Diminutive troglodytic fellows of folklore and fairytale. Dwarves weren't as conspicuous in the Knightmare realm as other staple fantasy creatures like dragons, goblins and ogres, but mentions of them were manifest. Enough to justify a Lexicon entry, at any rate.

The answer to one of Granitas' riddles in Series 1 - "Through dungeons deep and darkness cold, the miner goes in search of gold. Short of leg, yet strong of arm, if you take what's his, he'll do you harm" - was dwarf. (The riddle was later included in the Knightmare board game.) Shortly after (no pun intended), the Giant referred to humans as dwarves - after all, they were midgets to him. He complained about the noise made by dwarves at work, suggesting that the Dungeon had dwarvish inhabitants.

In the following series, a dwarf appeared as a character (albeit a man-sized one). Played by Tom Karol, and only ever credited as Dwarf, viewers found out his name during his final appearance, when Gretel referred to him as Bumptious. He fulfilled the description in Granitas' riddle by being a gold miner. At various points, he mentioned the Honorary Guild of Gold-miners/the Guild/H.O.G.G./HOGG, to which many other dwarves presumably belonged. The minecart ride between Levels 2 and 3 in Series 3 perhaps showcased the guild members' gold-mining prowess.
Bumptious is believed to have been inspired by Arthur Scargill. (See: blackleg.) When interviewed by James Aukett in 2012, Tom Karol revealed that 'compared to Scargill's Yorkshire accent, the voice for Bumptious was very Lancashire as I spent three years there working with a theatre company where one of the shows we did was called The Jam Butty Show which was what miners would take down the pit for their lunch. When I was given the part of Bumptious it was more to do with the rules and regulations – as the name suggests, "I'm in charge – you do as you’re told." The name also evokes the descriptive naming of the dwarves known to Snow White. In 2013, Knightmare floor manager Tom Hunt revealed that 'the dwarf in the mine' was one of the ideas he contributed to the production of the series.

Gundrada seemed to have more than a passing acquaintance with dwarves. She told one dungeoneer that she'd lost her dagger, Gut, inside a dwarf (an incident later depicted in the fanfic The Endless Quest), and actually mistook another dungeoneer (Nicky from Team 3 of Series 4) for a dwarf! Though she wasn't the last, as Stiletta did likewise with Nathan of Team 3 of Series 8.
No dwarves were seen after Series 2, but they made more of a mark than ever with the advent of dwarf tunnels in Series 3. These returned with differing designs in Series 6-8. One tunnel led directly to and from the antechamber, so perhaps Treguard had entertained a dwarvish guest or two. So proficient were the dwarves at tunnelling that not only were the tunnels always spacious enough to accommodate anyone who ventured into one, but were also capable of running out to sea, i.e. to the Cloudwalker!

During the quest by Team 3 of Series 6, Pickle said that the dwarves had "gone north for the season", and mentioned a clever dwarf whom he once knew. These remarks suggest that dwarves continued to dwell in the Dungeon beyond Bumptious' Series 2 appearance, but kept a low profile (no pun intended), except perhaps for maintaining relations with elfkind.

Knightmare novella The Fortress of Assassins features an Alpine dwarf, Elshander, who becomes an ally and travelling companion of Treguard. His cloak of invisibility causes something of a stir.

The influence of the dwarf within Knightmare, then, was far from little.

[Earlier version: 2008-08-29 20:17:38]

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