ULTRAMagic Interlude - Chapter 5
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Unfortunately Blood-Wraith woke up incredibly early the next morning. He was groggy, his eyes were irritated, and he fumbled about as he tried to wake himself up. Looking at the clock, it was five in the morning and everyone was still asleep. Something was off. He kept yawning as he watched the television up until eight in the morning. This is when Aureolus and Vexation came walking down the stairs. They were surprised to see Blood-Wraith slouched and grumpy on the couch.
“Blood, what’s the matter?” Vexation asked.
“I didn’t sleep well…” He grunted.
Aureolus sat beside him. “Aw, that sucks. Have a bad dream?”
“No, I just had this bout of anxiety I couldn’t shake…”
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of faint commotion in the distance. It had to be close given that they could hear it in the first place. The three rushed out to find a group of grotesque, black and red, humanoid constructs of some kind in the street. Blood-Wraith was growing more and more annoyed the longer he looked at them and there was a sneaking suspicion as to who had sent them. Taking the form of Verdant Might, Blood-Wraith got to work slamming each one to the ground. None of them stood a chance.
“So that’s what woke me up… Hey, what happened to the Ravagers?”
Aureolus hurried over. “Corentin said he sent them over to Shadowland to assist King Sten…” The two then heard a beast roaring in the distance. “Blood, I’m going to go check on dad!”
As his friend raced off, Blood-Wraith was starting to notice more of the constructs. Guardsmen were fighting them everywhere in the district. After asking Vexation to guard the house, Blood-Wraith switched over to Indigo Wolf and began looking for the biggest concentration of the intruders. They seemed to be focused at the lift station, so he went there. Radovan, Desislav, Vlastimir, Dragoslava, and members of the royal guard were also present. The enemy constructs wanted to get up to the tower, but the duke was not about to let that happen.
Dragoslava had just piledrived one of the constructs with her metal skin fully covering her. She saw Blood-Wraith approach as she got up and dusted herself off like it was no big deal. “Blood! Pardon the mess…”
“Sister! What’s going on?” he questioned as he shifted back to Verdant Might.
“Looks like Milosh sent some of his goons to give us… argh, trouble!” She replied as one began to smother her in black slime. She then yanked its head off in retaliation. “Go for the head, it’s their weak point.”
Blood-Wraith punched one so hard it fell over and went limp. “What even are these things?!” Black slime coated his fist.
“Good lord, I hate these things… Don’t let that stuff fully cover you. It’ll turn you into one of them…”
Vlastimir flew over, cackling all the way as he cleaved several constructs sneaking up on them. “Cheap, dirty magic, HA! Just wait until my dad hears about this. He’ll blow a gasket over how bad these are, haha!”
This caused Blood-Wraith to remember the encounter he and Aureolus had with Milosh’s ‘seal’ that he had used to protect his research. “I take it that low quality magic is a recurring theme with Mr. Proch?”
Dragoslava nodded as she wiped herself off and caught her breath. “Yup, that’s what dad’s told me.”
A guardsman fully coated in slime with a glowing red eye on his face shambled up to them. He was trying to stop himself from attacking his allies. Vlastimir took his sword and slashed the eye, causing the slime to bubble up and burst off of the man. “Pathetic…”
“Haha, thanks for that!” said the guardsmen. “HAVE AT THEE!” He shouted as he ran off to fight some more.
Blood-Wraith was a bit unsettled by that. “So how long has this been going on for?” he asked Dragoslava as he punched another construct. “This little invasion I mean.”
“At least since seven, roughly seven thirty. You wouldn’t believe how hard dad had to convince Englehart to stay in the tower just in case Dunja shows up…”
Radovan was taking care of the last few constructs on his end, punching their heads so hard they were rocketing off of their bodies. He took a second to recover which allowed him to notice Desislav losing his mind. The satyr was ranting and shouting as he used his organic armor to electrocute any construct that came his way.
“Boy, are you alright!?” Radovan called out.
Desislav did not acknowledge him. “STUPID STUPID STUPID! STUPID LAZY GOOD FOR NOTHING DRUNK! Said I’d never amount to anything! Said it was all pointless!! WELL GEE, I WASN’T THE ONE WHO GOT KICKED OUT OF THE TRIBE NOW, WAS I?!” He screamed as he zapped the biggest construct so hard that it exploded.
Dragoslava was a little horrified to see her boyfriend this angry to say the least. He snarled and roared as he began beating up dead constructs. She was about to step in until Vlastimir stopped her. He had an idea he wanted to try that he had picked up from his grandmother a long time ago.
“Wicked Dragon: Calm After the Storm…” Vlastimir flicked his blood sword like a tuning fork, causing it to emit a strange, yet relaxing soundwave.
Desislav felt his anger melt away as his tantrum gently stopped. “ARGH… argh… ah, ow… ack… ahem… I was… I was going to stop, you know?”
“You’re welcome, hehe,” Vlastimir replied as Dragoslava went to hug Desislav.
“Jeez, Desislav!” Dragoslava cried. “If you have an issue, TELL ME. It’s what I’m here for…” she pointed out.
“Sorry, Drago…” Desislav apologized as a slight headache set in.
Radovan approached the two. “Desislav, I’m also available if you need to talk. I can easily pause my duties if need be…” he offered. He had been able to somewhat discern the subject of Desislav’s anger and sympathized. He took the role of being a father very seriously.
“It’s alright, Radovan. I…”
“Thanks for the help dad, but I’ll take care of this.” Dragoslava was first going to take care of their wounds, then they would do some yard work or something like that. Work of that kind always got her mind off of negativity. She had to do something, but she was not sure what would be ideal, truth be told.
“Right…” Radovan replied. He was a little concerned, but ultimately trusted his daughter. He then turned his attention to the guardsmen “Guardsmen, Report.”
“Sir! Red Squadron is reporting that the last of the constructs have been dealt with. 6 injured, 0 casualties!”
“Very good. Have all able guardsmen sweep the district and tend to the injured!”
“Sir, yes Sir!” The Guardsmen replied with a salute and got to work.
Seeing his father give orders like that gave Blood-Wraith goosebumps. “Are you alright, dad?”
“Actually I should be asking you that, Blood. You didn’t run into any trouble, did you?”
“Well, a little… but I slammed all of them into the ground!”
Radovan gave a triumphant laugh. “Well done, my boy. Just remember that no one will fault you for asking for help though. And by the way, what form is this?”
“Oh, it’s Verdant Might. Casting magic is harder, but it makes me super strong.” He then flexed his muscles with Radovan nodding approvingly, as a father proud of his child.
Vlastimir nodded a few times too many. “Uh-huh, uh-huh! I can vouch for him.”
Radovan chuckled. “Duly noted. Thank you for the help, Vlastimir. Now if you boys will pardon me, I need to go check on the king and assist The Royal Guard.”
Blood-Wraith gave a sigh of relief as Radovan and Vlastimir returned to the tower. This relaxation was interrupted by a roughly 20 foot tall beast man who approached him. Blood-Wraith was startled at first, but the unkempt beast covered in dark fur seemed familiar to him. The wolf-bear-like creature smiled and began letting off steam. Grisly crackling and hissing could be heard as it shrunk. A burst of steam quickly enveloped them and revealed Barna once it had cleared. He looked a little disheveled, but was no worse for wear.
“Hey, Blood. You alright?”
“Barna!? What was that?!” Blood-Wraith exclaimed.
“Haha, I got a bit of a beast in my blood. It tends to get excited whenever that blaggard, Milosh, rears his ugly mug.”
Aureolus and Corentin came running up. “Dad, are you alright? You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” Aureolus asked.
“Don’t worry, lad, I’m fine. This isn’t my first rodeo…”
Corentin looked annoyed. “Dad! That wasn’t necessary. I had it taken care of… Also hey, Blood.”
“Boy, I told you I made peace with my inner beast a long time ago, ha. It’s going to take more than that to do your old man in…” Barna’s reassurance didn’t work as Corentin grunted in response.
“What were those construct-things, Barna?” Blood-Wraith interjected, sensing a potential back and forth between the two. He needed to know more about his enemies.
“Ah, those piles of junk? Shadow Constructs. They’re recycled Earth Spirits, the lowest of the low when it comes to spiritual evolution. There are quick and dirty rituals that combine and amalgamate them into disposable soldiers. They don’t last and have shaky loyalty, but are good for causing problems… and any self-respecting mage knows not to bother with them. Rule of thumb, my boy: if a ritual requires a drop of blood, it ain’t worth it” he explained.
Blood-Wraith noticed the ones Desislav had pummeled were fading away, but some had deteriorated slowly. He then pointed at one that looked like it was made of clock gears and glass. “What’s that one?”
Barna got down to inspect it real quickly. “This would be one of Dunja’s. As god awful as these things are, I’ll concede she’s a good craftsman.”
“And that one?” He pointed to one that was all goopy.
“Hum, I suppose that’s either Milosh or Lia’s attempt to make one out of leftover material… bizarre to say the least.”
“Huh, I see…” Blood-Wraith then realized someone was missing. “Hold up! Corentin, where’s Maximus?”
“I sent him over to Shadowland with the Ravagers…”
Blood-Wraith returned to Crimson Man and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. I’m concerned for him, but okay…”
Before the conversation could continue, Brenna walked up, looking a little frazzled. She came to collect Blood-Wraith as Englehart wanted to discuss his mission to find Rose and Thora. The two left for the lift station and took one of the trolleys up. Despite all of the prior trouble, it was working just fine. Blood-Wraith felt a bit of excitement as he could sense the activity in the tower, despite the prior battle. Thankfully it was distracting him from his lack of sleep and everything else that had transpired. And he was not disappointed as there were people all over the place. Nobles, guardsmen, mages, and the king’s stewards were moving to and fro. The ones who were not too busy even stopped to greet him.
Brenna then led Blood-Wraith to Dragoslava’s former office. “I hate to burst Drago’s bubble, but the king needs his office back” She said with a chuckle.
“Oh, I see…” Blood-Wraith felt a little embarrassed.
Englehart was looking out the window when he noticed his guests enter. “Blood, Brenna, there you are! Take a seat, make yourselves comfortable.”
Blood-Wraith sat down in his usual spot. “Um, your majesty? Me and Dragoslava used this office while you were away…”
“Don’t worry, my boy. That was completely fine with me. I trust Drago and it kept the place clean, ha. Also I see you read The Journeyman’s Guide to The Cosmos. I love that series and I highly recommend checking out the sequels when you get the chance. Now then, let’s discuss your quest, or rather finalize it.”
This caught Blood-Wraith’s attention. “Oh yes, yes, yes-I mean, I’m nervous, but yes.”
“So I trust that we’re clear on what the aim of the mission is. Brenna will be your guide, escort, and protector. I considered sending a full squad with you, but a bad feeling told me that would do more harm than good…”
“Agreed, your majesty,” Brenna confirmed. “The structure of the labyrinth is insanely treacherous and constantly shifting. Besides, me and Blood are ULTRAMagic mages, so we should be fine.”
“Will you two require any other resources or funding?” Englehart inquired.
“Outside of basic supplies? None that I can think of. Blood?”
“Hmm… transportation?”
Brenna smiled. “Covered” she said with a snap of her fingers.
Blood-Wraith thought further. “Can we have someone else with us? I just feel that two people isn’t enough…”
“Apparently your friend, Auda, wants to go with you,” Englehart answered. “Old Sigmund and Tusk said no, but she has been very insistent.”
“Huh, maybe we should have one of Thora’s relatives with us” Brenna thought aloud. “Kind of wish it was Tusk though…”
“Mm, good luck getting Tusk out of the forest again” Blood-Wraith pointed out.
Englehart chuckled. “Fair enough. The lad’s been through a lot already. Now Blood, are you sure you want to go through with this?”
He nodded without hesitation. “Yes. I made a promise to Kresimira and Tusk.”
That put a smile on the King’s face. “Blood, pull this off and I will knight you on the spot.”
“Wait, what?! Explain?”
“Blood-Wraith, the level of courage and determination you are showing is exactly what I need amongst my ranks. On top of that, you are showing great potential. If you feel the responsibility is too great, I fully understand. Just know that I will do my best to help you foster and fully realize that potential of yours. What do you say?”
Blood-Wraith thought for a second. “Can I think about it first? The knighthood?”
“Absolutely. Take as much time as you need, my boy.”
Next: Chapter 6
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Unfortunately Blood-Wraith woke up incredibly early the next morning. He was groggy, his eyes were irritated, and he fumbled about as he tried to wake himself up. Looking at the clock, it was five in the morning and everyone was still asleep. Something was off. He kept yawning as he watched the television up until eight in the morning. This is when Aureolus and Vexation came walking down the stairs. They were surprised to see Blood-Wraith slouched and grumpy on the couch.
“Blood, what’s the matter?” Vexation asked.
“I didn’t sleep well…” He grunted.
Aureolus sat beside him. “Aw, that sucks. Have a bad dream?”
“No, I just had this bout of anxiety I couldn’t shake…”
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of faint commotion in the distance. It had to be close given that they could hear it in the first place. The three rushed out to find a group of grotesque, black and red, humanoid constructs of some kind in the street. Blood-Wraith was growing more and more annoyed the longer he looked at them and there was a sneaking suspicion as to who had sent them. Taking the form of Verdant Might, Blood-Wraith got to work slamming each one to the ground. None of them stood a chance.
“So that’s what woke me up… Hey, what happened to the Ravagers?”
Aureolus hurried over. “Corentin said he sent them over to Shadowland to assist King Sten…” The two then heard a beast roaring in the distance. “Blood, I’m going to go check on dad!”
As his friend raced off, Blood-Wraith was starting to notice more of the constructs. Guardsmen were fighting them everywhere in the district. After asking Vexation to guard the house, Blood-Wraith switched over to Indigo Wolf and began looking for the biggest concentration of the intruders. They seemed to be focused at the lift station, so he went there. Radovan, Desislav, Vlastimir, Dragoslava, and members of the royal guard were also present. The enemy constructs wanted to get up to the tower, but the duke was not about to let that happen.
Dragoslava had just piledrived one of the constructs with her metal skin fully covering her. She saw Blood-Wraith approach as she got up and dusted herself off like it was no big deal. “Blood! Pardon the mess…”
“Sister! What’s going on?” he questioned as he shifted back to Verdant Might.
“Looks like Milosh sent some of his goons to give us… argh, trouble!” She replied as one began to smother her in black slime. She then yanked its head off in retaliation. “Go for the head, it’s their weak point.”
Blood-Wraith punched one so hard it fell over and went limp. “What even are these things?!” Black slime coated his fist.
“Good lord, I hate these things… Don’t let that stuff fully cover you. It’ll turn you into one of them…”
Vlastimir flew over, cackling all the way as he cleaved several constructs sneaking up on them. “Cheap, dirty magic, HA! Just wait until my dad hears about this. He’ll blow a gasket over how bad these are, haha!”
This caused Blood-Wraith to remember the encounter he and Aureolus had with Milosh’s ‘seal’ that he had used to protect his research. “I take it that low quality magic is a recurring theme with Mr. Proch?”
Dragoslava nodded as she wiped herself off and caught her breath. “Yup, that’s what dad’s told me.”
A guardsman fully coated in slime with a glowing red eye on his face shambled up to them. He was trying to stop himself from attacking his allies. Vlastimir took his sword and slashed the eye, causing the slime to bubble up and burst off of the man. “Pathetic…”
“Haha, thanks for that!” said the guardsmen. “HAVE AT THEE!” He shouted as he ran off to fight some more.
Blood-Wraith was a bit unsettled by that. “So how long has this been going on for?” he asked Dragoslava as he punched another construct. “This little invasion I mean.”
“At least since seven, roughly seven thirty. You wouldn’t believe how hard dad had to convince Englehart to stay in the tower just in case Dunja shows up…”
Radovan was taking care of the last few constructs on his end, punching their heads so hard they were rocketing off of their bodies. He took a second to recover which allowed him to notice Desislav losing his mind. The satyr was ranting and shouting as he used his organic armor to electrocute any construct that came his way.
“Boy, are you alright!?” Radovan called out.
Desislav did not acknowledge him. “STUPID STUPID STUPID! STUPID LAZY GOOD FOR NOTHING DRUNK! Said I’d never amount to anything! Said it was all pointless!! WELL GEE, I WASN’T THE ONE WHO GOT KICKED OUT OF THE TRIBE NOW, WAS I?!” He screamed as he zapped the biggest construct so hard that it exploded.
Dragoslava was a little horrified to see her boyfriend this angry to say the least. He snarled and roared as he began beating up dead constructs. She was about to step in until Vlastimir stopped her. He had an idea he wanted to try that he had picked up from his grandmother a long time ago.
“Wicked Dragon: Calm After the Storm…” Vlastimir flicked his blood sword like a tuning fork, causing it to emit a strange, yet relaxing soundwave.
Desislav felt his anger melt away as his tantrum gently stopped. “ARGH… argh… ah, ow… ack… ahem… I was… I was going to stop, you know?”
“You’re welcome, hehe,” Vlastimir replied as Dragoslava went to hug Desislav.
“Jeez, Desislav!” Dragoslava cried. “If you have an issue, TELL ME. It’s what I’m here for…” she pointed out.
“Sorry, Drago…” Desislav apologized as a slight headache set in.
Radovan approached the two. “Desislav, I’m also available if you need to talk. I can easily pause my duties if need be…” he offered. He had been able to somewhat discern the subject of Desislav’s anger and sympathized. He took the role of being a father very seriously.
“It’s alright, Radovan. I…”
“Thanks for the help dad, but I’ll take care of this.” Dragoslava was first going to take care of their wounds, then they would do some yard work or something like that. Work of that kind always got her mind off of negativity. She had to do something, but she was not sure what would be ideal, truth be told.
“Right…” Radovan replied. He was a little concerned, but ultimately trusted his daughter. He then turned his attention to the guardsmen “Guardsmen, Report.”
“Sir! Red Squadron is reporting that the last of the constructs have been dealt with. 6 injured, 0 casualties!”
“Very good. Have all able guardsmen sweep the district and tend to the injured!”
“Sir, yes Sir!” The Guardsmen replied with a salute and got to work.
Seeing his father give orders like that gave Blood-Wraith goosebumps. “Are you alright, dad?”
“Actually I should be asking you that, Blood. You didn’t run into any trouble, did you?”
“Well, a little… but I slammed all of them into the ground!”
Radovan gave a triumphant laugh. “Well done, my boy. Just remember that no one will fault you for asking for help though. And by the way, what form is this?”
“Oh, it’s Verdant Might. Casting magic is harder, but it makes me super strong.” He then flexed his muscles with Radovan nodding approvingly, as a father proud of his child.
Vlastimir nodded a few times too many. “Uh-huh, uh-huh! I can vouch for him.”
Radovan chuckled. “Duly noted. Thank you for the help, Vlastimir. Now if you boys will pardon me, I need to go check on the king and assist The Royal Guard.”
Blood-Wraith gave a sigh of relief as Radovan and Vlastimir returned to the tower. This relaxation was interrupted by a roughly 20 foot tall beast man who approached him. Blood-Wraith was startled at first, but the unkempt beast covered in dark fur seemed familiar to him. The wolf-bear-like creature smiled and began letting off steam. Grisly crackling and hissing could be heard as it shrunk. A burst of steam quickly enveloped them and revealed Barna once it had cleared. He looked a little disheveled, but was no worse for wear.
“Hey, Blood. You alright?”
“Barna!? What was that?!” Blood-Wraith exclaimed.
“Haha, I got a bit of a beast in my blood. It tends to get excited whenever that blaggard, Milosh, rears his ugly mug.”
Aureolus and Corentin came running up. “Dad, are you alright? You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” Aureolus asked.
“Don’t worry, lad, I’m fine. This isn’t my first rodeo…”
Corentin looked annoyed. “Dad! That wasn’t necessary. I had it taken care of… Also hey, Blood.”
“Boy, I told you I made peace with my inner beast a long time ago, ha. It’s going to take more than that to do your old man in…” Barna’s reassurance didn’t work as Corentin grunted in response.
“What were those construct-things, Barna?” Blood-Wraith interjected, sensing a potential back and forth between the two. He needed to know more about his enemies.
“Ah, those piles of junk? Shadow Constructs. They’re recycled Earth Spirits, the lowest of the low when it comes to spiritual evolution. There are quick and dirty rituals that combine and amalgamate them into disposable soldiers. They don’t last and have shaky loyalty, but are good for causing problems… and any self-respecting mage knows not to bother with them. Rule of thumb, my boy: if a ritual requires a drop of blood, it ain’t worth it” he explained.
Blood-Wraith noticed the ones Desislav had pummeled were fading away, but some had deteriorated slowly. He then pointed at one that looked like it was made of clock gears and glass. “What’s that one?”
Barna got down to inspect it real quickly. “This would be one of Dunja’s. As god awful as these things are, I’ll concede she’s a good craftsman.”
“And that one?” He pointed to one that was all goopy.
“Hum, I suppose that’s either Milosh or Lia’s attempt to make one out of leftover material… bizarre to say the least.”
“Huh, I see…” Blood-Wraith then realized someone was missing. “Hold up! Corentin, where’s Maximus?”
“I sent him over to Shadowland with the Ravagers…”
Blood-Wraith returned to Crimson Man and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. I’m concerned for him, but okay…”
Before the conversation could continue, Brenna walked up, looking a little frazzled. She came to collect Blood-Wraith as Englehart wanted to discuss his mission to find Rose and Thora. The two left for the lift station and took one of the trolleys up. Despite all of the prior trouble, it was working just fine. Blood-Wraith felt a bit of excitement as he could sense the activity in the tower, despite the prior battle. Thankfully it was distracting him from his lack of sleep and everything else that had transpired. And he was not disappointed as there were people all over the place. Nobles, guardsmen, mages, and the king’s stewards were moving to and fro. The ones who were not too busy even stopped to greet him.
Brenna then led Blood-Wraith to Dragoslava’s former office. “I hate to burst Drago’s bubble, but the king needs his office back” She said with a chuckle.
“Oh, I see…” Blood-Wraith felt a little embarrassed.
Englehart was looking out the window when he noticed his guests enter. “Blood, Brenna, there you are! Take a seat, make yourselves comfortable.”
Blood-Wraith sat down in his usual spot. “Um, your majesty? Me and Dragoslava used this office while you were away…”
“Don’t worry, my boy. That was completely fine with me. I trust Drago and it kept the place clean, ha. Also I see you read The Journeyman’s Guide to The Cosmos. I love that series and I highly recommend checking out the sequels when you get the chance. Now then, let’s discuss your quest, or rather finalize it.”
This caught Blood-Wraith’s attention. “Oh yes, yes, yes-I mean, I’m nervous, but yes.”
“So I trust that we’re clear on what the aim of the mission is. Brenna will be your guide, escort, and protector. I considered sending a full squad with you, but a bad feeling told me that would do more harm than good…”
“Agreed, your majesty,” Brenna confirmed. “The structure of the labyrinth is insanely treacherous and constantly shifting. Besides, me and Blood are ULTRAMagic mages, so we should be fine.”
“Will you two require any other resources or funding?” Englehart inquired.
“Outside of basic supplies? None that I can think of. Blood?”
“Hmm… transportation?”
Brenna smiled. “Covered” she said with a snap of her fingers.
Blood-Wraith thought further. “Can we have someone else with us? I just feel that two people isn’t enough…”
“Apparently your friend, Auda, wants to go with you,” Englehart answered. “Old Sigmund and Tusk said no, but she has been very insistent.”
“Huh, maybe we should have one of Thora’s relatives with us” Brenna thought aloud. “Kind of wish it was Tusk though…”
“Mm, good luck getting Tusk out of the forest again” Blood-Wraith pointed out.
Englehart chuckled. “Fair enough. The lad’s been through a lot already. Now Blood, are you sure you want to go through with this?”
He nodded without hesitation. “Yes. I made a promise to Kresimira and Tusk.”
That put a smile on the King’s face. “Blood, pull this off and I will knight you on the spot.”
“Wait, what?! Explain?”
“Blood-Wraith, the level of courage and determination you are showing is exactly what I need amongst my ranks. On top of that, you are showing great potential. If you feel the responsibility is too great, I fully understand. Just know that I will do my best to help you foster and fully realize that potential of yours. What do you say?”
Blood-Wraith thought for a second. “Can I think about it first? The knighthood?”
“Absolutely. Take as much time as you need, my boy.”
Next: Chapter 6
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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