It said, "Jehu,
you have come at last. Welcome."
The voice was very gentle and pleasing to the ears, slowly and
confidently spoken, meticulously articulated. I looked around in its
direction and saw a short, elderly gnome with a long white beard
reaching to his chest and a short crop of hair on his oblong head, which
was outfitted with a sharp, angular nose, a pair of sparkling eyes, and
two protruding ears. He was no more than four feet tall, and no less
than three, with a dignified poise to him, and was dressed in a dark
robe with a black and gold design on it. We looked at each other for a
moment, he smiling pleasantly and me expressionless, for though I felt
that I should be surprised, or at least bewildered, at the sight of a
gnome in an underground cavern, I was not, it was as if I had almost
been expecting it to happen, as if in the back of my mind I had already
been there and done that. Perhaps it was only a case of predestined deja
vu, or maybe it was something less tangible. Either way, the gnome then
broke the silence again, saying:
"Let me introduce myself, Jehu. I am Onan, the Lord of the Past, and
these are the Chambers of History."
He then paused for a moment, waiting for my reaction, which was, again,
not too much surprised, but rather complacent, thought I didn't look
bored or snobbish, as is sometimes the case in that situation.
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