Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 4

Chapter 31

The ebony monster came out of the extra ordinary shadowed trees, it towered at possibly eight feet tall. Iratus and Victoria managed to aim their weapons up just in time for the ebony creature to slam into them. The spear stuck into the creature's hand while Iratus move forward to sink his blade into the torso. The monster was not staggered at all and it brushed away Victoria with its hand which had bone blades all over it. Victoria moved to the side now with a cut on her shoulder and Iratus pulled his blade out and began to make more cuts into the creature.

The ebony monster swung its lantern at Iratus. Iratus deftly moved out of the way until the lantern was near enough that his vision become black. A moment later he felt the metal smack his face throwing him to the ground.

Iratus in pain, "Arg, blasted thing!"

Victoria moved back in with another spear strike and it went straight into the gut. The creature lunged out with its long ebony arm and managed to cut into Victoria's skull this time, then with a back hand cut acrossed her face, Victoria yelping in pain.

Iratus drew his knife and got close to the creature. The lantern sucked in the light around him, causing him to be blinded, but he knew what his target was and stabbed between the monster's legs, causing the creature to buckle some. Victoria pushed hard and managed to push it one step back.

Clearly this creature was just a beast as it struggled in its current situation. With it flailing its arms, Iratus would come in and out of the darkness, allowing him to access the situation.

Iratus thoughts, "What is this thing doing? It won't pull at the spear and just keeps reaching for Victoria. I'm here next to it, and it is barely registering me."

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Chapter 32

Pulling his knife out, Iratus would then stab at where the kidneys would be on a normal animal. It worked, with the ebony monster falling on one knee. Victoria pushed even harder, nearly knocking the creature over until it forced its way back up. Iratus was still in the darkness when an arm grabbed him and threw him away; a pop sounded, and his shoulder became almost dislocated. Iratus's padded armor on his right arm was ripped off as he was sent off to the ground, still hanging onto the bare arm.

The ebony creature walked towards Victoria, pushing her back despite the spear stuck in its belly.

Iratus yelling, "Stake it into the ground!"

Victoria kneeled down and held the spear end on the ground, which at first stopped the monster completely. The mortar began to force its way forward, the spear sinking deeper into it, and after a step, the spear broke off. Victoria managed to evade its grasp and ran away towards the boat.

At the same time, Iratus moved to the monster's right side, away from the lantern, and slashed with his longsword. The creature stopped moving for a moment before turning to face Iratus; the broken spear was still sticking out of the monster.

The ebony monster tossed its arm around, trying to hit Iratus, who had been dodging and slapping away the arm with his longsword. A crossbow bolt struck the creature's back as Victoria loaded another shot.

Iratus had to continually run away, stopping only to swat at the monster while Victoria launched another bolt and then another. Eventually, the lanten wailed as the black goo inside it yelled from their many mouths, and this thing looked around with several eyes. The monster paused for a second before it started walking back into the trees. A fourth bolt would land into the monster, and it mostly ignored it and continued until the lantern flared up in the shadows, and then these shadows became darkness itself as it covered the monster's retreat.

After a few breaths, the party began to speak again.

Iratus, "Well, we won. Let's go home."

Victoria, "I be needing a bigger crossbow. Anyways, I am fine with returning home for now."

With a nod from Iratus, the two headed back home.

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Chapter 33

Victoria did her best to disinfect the wounds while Iratus dropped some of the metal scrape from the burn boat onto the first floor.

Iratus, "Aestus, still good?"

The otter girl was sitting on the stairs.

Aestus, "Yeah, the swelling has gone down quite a bit."

Iratus took off his upper armor and set his gambeson off to the side. He still had his great physique, which contrasted with his mousy form.

Aestus, "What is the plan now? Should we try for the coast?"

Iratus, "I don't know. With no idea how common monsters are, we can't mount an expedition. All three of us might have to move out there."

Aestus, "I've rarely even seen monsters. Even these past few days living here, I have only seen those giant wasps."

Victoria walked down the stairs, her gray fur wrecked, and she had a wound on top of her head. The left side of her face was a mess of blood and matted fur.

VIctoria, "By the black stones, it still hurts."

Aestus, "How many monsters have you run into, Vicky?"

VIctoria, "Excluding giant beasts and bugs, I've only seen treeskins and Edax Examina in once-populated areas, ruined cities, and the like. I've seen some treeskins wondering around woodland areas, but that's rare, er, as rare as my time here anyways. What else are we going to do today?"

Iratus, "I've smelled a change in the weather; it was actually a good idea to turn back, as I'm pretty sure it is going to rain today. Other than that, I plan on seeing what happened to that stone city and making sure we are still in no danger."

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Chapter 34

He took a short break, recovering from his ordeals from the day, before Iratus got his equipment together and got ready to move out.

Victoria, "Hey, when you get back, you are going to help me make a makeshift work area and help me set up a butchering tent."

Iratus, "I'm telling you, we need a hole for the cold."

After some more banter, Iratus finally headed out again. He made his way to the stone city and saw that the treeskins had won the battle. There were many new trees growing around the area with bits of the previous creatures still plastered on them, as if killing creatures allows the treeskins to make more trees. These new trees were clearly twisted and warped, looking like twisted up trees. Iratus had a terrible thought: what if this was how they reproduced? Would treeskins start popping out of these new trees?

The city had some new minor damage, but the main thing was seeing many of the once massive trees damaged or mostly melted away. There were a few bits of treeskin body parts, although there were very few of them, as the puddles of melted ground would indicate they were eaten.

Iratus made his way back, picking up some sticks to make the trip worth something. From there, he would cut down some more branches to work on more wooden pieces for his games. The rain would come many hours later and continue into the night. The next day would be a day of rest, with only some work in setting up a butchering rack and tent. The rain would come several times that day until the next day.

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Chapter 35

Victoria, "Oh my stars, we forgot the anvil."

Iratus, "I don't think I saw one; it wasn't much of a blacksmith's workshop."

Victoria, "We can't really make anything with just a hammer and tongs."

Iratus, "If we clear out the city some more, maybe we can make use of that forge?"

Victoria somewhat jokingly, "Uhg, we should just setup a kill zone and lure them all into it."

Iratus, "That's actually a great idea, even though we only have a gardening trowel. Speaking of which, I think I'll try to dig out a hole for cold storage."

Victoria somewhat jokingly, "Do you know what you are doing?"

Iratus, "Nope, I only have some books that tell about this kind of stuff."

The community room was somehow busy with only three people in it. Aestus was cooking up some fish stew while Victoria was crafting a bow. Iratus was in the middle of making papyrus paper when he gathered the plants yesterday. There was a wetland area near the hot springs cave where they grew. Unfortunately, it would take several days for the stalk pieces to soak in water, so he just had to sigh and deal with it.

Aestus, "Books... I've only seen priests with them. Is that what is written in them?"

Iratus, "Literally anything could be written in one."

Victoria, "Perhaps we could spend some time in those hotsprings to pass the time."

Iratus, "It is already ungodly hot and muggy out there. It might be better to lay around here—no wait, I completely forgot. Grab some sheets and soak them in the river. We are going to hang them on the windows and the door. It isn't much, but it should bring in cool air."

Aestus, "How does that even work?"

Iratus, "Surely you have heard me talk about water cooling before? The air passes through the sheets, evaporating the water and becoming cool air."

Aestus, "Uh, sure. I understood that."

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Chapter 36

Another day passed, and now Victoria had finished making the new bow, though it was still in rough shape but usable. Iratus and Aestus took turns working on the cold hole the previous day. It is still a long way away, but they have gotten it started.

Noon was almost upon us on this day when the three gathered together once again.

Iratus, "Ok, I'm not going to lie, I liked being a lazy guy, and this is a lot more work than I am used to; I have not even started on the paper yet. I am now willing to go to the hot springs."

Victoria's wounds have been mostly healed now, but a scar stained her beautiful face, though some might see it as a positive look.

Victoria, "Finally, I second this. Also, I can't get a good look at my face; how does it look?"

Iratus, "I think your face still looks attractive."

Victoria had grinned at the statement.

Aestus, "I also think you're still good-looking. As for the hot springs, I say let's go!"

As Iratus was putting on his armor, he noticed that his gloves were mostly remade. Someone repaired them completely.

Iratus, "Yo, whoever fixed my gloves, thank you."

Victoria, "Have to make sure you are battle-ready for our sake." She finished with a laugh.

The three headed outside and hiked over to the hot springs.

Aestus, "Didn't we have a conversation about having someone at the base at all times?"

Iratus, "I'm willing to make an exception this time."

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Chapter 37

The party arrived at the cave, and Iratus looked around to make sure no monsters were around. After a moment, everyone headed inside the cave. They passed the large central chamber, headed down, and came to the maze of pools, with the heat radiating out of the room.

Aestus, "Time to find a pool to cool off."

Iratus, "I'll head further in to give you two some privacy."

Victoria, "My, how noble of you."

and with that, the group separated, searching for the right pool of water. Iratus would come across a warm but cool pool of water. He looked around and kept his ears on alert before stripping down and entering the pool. His ears twitched when he heard the other two come closer, and they twitched again when he heard Aestus and Victoria speak.

Victoria, "This one feels good."

They were behind a long but small boulder.

Victoria, "Iratus, I can hear you over there; no peaking now, ya hear?"

Iratus, "I wouldn't dare cross the only friends I have in this world."

After a few seconds, he heard the two enter their own pool.

Victoria, "Ah, you know, I've only heard stories about hot springs, but I ain't ever seen one, let alone bathe in one. I have to say, this feels quite nice."

Aestus, "This place is honestly quite similar to a hotspring network from where I come from."

Iratus, "Hmm."

after a few seconds.

Iratus, "We have bathhouses where I come from. It is a very important cultural focus in my society. There was a lot of money and honor in making them."

Victoria, "Inspiring! I hope to see what a bathouse is some day."
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Chapter 38

The party basked in the warm waters and chatted for quite some time, mostly Victoria and Aestus talking to each other, before Iratus finally said,

Iratus, "Ok, time to get ready to go home. You want me to get the fire started?"

Victoria, "Nah, we got it."

Iratus waited for a minute, still lost in the warmth of the pool, until he heard the girls get out of it. He waited for them to move along, but instead he heard,

Victoria, "Are you coming or what?"

Iratus gave a cough and then spoke, "Did you set up the sheet already?"

Victoria, "Forget about it; we will just dry off together."

Iratus, "I didn't think you two would have liked a stranger like me being around in your vulnerable forms."

Aestus, "After the past few days, you are definitely not a stranger."

Iratus just stumbled and got out of the pool and walked to the edge of the room, where a small hole opened to the outside. From the pack, the girls got out some straw and other dry materials. With Iratus's primitive fire starter, they created sparks to ignite a fire. The three gathered around it to dry their fur.

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Chapter 39

Iratus looked at Aestus, the otter girl with her red fur and hair, who sat next to Victoria, the raccoon girl with her gray fur and black hair. Both of them had a fit physique that would look natural on a young, aspiring athlete.

Victoria, "So, what happens if we find more people trapped here like us? You seem pretty okay with us two strangers coming into your home."

Iratus, "I'd say three is the limit. I'm not too keen on expanding our tribe population-wise. The more people, the more problems. From where our resources should be invested to people just not getting along."

Aestus, "But we have to help people, right?"

Iratus, "I'm fine with helping others, but having more people live with us is a terrible idea."

Victoria, "But what if they bring in more skills or knowledge?"

Iratus, "I'll admit, I'm pretty lazy. I have to drag prey back to our home among other physically laborious stuff, but having you two here has made my life quite easy. Perhaps more manpower could branch off more duties or double up on what we have, giving some of us more free time. I'd say that would also increase our need for food, but until we hit a winter, I can't say anything for certain. Regardless of these factors, we have to deal with what happens between us. For example, I want to thank you two for putting your trust in me and knowing that I was not going to take advantage of you. I myself was uneasy, but I accepted in the end that strangers would throw in their lot with me. Now, we just need to do these trust exercises with how many people, and if any of them fail, it will be quite the fallout."

Victoria, "I'd also like to point out that more manpower means more fighters against whatever is out there, even other people."

Aestus, "Also, what if they just lived near us instead of the tower?"

Iratus, "Still dividing up resources. We wouldn't want to hunt near someone else's home and such."

Victoria, "Maybe we give them a trail run? Speaking of which, how has our run been?"

Iratus, "Not enough time has passed to determine that, although I really like having you two help me survive out here."

Victoria, "I see. You know, living with you ain't half bad either."

Iratus, "Oh, uh, thank you."

The three continued to sit in front of the fire for some time before it died.

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Chapter 40

Another day would pass when Victoria finished crafting an improvised smoking rack.

Victoria, "Now I just need a proper butchering area, and we're golden."

Iratus, "You still good for the stone city?"

Victoria, "Ack, no thank you. I think we should expand our exploration efforts. I've been wanting to travel further out, and I've been a bit afraid of what could lurk there."

Iratus grabbed the bow Victoria made, along with a quiver and a handful of wooden arrows, along with his normal equipment.

Iratus, "Suit yourself, can you tell Aestus to join me on the road when she comes back? I am going to head out now."

Victoria, "Will do."

Iratus would travel down the road for a while until he moved off the road and marked a tree. This is something that all three of them have been doing for some time now. It works to keep some animals away as well as be a scent marker for anyone traveling nearby.

Iratus would get back to the stone city and see the group of twised trees gone and the once low population of treeskins had now doubled. Their massive trees remained damaged, and Iratus then saw a group of three trees that were quite rotted, but a new massive tree was growing in between the three.

Eventually Aestus came up and joined with Iratus. She now had a leather chest piece, and though it wasn't much for armor, it was better than nothing.

Iratus, "I don't know how much more loot can be found here. How about we backtrack to the cave I came from?"

Aestus, "Works for me."

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EPISDOE 4: END

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Episode 4 End Character Sheet
Name: Iratus Lionheart
Species: Mousefolk
Age: 14
Coverings: Blonde Fur, Gambeson (lightly damaged, leather patchwork), leather gloves
Weapons: Long Sword, Knife, Bow
Equipment: belt, belt bag, water skin, leathercraft backpack, 2 bags, 33 oval copper coins, 7 small silver bricks, 6 gemstones
Community Stash: a fire starter, whetstone, small metal pot, several leather items, a lot of animal bones, a lot of animal hide, 3 glass jar, 50 oval copper coins, 1 fish net, primitive sewing kit, trowl, woodcutting axe, several wooden spears, crossbow, some woodcarving pieces, wooden dice, lots of sheets, metal scrap.
Home Base, Tower: Large Storage Area, Basic Butchering Area (few tools, smoking rack), Basic Workshop Area (some tools), Kitchen Area (many tools)
Wounds: flesh wounds (nearly healed), several moderate wounds (nearly healed)
Year 0, Day 7

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Special documentary on Nexus Prime
Author: [DATA ERROR]
Report #: 18
The Super Nomdas, called as such for traveling the world instead of hunkering down, These people usually have an excellent mode of transportation and are able to travel across great distances, whether they be oceans or continents. I've seen boats, caravans, helicopters, and even trains. When it comes to knowledge, the super nomad is most likely the person most well versed in Nexus Prime, other than us, of course.

Though, the only problem is that any traveler has a much higher chance of running into places that were never meant to be seen by living beings.