Chapter 73
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Yavneck walked around the bandit camp with an expression of calm that betrayed the anxiety and excitement he was feeling, he weaved to the side as a bandit carrying a rusty short-sword charged in his direction, dodging the larger man before shooting him a look of pure contempt. Yavneck did not know who that person was, nor did he care whether he lived or died in the upcoming battle, at the end of the day, he wasn't planning on controlling and commanding any of them directly, no, that task would go to the group "leaders" he would be electing into position when his plan comes into fruition.

He just needs hands to control the small fingers, that's what being a leader of a large group is all about. And right as long as the people he gives positions are competent, he wouldn't care what they do in their free time, like for example right now- scorn was on his face as he passed the tents of the barbarians who thought with naught but with their dicks, cries and moans echoed out of the tent, with a few feminine voices begging to be let go.

Yavneck cared not about any of those, it wasn't his business nor would it ever be. The bandits can keep any women they want right as long as it doesn't hinder the camp's efficiency.

And if they do?

Well, getting killed on accident can always happen to the mercenaries who just so happen to fight in the front lines of battles.

'Mercenaries... huh?' Such a nice sounding word. He grinned- Yavneck can see it now, him controlling an entire brigand of mercenaries willing to do all the work for him while he plans at the back and if need be, cast offensive spells on anyone that's capable of threatening his group of battle hardened veterans capable of wrestling down regular Gnolls and come out on top.

The moans stopped entering his ears the moment that Yavneck passed that particular group of tents by, compared to that rather annoying yet particular situation, making his way to a spot of the camp he had wanted to go to had been rather simple and uneventful and Yavneck soon stopped in front of a tent that's a little wider than most, though it was still as short- the men simply didn't have the time to prepare pegs like that, no matter how "special" the man behind the curtains is, - but the difference in size isn't really all that important for the time being because Yavneck, for all that he hates the "Herbalist"/Fraud named Cego, knows the value of the man's research.

Stepping a single step forward, Yavneck pushed through the entrance of the tent and went face to face with a dark room lit by the light of candles- barrels of Herbs, tables full of vials and glasses of alchemical dew, as well as various other tools for both alchemy and surgery. Of course, there's also the slew of captured, rope bound men and the pile of corpses in the corner. He had already seen this scene once and Yavneck did not flinch then, he wouldn't be surprised at the sight of it now.

Actually, he can even respect it, Cego, for all that he is mad, is completely absorbed into finishing his goal of creating the strength potion that he so caught, even going as far as doing morally dubious deeds such as experimenting on living people and desecrating corpses in order to get what he wants. And that, if anything, is a resolve that Yavneck can respect.

The man stood right next to a gigantic corpse that stood at the height of 12 Feet, log-like muscles bulged in the colors of all the alchemical liquid being pumped into its veins, the things responsible for which are the myriad of 4 inch tubes that were inserted in either side of the corpse's neck.

Yavneck stepped closer to the fat, bloated thing that had once been Cego's friend, the thing looked at him with expressionless white eyes that if not for the drainage of the subject's blood, would be bulging from all the pressure being placed against its body. Walking ever closer, he noticed that the swollen belly of the monster is now filled with purple veins that constantly stretched and pulsed. When he stood right next to it, he saw that the corpse was no longer hanging on hooks, now well capable of standing on its own using the... grafted mammoth legs that had been given to it by Cego.

"Amazing work," Yavneck commented as the monster's creator stepped out of the shadows from his right, he didn't look away from the monster, for he knew that between the two, the monster in front of him is the bigger threat. "You did well in making him stand upright,"

"Thank you," Cego said with a smile full of hidden contempt as he stood next to Yavneck. "He is going to be quite the powerhouse once completed,"

Yavneck nodded, returning his own smile with hidden contempt, which he didn't doubt was noticed by the man as well, "you just need one more day correct?"

"Yes." Cego lied, and Yavneck knew that because he was the one who told him to say it. And the man, having been given more opportunities to work on his "friend" agreed without so much as a second thought. Also, their new benefactor might have said something to him as well but Yavneck is working on finding out about the wants of those people so that's fine, he'd know, make contingencies, and then plan ahead of them so that he comes out on top. The difference in resources wouldn't be a problem right as long as he can escape from them the moment that he failed.

"Though, I think I have looked at your friend for long enough," Yavneck made his way to the only table without any alchemical stuff on it, instead, it had a small loaf of bread as well as cold soup on it, also, a map. Yavneck stared at it and the places that the "Herbalist" marked, a lot of areas were circled in black ink, as for what's inside, Yavneck can only guess. "Quite the interesting map you have here," he said.

"Thank you," Cego said his favorite two words as he sat down in front of Yavneck, "and your company is rather pleasant, but can I ask you why you wanted to visit?"

"Your... potions," Yavneck started, eyeing the giant corpse of Cego's greatest creation to date, "can they be poisonous?"

Cego gave him a look of faux shock while badly faking a gasp, "Why- how could you?" He asked, looking around, "I- I can never!"

Yavneck scoffed, "One- you have bad acting skills, you should stop." Cego grunted and took a bite of his bread, "and two, I know that more of your test subjects die than live,"

"Your point?" Cego asked after a gulp.

"Can make your potions so that the drinker both gets a super strength boost whilst also getting a... limited lifespan?" He requested.

"Hmmm..." Cego hummed eyeing something from their right, Yavneck, for a moment, didn't follow his gaze, "I can do that,"

Cego, who kept his eyes to the side replied and Yavneck chose to trust him and move his eyes away from both the monster and its creator, he smiled when he spotted a blue flower with green spots- Adrenaline Daisy, good in short doses, and yet extremely lethal when eaten in large quantities, it is also the main component of stamina potions as well as one of the many flowers that cause young, stupid children throughout the lands who, upon eating the flower, think that it makes them feel powerful, which they then get addicted to and eventually, die of heart attacks thanks to overconsumption of Adrenaline Daisy.

"Do so," he said, "I'll give you a list tomorrow morning,"

"Sure, sure-" he waved him off, "but what do I get out of it?"

"Information," Yavneck said.

"Like what?" Cego asked, head tilted and voice curious. "What can you possibly give me that would make me want something like that?"

"The location of the Corpse of a Bearwoman as well as the place where her living daughter is currently staying in," Yavneck answered confidently, omitting a few important details such as the Beastwoman being the wife of a Duke as well as her daughter being the Heiress of the Lezatian Dukedom.

"And why would I want that?" Cego asked and the badly feigned indifference made Cego roll his eyes.

"Because Bearmen are nigh non-existent and also-" Yavneck leaned in, "I know that Bears as a whole are capable of keeping their muscles even though they don't do anything physically active." Yavneck said the results of most of his research on the subject of the "mythical" strength potions, "I know that Bears wake up full of muscles even when they literally hibernate for months and years,"

"And? I can just catch bears, thanks for the information? I'll keep that in mind." Cego asked with bad acting again.

"Like all animal based potions, stuff made from Bears aren't compatible with humans no?" Yavneck pushed, "And unless you want a bigger debt to our "Benefactor" out there, you're gonna want me to give you the information," he added, "so, what about it? I give you the list then partial information, and in exchange, you kill a few people for me,"

"... Fine. Those people are going to die," Cego said, face twisted into a scowl and refusing to meet Yavneck's eyes.

"Good," he replied, standing up. He left for the entrance of the tent and as he was about to leave, he turned back and met Cego's eyes, "And next time, don't just wipe out your materials. Like a good [Herbalist], try to populate your crops first."

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