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Post by Richter Abend on Mar 16, 2014 13:30:20 GMT -6
It had been about a week on the road, so to speak, since Richter's pitstop and meetup with Gabriel. The rest, the food, and the new companion were all very much appreciated, but Richter had been quick to leave, anxious to get back to his travel. He was never one for sitting around, and every second he wasted was one more second he could spend second guessing himself, something he had a very bad habit of doing.
By now they had begun to approach the border of Sacae and Etruria, with the endless grass and sky giving way to the rocky, hilly terrain of the foothills. The tension had been building inside Richter ever since he had left the Sacaen camp, tension that was beginning to come to a head as he realized just how close to Etruria he was getting. It was as if the full weight of his decision to go and face the Prophet was finally hitting him full on, and frankly, it was a bit terrifying. Maybe Clair had been right in telling him it was too dangerous. He was just one man, and waiting within Etruria's borders was an army that would not hesitate to see him dead. Would he actually be able to pull this off? Hopefully, but only time would truly tell.
In the midst of contemplating his potential demise, Richter looked up to see what looked to be a dark cloud lingering far in the distance. But unlike today's clouds, which were thin and wispy strands of cirrus, this cloud was a thick, massive pillar that looked like it was erupting from the ground like some sort of volcano. Smoke. A whole lot of smoke.
"Gabriel! Do you see that?" Richter asked suddenly, pointing a finger towards the ominous mass of soot. "It looks like smoke, but far, far too much to be a bonfire. What do you think? Should we check it out?"
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Post by Gabriel Zobek on Mar 16, 2014 20:49:01 GMT -6
Gabriel had set out quickly with Richter, certainly understanding of his expediency on this journey. With the goal that the Winter Lion had in sight, this trip was still bound to be quite the long one indeed. A city across vast distance and an army standing in the way of that far off finish line. But this kind of challenge is the kind that Gabriel had come to love as well. Richter's goal was noble, even if he claimed that he was not. It would be worse for the former soldier to go anywhere other than with Richter when it came to the subject of "The Prophet" and his Herald.
However, he pulled in on the reigns of his horse, starting to slow the stallion down as he looked at the horizon. Great clouds of black smoke belched into the sky from a distant source, floating ominously above. Richter asked if the other warrior had seen the same and it wasn't just a delusion. With a grave nod, Gabriel confirmed. He also beared down with the reigns, setting his horse into fast paced motion.
"We need to go quick! I fear that may be a village in danger!"
It was the only explanation his mind would accept, the only time he'd seen so much smoke being produced in the past was from moving in on the destroyed villages that had been hit by soldier or bandit. And that meant he needed to move all the faster.
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Post by Orcleous on Mar 21, 2014 8:17:49 GMT -6
It had been quite a while since he left his friends and decided that he would return home. However Orcleous lack of direction and love of spontaneous adventure ended up taking him in almost the exact opposite direction. Before the young swordsman knew it he was approaching the edge of Sacae and Etruria boarder. It was a sad sight really. A sixteen year old man who can't stay focus enough to go to one location. Then again there was not much for Orcleous to return to. His parents did kick him off the family farm and Bern was not the place to be right now.
The young swordsman stomach began to growl. It had been a good bit since he had eaten anything, well anything worthy of calling food. So far he had been chomping on some flat bread a Sacaen maiden had given him. It was... plain to say the least, but it kept the young swordsman walking. "Oh there should be a village near by", spoke Orcleous out loud as he slammed his fist into his hand. He looked up and saw a pillar of black smoke. At first Orcleous began to wonder how in the world did he not notice that earlier. He started to think for a second if his eyes were starting to go bad, but then he was jolted back to reality by his mind.
"Oh crap the village is on fire", shouted Orcleous out loud. THe swordsman placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and rushed toward the pillar of black smoke. Running toward smoke was never a smart idea, but it was always an interesting one. It might be a good chance for him to sharpen his sword, get some food, and impress a few of the local maidens. Though in the back of Orcleous head the symbol of a skull and cross bones lingered. Death was always a possibility, especially when you move towards a raging fire, but what is life without any risk.
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Post by Richter Abend on Mar 23, 2014 22:39:38 GMT -6
"Right!" Richter replied in affirmation, turning his steed in the direction of the dark cloud. "Then let's go!" Leaning forward in his saddle, the Ilian spurred on his horse with a swift jab of his heels. The animal moved swiftly, as fast as its legs could carry it, but it didn't seem fast enough in the face of the slowly growing smoke pillar before him. With that much smoke, the entire village must be burning!
Galloping closer, Richter could more clearly see the township in question. The hollowed out frames of homes, shops, and the like, once probably peaceful and filled with life now struck a ghastly, flaming scene against the stoic calm of the mountains behind it. Their skeletons stood bare like the ceremonial pyres of an unholy ritual. But what of the people? Looking closer, Ilian could see what looked like humanoid figures among the buildings, but they did not run, and they did not scream. Richter's first thought was that of bandits, but even bandits would be moving more lively than these figures were. They would at least be reveling, hooting and hollering, in their latest victory, but these people were just standing there, like...zombies.
Richter forced his mount to a sudden halt roughly a hundred yards from the edge of the village as the realization came to him. Undead? Like in Ostia and Salvation Point? No, it couldn't be... "I'm going the rest of the way on foot!" Richter shouted to Gabriel behind him, dismounting his horse as he did so. "Try to keep up!"
As he came within mere yards of the nearest building, the Ilian's suspicions were confirmed. Walking just outside the doorway with a broken, slow, lazy shuffle was the gaunt and rotting figure of a dead man walking. There was little to be heard over the roar of the fires currently consuming the village, but Richter could just imagine its low, unearthly moans in his head, moans that would have made him shudder and cringe if not for the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Drawing his sword, Richter swiftly approached the abomination, and without hesitation brought it down upon its skull. The dry bone shattered, but not before splattering foul, grey brain matter all over its assailant. He paused for a moment, verifying his kill, then let himself stare into the blaze before him. More undead walked about, some more lively than others, and between them and the fire, Richter was hesitant to believe anyone other than him and Gabriel alive, but he wasn't about to let himself be sure without checking. Hopefully there was some soul left to save.
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Post by Gabriel Zobek on Mar 25, 2014 2:27:02 GMT -6
Damn! Even as they rushed forward, the gout of smoke only increased faster and faster. He leaned into his steed's space, allowing it to pick up some speed, though it's heavy load didn't allow it to be quite as fast as Richter's.
The pair of ex-soldiers eventually came upon the ruined town that they had feared to find, it's inhabits quite clearly deceased as the flames continued to burn away what life was once there. Horrendous things prowled about as Gabriel noted to himself grimly. But... No, that wasn't a bandit. The former soldier narrowed his eyes slightly, taking in the figures. If these were bandits, they'd be making a lot more noise. No, this was...
Gabriel stopped along with Richter, climbing down a short moment after the other warrior announced his intent to continue forward. "Right behind you." He drew his sheathed sword, mace and chain whip hanging from his side as well. He left the rest of his weaponry on the horse for the moment. Caution over weaponry that could easily be replaced didn't matter right now.
The Winter Lion moved forward and so did the younger Zobek. He could see them now clearer than ever, the familiar sight of a dreaded and appalling Zombie. They were all over the place in Lycia and started to appear in other places as well, much to the chagrin of all. Richter charged one and Gabriel charged another, bringing his sword down on the creature's head, splitting the rotten flesh and brittle bone in twain before flipping his sword into an underhanded position, stabbing into the beast on the ground to make sure that it stayed down. Gabriel twisted the sword back upright and faced the rest of the mob.
After killing one, he looked about. More flames, more zombies. More death and destruction, in other words. But he needed to see if there was survivors. Perhaps someone had managed to get to a cellar safe from the fire? Even if the worst case was true and everyone was dead, these things would plague no one else after this day, that he swore.
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Post by Orcleous on Mar 25, 2014 8:56:30 GMT -6
Orcleous came up to the village from the southern tip. The lack of screams of agony and the cries for help told him that most of the people were dead. It seemed that who ever raided this village had done their work and done it quite thoroughly manner. Orcleous was sure maybe one or two people would have survived. Bandits usually left a couple alive to spread their name. In truth Orcleous did not understand it. Why let people talk about you if you were raiders. That extra attention only made heroes and armies come after you. Sometimes bandits made no sense to him, but then again he was not a bandit.
As Orcleous came out of his thoughts he noticed a figure standing just outside the fire. His facial expression lit up. A survivor he thought. "Hey are you alright? What happened here? Are the bandits still around", asked the young Swordsman. Orcleous had allowed his thoughts to cloud his better judgement. If he was paying attention he would have noticed that the figure was not normal, or even human for that matter.
The figure suddenly turned around and Orcleous realized immediately what it was. The rotting corpse stared at the young swordsman with eyes devoid of a soul, but burning with hunger. Orcleous heart sank as he saw what the figure really was. It was not the first time he had seen such a creature. Back in Bern he had came across them in a village. He remembered clearly how tough these creatures where and how they would not go down from the most gravest of blows. Only through decapitation and piercing of the brain would these creatures be destroyed.
"Zombie", spoke Orcleous. As the words left his mouth the monster charged forward. The Swordsman drew his blade with barely enough time to block. The beast claws slammed into his iron sword and sent Orcleous stumbling back a few feet. Relentlessly it attacked again giving Orcleous no room to counter or move. It swung its arm widely from the right. Seeing the opportunity Orcleous rolled through the small opening and got around the beast. Orcleous took a deep breath and swung his blade with all his might, but his instincts kicked in and instead of slashing the monster's brain he slashed between its ribs.
"Crap", spoke Orcleous out loud as the beast backhanded him with its right arm. Orcleous armor protected him from the shallow slash that came from being backhanded, however he was tossed backwards onto the side of a burning building. As his body hit the brick he felt the heat of the flames and wood beginning to be cracked. Orcleous was amazed at the power that this monster had. He had never taken a direct hit from one of the beast before.
The Zombie let out a horrid cry and charged forward to finish the job. As it approached Orcleous looked to his surroundings for protection. In a split second he noticed that he was under a portico. The roof of the portico seemed as if it was ready to give way, but one pillar seemed to still be holding it up. As the zombie rushed in Orcleous was pulled back into the fight. The beast swung its left claw. Seeing no other option Orcleou meet it with his blade. With both hands his sword clashed with the beast claws giving him the power to deflect the the blow.
The swordsman screamed as he rushed forward and slammed his shoulder into the monster. Using the force of his body he knocked the beast back gaining some space between it and him. Then Orcleous turned and sliced through the already weaken pillar. With a quick roll he was able to escape from under the portico as the burning rubble fell from above. The beast screamed as the rubble fell upon it. The fire burned its flesh as its body was burred under stone and wood. Not taking any chances Orcleous moved toward the pile and stabbed his iron blade into the rubble. His sword pierced where he saw the most movement. The blade entered the skull of the monster and ended its life. Tired Orcleous fell back onto the ground with his sword in hand. It was quite a fight. The swordsman rest however was short lived as he began to hear the moans and footsteps around him. It seemed that the town was filled with these things.
The swordsman let out a great sigh as he pulled himself off the ground. It seemed he had more work to do. In truth his first reaction was to flee, but then he thought of someone else running into these beast. Orcleous had faced them in battle before. He knew their strengths and their weakness, and he even had a hard time with one. If he let them live they would spread to another town and cause the same destruction. No Orcleous had to put them all down, thought that was easier said than done. "Ok maybe I can stealth kill the next one", spoke the swordsman as he steeled himself for the challenges to come.
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Post by Richter Abend on Mar 28, 2014 13:16:32 GMT -6
"This is terrible," Richter said aloud, observing the same death and destruction that Gabriel currently was. Just what had happened here? The Ilian was trying to piece it together in his mind. The ground was strewn with the corpses of villagers, and most of the buildings were aflame, so much so that the heat was almost unbearable. It was like Ostia, but on a much smaller scale. In this case, such signs smacked of bandits or raiders, but from Richter could see, there were none. And while the corpses on the ground were clearly those of the unfortunate villagers, the ones that walked wore armor like soldiers. It reminded him of the zombies he and Clair had encountered back at Salvation Point, but unlike them, the armor they wore was rusted and damaged from what looked like centuries of wear. No, these undead had not come to life in this town. They had been dead a long, long time, and they had journeyed here from...somewhere else.
"Let's split up and look for survivors!" Richter said, raising a hand and pointing in a direction over Gabriel's shoulder. "I'm sure you can handle a couple of shambling corpses, no?" He nodded to his traveling companion, confident that the other warrior would be able to hold his own against the spattering of undead, then darted off towards a house to his left. Behind the house, he saw a figure crouched over another. Survivor? No… It was eating. Disgusting. Walking up from behind it, Richter aimed a swift kick at the base of the undead’s rotting neck, knocking it forward and prone. It growled sluggishly as it tried to respond with its pathetically slow reaction time, but found itself dead within moments, its assailant grinding his heel into the abomination’s rotting, brittle skull. Satisfied with his kill, the Ilian shoved the grotesque corpse aside and looked down to view its meal. It was just a child, a girl, her face frozen in horror. At least what was left of it, that is.
This was most likely the fate of most of the village, Richter realized, looking up from the girl. He sighed as a forlorn look spread across his face. His mind harkened back to his return trip to Salvation Point. After that damned dragon Aerious had purged him of his possession, he had said that the living dead were the work of some ancient beings of some sort, beings that the dragons had kept in check before the Scouring, beings that humans had somehow managed to keep in check after the dragons had gone, beings that were only now, 1000 years after the Scouring, finally rearing their ugly heads.
His brother’s assistant, Noello, had surmised that it had been the divine weapons that had kept that spirits dormant, and that their removal from their shrines by Hargus had broken that seal. It all made sense, in a completely nonsensical way, but it left Richter to wonder if the Prophet actually had a hand in this nonsense, or if he was just as clueless as everyone else. It seemed like these “dark souls”, as Aerious had called them, fed off of chaos, and Etruria was definitely doing its part at spreading that chaos. Perhaps the relationship actually was just incidental.
It was in the middle of his contemplation that Richter noticed another body in the distance. It was moving, but unlike the others, it looked alive, and not in that sluggish, shambling, corpse-like way either. Against the bright light of the flames, the Ilian couldn’t see much more than the person’s outline, but it seemed they were carrying a weapon. The sole survivor? “Hey, you!” Richter shouted, cupping his hand around his mouth. “You over there! What happened here? Where you here when the village was attacked?”
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Post by Gabriel Zobek on Mar 28, 2014 17:31:43 GMT -6
The former soldier grimaced as he took in more of the scene. The flames only got hotter, the stench even more rotten. He looked to Richter as the former suggested splitting up and nodded. "Right. Hopefully we can find someone in this mess. Let's meet back by the outskirts after we're done." Gabriel took off at a quick pace, starting to call for any survivors shortly after leaving Richter's side.
"HELLO! IS ANYONE OUT THERE?!"
A couple of the twisted monsters approached at his call, attention gained by Gabriel before he cut them swiftly. He didn't have the time to deal with these beasts! If there was anyone alive at all, he needed to find them soon. At the same time, he began to take stock of the zombies that were around. Curiously, they actually wore armor, a change from most that simply went into battle shambling about without a care for their bare forms. At the same time, the amount of rust, as well as general wear on the armor certainly spoke of it's age. Not from any recent wars, the armor seemed to speak of being far older. Ancient, even. Still, he could delve into history books later. Right now he needed to focus on this ruined village and finding any survivors.
"HELLO! IS ANYONE OUT THERE?!"
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Post by Orcleous on Mar 28, 2014 18:09:32 GMT -6
"Hey you", the words rang out over the burning buildings and grabbed Orcleous attention. The swordsman was not sure weather to be happy or upset at this turn of events. Seeing another living soul in the mass of death and flames was a good sign however the man was screaming at the top of his lungs. The sound would clearly attract more of the undead.
"No don't", shouted Orcleous. The swordsman had unwittedly announced his presence to the creatures in the town. "The creatures react to sound. If you yell they will come!" As Orcleous finished yelling the moans of such a beast came from a nearby ally. One of them was feasting upon a kill when it noticed Orcleous screaming. It shuffled out of a ally knocking over some rubble in the process. Orcleous turned around to see it heading his way when he heard the footsteps of another from another ally way. It seemed that their yelling had grabbed the attention of two of these beast. Orcleous had never fought two of these monsters at once and knew better than to try.
"stupid me", spoke the novice as one of them rushed him. Rather than try and fight it he deflected the incomeing claw with his sword and completely turned tail. If the person was yelling to at him from that direction then the area around there must be safe. Orcleous rushed forward placing a good amount of space between him and the beast he turned around and prepared himself as two of the undead came down in almost single file. The first struck and Orcleous ducked under its swing. He was not going to make the same mistake twice. He span around took its head off with his sword. The zombie made a clanking sound as it fell to the ground. Orcleous had not noticed before, but the monster was wearing armor. He would have stopped to investigate, but the second one was almost upon him. He turned and held his blade straight ready to try and counter its attack.
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Post by Richter Abend on Mar 31, 2014 16:53:54 GMT -6
As the stranger shouted back at him, Richter's gaze swiveled towards the two newly attracted zombies that had begun approaching the stranger. It didn’t look like the other man saw them, but realizing his error in shouting, the stranger had begun to run towards Richter. He was quickly set upon by the undead. The Ilian ran to help, but not before the dark-skinned man beheaded the first of his two assailants with a spinning flourish.
Not his first zombie, thought the pink-haired warrior as he saw the younger-looking man ready himself to fight off the second. Before he could do anything further, however, Richter put an end to the ambush with a single-handed thrust through the second zombie’s brain. There was a crunch, like teeth through stale bread, as the metal punctured the undead skull. The husk let out slow gasp, then fell to the ground. Richter paused as whatever dark magic that powered the walking corpse attempted its last few futile shivers, then pulled his rune blade from the dried up corpse.
Keeping his sword drawn at his side, Richter turned to the stranger. Up close, he could see that the man, however well built, couldn’t have been more than eighteen years old. And aside from his looks, the way he held himself, sword and body, screamed inexperience. While it was clear the boy had killed an undead before, it was also clear that he probably hadn’t done much else. In addition, his armor was very familiar to Richter. It had been years since he’d last seen it, but it looked just like the old military uniform Bern soldiers used to wear before the Ilians had taken over, albeit far less well kept. Richter’s first guess would have been that the man was some sort of traditionalist, but his apparent youth and inexperience spoke otherwise. His father’s armor? An upstart rebel? Either way, it begged the question...
“What is a boy in Bernese armor doing in the middle of a flaming village all the way up here on the border of Etruria and Sacae?” Richter asked, then glanced over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t being stalked by any more undead. Coast was clear. For now. “I take it you’re not a survivor?”
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Post by Gabriel Zobek on Apr 4, 2014 0:46:29 GMT -6
Gabriel searched and he searched.
He called out a couple times more over the crackling of flames that grew hotter and burned ever brighter.
But he could not find anyone.
Gabriel gritted his teeth, hacking through another zombie that he'd attracted from nearby. He'd yet to see one of their stronger brethren around, there was usually at least one among their number wherever they attacked. Still, perhaps that was a blessing for this moment. The ex-soldier traipsed through the hollowed home that he cut through, kicking in the door of another in hopes of finding someone. Bursts of heat were always the first to greet him before the mangled bodies and destroyed abodes' interiors.
He'd started to sweat awhile ago from all these flames and heat, but now he wasn't even sure if he was anymore. Gabriel cursed as called in vain another time. He'd searched as far and wide as he could. The warrior started to head back to where they first came into the village. After arriving at the initial starting place, he headed for the direction that Richter had gone. Eventually, the pink haired Ilian came within sight. Gabriel hurried his pace, another figure starting to come in sight as well.
"Richard! Did you find anyone?" He called out, not quite as loud as he was before. He was also mindful to use the false name in this instance, though perhaps it truly didn't matter right now.
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Post by Orcleous on Apr 4, 2014 9:54:33 GMT -6
"My armor", spoke Orcleous with a bit of surprise. The question was not strange, and in truth he wondered why most people did not ask about it. However the fact that he did ask told Orcleous a lot about him. This man was observant and probably was a skilled warrior. That fact that he knew where the armor came from meant he was either in the Bern army, or had faced off against the Bern army before. Still it really did not matter if he was an old Bern soldier or an Illia soldier. In a burning village filled with the walking dead political sides meant nothing. Stil this did place Orcleous in a bit of a pickle. Orcleous had prepared a lie a long time ago for where he got his armor, but after not being asked about it for so long it had faded in the back of his mind. "Umm", spoke the boy as he tried to remember. "Oh right", he spoke aloud as he remembered his well thought out lie. "This armor belonged to my grandfather when he was young. I ended up pulling it out of the attic before I left. As for me being here, well you can say I am on a bit of a training journey. I came to sacae to sharpen my blade. I was just wondering around when I saw the flames. Fire this high meant trouble, so I came to see what it was. When I saw the undead about I knew I had to be rid of them. You can't just let these things sit around." As Orcleous finished speaking he heard Gabriel calling out to Richard. "Friend of yours", spoke Orcleous as he looked at the man.
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Post by Richter Abend on Apr 8, 2014 13:12:44 GMT -6
Richter listened intently to the dark skinned young man, who was in fact surprisingly forthcoming about himself. Grandfather’s armor, journey to better oneself, here through coincidence; He definitely came off as your typical “young man with a goal but no plan”, but Richter couldn’t exactly judge. He knew how that was. It had been him 9 years ago, though a bit more angry and vengeance fueled than this kid seemed to be. Probably all the better off for it, too.
“Well in the future I’d advise against wandering into flaming villages,” said Richter with an approving nod. “Never know what you might find. Though, as long as you’re telling the truth, I can’t say your heart wasn’t in the right place.” The Ilian then looked to his right, as he could hear Gabriel shouting for him.
“Richard, did you find anyone?”
“Yes, I found someone!” Richter shouted back. “Not a survivor though!” The Ilian shook his head, then muttered under his breath. “I don’t think anyone alive is left.” He started off towards Gabriel, but paused to look at the younger swordsman. “You want to tag along, or you going to sightsee some more?” He gestured to a nearby house, which was now little more than a charred husk. “Can’t say there’s much to look at.”
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Post by Gabriel Zobek on Apr 8, 2014 21:46:52 GMT -6
“Yes, I found someone!”
Gabriel began to feel his hopes pick up.
“Not a survivor though!”
And then he grimaced even further. Not a soul had escaped the slaughter. Or if they did, they were far from here now. After seeing this destruction though, he didn't have much hope for the latter. Regardless, Gabriel continued forward before stopping as he met Richter in the middle.
"I didn't find a soul. Just corpses everywhere." He shook his head. "We arrived far too late, as much as it pains me to say. We need to continue on." He began to remove the non-armored gauntlet that he wore and wiped at the sweat on his brow. "Or at least get out of this inferno. We can talk more about what to do next afterwords."
He didn't exactly have much words to spare toward the... Bernese(?) lad at the moment, but it was rather understandable.
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Post by Orcleous on Apr 11, 2014 16:41:16 GMT -6
Orcleous began to size the two warriors up. They both had red armor, but they did not seem like they were from Bern. Still they were not bad people, well at least at the moment. Orcleous knew he could never be too sure about a person from your first meeting.
"I guess I will come along. Not like I have anything else to do", spoke Orcleous as he prepared to follow Richard and Gabriel.
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