Chapter 15. Stone Barricade
Jacob followed the others down the trail. He looked over his shoulder at the Fat Lady’s cabin a couple of times, but gave up, realizing she wasn’t going to open the door. He released the Minyas, ignoring their shouts of joy and exuberant flips in the air. He’d wanted to ask the Fat Lady about the Key and the Lorkon. Why’d she have to push them out of her house so fast?
After walking deep in thought for a few minutes, Jacob noticed that Aloren and Akeno were laughing and talking to each other, bouncing with each step they took. He rolled his eyes, trying to ignore them as he puzzled through what the Fat Lady had said. The potion. How on earth could she create it, not knowing what it would fix, or what reactions it would cause, and then expect him to take it? And why would he need it to save his life?
Akeno bumped into Jacob, and Jacob frowned at him. “I’ll bet she gave you guys some sort of hyper potion,” he said. “Will you notice anything bad going on around you? Of course not. You’ll be too busy laughing and bouncing all over the place.”
Aloren pulled food out of Akeno’s bag, handing out carrots and apples. “So we’re in a good mood! It’s not about her.” Stuffing a chunk of bread into her mouth, she ran to catch up with Akeno, who had just sprinted off for no apparent reason.
Jacob didn’t quicken his pace to keep up with them. He needed peace and quiet, and with them far ahead, he just might get it. He fingered the corked vial in his pocket, wondering when he would have to drink it.
September appeared in front of him. “Is it okay if we play in your hair again?”
“Yeah, sure, fine.” Jacob’s thoughts were too far away to care. What was it the Fat Lady had said? Something about not seeing things he shouldn’t see. But what sort of things? And wouldn’t it be better if he knew what was going on? For a minute, Jacob contemplated taking the potion right then. He didn’t want to wait until he was almost dead. Maybe it would act as a precaution for the danger they’d experience.
“Honestly, Jacob, have some fun for once!” Aloren yelled from about thirty yards away. “You’re so boring!”
“What are you talking about?”
She ran up to him. “Come on!” she said, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him toward Akeno.
“I don’t want to . . .” Jacob grumbled, dragging his feet.
“We’re going to have a race.”
Jacob raised an eyebrow in disbelief and looked at his friends. “Are you serious?”
Aloren stared at him. “Do you have some meeting to go to, some unfinished business to take care of while we’re walking?”
“I’m supposed to be reading the book.”
“Well, you weren’t. And you did plenty of that yesterday—this will be the perfect break for you. Besides, what are Akeno and I supposed to do while you’re reading?”
“I don’t know. Contemplate the wonders of the universe or something else quiet.”
Aloren frowned. “Come on, Jacob. It won’t hurt you.”
Jacob groaned, shutting his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at her. They’d probably keep bugging him if he didn’t join them. “All right, fine.” He pulled off his knapsack and put the vial in a small front pocket, then slung the bag over his shoulders.
“Yeah!” Aloren said, her grin showing the dimple on her cheek. “Everyone ready? Okay, go!”
As Jacob ran, he felt himself relax. Too much stress made him grouchy, and he didn’t want to offend Akeno and Aloren. He forced himself to let go of his irritations. A moment later he even began to enjoy the competition.
Akeno got to the finish first, Jacob came in second, and Aloren was third.
Jacob couldn’t help gloating. “I beat you.”
Aloren shrugged. “What if I let you?”
Jacob shook his head. “You didn’t.”
“But you couldn’t beat Akeno, so it doesn’t even matter.”
“Whatever. He’s one of the fastest people I’ve seen!”
“Yes, he’s a quick, and I’m glad he won. But only ’cause he kept you from winning.”
“I don’t buy that!”
Aloren laughed, then closed her eyes, raising her face to the sun. “Oh, it smells so good here, like the bread Gallus’s wife makes!”
Jacob opened his mouth to reply, but Akeno grabbed his arm, interrupting him. “Look at that,” he said, pointing.
Jacob had to blink a couple of times. “What’s he doing?”
A man stood not far away, staring at the lake, a vacant smile on his face. He was clean-cut and neatly dressed.
Jacob slowed down, unsure what to do. The trail was about to curve to the right around a very large tree, and Jacob stopped behind it to watch the man.
He didn’t move. He didn’t even blink—at least from what Jacob saw.
“I . . . think I know what this is,” Jacob said. “If I’m right, it’s the second element Dmitri mentioned in the journal—wind. Aloren, you said it smells good, right?”
“Yeah.”
Jacob paused. ”I . . . can’t smell anything out of the ordinary. Akeno, you?”
“It smells strongly of trees and wildflowers.” He breathed deeply. “Aaaah . . .”
“But it’s not doing anything to you.”
Akeno frowned. ”No . . . should it?”
“In the journal, when Dmitri and his people passed through here, they all went weird. Kind of groggy and unable to do anything, though they thought they were doing something.”
“And it’s not affecting us,” Aloren said. “Do you think that’s because of the potions?”
“Probably.”
“But what about you?”
Jacob slowly shook his head. “Not sure. Though it doesn’t really surprise me.” Nothing seemed to affect him the way it did the others. Well, Akeno, at least. Why? And while it made him feel almost invincible, it also freaked him out—which he did his best to keep hidden from the other two. Just like in the cave when he’d been able to see the Molg. These things couldn’t be normal.
Aloren took a few steps around the tree, then screamed. A woman stood on the other side, a few feet away. One arm was raised, as if beckoning, and she was staring straight at Aloren. She had the same distant smile on her face as the man.
Jacob grabbed Aloren’s arm and pulled her behind him, next to Akeno. He walked to the woman and stopped a couple of feet away, then waved at her face. Nothing happened.
“I don’t like this,” Aloren said, her voice wavering. “My mom . . . was like this sometimes.”
“Let’s keep going,” Jacob said.
They walked past the tree, taking care not to touch the woman. Jacob glanced back at the man one last time, but Aloren’s gasp made him jerk around.
“There are hundreds of them!” she said.
She was right. There were people everywhere. Some lay on the grass, staring up into the sky. Some sat cross-legged, elbows on knees, resting their chins in their hands. Many were standing, as the lady and man had been. All wore the same vacant smiles. Their attire varied from very nice to grubby and dirty.
“What are they doing?” Akeno asked.
Jacob frowned. “They’re living their lives in their minds. An invisible prison, as Dmitri called it. I’d bet a lot of people have disappeared to this place.”
Aloren grabbed Jacob’s arm—he could tell she was close to losing control. “Do you think my brother might be here?”
“I don’t know—we can check. We’ll probably need to leave the trail to see them all, though.”
“And walk through them? I can’t do that!”
“I don’t want to do it either. But it’ll be impossible to search for your brother if we don’t.” Jacob glanced at Aloren, then back at the people. “What does he look like?”
“I . . . I’m not sure. I’d guess like me, except with blue eyes.” Aloren stared at the people. “Can we please stick together? Just in case?”
“It’d be faster, and we’d get a lot more done, if we spli
t up.”
Aloren looked at Jacob, her eyes pleading. “Jacob, please. I can’t do that. I can go with you or Akeno, but I can’t do it alone.”
Jacob paused and ran his fingers through his hair. “All right, we’ll do that. I’ll go right, you and Akeno go left.” He motioned to the Minyas. “Take Early with you. I’ll take September.”
“How do we know this isn’t just a trap?” Akeno said. “Maybe the Lorkon put these people here as a way to . . . well, maybe attack us?”
“It’s not a trap for us, specifically, but for anyone who happens to walk into it. In the journal, Dmitri finds out the Lorkon put a potion here to stop people from going anywhere. I thought it would’ve lost potency over the years.” He frowned, looking at an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old on the right, close to the trail. “I just gotta see something first.” He hesitated, then reached out and prodded the guy in the shoulder.
The teen turned his face toward Jacob, still smiling vacantly. “Hmmm?”
Aloren gasped, her hand fluttering to her mouth. “Oh . . . let’s keep going, please.”
Jacob split off from Akeno and Aloren, walking as fast as he could through the people. He glanced at each face, trying to see someone who resembled Aloren even in the slightest. After five or ten minutes, he met up with his friends on the other side of the large group of people. September and Early happily rejoined each other.
“No luck?” Jacob asked.
Aloren shook her head. “This place is really creepy. And it doesn’t feel right for him to be here.”
“Let’s keep going, then. Maybe we’ll have better luck in Maivoryl City.”
They continued forward, finally passing the last person. The Minyas flew up ahead of them, doing somersaults.
Aloren released a long breath. “That was really weird.”
“No kidding,” Jacob said.
The trail soon turned left, heading toward the large mountains at the south of the valley. On the hills to the right, the forest thinned, and the path led the group close to the base of a very large hill that obstructed their view of both the castle and Maivoryl City.
“How much farther?” Akeno said. “I’d like to be able to keep the castle in view.”
“I’d say at least an hour more, if not longer,” Aloren said. “I’ve never been this far, though, so I’m not exactly sure.”
They walked in silence. Jacob had to tell himself to relax and enjoy the scenery. The valley really was beautiful. The Dunsany Mountains behind them rose high above Ridgewood. Sonda Lake was to their left, with Aloren’s city on the other side. The mountains to the south were majestic and grand.
Jacob pulled the journal out of his bag and found his place. “I’m going to read out loud so you guys know what’s going on now.”
Today we passed through the fourth and final element. It was boiling, shifting, poisoned earth, incredibly deep. When touched, it burned the skin like acid, and nothing—absolutely nothing—would relieve the pain it caused. But it seems the Lorkon have underestimated the Makalos—as even I did—and having Kenji with us proved beneficial. He informed me that the sap of the Kaede tree both heals and purifies. I’d never heard this. Of course, Ramantus never associated with Makalos and wouldn’t even allow them in his kingdom, so I didn’t have the opportunity to learn any of their ways.
Kenji instructed us to gather the sap, then boil it until it was thick. We had the entire company gathering all afternoon. We covered our clothes and skin with the sap, then slowly started our way through the mud. At first it was quite difficult—the mud was deep, and we were hesitant to get burned—but after a while, the mud shifted away from us, and we were able to get through. The sap on our bodies purified the dirt, hopefully enough that it won’t cause problems for anyone who passes this way after us.
Jacob looked up. “Does this sound familiar to you, Akeno?”
“What do you mean? I haven’t been reading the book.”
“The mud. Dmitri doesn’t say how much of it there was, but I’d be willing to bet it was fairly deep and covered quite a bit of ground. That must have been the mud shells we crossed.”
“I’ll bet it was.”
“Keep reading,” Aloren said.
After the ordeal of the fourth element, we were relieved to make our way down the mountain, and we’ve just caught up with Aldo. He was heading back from the Land of the Shiengols, where Arien is being kept. We have now set up a temporary residence in a cabin near the forest. We have many plans to make, and as we are at least a day’s journey from our destination, we must start soon.
Aldo has been using the Key as a way to scout out the area. He reports that the land has completely changed—the Shiengols are, in fact, being held captive. Imagine that! Who would have thought it possible?
He also reports that the Lorkon are living in the town center, away from the prisoners. Hopefully this will aid us in our rescue of Arien.
Jacob paused for a minute to skip over a scribbled-out part, glad to see that the words continued flowing.
Aldo used the Key this morning to check on Arien before we attempted to rescue her, and to our surprise, she is no longer being held with the other captives. She’s in the town center where the Lorkon are staying, and it appears she has given birth. Oh, I wish I could have been there to comfort and assist her.
This new information changes our plan drastically, and much thought has been put into a new one. I will give word for Lahs and Brojan to attack the Lorkon army at the same time that Kelson will lead an attack on the stronghold where the Shiengols are being held. We could use their assistance in this war. Accompanying Kelson will be everyone but me, Kenji, Aldo, and September.
The attack will hopefully provide enough of a diversion so my team can use the Key of Kilenya to enter the town center. We will find Arien and the babe and take them to safety.
Dmitri’s handwriting changed—the words were smaller, perhaps more thoughtfully written.
This entry is one of both joy and pain.
The attack on the stronghold did provide a needed diversion, but Kelson’s men failed to break through. He and his entire group were killed. My best friend is dead. I can scarcely believe it.
I am shocked to see how close the war is raging. Lahs and Brojan have been communicating with me through various Minyas. Thousands upon thousands of people are being slaughtered by three Lorkon. Three! I had imagined an entire regiment. But they are not to be underestimated. They are strong. Nothing the army has done harms them, and every person they touch is infected with disease and then painfully dies.
The joy of which I spoke was that Arien and the baby have been recovered. Kelson’s attack on the stronghold was successful to that end, and I will forever remember what he did for me and my little family. Nothing can remove the joy I feel as I hold my little one with my wife beside me.
Jacob put the book away. He was glad Arien and the baby had been safely recovered, but how sad that Kelson and the rest had been killed! He glanced up at the foothill beside them. Doing a double take, he pointed up. “Check that out.”
On top of the hill, a wall rose high above them. It was gray and looked like granite. The surface wasn’t smooth, but had vertical ripples flowing through it, giving the appearance of gray curtains.
“That’s really odd,” Akeno said.
“Yes, it is. I wonder if it’s the first element.” Jacob continued to peer up while walking and noticed that even though the hill was getting smaller, the wall-like thing on top stayed the same height. “This is different, though. Dmitri saw a waterfall.”
“I’ll bet the Lorkon put it there,” Akeno said.
Aloren shielded her eyes. “I’ve never heard anyone mention it. But it probably was the Lorkon who did it.”
As they followed the path, the foothill disappeared, and the trail ran flush with the wall. Jacob stared at it, trying to see the top. The glare of the sun was too bright, and he wasn’t able to measure the height. He looked forward, surprised to
see the path turn and disappear beneath the wall.
“Is that really the end of the trail?” Akeno asked.
“Uh, I guess it is,” Aloren said. “Now what?”
“No, it’s not the end,” Jacob said. “The wall was put on top of it. I’m sure it continues on the other side.” He scratched his head, noticing that the Minyas were no longer flying around them. “Maybe Early and September can see over it. Who knows—our Minyas might be better than Arien’s. Where are they?”
“I think they said they were going to sleep in your bag,” Aloren said. “They went in while you were reading.”
Jacob found the Minyas and told them what he needed them to do. They returned seconds later.
“It was way too high,” Early said. “We didn’t want to keep going.”
“It goes several miles up at least,” September added. “Would you like us to try again?”
Jacob shook his head. “No, it’s okay. Arien’s Minya couldn’t do it, either. What I’m wondering now is why we didn’t see it earlier. You’d think something this big and solid would’ve been visible.”
Aloren turned and looked toward the lake. “I’ve got an idea,” she said. “Let’s have the Minyas go halfway across the lake and see what the wall looks like from there.”
The Minyas flew off, returning moments later.
“The wall became transparent the farther away we got,” September said.
“Weird.” Jacob paused, thinking over the situation. “All right, Dmitri found a way through it. Let’s separate and see if we can, too.”
Aloren and Akeno followed the wall to the south, and Jacob followed it to the north, climbing up the foothill where it met with the wall. He ran his hand along every edge and crevice he could reach, seeking a hole or something similar. After several minutes of searching, he came to a section where the hill changed into huge rock outcroppings that would be impossible to climb without ropes and harnesses. Turning around, he was surprised to see how far he had gone. Aloren and Akeno were little dots at the far end.
Jacob half-jogged his way back down, meeting up with them where the path disappeared. “Did you find anything?”
“No, nothing,” Aloren said. “You?”
“Nothing.”
Aloren looked up at the wall. “What do we do?”
“I know there’s a way past this,” Jacob said. “There has to be. The wolves and Lorkon have been coming and going through it.”
“Speaking of the wolves,” Akeno said. “We haven’t seen them since we left Macaria. Why?”
Jacob tilted his head. “Well, if they were only sent to make sure we came to Maivoryl City, there wouldn’t be any need for them to make their presence known. We haven’t taken any major detours since leaving.”
Akeno slid his bag off his shoulder. “Can we eat something while discussing this? I’m really hungry.”
“Yeah,” Jacob said. “It’ll give us a few minutes to think about how to get through the used-to-be-waterfall.”
They sat next to a small mound of dirt near the shore of Sonda Lake, stretching out their legs and pulling food from their bags. The Minyas flitted in the air, playing games.
“So, explain what this thing is,” Aloren said.
“Dmitri went through four elemental traps that were placed by the Lorkon to stop him. Well, this was the first, except it was a huge, invisible waterfall when he came across it.”
“I wonder what happened to make it visible.”
“Do you think we can see it because of the potions the Fat Lady gave us?” Akeno asked.
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think so,” Jacob said. “She said the potions would make you avoid reactions. Seeing something invisible is not a reaction.”
No one said anything for a moment. Jacob bit his lip, thinking. The wolves and Lorkon couldn’t climb over the wall, and couldn’t have been going around—it was too wide. The only way was to go through the tunnel Dmitri had found. But where was it?
“I’d bet anything we’re mirroring Dmitri’s steps right now,” Jacob said. “He and his group went through the waterfall first, then the smelly air, then the mud.” He paused. “But they had the Fire Pulser in between. We didn’t pass any fire-pulsing people after we crossed the mud.”
“And no land that looked burned,” Akeno said.
Jacob got to his feet to pace. He loved puzzles like this in the books he read, but hated having to figure it out himself. He walked back and forth several times between Akeno and Aloren and the mound of dirt, trying to keep everything clear in his mind. As he neared the small hill for a fourth time, something caught his eye and he paused, then circled around to the side that faced the lake.
“Hey, come check this out,” Jacob said. The others joined him near a shallow hole in the earth. “This has to be the tunnel.”
“It could be, but it looks like it’s only a pit,” Aloren said. “And if it is a tunnel, it’s fallen in on itself. Not recently, though. That dirt’s been there for a year at least. It’s too dry and settled to be fresh.”
Jacob frowned. “And the Lorkon and wolves have been out of Maivoryl several times during the past year.”
“What is it, then?” Akeno asked. “It’s not here naturally.”
“An animal hole?” Jacob said. “Do animals this big live around here?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Aloren said, then paused. “Oh, I’ll bet Dusts made it. They do things like this in the castle too—digging through things, making tunnels. We’d better move away just in case.”
The group circled back to their lunch spot and sat to finish their food—facing the wall so they could continue to examine it.
After several moments, Jacob glanced up—did he just see a section of the wall shift? It was a spot twenty feet or so to the left of where the trail disappeared—the part Aloren and Akeno had inspected. He stood and walked closer, squinting in the bright light of the sun. He stopped in front of it—something flickered again.
“Wait,” he said. “That’s weird. The wall has a . . .” He reached out to touch it and jumped back when the stone dissolved around his hand. “Wow! What was that?”
The tunnel was now right in front of him—it was dark, and he couldn’t see very far into it.
He turned to his friends. “Holy cow! Come see! I just found the tunnel!”
“I can’t see anything,” Akeno said.
Aloren shook her head. “Neither can I.”
“Wait—what? You can’t see the tunnel? It’s right here.” Jacob motioned to it.
“There’s nothing there but wall,” Aloren said.
Jacob frowned. “You . . . really can’t see it?”
Aloren smiled, rolling her eyes, and Akeno gave him a look that said “Didn’t I just tell you that?”
Jacob sighed. “Okay, come here then.” He grabbed Akeno and pulled him over to stand right in front of the entrance. “Put your hand out. You’ll feel the wall sorta dissolve around it.”
Akeno put his hand out, but the wall didn’t dissolve. “Now what?”
“Oh, my gosh,” Jacob said. “I know I’m not going crazy. Aloren, you try it.”
“No, I believe you can see it. There’s probably a reason why we can’t. I’d guess it’s because we’re not supposed to go with you.”
“What are you talking about? I sure as heck am not going alone!” Jacob said. “There’s no way I can go up against the Lorkon without help!”
“Then lead us. That’s the only other alternative.”
Jacob scowled at the wall. He couldn’t think of anything else they could do. He hated the idea of leading them blind, but he knew he’d never get out alive without their help. “Okay, let’s go.” He searched the air for September and Early, and spotted them flitting around a small tree by the trail. “Oy! Minyas! Get in my backpack. I can’t hold on to you two as well.”
With the Minyas put away, Aloren took Akeno’s hand with her left and Jacob’s with her right.
“
Let’s go,” she said.
Jacob turned to face the wall, trying not to think too much about Aloren’s touch. This was the first time he’d held hands with a girl. He cleared his mind, then stepped forward, pulling Aloren and Akeno in with him. They were plunged into complete darkness.
“Oh, wow,” Aloren said, gasping. “We’re in the wall now, aren’t we?”
“Yes, we are.”
“I feel it. It’s pushing all around me. It feels like I’m standing in stone!” Aloren gasped again. “Don’t let go of my hand!”
“I won’t. I promise.” Jacob looked over his shoulder. “Akeno, how are you holding up?”
“Fine,” he said.
Jacob could barely make out the walls on either side of them and the ceiling above. Putting out his right hand, he used the side wall to guide him. It was bumpy and had an odd texture to it, making him stop again. He felt around, trying to figure out why it was so weird, but nothing came to mind.
Taking a few more steps, he relied on the wall to guide him. Then it disappeared from under his hand. Feeling around for a moment, he figured out the tunnel turned right. He started to follow it, looking over his shoulder to check on Aloren and Akeno. The blackness made it impossible to see them, though. He cleared his throat. “Uh, how’re you guys doing?”
“My bag . . . take . . . my bag,” Aloren said, gasping. “Can’t feel . . . it . . . don’t want . . . lose . . .”
“Okay, okay.” Jacob reached out and found the top of her head, then lowered his hand to the bag slung around her neck. He secured it around his own neck and one arm. “Akeno? Do you want me to take yours as well?”
“No, m’fine,” Akeno said, also gasping now. “Hurry.”
“Okay.” Jacob took another deep breath, tracing the wall as he went. “Something tells me this isn’t going to be a short tunnel.”
The tunnel turned several more times—Jacob lost count of how many. He closed his eyes, realizing he didn’t need them open anyway. “Hey, wait,” he said. “Akeno, let’s see if your finger will light up the tunnel.”
The walls were immediately swathed in the eerie blue light. Jacob yelled at what he saw, jumping backward into Aloren. “Turn it off! Turn it off!” he shrieked, squeezing his eyes shut, willing the images that had filled the view in front of him to leave. He couldn’t get his mind to clear, though. Hundreds and hundreds of faces, bodies, embedded in the walls of the tunnel. Fingers reaching forward, eyes unseeing, staring into nothing.
“What happened?” Aloren gasped.
“What’s going on?” Akeno said. “I can’t see anything!”
“Please, Akeno, turn it off!” Jacob said. Through his closed eyelids, he saw the blue light fade out. He remained motionless, trying to calm his heart. Those couldn’t have been real people. They couldn’t have. He realized his hand was still on the wall and he jerked it off, wiping it on his pants. Wiping didn’t take away the feeling of filth that remained. He wiped harder, groaning in frustration.
“Jacob?” Aloren said, her voice pleading. “Please . . . tell us what you saw.”
Jacob furrowed his brow. “No, no, it was nothing,” he said. “Nothing.” He couldn’t seem to take in enough air—even it felt grimy now.
“Keep going, keep going,” Akeno said, his voice sounding higher than usual.
Jacob braced himself. “Okay.” He used his feet to guide him instead of his hand, touching the wall as little as possible and cringing every time he brushed against it. They didn’t make much progress this way, but he’d never touch the wall again if he could help it.
Jacob became aware that Aloren was holding his hand too tightly. “Aloren? I can’t feel my fingers.”
“Sorry.” Aloren loosened her grip, but it wasn’t long before she held on just as tight again.
Jacob still hadn’t opened his eyes, and the muscles in his face were getting tired of squeezing them shut. He refused to open them, though, preferring darkness and muscle cramps to the alternative.
Aloren pulled in a ragged breath of air. “How . . . much farther?”
“Don’t know,” Jacob said, concentrating on not letting his emotions flow into his words. “I hope not much.” He wouldn’t be able to take any more of this if it didn’t end soon. He couldn’t believe he’d actually been touching faces and hands . . . people. He didn’t even want to know if they were dead, or trapped in the wall alive—either way, it was awful.
After what felt like an eternity, a slight gust of wind brushed his face. He peeked through his eyelids, bracing himself for whatever had caused the air to move. A small shaft of light crossed the ground several feet ahead of them. Relief coursed through him as he realized what it meant. “I think we’re almost at the end of the tunnel,” he whispered. “No one talk until I make sure we’re safe.”
Aloren squeezed his hand, showing him she understood. After two more turns, the tunnel was lit well enough for Jacob to walk forward without using his feet to guide himself. He tried not to look at the walls, but couldn’t help it. They were made completely of stone again. Oh, good.
Right before what he thought was the last turn, he stopped. There was something familiar about the light that flowed into the tunnel. He inched forward, paused, pressed up against the wall, then peered around the corner.
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