Gnome

**Gnomes**, originally called **yonga** (Sorjachani) or elsewhere known as **kobolds** (Pnardic), are an intelligent, marsupial-like demon species that is closely related to the gnoll.

## Name

The name *gnome* comes from the Iotheman name for earth spirits that served the King of the Gods Gnollus, the *gnomi* (s. *gnomus*). According to myth, the gnomi lived underground and were responsible for holding up the world. They were also responsible for earthquakes.

Among the Sorjachani, the diminutive species are called *yonga*, which translates to "vermin".

## Behaviors

### Gnomechatter

Gnomes are always in communication with each other, a supersonic 'chatter' of information relay that s unparalleled by any technological or magical alternative. It developed as a way to warn neighboring warrens of predators and threats, and used to network outstanding collaborate projects and schedule events between far-flung circles. News travels faster between gnome communities than anything, and thus can be a useful forum for esoteric gossip if one knows a way to tune in.

## Culture

### Gnomes in Cremalia

Gnomes have unionized and boast the most formidable legal representation in Cremalia.

#### Careers

* House gnome
* Garden gnome
* Pack gnome / Trail gnome
* Streetkeeper gnome
* Office gnome(?)

#### Industries

* Banking, accounting, money-lending, currency exchange, investment brokering
* Law
* Tailoring, dye-making
* Cobblers, shoe-making
* Clockmaking
* Arcana / Warding, inscription, enchantments, ioun distillation, constructs
* Alchemy
	+ apothecaries, medicines, potions, poultices
	+ pyrotechnics
* Pawn-brokers, flea markets

### Gnomes in Mannea

In Mannea, the remaining gnomes living amongst the Sorjachani are treated as expendable slaves.

Gnomes are considered a delicacy in some parts of Sitaram. They are fried on skewers.

### Gnomes in the Bagharn

The dwarven name for gnomes is *kobold*, from the time they first became acquainted with the industrious creatures from the [Ancient Days]. The dwarves of Shardam relished the opportunity of exchange with the Sorjachani, prophets speaking from a world of built out of magic, according to the demons. When the demons were welcomed into the *grades*, they were accompanied by their entourage of servants from Alaniji.

Even after the archdemons had absented the Bagharn, their servants multiplied and remained, expanding the warrens of the dwarves deeper into the earth. Everyday tasks were carried out by the kobolds, and their dwarven masters grew indolent and vain, resigned to study and meditation as the world moved on around them.
The end of the [Hundred Years War] lead to the abandonment of the High Road, and the sudden crisis finally alerted Shardam's masters to their neglect. Decadence and oversight had strained the Shardamtarn beyond self-repair, and so Emperor Korsahn's [Dwarven Revival] was snubbed as a grand plea for charity by the Eastern Bagharn, which barely kept its own flame alive.

Shardam's masters ordered their kobold servants to forage for gold and other precious stones, hoping they could replenish their dwindling wealth. The crudeness in the kobolds' mining technique and the project's reckless time schedule and planning are credited for the increase in seismic disturbances in the area, which culminated in the disastrous DATE earthquake that collapsed Mount Shardam on top of Korsahn City, burying its people and its history. Since the disaster, dwarves do not trust kobolds, or gnomes as they are known in Cremalia, as they are blamed for weakening the Shardamtarn's infrastructure—inside and out—in an insidious plot to destroy the cradle of civilization.

To this day, gnomes are shunned from most of the Eastern Bagharn and gnomeclans are forbidden to contract within the dwarven *grades*.

## Trivia

* Gnomes usually colonize in large numbers, tunneling out subterraneanean warrens to occupy and cuddle in. They thrive on bodily contact with other gnomes and sleep tightly together.
* Gnomish dwellings are casually referred to as *gnomehomes*. They are often holes in the wall or miniature shelters composed of debris and small items.
* *Gnometown* – within cities, particular in empty lots, alleys, or courtyards, there exist small enclaves of gnomish homes and business established furtively in the shadows and dark corners of the human world. They are bustling marketplaces of rare curio and cheap, quality crafts.
* *Gnomehall* – similar to a guildhall but exclusive to gnomish laborers and craftsmen. Gnomehalls arrange and handle contracts for gnomish services and clientele.
* *Gnomemeet* – secret swapmeets and flea markets. The gnomemeet is a spontaneous event, with the dates and locations randomly appointed and broadcasted through the gnomechatter.
* Some gnomeclans contract individual gnomes to accompany travelers to forage and gather food for them during encampment, quartered in one of their packs and set loose into the surrounding environ when settled down. The gnome will feed itself as it forages and then usually returns to his gnomeclan at the agreed-upon destination.
* Gnomes can communicate and sometimes even direct animals, allowing them to enterprise small projects.