Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 15

Chapter 141

The commercial district was filled with a few shops, all of which were, of course, ruined and destroyed beyond recognition, but the market stalls nearby still had some items scattered around. The girls were seen shoving fabrics into bags, and Ignis pocketed some jewels for herself. There was a short conversation on bag space, and everyone decided to head back home with their spoils.

The next day, the 35th day, Clamor moved out, wishing all the kids luck, though of course he came by most days to work or use their tools for his own hobbies. With proper rules written and wooden pieces, the group now enjoys various games most nights. The 38th day saw the girls return from the hot springs and had a surprise for Iratus.

Their hair and fur were not just clean, but had a shine of health to them. Iratus was dumbstruck for a moment before asking what happened.

Victoria, "Ignis had found some shampoo a while ago, and we've decided now is the perfect time to enjoy ourselves."

Iratus, "Wow, yeah. What a difference."

Ignis, "Shouldn't you be asking what shampoo is? Knowing this item, no one else did."

Iratus, "Are you going to speak normally or not?"

Ignis, "Ack, I am not a blundering barbarian. I just...have trouble speaking properly. It's not my fault your language is lesser."

Aestus, "Didn't you two have a conversation like this before?"

Iratus, "Uh, right, the question. Shampoo is made from the root of Soapwort. One could also use Yucca root, boil soap nuts, the leaves of aloe vera, or soak shikakai to make shampoo."

Resonantia, "Filthy dirt sniffer, you knew how to make this wonderous item the whole time?"

Iratus, "Well yeah. Everyone needs to properly clean their fur somehow."

Ignis, "Make shampoo by starting now!"

Iratus, "Chains. okay, alright. If you can identify the plants that I named, we can start making some."

Aestus, "Pah, you'll never find soapwort in this environment."

Ignis, "Ah, a master of botany. You'll be our gatherer then."

Aestus, "Uh, thanks for the title. I won't let you down, I guess."

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Chapter 142

A variety of plants were gathered, but Iratus started with the Yucca plant. He took the roots and cleaned them. Then the roots were cut into small pieces and put with some water in a pot to boil. Then he let it cool off for half an hour, after which the water was strained through a fine cloth to remove the solid pieces. Aestus added some lavender to the mixture and stirred it well.

Iratus, "And done. I'm not a shampoo expert, so I don't know which of these plants is best for our furred bodies, but we have to start somewhere."

Victoria, "And now you are the royal shampoo maker."

Iratus, "Did you not see the process? This is hardly difficult to make yourself. I'll test this one out myself."

Aestus, "Do you need help bathing?"

Iratus, "Ack, arg, what? No, no, I got this myself. I am a big boy."

After his own bath at the hot springs, he revealed his new appearance to the girls. His fur now had a golden hue to it, and each individual strand of fur could be seen, freed from the grime that couldn't be removed from normal bathing. Anyone who touched his fur could feel the silky feel of the fresh bath, and even his mousy features seemed to come forward from the freshness.

Iratus, "You don't have to touch me; I could just tell you what my fur feels like."

Ignis, "Then a trade? Touch my fur, and I will touch your fur."

Iratus, "Uh, uh, no, that's fine."

The girls gave a menacing grin as they retired to the commons to discuss the rest of the day.

Resonantia, "Can we not work today? I like to keep my shiny hair for at least some time."

Victoria, "Agreed."

Iratus, "Then let's take the rest of the day off." He pulled up some wooden figures. "Let's game."

Ignis, "Perhaps some literal board games should be your next project."

Iratus, "Oh no, anything but making games. Yeah, I'll do it."

Victoria, "Thirty-point game?"

Irauts, "Five players is pretty odd, though."

Aestus, "And the darn rabbit didn't show today."

Irauts, "Let me tell you about the overlord's rules."

Victoria, "Don't we normally have a game master?"

Irauts, "If we take out most of the events, we can just roll for ourselves."

Victoria, "Goodbye random factor."

Resonantia, "It's still random; there just happen to be fewer variations in our play."

Irauts, "Besides, a game master is only needed when the environment is in play."

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Chapter 143

Wooden figures littered a roughly made tree and hovel items. In the center was a wooden emblem representing an objective, which was guarded by several high-quality units and even a giant cat creature. Everyone else had a small army to wage battle, while Aestus had one single heroic unit. In just two rounds, Iratus had dived into Resonantia's forces and whipped them out while the other armies struggled to get into an advantageous position to attack the objective point.

On round four, Iratus was forced to hard defend the objective as the enemy forces had dealt a serious enough blow to leave a hole in the formation. Once round eight came, Aestus sighed over her heroic unit finally dying as well as the other girls giving up as they had lost all their troops except Ignis, who still had a basic spearman unit.

Iratus's giant cat unit was slain, but he still had an elite armored unit. Despite his massive advantage, he kept rolling misses until Ignis's spearman unit chipped away and slew Iratus's final unit.

Iratus, "Now that's some luck."

Ignis, "You were a worthy opponent, as you clearly have a lot of experience in this game."

Iratus, "Next time, let's do some scenarios. I think you girls would like siege mode."

A few more days pass as the days become routine and survival seems easier, as well as the group making another five pieces of papyrus paper since they started soaking the papyrus a while ago. With the 42nd day bringing something new. Iratus was doing his morning exercises when he stopped to turn to the girls.

Iratus, "You know what I just noticed? When Clamor was here, you four never did workouts in the commons area. What, did you not like him seeing you all strut in your underwear?"

Resonantia, "Grandpa was right about something. We really should have separate living spaces for boys and girls. It's kind of embarrassing living in the same space with males."

Iratus, "Yes, right, very perceptive. So then why are you all down here with me if you don't want males gawking at your female forms?"

Victoria, "Because it's fun, duh."

Once the afternoon came, Clamor came by and joined Iratus and Victoria on a hunt. After they chased down their prey and finished it, a group of treeskins ambushed the group. Clarmor's new segmented armor did well to shrug off the grasps of treeskins, but one grasped his face, which, after killing it, would not dislodge from him. Clamor screamed for help as Victoria shot down the last treeskin. Iratus did his best to use a knife to cut out the piece of bark inside Clamor's face.

Clamor wiped off as much blood as he could to see if his left eye was still intact.

Clamor, "Nearly lost an eye. We need to start making headgear next." He finished pointing at Iratus.

Iratus's padded armor was now fixed with many of the fabrics, with a few leather patches on what couldn't be fixed.

Iratus, "I'll let Victoria know."

Victoria gave a loud "Ha!" being next to him.

Clamor, "These things have been appearing over by the hideout tower too. Perhaps it's time to thin their numbers?"

Iratus, "We've never seen the core of the stone city, so we might as well see it for once."

Victoria, "Let's bring it up with the others then."

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Chapter 144

At the tower, the group brought up the topic.

Clamor, "I've seen them around the hideout tower as well."

Resonantia, "And you're all alone. I'm telling you, move back in."

Clamor, "Trust me, I'm fine."

Victoria, "Let him live his life. Now back to the matter of discussion. Is there anyone who isn't up for another day of combat?"

Aestus, "This has become like any other piece of labor. So as long as this is done bit by bit, I am all for it."

There were a few head nods, with only Ignis rejecting the idea, but she came around when everyone else was all for it. There was still a lot of daylight left, so everyone planned on culling treeskin numbers in the area for a few days, starting with the stone city.

Once they were at the stone city, they noticed how different it looked. From a distance, they had never really noticed the creeping moss and grass growing over the buildings, and once they got closer, they saw the buildings crumbling and being torn apart from new treeskin trees and roots growing through them.

Clamor, "Well then. It looks like we've neglected the garden for far too long."

The group was able to bait out small groups at a time and usually deal with them at range.

The arrows and bolts being retrieved were losing their durability with the constant reuse of them, but the new arrows and bolts from Last Mistake have restocked their quivers and given the group a surplus.

After some time, the party took a break, with Victoria staying at the tower to finish the butchering of the deer. Iratus would borrow her crossbow, and the party would again slay a few more groups before retiring for the day.

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Chapter 145

On the 43rd day, the group decided to continue killing the treeskins and got another twelve in the morning. Once the afternoon came, they went out to the stone city again, but instead of tricking a small number of treeskins, a massive horde came out of the ruins to chase the group. The party tried to retreat, but eight four-legged tiger treeskins rushed them, and while three were stopped by range attacks, the other five were able to pounce on Iratus and Clamor, who used themselves as shields for the girls.

Two of the beasts then went for Victoria, who pulled out two daggers to defend herself. The men could not shake their attackers off as Resonantia and Aestus had to kill the creatures while Clamor and Iratus defended themselves as best they could. Victoria managed to hold her daggers in the monster's throat long enough for it to die, while Iratus shook off the last one on him, tearing his gameson once again and killing the best. Once the last treeskin beast was slain, the group cut off its teeth that grew inside Clamor's arm.

Clamor, "All the hell!"

Victoria and Resonantia resumed firing at the treeskin mob nearly upon them until everyone was able to retreat. The party ran eastward this time, trying not to lure the enemies back to the tower. Once they ran far away, they waited for the faster Treeskins to come so that they could be killed. After that, they had to continue this process until only a small group remained.

After they finished the entire group off, everyone was exhausted from their efforts.

Clamor, "Hey, we are near enough from where I live. Come with me, and we can rest at the hideout tower."

Iratus, "And soon we will have towers all around the area. The spa tower, the armory tower, the watchtower, and my personal favorite, the game tower."

Ignis, "Funny you are."

Iratus gave a grin, and then everyone went to the hideout tower, where, upon entering, Iratus saw the white labatory-like building with sterile walls and numerous rooms filled with chemistry equipment, most of which everyone could not understand what they were. There was a small hallway with several rooms that seemed like living quarters.

In the laboratory room, there was a science table converted into a dining table. Off to the side were a number of items and tools for camping and traveling.

Iratus, "Have you been exploring without us?"

Clamor, "Yeah. So when you ask why I need so many smoked meats, that's why."

Vicrotia, "You could ask one of us to travel with you; surely exploring the area is dangerous."

Clamor, "It's more of a hobby at this point."

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Chapter 146

Iratus noticed the iron doors at the entrance and another pair of metal doors in the back.

Iratus, "I assume over there is the forbidden basement?"

Clamor, "Yup. Down there are more rooms, and eventually it gets dangerous. Though after some looks, it seems the Invaders cleared out a lot of the danger. Also, I bet they took anything that could be looted as well."

Resonantia, "Sounds like we could give it a search one of these days."

Iratus, "Write that on the list of things we have to do."

Clamor, "But first, we must finally remove the treeskin threat right next to our homes."

After some chatting and resting, the group ventured back to the ruined stone city to keep thinning the monster numbers. Eventually, the group managed to burn away some of the treeskin roots, which burned surprisingly well. Once they reached the center of the city, they found multiple large trees, though now close up, they saw one large tree that was still rising, the weight keeping it down for now.

They finished off any treeskins around the area and tried to set fire to the massive treeskin tree.

Ignis, "Is there complete certainty that this is the smartest move? What makes this thing so in need of a good bonfire?"

Iratus, "Treeskins make their warped trees, and treeskins are born from them."

Their fire looked good, but without proper fuel, it couldn't take off. Before the group could discuss what the next plan was, creaking and cracking could be heard. The base of the tree exploded forth, and a path revealed itself, which spilled forth many new treeskins.

Aestus, "How about we call it a night?"

There were a few murmurs of agreement, and the party retreated back to the tower, making sure they were not followed. On their way back, they came across some sort of creature trying to eat a treeskin off the road. The party was weary when they approached, but upon a closer look, they saw what the creature was.

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Chapter 147

It was an insectile creature in the form of a feline panther. It was slick and agile-looking despite its hardened carapace. It was a grayish purple color with large insect wings on its back and four eyes in front of its face. It had four limbs that were feline but also insect-like in nature, as well as two vestige limbs.

Resonantia, "Woh...that thing is cute."

Ignis, "Beyond normal levels of adorable!"

Iratus, "Yeah, it is cute."

Clamor, "What is wrong with you lot? That thing is a disgusting abomination."

Victoria, "I think you are outvoted here."

Clamor, "Ugh."

The insect cat stopped eating the treeskin with disgusted disappointment and looked at the party. It gave a snake-like hiss, and when the group didn't react to it, it started to back up.

Clamor, "Oh, someone kill it. We can't let it get away."

Iratus, "I don't know. It seems a little bit too cute to kill."

Clamor, "What the flax? Seriously, that thing is a dangerous beast; look how big it is. Just think of that leopard that nearly took your leg."

The bug cat ran off into the distance, and Clamor just shook his arms.

Clamor, "That thing is going to kill one of us one of these days."

Aestus, "Not that cute thing!"

The rest of the day passed, with Clamor eventually returning to his tower, and the next day the group continued to empty out the ruined stone city. The group used the rough terrain, which was the broken buildings, to slow down larger groups and get another chance at the main large tree. They gathered debris around the tree and ignited it, which did a lot of damage, though the fire still died out. As the fire was dying, another wave of treeskins were birthed from the tree, and the group had to retreat once again.

Outside the ruined stone city, the group was waiting.

Clamor, "Ok, so do we have to chop at this thing?"

Ignis, "Anyone else think the tree was smaller this time around?"

Resonantia, "What, like producing treeskins, takes its own mass?"

Iratus, "That sounds like it makes sense."

Clamor, "Regardless, how about we take a few days to rest? Maybe if there are other projects?"

Victoria, "We've been trying to see if we can make something out of all the armor pieces for one thing."

Iratus, "The girls have made the basic quarters actual bedrooms with bed frames and everything."

Victoria, "Six rooms will be bedrooms, while the last one will be a guest room."

Iratus, "You should also see my new bed. It's an actual bed now, and a big one at that."

Resonantia, "Of course, someone with such a big room needs a big bed."

Iratus, "To be fair, it isn't like I have a ton of stuff to populate it yet."

Clamor, "I'll be heading home. See you guys at a later date."

Resonantia, "What could hold your attention for days?"

Clamor, "Just some things I need to check out."

Victoria, "Are you traveling through the wilderness? Take me with you because wandering through the wilderness is something I have experienced."

Clamor, "No no. I meant to bring this up later, but I think there is another group around our area, and I need to make sure they are not a threat."

Iratus's ears twitched, and some of the other girls showed similar concern.

Iratus, "We can hear deception, you know."

Clamor, "Nah, I'm telling the truth."

Iratus, "And you don't need backup."

Clamor, "Victoria said traveling in the wilderness is her expertise; meeting foreigners is mine. Also, the most important thing is that if these people are hostile, it is better that only one person dies over this."

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Chapter 148

The group felt better and became less stressed in their poses.

Victoria, "Ok, but I could still safeguard you to and from. Increase your odds of survival and all."

Clamor, "Imagine running into the two ebonies. That's not survivable, and I'd rather only risk myself. I've been traveling alone for a while now, and I am confident in my abilities. Of course, if you are dead set on traveling with me, I won't stop you."

Victoria, "Actually, I just remembered that I hate long travels."

Iratus, "Says our main hunter."

Victoria, "Hardly a long haul."

Eventually, the group separated from Clamor and headed back home. The group took the rest of the day easy, and on the next day, the 45th day, Clamor came by to stock up on supplies and readied himself to travel eastward.

Clamor, "Try to find that castle across the river. Up near the north part of the river is a bridge."

There were a few more words exchanged before Clamor left, and afterwards the group sat around the dining table to discuss what to do for the day.

Resonantia, "Today should be a day of rest; no fighting."

Iratus, "Hold on, how about that castle? We've never been too far north, right?"

Victoria, "North, the river turns west, and I've been up quite a way and have not seen it, so it is probably pretty far."

Aestus, "We could take a look at the castle and then return."

Iratus, "Exactly."

Victoria, "I vote for myself to hold down the fort."

Ignis, "Of course. We shall search and then return with perfect haste."

The rest of the party headed out to follow the river upstream.

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Chapter 149

The group traveled far up the river and spotted a few more of the insect panthers. They didn't seem hostile at first, but once there was a group of three, they pushed their luck.

Resonantia, "Oh no, grandpa was right."

Iratus, "Just scare them away."

Iratus beat his chest and started yelling, and then the other girls joined in as well. The insect panthers were reluctant, but they did flee. With that out of the way, the group continued and, after a long walk, finally got to the bridge. It was a wooden bridge made of high-quality lumber and smoothed to perfection. While no road existed on the group's side, the bridge was a road that led into the deep woodland.

After a look, Iratus was the first to cross, with the others following close by. The woodlands acros the river looked familiar to the semi-tropics the tower was in, though the woods here were clearly tranquil and timeless. The trees felt ancient with a dense canopy, and the forest floor had moss and ferns, giving the whole area character.

Iratus, "I don't think I've seen trees like these. Wait, is that cedar?"

Ignis, "By the Lord, I love me some cedar."

Resonantia, "I'm not sure these kinds of trees can survive in this climate."

Iratus, "There are four biomes, each with very different climates, shoved right next to each other. I have yet to see any environment fail in the Nexus Prime, so surely something else must be a factor."

Resonantia shrugged, and the party slowly made their way down the road, which was really just a well-worn dirt path, but despite the elements and lack of maintenance, it was still good-looking. Along the path, there would sometimes be statues of foxes, some big and some small. The road split off further south and east.

Iratus, "Uhh..."

Aestus, "West. We would have seen a large castle if it was close to the river."

Resonantia, "And thus another exploration quest has been added."

Iratus, "We can come back pretty soon, though."

With their path chosen, they traveled down a spiraling path that stabbed through two large hills, and they would come across a small city with buildings made of wood, thatch, and paper. None of these buildings were larger than a single story, but each would be built slightly off the ground. The castle in the center of the city was of similar design, though it had massive stone walls and towering wooden structures. It had multiple stories, decorative roofs, and intricate architectural details.

While the party was astonished by such a city that none of them had ever seen. The Japanese city would have been quite a sight in its own time, but being in Nexus Prime has done something to it, as it was abandoned and darkness seemed to have stained the structures with black oil. Buildings were worn, wood was cracked, and the whole city felt tainted. The castle, despite its ill-maintained stature, still stood proudly, casting its shadow across the city. Wandering through the streets were a large number of metalheads, though almost all of them were exclusively humans.

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Chapter 150

The group took in the surroundings and started to back out.

Ignis, "With all the human-looking meatalheads, one has to ponder if this is the city of humankind."

Aestus, "Well, we now have yet another location to loot. I wonder what kind of goodies they have here."

Iratus, "This place looks like it died and is rotting. I don't even know if there is loot here."

They continued to chat as they traveled back home, but once they got back to the bridge, someone from the other side stepped on it too.

Resonantia, "Woh, where did that guy come from?"

Iratus, "In the woods, of course."

The figure was wearing high-quality and practical samurai armor and wielding a glave (naginata), but had that stained oil look covering his red armor, and while the person could not be seen behind the mask, the movements gave away that this thing was a metalhead.

With his ears twitching, Iratus turned around to see in the far distance a group of metalheads being led by a second metalhead samurai wielding a spear. Among the group, a few bannermen held a banner showing four diamonds.

Iratus, "We either need to flee or fight our way through."

Resonantia spent a minute firing arrows, with most being deflected by the armor and the few that stuck in the metalhead samurai failing to bring it down.

Resonantia, "I prefer not to lose my last arrows, so if someone could do something, please."

The enemy group was very close now, which made Iratus sigh and charge the armored creature, with the other girls drawing their weapons and following him in.

Iratus got close before being pushed back by the long range of the foe's glaive. Aestus tried to support the battle with her spear, but the armored one ignored it, and the wooden spear failed to affect the battle. Resonantia came in with a short sword, but despite the slow movements of the metalhead, it did have bursts of speed to attack and defend, which allowed it to repel her attack and strike at Iratus in one combo. Aestus backed out to give movement room to her allies, and Ignis watched the enemy group.

Ignis, "Enough! We are out of time!"

She dived into the battle and basically crawled past the armored foe while Iratus tried to hold the creature's attention. Resonantia pushed the foe to the side, the glaive sparking off her breastplate. Aestus and Iratus ran past as the enemy group reached the bridge. The shark girl shoved the armored foe as hard as she could and ran as well, but the creature was sturdy enough to recover and get one last strike in, nicking the girl's tail.

Resonantia, "Arg!"

The group ran back to the tower and bunkered down for the rest of the day.

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EPISDOE 15: END

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Episode 15 End Character Sheet
Name: Iratus Lionheart
Species: Mousefolk
Age: 14
Coverings: blonde fur, white gambeson (many repairs, some leather patchwork, minor damage), 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: Face (multiple severe injuries, mostly healed)

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, 8 papyrus paper, 5 hide paper (parchments), 80 cloaks and other clothing materials, some alcohol, some primitive medicine, some fabrics

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), Guest Quarters, Master Bedroom, Six Bedrooms

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

Year 0, Day 46

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(Extra Stories)

Extra Story 1

(before the siege) The door opened again, and the red-cloaked gray mask walked into the room while Clamor looked at the guards at the entrance and wondered if he should make a run for it.

Tacitus, "Have you thought about my deal?"

Clamor, "Considering you just mumbled like a mad man last time, I don't know what the deal was."

Tacitus, "Tell me about what the Invaders took."

Clamor, "Ah, uh, sure...you go first."

Tacitus, "So that you can trick me? I refuse. Tell me what they took."

Clamor, "As a good, God-fearing man, I take offense to that!"

Tacitus, "God fearing? You are a traitor to your so-called Lord."

Clamor, "Excuse me?"

Tacitus, "The rabbit who never stopped proselytizing to everyone down here."

Clamor, "Hey now, what are you getting at?"

Tacitus, "Your so-called religion failed to conquer our world because of people like you, always arrogant and condemning all who refused to live the correct way. Do you think it surprising that Victorum tried to kill you when you never stopped to consider his feelings?"

Clamor, "How do you know about that? What the hell, man!"

Tacitus, "Your failure to have empathy towards what you call heathens caused that man to break. Not his vices, his sins, his immoral lifestyle, all by your words, by the way, but it was you that drove him mad."

Clamor seemed quite distressed while listening to Tacitus.

Tacitus, "Even your ally demanded you shut up and stop driving people away from the truth."

Clamor, "Well, shattered glass up your butt to you too. What are you getting at?"

Tacitus, "You first."

Clamor, "Fine. Besides a few pieces of laboratory equipment and chemicals, the group didn't take much. From what I could investigate, they only made it six floors down."

Tacitus, "Only six? Well enough then."

Clamor, "Your turn."

Tacitus, "If you were not going to die soon, you could apologize to Victorum. His army is eastbound from here."

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