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| The Slave Market; (P) Cauis | |
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| Topic Started: Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:41 am (225 Views) | |
| Erastus | Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:41 am Post #1 |
 
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Deep in the mangrove swamps of Cascadia, in an ancient tree, sat the camoflauged body of a boy. His body was covered in the branches of the tree he sat in, and his face was covered with mud. He had a bow in one hand, and an arrow in the other. The arrow was made of a strong wood, the fletching from a marsh crane, and the head was made of serrated bone. He kept his eyes open wide for any trace of movement. The boy saw a small flash of brown, and watched as a large swamp buck came loping out of the reeds. He looked around slowly, and dipped his head to drink. The bowman in the tree muttered a few words from a prayer and fired at the base of the creature's neck. The arrow hit its target and the deer died instantly. The boy leaped from the tree, he needed to move quickly, the dogs would come soon, and he had no knife. He took out the arrow and used its sharp end to butcher the deer. He kept most of the meat on the bones, and moved the hide into a bag. He shoved the meat into another bag, and tied both to his belt. He hopped up to the nearest branch, and as he hopped up farther he threw down the leaves that clung to his clothes. He wiped the mud from his face and hopped up to the small rope bridge that lead from tree to tree. He ran along them, knowing he was late for dinner, and he would most likely be late for The Festival of Lights. He ran along the thin rope line, running his hands along the the rails of thin twine. He reached a clearing, and felt rain begin to patter against his face. He swore and ran faster. He felt thunder shake in his chest, and lightening lit the sky. He exited the clearing and entered an even thicker area of the forest. The rain fell only in small areas where leaf coverage was not very thick, and the water was deeper, and the air more humid. He ran and came to a platform. He looked left and right and jumped onto a nearby zipline. He careened toward a larger palatform. He ran along this long platform toward its narrowing end. Below him, about twenty feet, lay an open topped building. Inside was a crown of people, all of whom carries torches. He took a deep breath. He edged toward the edge of the platform and exhaled. He leaned forward and fell through the air. He twisted as he fell, and came town head first. He waited for a few moments and reached out for a large vine, and gripped it. It slowed his fall, and he let go of the green tendril when he was ten feet above the earthen floor of the round building. He walked over to a large table near the rear of the building. A girl, about the boy's age spoke in a kind, velvety voice, "You are late Erastus." she smiled as she took the bags Erastus handed to her. She moved the meat into a pot of boiling water and herbs, removing the bones and placing them in a smaller bag, handing the bag to Erastus. "I know you can use these for something." Erastus smiled and walked behind the counter. "So what did I miss?" he asked the girl. "Well, Corum and Lonen sang "Oh Son of Mine" in falsetto. Then Old Gor hypnotized his dog and made him quack like a duck." Erastus laughed. "So I did not meet the main event?" the girl smiled, "No, that is at midnight my friend." Erastus gave a hug to Ellis and walked toward the west wall. He found two figures, slumped over a table, clay mugs of beer in hand. "Lonen, Corum, get up!" he called out in a mock dissaproving tone. They raised their heads slowly and smiled. "You are late sir!" they called out in unison. He walked over to the table and took their beers from their hands. He set them on a table next to them, and grabbed each of their forarms. He hauled them to their feet, and let them lean on him. He walked over to the counter, which was now serving soup of deer and lentils. He sat them down on a bench behind it, and smiled. "Ellis, your brothers are really odd." he said smirking. Soon, people began to settle down, and they found seats along the walls. In the center of the building was a small stone circle, lined with dull gray stones. The stones were all smooth, and almost like glass. In the center of the circle stood a tall blue flower, petals closed. People sat in silence as the sky grew dark. The rain stopped, as did the thunder and lightening, and the clouds parted momentarily. Then began the song, a slow, haunting chant heard over the ages. Sailors used it to show their laments, hunters their prayers, nobles their sorrows. It was a song that all creatures owned, and this one was them. As they sand, the moon's light fell across the flower, causing it to slowly open. As it did, it lit the stones, which glowed an eerie white. People stomped their feet in time with the music, and the song grew louder. Soon the flower began to spin, slowly, and all around it, spores as gold as the sun, began to float around it. The crowd's song slowed, and finished on a low, minor chord. Erastus shivered as he stared at the flower and heard the last note of the song. He sighed as he saw the spores fly farther from the plant, and bloom in small bursts of purple. The whole room was lit temporarily in purple lights. Erastus smiled and one spore bloomed next to him, lighting up Ellis' face. She was beautiful, and her voice shook Erastus to the core. He shuddered and wrapped his arms around him. He gave a small wave to Ellis and walked out of the building. He breathed the fresh night air, and sighed. He walked toward his small hut about fifty yards away. He walked to his small chest, and put on his most comfortable clothes, checkered green and gold pants, and a loose grayish green shirt. He plopped on his favorite hat, black and gray pinstripe with a small blue feather in it. He knocked on a small door and pushed it open. "Silas. Silas wake up. Silas, if you do not wake up I will slap you. Silas...Silas deares. Oh Silas! SILAS!" Erastus yelled his brother's name. His brother raise his hand and made a very obscene gesture. "Get up. You already missed The Opening. Lonen said he wanted to talk to you." Silas groaned and sat up. He shrugged on a Cute and smoothed back his messy blonde hair. The two of them walked out, and made their way to the long dock headed for The Fens. They made their way up to the top of the hill, and sat. Ellis, Corum and Lonen were waiting there, a small fire lit to give a little light. They all sat there for several hours, and watched the sun rise to its peak. Erastus was just about to head back home, when Lonen cocked his head to the right. Erastus did the same, and heard a strange noise. Splashes, of oars. His people's boats did not use oars, the preferred the long poles that propelled them silently. No, these were oars. Erastus saw them coming through the deepest part of the fens, three boats, lights attached to the bows. They all stood, and Corum stepped on the fire, putting it out. Erastus swore and hissed, "Get down, low" he lay flat on the ground. Soon, the other followed suite and the boats passed. On the ships stood many men, weilding nets and long poles. Erastus swore quietly and turned to Lonen, "Get everyone to The Southern Swamp, the water is too shallow for boats to get there. Wait for me by The Big Tree for half an hour. If I am not there, go to The Southern Tribe." Lonen began to protests, but saw Erastus' face. It was strong, and held power. Lonen nodded and tapped everyone on the shoulder. He told them the plan, and they jumped into the water. Erastus hopped into the water, and slithered in the direction of the boats. He stopped breathing when he saw several fires ignite on the ship, and sail through the air. He screamed out in anger, and the buildings and the trees and the earth were set aflame. He screamed loudly and swam for one of the boats. He had shifted into his draconic form, and he was propelled through the water with great speed. He leaped out of the water, onto the boats and began to rip the crew to shreds with his claws. After several minutes, the crew of the vessle had all died. He then lept back into the water. No one was left alive that saw him change from human to beast. As he swam for The Southern Swamp, Erastus heard a horrible noise. He heard the noise of Nets being thrown into the air. Erastus swore and dove down into the water but felt the weight of the net pull him down. He was then dragged up through the water and onto the deck of a boat. He sturggled, and was promptly beaten into unconsciousness. When he awoke, he was chained to a pole under a heavy blue tent. He heard the patter of rain and felt thunder shake his chest, mixing with the sobs that came from him. Lightening lit the anger in his eyes, and all the hatred. He wailed the song he had sung the night before, the haunting lament of his people. He turned his head to the East, and saw a thick curl of smoke coming from the swamps, his home. He wept for hours, and soon ceased. He stared blankly at the dark gray sky. He felt his chains being untied. He was dragged into a standing position. Erastus whipped around and smashed his skull against the guard's. The guard fell, and Erastus ran, directly into the club of another guard. He was beaten into unconsciousness again. He awoke in the rain, chained with his hands above his head, with a very short, very finely dressed man standing next to him. Erastus swore loudly in his language and spat at the man. He knew what would happen next. His life would be sold to the highest bidder. |
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| Caius | Wed Jan 27, 2010 5:49 pm Post #2 |
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Cascadia was such a wonderful city; a place of extravagance, fine arts, crafts and all things the sophisticated man would need. Of course, being the man he was, when in the area Caius would have never been able to avoid a trip like that in a life time; it was just so suited to him! Just the idea of being there gave the Tiefling butterflies in his stomach and made him feel eager to explore the entirety of it and savour every last moment that he could. His first priority had been to find a women to spend the night with, but he had soon given up on that after finding a lavish tavern which he had spent his first night in; its drinks were all the highest price he could imagine, and the taste and texture of them was just exquisite. The Tiefling was in heaven… That day was his second day of exploring the city; he had mainly been window shopping and made notes of places where he would come back after getting a feel for the place. He would stay in this place for as long as he could, even years if need be. But there were the few other things that nagged slightly on his mind as he continued to simply browse in shop windows, whilst also ogling women every chance he got. A particular shop that caught his attention was a very fancy looking tailors; it had a beautiful gold and silver sign, with many wondrous suits and dresses which they displayed so vastly as if to catch the eye of every sophisticated man or woman who may have passed by. However, it was after paying a visit to that tailors and buying a fabulously lavish viridian coloured silken scarf that his day took and odd turn. After leaving the shop and putting on his scarf, which didn’t go very well with his current colour scheme at that moment in time, which consisted of a red suit with a black shirt, and made him look very christmasy; after his exit, he made his way round a corner and was stopped by a man in a long black trench-coat, with a hat tipped forward so that it was darkening his face and concealing it. “Follow down there and take a first left, you’ll see a red bricked building. It’s the perfect buy for a man like you.” The man’s voice was hoarse and dry, as if he had an infection of the throat. However, immediately after speaking to Caius, he turned and walked off; leaving the Tiefling left standing there, slightly confused. After blinking a couple of times Caius turned down the alley and with a thought of: Why the hell not?! Followed the instructions given by the man. Soon enough, he saw the building, in front of it however, was a platform of sorts, with a well dressed man doing what seemed to be an auction. Holding his arm above himself to stop the rain falling from the heavens impeding his vision too much, he made his way forward and into the area. The man’s face fell instantly as he realised what it was… A Slave Auction. He had heard of them before, but had never been to or wanted to have been to one himself. Caius hated the thought of enslavement; the selfishness of the one buying them made him feel sick to his stomach. However, just as he was about to turn and leave he noticed the next slave coming into auction. Merely a child, Caius stopped for a second before quickly moving forward, almost at a run. A large man had put in the only bid so far, as it seemed the others wanted the older, more muscular and experienced ones to work for them. As the man asked for bids, the Tiefling raised his hand quickly as he arrived right next to the podium. “Here.” He removed from his pocket a sum of gold coins tied in a well kept leather bag. It was easily twice the amount the other man had bid, and followed by the peoples’ expressions of shock and even a few gasps, the Salesman simply beamed at Caius. “SOLD!” Shooting a look of complete disdain to the man who had been trying to buy him beforehand, the Tiefling followed to where he would be able to pick up the slave, slicking his wet hair away from his face. This is sick.. |
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| Erastus | Wed Jan 27, 2010 7:05 pm Post #3 |
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Erastus was brought inside the building, his blond hair sopping wet. He was guided to a room with his belongings waiting for him on a table. His chains were unlocked by a very large guard, and Erastus sat on the floor. He cursed quietly in his serpentine language, cracking his knuckles in anger. He ran his hands through his hair, and gritted his teeth. He had been bought like a dog, by what looked like a noble's brat of a son. He cursed and kicked the small table next to him across the room with a crash. At that moment the door opened, and the same guard motioned for him to come with him. He was brought to a lavish office where he was told he was to wait for his new owner. Owner. That word rang through Era's head, and caused bile to rise in his throat. As soon as this man took him to his house, he would escape, and he would never look back. |
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| Caius | Wed Jan 27, 2010 7:34 pm Post #4 |
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Soon enough after being led through the building by a guard, Caius was taken to the room where he was to meet his new slave. The idea of owning a person, a life, a creature who had been torn away from his life, his family, his loved ones, just made the Tiefling feel slightly angry as well as sick to his stomach. If only this kid realises how lucky he is… Caius thought to himself as he prepared himself outside of the door he was about to enter. I suppose they’ll be expecting a show from me. If I just free him right then and there, it’s pretty obvious they’ll just take my money and try and sell him once again. He let out a sigh, covering his eyes with his hands. Well, here goes. Straightening himself up, the Tiefling put on a fairly arrogant posture and began to act as if this was more like a dog than a child sitting before him; from the looks of it there was little more than about five or so years between them, but from looking at the boy, it was obvious that he had been having it rough for the last few days or so. “So, here we finally are. You, my merchandise, and me your new owner. I paid a good sum of money for you little runt, so you better be worth it.” Caius was sneering at the boy, as if to say “The difference between us is incomparable. So you might as well just live with it.” He let out a sigh, which was more to stop himself from breaking character rather than the sigh of disgust it was meant to be disguised as. He turned on his heel and exited the room, beginning to stride confidently down the corridor. “You, guard.” He said arrogantly, not even turning back to see them. “Bring the boy to the entrance, I should have some way to escort him away from here by then.” He continued walking until he reached the door, where he calmly sat on a bench with his head in his hands awaiting his new Slave to be brought to him. The idea of having one still didn’t seem right with the Tiefling, but the thought did come to him from how he was taken from his family. However, the man’s attention was brought back to the front as the guard returned to him, the boy in tow. Waiting for the man to leave, Caius finally dropped his arrogant pose and began to laugh, turning his vision to the boy. Even he didn’t know why he was laughing, maybe because he somehow pulled off that part so perfectly, even though his acting skills had never really been overly good before. “By the gods you’re a lucky child.” Caius said chuckling as he started to walk off down the street away from the building. “Now, you have a choice. You can come with me and I’ll go get you some food and shelter, or…” He delved into another pocket within his jacket, producing the same kind of bag he had used o buy the boy with. Tossing it behind him, it landed about three feet or so before him, making a soft clink as it hit the floor. He began to whistle; it was a jolly tune, one that he usually used when he was trying to brighten the mood of the day. “Welcome to the real world, kid… I’m Caius by the way.” |
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| Erastus | Wed Jan 27, 2010 7:53 pm Post #5 |
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Erastus looked down at the purse of money, then back at the man. He narrowed his eyes, picked up the bag, and walked over to him, shoving the bag into his hands. He spoke quietly, in a barley audible hiss, "You will take me to a shelter?" he asked. He did not know common very well, and he could only speak bit and pieces, even then it hid behind a think accent. "You will take me to food?" he asked again, even more quietly. He knew he needed food and rest before he began looking for his friends. A thought struck him. "We go to place quiet. We speak there, I have a story to tell, and I need help." |
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| Caius | Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:11 pm Post #6 |
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As the boy returned the Caius, proceeding to shove the money he had just tossed to him back into his hands, the Tiefling smirked, an expression of fascination enveloping him as he looked down at the boy. He had a very strange accent, which was also very strong; so it was obvious that he wasn’t the best speaker of common, which meant that his homeland must have been either very far away, or very secluded if Common wasn’t their main language spoken. Though still only being a kid, he was a good two inches taller than the Tiefling but his build was wiry thin, reminding him of scarecrow. Is that because of his treatment, or just simply his build? It was a good question, one which interested Caius, but he wouldn’t pursue it as of yet. He casually slipped the money back into the pocket it had come from beforehand and flicked a few damp bangs of crimson away from his face. “I believe I just stated that I would… Would there be any good reason for me to go back on my word?” He began to laugh once again, though he did feel a very odd emotion for this boy. It was a mixture of guilt and feeling sorry for him at the same time; he didn’t know why he felt guilty, maybe because of the way he had just simply bought him from his captors like he was a piece of meat, but he did it for the good of the kid, so he didn’t know. However, it was then that something seemed to click within the boy’s head and he come to another decision, wanting to be taken to a place quiet so he could tell Caius his story. His curiosity getting in the way of thoughts of the boy’s welfare, he simply nodded and began to walk along the street, once again letting out the same tune he had been whistling before. He’ll need food and shelter anyways, so I suppose I’ll give it to him after he’s told me what he wishes to tell me. He stopped whistling for a second and slowly raised his hand, using it as a imaginary pointer, whilst scanning the city in his head. Although on being there for a short amount of time, he did know this portion of the city fairly well. After a split second the man seemed to agree with himself, noted by a sharp nod, before he quickly began to walk again. “Come; this way.” He made a motion with his hand for the boy to follow him. “There’s a statue up along he with a small clearing behind it.” It had a couple of benches and every time Caius had passed it, it had been empty. Fairly certain it still would be he smiled once again, this time lifting his head up and letting the rain hit his face; it had been a very extraordinary day already, and it only seemed to be getting more interesting. |
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| Erastus | Thu Jan 28, 2010 6:10 pm Post #7 |
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Erastus sighed, and sat down on the stone bench. He took three, quiet deep breaths, and began telling his story. He recounted, as best he could in broken Common, about his capture, and the events leading up to it; leaving out, of course, the fact that he was a dragon. At the end of his story, he looked up from the stones beneath him feet, and into the man's eyes. "I need you help me find my friends." he said simply and quietly. He realized how much he must look like a child, how helpless he must look to this man. He could use that to his advantage. |
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| Caius | Thu Jan 28, 2010 8:31 pm Post #8 |
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Caius sat calmly with his leg crossed over the other and listened as the boy recounted the events which had led him to where he was at that current moment in time; it was the same story you would expect to hear from any slave who had been ripped from where they had belonged. Not knowing the fate of their friends, family, it must have been an awful feeling to possess, the complete and utter feeling of loss. It was an emotion that had never really been apparent in the Tiefling; it wasn’t as if he had no emotions, it was quite the opposite, but the loss and complete lack of knowledge of a given subject which meant a lot to him, he had been fortunate enough to have not experienced it. Caius simply smiled ash the boy finished up, stating how he wanted his help to find his lost friends. “I will.” He soon said, breaking the unnatural silence that had built up between the two over the course of a few seconds. As if he was going to deny the boy anyway, he hadn’t bought without the intention to help him, so he had a commitment to himself to help the boy until he either found his kin, or didn’t want his help any more. “Firstly, we’ll go to the nearest inn and get food and a place to sleep for the night.” He once again removed the gold he had tossed to the boy which had been returned and handed it to him. Without giving the child a chance to react, he got up, and beckoning for the boy to follow made his way up the street again, letting the tune he had been whistling before to lighten up the mood once again. “For reference.” He stated, stopping his whistling abruptly only moments after starting it; it seemed as if he had meant to tell the boy before but had let it slip his mind. “That money is for you to rent a room of your own. You can eat with me… But we sure as hell aren’t sharing a room.” He said it as nice as he possibly could; but the boy could probably understand. They both needed their privacy. But Caius needed something else. Caius needed his women. After about twenty minutes or so of trudging along the cobbled streets, the two of them finally reached a tavern, the fanciest looking inn out of them all. Though they had passed about three or so already, Caius had had his sights set on this place since he had spied it before he had found the Slave Auction. The rooms’ prices were ungodly, but Caius easily possessed enough to get by and he had given the boy enough to rent one of their lavish rooms for a single night, so they were both pretty much set. Opening the door, Caius stepped inside, whilst holding it open for the boy to follow. Beautiful oaken tables and the smell of fresh cut pine were what immediately hit the Tiefling. This was followed by the slow introduction of wonderfully written music which was playing softly throughout the large entrance hall, calming all who may hear it. “Kid… Welcome to heaven.” |
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| Erastus | Sun Jan 31, 2010 2:22 am Post #9 |
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As Erastus walked into the bar, he was stricken. He had been to inns before, of course, but he had never been to one this nice. It smelled a good deal better than the others, like fresh cut pine instead of sweat and stale beer. He walked up to the counter, and asked for a room for a night. He counted out the appropriate number of coins, and with the extra he shoved deep into the toe of his shoe. He took the key to his room, and walked upstairs to it. He unlocked the door and was taken by surprise by the equal luxury of the room compared to the entire building. There was a huge four post bed, a large desk, a table covered with candles and fruit, a bookcase; and in Era's eyes-wealth. He somehow resisted the urge to take these items for his own, and laid down on the bed for a moment. he fell asleep immediately, and woke up later that evening, just in time for dinner. |
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| Caius | Wed Apr 21, 2010 5:10 pm Post #10 |
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Caius was just about the get up from his paradise to awake his new companion, when the boy finally made his way down the stairs from his room into the wondrous and luxurious bar area of the tavern. Laying back ever so slightly more in his seat as the boy approached, Caius called over the barmaid who he assumed would take the orders of the two. This barmaid was Caius’s favourite thing inside of the entire building; although not being overly pretty like the one he had encountered in Balefire when he had met the strange Vampire, but she was still young and fairly attractive. But she was female, and that was all that mattered... This was Caius. After ordering himself a meal which most likely cost the same amount as ten average meals and another glass of wine which didn’t cost much less, the Tiefling beckoned for the boy to join him at his table. He hadn’t known the boy for long at all but he had already agreed to help him find his friends, which he had a bad feeling about, considering he had ‘picked the boy up’ from a Slave Trader; that would usually harbour bad news in itself, but if the boy still held hope, he knew it could be done. He wasn’t sure if there would be fighting involved or not, but he hoped that he could at least return the boy to where he had come from. After all, if the boy came with him... How would he pick up women? But the crimson haired man shook that feeling off and looked back at Erastus, his deep eyes staring straight at the boy’s. He had many questions. “So, tell me,” he said after a couple of moments as a smile slowly transitioned across his face. “Want to explain tome how you got yourself captured by slave-traders? Surely a kid like you would cope about as well as I would if put to work.” It was true... Caius was absolutely terrible at things such as manual labour and would usually give up after a matter of moments. “Also, you can tell me where you’re from. It’s apparent common isn’t your first tongue, but I assume you can understand it well enough.” He leant forward slightly, his fingers drumming out a steady beat of the hard wood of the table. “Sit down.” He motioned again with his hand. “Tell me everything.” |
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| Erastus | Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:09 am Post #11 |
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Erastus sat down on the chair. he took a deep breath, and told Caius everything. He recounted the festival, the boats, the men, his capture, everything. He did leave out the part about his being a dragon. The story took the better part of ten minutes, and when he was done, he took another deep breath, and rubbed his hands on his knees. "I am a good worker. I hunt hard, and look weak, but I am strong." he said this with authority. He looked around the bar, it was beautiful., and many of the women too. He sighed, and remembered his friends, and his crush. He felt his stomach lurch, and he felt a sob coming. He muffled it with a cough, and rubbed his eyes. "Sir...we need to find them. They not were at my slave market. Where are others?" he asked quietly. He was worried about being found out. People tended not to like his kind. "If you help me, I will teach you Draconic." he said barely audibly. |
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11:48 PM Feb 9
