order, logic, harmony, which sees to the collective wellbeing of all gnomes that reside here."
"You aren't sure about the time?"
"The early days were strenuous. Many gnomes perished. The gnomes had to survive, and they lost records. We entered during the time of the Low Vostner civilization of your human civilization. You are the fourth guest we have welcomed into our settlement during these last three thousand years since we began keeping official records. Our knowledge of the outside is limited, and the beastkin remains a threat. Once they perish, the demons will die off or go away."
"What, really? Aren't monsters effectively immortal?"
"Yes, they are. However, monsters don't hunt other monsters unless something has changed them. The Mana of the dungeon courses through them. They will not consume other monsters easily or without consequences. That means they need to hunt other creatures. The only things left alive on the surface of this continent are the beastkin."
"So, you are waiting for them to die off?"
"Indeed. We endure."
"Why do you say that phrase with the word endure? The beastkin said something similar. Do you know what happened to them and the continent on the surface?"
"The similarity in phrasing is incidental. They messed with rituals and other skills that are forbidden and broke the passages of the dungeon."
I felt unsure about this. I would bet they had a hidden way to spy on the beastkin and picked up on some expressions.
"But they blamed the Eldarin Empire? And you speak that language as well…"
That was another point of confusion.
"It has the best comprehensive rune structure. Learning the language makes learning the runes easier. Gnomes never developed a runic system of their own. We have only learned a few skills, like Gnomish Silence. The Eldarin Empire used to extend out here. They were fighting the beastkin when the beastkin messed up large portions of the dungeon to drive them off."
"How bad could it be?"
"The passages regulate the flow of Mana. Monsters and demons don't like low Mana environments. It is a struggle for them to be at full strength; their injuries heal slower. Unfortunately, the beastkin wanted Mana, and they got it. They also got monsters and messed up the entire climate of the continent. The Eldarin Empire invaded, but it was the beastkin who made a mess and killed everyone."
The beastkin were the worst, if that was truly the case. "How do you know all of this?"
"Our second recorded guest was over fifteen hundred years ago. We were informed of what happened up on the surface. Fleeing into the dungeon, they found us and survived. They died here in our settlement of old age. We don't keep graves or waste. Our families keep our wooden plaques with our names on them as a historical keepsake. Your quarters should contain framed wooden plaques."
"I recall them. So, you are waiting for the beastkin to die out?"
"Yes. Then we would consider expanding. The climate on the surface is quite harsh, unfortunately. Even more so after the mess the beastkin caused, but we will persevere no matter what."
"But that means moving to the surface? Would your people be okay with that?"
"I will answer that," Baldeenk said, and Safan gave him a nod to take over. "We would look at establishing an outpost for those gnomes who wish to leave — a colony, if you will. Perhaps even hide portions of the continent. While there isn't much on the surface, there are still valuable items and space. We could find a quiet mountain to relocate to. But that is far in the future when there is no one else around."
"That could be a very long time from now."
"That is okay. We hid for thousands of years. We can hide for thousands more. Our way of life is sustainable and carefully managed. Now we should discuss what we offer each other. How about we each prepare a list of more specialized knowledge, skills, and items both sides will trade," Baldeenk suggested.
Safan nodded at this suggestion.
"That sounds like a good idea."
A gnome brought over paper and a fountain pen. We both got to work on making our lists.
I listed all the skills I had learned at the College of Advancement from tiers 1 to 3. I made a note as well that I had unique training methods and instructions. Also, I made a note if I had a book, they could copy.
After a bit of thinking, I offered all the gold and silver coins I had in my possession for trade. They had mentioned metals were valuable, so if I could get something more valuable than the value of the metal, then it would be a good trade.
I thought about anything else I could trade. While they would probably reject most of the fighting skills, they might want knowledge of spell skills, and they would likely want runic knowledge. Training methods could be unpredictable.
The gnomes took twice as long to come up with their list, which made sense since they were all discussing quietly about what to include and what I would want. They were quiet for long enough that I couldn't overhear what they were saying and I didn't listen in.
They seemed quite invested in this process. It was nice to deal with them in good faith. I tried to think about what they might offer, but I really didn't need more skills, and their crafting didn't seem to be that advanced. They didn't have high-level skills. There were no high-level adventurers to power level their craftspeople or, in this case, craftsgnomes. The thought of more skills was exhausting. I had far too many to work on already.
Once the gnomes were done, we exchanged lists. I had a sheet of paper out to mark down notes on what the gnomes were offering me. It wasn't a long list. I had been more comprehensive, listing out individual skills. The gnomes had broad general categories, clearly wanting to see what I was interested in first before being more precise.
- Dungeon Farming Techniques
2. Dungeon Husbandry Techniques
3. Mana Metal Creation
4. Wand Construction and Related Skills
5. Divination Counter Skills
6. Comprehensive Dungeon Analysis
7. Stealth Skills
8. Food Supplies