The Tale of Snashnather

Around the edge of the Nome King’s Domain and just before the Deadly Desert, there is a quaint little village called Snashnather that I happened to stumble through on my way to the Emerald City. It was a quaint little town that prospered off of the left over jewels the Miners would chuck to the Aboveground World if they weren’t the best in the bunch, if you please.  The Snashnatherians, being creatures of small stature and large teeth, would gather the strewn about gems and gnaw on them until they were of pristine quality. I found that, when offered to test my own skills in the Snashnatherian ways, I almost popped every tooth out of my head, so I decided to leave the work to the professionals.

They mayor of the city, being ever more slightly taller than the rest and just a tad chubbier, with a twisted up mustache and a bulbous nose, somewhat waddled his way through the courtyard and around the workshops, showing me only the very best of the humble township. Cottages were sprinkled amongst the workshops, for it seemed that not all Snashnatherians gnashed away at the gems and those that did not, had no workshop near their home, but rather smaller structures used for, what looked like, inspection and cleanliness.

As we walked, the mayor was quick to explaining that the Snashnatherians were very secretive about their work and kept quite the quiet lifestyle. For if the Nome King discovered they were taking the discarded jewels from the mines from whence they came, his rage could be ensured and the lives that the Snashnatherians had grown accustomed to, would be in jeopardy.  I assured him that no word of their practices would be spread when I was to leave his village and he, with a jolly smile, led me to the town hall at the far end of the courtyard. It seemed as though the villagers had ceased their work to come and great me at the hall and for that I was grateful. Some presented me with jewels that were recently gnawed into beautiful shapes, cubes and spheres and such; things I had not yet seen on my travels. I stowed them away in my satchel and thanked each graciously for their kindness. The mayor rose to speak and greeted my ears with the kindest of words in regards to my impromptu visit. I waded through the sea of Snashnatherians and proceeded to say my goodbyes. Quite the experience I would say.