The balding gnome stood with his back against the high ledge of the canal. Just outside the Cathedral District, around the corner from the main offices of the Stormwind City Watch where his primary laboratory was located, a gentle late-winter breeze ruffled his erratic mane of brown hair that he’d allowed to grow long. Though the sun shone high and the midday felt unseasonably warm, the caress of the chill air across his bald scalp sent a shiver through his spine. A reminder that winter had not yet relinquished its hold.
Tiny servo-motors whirred from the set of gnomish crafted goggles as the master tinker gazed at the abandoned building across the cobblestoned street from him. Each lens adjusted an independent aperture which were tied in part to magnification mechanisms. Small magnetos energized particle crystals within a variety thin lenses housed within each oculus, altering their charge which in turn allowed the gnome to change through several visual spectrums. In a matter of minutes, with the aid of a few small bots of his own design, Master Tinker and Professor-emeritus Nixim Henris Dibik Blackwrench had fully mapped the structure and examined thoroughly its points of structural strengths and weaknesses.
“It’ll do.” He thought aloud.
With a practiced gesture of shrugging his brow, the gnome’s field of vision returned to its natural state. He pushed the goggles up onto his slick head, folded his arms, and leaned backward against the tall stone ledge of the canal. Commander Orwyn had come through on his offer. There were several abandoned buildings throughout the sprawling city and the commander offered his pick of a select few following a list of guidelines Nixim had expressed.
He honestly didn’t think the man had been paying attention. In truth so few do, especially when the tinker gets excited and forgets with whom he is conversing. It was no slight against them. Only a fool would expect another race and culture, regardless of similarities, to be understanding of his own. Let alone sensitive to. After all, the tall folk still favored the more primitive form of feudalistic governance. A thing which gnome-kind had evolved out of long ago.
Far from ideal, the structure possessed many flaws which would have to be corrected. Only then could he begin the long process of retrofits and upgrades. It also lacked a sufficient substructure capable of supporting the kind of machinery he would require, and so an excavation at some point would be a necessity. While he was fortifying the foundations he might as well familiarize himself with the cities’ overall substructure, should subterranean expansion become a necessity.
The building itself was expansive enough to run the anti-magic security-field tests he currently required, but that was only the beginning. Nixim had much grander plans in store for what would become his newest laboratory. Gazing at the structure from across the street with his natural eyes, the gnome’s expanded mental capabilities ran wild with ideas. Utilizing a method of mental imagery projection (or seeing through one’s “mind eye” as some have said) the gnome spent hours laying out his designs and envisioning the end results; completely ignorant of the usual pedestrians that casually passed by, who equally paid him no mind.
The sun fell deeper toward the sea and the shadows of the evening stretched further. Nixim rubbed his tired eyes. He pushed himself from the canal ledge and stretched stiff joints. The day was drawing to a close for most within the city. The usual foot traffic had grown thin as shop owners began pulling in their wears and shutting doors. Across the canal fishermen and transporter secured their boats and gear before vacating the small docks. As the gnome turned down the long corridor toward his lab nearest the Watch Offices he knew his day was just kicking into gear.
Tiny servo-motors whirred from the set of gnomish crafted goggles as the master tinker gazed at the abandoned building across the cobblestoned street from him. Each lens adjusted an independent aperture which were tied in part to magnification mechanisms. Small magnetos energized particle crystals within a variety thin lenses housed within each oculus, altering their charge which in turn allowed the gnome to change through several visual spectrums. In a matter of minutes, with the aid of a few small bots of his own design, Master Tinker and Professor-emeritus Nixim Henris Dibik Blackwrench had fully mapped the structure and examined thoroughly its points of structural strengths and weaknesses.
“It’ll do.” He thought aloud.
With a practiced gesture of shrugging his brow, the gnome’s field of vision returned to its natural state. He pushed the goggles up onto his slick head, folded his arms, and leaned backward against the tall stone ledge of the canal. Commander Orwyn had come through on his offer. There were several abandoned buildings throughout the sprawling city and the commander offered his pick of a select few following a list of guidelines Nixim had expressed.
He honestly didn’t think the man had been paying attention. In truth so few do, especially when the tinker gets excited and forgets with whom he is conversing. It was no slight against them. Only a fool would expect another race and culture, regardless of similarities, to be understanding of his own. Let alone sensitive to. After all, the tall folk still favored the more primitive form of feudalistic governance. A thing which gnome-kind had evolved out of long ago.
Far from ideal, the structure possessed many flaws which would have to be corrected. Only then could he begin the long process of retrofits and upgrades. It also lacked a sufficient substructure capable of supporting the kind of machinery he would require, and so an excavation at some point would be a necessity. While he was fortifying the foundations he might as well familiarize himself with the cities’ overall substructure, should subterranean expansion become a necessity.
The building itself was expansive enough to run the anti-magic security-field tests he currently required, but that was only the beginning. Nixim had much grander plans in store for what would become his newest laboratory. Gazing at the structure from across the street with his natural eyes, the gnome’s expanded mental capabilities ran wild with ideas. Utilizing a method of mental imagery projection (or seeing through one’s “mind eye” as some have said) the gnome spent hours laying out his designs and envisioning the end results; completely ignorant of the usual pedestrians that casually passed by, who equally paid him no mind.
The sun fell deeper toward the sea and the shadows of the evening stretched further. Nixim rubbed his tired eyes. He pushed himself from the canal ledge and stretched stiff joints. The day was drawing to a close for most within the city. The usual foot traffic had grown thin as shop owners began pulling in their wears and shutting doors. Across the canal fishermen and transporter secured their boats and gear before vacating the small docks. As the gnome turned down the long corridor toward his lab nearest the Watch Offices he knew his day was just kicking into gear.
