Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 27

Chapter 261

A few shacks were around the road, with the bar out into the sandy beach itself. The Clamor, the old rabbit man, took off his segmented armor, wearing it all the way down here, making everyone think he was insane. While he did stink a lot more than the others, it didn't mean everyone stood away from him, as they too had their fur stained with sweat. Fractura dove into the tropical bar and took everything that had value, as did Aestus, who would grab random things that may or may not be useful. Iratus and Ignis were off to the side.

Iratus, "You ok? You've been not smiling for a while now."

Ignis, "Is my smile such a high priority here?"

Iratus, "Since you, Aestus, and the others chose to continue my bloodline, yes. I take great pride in seeing my loves smile."

Ignis, "Well, if thou must care so much for the little things, then you should already know I seek to explore the battleship as soon as possible."

Fractura, "Are you two going to help loot this place?"

Ignis, "A minute, please. Besides, the looting bags are back at home. Anyway, I clearly dodged a bullet for not joining my classmates on that ship, though considering I ended up here soon after, it may be irrelevant. It is hard to get it out of my mind, you see."

Iratus, "Then, as soon as I can, I'll give the ship a sweep so that you can hop on."

Aestus came out holding a can opener.

Aestus, "I found what must be a super important item!"

Fractura, "Ironically, yes, you did."

The hyena man grabbed some bottled water. As well as some tropical fruit.

Fractura, "Still fresh!"

Iratus, "Fresh? How long has this place been here?"

Fractura, "Probably since the blackest day, that's when the planet changes and new things are added while some things are taken away."

Iratus, "Fricken, didn't you say that the blackest day was reality melting or something?"

Fractura, "And that's why things are altered. I mean, that's why the summoners change things. And to be honest, some of this is just theory, but you can walk around your tower and find new things."

Aestus playfully, "Another objective for us!"

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Chapter 262

A pile was set aside for the loot that would be picked up later.

Iratus, "Should we divide the stuff up now?"

Fractura, "Sure. There are those stalls on the road too; we can check them out for more stuff as well."

Aestus, "I'll go get Clamor."

Once Clamor arrived, everyone started to pick and choose from the loot.

Iratus, Ignis, and Aestus pulled 12 empty bottles, a first aid kit, and some dried snacks.

Clamor got three empty bottles, a battery-powered lantern, maps, a beach umbrella, and some fishing gear.

Fractura got 5 empty bottles, the bottled water, a collection of sunglasses, a deck of playing cards, and a cassette player.

The fruits, beach towels, backpacks, and cooking utensils were divided evenly among the groups.

Aestus hoarded the can opener, and then finally Fractura relented.

Fractura, "Fine whatever. However, I am coming over if I ever get my hands on some canned foods."

Clamor, "Iratus, my guy, your Otterian lover is one hell of a haggler."

Fractura, "Pfft, she just won't take no for an answer. Let's grab stuff from the stalls."

Soon, piles of junk swelled from the loot from the stalls as well. The small shopping stalls were packed much more than they would appear to be.

Handcrafted jewelry, beautiful arts, tropical clothing, floatation devices, more fishing supplies, spices and other ingredients, handmade soaps, music tapes, handwoven baskets, and even surfboards—though no one took those. In addition, Iratus pulled the wildlife figures while Fractura took some shark teeth.

Iratus, "You know, you could have asked Resonantia for some shark teeth. She regrows hers."

Fractura, "Yeah, but nothing can beat teeth from actual sharks."

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Chapter 263

The rest of the day was spent bringing back the loot by using carts, and when the next day came, the tower folk were out on the beach again to enjoy themselves. Everyone now had proper tropical wear instead of their usual clothing, which really helped. Fractura, Tempestas, and Venatio took their day to try to fix any of the boats on the river, while Clamor would do his usual exploring around the area when he heard things might have changed since the blackest day.

Resonantia, "Wait, shouldn't he know what the blackest day does?"

Everyone was lounging on the beach in beach chairs.

Ignis, "I believe he had forgotten that fact."

Resonantia, "He's been here for two years!"

Victoria, "Iratus, where is your tropical wear? You have been wearing the same pants forever now. Let's get you changed!"

Iratus, "Wait what? Hold on. I don't need any change of clothes."

Ignis, "No, your everyday wear has dragged on for too long. We must amend this dilemma."

Iratus, "What if there are no tail holes for me?"

Ignis stood up and walked towards Iratus to move her tail around in front of him.

Ignis, "See, perfect fit."

Iratus, "I'm a mouse. You girls got girthy tails."

Resonantia started to stand up.

Resonantia, "We won't know until we get you down there."

The shark girl and red panda girl started to pull on Iratus to lift him up.

Iratus, "Ok, ok. I'll find new clothes."

The four girls and Iratus headed over to the stalls and started to grab a random assortment of clothes for Iratus to try.

Aestus, "Try these on."

Iratus, "In the middle of the street?"

Resonantia, "Not like anyone is around to see you."

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Chapter 264

Iratus was thrown into a purple shirt and smooth black jeans to match, giving him a rockstar look.

Irauts, "No."

He was shoved into an orange, bright tourist shirt.

Iratus, "Ew, no."

Then he was dressing in a topless dress that was silky, blue, and had a faint floral pattern.

Iratus, "I don't think so."

Ignis, "Well..."

Aestus, "You kind of look like one of my people."

Victoria, "I like it. It gives a bit of a primal look."

Ignis, "Really? Come on now. I don't think this looks that good."

Resonantia, "Leave clothing advice to the experts here. Let's take the first outfit and this blue dress."

Victorita, "We still have some choices here."

Iratus had to try on several different shorts, only liking the black one. There was a short stack of white shirts, which he also liked. The girls looked over a few more outfits, which Iratus just vetoed.

Ignis, "These materials will have to work for now."

Iratus, "Finally."

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Chapter 265

As time passed, the tower folk headed home for the night. As a few days passed, Fractura would inform the group that he and the others had a boat in working condition. It was the morning on day 132 when a group was being formed to explore the battleship.

Ignis, "I assert that I must be on this venture."

Iratus, "I'd really like to search this place before I expose you girls to any potential danger."

Victoria, "He does have the others going, so Iratus isn't alone."

Ignis, "Pay it no mind, for I can be huddled in the back or even outside. It is important to me to see this through."

Iratus grabbed the rope ladder and more loot from around the beach area and set it near the door.

Iratus, "At the end of the day, if she wants to come and stays safe, I think everyone can be okay with that."

Ignis grabbed and hugged Iratus. "Oh, thank you, love."

Aestus, "I'd like to come along too! That metal boat thing is so weird; I just have to see if it really is real."

Resonantia, "I think I'd better come along then; it's better to have a bow with us. Plus, I almost miss being on a boat."

Iratus, "Weren't you a horse rider?"

Resonantia, "When most of the landmass is just a giant archipelago, ships, oceans, and swimming become part of one's daily life."

Iratus, "How about you, Victoria?"

Victoria, "I think I'll man the tower while you lot are gone." She came over and nuzzled Iratus. "Don't die out there."

Iratus, "It's an abandoned metal ship; what's the worst that could happen?"

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Chapter 266

The other group, Venatio, Fractura, Tempestas, and Clamor, were already waiting at the boat shop. Clamor left his armor at his home this time, but other than that, everyone else had their standard kit.

Fractura, "So this boat over here was already in good shape." He pointed to a relatively large boat—a sizable ship, really. "Ignore the rough exterior. This thing has been out here for a while."

The ship looked like a hunk of steel and was somewhere around 30 feet in length (9 meters). There looked like several metal matches to fix a few holes, but it still held some dark green algae on the hull. The deck of the boat had several wooden planks stuffed in to fix a few holes, while a new makeshift shelter was built on the bow of the ship, which was made from metal sheets and salvaged lumber.

Fractura, "Over on the side, you might see the mess I made, but we had to gather a few things from around here. Luckily, we found some welding equipment stored here so I could strip metal down and fix up the ship."

On the ship itself and amidst the debris strewn across the deck, Iratus saw the tattered flag of some maritime company. Fractura made sure everyone was ready before turning on the boat's engine.

Fractura, "And thank you for the blackest day because it allowed us to get some fresh fuel all over the place. Petroleum goes bad after a few years, so getting a fresh stock is always nice."

Iratus, "Speaking of the blackest day, Clamor, you have been exploring around; anything different?"

Clamor, "The north part has substantially changed. The tracks and terrain are mostly the same, but it is all woodland and forest there. There are also some new buildings I don't recall seeing the first time around as well. Eastward has undergone a traumatic change. I honestly don't even recognize most of the path anymore."

Aestus, "But are the giant bees still there?"

Clamor, "No, I didn't see anything like that this time."

Aestus, "No! Not my bee friends."

Tempestas said, looking at Aestus, "You are a strange person."

The backpacks were set to the side along with the other gear for infiltrating the battleship, and Fractura drove the boat into the large river.

Aestus, "This certainly beats rowing that wooden rowboat in the cave."

Iratus, "It would still be nice to take it out to fish in the river."

Resonantia, "Hey, these engine things—that's where the fuel thing went into, right?"

Ignis, "Correct."

Resonantia, "Ok, but fuel is limited, so eventually we won't have anymore fuel. How will this thing work without it?"

Iratus, "Going to need a dozen rowers to move it."

Tempestas, "Actually, we can make more fuel. We can make biofuel by collecting wood, leaves, and grass. Then we will have three different ways of making the fuel. We have distillation, pyrolysis, and fermentation. So if we had a still, we could extract ethanol, while the second way is just heating the biomass in a low-oxygen environment to produce the oil. I'm sure you already know what fermentation is, so I won't have to go over choice number three."

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Chapter 267

Clamor looked at the roaring engine as well as some of the other girls. Being around the others, they knew what an engine was and how it worked, but seeing it up close was something else.

Iratus, "We could also make a steam engine if this biofuel is too much to make."

Tempestas, "Yeah, a while, new engine. You'll need a forge to make something like that."

Iratus, "Last Mistake probably has one."

Ignis, "For the foreseeable future, we should stick to what we currently have, that being the engine here."

Iratus, "Of course. It was just a suggestion."

The boat would eventually make its way to the bay and the ocean itself. The battleship wasn't too far off shore, and when the boat came next to it, Clamor threw his grappling hook and started to climb when it felt secure. He dropped the rope ladder when he secured it, and the others came up, excluding Venatio, who stayed on the ship to keep it running.

Venatio, "Have fun, everyone." 

The ship didn't look old; it looked like it lacked proper maintenance. On the deck of the ship were large guns, while in the middle of the ship was the superstructure as well as the main guns of the ship. Multiple funnels were around that were used to release smoke and gases from the ship's engine. The main deck housed various equipment and more guns, as well as smaller guns, which were used against smaller vessels and aircraft. Large masts for communications soared high as, in the back, the rudders stood unmoving.

After looking and observing the area, the group discussed what the next move would be.

Iratus, "No threats so far."

Ignis, "This place is also too clean."

Fractura, "Just part of being placed in here."

Ignis, "No, this thing is old enough to have floated here for a while."

Fractura, "Even then, this thing still needs a drydock to fix it up. So I'm not sure what you are trying to say."

Ignis, "I just wanted signs of something."

Iratus, "Let's try the bridge."

With no one saying no, the group moved towards the superstructure.

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Chapter 268

The command center of the ship is where navigational equipment, communication systems, and the captain's station are located. The tower folk and Clamor were in awe at how strange-looking it was. The outsiders immediately got to work to see if the ship was still in working order.

Fractura, "I'm certain we could move this thing."

Ignis, "Pfft, what! Not without a proper crew. I don't even know if the nine of us could get this thing beached."

Fractura, "I meant that this thing is still in condition to be used. But yeah, we need ten times our group to get this thing moving."

Tempestas went to find the conning tower, while Fractura broke off to find the communications room. Soon Iratus was alone on the bridge as even the girls and Clamor vanished.

Iratus, "Hey! This isn't what we agreed on."

He ran around until he ended up in the comms room.

Resonantia was here with Fractura as the hyena man was teaching her what the radio was.

Fractura, "And then you turn some knobs and...Ok, I've never used a radio like this before, but I do know you can pick up other people using the same frequency."

Resonantia, "Woh! Iratus, come look. This is that famous long-distance communication Ignis talked about."

Iratus, "Oh cool, it looks like some fantastical artifact. Wait, I mean, have you seen the others? They all just vanished, and we still don't know if this place is safe or not."

Before the shark girl could answer, a voice came over the radio.

Voice on the radio, "Hello, hello?" The static was thick. "Is anyone out there?"

Fractura and Iratus had their fur stiffened. The hyena man quickly got to work and tried to communicate back.

Fractura, "Yes, people are out here. Who are you? Where are you?"

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Chapter 269

The radio voice, "My name is Desidia." The person sounded feminine.

Iratus, "Who names their kid that?"

Desidia, "I don't...where I am...help...in the..."

Fractura, "One second." He fiddled with some controls. "Ok, try that again, over."

Desidia, "It's a large...You can't miss it, over."

Fractura, "Give us some land marks."

Desidia, "I'm trapped in this giant thing! Just look...the sky. I think I saw you guys...that old battleship."

Iratus, "She saw that? Where the heck is she?"

Fractura, "Is that walled place on the same side as you, over?"

Desidia, "No. If you would look at...you can..."

There was a sharp ping, and the communication died.

Fractura, "Hello?" There was a pause. "Are you still there?"

After a while, Fractura got up from the table.

Fractura, "Something must have happened."

Iratus, "It sounded like she needed help."

Fractura, "If you want to lead a rescue operation, have at it. I still want to loot the crap out of this place."

Iratus looked to Resonantia, "Love, take Fractura and see if you can't find the others. I'm going back to see if I can't spot this building or whatever Desidia is in."

Fractura, "Excuse me?"

But Iratus was already off.

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Chapter 270

At the bridge, Ignis and Aestus were waiting.

Aestus, "Oh, there you are. We were looking for you."

Iratus, "I was down one deck. Where is Tempestas?"

Ignis, "She and Clamor went advanced in, so we came back to get you."

Iratus, "Joy."

Aestus, "Ignis and I will head back to our boat. When you clear this place, come and get us, okay?"

Ignis, "Unfortunate, but a must for our safety."

Iratus first asked the girls to help him look out and try to find something large. It didn't even take a minute when Ignis pointed at a mountain, and in front of it was a vague outline of a building. Iratus gave a brief summary of the voice on the radio, and then the party would split, with Iratus heading down further into the ship.

Not too far down, Iratus could hear someone fighting and bolted down the stairs to help. He opened the door to the crew quarters and saw Clamor wielding knives and fighting against a fluffy white ball with three red eyes that almost floated off the ground. It was a creature that was almost certainly an Edax Examina. One of these creatures was already on the ground, deflated and dead, while another two were coming around a corner.

Iratus ran forward and slammed his long sword into the Edax, and then took a defensive guard with the rabbit man to endure the other two Edax coming for them. Iratus saw a lot of blood coming from Clamor's arm; it didn't look wounded, but considering the Edax melted through flesh, he must have gotten touched by one.

Clamor was pushed back into a room as he tried not to get eaten, while Iratus managed to impale and strike down the other Edax. It took a while for it to die, but when it did, Iratus turned his attention to Clamor, who had already dived into the other Edax and tore it apart. He came out with a few more bloody gashes, and Iratus pulled out some rags from his backpack.

Iratus, "Don't die from blood loss, brother."

Clamor, "Barely any pain. Am I really bloodied?"

Suddenly, from the door, Resonantia and Fractura came through.

Resonantia, "Iratus! What's happening?"

Fractura, "Big oof. Edax Examina are literally the worst monsters."

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EPISDOE 27: END

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Episode 27 End Character Sheet
Name: Iratus Lionheart
Species: Mousefolk
Age: 14
Coverings: blonde fur, white gambeson (many repairs, some leather patchwork, a lot of minor damage, and torso tear), leather gloves, tactical vest, tailorcraft backpack, leather plate helmet
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: Shoulder, stab wound (minor), Stomach, stab wound (minor)

Relevant Community Stash: a fire starter, whetstone, several leather items, 3 glass jar, 12 empty bottles, 1 fish net, fishing gear and other supplies, primitive sewing kit, trowel, woodcutting axe, a bunch of small wooden figures, wooden dice, metal scrap, lots of rusted metal, several small fish nets, a strange device (Gameboy-like device), sandpaper, compass, sextant, some bedrolls, a tent, lots of rope, a large barrel, writing material, 80 cloaks and other clothing materials, some primitive medicine, some fabrics, 6 carts, 11 tattered tents, skin drum, beautiful arts of tropical scenary, floatation devices, wildlife figures, lots of tropical clothing, rope ladder.

Armory: 10 wooden spears, 56 short swords, 53 knifes, 25 daggers, 34 metal spears, 2 hand bombs, 21 rusted weapons, many armor pieces, ruined metal armor, semi-automatic rifle (no ammo), box of unknown ammo, 4 hunting traps, 3 snares, 2 pistols (no ammo), 12 unknown bullets, 4 backpacks
Aestus: leather vest, leather helmet, metal spear, short sword
Victoria: scrap metal breastplate, leather helmet, metal spear, short sword, crossbow, flashlight
Resonanita: breastplate, metal helmet, metal spear, short sword, compound bow, flashlight
Ignis: leather helmet, metal spear, crowbar

Treasure: 88 oval copper coins, 33 oval silver coins 74 ancient metal coins, 20 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 few antfolk tapestries, some antfolk art, 107 copper lion coins, 5 silver lion coins, 14 gold lion coins, 115 wolfen metal coins

Home Base, Tower: Large Storage Area (many crates, clay pots, and wooden chests), 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, first aid kit), Guest Quarters, Master Bedroom (proper bedding), Six Bedrooms (proper bedding)

Outside Base: Butchering Hut (modern butchery kit, smoking rack), Tannery Hut, Underground Storage Area, Garden Area (fenced in)

Books: 3x woodworking books, weathered leather-bound journal, war game booklet, sketch book (from warband), Special documentary on Nexus Prime #34, 16 Broken Tower documents, Bathhouse Reviewers (entire 80 book series)

Year 0, Day 132

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(Extra Stories)

Extra Story 1

(some time ago) The ship flew down and opened up so that the group could dismount. These people were called Invaders because they came from outside of Nexus Prime.

Before them was a megacity that was so rotten and filthy that even in its best days, it would still be nothing more than a massive slum region. Each Invader wore advanced-looking armor, and each had a number of weapons and explosives. They were armed and ready to venture into the city.

Voice 1, "We have reports of seven anomalies in here. Keep them in mind as we head for that tower."

In the distance was a tower from another era and maybe even another planet in the middle of the city. It clearly did not belong in the city and was the target of this group.

Twelve men descended into the mega-slum city.

(some time later)

Three men were separated and were firing into a horde of metalheads. One of them was grappled by three of them. The man tried to resist, but eventually the metalhead sickness got to him, and he was losing his strength. One of the creatures got really close to the man's helmet, opened its mouth, and sprayed a line of burning hot oil.

Several gunshots from his allies freed him from their grasp. One of his friends made sure the monsters were dead. The victim removed his helmet and discarded the oil-covered thing. Fractura pulled out his pistol and fired into the mob, coming closer. His friend got on the radio.

Friend 1, "Venatio, do you have the data yet? Venatio?" He pulled back, and the other two followed. "What is going on over there?"

Fractura, "Dude, we cannot get to the tower. Let's bug out and regroup."

The ship they flew in on came into the city and towards the tower.

Fractura, "What the actual hell? What are they doing?"

As the ship slowed to land, a massive ball of fungus was shot from the tower and covered most of it. It was a dark green Edax, and it was crashing the ship.

Friend 2, "On a scale of bovinefolk crap to, oh please no, this is definitely an eleven."

Fractura, "Screw this; I'm out. I'll meet you guys back at the emergency site."

Friend 1, "What makes you think you're going alone?"

(days later)

Fractura looked at the burning building that held the communications equipment as well as the whole base, which was in flames. He now wore clothes from a whole different era, and his last traveling companion had died before reaching the base, leaving the hyena man all alone.

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Extra Story 2

(unknown time ago) A young catfolk with a calico fur pattern looked outside her door. The girl used a flashlight to see in the dark, and while she did not see anything, she could hear the slobbering sounds of beasts nearby. She wore SWAT armor from her time and carried a pistol and a baton.

She ran for the stairs and went up two floors before the stairs stopped. She wondered around, slaying metalheads on her way, and eventually found more stairs. She pasted a great many number of rooms; most were laboratory rooms of some kind. She got up in another room that was like a storage area. She realized that the buildings seemed extremely different between the lower areas she was in and this place. Even the stairs here seemed to break into the building.

(some time later)

The woman traveled until she got to some large windows that peered out into the world. She saw the ocean and a vast forest below, with a large battleship in the distance, though it was very far out. A sound from where she came spiked her adrenaline, but she merely got into a medical room and hunkered down. She controlled her breathing, and soon her heart was slowed down, making as little sound as possible.

A sluggish something came closer until chains could be heard, dragging on the ground. The creature passed by the girl's room with the girl, never once risking a look. After a minute, she got out and continued to explore the building. A few more metalheads in the lobby were swiftly slain, with the doors to the outside world being locked. The woman fired a few shots at the glass, but it did not break. This was glass that could survive a warzone because of how sturdy it stood. The girl sighed and left the lobby as soon as bizarre sounds coming from bizarre creatures started to converge on the location.

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