If you overlay the maps of the Sword Coast for Lost Mine of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak, you’ll note that Gnomengarde is just eight miles south of Wave Echo Cave. This is notable for a few reasons.

According to the background lore for Lost Mine of Phandelver, we know the following:

“More than five hundred years ago, clans of dwarves and gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver’s Pact, by which they would share a rich mine in a wondrous cavern known as Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. Human spellcasters allied themselves with the dwarves and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great forge (called the Forge of Spells), where magic items could be crafted.”

A terrible fate had befallen Wave Echo Cave centuries ago. But it seems there were survivors of the disaster:

“A powerful force of orcs reinforced by evil mercenary wizards attacked Wave Echo Cave to seize its riches and magic treasures. Human wizards fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuing spell battle destroyed much of the cavern. Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost.”

Also, as noted above, the calamity caused the Wave Echo Cave to be lost to the mists of time. Or was it?

Let’s work this out:

• Gnomes labored at the Forge of Spells creating magic items with their Dwarven and Human counterparts when Wave Echo Cave was thriving.
• Wave Echo Cave was destroyed in an attack where invaders tried to seize the wondrous cavern and its magical riches, resulting in the destruction of cave. It appears there were survivors (“few survived” implies there were survivors).
• There is an enclave of rock gnome recluses living 8 miles south of Wave Echo Cave.
• These same rock gnome recluses happen to be in the industry of creating magical items.

It’s not a leap to conclude that Gnomengarde is inhabited by the descendants of those who worked at the Forge of Spells before Wave Echo Cave was destroyed in the attack. The average lifespan of a gnome is 350 to almost 500 years long, which would imply that, in this scenario, the current inhabitants of Gnomengarde are the children and grandchildren of the gnomes who labored at the magical forge all those years ago.

The arcane knowledge possessed by the residents of Gnomengarde could have been passed down from their descendants for the past couple of generations. But for all of their knowledge in the craft of magical items, without access to something like the Forge of Spells, they are limited to crafting common magic items such as the hat of wizardry, clockwork amulet, pole of collapsing, and wand of pyrotechnics.

Perhaps the Gnomengardians still possess the knowledge to craft extraordinary items such as Lightbringer and Dragonguard. They just no longer possess the means to create such exquisite works with the Forge of Spells destroyed.

It is also conceivable the Gnomengardians know the exact location of Wave Echo Cave, but prefer that it remains lost to history for obvious reasons.

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