' = Internal dialogue

¨= Normal speech

* = Sounds / Etc

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—Chapter 52 Start—

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After sitting there while looking at the five gnomes who had all lowered their rifles, anxiety and fear practically oozed from them. Suppose it weren't for their heavily geared armor and goggles that covered them almost entirely. In that case, I'd see their eyes wide open with fear.

So I checked my notifications briefly, hoping to see what had happened and caused me to end up in Gnomeregan of all places.

—

{Warning!}

[Warp] Trait: Portal: Forcefully Disabled Due to Evolution

-Temporarily Disabled, Portal Trait Evolution: Time Remaining: 6 Days, 12 Hours

—

The realization that I had forgotten something like bringing a hearthstone on the journey into the End Time events made me groan in frustration at the oversight.

'Well, shit. Six days and twelve hours until I am going to be met by two women who will, without a doubt, make my life a living hell for some time.'

Then, I turned back toward the gnomes and considered how to handle the situation. Still, in the end, I sighed and leaned further back into my comfortable metal and copper-wired seat.

"Not an expected welcome, I can say that one for certain... still, I apologize for destroying... whatever this was, was it important?" I asked calmly. Looking at their reactions, I could see them almost slump down to their knees, but the one who spoke before stepped forward and said, "I am sorry for my subordinate firing at you, but we are currently in a major conflict against Troggs and most of us... have had some rough couple of weeks..." The gnome who stepped forward said with a hint of... hope?

"That... Mk-69 Generator kept a layer of electricity through the walls in the area, which is our current preventive measure of keeping the enemies from getting through the walls on short notice... now though... this part of the tunnel is compromised... lucky for us that this is an end-tunnel... If it were further in, we'd be screwed..."

'Oh damn, now I just feel bad, even if it wasn't my fault for crash-landing there in the first place.'

I was rudely interrupted out of my thoughts as the wall behind the generator shook slightly before it crumbled into the ground. A small horde of ugly humanoid beings wearing picks and stone hatchets with bucket hats shouted with glee as they rushed into the hall, only to be stopped by additional walls that instantly took shape at their sides as I clapped my hands together and a wet *SQUELCH* sounded out as a wave of blood and gore spewed everywhere.

A small stream of blood ran down the hall, away from the gnomes.

We were located in a sector that went downwards, 'How convenient.'

Then, I expanded the walls of blood and gore and pushed the rubble toward the newly created opening, directly sealing the newly created entry.

"..." "That just happened... didn't it, Gnaz?" "... Yes... it did, Carvo..."

After hearing the gnomes talk in whispers while gazing at the pool of blood forming on the floor, I asked, "So... is there anyone I can talk to who is a bit... higher in command? Don't get me wrong, I am not looking down on you five, but I do not get the impression any of you are used to being in the lead."

The first gnome who had spoken and apologized for his friend stepped forward and slightly bowed, "I am Sergeant Major Nevin Twistwrench. My squad here is currently patrolling the halls to check for any irregularities, and we came as fast as we could when the alarm went off in this sector. You are right... I am merely the leader of this squad." He said calmly while still peaking at the wall I had just smashed back into the hole the small horde of Troggs came through.

Then he stood firm and asked almost pleadingly, "Please come with us. We will lead you to the council quarters."

I was getting slightly winded at this point. There had been so much going on for these last hours, and the fact that I had been forcefully pushed toward certain events lately made me start to lose focus. Even with my MP and HP fully recovered, I had grown strong enough to fight mental fatigue for an extended amount of time, but I still could grow tired.

I nodded tiredly, and they stepped on their Mechanostriders one by one and turned around. Nevin turned back to me and asked sheepishly, "Do you, by any chance, need transportation?" I just shook my head, and he nodded, "Well then, try to keep up!" He said, and with surprising speed, the five gnomes took off on their mounts through the halls.

Imbuing myself with wind, I felt myself effortlessly floating through the air while easily keeping up with the gnomes who initially thought they would need to slow down and wait for me to catch up. Turns out they got that wrong as I hovered behind them as we made our way through the tunnels at high speed.

The halls looked impressive, with long solid pipes on the ceiling and electrical lamps that lit up the area ahead, showing beautifully carved tunnels with a thick layer of processed metal plates acting as support between bronze beams throughout the entire tunnel.

My impression of the highly technological wonder in a medieval-looking world setting left me gaping as we passed several large halls. One had tiny houses all around a vast square room. The only indication of it having any inhabitants were the deserted balconies that had little lamps and small hatch doors going into the metal walls.

I learned from my escort as we kept our pace toward our destination that this was a dormitory for the rich, which they had to abandon upon the first wave of attackers.

We soon passed by a hall leading further downward. This area was filled with gnomes working on technological components like walking mailboxes and miscellaneous things within that category. They even had small alarm bots serving them drinks with tiny cable-like arms. Most drinks have yet to reach the tables, though, as dozens of shattered glass cups lay on the floor.

As we kept moving, we soon reached a room where a humongous machine stood in the center. It stretched all the way onto the ceiling. It reminded me of a gigantic clockwork, as the whole thing moved with erratic movements constantly, as the gears shifted in place with loud thuds that resonated throughout the halls.

'What is that supposed to be?' I thought as we moved past the room and into a hallway that shifted toward the right and then straightened at the end.

We reached a vast circular room with many hangars, filled to the brim with dangerous-looking vehicles. Still, for whom it was dangerous, I wasn't sure.

As gnomish engineering tended to have to be tested repeatedly just to get the small details right, at least from my experience in my own city, they were in a clear second place when it came to city interruption.

At the same time, I was in first place because my spells and results were beyond the scope of the gnomes... currently.

"Oy, why are you bringing an elf into the city?" A gnome with thick green goggles and a gray mutton chop beard got into the way as he stared at Nevin, who replied sternly but saluted as he did, "Sir Sparkspanner, this man saved our squad when the Troggs broke through the northeastern sector of Tinker's rest, the sector we had to abandon due to the previous wave.

One of our tinkers put up an Mk-69-Sixty-nine there, and it had run out of power upon our arrival. This man appeared and saved us from the threat of a small horde of those savages... So we are bringing him to the Engineering labs to see the High Tinker." Nevin replied calmly.

'So he conveniently left out I appeared out of nowhere, and they encountered me literally seated in that generator, huh? He really wants my help with something and is going as far as lying to his people to get me to the destination...' I pondered as the elderly gnome switched his gaze between Nevin and me while grooming his little mustache.

I did not bother correcting the gnome who called me an elf. It is better this way.

"Alright, lad, while you are heading there, can you take this?" Telzo asked while he walked to the side and wrapped a few documents into a small package.

"The advisor of the High Tinkerer would, without a doubt, want those documents as fast as possible," Telzo said.

He stared at me for a moment before walking up to Nevin and whispering into his ear, with my enhanced hearing I could hear everything he said, "This invention can be our solution to the Trogg threat, keep it safe with your lives."

Nevin nodded and saluted, "Off you go then, lad, don't keep the council waiting." Telzo said with a smile and apparent anticipation in his voice.

'Something feels off about that gnome...' I thought as we kept moving through the room filled with different kinds of flying vehicles and weaponry.

Then we entered a much more narrow hallway leading us through a zig-zag pattern pathway until we got to a seemingly ordinary metallic wall.

Nevin reached for his pocket and mumbled a long series of numbers as he pushed the exact numbers on his datapad. After a complete minute of the gnome mumbling a shit ton of ones and zeros in what I came to believe was binary, I could hear the cogs shift and turn from the other side as its mechanism opened and gave us sight of what was inside.

A large generator stood in the middle of the gigantic room, its pipes going in every direction and onto the ceiling above. Several devices measuring pressure and heat were placed on a large display.

Some gnomes were scribbling something down on some parchment while arguing loudly.

As I kept following the five gnomes through the masses of tiny people, I couldn't help but notice that many seemed downtrodden and worn as they stood by the side, looking shabby and munching on old pieces of bread with a sour expression on their faces.

'So even highly technologically advanced civilizations can't keep their people from starving or being this discontent, huh... I can't really judge based on what I know of the situation this far though, the Troggs might be entirely at fault for what I know, but something tells me I am wrong...' I pondered as we kept trying to get past the gnomes.

We soon reached a small gate that seemed to lead even further down. As we approached this seemingly ordinary gate, we were all met by dozens of turrets rising above the ground, down from the ceiling, and buzzing with violent electric charges.

Revin calmly reached for his datapad and this time only spent around ten seconds typing, and then the turrets powered down and I could hear noise from the four gnomes behind Ravin letting out sighs of relief.

The small gate opened as an elevator came into view as it had just reached our floor. We all naturally stepped on it, and with a sudden movement, we descended downward for at least a hundred meters until we reached an entrance where guards decked out in high-tech armor sat a massive turret each. Both were stacked with ammunition and had us in their laser sights as soon as we entered their view. Both of these turrets were elevated onto a platform each.

"Halt! What is your business with the council?" One of them demanded as we approached.

"VIP Package from assistant Telzo Sparkspanner, and an emergency update on sector Alpha-5, Delta-24" Revin stated firmly, this made the two guard's turrets aim down toward the floor and away from us and one replied, "Wait here, I will inform the council of your arrival." Then he opened a small hatch door through a small hatch frame within the platform he stood on and disappeared.

I was genuinely impressed by the gnomes' professionalism... if you looked away from my first encounter with Shooty, the gnomes were honestly the most impressive people I have encountered this far.

If you look away from the Draenei, the Draenei had thousands of years of progress and a lifespan that made the gnomes look like children in more ways than one.

After several minutes, I could hear some kind of gadget fidgeting inside the wall for a moment before the door opened, and the guard from before returned and waved us inside.

I had to lower myself to chest level to get through this gate of theirs, which made two of the gnomes who had accompanied us snort in amusement, watching the semi-giant of an human/orc hybrid try to get through the small passage.

After a minute of almost crawling through the narrow hallway, we finally reached a large circular room.

As we entered the room, however, we were met by a loud argument from several gnomes placed on mechanical pedestals with a fancy-looking chair and a screen display of some sort in front of said seat, "Advisor Thermaplugg. Without dire consequences, we cannot release the test toxin into sector A-Two, E-Six! Your plan is borderline insane! A frustrated-sounding gnome with red armor and red un-even goggles hanging around his neck shouted toward the other.

"We are simply left with no other choice! What do you think will happen once the Troggs reach the civilians!? There will be dire consequences regardless of what approach we take in this situation. I am simply choosing the lesser evil!" The so-called Advisor argued and then shouted toward the end.

Then the first voice replied with disdain, "Releasing the toxic waste into our halls is insanity! We have started working on new devices that can transfer vibrations through the walls, hoping to tear down the creatures' tunnels before they strike! This is only in the testing phase, but the results improve daily!"

"Thank you, Tinker Overspark, for your valuable input. We need to-." The gnome, who seemed to be on the highest pedestal, was interrupted by the so-called Advisor Thermaplugg and shouted, "High Tinker! It should be clear that we have been under attack for long enough! It's been nine months, and people are tired of our passive approach to the problem!" Thermaplugg interrupted before a shout resounded through the council room.

"ENOUGH!" A magnified voice shouted in evident frustration, "I do not agree to release the toxin into the lower halls. We should find other solutions before resorting to something that would be a last resort!" The gnome in charge said with an authoritative voice.

Then he continued calmly after the outburst, "My friend, even if the situation is dire, we are not yet at the point of releasing the toxin into our halls.

Even if you keep saying it will not affect us, I simply cannot agree to such a thing. Even if you have given proof of short-term exposure, we still have no idea about the long-term consequences."

"High Tinker, I only recommend this due to what is best for our continued survival! If we do not act now, we might never be able to stop the invasion! We might even stop it before they take over the lower sectors!" The agitated-looking council member shouted in frustration. The gnome who sat at the side of the highest pedestal protested.

"Enough, this discussion is over, we have another situation at hand which requires our attention." The king said dismissingly.

That reaction provoked an emotionless face from the Advisor, who sat down and reached for his datapad.

We stood by at the entrance of the council's room for a moment before the guard who came to get us earlier ushered us forward onto the center of the circular room.

Nevin's squad stayed behind as only he and I walked toward the metallic circle on the floor, many of the council members gasped when they laid their eyes on me, without a doubt not having seen an "Elf" in decades or ever outside their books, all of a sudden one appearing in their home provoked that reaction, the Advisor gazed at me for a moment then back down to his datapad.

"Sergeant Major Nevin Twistwrench, the council approved your emergency appointment due to your report about the state of sector Alpha-5, Delta-24. Please speak." The High Tinkerer spoke tiredly while scribbling on some notes before returning his eyes to us.

"Yes, High Tinker, but before I deliver my report, I have an urgent delivery for Advisor Thermaplugg." Nevin said calmly and a guard made his way toward us and received the package, then walked up the side of the room, toward where the council was seated, and handed the Advisor the small package.

"High Tinker, my squad and I were nearby when the alarm system notified us of a grade three breach nearby, and when we managed to reach the destination of the breach to secure it, we found this man, and one of mine ended up firing an AM-One bullet into him by accident." Most of the council gasped in horror until the High Tinkerer raised his hand and asked, "But he seems completely fine to me? He asked quizzically, a pondering look on his face.

"That is the thing odd thing, the bullet was merely shrugged off as it fell to the ground, Shooty had his filter enabled and had fired out of fear, I recommend that Shooty return to the academy, High Tinker." Nevin said, and I could hear Shooty fall to his knees and start wailing like a child.

The High Tinkerer nodded solemnly, then turned his gaze toward me and asked, "I assume by the fact that my men are still alive, that you mean no harm to us, but... how did you end up in Gnomeregan? Our halls are on lockdown, and no one should be able to access our city in these times."

I massaged my chin momentarily, considering how to reply to that question, "You are right. I mean no harm to any of you. I simply ended up here due to an accident magical in nature. Sometimes magic can be more unpredictable than goblin engineering." I said simply while shrugging at the end.

I could hear some of the guards behind me snort. However, the council kept silent as they gave me their full attention. Hence, the High Tinkerer looked toward Nevin and indicated for him to continue his report.

Nevin cleared his throat and spoke, "As we had just encountered an unknown entity, the generator in the sector had been severely damaged, and as a result, it lost a majority of its functions, enabling a breach that seems to have been pre-arranged to take place."

After a slight pause, he continued, "We heard the western wall of the sector crumble from within as a full unit of Troggs tore down said wall and started their assault, which would have resulted in major casualties... If they were not stopped the moment, they entered the sector by this man right here." Nevin pointed toward me and continued, "He single-handedly crushed the unit of troggs and closed the breach within mere moments and has since then been escorted by my squad directly to you, High Tinker." Nevin finished and bowed toward the High Tinker, who had a thoughtful frown at that moment.

'I'm honestly starting to get tired of this. Even if the gnomes have been treating me kindly and I have gone along with them thus far, I do not appreciate being looked at like a zoo animal.' I thought as the entire room was silent.

I sighed, which made some of the council members slightly wary. Then I looked at the king of gnomes in the eyes, Gelbin Mekkatorque, the one who single-handedly up-lifted the gnomes into the playing field of the humans and dwarves.

"I am the leader of the newly created city across the seas to the north. If you had proper contact with the outside, you would have learned that I have personally visited Stormwind and currently hold a neutral stance with the alliance." I said calmly. The High Tinkerer looked thoughtful and was going to speak, but I raised my hand to interject, and he let me continue.

"I am not one for politics, and I feel that this situation is becoming just that... So I would prefer to get on with it already. Ending up here through an accident and, as a result of a magical accident, ruining the generator in the process around this so-called sector upon my arrival, I'm going to offer a hand to help you with the situation, if only to get away from whatever in-depth politicking that is going on here." I gazed toward his Advisor, who scribbled madly into his datapad before turning to his king and seemed to want to speak.

But I continued, "As I have been fighting almost non-stop for the last twenty hours, I would still like to rest. I am thoroughly spent, and instead of standing here like I am beneath you and your council, I'd very much like to just spend some time in rela-". Still, I was rudely interrupted by a frantic guardsman who came rushing into the council hall. "High Tinker! Sector thirteen has been breached!"

"What!?/The tarnation!?/How!?" The voices of the panicked council and several guards resonated throughout the hall as the king rose to his feet and grasped a huge, manacing-looking wrench that seemed to act like his weapon.

'I guess there won't be any time to relax before later then...' I sighed audibly, which garnered the attention of the High Tinker, who stared at me for a moment before he said, "I would like to take you up on that offer to help us. As you can see, we are pretty understaffed."

Then his voice became stern, "And sector thirteen is nearby, and that means we will not have enough time to get the manpower to deal with the current breach as breaches into the sectors that only have numbers are based on how important they are, and in this case... they are directly above our granary, this means they are mere moments away from further putting my people into starvation."

After a brief pause, I nodded, "So, how do we get there before they can access your food supplies?" This brought forth a slight smirk from the small man as he reached into his pocket, brought a remote controller of some kind, and then pointed it toward the wall on the eastern side of the room where no one currently stood.

Then, a dull *THUD* resonated throughout the rooms as sounds of cogs and machinery swirled into action as the wall elevated itself into the ceiling with the help of large machine arms that seemed to lift the entire structure.

"Guards and combat personnel! Prepare to slaughter the invaders that dare to invade our glorious city!" The king stated with complete confidence and righteous anger in his voice as all the gnomes shouted in chorus, "For Gnomeregan!"

Somehow the scene in front of me reminded me of the fact my humor sucked, as I could only imagine all the small Oompa Loompas prepearing their weapons and pointy sticks before heading into battle, 'heh.'

My tired self was slowly winning the battle as I floated toward the now-open wall that had been treated as if a box-opener had gone bonkers.

*Yawn*

—Chapter 52 End—