Gil is a young gnome from a small and tranquil village in the country side that loves to go to places where he shouldn’t go much to his parents and friends’ distress. Caves filled with monsters? Ancient ruins filled with the undead? An abandoned mine that’s filled with blood-sucking bats? A mysterious and dangerous-looking hole that suddenly appeared out of nowhere; Gil would surely explore them all.
No matter how dangerous that place was, or how difficult it was to access said places; Gill would somehow find a way to get in. Yes, neither monsters nor the terrain itself could stop the little gnome’s love of adventure and exploration.
“Gil the Uncontainable”
That’s the moniker that Gil had received from the villagers and the people that knows him. He got the moniker because there seemed to be nothing that could contain him. Not his parents’ scolding, nor his friends’ advice, not even ropes or any kind of restraints, magical and physical, could contain Gil’s adventurous spirit.
If one was to ask the villagers what kind of person Gil was; many of them would answer that he’s a troublemaker. But at the same time; a great number of them would also say that little gnome was a hero.
How could a gnome, a troublemaker even, be considered by many of the villagers a hero, you asked?
Your confusion is understandable. After all, it’s difficult to associate the gnomes with the word “heroism”, especially considering their stature. I mean, gnomes are small. Other than that, they are not also as magically gifted as elves, nor are they as stout and strong as dwarves. To make matters worse, they also lack the scheming mind and versatility of the human race or the speed and stealth of the Lycans.
Certainly, gnomes could use a bit of magic themselves but their magic isn’t exactly suited for combat. And don’t get me started with their physical strength. They are so weak physically that even a human child could overpower a gnome.
But if you think gnomes are helpless, then you’ll be very wrong. Gnomes might not be as gifted in magic as elves but they’re better at it compared to dwarves and humans. Gnomes are indeed small and physically weaker than most intelligent races but they’re smart enough to use their small size to their advantage. Underestimate a gnome and you might just find yourself falling victim to one of their pranks.
Moreover, not all gnomes are the same. Even amongst the gnomes number, they were some gifted individuals, and Gil just happened to fall in this category.
In what way, you asked?
Let’s see… Gil’s talent in magic is considered just average for a gnome but the way he uses his magic is quite versatile. He’s also quite witty and good at schemes, so much so that he could even out scheme some of the scheming human merchants that would visit the village from time to time. Then there’s Gil’s uncanny ability to escape from almost any restraints.
Of course, just being exceptionally gifted won’t make a person a hero but Gil did have feats that many would consider… heroic.
Let us see… Ah yes! There’s an incident that happened some time ago.
About a year ago; a group of village children that went to the forest to gather herbs and mushrooms was abducted by the ogres. Fortunately, one of the children manages to escape and inform the villagers of the incident.
As one would expect; the villagers were furious and quickly took their weapons to rescue the abducted children. Gil, hearing what had happened to the children, was furious as well, and went into the woods to look for them, alone.
Although there’s safety in number; Gil chooses not to go with the other villagers, and it’s not because Gil doesn’t trust that the villagers would be able to rescue the children but because he should be able to locate the children faster if he acted separately from them. For Gil, as long as he could find the ogres’ lair as quickly as possible, there should be no issue even if he acted on his own.
Gil planned to find the lair before informing the other villagers of the lair’s location. Well, that was the plan at least.
Unfortunately for Gil, things would rarely go as planned. After locating the location of the lair; Gil found out that he has very little time as the ogres, four of them, are currently preparing to “cook” the children. If he was to return to inform the villagers, the children would have already become the ogres’ meals!
“Not good. I need to act quickly!”
Indeed, seeing what the ogres are about to do; Gil knew that it falls to him to save the children. But how could a small gnome expect to fight a group of ogres? The answer to that question was that he doesn’t need to.
Gil, or rather, the gnomes in general, are not known to face their adversaries head-on. They would instead use their small size and tricky magic to sneak behind their opponents – striking when they least expected. They might not be as stealthy as the Lycans but gnomes are good at hiding and sneaking too.
But besides sneaking around; Gil also knew another method. The method in question is something that he would often use when he wanted to prank other people. Although he uses mostly to play pranks, it could be effective too if used against the right opponent. For example; it’s very effective against dumb people or monsters.
“Dragon’s Roar!”
Gil inhaled deeply before letting out a roar that could be heard for miles!
Dragon’s Roar is one of Gil’s tricks; it’s a type of magic that, as its name suggests, imitates the roar of a dragon. Gil invented the magic itself. Dragon’s Roar was just one of a series of magic that imitate the sounds made by other creatures, not just dragons.
The reason Gil chose to use the roar of a dragon was two-fold. One, most creatures are afraid of dragons. Two, the roar is very loud and could be heard for a long distance. Gil was trying to scare off the ogres while informing the other villagers that are still searching for the children of their location.
As one would expect from hearing a dragon’s roar nearby; the ogres started panicking and are running around like headless chickens.
“Now’s my chance!”
Taking advantage of the ogres’ panic; Gil sneaked into the lair and opened the wooden cage where the village children are being held. After telling the children to calm down and not to make any noise; Gil sneaked the children out of the lair. Once outside, Gil turned around and saw that the ogres didn’t give chase. From the looks of things, the ogres had yet to realize that the children had escaped.
“I have no idea that it’ll be so effective. Or maybe because this bunch of ogres is just that dumb?”
After insulting the ogres’ intellect inside his head; Gil led the children into the forest. But the group hasn’t gone too far when they encountered the other villagers.
When the villagers saw Gil leading the children; they were briefly stunned, and then pleasantly surprised. The villagers asked the children how they had escaped, and were very impressed by the little gnome after hearing from the children how he had rescued them from the ogres.
“It’s nothing, but more importantly, we need to get rid of the ogres, or they might try to abduct the children again.”
Gil was also very happy for villagers’ praise but knew that there’s a more important matter that must be resolved first.
“Don’t worry; you could leave the rest to us.”
The village men looked at each other and nodded. After telling Gil and the village women to lead the children out of the forest; they started walking towards the direction where the ogres’ lair was located.
Gil stared at the village men back for a few seconds before turning around to join the remaining villagers. Although he was not with the village men, he was old enough to understand what’s going to happen next. Not that he has to say in the defense of the ogres. After all, they couldn’t just leave monsters as dangerous as the ogres loitering near their village.
And that’s how Gil manages to save the village children from the clutches of the ogres. But if you think that’s all that Gil did then you’ll be wrong.
You don’t believe me? Then let me tell you another story…
Seven months before the ogre incident, Gil went to explore an abandoned castle in the mountains. But upon entering the castle, he was surprised to find out that it’s not empty as he had expected. No, there were already people using the abandoned castle as their home.
Hmm… maybe “home” was not the right term considering the type of people occupying the place. Ah yes, a “den” or a “hideout” should be the more appropriate term.
Why those terms, you asked? It’s because the new occupants of the abandoned castle were a gang of bandits!
Indeed. If it wasn’t for Gil’s discovery; we would still be ignorant of the fact that we have a new “neighbor”. Of course, we would eventually find out about it but by then, everything would have been too late…
Anyways, after seeing Gil; the bandits quickly apprehended the poor boy. What do you expect? Do you think a gnome with short legs could outrun a group of adult human men? It would have been a different story if he was not discovered but since he walked straight into the tiger’s mouth, escape has become impossible.
Fortunately for Gil, the bandits didn’t plan on silencing him yet as they wanted to extract information on the castle town and the village from Gil. But since some of their members, including the leader and deputy leader were out procuring supplies; they could only wait for the two to return before torturing information out of the young gnome. As such, after tying Gil with a rope, the bandits threw him in a cell in the dungeon – a big mistake.
If the bandits knew of Gil’s uncanny ability to escape from almost any form of restraint; they would not have left the boy in his cell without a guard or two. But since they didn’t know; Gil was able to untie the rope and escape from his cell after nightfall.
Moreover, as revenge for roughing him up earlier, Gil spread some sleeping powder in the air to ensure that his escape would be smooth.
Where did he get the sleeping powder, you asked? Where else? Of course, he got them from the village apothecary!
As previously mentioned, gnomes liked to play pranks on other people; it’s just in their nature. And this love of pranking people was doubly true for Gil. The young gnome would often visit the village apothecary to have some strange potion or powder concocted.
Why do you think many of the villagers consider him a troublemaker?
Gil has plenty of small and unnoticeable items hidden in his clothes so unless you stripped him naked, you might still miss some of them despite thoroughly searching him. So even if the bandits searched him and took his things away, he might still have some troublesome items hidden in the seams of his clothes just waiting to be used.
So anyway, after escaping the bandits; Gil quickly returned to the village and reported what he had discovered to the village chief. The village chief, after hearing that the bandits had made the abandoned castle in the mountains their den, quickly ordered the two of the villagers to ride towards the castle town so that they could report what Gil had discovered from the local garrison. Not long after, a large subjugation group that consisted of knights and militiamen was sent to subjugate the bandits.
After the bandit incident; Gil’s name started spreading in the castle town as well. The local lord even gave him a large bag of coins as a reward for his bravery. Although Gil didn’t participate in the actual fighting itself, his contribution was still without a doubt the largest.
So what do you think of Gil’s stories? Do you still think that he doesn’t deserve to be called a hero?
What’s that? You’re finally convinced and wanted to hear other stories of his adventures? Well, I don’t mind but you see it’s getting late. Maybe another time…
