Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 17

Chapter 161

Iratus looked out the window on what is now the 47th day since he came to this world. From his memories, he saw himself when he first came to this world, not confused but annoyed that everything he knew was gone, as he was aware of being transported to another world as those stories were popular in his world. He remembered the stone city and the monsters known as treeskins that had taken over it. He remembered meeting Victoria and Aestus and had no fear of them, to the point of accepting them into the stone tower without much fuss.

He remembered the Edax Examina and the ebony—more monsters that tested his companions and himself. He asked about how they got to this planet and discovered they were in a similar situation, just suddenly appearing. He remembered meeting the train folk and how they had a falling out with him, only to see Ignis and Resonantia betraying their friends to end the conflict peacefully.

His vision went to the crashed train and the first gray mask he'd seen. Then he saw the caves and eventually the ebony, which chased him all the way outside. He managed to kill it with the help of a leopard but sustained grievous wounds.

Iratus took a finger to his scars on his face and continued remembering. He remembered meeting Clamor, the old rabbit king, who was tied up, but instead of being suspicious, the girls released him. He also remembered how going to the campsite inflicted the group with metalhead sickness, a madness that nearly got him killed. He remembered the underground road, and then to the south was the town called Last Mistake.

He remembered his first meeting with the group called Invaders, and while he overreacted and wounded one of them, one of them actually talked to the offending party. Then there was the gray mask trap and their siege of the tower. Tacitus, the enigma, was a dead man, part metalhead, and somehow the leader of a legion of gray masks. He was a being that defied the knowledge of Resonantia and Ignis, which meant it was information the conductor of the train didn't know.

Iratus sighed and went down the stairs for breakfast.

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Chapter 162

The girls all greeted Iratus, and each one gave him a nuzzle or a lick on the neck in affection. He sat down at the table to eat some meat.

Iratus, "So, I guess we exchanged vows of love last night."

Victoria, "Among other things."

Iratus, "So I assume you all are serious about being a family then."

Resonantia, "Even if reproduction can't happen between us, there isn't any other male I'm willing to spend my life with."

Iratus, "Thank you."

Ignis, "If we are to have children soon, then preparation is required."

Iratus, "Are we even capable of raising children at this point? I keep going back to the first Invader guy we met, and I wonder if we handled that all wrong."

Resonantia, "Maybe, but it doesn't matter because that guy would have been hostile no matter what. It was better for us to ambush him when he shot at you."

Iratus, "Sure, but then there were the guys. They didn't want a bunch of fourteen-year-olds running the place and dictating how things should be. A lot of things we've argued with them seem kind of moot now. No one has really made their own things, and we've just put everything into the community stash anyway; we vote on basically everything, so it seems like they were right the whole time."

Ignis, "No one has made anything personal nor made materials for their own use. We simply lack the capability and wealth to do so."

Victoria, "You've made those figures and dice. I'm sure you wouldn't let us just keep them, so I'd say you made them; they're yours even if you're going to let us use them regardless while we are here."

Resonantia, "And at least I've already stated why we don't consider those three friends. They may not be bad people, but they sure as rain are not good either. Trust me, it may be for the best that you—we kicked them out."

Iratus, "But they'd still be alive."

Ignis, "Without the ability to see the future, you are faultless in that. Be aware that self-reflection like this is good for the mind. I and most likely everyone here stand by the choices we have all made, for better or for worse."

The other three girls nod their heads.

Iratus, "Thanks everyone." He finished with a blush.

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Chapter 163

Days would pass with very little developing as the tower folk were constantly exploring their new relationship, with the 50th day seeing the group finally getting enough sense to start working in earnest. They made a section of the open area a designated coop area and started working on a chicken coop. On day 51, their work would be divided by turning the butchery tent and tannery tent into actual huts. They would make several trips to Last Mistake for some timber, as making their own lumber for construction was difficult and didn't turn out to be fine crafting material.

The first hut, the butchery hut, was crafted from rouge-made lumber, woodworking tools, and rope. There were several kinds of rough-hewn ropes the group managed to create with Sisal fibers, the agave plant being the most common. Finally, they also had hemp rope and flax rope, which all took some time to create and are now used for construction. This hut also contained hooks and racks made from branches, as well as a table with an assortment of butchering tools.

The second hunt, the tannery hut, was far off and near the river, as the tanning process left behind a grotesque smell that no one wanted to even have a whiff of. The tower folk tried to incorporate stones into the building as well as timber. The interior walls of the hut were lined with branch-made shelves, displaying an assortment of tools and materials essential for the tanning process. Many clay pots were filled with water and tanning solutions used in the tanning process.

Once the 61st day came, their projects seemed complete, with Aestus and Resonantia trying to finish up the square box that was the chicken coop, though it was the worst-looking of the new buildings, which is saying something. Iratus, Ignis, and Victoira headed off for the long-abandoned festival location in hopes of capturing some wild chickens.

They grabbed some equipment to help capture the chickens, as well as a large box they hastily made for this task, and then traveled north to the ashlands, where they saw that it was indeed being restored as it was now a mix of ash and forest. The train was guarded by a massive treeskin lizard the size of a two-story bus. Which made Iratus groan.

Iratus, "I guess the train is off limits now."

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Chapter 164

The party traveled along the tree line until the forest was healed enough that they had to use the train tracks. Once the woodland gave way to the forest, the group looked around for the festival camp. Eventually, they found it, entered, and searched around. They found the nests and, after some time, found three wild chickens. Two of them were strange-looking, with mottled camouflaged brown and black colors, with the third one looking like a normal domesticated chicken with brownish-red feathers.

Using grains to lure and throwing sheets for any that refused to go peacefully, the group would manage to snag up the three chickens, with the brown-red one going the easiest as if it were used to being manhandled. The three were dirty and tired from all the chicken shenanigans, but now they had their chickens and headed back home.

Once everyone gathered at the tower and deposited the chickens in the coop, everyone looked to see how the chickens would react. Instead of excitement, they just blankly stared at the chickens walking around the floor.

Ignis, "I assume we are not just going to let them stay in the coop forever, yes?"

Iratus, "Ah. I was hoping to keep them in here for a while so that they understood that this is where the food is. We can't really make a fence for them."
 
Aestus, "They look so adorable. We must name them."

Resonantia, "Never name what you'll eat in the future."

Aestus, "No way. We are not going to eat them, are we?"

Iratus, "Really, it just depends."

The night was starting to consume the day, and so the party would only spend a little more time before retiring early.

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Chapter 165

The next day saw the party gather more broken lumber from Last Mistake and set it to storage while Victoria pulled out any nails that could be salvaged. Iratus tossed a bag full of lion-minted coins into the treasure pile. Most were copper, but a few were silver, and even fewer were gold.

Iratus, "You know, perhaps we should find some clothes in Last Mistake or at the campsite. We've been wearing the same thing for a long time now."

Ignis, "I assert the fact that we don't wear a lot these days."

Resonantia, "Well, I for one wish for some clothes I can switch in and out of. We can all take a trip to Last Mistake and maybe see about the camp."

Victoria, "Are we going to leave someone here?"

Iratus, "I can if you all want."

Resonantia, "Those treeskins are a lot meaner than the others; how about we just go in force?"

Iratus, "Alright, but if someone comes by and steals our stuff, I blame all of you."

And so the party went to Last Mistake and had to move deeper into the town to find a proper clothing store. The innermost part of the town had an upheaval, with trees and grass forming over it, similar to the stone city.

The girls entered a mostly intact clothing store and began to scour for clothes.

Iratus, "Silver chains, I don't think all that grass was here twenty days ago."

Ignis, "As the sun rises, so does the fact that treeskins grow the land and rejuvenate it."

Iratus, "But why."

Resonantia, "Now that I think about it, I am certain that I remember someone saying that it is to harvest the very plant life itself in a late stage of its development."

Iratus, "Disturbing. Now how do the treeskins make plant life grow so fast?"

Aestus after shrugging, "How about we grab one and find out?"

Victoria, "We can't keep a live one at our base!"

Iratus, "If it wasn't for the chickens, we could."

Ignis, "Unless your sleep is soundless at all times, I highly doubt we could stay silent for such an extended amount of time."

Iratus, "Yeah..."

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Chapter 166

Ignis looked into the mostly intact mirror to view her new outfit. It had a linen wrap around the chest, which was a deep brown color, and durable leather breeches.

Ignis, "Not too similar to my era's current wear."

Resonantia grabbed several clothing items but was currently wearing a sturdy black and yellow tunic with long and fine shorts. Victoria now wore a cream-colored cloth shirt with a well-worn leather vestment. Aestus wore loose, veil-like clothes made from very expensive fabrics and loose pants.

Iratus just grabbed a bunch of random things and threw them in his bags while the girls were spending a lot of time going over which clothes to take back.

Eventually they moved to some broken market stalls and grabbed a few clothes from there as well. Here they could not be picky, as the treeskins were around here and, like the others in this town, were quite active.

Iratus managed to find a proper feeding trough for the chickens as well as a watering bucket for them to have a larger amount of water to drink from instead of the bowls they've been using.

Victoria, "You know, we could kill one of the treeskins and bury its body in the garden to see if it makes a difference."

Ignis, "Like fertilizer? Brilliant."

Iratus, "Yuck, I guess. Can we at least send someone home to watch over the tower? We have been away for too long."

Ignis, "I volunteer."

Ignis headed home with a quickness, carrying most of the bags, while Iratus and the others coaxed a small group to the gate, where they used the chokepoint to easily dispatch the monsters.

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Chapter 167

At the tower, the party bled the dead treeskins across the garden and even buried their bodies nearby. The rest of the day was spent playing games and the girls showing Iratus affection, and on the 63rd day, there was a brief discussion before they agreed to get back into clearing out the monsters of the stone city. Ignis stayed at the tower, Iratus and Resonantia went to the stone city, and Aestus and Victoria went to gather more grains and other foods to have a bulk supply of chicken feed. The two agreed that after they gathered more food for the chickens, they'd come to the stone city.

Iratus and Resonantia lured out as many small groups as they could and had Resonantia unleash a barrage of the makeshift arrows and save her good arrows. They didn't get much done until Victoria and Aestus came by, and then they were able to take on larger groups with ease. Once again, all the treeskins were dead, and only the mega-treeskin tree remained. The day was late in the afternoon, with the party taking a break.

Iratus, "So are we going to try to burn this thing again or cut it down?"

Victoria, "Considering we used wooden material from Last Mistake as opposed to cutting trees down, I would guess we won't be cutting into this thing."

Iratus, "We have a lot of large wood chips, and we could always bring over burnable stuff from Last Mistake."

Resonantia, "At least for a start, for I fear that we will have to manually cut this thing down."

Iratus, "Yeah, most likely."

Victoria, "Let's try one more time to burn it down and then do it the old-fashioned way."

After an hour, everything was set up to burn a segment of the tree. Before they created the flames, Iratus noticed the grass was thinner and the area had more dirt and mud than the grass and moss that were normally growing here.

Iratus, "Anyone else notice this place isn't as green as it should be?"

Resonantia, "Then I remembered correctly! Everything grows, and then everything is eaten alive!"

Iratus, "We really need to destroy this tree."

As with every other time they set the tree on fire, it worked out well but would fizzle out. This time was a bit different, as they brought enough burnable stuff that the fire scorched much of the outer layer on one side of the tree.

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Chapter 168

With several sighs, the party got out their tools and started to cut into the tree.

Iratus, "This is fine. We get to work out and destroy an evil tree. Everything is fine."

Victoria, "I'm just waiting for the tree to throw out more monsters at us."

Aestus, "As is tradition, absolutely!"

This work would continue into the next day, with people rotating in and out of the tower. While it took most of the day, they finally cut away a large chunk of the tree. It would still take ten or twenty more days, but it was now seen as possible that cutting down this massive tree could be done.

As everyone was wrapping up for the day, the treeskin tree finally cracked, and this time the treeskins ripped themselves from the tree itself. With haste, the party got out of the area and headed back to the tower, where they cooked up dinner and discussed what to do.

Iratus, "So, I hope you are all still up for cutting down this tree for the next however many days."

Victoria rubbed her face on Iratus's neck as she set down his plate of food.

Resonantia, "Now that we have chickens, any creature like the treeskins is a massive threat to us."

Ignis set her own plate down.

Ignis, "I could always bring the delight of scrambled eggs for you if you want, as we have excellent egg layers now."

Iratus, "Ah, no, I don't like eggs."

There were some shocked expressions.

Resonantia, "That's weird."

The group would finish dinner and spend the rest of the time cuddling the night away.

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Chapter 169

The 65th day started with a late start, but as everyone got around to getting dressed, they noticed a fire or at least a large pillar of smoke rising in the direction of the tree.

Aestus, "Fire? Our fire or someone else's fire?"

Iratus, "It's a lot of smoke, so I'm guessing either a forest fire or our fire from yesterday kicked off again."

There was a knock at the door, and everyone was silent for a few seconds.

Clamor, "Open up, kids; your old man is here."

With a rush of movement, Resonantia opened the door to reveal the rabbit man all geared up.

Resonantia, "It's about time you came back. How about you come in?"

Clamor, "Only for a minute, unfortunately."

Everyone headed to the common area to continue the conversation.

Iratus, "Alright, time for you to disclose your adventure."

Clarmor, "Of course. Well, traveling was terrible. You had rain, giant wolves, bugs, and a few Edax along the way. Now, I didn't have to go through most of those things, so don't worry about that. Now the real problem was that I found what I was looking for."

Victoria, "And that's bad?"

Clarmor, "In one of my old groups, there was a man named Victorum who joined us."

Ignis, "Victorum who?"

Clarmor, "Victorum Margarita Coeli."

Ignis, "Of the Second Empire of the Black Sun?"

Victoria, "That sounds familiar."

Ignis, "Blasted charcoal, in all its blackness, should ring an alarm in your head. Victorum was the second conqueror of your half of the world!"

Victoria, "Black Sun was a very old empire, and most people don't teach ancient history unless you're like a noble or something."

Ignis, "He was the most successful warlord in history, an absolute power-hungry madman with an endless thirst for conquest and death."

Clarmor, "He seemed like a chill guy once he got settled in. The problem is that these days he has returned to his crazy ways and is actively trying to establish another empire here in Nexus Prime. I've witnessed his brutality and the killings of innocent people, and I've decided to end it, and I wish to ask for some help."

Victoria, "Ok, that's a lot to unpack right now. You want us to kill someone?"

Clarmor, "Of course not. I don't expect kids to kill an army or even understand why. I just need some backup in case something goes wrong for me. You know what? Let me start from the beginning."

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Chapter 170

Ignis cooked up a quick meal for Clamor as well as some tea, which the old rabbit man quickly downed.

Clamor, "I found Victorum and his little army far east. I attempted to talk to the man, and it seemed that after our last fight, he had cooled off his vendetta against me. The bad news is that anyone he meets has to join up or die. He tried to recruit me in various ways, and when I refused, all of them threatened my life. There had been a number of people he recruited in his army that tried to flee, but it seems like they were all hunted down with their skulls being kept as a reminder for everyone else."

There was a moment of silence as the tower folk took in this information.

Clamor, "I had no choice but to accept his invitation, but I found a way to free myself from his service. All these people need is a base of operations, and I mentioned the castle thing."

Iratus, "If these are bad people, then is having them right next to us a good idea?"

Clamor, "I'm hoping that one of our monster-infested locations can kill these people."

Ignis, "This one must ask, if you, the righteous and God-fearing man, are resorting to murder?"

Clamor, "I've watched this army kill people, take groups like you guys, and tear them apart. I've seen things I wish I didn't see."

Iratus, "And this guy just trusts you with all this?"

Clamor, "Like I said, I am trading for my freedom. It is a trade."

Iratus, "Well, we've seen where the castle is sitting, and it is infested with metalheads."

Clamor, "Ah, even better! So, I need someone to help me get out alive if something goes wrong, and I need your assistance, Iratus."

Resonantia, "Just Iratus and no one else?"

Clamor, "None of the girls. None of you must be found, so just stay put for a few days or something."

Resonantia, "I feel like there are some moral questions that we should consider here."

Clamor, "Sure, at the end of time itself, killing heathens is bad because then they can't be saved, but as I'm hoping you understand, more people will die if this army continues to exist."

Resonantia, "Not what I meant."

Iratus, "Right now, just rest up. I'll...think about all of this. I won't get conscripted, will I?"

Clamor, "Yeah, that's all squared away; don't worry."

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EPISDOE 17: END

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Episode 17 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 backpack
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: None

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, 7 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, 155 copper lion coins, 35 silver lion coins, 11 gold lion coins

Home Base, Tower: Large Storage Area (many crates and clay pots), Basic Workshop Area (lots of tools, woodcarving tools), Kitchen Area (many tools, many cutlery items, pots&pans, makeshift grill), Library, Armory, Infirmary Room (surgery tools), Guest Quarters, Master Bedroom, Six Bedrooms

Outside Base: Butchering Hut (few tools, smoking rack), Tannery Hut, Underground Storage Area, Garden Area (fenced in)

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

Year 0, Day 65

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(Extra Stories)

Extra Story 1

(Some time ago) Clamor walked into the tent where Victorum was. The raccoon man wore something casual and was looking over some maps, which he then threw on the desk.

Victorum, "So first you apologize, then reject my peace offer. How about you make a decisive decision instead of mocking me?"

Clamor, "I'm not killing for you. Look, I would like to make a deal."

Victorum, "This again? Alright, I'll listen."

Clamor moved to the maps and looked through them. Most of the maps were of exceptional detail, to a level that Clamor had never seen before.

Clamor, "There are some detailed maps. Where did you get them?"

Victorum, "Gray masks. Oh, that reminds me, did you kill the conduit in this area?"

Clamor, "Pardon?"

Victorum, "From what little I know, once a conduit for the gray masks is slain, it stops all gray masks from existing in that area. We've seen the gray masks attacking us every night stop recently, and then a skilled fighter like yourself shows up."

Clamor, "Uh, maybe? Iratus and I did kill a strange gray mask that could speak."

Victorum, "Speak? This is something I'd like to hear in depth. Before all that, what's your deal?"

Clamor, "I offer you a castle. A base of operations for your new empire."

Victorum, "And in return, I leave you and the cat boy alone."

Clamor, "Correct."

Victorum, "Easily enough, but only as a vassal state. You don't like me forcing people into my army, and I will not have threats to my new empire. Your people could be the first monarchy under my imperial reign."

Clamor, "Vassalage? How about we discuss something like that at a later date when we actually have infrastructure?"

Victorum, "Very well, we were heading west anyway, so it isn't like you'd be leading us astray."

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