"The Underdark is...well, it's quite literally underground. It isn't dark everywhere, though. There are fungi and plants that glow, especially near water. Some of the myconids--they're mushroom folk, very gentle unless you harm their young--glow, as well. It's an extremely dangerous place, because there are dark corners where there are monsters and aberrations, but it can be very beautiful, too." He sounds wistful. Barcus isn't exactly homesick, but he does have strong feelings about the Underdark.
"Anyway, I'm a deep gnome. My kind live in the Underdark, as well; we mine gems and ore, a little like dwarves, if you have those. Gnomes are smaller, though, so we're a bit more likely to work with gems or small-scale, delicate machines. Clockwork and the like. Whereas dwarves where I'm from will build immense structures and heavy weaponry and armor. Sometimes deep gnomes get into, mm, conflicts with drow. But not here. Bel's my friend." Bit more than just a friend, actually, but there's no reason to kiss and tell.
"Halfling is the common term where I'm from. They call themselves Hin, actually. But I've never heard the word hobbit before." He smiles. "I suppose we'll just have to learn from one another."
Barcus' home is actually on the edge of the city not far from the road into Berry Burrow and outlying farms and villages. It won't take too long to get there, even walking, and as they go the buildings around them get a little smaller and with more space between them, until it starts to look, probably, a bit more like parts of the Shire. Gardens are fallow this early in the season, but this place clearly has good earth.
The gnome's cottage looks small from the front, but it has an extensive yard in the back, and a recent addition. As they get close, Barcus points to a window, where a calico cat is perched, just inside, watching their approach. "That's Satchel."
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"Anyway, I'm a deep gnome. My kind live in the Underdark, as well; we mine gems and ore, a little like dwarves, if you have those. Gnomes are smaller, though, so we're a bit more likely to work with gems or small-scale, delicate machines. Clockwork and the like. Whereas dwarves where I'm from will build immense structures and heavy weaponry and armor. Sometimes deep gnomes get into, mm, conflicts with drow. But not here. Bel's my friend." Bit more than just a friend, actually, but there's no reason to kiss and tell.
"Halfling is the common term where I'm from. They call themselves Hin, actually. But I've never heard the word hobbit before." He smiles. "I suppose we'll just have to learn from one another."
Barcus' home is actually on the edge of the city not far from the road into Berry Burrow and outlying farms and villages. It won't take too long to get there, even walking, and as they go the buildings around them get a little smaller and with more space between them, until it starts to look, probably, a bit more like parts of the Shire. Gardens are fallow this early in the season, but this place clearly has good earth.
The gnome's cottage looks small from the front, but it has an extensive yard in the back, and a recent addition. As they get close, Barcus points to a window, where a calico cat is perched, just inside, watching their approach. "That's Satchel."