Chapter Thirty Six
"Gnomes, Master Justin?" Cora looked at him as though she was sure she must have misheard him. Justin knew his odd change of subject must have caught everyone off guard. "Yes, in my world, gnomes are considered magical creatures that are closely tied to the earth. They tend to be smallish and aren't the best-looking creatures. They are depicted in a lot of our mythology as having long beards. Do you have anything like that here?"
"Forgive me." Cora's words came out stilted. "I knew what you meant by gnomes, but are you suggesting that we use gnomes to build the wall? We do, of course, have gnomes here. Although they do tend to avoid as much human interaction as possible, I have noticed."
"Yes, they would most likely avoid humans," said Justin. As long as they exist here, then, yes, I think we can use them to help us build the enclosures for the unicorns. If we can get enough of them to be willing to do the labor, then it will go a lot faster, and the unicorns will not notice any unusual magic once the structure is built."
Art looked at his fellow mages for a long moment before he spoke. "Your idea has promise, Master Justin, but as Cora said, the gnomes in this world tend to shy away from humans. Many do not trust people and will do whatever they can to avoid us. How do you propose we enlist their help?"
Justin took 5 deep breaths to collect his thoughts before he spoke. In the mythology in my world, gnomes are known for loving treasures. Since they are associated with the earth, they prefer natural gemstones. Could we create some gemstones for them by magic and use that as payment for the work that they will do on the enclosure?"
Art's face looked drawn as he tapped his finger on his lips. "If gnomes like natural gemstones from the earth, then created gemstones would more than likely not fool them for long. We would need to obtain enough natural gemstones to buy their trust and allegiance. That will not be an easy thing to do, I am afraid."
Philip glanced at Maggie before clearing his throat and speaking. "Would the king be willing to give from his stores of gemstones, Princess Magdalin?" Maggie shook her head firmly. "Unfortunately, those gemstones belong to the crown and can not be sold or exchanged, I am afraid."
Once again, all eyes were on Justin. Are there any other mythical creatures that would be able to handle wood and stone, and are there a large number of them to enlist?" All of the mages shook their heads. "The gnomes are our best chance to get the walls built quickly and with little issue," Philip said.
"Except, I am afraid, there is the BIG issue of their payment," Art responded. Tell me, are there any other places in Aldervaile where we might get a large quantity of gemstones?"
This time, when the mages looked at each other, there was fear clearly written across their faces. "There is only one place that has a large enough cache of gemstones, but it would be certain death to go and get them." Oaklie's words came out hoarse and halting.
"Why, where are they?" Justin should have known the answer before he asked the question. He had studied enough books to know exactly who would have a fondness for shiny gemstones.
Before anyone could answer him, he answered himself. "A dragon. Of course." Everyone in the room nodded once in agreement. Justin felt the air deflate from his lungs. This was not a good turn of events. "And there is no other place with enough gemstones to secure the help from the gnomes?"
"I am afraid not, Master Justin." Art did genuinely look sad for Justin. But that sorrow turned to shock at Justin's next words. "Well then, if that is the case, then I see no other course of action but to go take some gemstones from the dragon."
"You can't be serious." Maggie's words came out slightly hysterical. "Unfortunately, I don't have much choice. We have to build the enclosures, and we can't use magic ourselves, so we need the gnomes. If there were any other creatures who could help us as well as they, I would not be considering it, but we have to get the unicorns in their new homes."
"But, how do we even know that the gnomes will even help us? You could risk your life and get the gemstones, and they could tell you that they aren't interested." Maggie's words made too much sense to Justin, as much as he hated to admit it.
"Well then. To avoid my potential death for no reason, I think we'd better find a gnome or two and ask them if they would be willing to do the job." Directing his question to Art, he continued. "Do you happen to know where we could find a gnome by chance?"
Art looked nervously around the room before settling his gaze on Justin. "We have informants throughout the kingdom who keep an eye on all of the different species of magical creatures. It wouldn't be hard to send a letter by raven to our contact to see where the closest gnome is to us." He awkwardly pulled the collar of his tunic back before he continued. "But Master Justin, this is an extremely dangerous endeavor that you want to undertake. Are you sure about this?"
Justin couldn't help laughing at Art's question, but he was shocked to hear how unhinged the laughter sounded. "No, I am not sure at all, but I know I was sent here to help, and I believe this is the way that I can do it." Justin took a deep breath to rein in his emotions. "Art, send your letter. While he is doing that, I will need to be told everything you know about dragons."
As Art nodded and silently left the room to prepare the letter, Justin couldn't help but wonder if all of his bravado about helping the people of Aldervaile was just a dream that was about to go up in literal smoke.