If it had only been bathwater, that would have been bearable. It was unpleasant to think about, though some people with unusual tastes might even have liked it. The real problem was the diseases the Ratfolk spread.
Yes, river water could clean itself, but only up to a point. Ratfolk were the Old Ancestors of germs and plagues. Just because Maria and Gale were fair-skinned, delicate, and spotless didn't mean every Ratfolk was like them!
After the McKennan Ratfolk fled to the Northern Frontier, territories along the upper and lower reaches of the Ploney River had suffered plenty. Purifying lakes and rivers alone cost a fortune each day. In some places, water was rationed so tightly that Civilians couldn't get any. They had to drink water contaminated by Ratfolk, and plagues broke out everywhere.
Ordinarily, Annan would have told Luoxi to get out. But right now... this was a massive undertaking, and a massive undertaking meant massive expense.
Annan cleared his throat. "There's no harm in dreaming. Keep working out the details. We might use it someday."
The Empire was nearly finished recruiting and had begun training its troops. It was expected to make its move around April or May, once the mud left by the melting snow had dried. If they could wipe out the Ratfolk in one stroke and drive the Demons back north of the Snow Mountains, then "blowing open the northern Snow Mountains and using the ice and snow to carve a river four or five thousand miles long" might not be impossible.
As soon as today's "interviews" ended, Dunbelly hurried off to the Mushroom House to teach the newcomers.
The Alchemists themselves were worth more than their inventions.
Many of those inventions weren't useless, exactly, but they were little gadgets with no immediate purpose. Still,