451 Rain In The Deser (1/2)
”The gnomes who travelled west passed by some of our kind,” he admitted. ”However, they did not meet kind ones. We cacti-folk are split between those who eat cultivated plants for supplement and those who eat others for supplement. The gnomes who travelled west a good sixty years ago met the other kind of cacti-folk. While I do not know details, we heard that some gnomes managed to escape and they travelled further west towards the sea.”
Zero shared a look with Truen. If what the cacti-folk elder said was true, these gnomes should still be around somewhere. For gnomes, sixty years isn't a very long time. Like dwarves, they live for at least two hundred years.
”How can we know if a gnome is near?”
At this, the cacti-folk elder grinned. ”The ground! The ground! Sinkholes always appear when gnomes try to build their underground houses because they do not like to grow plants above. With no roots to hold the ground, the sands will shift and sometimes the structure collapses inwards from the weight of shifting sand dunes. Sinkholes happen whenever gnomes try to move something below. You can see it easily, it is huge! Sometimes sinkholes are full of oil or liquid, sometimes with sludge that they dispose of.”
He then added in a lower voice. ”Also, if no desert monsters attack you in that area when you travel for days, you are in gnome territory. They have a very good defence system, no chance for monsters who go near. If you approach them, don't try to dig into the city. The machines have no eyes.”
Zero thanked the cacti-elder and to prove his sincerity for their help, he told Truen to help them install a water pump.
When the cacti-elder heard that they were going to install a water pump, the old man started to shake and his spiny leaves started falling much to Zero's horror.
”Ohh... Ohhh! Young one, is the water pump the divine machine that sucks water from underground to the surface without roots?”
Slowly, Zero nodded and the elder collapsed to the ground.
”Elder!” the younger cacti-folk quickly came to assist him but the elder pushed them all away. Afraid that they might have offended the primitive villagers with the introduction of technology, Zero was about to retract his gift when the elder cried till he was half dried up.
”Thank heavens, our saviour has arrived! The days of cruel water fetching rituals are over!”
Not really understanding what a 'water pump' was, the other villagers simply bowed into round cacti balls to show Zero and his group their thanks.
”Alright, please don't cry yourself dry. I still have more questions to ask, village elder. For my next question, I will give you a special vegetable... no, it's not actually a vegetable because it doesn't have seeds when grown. I will give you a special plant that is the secret ingredient behind that tasty vegetable stew. How does it sound? If you can tell me anything about the desert poppy, I will give you a mushroom.”
Zero planned this out earlier with Truen. After the water pump, they were going to introduce mushroom cultivation. As these cacti-folks were not meat eaters or cannibals, their food lacked flavour. For normal vegetarian cuisine, Zero learnt from Nirvana's kitchen that they used a lot of mushrooms to increase the tastiness of the food.
Seeing how the village enjoyed the stew earlier, Zero knew this was a very tempting offer.
Disbelieving of their great fortune, the village elder bowed and nodded. ”I will answer to the best of my ability. However, this is knowledge I know from the great shaman and nature spirits. I have never personally done this before, although cacti-folk are related to dryads, our magical powers are very weak. We're not able to bring down rain, only store water in our bodies to grow plants at a faster rate.”
Zero nodded. ”It's alright, tell me what you know. We will test that out for ourselves before we leave the village to see if it is true. You said someone has to bring down rain?”