Free Web NovelChapter 431: Chapter 428: Sociology Points +1
The language of the little blue people was filled with "HWOO HWOO" sounds, as if imitating the wind.
The pair stood dumbfounded for a moment, wondering where this Elder had come from. He was so old that he was slumped in a floating chair, which was being pulled by two younger tribe members riding flying beasts.
When he drew near, the Elder spoke in a strange accent, using a halting, unpracticed version of the common tongue.
"Great Mages... from the Land of Bliss... are you here... to mediate our dispute? Or to seek aid?"
The Elder was likely the only one in the entire tribe who could communicate in the common tongue. He explained that when he was young, a Caster had once adventured to the Air Elemental Plane. The Elder had been chosen to be his guide and servant, and by the time the Caster had completed his lengthy exploration, the Elder had acquired a great deal of knowledge and learned the language of the "Land of Bliss."
As Rorschach spoke with the Elder, he learned that the factory’s exhaust fumes were actually being repurposed within the Air Elemental Plane.
He and Caroline looked around. Beyond the battlefield before them, there appeared to be a village behind them.
These natives were like the Tanka boat people from Rorschach’s previous life, who made their homes on boats and floated on the sea for generations. The dwellings of these little people were similarly built upon floating rafts and Airships, where they had lived for generations.
The gasbags were primarily made from the incredibly light hides of Elemental Creatures. They could actively filter out heavier components and absorb low-molecular-weight gases, which naturally provided them with buoyancy.
Aside from the Elemental Creatures, these little people and some of the flying beasts were also carbon-based lifeforms. The foundation of their food chain was a web-like mycelium.
This mycelium absorbed carbon dioxide and moisture from the atmosphere, performing photosynthesis. For the natives, this mycelium was their grain.
"We follow the ’kabayo’ and chase the green gas. Once they mature, we use them to feed our people and livestock."
The "kabayo" was the web-like mycelium, which spread out and floated in the air. When these mycelial nets matured, they didn’t sprout mushrooms, but rather hollow bubbles. After capturing gases, the usable heavy gases were absorbed, while the unusable light gases were concentrated and stored in Vesicles, providing buoyancy for the increasingly developed and heavy mycelial mat.
The "green gas" the Elder mentioned wasn’t chlorine, but gas rich in carbon dioxide. After their discussion, Rorschach speculated that this species’ visual organs were specialized, allowing them to distinguish gases that were colorless to human eyes by their color.
Originally, the environment of the Air Elemental Plane contained currents similar to those in an ocean. Pockets of gas rich in the nitrogen and carbon necessary for life would constantly shift their location. The natives had to chase these pockets of gas to cultivate their edible fungi.
In other words, while they were fundamentally farmers, their lifestyle more closely resembled that of nomadic herders.
This continued until they recently discovered Rorschach’s "sewage outlet." The other side of the Teleportation Gate continuously discharged gases containing sulfur and nitrogen, as well as—most importantly—carbon dioxide, allowing the clan to establish a permanent settlement for the first time.
Rorschach and Caroline could see that both above and below these "sewage outlets" were "Gas Collection Wells" enclosed by animal hides. The gases rose or fell according to their molecular weight, creating a crude separation. Everything the "kabayo" needed was at the bottom of the Gas Collection Wells, where it grew vigorously into a floating mycelial mat. The mature fungi were a golden-yellow, resembling vast, rolling fields of wheat.
’There are only misplaced resources, no useless waste...’ Rorschach never expected that the greenhouse gases and toxic fumes he vented into the Air Elemental Plane would be treated like treasure.
Now that this nomadic group had settled, their primitive society began to develop. Not only did the population grow steadily, but their social structure also became progressively more complex.
Soon after, conflicts arose within the clan. Where once the tribespeople had shared their limited resources, the concept of private property had now emerged. Two families became the new centers of power, and they began to fight over the "Gas Collection Wells" and livestock.
Thus, the clan was plunged into a "glorious" civil war, the "brutal" results of which were exactly what Rorschach and Caroline had witnessed upon their arrival.
According to Prime Material Plane time, one of the "Gas Collection Wells" was destroyed last night. A "Warhorse" had accidentally stumbled through the Teleportation Gate, which caused the incident at the factory.
’You people... whatever.’ Rorschach had no intention of adhering to a policy of non-interference. While he truly didn’t want to get involved in this primitive tribe’s petty squabbles, he had to ensure his pollution disposal could continue uninterrupted.
So Rorschach made a promise to the Elder: get them to stop fighting, since their brawling wasn’t lethal anyway. As long as they diligently maintained the Teleportation Gate, there would be plenty of waste gas—that is, precious gas—and the supply would only increase.
The Elder was so overjoyed that tears streamed down his wrinkled face. He called for a ceasefire between the two "great" families, conveying the mighty Mage’s decree.
The still-bleeding Warriors froze. They looked at each other, their expressions seeming to say, ’And who are you?’ A clamor began to rise, and it looked like they were about to start fighting again.
Rorschach frowned as he saw the conflict threatening to erupt again. Only after coming to the Gaseous Plane in person did he realize that this thin, chaotic Domain actually possessed a fairly complete ecosystem, one capable of supporting semi-intelligent life. ’It wouldn’t be a bad thing to have someone on this side to manage the exhaust port for me,’ he thought. ’If these tribes were maintaining it, for instance, then wild animals and Elemental Creatures wouldn’t be able to burst through to my side.’
’Since I can’t control the situation with just myself and an Elder who’s lost his influence, does that mean I have to... eliminate one of the warring factions?’ Rorschach began to seriously consider the question. The shifting expression on his face terrified the Elder, whose very soul seemed to tremble. The young fools on the field had no idea how terrifying a being known as a Mage could be.
"Should we stop them? I could set up a Barrier to repel any living creature from the area around the Teleportation Gate, but it would require frequent maintenance," Caroline offered, suggesting a more moderate solution.
"I think cooperating with the natives could be interesting..." Rorschach began preparing his Magic. He planned to end the war with a war of his own, and then install a "King" to rule the tribe.
Suddenly, a disturbance erupted from the lower layers of the plane. A few beasts burst from the thick clouds, squawking loudly. They weren’t large—about the same size as the small, gray-blue-skinned humanoids—with sharp, triangular heads, and they flapped their wings desperately.
These Winged Dragon-like creatures flew upward for their lives, their shrill cries instantly filling the sky. The change in atmospheric density made flying difficult as they ascended from the lower layers where they lived, yet the flying beasts continued to struggle onward.
The flock of Winged Dragons shot across the battlefield like cannonballs. Some, in their panic, failed to steer away in time and collided with the tribe members.
The Elder’s face changed completely. Panicked, he yelled with all the volume his old lungs could muster, "Tun-Tun! Tun-Tun is coming!" After warning his tribe, he turned to the Mages. "Great ones, you must leave this place! Tun-Tun is coming!"
’What’s a "Tun-Tun"?’ The Elder had used a word from his own language. Rorschach guessed it was either a creature or some kind of extreme weather event. Caroline looked down. The colorful clouds beneath their feet had begun to roil violently. "Is a storm coming?"
The Elder was already having the younger tribesmen pull his chair away in retreat. He shouted one last warning, "Tun-Tun... will devour everything!"
The swarm of Winged Dragons continued its frantic escape, with more and more of them charging up from the lower layers. Rorschach quickly understood why they weren’t scattering in all directions but were flying desperately upward—the roiling clouds below revealed the silhouette of a gigantic mouth. It was thousands of meters away, yet his field of vision could barely encompass the creature’s "mouth" in its entirety.
Tun-Tun. A giant mouth, seemingly large enough to swallow a city, was rapidly approaching Rorschach and Caroline.
’Why are they running? Do they really think they can get away?’ Rorschach watched the natives scatter, their struggle utterly futile.
