A New Era

"The nursery?!" Hanna seemed to appear from nowhere. Obviously, Alaron's effort to get her away from the danger had failed.

She joined the princess in filling another bag full of rubble to clear.

" Are you still taking babies away from their mothers and housing them in a separate place?!" The Fate accused with a scowl.

In spite of the situation, Lukoss spared her a weary look. "Of course not! We are simply giving mothers a place to gather and keep their children safe. After most of our females left, it seemed like a good way to start to build community again."

There was some sense to his words. The ladies who had stayed behind and even decided to join the Gnomes would have found all of the males around them overwhelming. Giving them a safe place was actually very thoughtful.

And now, that safe place had been cut off from the rest, buried in rubble!

"Do you think the rats got to do them before coming here?" Alaron took a pickax to a larger rock, breaking it in two.

He hadn't wanted to ask the question, but Lukoss would know of the cave rat's habits.

"I don't think so. He seemed to come out of the wall not from the tunnel. I imagine if he had gorged himself on our children he would not have been hungry enough to head our way. But we won't know for sure until we get through, which means we have to hurry." Lukoss redoubled his efforts, forcing them all into a strained silence.

The damage was far more significant than initially thought. The gnomes began to pick through the rocks more carefully as they got deeper into the mess. While the rocks towards the front were all easy to remove and not intertwined, the ones behind them carried the weight of each other in a delicate balance.

Not wanting the less experienced workers to accidentally get crushed, the humans were asked to keep a safe distance and carry away only what was brought to them.

As such, Mairwen only heard snippets of the gnomes' conversations as they worked.

"I don't like this pattern. These attacks are getting more and more frequent."

"And to think only a few months ago, most of us believed cave rats to only be fairy tales."

"Losing the magic has made them more aggressive."

"I still hold to my theory that whatever they were eating before either died with the magic or is no longer accessible. The rodents have become desperate."

"At least we will eat well for a few days. Maybe the smell of roasting Ratsteak will deter any of the other critters from attacking."

"Or attract them…"

This is how the bulk of the interactions went, giving the princess a decent picture of the state of things under the earth. Just because the gnomes would not be affected by the rising temperatures on the surface, that did not mean they were not suffering their own additional side effects from the Magic's death. The aggressive cave rats were one of the many new problems they were encountering.

"Oh no!" A cry rang out from the rockslide.

One of the gnomes had misjudged the array of stones and pulled the wrong one. The result was a catastrophic failure.

The stones began to shift and crack under the pressure. The ground rumbled.

"Get clear!" Lukoss called to his people. They did not need to be told twice. Under normal circumstances, the gnomes could have weathered the falling rocks or even prevented them from cascading altogether.

Now they could only flee the chaos or get caught up in it. A couple tripped and fell in the shifting rocks only to be rescued by their brethren who were also desperately trying to escape.

Mairwen tensed at the scene. Renat took her hand and pulled her backward.

"Don't worry, I'm not going into the danger!" She told her husband.

"It's not that, look!" Renat pointed to a fissure in the ceiling. A few moments later, rocks fell from above. They had been cracked in the initial fight and knocked loose by the small earthquake.

Shielding the princess with his body, Renat felt the dust and shards whip against his tunic. He remained still until the last of the rocks from both instances finished settling.

"Are you alright?" The scientist helped his wife to stand.

"I am, thanks to you," Mairwen hugged Renat and planted a much-deserved kiss on his cheek.

Eira came from their left and bowed. "We managed to back away in time. All the humans and horses are unharmed."

"That is good news. I do hope the gnomes faired just as well." Mairwen studied the new lay of the land.

The tower of stone had melted away like ice in the sunshine, leaving only a low but wide pile of rock behind. The gnomes who had not been able to get away from the avalanche in time were being dug out, but the princess did not see any obvious casualties from this part of the mayhem.

Lukoss was one of those being released from a rocky tomb. He had stayed behind to urge others to safety. Thankfully when he emerged from the stone, he did not seem seriously injured.

"The earth will have to try harder than that if it wishes to finish me off." He brushed off his tunic.

Already many of the male gnomes were clamoring over the debris to run down the tunnel. By the looks on their faces as they raced, the princess easily that these were the ones whose wives and children were in the nursery. Renat would be wearing the same look of worry if she were the one who was in danger. 

After making sure Lukoss was alright, the four humans and Fate moved with him down the passage. It was heartening to note that the rest of the passage did not seem to have additional damage and even more encouraging that the door was intact.

The males all waited outside hesitantly. Under their new laws, they were forbidden from entering the room without the king's express permission. Whatever the consequences of the action, it was enough for the males to wait for Lukoss before moving into action.

The gnome king knocked lightly. 

No one answered. A sinking feeling came over those present.

Lukoss knocked a little harder. No answer.

"We have to get in there," one husband screamed. 

The king set his mouth in a determined line. "Break down the door."

Moving out of the way, he allowed three of the gnomes to obey his orders. At first, the entrance seemed to be blocked by something heavy, but the rocky gnomes weight overcame it in no time. 

Inside there was silence and darkness. 

"Is anyone here?" Lukoss asked.

"My king?" a voice came timidly from the darkness.

A moment later, torches were brought into the nursery. The ladies were all gathered into a tight group, protecting the children. 

"Is it safe?" one of them asked. "We heard the crash and growling and did our best to protect the little ones."

"You did well. You are safe. If it is alright, your husbands would like to see you." With their permission, Lukoss allowed the gnomes to enter the room.

Each found his mate or children and hugged them tightly. Mairwen and the others were the last to enter, but they were no less happy at the reunions. 

"How is she?" Lukoss called to a gnome not far away. 

In response, he received a brilliant smile. "Come see for yourself, My King!" 

Because Mairwen wondered why a gnome would want Lukoss to come and see his wife, she and the others followed him. There must be something very special about the female to get such special attention. The princess soon discovered she was right. 

"Oh!" Mairwen squealed. It wasn't the gnome's wife Lukoss was asking about at all.

"What is the meaning of this?" Hanna looked visibly upset. 

Alaron jumped in before the Fate could continue. "Is that ...your daughter?!"

"That's right." The gnomic father beamed. 

"Can you believe it? For the first time in over two thousand years, we have a female gnome. After giving up our practice of wife-stealing, the Maker finally heard our cry and has blessed us." Lukoss patted the girl's father on the shoulder. "She will be very popular in a few years. You will have your work cut out for you."

"I only hope she will have a sister soon," the father motioned to his wife's stomach, which was bulging. The lady blushed. 

Hanna was more astonished than anyone. "I owe you an apology," she said sheepishly. "I was about to accuse you of taking her. Please forgive me." 

Lukoss gave a half smile and chuckled. "Don't worry. If I hadn't seen it myself, I am not sure I would have believed it either." 

The princess bent down and looked at the child. "Nice to meet you little one. I am Mairwen."

The child waved in response.

The girl represented a new era. 'But,' Mairwen wondered sadly, 'will that era include magic?'

She was determined to make sure it would.

For all their sakes.