Can you tell us about the circumstances that led the Gnomes leaving the Steamfont Mountains?
EarLocust: The gnomes were one of the few races to actually see what was happening on Luclin. When signs in the heavens revealed that the Steamfont Mountains would be the target of falling chunks of the moon, the gnomes abandoned the mountains and their city, fearing annihilation. They could not take their clockwork creations with them and left them in Ak'Anon to take care of the place while they were gone. Over time, the clockworks rose to power and fashioned their own society. They now refuse to let gnomes from the Shattered Lands return to Ak'Anon, and have renamed the city Klak'Anon.
What was the fate of the Gnomes after the Shattering?
EarLocust : No one knows where the original gnomes of Ak'Anon have gone. The gnomes residing in Steamfont now have returned to Faydwer from the Shattered Lands seeking to discover the whereabouts of their kin and to reclaim Ak'Anon from the clockworks.
What do the Gnomes at the Gnomeland Security base have planned for us?
EarLocust : The gnomes simply want their city back. However, being the creatures that they are, it's very easy for them to get distracted with their own inventions and creations. They aren't very organized and need the aid of others if they are ever to be successful.
Can you talk about the similarities of this zone with the original EQ1?
EarLocust : Many geographical features and landmarks that exist in Everquest 1 are present in the Steamfont Mountains of Everquest 2. The Frugrin Observatory, the Windmills, the Dragonscale Hills and the enormous dragon skeleton, the Great Gear and the Mines of Meldrath are all prominent locations set in both worlds. Many of the same creatures that exist in Steamfont in Everquest 1 are present in the Steamfont Mountains of Everquest 2. The minotaurs and kobolds of the past have a major presence within the zone and have grown into more organized groups with areas under their obvious control and influence. Notable figures from the past are present in Steamfont as well. Meldrath, the gnome necromancer of old still resides in the mines, but he's changed considerably over the years. I will leave that for players to discover on their own, however.
