Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 58

Chapter 571

The group was gathering equipment and rations for the trip when Procella walked up and looked over at the empty clothes and weapons gathered in a pile.

Procella: "What did I miss?"

Iratus: "Gray masks came back; we ate them alive, and now some of us need to go to the hospital."

The weasel woman gave a sigh.

Procella: "Then sorry, I couldn't have arrived sooner."

Iratus: "You don't need to beat yourself over it."

Venatio: "Well, now that you are here, why don't you join us at the hospital?"

Procella: "I might as well. Grab me a bag too."

Bellum, the cheetah girl, grabbed an extra travel bag while Iratus went back inside to his family. He rubbed the heads of each of his kids; the first was Negligere with his gray skin, then Ruina, the orange-furred otter, and the third child, Gula, was being held by Victoria, despite being Ignis's son.

Iratus: "Are you sure that you want to stay here?"

Victoria: "And what? Watch as you get stabbed by medical instruments. How boring. Go, have fun."

Iratus smiled, rubbed his child's head, and then continued to Tenacitas, the spunky raccoon toddler mangling several blocks, loot pilfered from some scavenging run, and patted his head. The last child was Frustra Lionheart, but seeing the baby rest in its bed allowed it to continue.

Resonantia: "Poor child. Everyone is exhausted from the siege."

Iratus: "I just hope they didn't scream their hearts out."

Resonantia: "Babies cry all the time; there isn't much a mother can do at such trying times."

---

Chapter 572

Iratus walked out after, saying goodbye, and gathered around the others. Ignis smiled as Iratus showed back up.

Ignis: "I hope this minor quest to heal your strange wounds turns out to be a swift one. Despite the recent combat, I'd like to bathe in the hot springs with you."

Iratus: "Certainly, my love."

Aestus also pulled up with her bag.

Aestus: "Oh, me too, me too."

Iratus sighed.

Venatio and Bellum grabbed a few tools from the makeshift hospital room in the tower and placed the bag in the cart.

Bellum: "Is it a good idea to have a medical room in the place where everyone lives?"

Venatio: "Yeah, we didn't really have anything else at the time. I think we should get to making another building around here for medical care."

Over by the cart, Confodere and Malignitas also had a side chat.

Malignitas: "What are these things?"

Confodere: "Uh, solar panels. Don't you have these in your time?"

Malignitas: "Seven twenty-two C.A."

Iratus: "Woh, two hundred year difference."

Malignitas: "Huh, you lived in the good years; how was that?"

Iratus after shrugging: "I don't know. Everything was peaceful, and there wasn't much conflict. Like, a few cities had some slap fights, but everyone was doing good."

Malignitas: "I am just curious about our history; you see, there were some unanswered things that had our people of my day confused."

Iratus: "Well, let me let you get back in touch with our history then."

Malignitas: "Or any personal items I'd like to know. Like, restaurants, what was fast food like?"

Iratus: "I can answer the restaurant part, but what is fast food?"

Malignitas: "Didn't you guys invent burgers by then?"

Iratus: "Sure, but what is fast food?"

Malignitas: "Now that I think about it, perhaps it is a term that came much later."

---

Chapter 573

The three finished up their short conversation as everyone else began heading out with Procella.

Procella: "Alright, let's get going."

Everyone set out with their cart, arrived at the docks, and got their boat ready to go. The whole time, the weasel girl and the one-eyed feline never talked, and there wasn't a bit of awkwardness as the two didn't have anything to say to each other.

Once the party's signature boat was fueled, they continued their way to the hospital. The large bed of the boat provided plenty of room for everyone to laze around, but Procella and Malignitas sat near each other with Iratus listening closely.

Procella: "Why are you coming to the hospital, by the way?"

Malignitas: "Because I can go wherever I want."

Procella: "I mean, are you doing a job for Venatio? I've heard so much from her already, and I just want to know what your job here will be."

Malignitas: "General laborer."

Procella: "I see."

After a few seconds, she thanked him for the information and left him to be alone.

Iratus walked over to the weasel woman.

Iratus: "You two had a battle to the death a few times. Everything good?"

Procella: "I don't have any problems, and I don't think he has any problems. That's that."

Iratus: "Alright. I guess that's that."

---

Chapter 574

At the docks near the spiraling mountain, Venatio and Ignis changed the bandages of Iratus and Confodere, their wounds never healing, and after their break, they headed up the mountain towards the hospital. The building was still, as always, a heavily fortified building designed to stand against the tides of war.

Confodere: "Maybe if we got some wheels, we could just ride the tracks instead of going through the boat and stuff."

Venatio: "Normally, I'd be uninterested, but now that I have some dedicated help, maybe I'll think about it."

Malignitas non-seriously: "Please stop; you're giving her more ideas."

The lighthearted conversation stopped when the group saw a cut lock tossed aside from the door.

Venatio: "My lock, I worked hard finding one of those!"

Iratus: "Someone broke in?"

Malignitas: "Why lock it up? Don't you want people to use the tools here?"

Venatio: "Always be wary of strangers."

Iratus: "We are all in our battle gear anyway; unless we get shot at, we should be able to negotiate with the people here."

The weasel woman gave a sigh and then spoke.

Procella: "Or they know that people, like us, can come by or maybe have died, so why not loot while you can?"

Aestus: "Aren't getting bolt cutters to destroy the lock more difficult than breaking in the back?"

Ignis: "Then perhaps we are dealing with lesser thinkers."

Iratus: "Let's just stay sharp as we continue forward. Maybe the trespassers are here, maybe they left, but regardless, let's hope for the best."

Malignitas: "As opposed to what?"

---

Chapter 575

The group stepped inside and sought out the roof of the building, dragging various equipment along the way. Iratus reached out his senses, but nothing stood out to him, but the empty building with their steps echoing was errie enough to make him think that something was wrong.

Once on the roof, Venatio and Malignitas took some time to set up the portable solar panels and used various wires to hook them up somewhere inside the hospital.

Venatio: "Don't let me forget to store these things when we are done here."

The old fox woman slammed the heavy wires into various points in the electrical box, which sparked, and the lights slowly came back on, very dimly and very lathargically from the sounds. Aestus, Ignis, and Procella guarded the roof while the others were in the electronic room.

Bellum: "Didn't you guys say that monsters were still around?"

Iratus: "We have long since killed anything else in here. Maybe something in the underground portion of the building—there might still be something lurking around, but we couldn't find anything."

Bellum: "Yeah, well, I smell something funny."

Venatio: "Huh, guess I missed it."

Confodere: "Let's be careful then as we march back."

Malignitas: "Now that I think about it, do we even need the others to guard our stuff? Like, do we think these strangers are going to destroy something so valuable? That, and also, how would they even try to steal all that? You think they could walk out of here and down the mountain before we catch them?"

Iratus: "Maybe? We can't predict how random people will act."

---

Chapter 576

On the way back, everyone seemed even more on edge, from the wires that were dragged through several hallways to the lights and sounds—if someone was in the building and didn't know there were strangers in it, they did now.

Once Iratus's group was about to round a corner from walking up a staircase, wires in the air, they were met with some voices.

Voice 1: "Hey, that's far enough!"

Iratus and the others took cover behind the walls. Taking a peek, the next hallway had someone, armed with a rifle, leaning against the hallway wall at a crossroads.

Voice 1: "You intruders need to leave our home now!"

Venatio: "How nice of you to give us a warning. Most people don't talk to strangers in their house, but you must know that we locked up this place. The lock, you destroyed it."

Voice 1: "Finders keepers."

Another voice came out, one from a female.

Voice 2: "Even if you are the ones who placed the lock here, this place is ours now."

Malignitas: "Thieves, huh?"

Voice 1: "You're not using this place!"

Procella: "Iratus, are you guys okay?"

Iratus: "Are we okay? Are you okay?"

Procella: "Oh yeah, we fired a few shots off ourselves."

Iratus was confused and tried to think of what she could be talking about, forgetting that she had Victoria's crossbow, a pure brain-dead moment. He ran through all the options, and for some reason, his brain stopped on the C4.

Iratus: "Are you talking about the C4?"

---

Chapter 577

Voice 2: "The what?"

Venatio: "No, I am the one carrying C4."

Voice 1: "You people have explosives?"

Aestus: "Isn't that dangerous?"

Venatio: "It's C4, you do anything to it; heck, I've lit some on fire to cook off of in my youth."

Voice 1: "Enough, get out of the roof, or we start shooting."

Iratus looked down the hallway to see Procella looking back, the two voices at the crossroads between them, and he could see there was at least one more person in there too.

Procella: "You shot arrows at us, hell no!"

She brought out Victoria's crossbow, while Bellum on Iratus's side had the extra one. The person leaned out to fire their rifle at the weasel girl who was poking her head out, the person now revealing themselves to be a racoon man with short black hair, blonde-like fur, and wearing army camo.

Procella easily got back as the shots came down, the sound in the hallway shattering everyone's ears. At the same time, Bellum was able to take a quick shot and land a lucky blow on the shoulder of their assailant, who quickly got back behind cover.

Raccoon man: "Arg!"

Voice 2: "Tsunami, go around and block off their escape."

Venatio: "I'll toss in my C4"

Iratus: "What is with the hostility?"

Raccoon man: "You are in our home, and that's more than enough reason to kill you."

Aestus: "But you said you'd allow us to leave."

Voice 2: "Clearly a lie, you stupid otter."

Tsunami: "Still wanting me to run around?"

Raccoon man: "Yes!"

Ignis: "Guys, killing the conduit or conduits seems to have not affected their capacity to continue striving here. I have just looked over the hospital and heard many sounds. The gray masks are back and in force!"

---

Chapter 578

Voice 2: "And you're clearly lying."

Iratus: "Then let's stay here until the enemy of life itself comes crashing in!"

A random shot from the raccoon's rifle ricocheted in.

Raccoon man: "Shut up!"

The second voice also came out to fire a shot from her bow down the doorway, another shot going wide, and Iratus gritted his teeth in anger. This second person is a rabbitfolk.

Malignitas: "Is it like this every day?"

Venatio: "Sometimes."

Confodere: "What is the game plan now?"

Iratus: "We wait until the gray masks run up here and then let these idiots take the brunt of their forces."

Confodere: "But then we give up all our ground and time to the enemy."

Iratus: "And?"

Malignitas: "If these intruders want to complain and resist working together, then we must fight them as we do with any other enemy."

Raccoon man: "We can hear you."

Confodere: "You can't be serious. I can't believe I'm saying this, but we have to work together."

Bellum: "We can't work with an enemy."

The hyena man pointed to the feline.

Venatio: "You're not going to reason with them."

Iratus: "We are in a combat situation; these people are armed and are trying to kill us. Putting our guard down will get us killed. Malignitas was no longer a threat, nor was there another threat when he was at our mercy."

Malignitas: "In other words, we fight until there isn't a threat; whether those guys over there live or die comes second. Try learning how war works."

---

Chapter 579

Confodere didn't have time to argue when the small army of gray masks started to come up the stairs.

Iratus: "Time to fight."

Iratus pointed to Venatio's bag and pointed at the hallway. The fox woman nodded and quickly fished out a block of C4, added a capsol to it and blindly threw it down the hall.

Raccoon man: "Take cover!"

Everyone covered their ears and Venatio used a remote to detonate the explosive.

With that, Iratus's group quickly jumped down to the floor below and headed down another hallway as the gray mask slowly continued their march up. These gray masks, Iratus saw, wore the same blank brown cloaks, but their masks were not the grainy gray ones, these ones looked silvered colored and had a sheen to them.

As they ran, Bellum took a shot back down the hallway and slayed one of the creatures, with the others checking doors until they found another set of stairs.

Venatio: "If we go up to get the others, we will find that other enemy group."

Malignitas: "Down means that the gray masks cut them off and hopefull kill them."

Iratus: "But our people might not be so lucky either."

Venatio: "No wait. There was an access hatch on the roof. If the other were paying attention, then maybe we could actually regroup with them."

Confodere: "Now you remember?"

Iratus: "Enough. Were does the hatch thing lead to?"

Venatio: "I can only guess, but it should be down over there."

---

Chapter 580

The group went down, fighting off these new and shiny gray masks. These things still used daggers and the occasional short sword, but the most striking difference is that these ones fought very slightly better than the others.

The group checked a few rooms before coming across another group of gray masks, these ones with spears. With rapid speed, the party went into a battle formation with Venatio, Confodere, and Malignitas, each with his own bronze spear, holding a spear wall. Despite these new gray masks using their spears well enough to break the line, Bellum's ranged weapon would slowly destroy the enemy.

A door from another room got kicked out, with Aestus, Ignis, and Procella pouring out and portable solar panels in hand.

Procella: "Oh, good. I made the right call."

Iratus: "Perfect! Now, let's head to the basement level and find that way out."

Venatio: "Hold on, we have all the solar panels here."

Procella "Yeah. You guys told me enough about these guys to know not to leave anything for them to wreck."

The dim lights shot with life, and that lazy hum from somewhere became something like loud machinery working overtime.

Venatio: "Then what's powering the hospital?"

Procella: "We revived a backup generator; I don't know."

Iratus: "Come on, people."

And Iratus led the group to the garage, where the whole thing opened up into a completely different building. Before the group walked down its stairs, they saw yet another new gray mask, or more likely, a new conduit.

It was a blood-red-skinned man with an almost buff build, no cloak, ragged and old-looking light brown hair, but dirty black jeans and a dark green tank top. It's mask was also a deep shade of green, and unlike other gray masks, which were devoid of any creativity, this mask was an ornimental one and had the face of some sort of cartoonishly evil fiend. Then everyone was stunned when it spoke.

Kollektivi: "We are Kollektivi, the end of all thought. Your journey is at an end, Virtue of Family." 

And his skin seemed to glow as something like fire began to cover its form.

---

EPISDOE 58: END

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Episode 58 End Character Sheet
Name: Iratus Lionheart
Species: Mousefolk
Age: 16
Coverings: blonde fur, white gambeson (many repairs, some leather patchwork), leather gloves, tactical vest, tailorcraft backpack, leather plate helmet, delicate gold chain with a small pendant shaped like a lion's glare, flashlight, bronze breastplate
Weapons: long sword, 3 knifes, short sword, hammer, 1 dagger
Equipment: belt, belt bag, water skin, leathercraft backpack, 2 bags, 5 copper coins, 1 small silver bricks, 20 silver coins, 30 gold coins

Wounds: several minor back wounds (light stab wounds), a leg cut (moderate stab wound), shoulders (deep stab wounds)

Relevant Community Stash: a fire starter, whetstone, several leather items, 2 glass jar, 12 bottles, 1 fish net, primitive sewing kit, a bunch of small wooden figures, wooden dice, metal scrap, lots of rusted metal, several small fish nets, sextant, some bedrolls, a tent, a large barrel, writing material, 68 cloaks and other clothing materials, some fabrics, 4 carts, 4 stitched tents, skin drum, beautiful arts of tropical scenery, floatation devices, wildlife figures, lots of tropical clothing, ancient era hyenafolk clothes, gas generator, four flood lights

Armory: 40 short swords, 34 knifes, 19 daggers, 26 metal spears, 4 arming swords, 4 long swords, 2 extra gambeson, semi-automatic rifle (no ammo), 3 hunting traps, 6 snares, 12 backpacks, 3 katanas, 3 short katanas, crossbow, several pounds of C4
Aestus: gambeson, bronze breastplate, leather helmet, metal spear, 2 knives, short sword, bronze long sword.
Victoria: bronze breastplate, gambeson, leather helmet, metal spear, short sword, crossbow, 2 daggers, flashlight
Resonanita: steel breastplate, gambeson, metal helmet, metal spear, short sword, 1 knife, compound bow, flashlight
Ignis: bronze breastplate, gambeson, leather helmet, metal spear, crowbar, 1 knife

Treasure: 13 copper coins, 2 silver coins 12 iron coins, a tarnished silver brooch, a small ornamental figurine, a few antfolk tapestries, some antfolk art, bronze lantern, bronze idol, some jeweled trinkets, iron lantern

Home Base, Tower: Large Storage Area (many crates, clay pots, and wooden chests), Basic Workshop Area (lots of tools, woodcarving tools, glue, sandpaper), Kitchen Area (many tools, many cutlery items, pots&pans, makeshift grill), Library, Armory, Infirmary Room (surgery tools, first aid kit, plenty of medicine and equipment), Children's Quarters, Master Bedroom (proper bedding, sensual antfolk sculpture), Six Bedrooms (proper bedding)

Outside Base: Butchering Hut (modern butchery kit, smoking rack), Tannery Hut, Underground Storage Area, Garden Area (fenced in), Tool Shed (fishing gear and supplies, trowel, woodcutting axe, woodworking tools, lots of rope, rope ladder, plows, hoes, sickles, rakes, shovels, scythes, chisels, anvils), Wooden Wall, Small Cabin (Venatio), Large Cabin (Winter Winds), Large Cabin (Dark Sky Family), Gravestone

Books: 3x woodworking books, weathered leather-bound journal, war game booklet, sketch book (from warband), Bathhouse Reviewers (entire 80 book series), cards, Fractura's Notes, Tempestas's Notes, 12 survival guides, 3 technical manuals, 46 fiction novels, 11 encyclopedias, 4 dictionaries, 22 cookbooks, 2 gardening guides, 3 crafting books, 20 educational textbooks, 5 religious texts, 4 diaries

Year 2, Day 15

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TOWER FOLK:
Iratus of House Lionheart
mouse, male, blonde fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, 6'6, age: 16, b day 350
-
Victoria Mother of House Lionheart
raccoon, female, gray fur, black hair, brown eyes, 6'3, age: 16, b day: 5
-
Aestus of clan Riversinger
otter, female, red fur, red hair, blue eyes, 6'1, age: 15, b day: 99, (preg 20 days)
-
Ignis Yang
red panda, female, reddish-brown/white fur, black hair, golden eye, 6'4, age: 16, b day: 344
-
Resonantia Diamond Heart Steel
shark, female, blue-gray hue skin, white hair, blue eyes, 6'5, age: 16, b day: 2, (preg 49 days)
---

CHILDREN:
Negligere Lionheart
shark, male, steel gray skin, white hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 2
-
Ruina Lionheart
otter, female, orange fur, vibrant orange hair, blue eyes, age: 1, b day: 330
-
Gula Lionheart
red panda, male, brown fur, dark brown hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 340
-
Tenacitas Lionheart
raccoon, female, silver fur, dark blonde hair, amber eyes, age: 1, b day: 345

Frustra Lionheart
raccoon, male, gray fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, age: 0, b day: 338
---

NEIGHBORS:
Venatio of Wise Storms, Mother of House Black Jewel
fox, female, red fur, red hair, brown eyes, 6'6, age: 72, b day 299
---

WINTER WINDS CLAN:
Studium of Winter Winds
fox, male, gray fur, black hair, blue eyes, 5'8, age 13, b.day 190

Fuligo Leaf Shadow
otter, female, black fur, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'6, age 13, b.day 245

Bellum of House War Knuckles
cheetah, female, blonde fur, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'11, age 14, b day: 91
---

DARK SKY FAMILY:
Salvos Dark Sky
wolf, male, black fur, white hair, copper eyes, 6'8, age 26, b day: 66

Leitmotif Schlange
snake, female, yellow and red scales, naga bodied, gold  eyes, age 24, b day: 229, (preg 64 days)

---

(farm)
UMBRA OCEAN FAMILY:
Procella Ocean Drinker
weasel , female, blonde fur, black hair, green eyes, 6'5, age 22, b day: 207

Iter of Sanguinem Umbra
goat, male, white fur, blonde hair, brown eyes, 6'7, age 20, b day: 334
---

(farm)
THE COBALTS:
Commercium Jade Blue Cobalt
rabbit, male, white fur, black hair, gray eyes, 6'8, age: 25, b.day 221

-
Abrasione
hyena, female, tan fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, 6'5, age: 20, b.day 4, (preg 103 days)

-
Kuxatura
hyena, male, tan fur, black hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 284

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LAST MISTAKE
Deficio
lion, male, gray fur, rich gray hair, green eyes, 6'6, age: 46, b day 111

Confodere Oculi Acuti
hyena, male, dark brown fur, black hair, gold eyes, 6'9, age 26, b day: 239

Malignitas of House Brokensand
feline, male, light black fur, light black hair, brown eyes (single eye), 6'7, age 29, b day 343.