Orukk snarled and bared his yellowed teeth to the assembled crowd before him. The head of Thonk, the idiotic orc who had led the disastrous assault upon the human's shores, landed directly in the middle of his remaining lieutenants. Their worried faces looked down at the bloodied head before turning their undivided attention back to their temperamental warlord as Orukk let out another snarl of disgust over the most recent failure.
The frustrated warlord had found it ridiculous that he had to show his utter distaste for lack of self-discipline and disdain for his commands. This was something that he had thought he made clear well before the sniveling failure crawled back to him. When the coward had been foolish enough to tell his master about the most recent defeat, Orukk had found it necessary to serve up the now dead orc as a lesson that everyone should learn from.
The fool had even been brave enough to beg for more men to throw at the humans, but Orukk had sliced off the moron's head well before he had the chance to finish.
"From now on, there will be no more failures." Orukk said as he knelt towards the still cooling corpse and wiped the blood off of his hands. "No more acts of defiance or delusions of glory." The orc's voice rumbled as he stared at each of his lieutenants before slowly rising back onto his feet.
The warlord needed to be certain that the stone-faced morons before him understood that he meant every last word he had just spoken. If he needed to slaughter the entirety of those gathered around him, then so be it. Orukk was perfectly willing to promote even the lowliest of goblins than to allow those before him a second chance at redemption.
Orukk looked around his remaining lieutenants one last time; his blood-red eyes stared harshly into their hideous faces as his gaze lingered over their neutral expressions. A few of them had learned to fear the wrath of their ruler and stepped back out of fright. The disgruntled orc nodded his head at these individuals; this was the sort of reaction he wanted out of all of them.
Not the sort of fear that would render them useless to him at every twist and turn, but the type of fright that would force the individual to sally forth and accomplish their assigned goals without delay or straying from the intended path.
There were far less of these individuals then he would have liked. 'In time,' Orukk thought to himself as his vision lingered slightly longer over the last of his lieutenants. 'That will change. Even if it means that I have to kill the whole lot of them to get what I want.'
"Lug!" Orukk barked as he twisted his head towards the orc in question. "I want you to gather up a sizeable force and garrison a defense around the nearby lake. Make sure that the humans won't be able to conduct a counter-assault on our side of the lake."
Lug pounded a closed fist against his chest twice as he spoke. "At once, Warlord!"
Without another word having to be spoken, the enterprising lieutenant darted out of the tent and disappeared behind a growing trail of furious goblins who shouted their displeasure at the unheeding orc.
"Now then," Orukk said as he turned to look back at the remainder of his officers. "I want to hear a report from every single one of you. Hold nothing back with what you have to say."
The warlord tilted his chin towards Gutblud motioning for the orc to speak up.
"Warlord." Gutblud stuttered as he cleared his throat. "Most of the siege engines you've ordered to be constructed are already in use, and those still being built are only days away from completion. The goblins are working around the clock under my watchful eye; they've gone without sleep for days on end to ensure that we're staying ahead of your expected timeframe."
Orukk let out a wordless grunt, pleased with what he had heard. He knew that a vast number of siege weaponry was of great importance in winning the battle ahead. A soft chuckle escaped from deep within his throat as the warlord envisioned the human's cowering under a continuous rain of fire drenched stumps and earth-shattering boulders.
"As per your orders, Warchief." A second lieutenant said as the orc in question took his master's laughter as a sign that someone should continue. "The human's pitiful ring of water is being filled to the top at the preselected positions. The goblins are sacrificing life and limb to ensure that the puny river is safe for our army to cross over. Even if that means they must drown themselves to do so."
Once again, Orukk let out a wordless grunt as he continued to listen to the ongoing reports. The moat around the human's hideous encampment was something that caused great concern in the back of the warlord's mind. He had already thrown away the lives of numerous goblins in trying to find a weakness in his enemy's defenses and so far, the orc had found none. That's why the moat needed to be filled in several critical areas before the final assault on the walls. Otherwise, the humans would be able to wear down his army at an unhealthy rate.
Orukk feared that if the humans were able to bring down the trolls under his command without so much as a hassle on their part, then they would be able to shift the battle into their favor. He needed to make sure that would never happen.
Silence followed in Orukk's wake as the warlord turned his attention towards the next lieutenant. The lieutenant could only clench his mouth open and closed in a nervous twitch while the orc was unsure of what to say. Eventually, the orc straightened out his back and rolled his shoulders in some vague act of courage.
"The battering ram is ready." The third lieutenant said as he shifted his gaze away from his master's piercing stare. "At your command, the trolls will be able to push the machine towards their target and smash the human's gate wide open."
A low, hesitant rumble bellowed from deep with Orukk's stomach as he continued to stare at the sweating orc. The warlord made no recollection of ever having seen the war machine being built. To the warlord, the lieutenant might have been lying, and if that were the case, then there would be hell to pay. He needed to be sure that everything was on the up and up. "When we're done here, show it to me." Orukk said as he slowly cracked his neck, taking extra care to ensure that each pop was just as sickening as the last.
"Of course, Warlord." The nerve-wracked orc said. His words fumbled over one another as the lieutenant became tongue-tied. "Just say the word, and I'll gladly take you to where I've had it built."
Orukk let out an agreeing snort before quickly looking at the last of his remaining officers.
A prideful and young-looking orc pounded at his chest as he raised his chin into the air as a sign of respect towards the demanding leader. "Warlord." The orc's high pitched voice was a telltale sign of the orc's age. "As you requested, the tunnels are well underway and will take our men into the heart of the enemy. Once the battle is well underway, we'll explode out of the earth and take the disgusting pinkskins from behind. A route is all but inevitable for your glorious army."
"Is that so?" Orukk said, to which the young orc nodded his furiously. He liked the attitude of the young one, but that was all that he had to say about the pup's strengths. "As of right now, how far have they've reached?"
"At the furthest point, the soil is soaked in water. The lead diggers say that we're nearly upon the enemy's moat. It won't be long until we're directly under the human's camp."
Orukk nodded his head before continuing to question the young lieutenant. "And you're ensuring that the tunnels have enough support to stabilize their walls?"
Once again, the youthful orc nodded his head to indicate that everything was as the warlord had instructed.
Orukk the Blooddrinker allowed a greedy smile to soften his usually hard features as cavity infested teeth flashed themselves before those gathered around him. The final battle was fast approaching, and he had many surprises in store for the humans hiding behind their wooden walls.
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As rocks fell around her, a frightened Velicion gave the young girl who stood before the sorceress a dubious glare. Rocks scattered across the floor of her unusually cluttered tent as she turned and ran a dirt-stained hand across her face as she took in the idiotic words of the raven-haired teenager.
The young girl's face was filled with excitement, and her body exuded a bright aura of unrepentant glee as she bounced into the elven woman's tent and declared that the young girl was ready for her to apologize in a way that only a child would find acceptable.
"Do you want to run that by me a second time?" An agitated Velicion said as she brushed her hair behind the nape of her neck.
Visible confusion wracked the young girls face as she leaned over towards Argonok and brought a hand to cover her lips. "Did she not hear me?" Iskra whispered to the ever-present Fireguard who looked to the girl in a manner that could only be viewed as if he was unsure if he had heard the human correctly.
Velicion let out a deep sigh as she shook her head in disbelief. 'She's just as bad as my daughter's.' The lithe elf thought to herself as the sorceress recalled the countless times that her children had deliberately ignored their mother and turn to one another to gossip about her.
Even now, after having grown up and gone off to do their own things, they willfully ignored their mother when she tried in vain to bring them in line.
"Of course she did, you daft girl!" Argonok's voice boomed out from deep within the hollow center of his armor. Both of the women recoiled back in pain and covered their ears as the dwarf continued to yell. "You come in her tent, all bouncing about the place and stomp your feet on her floor. All the while you shout out some bizarre statement for the whole world to listen in on!"
"Why are you always so loud?" Iskra replied in a voice that equaled that of the dwarf's.
Argonok let out his usual laugh and moved to goad the girl into an argument that slowly devolved into utter nonsense to the elven sorceress. The dwarf offered up his obnoxiously loud laugh and cruel comeback's while the young girl shouted at the suit of armor as if she were arguing with a relative.
Velicion could only continue to cover her ears and wince in pain as the ear-shattering voices obliterated the once peaceful quiet inside of the sorceress's tent.
Eventually, she had enough.
"Quiet!" Exclaimed the elven sorceress as she weaved in a magical enchantment to force her words to become undeniable in their desires.
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Iskra flinched as her body worked against the wishes of her mind. The human could only look on in confused amazement as her hands lifted off of the dwarf's red and blue painted helm and moved down to her sides. Her arms were straight as an arrow as her knees buckled and proceeded to force the teenager to sit down.
Argonok appeared to be unaffected by the elf's sorcery, but he remained quiet as the Fireguard looked to the young girl as her hands cupped together and rested themselves upon her lap in a melancholic fashion.
"Now then young lady," Velicion stated as she planted her hands over her hips. "Would you be so kind as to repeat your last statement?"
The sorceress's sing-song words were still rich in magic as they seeped into the vast recesses of the young human's mind. Iskra could only watch on as her body moved at the command of the elven woman's magic.
"It's like I said before," The girl's body straightened out its back as words flowed from her mouth. A gentle hand planted itself over her ample bosom as she continued to speak. "I'm willing to let you continue our lessons so long as you apologize for your earlier transgressions towards me."
Velicion stared at the girl with a surreal look. "You can't be serious."
"I am." Iskra said in a manner that only a spoiled child could give. "If you apologize then I'll allow you the privilege of teaching me your language."
The sorceress couldn't help but blurt out a laugh as she released the teenager from her magic. "First of all," Velicion said between bursts of genuine laughter. "You punched me in the face. So I think we're even with regards as to who should apologize to whom. Secondly," The elven woman stated as she motioned towards the front of her tent as she wanted the human girl to look beyond the inside of her tent. "In case you've missed it. We're under siege. No one has the time to be teaching you anything."
Velicion snapped her fingers and watched on as the young girl slumped forward before quickly reaching out to stop her body from planting itself into the ground before her.
Iskra let out a furious breath as she narrowly avoided having her face caked in the soft earth that served as the sorceress's floor. The teenager could only look towards the elven woman in anger as another puff of air escaped her lips.
"Don't act all prideful with me, young lady." Velicion called out to the teenager as she wagged a finger at the girl's choice in expressions. "You're lucky those breasts of yours caught your fall."
Argonok howled with laughter as the young girl gasped in shock and moved to cover her chest with her slim arms. Iskra's face was red with anger as she pulled away from the ground. "How dare-"
Velicion thrusted out an arm to interrupt the human as she spoke over the banished teenager's words. "What's with this sudden urge for me to teach you again, anyway? Shouldn't you be helping out around the camp?"
Iskra looked around in confusion as she stumbled over her thoughts as to what she should say or do. She wished for nothing more than to chastise the sorceress over her insults, but something in the back of her mind stopped her from doing so.
"That's simple." Iskra said as she felt a smug grin creep onto her face. The sorceress looked at the girl with a peculiar look as she continued to speak. "It's because I'm a Lady of Ranislava. We're of a breed of our own. As such, we don't do the work of the peasantry. Interestingly enough, there are two versions of the title of 'Lady'"
Velicion looked at the girl with suspicion as she thought over what the teenager had just said. The sorceress could sense that, even though she had dispelled her compulsion spell from the girl in its entirety, her spell had continued to linger over the human's mind. 'I'll need to make sure she's not highly susceptible to magic.' She was at a loss as to the fact on how she was going to be able to do that without using the correct methods and tools, but the sorceress knew that she would be able to find a way.
Beyond a few harmless pranks that she could see herself pulling on the girl, Velicion loathed the idea of seeing the young girl as nothing more than a puppet to a sinister sorcerer. If she needed to, then she would have to take extra precautions with the teenager when dealing with the unknown possibilities of a foreign magic wielder.
With that all being said, the sorceress was suspicious that Iskra didn't quite mean for her to declare that there were two versions of the very title she possessed. She had a vague idea of what that meant, but she wanted to goad the young girl into getting herself into trouble.
This was something that the elven mother was all too familiar with in accomplishing.
"Wow. Two versions." Velicion placed a hand over the side of her face as she mockingly mimicked the mannerisms of an impressed individual. "That sounds awfully confusing. Would you be a dear and explain the differences between the two? I just hope that someone of your caliber would be able to do so in a manner that's easily understood by even the slowest of individuals."
Argonok turned to watch the girl's reaction as a beaming smile formed over the teenager's face. The astounded dwarf shook his head as he quietly mumbled to himself over how easy it was for the sorceress to get the human to do as she wanted.
Iskra appeared to be unaware of how easily she had fallen for the elven woman's bait. "I'd be glad to!" The girl beamed with pride as she was offered the chance to explain an intricate portion of Ranislava's high society. Pure, genuine pride was all that she felt as Iskra was finally allowed to show her expertise in all things nobility.
The young girl had fallen for the sorceress's bait hook, line, and sinker.
With a giddy smile, the teenaged human took a surprised Velicion by the hand and forced the two women to sit down face to face.
Velicion grunted as she sat down on the spine of her notebook, the crinkling pages of her notes was a sound that forced a painful reaction from her.
"That's great." The sorceress said as she immediately regretted what she had unleashed out of the girl.
"So first off," An excited Iskra clapped her hands together as her voice cracked with delight. "Ranislava is a civilized kingdom that proclaims lordship over a multitude of nearby smaller, lesser nations. These nations aren't subservient to our great motherland in a literal sense, but it would be wise of their rulers to heed the demands of our King." Iskra pointed a finger up into the air as she continued to speak. "This is because our glorious armies defeated them during the era that we like to call, the 'Long War.' Which wasn't a single conflict fought over a long period of time, but multiple wars that were waged during the many years of Ranislava's founding."
The history lesson continued for quite some time, as it became evident to the sorceress that the young girl had mesmerized much of her homeland's history. If not all of it in its entirety.
Iskra had gone to great lengths to describe the founding of a particular class of people in their society, important marriages that defined portions of their history, skirmishes between rival powers both in and out of the kingdom, the importance of various holiday's, and so forth.
While Velicion would've been intrigued at the prospect of learning more about the girl's homeland, she had found herself to be exhausted by the continual onslaught of the nonstop, rapid-fire amount of knowledge that the teenager continued to throw her way.
The sorceress just wanted the girl to get herself in trouble, not instruct her on the finer points of Ranislavian inter-politics.
"Iskra, please." Finally, Velicion had enough and held out a hand before letting out an exhausted sigh. "I think I've learned all that I can for today. Can we please go back to our original conversation? You know, the one with the differences between the two forms of Lady?"
Embarrassed by the fact that she had gone overboard with her lesson, Iskra leaned forward as she covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry," She mumbled between her fingers. "I get excited when I get to tell people all about Ranislava. It had gotten to the point where my brothers and sisters would try and lock me in a room when I was finished with my daily lessons."
Velicion nodded her head as she consulted the young girl. "That's alright; I know exactly how you feel." The sorceress was surprised to learn of the human teenager's seemingly hidden studious nature, as she had taken the girl to be someone more interested in makeup and jewelry — not books and academics.
"So then," Velicion motioned for the girl to continue with their original topic.
"Right, the differences." Iskra said as she nodded her head. "As I said, there are two versions of the title of Lady. One is reserved for the nobility and is used to denote the unmarried daughter of a noble household or a noblewoman who has yet to take over a deceased family member's land. This woman can either be the widowed spouse of a nobleman who is without a proper heir, or the daughter or sister of someone whose sole heir is the woman in question. Usually, it's used to denote the daughter of nobility, but there have been occasions where a woman has suddenly found herself as the unexpected heir of someone's land."
Velicion folded her arms together as she continued to listen to the girl's explanation. The sorceress had to admit that she found some of what the girl was saying to be of some interest, but she was unwilling to let the girl go off on another long-winded lesson of her people's social etiquette.
For now, she would let the teenager continue to dig her own grave.
"The second form," Iskra held up two of her fingers to help denote the differences between the two titles. Is that the title of 'Lady' is used to indicate a woman who has proven her herself to be worthy of the King's praise. In doing so, she receives an honorary title which holds no real privileges or distinctions between her original social class. In short, if the woman was a peasant and she was to receive the honorary title, then she would still be a peasant. The only thing she would be able to do is to lord over her neighbors on the fact that she had received the title."
A sinister smile appeared on Velicion's face as the reality of the human's words became clear to her. So if I understand it correctly, you hold the second form of the title?"
Iskra nodded her head proudly, unaware of where the elven woman was leading her into admitting.
"And before you received such a title, you were stripped of your noble heritage. Never again to be allowed the powers that came with such privileges."
"That's right. I lost everything that was given to me upon my noble birth when I was banished from Ranislava." Iskra placed a hand over her heart as a wave of genuine depression washed over her body. "A tragedy really, but one that has come with its own hidden benefits." The raven-haired teenager's voice rose in pitch as Iskra's mind turned towards the unrequited love of her savior, Prince Aurelius.
"We'll see about that." Velicion said hesitantly as she held up a hand to stop the young girl from going on another rant. This time focused on her delusions towards the blonde-haired prince. The sorceress pointed a finger at the young girl as she continued. "So because of your banishment, you're a peasant who holds a title with no real weight behind it."
"Correct." Iskra said as she nodded her head.
"And in your eyes, peasants are the lowest of the low. They can eat dirt or die out in the fields for all you care." Velicion said as she continued to force the girl into a corner.
Once again, the young girl nodded her head as she silently watched Velicion continue with her strange spiel.
"So by your very own admission," The sorceress held up a single finger as she delivered the fatal blow in her plan. "You're a peasant who must do whatever it is that her betters wish of her."
"Uh, Well-" Iskra started to say as she finally realized what the sorceress had planned for her. Unfortunately for the banished teenager, she had no chance to plead her case as the sorceress bolted straight into the air as she continued to speak.
"Great! So then that means you can do something for me instead of being a lazy kid for once." The sorceress rummaged through the far left corner of her tent as she shifted various items around. Metal objects smashed into one another while empty glass vials clinked against their counterparts before Velicion finally found what she had set out to look for. "Here. Take these and go collect some rocks for me."
The young girl recoiled back in fright as the sorceress tossed nearly a dozen empty wooden buckets. Most of them landed around her feet, but several of the buckets smashed into her shins, forcing the teenager to wince at the sharp impacts.
Iskra had no time to recollect her composure before the sorceress moved to shove the buckets into the young girl's hands.
"Now go!" An assertive Velicion commanded as she forced the girl to stand up on her own two feet before quickly shoving the teenager out of her tent. "Don't bother coming back here without all of those buckets being filled either. I want them all to have rocks the size of my fist."
"Um-What?" A very confused Iskra said as the eerily bright sun blinded her for a brief moment. She turned back to look down at the deep gashes her boots had been forced to create.
"If you're a good girl, then I might have something for you to learn." Velicion said as she poked out her head between the flaps of her tents. "But only if I'm happy with the results of your current task, Miss Peasant."
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With her hands drenched in sweat and pure agonizing pain exploding out of the arms, an exhausted Iskra could only watch in despair as she flew into the air and land on her back. Thick sludge of mud splashed all around her as rocks, hidden underneath the sickening slop, scratched at her back. The girl could only curl up and watch on as a silent Argonok stepped forward and lean over the still standing bucket of rocks.
"With that," The dwarf said as he picked up the wooden pail with casual ease. "Makes it twelve for twelve."
Iskra frowned at the Fireguards words as she looked on and watched the dwarf play with all twelve of the buckets and the rocks they held within as if they were toys made out of cloth.
"I made it lighter for you." An out of breath Iskra said. She was none too happy with the idea of being humiliated by her bodyguard in such a frivolous manner.
The 'little task' given to her by that accursed sorceress had proven to be far more of a hassle than she had initially thought. The required size of the rocks that the elven woman wished to possess were hard to come by and had proven to be more of a hassle to dig out of the ground than what the teenager had thought possible. What made the matter worse was the fact that she was making a fool out of herself every time she moved to pick up the absurdly heavy buckets.
The only upside to her ordeal was the fact that the two of them were far enough away from the rest of the camp that Iskra had assured herself that no one would be able to watch as she flew about the place like a headless chicken.
"That's what they always say." Argonok said just before something snapped in his hand. One of the buckets swung out from the cluttered mess and plummeted to the ground below, spewing its contents as it did so.
"And that makes eleven out of twelve." Iskra sneered at the dwarf as she stuck held up her chin at the dwarf's apparent failure.
Argonok stared at the broken pail for a good long while before turning his attention back towards the young human. "Looks like you'll get your chance after all." He then turned and began to walk back towards the sorceress's tent.
With a stupefied look, Iskra shook her head and jumped up to chase after the increasingly distant dwarf. She was almost upon the stomping suit of armor when she forced herself to slow down to avoid a sudden and seemingly purposeful splash of bug-infested mud.
"Must you always do that?" The girl asked of the dwarf as she remained a few paces back.
Argonok turned his head to look back at the girl and offered her another stomp of his feet. Unfortunately for the playful Fireguard, his boots only managed to dirty themselves as the ground was far drier than where they had been just before.
Iskra gave her bodyguard an unhelpful smile as she gently covered her lips with the tips of her fingers. "Looks like you'll be having to drudge out some worms tonight. Unless you're willing to let maggots settle in for good and make you their new home."
The armored dwarf noisily shook his head with a sound that mirrored an annoyed breath of air. "They're welcome to it. Maybe they can hang out with the Forge Demon that's living in me as well. He's been wanting me to make him some new friends for a very long time."
Iskra stopped dead in her tracks at the mention of a demon. A look of trepidation exploded onto her face as her eyes darted left and right. "A what?"
"Ah-" The Fireguard started to say before quickly staying quiet as he lowered his head in thought. "I don't think the curse Zharatan gave me can properly translate what I want to say. I imagine that it's not something that can accurately be described in your language."
"You said that it was a demon, right?" Iskra asked nervously. She remained quiet until the dwarf finally nodded his head at what the girl had inquired about. "And you specifically said that it was a Forge Demon, right?"
Argonok bobbed his head left and right as he thought on what he should say. Eventually he began to speak. "Well yeah, but-"
"So then does that mean it made you? Your armor that is." The girl interrupted the dwarf before he could get any further with his explanation.
The Fireguard could only offer up a pleasant and resounding laugh as he leaned back and pounded an open palm over his chest plate. "Only a child would ask such a question." Argonok managed to say between fits of laughter.
"I'm not a child!" The girl protested as she puffed out her cheeks and clenched her fists as she stomped her right foot forward.
"You may not look it, but you definitely act and think like a child." The dwarf chuckled as he continued to poke fun at the teenagers fit.
"Well, it doesn't matter what you think. If I say I'm not a child, then I'm not a child." Iskra said as she continued to protest the dwarf's words.
"Sure you are." Argonok stated as he slowly recovered from his laughter. "Otherwise you'd be huddled up in that elf woman's tent and gossiping about all of the sex you've been having."
"Wha-Uh-Uhm-Huh?" A visibly embarrassed Iskra muttered as her face became beet red. The girl managed to cover her face with her hands just in time before a groan escaped from behind her fingers. "What does that have to do with being an adult?"
"You know what sex is, right?" Argonok asked the girl as he began to mimic a man putting his hands around a woman's waist. The young girl could only nod her head as she did her best to ignore the dwarf's actions. "You know, when a man forces a woman to bend over and take his d-"
"Stop!" Iskra managed to blurt out before the dwarf could go further in his explanation. "Can we please go back to talking about demons instead?"
The girl, embarrassed beyond belief, let out a worried groan as she waited for the dwarf to give her an answer. To Iskra, the subject of a bloodied and cruelly tortured corpse was far more preferable of a topic compared to the one they had somehow ended up on. She loathed the idea of allowing the dwarf to continue with his explanation on how a man and woman acted with one another behind closed doors. Especially now that Iskra couldn't get the image of her naked parents out of her head.
"What's it to me?" Argonok finally asked to the great misfortune of the girl. "What makes you think that I shouldn't just go ahead and teach you about the warlock and the demon?"
"I don't know what that means." Iskra mumbled under her breath as her face remained planted behind her hands. Unfortunately for her, the dwarf had been unable to hear what she had said.
"Huh? Speak up!" Argonok circled his right hand in the air; forcing the buckets he held in his hands to spill the entirety of their contents. Dust and sharp bits of rock flew out in all directions as the playful Fireguard brought an open palm up to his helmet as he pushed for the young human to speak up.
Just as the dwarf was about to get a reply from the still beet red girl, a sudden and violent shift of the earth forced the two of them to collapse onto their knees. Sounds of alarm echoed from somewhere near the front of Ruined Home as a thunderous explosion continued to rock the earth, sending large amounts of debris high into the air.
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