The Rice Gnomes Secret Black Opal Mine

The Rice Gnomes are a misnomer. They only acquired their name because of their proximity to the Rice Steppes.   The Rice Gnomes hated the nickname they had been given at first but they soon realized that being called Rice Gnomes, few thieves would know anything about them and to this day, they have never been robbed. Thieves are miners' only enemy. The Rice Gnomes are traditional rock gnomes, known for their expertise in mining valuable minerals.   It wasn't long ago that the boring but profitable salt mine the Rice Gnomes mined, collapsed under the weight of the Rice Steppes. The Rice Steppes A young gnome named Merrydoola was poking around the largish spring that formed (the cause of the newly formed Rice Steppes. Like most gnomes, she was curious and as a young lass, full of energy.   She noticed that the soil was soft in a darkened area just beyond the boundary of the spring. It was fortunate for her that her parents were picnicking nearby when she poked around in the hole. They ate their bits of lunch with resigned looks on their faces, knowing they would have to head to another part of the country and leave everything they had ever known behind. They had made friends of many peoples in the area because everybody needs salt.   Merrydoola's mother looked at her daughter and smiled with fondness just before she saw her disappear down a hole. She grabbed her husband's arm and unable to speak for a moment, pointed to where little Merrydoola had been doing what all gnome children do. Her parents dropped the food they were holding and ran towards the hole in the ground. They could hear their darling child crying, "Mama, mama, daddy!" Her voice wasn't filled with fear. They were grateful but they knew she was young enough that she might not recognize danger.   Her father pulled a knotted ladder from his pack, a tool that all underground gnomes use to this very day and dropped it after tying it off safely to the nearest thing he could find, his wife.   He lowered himself down slowly and was surprised and pleased to see the bright shine that any rock gnome would recognize in an instant. It was the prized gem of all rock gnomes, it was black opal.   Once it was discovered, Merrydoola's family kept the mine a secret. They were concerned about a particularly spectacular mine thief, a dwarf named Juvial discovering their newly discovered family mine. With the five other rock gnome families, it was agreed to keep the mine as secret as possible. When other people living in the settlement that was quickly becoming known as the Rice Steppes, began calling them Rice Gnomes, they were happy.   When they began selling the spectacular black and fire opals they mined, they stored them underground instead of in the bank. It was lucky for them that they did. For that very scoundrel they had worried over and discussed repeatedly, was watching the banks, looking for just that sort of anomaly.   Between the newly discovered opal mine and the farmers' new grain (rice), the Rice Steppes settlement grew and prospered. Today it is a very attractive community though only the Rice Gnomes know the secret of the opal mine.