Chapter 123
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Looking at Magni's confused expression, Caesar couldn't help but feel even more baffled at the strange turn of events. Although both Magni and Joe did, indeed, start drinking before him, he didn't think that they would forget everything up until after the point he arrived.
Caesar, after all, did suggest having a drinking competition right after he returned. Whilst both Magni and Joe weren't not surprised in the slightest that he was present when they woke up, this made matters more confusing, not to mention the fact that even he, couldn't remember much of last night.
Thinking to here, Caesar just shook his head and discarded his unnecessary thoughts, there was no point in trying to remember something he had no recollection of, it would pose to be much efficient if he just simply asked the gnomes.
Thus, Caesar resumed his footsteps while Magni jogged from behind, "what drinking competition? I'm curious" Magni continued to pester Caesar along the way, he was quite curious as to what the 'drinking competition' that Caesar spoke of was.
Caesar didn't pay Magni much heed and within a few minutes, they finally arrived at the gnomish encampment. The surroundings were quiet and the aftermath of the party was still quite discernible, with cups of alcohol and campfire remnants littered across the ground.
The gnomes were presumably sleeping inside of their tents as there we no one outside, because of this, Caesar turned towards Magni, "would you do me a favor and wake a few of your clansmen up?" he asked with a cordial tone.
Magni nodded his head and walked past Caesar, he headed toward the larger tents in the middle and didn't hesitate to walk in a few of them and bring a few well-kept gnomes out.
They looked relatively middle-aged, with standard facial hair, youthful contours on their face, and streamlined muscles apparent on their arms, albeit, small. Once they caught sight of Caesar, their drowsiness seemly disappeared and was instead, replaced by excitement.
"It's the drinking champion!" one of said while giggling and pointing toward Caesar, causing the others to chuckle as well.
Seeing that they were wide awake, and did indeed, know some of what had transpired last night, Caesar could not deny that his curiosity was piqued. He approached the small group of gnomes with a slight smile.
"Would you be so kind as to explain to me and Magni what had occurred last night?" Caesar inquired. Though he asked respectfully, the eagerness in his voice was obvious.
One of the male gnomes placed a finger on their chin whilst curiously glancing between Magni and Caesar, "you two don't remember what happened?" he asked.
Before Caesar could sarcastically reply, the gnome cleared his throat, "after the esteemed strategist returned, the three of you held a drinking competition to which Caesar achieved victory, however, immediately after, a large bird flew overhead… greatly interested in this bird, the three of you decided to hunt and eat it" The gnome narrated with a calm voice.
His words caused Caesar to crease his brows, "is that all?" he asked. Though he believed the small gnome, he somewhat doubtful that this was all that had transpired, alas, if he, Magni, and Joe couldn't remember anything, then he would have to put the matter at rest.
The gnome responded with a nod, "when the tree of you left the gnomish encampment, none of us followed, and instead, went to sleep" He said with a hint of regret.
Hearing the confidence in his words, he was quite disappointed with the end result, Caesar was truly interested in what could have possibly happened…
Fearing that his disappointment would sadden the gnomes, Caesar quickly hid his expression and smiled brightly, "thank you for enlightening me about the matters regarding last night… I appreciate it" he said thankfully whilst turning around and walking back to the mansion.
The gnomes had wanted to reply, however, Caesar's back had quickly disappeared from their line of sight resulting in them just sighing and returning back to their tents, as they were rudely awoken by Magni, they were still quite tired.
Caesar, who was on his way to the fox-kin mansion didn't notice the respectful and weird gazes he was receiving from the pedestrians, he was more focused on the troublesome thoughts going on inside of his head.
'Whatever alcohol we drank, it was certainly not normal, nor did was it healthy… sigh, I am just going to forget this day ever happened and move on to more troublesome matters at hand such as the steel that Musashi should deliver today' Caesar thought to himself while walking.
Soon, while Caesar was in the middle of his deep thoughts, he reached the inner gates and walked past the open entrance, they normally only closed the inner gates during the night, after all.
Caesar didn't pay much heed to the fearful glances he received from the guards but couldn't help but shiver once he saw one of the more feminine guards blush while looking in his direction, this, of course, made Caesar quicken his pace and enter into the mansion.
He passed by the long halls and the wood would creak with every step he made, and within the time it takes for an incense to burn, he arrived in front of the meeting room doors. He didn't hesitate to push them open and look inside.
What greeted him was a solitary figure fiddling with a wooden dagger whilst sitting at the end of the table, this was, of course, Soka.
Caesar's abrupt appearance shocked Soka and caused him to drop the wooden dagger, resulting in an awkward silence ensuing. Caesar, who was expecting to see Musashi was also caught off guard, however, his thoughts didn't show on his face, and instead, he sat down at the other end of the table.
He rhythmically tapped the table with curled lips, "did you fix your mess?" Caesar asked, after a moment of silence.
Soka nodded his head, his glistening raven black hair greasily draped over his eyes, covering them, "I buried all of the female bodies whilst leaving the men, I also put back 1/4th of the food we took, as to make it appear that whoever attacked their clan, left their supplies" Soka replied.
Hearing his response, Caesar nodded his head approvingly. He buried the women to make it appear that the trolls abducted the women while killing the men, he put back some of the food, to make it appear that whichever clan attacked the ghouls, was a clan that did not need food.
"Very good, however, did you remove any signs that the fox-kin may have been involved," Caesar asked after a moment of thought
"We added more wounds to the bodies and made it look as though they were poisoned, I also removed all of the footprints that we created…" Soka responded with confidence.
"Excellent work, though, it would've been better if you never massacred the clan in the first place, at the very least, we gained a decent amount of food" Caesar's words paused for a moment.
"I have a new job for you… the Furbolg clan stated they would send a messenger, however, it never arrived, I want you to bring some elites to their clan and make sure nothing is wrong. If by chance, they are currently being pressured by the trolls, or perhaps, another clan, I give you permission to slaughter them, as to show our companionship with the furbolgs" Caesar ordered coldly to which Soka nodded his read resolutely.
Although Soka did, indeed, produce a mishap in his last mission, the fact remained that Soka managed to wipe out an entire clan without losing one soldier, this battle prowess certainly impressed Caesar, so he decided to give him another chance.
"Leave at midnight and take Falthor with you," Caesar said as Soka was leaving the meeting room, and right as he Soka stepped out of the door his words continued… "don't fail me again"
His words made Soka's feet halt for a moment, "As you command" he replied and left the meeting room.
Caesar waited in the meeting room for a few minutes in relative silence until the doors were abruptly pushed open and Musashi entered with a rectangular box… "ah, my guards had informed me you were in here… this is the steel you asked for" he spoke in an abnormally vigorous tone.
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Looking at Magni's confused expression, Caesar couldn't help but feel even more baffled at the strange turn of events. Although both Magni and Joe did, indeed, start drinking before him, he didn't think that they would forget everything up until after the point he arrived.
Caesar, after all, did suggest having a drinking competition right after he returned. Whilst both Magni and Joe weren't not surprised in the slightest that he was present when they woke up, this made matters more confusing, not to mention the fact that even he, couldn't remember much of last night.
Thinking to here, Caesar just shook his head and discarded his unnecessary thoughts, there was no point in trying to remember something he had no recollection of, it would pose to be much efficient if he just simply asked the gnomes.
Thus, Caesar resumed his footsteps while Magni jogged from behind, "what drinking competition? I'm curious" Magni continued to pester Caesar along the way, he was quite curious as to what the 'drinking competition' that Caesar spoke of was.
Caesar didn't pay Magni much heed and within a few minutes, they finally arrived at the gnomish encampment. The surroundings were quiet and the aftermath of the party was still quite discernible, with cups of alcohol and campfire remnants littered across the ground.
The gnomes were presumably sleeping inside of their tents as there we no one outside, because of this, Caesar turned towards Magni, "would you do me a favor and wake a few of your clansmen up?" he asked with a cordial tone.
Magni nodded his head and walked past Caesar, he headed toward the larger tents in the middle and didn't hesitate to walk in a few of them and bring a few well-kept gnomes out.
They looked relatively middle-aged, with standard facial hair, youthful contours on their face, and streamlined muscles apparent on their arms, albeit, small. Once they caught sight of Caesar, their drowsiness seemly disappeared and was instead, replaced by excitement.
"It's the drinking champion!" one of said while giggling and pointing toward Caesar, causing the others to chuckle as well.
Seeing that they were wide awake, and did indeed, know some of what had transpired last night, Caesar could not deny that his curiosity was piqued. He approached the small group of gnomes with a slight smile.
"Would you be so kind as to explain to me and Magni what had occurred last night?" Caesar inquired. Though he asked respectfully, the eagerness in his voice was obvious.
One of the male gnomes placed a finger on their chin whilst curiously glancing between Magni and Caesar, "you two don't remember what happened?" he asked.
Before Caesar could sarcastically reply, the gnome cleared his throat, "after the esteemed strategist returned, the three of you held a drinking competition to which Caesar achieved victory, however, immediately after, a large bird flew overhead… greatly interested in this bird, the three of you decided to hunt and eat it" The gnome narrated with a calm voice.
His words caused Caesar to crease his brows, "is that all?" he asked. Though he believed the small gnome, he somewhat doubtful that this was all that had transpired, alas, if he, Magni, and Joe couldn't remember anything, then he would have to put the matter at rest.
The gnome responded with a nod, "when the tree of you left the gnomish encampment, none of us followed, and instead, went to sleep" He said with a hint of regret.
Hearing the confidence in his words, he was quite disappointed with the end result, Caesar was truly interested in what could have possibly happened…
Fearing that his disappointment would sadden the gnomes, Caesar quickly hid his expression and smiled brightly, "thank you for enlightening me about the matters regarding last night… I appreciate it" he said thankfully whilst turning around and walking back to the mansion.
The gnomes had wanted to reply, however, Caesar's back had quickly disappeared from their line of sight resulting in them just sighing and returning back to their tents, as they were rudely awoken by Magni, they were still quite tired.
Caesar, who was on his way to the fox-kin mansion didn't notice the respectful and weird gazes he was receiving from the pedestrians, he was more focused on the troublesome thoughts going on inside of his head.
'Whatever alcohol we drank, it was certainly not normal, nor did was it healthy… sigh, I am just going to forget this day ever happened and move on to more troublesome matters at hand such as the steel that Musashi should deliver today' Caesar thought to himself while walking.
Soon, while Caesar was in the middle of his deep thoughts, he reached the inner gates and walked past the open entrance, they normally only closed the inner gates during the night, after all.
Caesar didn't pay much heed to the fearful glances he received from the guards but couldn't help but shiver once he saw one of the more feminine guards blush while looking in his direction, this, of course, made Caesar quicken his pace and enter into the mansion.
He passed by the long halls and the wood would creak with every step he made, and within the time it takes for an incense to burn, he arrived in front of the meeting room doors. He didn't hesitate to push them open and look inside.
What greeted him was a solitary figure fiddling with a wooden dagger whilst sitting at the end of the table, this was, of course, Soka.
Caesar's abrupt appearance shocked Soka and caused him to drop the wooden dagger, resulting in an awkward silence ensuing. Caesar, who was expecting to see Musashi was also caught off guard, however, his thoughts didn't show on his face, and instead, he sat down at the other end of the table.
He rhythmically tapped the table with curled lips, "did you fix your mess?" Caesar asked, after a moment of silence.
Soka nodded his head, his glistening raven black hair greasily draped over his eyes, covering them, "I buried all of the female bodies whilst leaving the men, I also put back 1/4th of the food we took, as to make it appear that whoever attacked their clan, left their supplies" Soka replied.
Hearing his response, Caesar nodded his head approvingly. He buried the women to make it appear that the trolls abducted the women while killing the men, he put back some of the food, to make it appear that whichever clan attacked the ghouls, was a clan that did not need food.
"Very good, however, did you remove any signs that the fox-kin may have been involved," Caesar asked after a moment of thought
"We added more wounds to the bodies and made it look as though they were poisoned, I also removed all of the footprints that we created…" Soka responded with confidence.
"Excellent work, though, it would've been better if you never massacred the clan in the first place, at the very least, we gained a decent amount of food" Caesar's words paused for a moment.
"I have a new job for you… the Furbolg clan stated they would send a messenger, however, it never arrived, I want you to bring some elites to their clan and make sure nothing is wrong. If by chance, they are currently being pressured by the trolls, or perhaps, another clan, I give you permission to slaughter them, as to show our companionship with the furbolgs" Caesar ordered coldly to which Soka nodded his read resolutely.
Although Soka did, indeed, produce a mishap in his last mission, the fact remained that Soka managed to wipe out an entire clan without losing one soldier, this battle prowess certainly impressed Caesar, so he decided to give him another chance.
"Leave at midnight and take Falthor with you," Caesar said as Soka was leaving the meeting room, and right as he Soka stepped out of the door his words continued… "don't fail me again"
His words made Soka's feet halt for a moment, "As you command" he replied and left the meeting room.
Caesar waited in the meeting room for a few minutes in relative silence until the doors were abruptly pushed open and Musashi entered with a rectangular box… "ah, my guards had informed me you were in here… this is the steel you asked for" he spoke in an abnormally vigorous tone.
Looking at Magni's confused expression, Caesar couldn't help but feel even more baffled at the strange turn of events. Although both Magni and Joe did, indeed, start drinking before him, he didn't think that they would forget everything up until after the point he arrived.Caesar, after all, did suggest having a drinking competition right after he returned. Whilst both Magni and Joe weren't not surprised in the slightest that he was present when they woke up, this made matters more confusing, not to mention the fact that even he, couldn't remember much of last night.Thinking to here, Caesar just shook his head and discarded his unnecessary thoughts, there was no point in trying to remember something he had no recollection of, it would pose to be much efficient if he just simply asked the gnomes.Thus, Caesar resumed his footsteps while Magni jogged from behind, "what drinking competition? I'm curious" Magni continued to pester Caesar along the way, he was quite curious as to what the 'drinking competition' that Caesar spoke of was.Caesar didn't pay Magni much heed and within a few minutes, they finally arrived at the gnomish encampment. The surroundings were quiet and the aftermath of the party was still quite discernible, with cups of alcohol and campfire remnants littered across the ground.The gnomes were presumably sleeping inside of their tents as there we no one outside, because of this, Caesar turned towards Magni, "would you do me a favor and wake a few of your clansmen up?" he asked with a cordial tone.Magni nodded his head and walked past Caesar, he headed toward the larger tents in the middle and didn't hesitate to walk in a few of them and bring a few well-kept gnomes out.They looked relatively middle-aged, with standard facial hair, youthful contours on their face, and streamlined muscles apparent on their arms, albeit, small. Once they caught sight of Caesar, their drowsiness seemly disappeared and was instead, replaced by excitement."It's the drinking champion!" one of said while giggling and pointing toward Caesar, causing the others to chuckle as well.Seeing that they were wide awake, and did indeed, know some of what had transpired last night, Caesar could not deny that his curiosity was piqued. He approached the small group of gnomes with a slight smile."Would you be so kind as to explain to me and Magni what had occurred last night?" Caesar inquired. Though he asked respectfully, the eagerness in his voice was obvious.One of the male gnomes placed a finger on their chin whilst curiously glancing between Magni and Caesar, "you two don't remember what happened?" he asked.Before Caesar could sarcastically reply, the gnome cleared his throat, "after the esteemed strategist returned, the three of you held a drinking competition to which Caesar achieved victory, however, immediately after, a large bird flew overhead greatly interested in this bird, the three of you decided to hunt and eat it" The gnome narrated with a calm voice.His words caused Caesar to crease his brows, "is that all?" he asked. Though he believed the small gnome, he somewhat doubtful that this was all that had transpired, alas, if he, Magni, and Joe couldn't remember anything, then he would have to put the matter at rest.The gnome responded with a nod, "when the tree of you left the gnomish encampment, none of us followed, and instead, went to sleep" He said with a hint of regret.Hearing the confidence in his words, he was quite disappointed with the end result, Caesar was truly interested in what could have possibly happenedFearing that his disappointment would sadden the gnomes, Caesar quickly hid his expression and smiled brightly, "thank you for enlightening me about the matters regarding last night I appreciate it" he said thankfully whilst turning around and walking back to the mansion.The gnomes had wanted to reply, however, Caesar's back had quickly disappeared from their line of sight resulting in them just sighing and returning back to their tents, as they were rudely awoken by Magni, they were still quite tired.Caesar, who was on his way to the fox-kin mansion didn't notice the respectful and weird gazes he was receiving from the pedestrians, he was more focused on the troublesome thoughts going on inside of his head.'Whatever alcohol we drank, it was certainly not normal, nor did was it healthy sigh, I am just going to forget this day ever happened and move on to more troublesome matters at hand such as the steel that Musashi should deliver today' Caesar thought to himself while walking.Soon, while Caesar was in the middle of his deep thoughts, he reached the inner gates and walked past the open entrance, they normally only closed the inner gates during the night, after all.Caesar didn't pay much heed to the fearful glances he received from the guards but couldn't help but shiver once he saw one of the more feminine guards blush while looking in his direction, this, of course, made Caesar quicken his pace and enter into the mansion.He passed by the long halls and the wood would creak with every step he made, and within the time it takes for an incense to burn, he arrived in front of the meeting room doors. He didn't hesitate to push them open and look inside.What greeted him was a solitary figure fiddling with a wooden dagger whilst sitting at the end of the table, this was, of course, Soka.Caesar's abrupt appearance shocked Soka and caused him to drop the wooden dagger, resulting in an awkward silence ensuing. Caesar, who was expecting to see Musashi was also caught off guard, however, his thoughts didn't show on his face, and instead, he sat down at the other end of the table.He rhythmically tapped the table with curled lips, "did you fix your mess?" Caesar asked, after a moment of silence.Soka nodded his head, his glistening raven black hair greasily draped over his eyes, covering them, "I buried all of the female bodies whilst leaving the men, I also put back 1/4th of the food we took, as to make it appear that whoever attacked their clan, left their supplies" Soka replied.Hearing his response, Caesar nodded his head approvingly. He buried the women to make it appear that the trolls abducted the women while killing the men, he put back some of the food, to make it appear that whichever clan attacked the ghouls, was a clan that did not need food."Very good, however, did you remove any signs that the fox-kin may have been involved," Caesar asked after a moment of thought"We added more wounds to the bodies and made it look as though they were poisoned, I also removed all of the footprints that we created" Soka responded with confidence."Excellent work, though, it would've been better if you never massacred the clan in the first place, at the very least, we gained a decent amount of food" Caesar's words paused for a moment."I have a new job for you the Furbolg clan stated they would send a messenger, however, it never arrived, I want you to bring some elites to their clan and make sure nothing is wrong. If by chance, they are currently being pressured by the trolls, or perhaps, another clan, I give you permission to slaughter them, as to show our companionship with the furbolgs" Caesar ordered coldly to which Soka nodded his read resolutely.Although Soka did, indeed, produce a mishap in his last mission, the fact remained that Soka managed to wipe out an entire clan without losing one soldier, this battle prowess certainly impressed Caesar, so he decided to give him another chance."Leave at midnight and take Falthor with you," Caesar said as Soka was leaving the meeting room, and right as he Soka stepped out of the door his words continued "don't fail me again"His words made Soka's feet halt for a moment, "As you command" he replied and left the meeting room.Caesar waited in the meeting room for a few minutes in relative silence until the doors were abruptly pushed open and Musashi entered with a rectangular box "ah, my guards had informed me you were in here this is the steel you asked for" he spoke in an abnormally vigorous tone.
