History
The humble beginnings of the famed Guardin’ Gnomes
In the early days of the settling of the land of Gardonia before there was a king in Kingstown, or a Kingstown for that matter, the gnomes lived in a small region in the west around what is now the ruins of Old Town. They were few in number without any experience in fighting and were at the mercy of the land and the creatures therein. Expansion happened slowly at the cost of many gnomish lives. When threatened, which was often, gnomish farmers wielding shovels, pitchforks and other manner of farm implements would band together to drive off crop and gnome-eating creatures.
After many, many centuries, nearly eighteen of them, the gnomes had expanded east as far as the Leafy Green Flats and north as far as Northtown. As the gnomes opened up new areas, they encountered new manner of crop and gnome-plaguing creatures and threats. By this time the gnomes had a king in Old Town and, wishing to keep his subjects safe, he decreed that local armed groups should be established in all the larger settlements. And so several independent militia groups were formed who patrolled the land and could be summoned at need where crops or gnomes were in peril. Having very little metal, only what they had originally brought with them when they settled the land, the militia groups were poorly-equipped and if any metal was reforged from farm equipment it was primarily used for spearheads and the rare sword. The armour they wore was typically made of homemade padded cloth or bits of light leather stitched together, with wooden shields.
Over the next few centuries, several distinct militia groups formed and began to formalize, which saw four major factions emerge. In the north there was the Field Fighters, with a symbol of a yellow cob of corn on their rectangular, green shields. In the west there was the Potato Brigade, bearing a brown potato on oval, red shields. In the central lands there was the Turnip Defenders, with a white turnip on round, black shields. In the east there was the Cabbage Warriors, bearing a green cabbage on square, blue shields.
Around this time some gnomes began experimenting with fibres and resins of the strange (or larger versions of familiar) plants to create new durable materials to be used as armour. Others began experimenting with the chitin shells of various large beetles and other bugs. Some worked, some not so well, but eventually they came up with some very tough and durable materials. One in particular very much resembled a small, wooden roof shingle, which could be layered together much like square fish scales or wooden roof shingles. This they used to create an effective and surprisingly comfortable, lightweight brigandine-type armour. This new armour became more widely used than leather armour among those who could afford it during this time and is still currently used in modern times by a number of gnomes, though more out of tradition than anything else.
The village of New Town in the centre of the land became a central trading hub and grew into a sizable settlement. The Great Carrot had also been discovered in the mountains, just to the north of New Town, and the king moved there and made it the new capital, renaming it Kingstown. Eventually Kingstown grew into a proper capital city as fine as any gnomish city they had left behind in the fay lands, and their little territory was becoming a proper little kingdom. The need for a more coordinated and organized army was seen and all the militia groups agreed this was a good idea. And of course there was the Great Carrot which all Gnomes agreed needed to be defended above any other plant in the realm.
And so the militias met together in a field by a vegetable hold near Kingstown to work out the details of uniting their groups, but when it came to which name and symbol they would use they could not agree. After much fruitless deliberation, tempers started to rise and the four factions lined up to do battle with each other. The Turnip Defenders were fifty strong and had the best armoured troops. The Potato Brigade with fifty-five had the most metal weapons. The Cabbage Warriors were the largest force with seventy-five. The Field Fighters with forty were the most battle hardened. A four-way civil war was moments from breaking out when a very large troll came lumbering down out of the hills towards the gnomes. It was carrying the head of another large troll in one hand that looked as though it had been torn right off of the torso by brute might. The troll, completely unaware of the gnomes arrayed in battle lines, strode right through the middle of the field, kicking down the palisade wall of the vegetable hold and trod right onto the store of vegetables housed within. When the giant, dirty foot came down pulverizing the produce, all the gnomes turned as one and rushed the towering troll. As two hundred plus angry gnomes charged yelling and crying, the troll finally became aware of them and was startled at the sight of their rage and frenzy, as one when they realize they have stepped in an ant hill or beehive. The gnomes hacked and slashed and stabbed and clubbed at the troll and it fled from the land of Gardonia not to be seen again. As the troll fled, it let drop it’s prize. While it doesn’t belong to the troll the gnomes vanquished, the giant head was brought to Kingstown and preserved, eventually being put on display in the hall of deeds to commemorate the victory.
All the gnomes cheered at the routing of the troll and threw their weapons and shields up into the air in celebration. Not a single gnome perished in the battle though more were hurt from the raining weapons and shields than had been wounded by the troll in it’s flight. Kegs of beer were brought from Kingstown to celebrate and the whole town was emptied and next afternoon when they had all woken up they decided to call themselves Mushroom Knights.
The Mushroom knights main garrison was built in Kingstown with garrisons in the towns of Cabbageford to the east and North Town to the north. Eventually, garrisons in New Old Town and Southforkington would be added. Many wooden forts called vegetable holds have been constructed all over the land where farmers and gardeners store their harvested crops under Mushroom Knight protection until such a time as they can be shipped to market or exported. There have also been a handful of stone outposts and keeps to house companies of Mushroom Knights and keep guard over certain regions of the land. With the formation of the Garden Defence School the Mushroom Knights were trained in the most effective techniques of defending gardens from the various critters that seek to do them harm.
As the years went by, a rank system and new levels of training were implemented into the Order, changing over the years into the current structure. The discovery of copper led to bronze weapons and armour and a more unified look to the Mushroom Knights. More recently iron has become available to the gnomes and is currently being used in the creation of weapons and armour.
As the land to the south was explored and cultivated the gnomes discovered the south pass leading out of their mountain ringed kingdom where they found many settlements of the tall men folk. This opened up trading opportunities, but also brought bandits and highwaymen up to the southern border who found the caravans of the small gnomes easy pickings. Occasionally they would venture into the gnomish land raiding farms or villages close to the border. When the Mushroom Knights were first sent to face a gang of men bandit raiders, the taller folk burst out laughing at the sight of the little armed gnomes and couldn’t stop themselves. Even though they were crying from laughing so hard they easily defeated the Mushroom Knights showing the gnomes that facing armed folk of other races was much different from fighting the bugs and beasts that they had been used to. The bandits spread word of the gnome warriors, in jest calling them Guardin’ Gnomes. The name stuck among the big folk and is the name they most commonly use when referring to the Mushroom Knights, though it has lost its connotation of jest or insult by civil folk. Now garden defence training includes a section on fighting armed opponents.
