The gnomish city of Sprocketville was a wondrous sight. Fluorescent signs dazzled visitors with their bright colors, attracting potential customers to purchase a few of the vendors' strange gadgets. Large machines were constantly clanging and whizzing and buzzing, some having a distinct purpose, others seemed to merely be for show. Mechanical vehicles zoomed across the roads, a far more foreign form of transportation compared to the animal mounts favored by other races. And the smell! The pungent scent of smog filled the air, stinging the nostrils of the outsiders.
The wondrous inventions and architecture were just as intriguing as the gnomes themselves. Barely coming up to the knees of many of the more common people, the gnomes were quite small, causing visitors to the city to be on a constant lookout to avoid tripping over their eccentric hosts. They sported many odd fashions, with hair dyed vivid shades of purple, green, blue, pink, and any other assortment of colors.
Mazra had a difficult time keeping up with everything around her. She barely had time to look at something, before something else grabbed her attention. The strange people were bustling about their business, sometimes walking right bewtween the orc's legs, paying no mind to her, causing her to trip more than once as she walked through the streets. Growing up in an orcish village, and the closest settlements all being human towns, gave Mazra no opportunities to experience the wonderful inventions the gnomes had to offer, before today. She wanted to experience it all.
Mazra's thoughts were interrupted by a low rumble from her stomach. Deciding that lunch would be the best option before seeing the rest of this marvelous city, the young orc stepped into a nearby pub.
Taking a seat at the counter, she eyed the menu with a little confusion. While the human settlements she had visited thus far on her journey offered a multitude of ales and wines to drink, it appeared that the gnomes faovred much stranger drinks, none of which Mazra was familiar with. As she stared at the list of drinks, a gnomish girl with bright, pink pigtails took the seat next to her.
"Hello there," the gnome said in a squeaky, high-pitched voice, giving Mazra a friendly wave.
"Hello," Mazra replied, returning the wave and smiling.
"We don't get many orcs here in Sprocketville," the gnome said, giving a girlish giggle. "And by the way you're staring at the drink names, I can tell that you've never been in a gnomish city before, have you?"
"Er, no. No, I haven't," Mazra replied, sheepishly. "These drinks sound... strange. I've never even heard of these before. What would you recommend?" she asked.
"Don't worry," the gnome said. "I got this!" She waved the bartender over. "Can we get two fizzcranks, please?" she asked. The bartender merely nodded before mixing a variety of liquids into two tall glasses. As new ingredients were added, the contents of the glasses released puffs of smoke and changed colors, from green to red to purple to orange, before finally settling on a bright, blue color.
As the drink was placed in front of Mazra, she eyed it cautiously. She had never seen anything she intended to consume do that before. "Don't worry," her new friend piped up, already finished with half of her glass. "It won't bite. Well, not more than any other drink," she said, giving off another high pitched giggle.
Mazra picked up the glass, noting that the liquid inside seemed to glow slightly. She sniffed it, detecting some sort of fruity aroma. She took a small sip of it, the strong alcohol stinging her throat. "Blueberry," she said with a smile.
Her gnomish companion laughed once again at some unknown joke. "I just realized," she squeaked. "That I'm buying you drinks and I don't even know your name, cutie. I'm Elora, but everyone just calls me Ellie!"
Mazra blushed at being called "cutie". Orcs were never called such childish names. "My name is Mazra, of the Wolf Heart Clan," she replied, taking Ellie's outstretched hand, and shaking it firmly.
Ellie smiled, warmly. "So, Miss Wolf Heart," she said, in her happy, squeaky voice. "What brings a big, strong, beautiful, powerful, and gorgeous orc like yourself all the way out to big ol' Sprocketville. We don't get many bigger folk around here, especially not orcs. They all think we're crazy."
"Well," Mazra began, taking another sip of her drink. She had decided she liked the rather sweet concoction. "I recently came of age in my village. I am now free to pursue whatever life I desire, and ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to go on adventures, so I'm seeing the world."
Ellie was transfixed, her drink long finished, giving Mazra her undivided attention. "Ooh," she commented, wide eyed. "So where have you been so far?"
"Not many places, yet," Mazra replied, finishing off her drink. "Just a few human settlements, and the Dragonspine Mountains. So, what about you? What is it that you do?"
"Well," Ellie chirped. "I am an inventor!" She stated, proudly.
