Sentence:  There were not one but four <WSD>gnomes</WSD> standing at his feet. “I nearly trod on you,” Daniel said. “What are you doing here?” / The <WSD>gnomes</WSD> just stood, looking up at him. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  One of a legendary race of human-like beings, usually imagined as short and possibly bearded males, who inhabit the inner parts of the earth and act as guardians of mines, mineral treasure, etc.; in modern fantasy literature, when distinguished from dwarves, gnomes are usually even smaller than dwarves and more focussed on engineering than mining.