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--- resources:adventure:how_to_win_friends_and_influence_people [2016/10/23 17:13]
chaos In progess. Yes the glean/gleam thing was intentional
+++ resources:adventure:how_to_win_friends_and_influence_people [2016/10/25 07:00] (current)
chaos missed a few words apparently
@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 ===== PCs =====
-[[user:thomasl:pc:hugh_branch|Hugh (|Branch> + |Marsh>)] - Tom
+[[user:thomasl:pc:hugh_branch|Hugh (|Branch> + |Marsh>)]] - Tom\\
-[[user:khimaera:pc:jemiker_chacony|Jemiker Chacony]] - Anna
+[[user:khimaera:pc:jemiker_chacony|Jemiker Chacony]] - Anna\\
-[[user:seb:pc:batts_marbeq|Batts Marbeq]] - Seb
+[[user:seb:pc:batts_marbeq|Batts Marbeq]] - Seb\\
-[[user:swampselkie:pc:pig|Pig/Unit-01]] - Sally
+[[user:swampselkie:pc:pig|Pig/Unit-01]] - Sally\\
-[[user:joew:pc:glassinger|Carl (Not-Glassinger)]] - Joe
+[[user:joew:pc:glassinger|Carl (Not-Glassinger)]] - Joe\\
-[[user:zacsmith:pc:darius|Darius]] - Zac
+[[user:zacsmith:pc:darius|Darius]] - Zac\\
-[[user:matthewa:pc:karlos_farblade|Karlos Farblade]] - Matthew
+[[user:matthewa:pc:karlos_farblade|Karlos Farblade]] - Matthew\\
 [[user:michaelc:pc:paradai|Vincent Jackson/Paradai]] - Michael
 ===== Adventure Summary =====
-Various people arrive at the warehouses at the specified time, and are directed by a bouncer to one of several other warehouses to wait behind. Those inclined to notice such things make note of the figures stationed on the roofs with what appear to be bows. The members of the party all happen to be directed to the same warehouse, though not before the bouncer has a private word with Hugh, revealing themself to be one of the many guises of the Chairman of the Adventurer's Guild.
+Various people arrive at the warehouses at the specified time, and are directed by a bouncer to one of several other warehouses to wait behind. Those inclined to notice such things make note of the figures stationed on the roofs with what appear to be bows. The members of the party all happen to be directed to the same warehouse, among their number Darius, who is in disguise, though not before the bouncer has a private word with Hugh, revealing themself to be one of the many guises of the Chairman of the Adventurer's Guild.
 Whilst the groups sent to the other warehouses are all sent off on other less interesting jobs, the party meet with their employer, a mysterious man calling himself "Grey", who tells them that he expects satisfactory completion of each task with no questions asked, and that they can stand to gain up to 150 Riel if all are completed as requested. He gives them a 9 Riel advance and their first job: to break into another warehouse in the docklands, steal a crate marked with a particular symbol, and bring it to him at a provided address the following day.
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 They take it to their employer who tells them that he expects the rubies and that extracting them is their problem, so Carl attempts to remove them. In doing so, the book seems to pull back, and whilst the rubies do fall to the floor before he knows it he's in the middle of the book, scribbles forming around him to mock him. Carl laughs at them, and exerts the full extent of his unbindable nature, the book exploding in a shower of paper. The rubies successfully extracted, Grey thanks them for their work and provides them with their next mission. He provides them with a sealed letter and tells them to head to Leafhaven, a village South of Margush, give the letter to a priest there by the name of Luce, carry out whatever task they request of them and return with them.
+Taking the Crimson Mother to the village, they find the priest, who it seems worships the Dreaming Ocean, and deliver the letter. He asks for their help in freeing some people nearby, who seem to have been trapped by creatures of the Flux in some cursed state in which they cannot dream. Meanwhile Millicent, Hugh's apprentice, manages to get herself apprenticed to a spice merchant who is in the area, and attempts to learn the ways of pickpocketing, whilst some drug dealers attempt to peddle the local narcotic "fairy dust" and a cheap knock-off. One of the merchants here is left with one of the boxes Hugh took from the warehouse earlier.
-===== Debrief =====
+The party go into the woods and after clearing out some large fire-breathing bears find Flux fairies flying around and harassing some very tired-looking people. Darius, whilst sneaking ahead, has a golem of flesh suddenly burst from his body. He decides it is more convenient to let it run off back to Ghita Darrish, since she already knows who he is and what he's up to, but others in the party notice and chase it down. Batts attempts to eat its remains, but Darius stabs him and destroys them before he gets the chance. Though not before Hugh has already made away with some of them. He eventually manages to taste these, and gets an image of somebody putting on a disguise to appear as Darius now does. Suspicions and arguments fly, with the Tuireann cult once more being accused of a lot of things they didn't actually have anything to do with such as Pig's absconding, but eventually the party decide to get on with the job they set out to do.
-Afterwards, our heroes find themselves lost in flux without a reliable Wayfinder. Unit-01 has absconded with the Prince - deep, deep into the flux. The rest of the party debate precisely how to return home. Eventually, it is decided upon that Karlos will use a Manipulation ritual to convince their captive Wayfinder that they are a Guild taskforce, and that it is urgent they are brought back to the city in order to make their report. Upon arrival, said captive Wayfinder is summarily killed and eaten.
+The fairies are toying with their poor victims and stopping them from sleeping such that they'll always having something to play with and to keep them in existence. The party try to distract them by playing Pass the Parcel with the remaining crate from the warehouse that Hugh has, but the fairies get annoyed when it only seems to have some sort of flower inside, so the party eliminate them all and free the people. One of them runs off into the Flux during the fight, so Vincent uses the power of the Beacon to guide them home, back to the village, meeting up with the others there. Luce calls upon the Dreaming Ocean to allow the hapless villages to sleep once more and agrees to accompany the party back to Grey, who again offers thanks and agrees to discuss business with the priest in private. Darius listens in on this conversation, whilst what is being discussed is somewhat cryptic and alludes to something written in the sealed letter, he overhears a few details; it seems that in exchange for guiding the party to him and their assistance in solving his troubles, he is going to do Grey a favour and call upon the power of the Dreaming Ocean to achieve something.
-Meanwhile, Pig encounters a mysterious figure in the flux. She introduces herself as Mina Hatcher. She asks for the Prince's help in ensuring that news of what the Wayfinders' Guild did to him is made public. When he gives his assent, she agrees to take the Prince back home in the Wildeaves first - and once again, they set off through the flux.
+For their satisfactory work thusfar, Grey gives the party another 36 Riel each and their final task for the remainder of the pay: to break into a secure facility at the provided location within the Flux, to free a particular individual (the picture of whom Batts recognises as the [[resources:npc:the_monster_prince|Monster Prince]]) and kidnap a particular guard who works there, bringing them to him, alive. Knowing the facility to be controlled by the Wayfinder's Guild, three of the party take on the identity of [[user:vickyh:pc:xavier_octavio_sarmandastra|Xavier]] whilst Hugh distracts him.
-Hugh Marsh wakes up in a cave. Here, the Abnegator sits by the fire. He tells Marsh that he is an irregularity, and they discuss the circumstances of Hugh Branch's seeming resurrection. Marsh maintains that all this Branch business must be coincidence; the Abnegator informs him that certainly //one// of them must have been resurrected. He asks if he has been in any danger recently, and Hugh replies that he doesn't think so. The Abnegator points out that both he and Branch have exactly the same claim to existence.
+Heading out of the city and dealing with some Flux clawfiends on the way, the party reach the facility and Hugh shapes a way in for them. The guards and members of the Guild within express some mix of surprise and suspicion, claiming that the sudden outbreak of mysterious activity within the Flux some distance away must have been a trick to lure away their more skilled Wayfinders, and that clearly this is all Xavier's doing and he's enacting some sort of coup. They attempt to fight off the party but are knocked out, leaving them to ignore occasional flashes of a sensation of being watched which Hugh finds awfully familiar, and continue to a corridor full of intricate and deadly traps shaped from the Flux. The work of a highly skilled Master Shaper, the traps even remain somewhat functioning when Carl utters a Syllable of Ruin and everything around him breaks. This upsets the timing of the traps somewhat which in places only makes the going harder, but they eventually all make it across.
-In the end, Hugh leaves to report back to the Guild - and the Abnegator tells him to focus on what makes him feel alive. To hold on.
+Reaching the heart of the facility, the party find the Shaper waiting for them with a summoned Flux monstrosity and some guards, the leader of whom matches the description of the one they were looking for. The ensuing battle is tough, and in the process Hugh makes a mis-judged teleport into a group of foes he can't hold up against and is cut down. Whilst the others incapacitate the guard and the Wayfinder, no longer under the aegis of his father's aura, Hugh bleeds out. As he feels his life fading he enacts the last defence of the Wayfinder, the art of Flux Resurrection.
-The Abnegator also sends a shadowy figure to find out where precisely Hugh Branch left his boat.
+A short distance away, Hugh Marsh finds himself spacing out. He gets a hold of himself, and reminds himself of what he's doing. Yes, that's right, he's Captain Hugh Marsh, a Wayfinder from Margush, who has spent most of his life trying to fill the empty void that he's felt within him. Hugh Marsh, born with a strange birthmark that gave him crimson red skin across most of his body. Hugh Marsh, member of the Wayfinder's Guild of Acryn. Hugh Marsh, whose group was mostly wiped out by an Anomaly, who only survived when he called upon reserves of strength he didn't even know he had in desperation, and in doing so caught the attention of the Abnegator, the Anomaly who promised to help him find his purpose, what makes him really him, and fill that void within him. Hugh Marsh remembers that he is travelling with the Abnegator and one of his companions, the Rider. Apparently some bard, a foe from the Abnegator's past, has been in this area, and they've been investigating.
-Meanwhile, the main party go back to speak with their employer and collect their payment, taking them up to 150R in pocket. Darius and Paradai then leave. Karlos, Batts and Not Glassinger hit one of Acryn's taverns to celebrate. Meanwhile, Jemiker reports back to Jimmy Hoskins.
+Meanwhile, the rest of the party find Hugh Branch's body, and promptly loot it, right down to the intestines, which Pig wears around her neck. Not-Glassinger attempts to rip apart the body to Steal the Scarred Soul in an attempt to recover knowledge of how to gain access to Triskelion have interesting consequences, as Hugh Branch's migrating soul is caught and absorbed into him... and without the ability to hold on to his own identity suddenly he finds himself Hugh Branch, with a job to finish and slightly confused about the fact that he can no longer affect the Flux but seemingly is able to use magic.
-Pig and the Prince return to the Wildeaves, and the Prince reunites with all his friends at the castle - who, naturally, like all flux creatures, have reverted to their original state, with no memories of previous events. Pig asks Mina if she can help with this, and she replies that she will consider it. She also gives Pig an extra 9R, on top of the 150R that it has received total.
+The party head into the back of the facility and find three beings contained there. The Monster Prince is in one cell, but in others are the Changeling of Weftwell and a young man calling himself Dirk Nightblade. The others attempt to persuade the party to free them, and some of them consider it, but ultimately opt to only do the job they set out to do, not knowing how dangerous the others could be. Darius attempts to free Dirk, passing him the location of the Evil Eye, in the hopes that he'll come and visit. Jemiker's suspicions are raised, and she attempts to keep him locked in, though isn't willing to enter the cell to check on the restraints on him. The party head outside with the Prince.
-Marsh has managed to locate Branch's boat in the harbour. With the combined force of the Wayfinder's Guild and a small chunk of the Watch, he manages to clear the boat of all pirates - including Millicent the Apprentice, who takes her life in her hands and opts to swim away. The rest of the crew put up markedly more of a fight, but eventually the ship falls to Marsh's control.
+There they are met with the sight of what looks to be Hugh Branch, a woman on a horse, and the Abnegator wielding a black sword, currently impaled through the heart of a man wearing the sash of one of the higher-ups in the Wayfinder's Guild. The body slumps to the floor to join several others and the group turn and see the party. The Abnegator sees the party with the Prince, quickly comes to the realisation of what is happening and tells Hugh Marsh that on this occasion, the bard's goals appear to line up with his own, and so they should leave them to go about their business. The party however don't seem to notice this and are too busy expressing surprise and confusion about Hugh being there, and with the Abnegator.
+Pig, wanting to get the Monster Prince to safety and being somewhat suspicious of their employer takes the Prince away into the Flux whilst the rest of the party try to convince Hugh Marsh to come with them, and Hugh Marsh suggests that the party should be taken for questioning. There is some confusion which culminates in the party knocking Hugh Marsh unconscious and turning on the Abnegator, though they find that as their weapons as swung into a black barrier that forms around the Anomaly, they seem to crumble apart, only to reform on the other side, and that their blows are ineffective against him. The Abnegator calls on the horsewoman to provide them an out and jumps up onto the back of the horse, which rears up, neighs loudly, and then with a flash and sudden strong gust of wind is gone. The party are left there, outside the facility, Hugh Marsh no longer with them.
+===== Debrief =====
+And so our heroes find themselves lost in Flux without a reliable Wayfinder. Unit-01 has absconded with the Prince - deep, deep into the Flux. The rest of the party debate precisely how to return home. Eventually, it is decided upon that Karlos will use a Manipulation ritual to convince their captive Wayfinder that they are a Guild taskforce, and that it is urgent they are brought back to the city in order to make their report. Upon arrival, said captive Wayfinder is summarily killed and eaten.
+Meanwhile, whilst searching for a reflective surface to gain access to the Shattered Places, Pig encounters a mysterious figure in the Flux. She introduces herself as Mina Hatcher. She asks for the Prince's help in ensuring that news of what the Wayfinders' Guild did to him is made public. At first he is hesitant, but when she claims that she understands his feelings and somehow causes a multitude of coloured flowers of kinds never before seen to grow around her feet, he gives his assent and she agrees to take the Prince back home in the Wildeaves first - and once again, they set off through the Flux, with the woman stopping off in Acryn for a brief while in passing before joining Pig and the Prince on their way.
+Hugh Marsh wakes up in a cave. Here, the Abnegator sits by the fire. He tells Marsh that he is an irregularity, and they discuss the circumstances of Hugh Branch's seeming resurrection. Marsh maintains that all this Branch business must be coincidence; the Abnegator informs him that certainly //one// of them must have been resurrected. He asks if he has been in any danger recently, and Hugh replies that he doesn't think so. The Abnegator points out that both he and Branch have exactly the same claim to existence. He also sends the Eye of the Shadows to find out where precisely Hugh Branch left his boat.
+Meanwhile, the main party go back to speak with their employer and collect their payment. Despite not having the Monster Prince, Grey seems content that everything has been carried out satisfactorily and that the matter is in hand, giving them their full pay and taking them up to 150R in pocket. Darius and Paradai then leave. Karlos, Batts and Not Glassinger hit one of Acryn's taverns to celebrate. Meanwhile, Jemiker reports back to Jimmy Hoskins, providing him with the notes she stole from the facility.
+Pig and the Prince return to the Wildeaves, and the Prince reunites with all his friends at the castle - who, naturally, like all Flux creatures, have reverted to their original state, with no memories of previous events. Pig asks Mina if she can help with this, and she replies that she will look into what can be done. She also gives Pig her remaining pay along with an extra 9R, on top of the 150R that it has received total.
+The Eye having located Branch's boat in the harbour, the Rider takes Hugh Marsh and the Abnegator to a patch of Flux close by at considerable speed, where the Anomalies drop him off. The pirates aren't too keen on this other Hugh turning up, but with the combined force of the Wayfinder's Guild and a small chunk of the Watch, he manages to clear the boat of all pirates - including Millicent the Apprentice and a couple of pirates who seem to have formed a fan club, who take their lives in their hands and opt to swim away. The rest of the crew put up markedly more of a fight, but eventually the ship falls to Marsh's control.
 Back at the tavern, Karlos and Batts use Sleep of Death on Not Glassinger, and loot his possessions. Karlos takes hold of the Carleon Orb - which seems to seize hold of Bats when he peers into it.
@@ Line 65: / Line 82: @@
 That's not how it works, says the voice. Submit.
-Batts thinks, for a fraction of a second. Then: "I'm Bats Marbeq, and I only submit to people willingly! You can't change that! Dominate - leave me alone!"
+Batts thinks, for a fraction of a second. Then: "I'm Batts Marbeq, and I only submit to people willingly! You can't change that! Dominate - leave me alone!"
 There is a pause. Then, the voice replies: //I can't change that, did you say...?//
@@ Line 79: / Line 96: @@
 More shenanigans ensue - eventually resulting in Not Glassinger gaining hold of Hugh's meat-personality.
-Paradia reports back to the True Council, putting word out that Hugh Branch is dead and that Pig has the body. This more or less makes up or the fact that he didn't find the information they were actually after.
+Paradai reports back to the True Council, putting word out that Hugh Branch is dead and that Pig has the body. This more or less makes up or the fact that he didn't find the information they were actually after, and the information he has managed to obtain at least puts them a step closer towards trying to piece together just what has been going on here.
-Darius goes on a Tuireann recruitment drive - which proves to be oddly successful at the point where he stumbles upon a waterlogged Millicent the Apprentice, who is looking for a place to stay.
+Darius goes on a Tuireann recruitment drive - which proves to be oddly successful at the point where he stumbles upon a waterlogged Millicent the Apprentice and a couple of the pirates, who are looking for a place to stay. Whilst Selphina appreciates having more friends around the place, this does not seem to particularly please Tuireann, as the non-mages he has brought are not of so much use to it. Darius finds his body starting to fall under the strain of the dragon's curse.
-Karlos Sleep-of-Deaths Batts, but Not Glassinger manages to prevent him from cutting the fae out of him - leaving Batts dumped in a sewer somewere with an explanatory note.
+Karlos Sleep-of-Deaths Batts, but Not Glassinger manages to prevent him from cutting the fae out of him - leaving Batts dumped in a sewer somewhere with an explanatory note.
 Karlos tastes Not Glassinger's blood. The vision he receives is not... wholly reassuring.
@@ Line 89: / Line 106: @@
 Pig takes Hugh's corpse to the Tender Church. They are predictably unable to resurrect him. It also analyses the fairy dust from the villagers in order to replicate it.
-Marsh reports back to the Wayfinders' Guild.
+Marsh reports back to the Wayfinders' Guild, who are surprised to see him after so long but welcome him back.
+Meanwhile, the Prince tells his story to Acryn. A week later, everyone across the city shares a common dream. They dream that they are a guard in a secure facility, and see the brutal torture and vivisection perpetrated against creatures of Flux. Officials within the city begin publicly condemning the Guild, as the Prince goes public with his experiences. The outrage this provokes is amplified by a sudden burst of printed pamphlets crying out against the Guild's cruelty - author unknown. More or less.
+Public opinion is well and truly against the Guild. In light of this, the Council begins to debate the possible implementation of the Cargan-Graves-Everett Bill of Rights, which would limit the Wayfinders' Guild's sovereignity over Wayfinders and Flux creatures. Jimmy Hoskins provides the documents stolen from the facility, providing stronger evidence of the Guild's doings, but does all he can to stall this process, whilst Armand Cargan-Graves works with equal assiduity to campaign for it to be passed into law.
+It goes without saying that all four Cargan Councillors support the bill. But perhaps more surprising is that four of the more mercantile representatives and the representatives of each of the churches are completely unswerving in their support. Perhaps this may relate to the fact that as of late a couple of the merchants have been seen showing off their latest jewellery, inlaid with the beautiful glint of rare Rockwell rubies, or that rumour tells that recently a sizeable cache of holy relics of the Founders, believed stolen, was recovered and returned to the churches. Or perhaps that was all just coincidence and convenient timing.
+It becomes clear that whilst these 12 provide unwavering support, thanks to what influence and bribery the Wayfinder's Guild can still muster 6 are equally unwavering in their opposition. But others still remain undecided, and results of the debate are as yet inconclusive. Nonetheless, support for the Bill is substantially stronger than it was before.
+In the wake of all this, more anonymous graffiti is showing up in favour of clockwork golem rights...
+Meanwhile, Xavier finds members of the Wayfinder's Guild keeping something of a closer eye on him than they used to. How odd. It must just be because he's so important.
+And in the weeks that follow, their reputation being as affected as it has been, the Guild do not report that in addition to the Monster Prince, Dirk Nightblade, a known dangerous and violent Anomaly has escaped their custody. Those in the upper echelons of the Guild begin to make plans, and there are undoubtedly ways this fact could be leveraged in their favour, but for now it doesn't need to be public knowledge...
+===== Consequences =====
+==== All party members ====
+  * 150 Riel
+==== Hugh ====
+  * The "Certain Identity" Quirk
+=== Branch ===
+  * Fate unknown for the time being
+  * Still sort-of-exists in a lump of flesh in Not-Glassinger's possession
+  * As far as the experiences of his soul goes, this probably feels some combination of really weird and horrifying
+  * He might even be sort of conscious this whole time
+=== Marsh ===
+  * Now exists, and has claimed the Crimson Mother as his own
+==== Jemiker Chacony ====
+  * 9 Riel worth of stolen jewellery
+==== Batts Marbeq ====
+  * The "Dissolution of the Gleam" Quirk
+  * Realities created by use of the "Home Away from Home" skill are now somewhat... different. Not only is the landscape decidedly less rational than it once was, the fae creatures within act with Carleon's interests at heart. In its larger, fuzzier variant, a noticeable imprint is left upon the world for a period after the new reality fades, leaving various glitches in reality for a time. For the encounter after the use of this skill in either form, you hear the will of Carleon whispering in your ear.
+==== Pig ====
+  * An extra 9 Riel
+==== Not-Glassinger ====
+  * A lump of his own flesh which houses the soul and memories of Hugh Branch, whilst this cannot be used to extract any skills it can in theory be used to learn anything that Hugh knew (up to and including how he obtained the Dragongate skills, if not the skills themselves); if taken into the Flux it will immediately disappear
+==== Darius ====
+  * 9 Riel worth of stolen jewellery
+  * Body hits and death count halved until Tuireann is pleased
+==== Karlos Farblade ====
+  * The "Certain Identity" Quirk
+===== New Quirks =====
+==== Dissolution of the Gleam ====
-Meanwhile, the Prince tells his story to Acryn. A week later, everyone across the city shares a common dream. They dream that they are a guard in a secure facility, and see the brutal torture and vivisection perpetrated against creatures of flux. Officials within the city begin publically condemning the Guild, as the Prince goes public with his experiences. The outrage this provokes is amplified by a sudden burst of printed pamphlets crying out against the Guild's cruelty - author unknown. More or less.
+Through Consumption you have gained something of the properties of the acidic gelatinous creatures known as Gleam. This alters your use of the spell "Dissolution of the Form" in the following ways:
+  * Your transformation is somewhat more Gleam-like than it was
+  * Whilst in this form you take all damage as SINGLE
+  * Per casting, you gain one use of SHATTER against a weapon that strikes you whilst in this form
+  * Whilst in this form, you occasionally uncontrollably say "Gleam!"
-Public opinion is well and truly against the Guild. In light of this, the Council begins to debate the possible implementation of the Cargan-Graves-Everett Bill of Rights, which would limit the Wayfinders' Guild's sovereignity over Wayfinders and flux creatures. Jimmy Hoskins does all he can to stall this process, whilst Armand Cargan-Graves works with equal assiduity to campaign for it to be passed into law. It becomes clear that all four Cargan Councillors, four Guild representatives and the Union representatives are unswerving in their support - but others still remain undecided, and results of the debate are as yet inconclusive. Nonetheless, support for the Bill is substantially stronger than it was before.
+==== Certain Identity ====
-In the wake of all this, more anonymous graffiti is showing up in favour of clockwork golem rights...
+You have been severed from the identities and wills of the Splintered Man, and are no longer subject to his influence. The has the following effects:
+  * You are not affected by the Divine Aura of the Splintered Man. If another member of the party has the aura, you are not affected by the damage or effects inflicted as a result of it, but equally you bleed and die as normal. Whether you are up or not has no effect on whether the others in the party subject to the aura live or die.
+  * You are not affected by the miracle Identity Theft. You should brief this detail at the start of the adventure.
+  * You are not affected by the miracle Belief Enhancement.
+If you attempt to //use// the miracles of the Splintered Man, you feel the sensation of your brain being wrenched and pulled out of your head via your eye sockets. For any encounter in which you have used a miracle of the Splintered Man, pick one of the targets of the miracles used. You permanently gain one of the beliefs that that target had, chosen at GM discretion. These beliefs may be contradictory.
-{{tag>"how to win friends and influence people" adventure}}
+{{tag>"how to win friends and influence people" adventure hugh_branch jemiker_chacony batts_marbeq pig glassinger darius karlos_farblade paradai adventurers_guild the_abnegator the_monster_prince}}

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