Safaru-Before she met Luka-boy
Bored.
That was all Gnome could think as the young looking spirit walked though the desert, holding a mudmade doll in her hands while another group trailed behind her like a small army.
"How many years has it been?" she thought, remembering a time long ago.
XXX
Hundreds of years ago.
"Oh? Are you that Earth Spirit I've heard so much about?"
She was beautiful.
Her skin was unblemished, her green dress was form-fitting and snug against her body, and her white hair seemed to flow like a river behind her.
If only she would just shut up!
Gnome sat in the depths of Heinrich's consciousness, starting to regret her contract with the hero as an irritating little pest floated around her.
Unaware of Gnome's irritation, the bug happily buzzed around her.
While Gnome did know about the existence of her three fellow spirit's, this was her first time meeting one.
Sylph, the Spirit of Wind.
Currently, she was the most rage inducing thing Gnome had ever met (Well, living out in the desert, she really didn't really have anyone to interact with, but that was besides the point). Happily oblivious, Sylph began to rapidly fire words like cannon fire out from her mouth in a high pitched voice.
"I've never seen any other elemental spirits, so this is really exciting! Heinrich says he want's to get the other two spirits! I wonder what their like? Do you think they'll be like you or me? Hey what do you like to do for fun? What's your favorite type of person to play with? Do you have any friends? What is it like in that desert? Oh Oh! Maybe your mud dolls can meet my friends in the forest! Would you like to here a joke-
Gnome could take it no more.
Raising a fist into the air, she brought it down right onto Sylph's head.
The wind spirit fell to the "ground" beneath Gnome, mumbling incomprehensibly about a "Chi pa pa!".
"Shut Up."
It was one of the very few times that Gnome spoke, even rarer was the raising of her voice.
It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
XXX
Gnome took a moment to briefly smile at the memories. While she would never say it out loud, she truly did value that time in her life when she joined Heinrich's quest.
Nevertheless, it had been many years since that time. Enough time to make memories thinks that you had to actively recall instead of instantly knowing.
Now, Gnome was actively digging into her memories to remember that time. Even so, she would never forget her first meeting with Sylph, not in a million years.
Wait, digging-!
Just like that, Gnome found the solution to her boredom. Walking up to a nearby boulder, she punched it with all of her might.
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Now that she had a big enough piece of stone, shaped into a jagged form by her control over the earth, Gnome went to get more materials for her project. Soon enough, she found a tree growing in the sand. Climbing up, she snatched some vines from the top of the tree.
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Going over to a small sand dune, Gnome laid down what she had collected. So far, she had a jagged rock piece, three vines, and another piece of rock. This one was shaped like a long pole. Cracking her knuckles, Gnome let a rare grin grow on her face. It was time to get to work.
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When she was done, Gnome had a fully functional pickaxe. The jagged stone was tied to the pole by vines. With her mastery of the earth, she had smoothed out the jutting edges on the stone while sharpening the ends. Now, she just needed a good spot to start mining.
XXX
Back when Safaru was still populated, she had seen the small man and women who lived here do something like this. Walking up to a rocky hill, she nodded approvingly, finding it to her liking.
She carefully aimed her pick at the side, holding it steady.
Gnome brought her pick down, striking the earth.
And so begins Gnome Fortress, a fusion between Monster Girl Quest and DF. I'd also like to make it clear that this is a side story to my Berserk/MGQ crossover, though I plan to make this one less bleak and violent for now.