This was it, the little gnome knew - the enigmatic Gnodfather,
mastermind of the Gnafia, had what he needed. With his sweetie pie Big
Mama taking control of the Seal of Beauty, he had everything he needed
to activate the eight aether rings, and in turn activate the Seal of
Harmony. Curious things, he thought, and much older than anything he'd
seen before. Activating the seven rings, he knew what his first task
would be taking control of the cities. Backwater little things they may
be, their citizens had proven to be enough trouble. And so, surrounded
by his eager underlings, he did. And with the Nexuses of Power under his
control, he in turn claimed the cities as his own - and the villages
that they protected. Indeed, in short order, the Gnodfather was in
control of much of the Basin of Life - and, with Jolly Bundy being held
prisoner, any free gnomes were too despondent to challenge him. A job
well done, he'd thought - everything was falling into place.

What he did not anticipate, however, was the incompetence of some of his
underlings. Perhaps Greedy did not fully understand that competency was
not something money could necessarily buy, or Brains didn't realize that
Gargle von Fixit was truly the greatest gnomish mind of their
generation. Perhaps Slimeball got lazy, or perhaps everyone just gave
one gnome too little credit. For it was Fritz Moonpie, Ensign on the
aethership Starhopper, who would come to be the hero of the gnomes,
without a doubt behind the Gnafia's downfall. While the good professor
postulated and theorized, and Captain Girda fumed in their cell, Fritz
would sneak away and use the transponder to relay messages to the Basin
of Life about the Gnafia's activity, and raid their lunch cooler.

One by one the Underbosses of the Gnafia were taken down - with Fritz'
instruction, they were able to first track down Roxie "Brains" Wingnut
in the Xion Laboratory, where she had erected a great machine, one
capable of utilizing the elements to cause great storms in the Basin of
Life. In doing so, Professor Gargle had theorized, she had displayed a
highly advanced knowledge of mechanics and elemental engineering -
enough for her to tap into the Seal of Knowledge. It took much effort
but, finally, the combined forces of the Basin of Life were able to tear
down the machine, and so end the storms that had come to plague their
homelands. Though Roxie Wingnut did her best to protect her creation, in
the end it was not enough - and she quickly departed into the depths of
Xion at its destruction.

Next, Fritz whispered, was that the one known as 'Greedy' was in fact a
gnome by the name of Guido Bondshredder, who operated an aetherspace
trading company out of Bottledowns, one which had long been suspected of
being a front for the Gnafia. Eagerly the forces of the Basin of Life
arrived to Bottledowns, finding an aged old gnome secretary, Missus
Skritch, within. Mistaking the dwarf Tully for the figurine of the same
name, the gnome happily allowed Tully to meet with Mr. Bondshredder.
Within, the masses found the greedy gnome himself, who gloated over his
maneuvers that lead to him tapping into the Seal of Chaos. At the threat
of violence, Greedy tapped a button beneath his desk, and plunged
everyone in the room into the dank cellar below. To their relief, the
forces of Glomdoring, Hallifax and Celest found a prison cell and, after
clearing the guards and finding their schedule for ensuring chaos
continued in the Basin of Life, they freed the inhabitants and retrieved
the stolen goods. Without the interference of Greedy's agents, now dead
at the entrance to the cell they guarded, the Basin's villages would in
time return to harmony.

Third was word that Ellie "Tootsie" Tooter was suspect of being involved
with the Seal of Life, and that they had overheard she had a base on
Dramube. Quickly the Basin of Life made their way there, to find a
behemoth of a serpent twisting across the desert. Despite Tootsie's
interference, they managed to slay the beast - first beating it in from
without, then hacking their way out from within. With the great Dramube
Serpent dead, no new eggs would be lain - and, after a thorough
cleansing of the Basin of Life, the sand creatures would not be seen
again.

Many prayers were answered soon after, when Fritz shared with them his
latest discovery - that Doctor Xaviar "Doc" Snapfuse had been gloating
about using a great stone he'd found to spread the contagion that had
become known as the dreaded skinrot. He also added, as was theorized by
Professor Gargle, that it would need to be cut off at the source
somehow, in order to bring an end to the plague. As they arrived on
Cankermore, where they suspected the Doctor to be working out of, they
found moss soldiers all about them - frozen, as though stone. After
speaking with the mold commander, it became clear they were
reinforcements they had called in to fight the undead - who were
profiting from the activities of the underboss. Empowering the moss to
be free, they used their own bodies to blanket what had become known as
the Illearth Rock - a rock that, on its own, emanated the disease. How
it had come to be found on Cankermore, none know, but there it still
rests, sinking slowly into the muck, covered in moss. Using a clump of
moss from the stone, the intrepid adventurers were able to use Doc's own
machine to manufacture a cure for the disease. And so began the long and
arduous process of curing the sick, one that continues still.

It was some days before the next clue was delivered, but delivered it
was - the gnome known as Slimeball, believed to be related to Brains,
had managed to tap into the Seal of War - though the Professor did not
know how, he did recognize a distinct smell when he'd last seen the
underboss - it was from a chemical only found in the quarantine zone.
Recognizing it by that alone, the forces of the Basin of Life hurried
off to Mucklemarsh, and probed the depths of the wrecked Divinity.
Within, to their horror, they found the missing Ciarrus and Quettle,
though not as they could have ever hoped. Infested by the slivven, the
two had become behemoth creatures with great carapaces and many sharp,
spindly legs. A great fight broke out and, though Roxie and Dominic
Wingnut tried to stop them, the criminal duo were unsuccessful, and
players managed to the cut down the horrors. In turn, it was discovered,
they were dwelling within, crying out each time they hurt another - and
with the deaths of their shells, their true bodies were free. And, as
they returned home, the Basin of Life knew peace once more, as the
aslaran and loboshigaru made peace and returned home.

A strange thing had occurred, however, not long after a true cure had
been found for the skinrot contagion - those who had consumed the Blue
Beauties began to cough up a clusters of lavender crystals, each which
whispered with a silvery mist and drew those around them to sleep.
Though dreams of beauty haunted the sleeping, many found they suffered
in other ways. Perturbed, they sought a cure - and in time, they would
find one. Due to the courageous actions of Fritz Moonpie (and, perhaps,
his love of gossip), they discovered Big Mama's production facility on
Crumkindivia, beneath a big sphere of sugar and bubble gum. Within, they
found a surprise - Big Mama had been using her addictive substances to
amass a following of peeps, many of whom were willing to die for her. As
she saw many of her pets dying, however, Big Mama decided it was time to
cut her losses, and departed. Using Big Mama's own recipe, players were
able to abuse the addicted peeps to create 'black beauties', a pill
that, when eaten, would stop the crystal coughs - or, when dropped over
the crystal clusters, dissolve them.

Six underbosses defeated, some began to look for the last. And where,
many wondered, was the Gnodfather hiding - and who was he?

Penned by My hand on the 6th of Tzarin, in the year 284 CE.