Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 14

Chapter 131

The battle had begun between the tower folk and the gray masks. The day was beyond hot, forcing the people to be in various states of undress so as not to die from overheating. The gray masks were humanoid-looking things wearing gray and grainy masks, with these ones wearing royal blue cloaks and one wearing dark red, Tacitus, the only gray mask with a mind, it seemed.

Ignis wore gloves to wield her crowbar as she went to the back to stop gray masks from planting bombs. Victoria fired her crossbow at the back as well, all from the safety of the tower. Resonantia moved to the second floor and fired her bow. Iratus, with his longsword, and Aestus, with her wooden spear, held the engaged gray masks at bay.

Victoria tossed the fire starter outside, which Ignis grabbed after bashing a few gray mask sappers. She managed to set the fires made for this siege and began to hold off a few more gray masks, who, despite being armed and having some intelligence as opposed to the other monsters, had no combat ability. They swung and slashed wildly, stabbing themselves wide open, and as dangerous as armed combat was, Ignis was able to maneuver to not get hurt.

Iratus and Aestus used the wooden stakes to control the battlefield. Aestus was able to hold the gray masks at bay with her superior range, but the creatures would start impaling themselves on purpose on the spear, which forced Aestus back. The good news is that the gray masks would evaporate into smoke not long after they died, leaving behind bits of red dust and blood on the weapons that killed them. This allowed Aestus to hold onto her spear without dropping it, though her constant retreating forced Iratus to take up some of her slack. Iratus, with his weapon training, was smoothly able to discard the gray masks and was able to take on two of these creatures at a time.

They had the support of Resonantia, who fired an arrow at critical targets who threatened to break her friend's line. Ignis came around, holding onto three kegs of black powder, while the two front liners covered her retreat into the tower and followed her inside. Resonantia shot an arrow at Tacitus and took a direct hit to his chest. While it staggered him, he did not show any signs of pain, as he just took out the arrow and tossed it to the ground.

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Chapter 132

The gray masks headed back into the tree line while the tower folk desperately quaffing down drinking water and splashing barrel water against their fur. The furred people were covered in oil from their sweat, while the shark girl's skin didn't breathe like human skin. Everyone was hot and already nearly out of stamina just from that brief skirmish. The wet sheets all over the windows acted as primitive air conditioning, which helped a little.

Once everyone caught their breath, the drinking water was almost gone. Many of their jars and pots now lay empty, and the battle for the tower had only just begun.

Victoria, "What are we going to do? Unless we can move the battle over the river or something, I don't see us surviving too much longer."

Iratus, "We dare not leave the tower. These things would probably do something to it, if not explode it outright."

Victoria, "Sure, they have sappers, but there were several times they could have exploded us in their trap and didn't."

Resonantia, "Tacitus. Maybe gray masks are smart, but not deeply intelligent like people. However, that man might be the only actual brain they have, and this is the best they can gain from him."

Iratus, "Yeah, what's that about? I still don't know much about gray masks, but don't they attack and kill people?"

Ignis, "Correct sir."

Resonantia, "Maybe they recruited him? If his only desire is to kill me, then maybe making him work for them seems like a good idea. Maybe him being partly metalhead, at least I assume, gets past the gray mask's senses? Heck, he may actually be dead and is partially alive from the metalhead thing happening with him."

Ignis, "The conductor was very clear that gray masks are figments of imagination. The question that should be asked is whether or not Tacitus is an actual gray mask."

Iratus, "Maybe he is still a man if gray masks are not able to form this level of tactical acumen."

Resonantia, "Not on this level. Almost, but never like this."

Ignis, "From what I've seen, the blue cloaks seem to act like every other monster around here. It really seems like Resonantia is right about the red one."

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Chapter 133

Ignis had been working on the rifle while everyone else was watching and talking to each other. Finally, she ripped a shell out of the gun and managed to get it into working condition.

Iratus, "Oh, sure, make me use the strange rifle. This whole time, you seem to be firearm capable."

Ignis, "I've not fired a rifle like this either. Besides that, firearms were not what I trained in. Now how about I tell you some of my learned abilities?"

She grabbed the small kegs of gunpowder.

Ignis, "That red cloak is smart, not for their traps and sieging ability. He might not even need to launch another attack. As per most sieges, he just needs to wait till we die in here."

Iratus examined the kegs.

Iratus, "I don't think this would have been enough to damage the tower walls."

Ignis, "It didn't need to because the enemy only needed us to act."

Victoria, "Sorry."

Ignis, "Iratus and Victoria, I need you two to engage with the enemy in the front."

Victoria, "Yeah...how am I supposed to help Iratus when it takes so long to reload my crossbow?"

Ignis, "Grab a spear. You two only need to hold their attention. Aestus, Resonandtia, and I will head to the back and deal with what we can. Our goal will be to somehow get behind Tacitus."

Iratus, "Somehow? You are not making this plan sound pleasant. Can't we get them to bottleneck themselves all the way to the tower? Better yet, we have a barrel of water that's helping us keep cool. Let's wait for a better time to fight."

Ignis, "Again, why would they need to engage with us anymore, up against the tower, I mean? I understand we have a lifesaving barrel of water, but they only need us active and paying attention to them; otherwise, they only need to wait and make sure we can't leave."

Aestus, who had been looking out, called out.

Aestus, "I have good news and bad news, which are both the same news. Come over and look!"

Everyone came over to look and gasped at what they saw. A group of gray masks dragged out what appeared to be Clamor. He was shirtless now with bandages around his torso and had ropes tied up all around him—terribly so, but enough to restrain him effectively. Clamor was dragged out into the tree line with a dull, dead expression. The day was already too hot for a normal living person to survive, so it was no surprise that, if this was Clamor, it would make sense why he looked like he was dying.

Iratus, "I stand corrected. Shall we sally forth?"

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Chapter 134

Resonantia, "Wait, they can do that. Gray masks are mindless monsters who are smart and cunning, but they can't just not kill people. They can't do this!"

Ignis at the window, "Rabbit man, why do you allow our friend to live thus far?"

Tacitus, after lifting his mask, "You are wrong again, Resonantia. I'd be shocked if you could save this man from the environment. Come out and save him, and I'll even let you, Resonantia."

The tower folk looked at each other.

Ignis, "Was he still talking to me?"

Victoria, "We were discussing how differently the gray masks have been acting from what you know. Maybe this is the best they can muster. A sliver of what used to be that man?"

Resonantia, "I think she meant that if he is so smart leading these creatures, then why does he seem so broken?"

Iratus, "He knew about my people's history, so I don't think he is this Tacitus anymore." He shouted out the window. "Yo, dead man rabbit reject, how do you know about my people's past?"

Tacitus just stood there for quite a while before he drooped his head. It looked like his already neutral-looking expression became more lifeless. Then finally he spoke, but something seemed off, as if he wasn't even talking to Iratus.

Tacitus, "Kill the cat. Kill him, the summoner's champion, and stop your obsession with the female shark. Stop talking aloud!"

With that, Tacitus got a serious, though still dreary, expression and placed his mask back on, no longer responding to the tower folk.

Resonantia, "I believe Clamor does not have much time. We must act now!"

Ignis gave out the powder kegs.

Ignis, "So back to my plan."

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Chapter 135

Once the gray masks moved their ranks around, Ignis signaled everyone to sally forth. Iratus and Victoria moved right out in front, with Iratus wielding the rifle. The other group moved to the backside, taking two of the kegs with them. The third was tossed at Tacitus by Iratus, and it landed far off nearby. When the gray masks refused to come out of cover, Iratus and Victoria moved closer to the tree line to bait out the creatures, which finally worked. Victoria got one shot off before switching to the wooden spear, while Iratus shot from almost all sides to fend off the creatures. Iratus heard the first explosion, which this time came from the back.

Iratus and Victoria had to step back to not get overwhelmed, but when they got far enough away, the gray masks would retreat into cover. So when that happened, they moved closer to bait them out again, creating a dance going forward and backward. When the semi-automatic rifle ran out of ammo, Iratus threw it away and pulled out his longsword.

Tacitus fired off a total of three arrows when he had a shot on Iratus, but they were easily dodged as they targeted his head, which was already a difficult target to hit.

Tacitus, "Come, take your friend. I'll let you."

Iratus, "After all the deception so far, how do we even know that's Clamor? Is he even still alive?"

Tacitus, "Come, take your friend. I will let you."

After a pause, Tacitus gave the go-ahead, and the gray masks moved in, but there was a second explosion off to the side, and group two came barreling in. With Ignis running with a flaming stick made from the burning debris in the back.

Iratus, "You may control your monsters from the front, but you should have been more mindful of the back."

Tacitus was quiet the whole time while Iratus and Victoria backed up and the horde of gray masks closed in. They swung their knives, daggers, and short swords around savagly, but they were slain in mass as Iratus's skilled swordsmanship and Victoria's well-developed combat skills overpowered the gray masks.

Resonantia cracked the lid and threw it at Tacitus, with some gunpowder leaking out.
 
Tacitus, "Resonantia, you will not escape me! Hear me, noble brat, you shall perish again!"

The rabbit man was able to get another shot off, which tore part of Resonantia's face open while she tried to retaliate, but when she pulled on her bow, it snapped in half. Aestus and Resonantia sustained several cuts while holding off many gray masks for Ignis. Ignis tossed the fire stick, and it landed close enough to light the gunpowder ablaze.

The explosion crippled many gray masks, and even Tacitus collapsed on one knee. Iratus and Victoria managed to run past their engaged foes to reach the red cloak and decapitate the rabbit man.

As soon as Tacitus was slain, the other gray masks immediately melted into smoke. Iratus tried to examine them as best he could, but their bodies were a black void in his perception as he watched them melt away.

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Chapter 136

The tower door was flung open as the group pulled in Clamor, Aestus, and Resonantia. The girls could move around, but they were set down for Ignis and Victoria to manage their wounds while Iratus made wet rags to douse Clamor in. He got the rest of the drinking water for Clamor, who barely managed to drink it.

Iratus started to boil more water to drink while cleaning his longsword. Tacitus had actually left blood on his blade, unlike the other gray masks, though it was old, dusty, crystalized blood. Ignis gave Resonantia painkillers as she told the shark girl that she had a cut blood vessel and needed surgery. The cries of Resonantia were in the background while Iratus got the water ready, though Ignis took most of it for cleaning the wound.

Ignis, "We needed strong alcohol; I don't know how well this is going to work."

Iratus, "I'm positive there is a doctor's office in Last Mistake. Tomorrow we will go there since today is just awful."

Victoria, "Made worse by you starting a fire in here!"

Iratus, "You want drinking water? You want to drink unsafe river water?"

Clamor was still in terrible condition even when he was continuously soaked in wet rags. Aestus looked over her cuts and then over at her scarred right arm from the treeskin that nearly destroyed her arm.

Aestus, "I am not meant to be a shield bearer. Why am I always wounded and scarred? All my beautiful fur is being replaced by scars!"

Resonantia came down with stitches in her cheek.

Resonantia. "Everyone here has a scar."

Ignis, "Pah, speak for yourself. This one is clean of imperfections."

Iratus, "Most scars add character to a body. So far, I'd say all of the girls scars look great so far."

There were a lot of smiles until Clamor spoke up.

Clamor, "This...is why...I don't like being around...teens!"

Iratus, "Your alive. For some time, I thought you were a meat puppet made by the despotic gray masks."

Clamor after a sigh, "Ugh, they held me in some odd prison place. It was cool, and I was given meals...I even talked to that red cloak. He was quite brilliant until he broke down and stopped talking. Such an odd creature."

Resonantia, "Yeah, let me tell you about him."

---

Chapter 137

People started to rotate going to the hot springs as the sides had cool and cold pools of water. Clamor was taken there too, which, when placed in the cool pools of water, greatly helped his condition.

The next day, the items were gathered from the battlefield. The day was darkened by clouds, and storms could be seen far off from the tower location. There were forty knives, twenty-two daggers, and twenty-two short swords left after everyone took some of these weapons for their own kit. Two hand bombs as well as a few roughish tools like lockpicks and rope, which Victoria took all of. They took the cloaks and put them in a corner to use for rags later. As for the masks, they were smashed, broken, and scattered.

Clamor, "So let me tell you about the place. It was a small stone room in the darkness. There was a little metal turning thing that is used to get rid of heat on top, so I had some light. When they dropped in, I got a good look around, and I'll say that the place was actually across the river to the west. I saw a Massive castle-like structure in the distance."

Victoria, "Sounds like another exploration location to me."

Clamor, "As long as it isn't some gray mask base."

Iratus, "Those things died when their leader died, so who knows if they would still be around?"

Resonantia, "But did all of them die? I've never heard of gray masks having colored cloaks. The only color they are supposed to wear is brown."

Ignis, "Tacitus has destroyed anything we know about gray masks."

Resonantia, "Assuming he was a gray mask. We don't know what he was."

Ignis, "He died; they died. A gray mask he had to wear helps us understand what happened here. He was a being of imagination, perhaps yours?"

Resonantia, "And what? These things learned how to set complex traps, learn tactics, and keep prisoners instead of killing them like their nature demands, all because of someone I remembered?"

Ignis shrugged.

Resonantia, "I think it's a bit more complicated than that, but we can't be certain of anything right now."

Iratus, "Hey, these guys don't have much on them."

Resonantia bent down to grab Tacitus's bow, which was a masterwork of craftsmanship in old wooden bows. She gave it a test and realized its weight.

Resonantia, "My salvation, this thing is strong. Must be on the heavy end of the war bow."

Iratus, "Seems like a waste of stamina."

Resonantia, "It is. Then again, did Tacitus even have to worry about stamina?"

The group wrapped up their looting and headed inside.

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Chapter 138

The next two days were a flux of sunny skies and rain, holding down the tower folk in their tower. Eventually the 34th day came, which was sunny but also had a bit of a chill for most of the day. During the afternoon, everyone gathered around the commons area.

Clamor, "Ah, finally the cold days have come."

Resonantia, "So winter."

Clamor, "There are no seasons on this planet."

Resonantia, "But there will be a period of cold days."

Clamor, "Correct."

Resonantia, "So it's a cold season?"

Clamor, "There are no seasons here."

Resonantia, "Arg!"

Iratus finished washing his dishes and sat down.

Iratus, "So, we should get a game going. Maybe have regular gaming nights?"

Clamor, "I'll enjoy coming over here for some gaming."

Iratus, "Excuse me?"

Clamor, "Oh right, I have been thinking about moving out."

Shocked expressions surrounded him.

Clamor, "You teens are too much for my old body to handle, and I don't like all your stink. I remember you all saying the previous group did not like having kids in charge, and I sort of agree."

Iratus, "Like, did we do something wrong?"

Clamor, "No no. You five are amazing, and I love you all. I just feel like being by myself and not cramping up here."

Iratus, "Won't surviving out there alone be difficult?"

Clamor, "I'm coming by most days. We've got work to do after all."

Victoria chimed in.

Victoria, "Then stay? I just don't understand."

Clamor, "I'm just going to move back into the other hideout tower. You kids can enjoy your stay here, and I pop in every other day to work."

Aestus, "Maybe he is telling the truth when he says he does not like us being in charge."

Iratus, "He has been treated as our equal and has been making decisions with us."

Clamor, "Five kids does feel a bit annoying, but I just need my own place. Also, before you ask, yes, the Invaders have left."

Resonantia, "If that's what you want, grandpa, though I still think staying together is the better idea."

Clamor, "You'll understand sooner or later."

Iratus, "Ok, but can you wait one more day? We have to get the alcohol for wound cleansing."

---

Chapter 139

Iratus, Resonantia, Ignis, and Clamor went to Last Mistake, and the first thing they found was that any belongings of the gray masks had disappeared. They had to bait many treeskins out of the town and into the gatehouses, where they could be killed easily. It took a long time to complete the task, with so many fights and breaks. There was still some daylight left when they started their search in earnest. With a large enough gap in treeskin patrols, the party was able to find an apothecary's private clinic and raid it for supplies, which still had a number of medicines, though this medicine was more primitive than modern medicine with varying results in effectiveness.

Luckily, this town came from a time period that was aware of the usefulness of alcohol as a disinfectant, and the party snatched what was there. Once they left the building, a conversation started.

Iratus, "You know, we could find some more loot around here. It looks like the number of treeskins is actually diminished by the fights here."

Clamor, "Sounds like a good idea, but where can we go from here?"

Resonantia, "I think there is an armory up ahead."

Ignis, "I assert that the market square looks empty right now, and thus we must take advantage of this luck."

Clamor, "How about we split up and get as much as we can before we run out of time?"

Iratus, "Good idea. I'll head to the armory."

Clamor, "Same."

Resonantia, "Then we ladies will hit the markets."

Iratus and Clamor headed for what looked like an armory or some sort of armament shop. Inside the armory, they found a scene of organized chaos. The sturdy walls were damaged by the treeskin's nature and are now cracked, with sections crumbling.

The armor stands were toppled over, with the once gleaming and quality look now reduced to rust and tarnish. Shelves that once held weapons were now broken and scattered across the floor, forming a jumble of weaponry. Some of the weapons still looked good enough to use, while others were clearly beyond use. The racks of shields now only yield useless and shattered wooden shields.

The spears had been rendered useless, as had most of the ammo for bows and crossbows. In a particular corner of the room was an armor stand for a set of segmented armor that still looked fresh and new, untorn by time or battle damage.

At the same time,
Clamor, "Mine!"
Iratus, "I call the armor!"

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Chapter 140

The segmented armor was an armor made of bands of metal and is known for being an effective armor, though it is still considered obsolete by advanced metalworking civilizations. Iratus and Clamor looked at each other before continuing their debate.

Clamor, "I have a much better physique than you, so I can wear that sucker better than you."

Iratus, "There's that suck word again! Hey friend, these are my people's stuff, so it is logical that I should have it."

Clamor, "It will find better use on a vanguard like me."

Iratus, "Once my face heals, I'll also take up the front lines."

Clamor, "I've worn armor for a large number of battles before; I'll admit this is the old kind, but what's your experience?"

Iratus, "I've worn armor, though mostly for play than war; regardless, I need the armor to fight more effectively and far more so than the guy with a big sword."

Clamor, "No, no. Great swords are made for diving into crowds, so if I want to survive my suicide dives, I need that armor. Hey, can you even lift that? Or hey, how about keeping yourself light on your feet for a combat style?"

Iratus, "Have you not seen my bulk? I can wear this and keeping on one's feet isn't effective in a fight, er, maybe for running and stealth, but at that point you wouldn't be wearing it either."

Clamor, "Look, my fighting style puts me at risk on purpose. You at least have a proper sword for defensive stances. Let me put my life at risk so that you and the girls can make it out alive."

Iratus, "Ok fine. I still have my gambeson, and you clearly don't have anything. However, let's see if any of the other armors can still be salvaged."

After they grabbed what they could, they left to see how the girls were doing.

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EPISDOE 14: END

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Episode 14 End Character Sheet
Name: Iratus Lionheart
Species: Mousefolk
Age: 14
Coverings: Blonde Fur, White Gambeson (moderately damaged, leather patchwork), leather gloves, tactical vest, tailorcraft backback
Weapons: Long Sword, 3x Knifes, Short Sword
Equipment: belt, belt bag, water skin, leathercraft backpack, 2 bags, 33 oval copper coins, 7 small silver bricks, 6 gemstones, 20 fine silver coins,20 fine gold coins

Wounds: Left Leg bitten (mostly healed), Face (multiple severe injuries, some healing)

Community Stash: a fire starter, whetstone, several leather items, a lot of animal bones, some animal hide, 3 glass jar, 1 fish net, primitive sewing kit, trowel, woodcutting axe, a bunch of small wooden figures, wooden dice, some of sheets, metal scrap, lots of rusted metal, several small fish nets, box of unknown ammo, some medical supplies, semi-automatic rifle (no ammo), a strange device (Gameboy-like device), lots of wooden planks and boards, wood glue, sandpaper, compass, sextant, some bedrolls, a tent, lots of rope, a large barrel, some ink, 3 papyrus paper, 5 hide paper (parchments), 80 cloaks and other clothing materials, some alcohol, some primitive medicine

Armory: 10 wooden spears, 23 short swords, 40 knifes, 22 daggers, 2 hand bombs, 18 rusted weapons, many armor pieces, ruined metal armor.

Treasure: 40 oval copper coins, 44 ancient metal coins, 40 fine silver coins, 44 fine gold coins, 23 fine copper coins, a tarnished silver brooch, a small ornamental figurine, a handful of sparkling glass beads, a small wooden trinket box, a collection of delicate, hand-painted porcelain charms, a few antfolk tapestries, some antfolk art, 

Home Base, Tower: Large Storage Area (many crates and clay pots), Basic Butchering Area (few tools, smoking rack), Basic Workshop Area (lots of tools, woodcarving tools), Kitchen Area (many tools, many cutlery items, pots&pans), Outside Makeshift Tannery, Underground Storage Area, Garden Area, Library, Armory, Infirmary room (surgery tools)

Books: 3x woodworking books, weathered leather-bound journal, war game booklet

Year 0, Day 34

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(Extra Stories)

Extra Story 1

(1 year ago) A bulky raccoon man wearing fine-fitting metal armor over padded armor, he was tall, had a master crafted saber, and despite wondering through the wilderness, was still well groomed. He walked into a wide clearing that was in the grasp of the forest. Six figures huddled around a large pit fire as the night finally hit.

Victorum, "Hear me, lesser men. I am Victorum, king of kings; follow me through this strange world and be rewarded with glory as we conquer this pitiful realm."

The man paused as the five figures only looked at him for a second before going back to what they were doing.

Victorum started to get annoyed before a rabbit man spoke up; it was Clamor.

Clamor, "Don't take it personally, as none of them share our language."

Victorum, "But you do?"

Clamor, "Yes, I do speak the superior language, though you'll find that people that share the same language only share about seventy or eighty percent of the same words. Hey, do you understand every word I am speaking?"

Victorum, "You are speaking a bit fast, so..."

Clamor, "Well, let me introduce you." He pointed to an earthly samurai. "Strange clayman." He pointed to a redpandafolk. "I assume you already know about other ringtail people."

He then waved over the other three.

Clamor, "Wesel lady, old fox guy, and...that guy is new, but he looks like a squirrelfolk. As you can see, no communication means they all speak different languages."

Victorum, "Regardless, now that I am here, I will lead you all out of this crucible of oblivion."

Clamor, "Based on what?"

Victorum, "I am the conqueror of seven nations and have subjected their monarchies to my domain. I am emperor, king of kings; look upon me and watch as I conquer this land as well. You lot will be the first of my new army, and together we will survive and thrive."

Clamor, "As a king myself, I'll have to say no."

Victorum, "Ah, a fellow man chosen by heaven. You must be the leader of this group."

Clamor, "Hardly, no one is really in charge, but we do follow the weasel lady because she heals our wounds. Then again, the old fox guy does most of the hunting...Look, what I'm saying is that lordship doesn't matter here. If you have survival skills, you lead, and others follow."

Victorum, "You think a man of my status will submit to a healer or hunter?"

Clamor, "Yes. Welcome to Nexus Prime, the closest thing to hell that exists in mortal form."

Victorum, "Hell? What is that?"

---

Extra Story 2

(before the siege) Clamor ate his mashed potatoes and drank his water, which was in a clay mug. He was in a small tornado shelter, with gray masks standing guard nearby. He had bandages wrapped around him as his back took a couple of arrows.

Clamor, "Can I get seconds?"

The gray masks ignored his request.

Clamor, "...Oh woe is me. I feel Scurvy taking me! I need fruit and vegetables to stay alive."

After saying that, a gray mask left and soon returned with the foods asked for. The door opened, and a blue-cloaked gray mask handed the food tray to Clamor. He grabbed the tray, but before he sat down, he somehow fumbled it, and it fell to the ground.

Clamor quickly gathered everything up when a red-cloaked, gray mask looked into the doorway.

Tacitus, "The Rabbit King of Old. Greetings."

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