"So, could you do your old woman a huuuuugggee favour, and investigate the raids for me~"
Twisting a finger on her lips like a petulant child, though cute, still made Duncan's eyes twitch at the (slightly revolting) sight. "Oh no you don't mom. I know that expression anywhere, and they usually end up with me suffering in the end. Why on Earadun should I–"
"You'll get full permission and access to the Sanctuary~"
"Damn it, you got a deal!"
Feeling proud, Celestine laid her hands on her waist, smug at her successful(?) negotiation. She knew exactly what we wanted, and damn it, she got us good...
"Haaah, fine, we'll do it. But make sure to keep your part of the bargain: no cheating, no gaslighting, and absolutely no replacing!"
With the ultimatum given, Dunav went out, after which Titus got up and followed Duncan out.
As they closed the door, Celestine's expression gradually hardened. Sighing heavily, she got up from her chair, heading to the window, her expression clouded. My dear boy, it's not that I'm not willing to investigate, it's that I can't...
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"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"
Storming through the corridor, Duncan grew more and more irritated. He knew that he was being tricked, but he still jumped into the fire, for they really needed to re-discuss the terms of the Treaty, otherwise they'd lose their main source of income needed to fund the space mission.
Damn, that haggling got us good...
Accepting his fate, Duncan headed back to his room, where he kept his stuff from the trip. "Yo old man, don't you need anything for the mission?"
At this question, Titus finally raised his head, snapping out of the stupor that he was in. He silently raised an eye, before retrieving his chainsword from the subspace pocket. "Okay, never mind..."
"So, where do we go?"
Turning his head towards the wise Orc, Duncan wanted to know what Titus would say in this situation. "I dunno, you're the leader. But an advice from me would be to check the last known location where the massacre occurred, and try to find some traces of what happened and who did it..."
A candle popped above his head, as if just realising it. "Of course, why didn't I think of that!? Silly me... C'mon old man, let's roll!"
As they left the Palace, Duncan could not help but think how long it would take them to finish all their business here.
"Y'think they'd be able to properly bundle that factory...?"
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"Alright you lot! The large cog wheel goes there, right near the nozzles. Hey, hey, hey! You there, Mr. Furface, prop up the gearbox slightly to the left. Any minuscule misalignment and we'd have oil flowing into our products. You want our customers to come with pitchforks against us!?"
Yelling orders from above, Lewis hollered through the makeshift megaphone, ordering the refugees on how to properly install all the equipment parts. Jeez, if they come back and see that the factory's not in operation, kick, off goes our heads!
Shaking his head one last time, he headed down the scaffold, going back to his carriage. He needed to return back home, to see their status on 'Project Jaffa Cakes'. I hope they've created something new, cause we need a TON of money for our space program! The more people we get, the more money we make...
As he reached back home, he heard a loud boom, before a large black chunk landed right before him. "Dammit, so close! If only the valve held on for 5 seconds more..."
Rolling his eyes, Lewis gave the burnt Dwarf a quick kick on his arse. "If you stopped playing around and actually mod the furnace to how it was drawn, we'd be finished by now! Anyways, I heard the girls have made a new flavour of Jaffa cakes. Wanna go and taste them?"
Hearing this, the Dwarf quickly dusted himself off, trotting towards the house behind Lewis with a slight limp.
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"Behold, our newest creation: Tealime Jaffa cake! With the sweetness of tea, and the tartness of lime, we have created the greatest dessert the world has ever known. All will bow down before u– Oh hey guys, you came back?"
On top of the counter was Goblina, holding a light green coloured Jaffa cake in the air, sunlight glinting across its smooth surface. Seeing Simon behind him, the little Goblin's face grew bright red at the scene she had just performed. Embarrassed, she handed the cake back to Celine, who put it back onto the plate (after slapping a wandering little paw off the table).
"So, how's the research?"
Flipping a strand of hair, Celine brushed off traces of flour from her nose (which Lewis found cute). "We've made over 10 different flavours, but can only produce 3 for now, due to limited production capacity. We must find out which ones are the most popular, and most importantly, where to sell them. If only Duncan were still here..."
Sighing in defeat, the group (minus a greedy Jaffa cake gobbling Wulfin) grew depressed, for they needed someone to partner with. "No matter, we'll fix it once the time comes. For now, we need to figure out–"
"Did someone say they need a partner...?"