Always suspicious of outsiders, the gnomes were alarmed tosee a ship arriving upon their shores, bearing hordes of tall,

stern-faced, warlike humans. Determined to keep what they ' considered a mountain paradise secret from the humans,

gnomes launched into action. Being the most technological minded of tile races an Krynn (they are noted for ha ' invented the steam-powered engine and the coiled spring;, t gnomes first thought of hiding within their mountain cave

but :hen had a better idea. Hide the mountain itself!

After several months of unending toil by their greatest mechanical geniuses, the gnomes were prepared. Tneir p They were going to make their mountain disappear

It was at this juncture that one of the members of the get ish IPhilosopher s Guild asked if it wasn't likely that the Knight would have already noticed the mountain, the tallest on island. Might not the sudden disappearance of the m create a certain amount of curiosity in the humans'..'

THE DRAGONS OF WINTER NIGHT

This question threw the gnomes into turmoil, Days were spent in discussion. The question soon divided the Philosopher gnomes into two factions: those who believed that if a tree fell in a forest and no one heard it, it still made a crashing sound; and those who believed it didn't. Just what this had to do with the original question was brought up on the seventh day, but was promptly referred to committee.

Meanwhile, the mechanical engineers-in a huff-decided to set off the device anyhow.

And thus occurred the day that is still remembered in the annals of Sancrist (when almost everything else was last during the Cataclysm) as the Day of Rotten Eggs.

On that day an ancestor of Lord Gunthar woke up wondering sleepily if his son had fallen through the roof of the hen house again. This had happened only a few weeks before. The boy had been chasing a rooster.

"You take him dawn to the pond;' Gunthar's ancestor told his wife sleepily, rolling over in bed and drawing the covers up over his head.

"I can't!" she said drowsily. "The chimney"s smoking!"

It was then that both fully woke up, realizing that the smoke filling the house was not coming from the chimney and that the ungodly odor was not coming from the hen house.

Along with every other resident of the new colony, the two rushed outside, choking and gagging with the smell that grew worse by the minute. They could see nothing, however. The land was covered with a thick yellow smoke, redolent of eggs that had been sitting in the sun for three days.

Within hours, everyone in the colony was deathly sick from the smell. Packing up blankets and clothes, they headed for the beaches. Breathing the fresh salt breezes thankfully, they wandered if they could ever go back to their homes.

While discussing this and watching anxiously to see if the yellow cloud on the horizon might lift, the colonists were considerably startled to see what appeared to be an army of short,

brown creatures stagger out of the smoke to fall almost lifeless at their feet

The kindly people of Solamnia immediately went to the aid of the poor gnomes, and thus did the two races oFpeople living on Sancrist meet..

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DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES

The meeting of the gnomes and the knights turned out to be a friendly one. The Solamnic people had a high regard for four things: individual honor, the Code, the Measure, and technology. They were vastly impressed with the labor-saving devices the gnomes had invented at this time, which included the pulley, the shaft, the screw, and the gear.

It was during this first meeting that Mount Nevermind got its name as well.

The knights soon discovered that, while gnomes appeared to be related to the dwarves-being short and stocky-all similarity ended there. The gnomes were a skinny people with brown skin and pale white hair, highly nervous and hot-tempered. They spoke so rapidly that the knights at first thought they were speaking a foreign language. Instead, it turned out to be Common spoken at an accelerated pace. The reason for this became obvious when an elder made the mistake of asking the gnomes the name of their mountain.

Roughly translated, it went something like this: A Great, Huge, Tall Mound Made of Several Different Strata of Rock of Which We Have Identified Granite, Obsidian, Quartz With Traces o? Other Rock We Are Still Working On, That Has Its Own Internal Heating System 'Which We Are Studying In Order to Copy Someday That Heats the Rock Up to Temperatures That Convert It Into Both Liquid and Gaseous States Which Occasionally Come to the Surface and Flow Dawn the Side of the Great, Huge, Tall Mound ….

"Nevermind,"' the elder said hastily.

Neverrnind'. The.grvomes were impressed. To think that these humans could reduce something so gigantic and marvelous into something so simple was wonderful beyond belief. And so, the mountain was called Mount Nevermind from that day forth-to the vast relief of the gnomish Map-Makers Guild.

The knights on Sancrist and the gnomes lived in harmony after that, the knights bringing the gnomes any questions of a technological nature that rxeded solving, the gnomes providing a steady flood oz new inventions.

Whew the dragon orb arrived, the knights needed to know how the thing worked. They gave it into the :keeping of the gnomes, sending along to^a young knights to guard it. The though: that the orb might be magic did not occur to them.

5

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IN. remember. No gnome living or dead ever in his life completed a sentence. The only way you get anywhere is to interrupt them. Don"t worry about being rude. They expect it:"

The old mage himself was interrupted by the appearance of a gnome dressed in long brown robes, who came up to them and bowed respectfully.

Tasslehoff studied the gnome with excited .curiosity-the

kender had never seen a gnome before,, although old legends concerning the Graygern of Gargath indicated that the two

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DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES

races were distantly connected. Certainly there was something kenderish in the young gnome-his slender hands, eager expression, and sharp, bright eyes intent on observing everything. But here the resemblance ended. There was nothing of the kender's easy-going manner. The gnome was nervous, serious, and businesslike.

"Tasslehoff $urrfoot;'said the kender politely, extending his hand. The gnome took Tas's hand, peered at it intently, thenfinding nothing of interest-shook it limply. "And this-" Tas started to introduce Fizban, but stropped when the gnome reached out and calmly took hold of the kender's hoopak.

"Ah . . :" the gnome said, his eyes shining as he grasped the weapon. "Sendforamemberofthe WeaponsGuild-"

The guard at the ground-level entrance to the great mountain did not wait far the gnome to finish. Reaching up, he pulled a lever and a shriek sounded. Certain that a dragon had landed behind him, Tas whirled around, ready to defend himself.

"Whistle;' said Fizban. "Better get used to it!"

"Whistle?" repeated Tas, intrigued. "I never heard one like that before. Smoke comes out of it! How does it war-Hey! Comeback! Bring back my hoopak!" he cried as his staff gent speeding down the corridor, carried by three eager gnomes.

"Examinationroom;'said the gnome, "uponSkimbosh-"

"What?"

"Examination Room;" Fizban translated. "I missed the rest. You really must speak slower," I-ie said, shaking his staff at the dome.

The gnome nodded, but his bright eyes were fixed an Fizban's staff. Then, seeing it was just plain, slightly battered wood, the gnome returned his attention to the mage and kender.

"Outsiders," he said. "rIltryand'member . . . I will try and remember, so do not worry because'-he nova spoke slowly and distinctly-"your weapon will not be harmed since we are merely going to render a drawing-"