Sheep

There's nothing good to be said about them. They're dumb and stubborn and dangerous, especially the ones with horns

— peat trader to a passing hiker

One of the biggest terrors that plague the Moorland Gnomes is the highland sheep. They cause untold misery and destruction, and the world would be a much better place without them, at least that is what most Gnomes of the Moorlands will say if asked. In fact they'll most likely say a lot more than that if you let them, so it's probably best not to ask.

According to the Moorland Gnomes the monsters descend from the hillsides, whenever it damn well suits them, just to disrupt the lives of the good people of the Moorlands. It is usually when certain grasses or plants are in bloom, ones that they cannot find on the surrounding hills. The sheep also can't tell the difference between wild food and that grown by the Gnomes, or they just don't care. They are similarly careless as to where they lay down for the night to sleep.

You try getting into your house when there's a big dumb sheep lying in front the entrance

— An angry farmer

The destruction of crops and disruption of lives is not the worst of the atrocities commited by the sheep. When a flock stampedes it has no concern for anything in its path, and several small villages and farmsteads have been trampled over the years. Rams will also attack groups of Gnomes that get too close to their flock, and if there are lambs present then the ewes will attack also. Never mind the flock is currently standing on the Gnome's farm.

I lost an aunt and three cousins four years ago when a flock of the monsters stampeded through their farmstead. The entire place was destroyed. They aren't the only ones it has happened to either.

— Gnomish merchant to a customer

The Gnomes have been asked by many a visitor to the Moorlands as to why they simply don't just get rid of the sheep. To which the reply is usually a list of the ways in which this has been attempted to no avail. This is usually followed up with a question regarding a more permanent solution. To which the reply is almost universal.

Just kill them you say? And risk angering the Beast of the Moorlands? Not I sir!