Main Action and Team Status Thread [VICTORY!!!]

[Neo Emolga]

OK, umm, I don't think anyone's searched (29) Shawl's Cafe yet, so I'll search there.

You arrive at Shawl's Cafe, which looks like it used to be a happy and relaxing place to go, only now it appears to be very empty and forlorn. The outside of the building still seems to be in good shape, but it doesn't look like Shawl has been running the business due to his sudden lack of staff.

You search the inside, and in the cafe's interior, you find that things seem to be in a state of limbo. It seems like all it would take to get Shawl's cafe up and running again is just a few employees, but he just hasn't been able to bring himself to do it given the current state of things.

After heading upstairs into the apartment where Shawl lives, you find it to be a cozy and welcoming place. While it isn't very large, the atmosphere, furniture, decor, and layout of the rooms is bright and relaxing. From some of the books you find on his bookshelf, you see that Shawl has quite the collection of joke books, game books, and similar light hearted reads to help him come up with ways to have a good time. He also has playing cards and other games, which looks like they used quite often during parties and better times.

In another room, you find Shawl is into wood carving, and is quite good at it. A lot of the models, figurines, and other decorative objects he's created would definitely require a lot of skill, experience, and steady hands to be able to pull off. Meanwhile, he has quite a large workbench and a lot of carving tools to use.

You head outside and search around the exterior of the building. At first, nothing seems to raise any alarms, but then you see a familiar object, plugged into the ground, made to look like it's a part of the house when it isn't actually attached. You examine it closely, pull it out of the ground, and you see it looks very identical to the other two key daggers that were found earlier. You take it with you.

Item: [Sacrificial Dagger Key] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You don't find anything else that seems to cause suspicion, so you head out.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

I use the three Sacrificial Dagger Keys at the Mother, Father and Child Heart Doors at the Underground Hall of the Mad, at Quiet Creek Apartments.

Back to the ugly nitty-gritty, I suppose. I hope I build resistance to the crazy mind screw drugs.

[Neo Emolga]

Lita copies the relevant notes and searches 24. Gillan's Textiles

You arrive at Gillan's Textiles, which is a nicely well-maintained, middle-class store made of dark-stained wood. You search the inside of the store, which has hundreds of blankets, quilts, bed sheets, pillows, cushions, and many other similar items available for sale. The many available colors, designs, and varieties fill the store with quite a lot of eye-catching color.

You find it's quite easy to lose track of time by browsing through all the merchandise. You find that Gillan the Snivy definitely enjoys her work and is quite skilled at it.

Meanwhile, in one corner of the room, you find a cream-colored quilt rolled up on one of the many wooden display shelves, but something looks suspicious. You take a closer look, and you notice that there's something that doesn't look like it quite belongs, but was hidden here and was made to look like it was part of this very quilt. When you grab it and pull it out, it seems to be a piece of paper that used the quilt to camouflage and hide it...



The =Sin Purge Instructions, Part 2= have been noted in the Team Records.

You continue to search the rest of the store, including the work area that Gillan has in the back. You find she has quite the variety of fabrics, sewing needles, sewing tools, and fillings to make a wide variety of fabric items and just about anything she can dream up. You find some ledgers for orders, including custom orders. It seems Ryne has a custom order for his wife, Sharine, celebrating their 5th anniversary. Meanwile, Kile has a quilt order waiting to be made for Nashelle, who seems to be his girlfriend considering the order has hearts, flowers, and the message "Love you forever, babe."

You search the upstairs level, which has Gillan's apartment. From looking at the room layouts, you get the feeling that Gillan is very relaxed and easy going Pokémon. Most of her furniture and belongings are the simple kind that aren't too expensive, but still have some style. You also find she's into dancing and enjoys volleyball.

You then search the exterior of the building, and it doesn't seem like anything major is out of place. It does look like there are a few weeds that Gillan needs to take care of, but other than that, you don't find anything that would raise any alarms.

[Neo Emolga]

R-right... I'm putting the Coin of Despair, the Coin of Anguish, and the Coin of Damnation in the slots of the Judgement Door... Bracing myself for anything inside, I guess?

The Emissaries send you, Laura, the Umbreon with the strongest stomach ever, to place the [Coin of Despair], the [Coin of Anguish], and the [Coin of Damnation] into the slots of the {Judgment Door}.

You start with the [Coin of Despair]. As you hold the coin with the Pikachu covering his face in tears and sadness, you feel as if that same Pikachu's sadness is flowing into you, almost making you quiver with depression. The coin slides and locks perfectly into place.

You then continue with the [Coin of Anguish], carrying the depiction of a Pikachu overwhelmed with frustration and agony. Just holding the coin makes you feel pings of aggravation and dark disturbance. You are pushed to hurry up the process and you shove the coin into place. It locks in perfectly.

You the insert the final coin. The [Coin of Damnation], with the disturbing depiction of a Pikachu being swallowed by merciless shadows. Simply just touching the coin forces you to steel yourself against the disturbing, evil feeling of darkness coming from it. Despite your fears, you show no hesitation in putting the third coin into place. Like the other two, it locks in perfectly.

Items: [Coin of Despair], [Coin of Anguish], and [Coin of Damnation] have been removed from the Team Inventory.

You step back and your heart is racing and hammering in your chest. And then, all of a sudden...

PIIKAAAAAAAAA!!!-AAAA!!-AAA!-AA-A...

The traumatized, haunting, and echoing cry of a Pikachu suddenly wails out and fills you with the most agonizing and guiltiest feeling you have ever felt in your heart and soul. It forces you to recoil and to step back, but as you do, the door slowly begins to open. But still, the cry lingers on in your mind, and you aren't even sure where it came from...

With the door out of the way, you continue down the hall and come before a large open chamber made of cold stones. The room is filled with a red, hellish glow, and you're not even sure what is creating this infernal illumination. But before you, you see what looks like a horrific slaughterhouse and the smell of blood instantly overwhelms your nostrils.

In one area, you see a large, blood-splattered workbench. Organs and entrails are thrown about in all places, and it looks like a large pile of body parts has been discarded and left to rot. Up above, a bloody message on the wall, in thick, bold letters, reads:

"NOTHING BUT ONLY THE BEST FOR MY MASTERPIECE."

The bloody letters disturb you, but nonetheless, you continue your search, trying hard to not throw up at the sight of it all. It clearly looks like this is the work of Epitaph, and in this macabre workshop, they've been using a wide variety of sharp, jagged, and twisted tools to get to some organs while discarding a vast majority of others in a pile labeled "just meat" and another as "unfit meat." It even looks like whoever did this ungodly work mashed up the "unfit" meat into a morbid paste.

In one of the back corners of the room, you find what almost looks like half of a metal mask, proudly on display. Upon closer inspection, you see the exact face in question is Arceus's... if Arceus was a deranged, soul-eating zombie. The back of it has several notches and protrusions, implying it seems to be a key of some sort. You take it with you...

Item: [Left Half of the SUNKEN Face] has been added to the Team Inventory.

...and you get the hell out of there.

[EmeraldSky]

Excited about finding the other half of the ritual instructions, Lita stashes it in her bag and the hurries to 28. Dari's House

[Suicune's Fire]

Searching #39 - Adom's Home.

[Neo Emolga]

shucks i wanted to do it

Let the searching continue! Search (46) Golden Brown Bakery (and someone please yell at me if they are doing so already)

You come to the Golden Brown Bakery, which from the outside, looks like a very welcoming place. Despite the calamities brought on by the Stalkers, business still seems to be stable for the most part. The exterior of the building is made of a nice, oak wood that is in pretty good condition. Meanwhile, the pleasant smells for the bakery seem very enticing. You can tell Clyde the Hawlucha seems quite proud of his business and he definitely wants to keep it in good shape.

You search around the exterior of the building, but don't seem to come across anything that looks out of place. One thing you do quickly notice is that Millie the Vaporeon works here as a day job. Despite what was found about her, she seems effective at baking and knows what she's doing, but it seems like she doesn't enjoy the job too much and does it simply to pay the bills.

You search the interior of the building, and it looks very well stocked with a lot of flour, sugar, eggs, and other necessary baking goods, as well as plenty of ovens, bowls, and other equipment. On a bulletin board, you find an interesting note.

"Found this strange strip of paper thing while cleaning last night. Is this yours, Clyde? ~Millie"

You find a response note right under it.

"Not sure where it's from, but I'll hang onto it for now. Thanks for checking, Millie! ~Clyde"

You proceed to search upstairs in Clyde's apartment. It seems like Clyde is the confident type and has a love for cooking with his collection of cookbooks, but he also seems to have a lot of books regarding psychology and negotiation. His furniture is also pretty well-maintained and it seems like he keeps the place quite clean.

You don't seem to find anything else inside that would raise any alarms.

[VeloJello]

Welp, I've been wanting to do this for a little while since I should have a semi-okay rapport and now I'm extra curious. Interview 56. Clyde the Hawlucha. Specifically, about Millie and the note, though I'll also ask him his opinion of what's going on in general.

[Neo Emolga]

I use the three Sacrificial Dagger Keys at the Mother, Father and Child Heart Doors at the Underground Hall of the Mad, at Quiet Creek Apartments.

Back to the ugly nitty-gritty, I suppose. I hope I build resistance to the crazy mind screw drugs.

You sure are a very brave soul, Jeff!



You arrive before the {Underground Hall of the Mad}, and insert one [Sacrificial Dagger Key] into each of the three cold, metal slots.

Items: [Sacrificial Dagger Key x3] have been removed from the Team Inventory.

Driving each of the dagger keys into the slots makes your blood run cold for just an instant. A chilling stillness fills the dismal, stone hallway for just a chilling moment before the heavy, metal door suddenly slides into the wall, revealing the tunnel further inward.

You head down the grim, stone hallway and before you lies another slaughterhouse. Blood and pieces of flayed body parts are strewn about, although it seems this series of insidious metal tools you finding hanging on the walls and on the bloodied workbenches seem to be for a whole different purpose. It begins to clue you in that Epitaph seems to be extremely particular about the way these organs and other parts are harvested to require not one but multiple specialized slaughterhouses and macabre underground workshops.

On the back wall, you see another unsettling message written in blood:

"I WILL GO TO ANY LENGTH TO BUILD AND COMPLETE MY MASTERPIECE."

As before, there are several piles of rejected, "unfit" parts and entrails here. You can only wonder what this "masterpiece" is, but you highly doubt it's anything ethical and admirable. Some of the piles have been so dejected that Epitaph has crushed them angrily into a pulp.

On the side, there seems to be half of a mask proudly on display here. When you take a closer look, it seems to be the right half of Arceus's twisted and deranged metallic face. The back seems to have a series of pegs and rods, likely for a lock mechanism. Despite its morbid and grotesque appearance, you take it with you.

Item: [Right Half of the SUNKEN Face] has been added to the Team Inventory.

And then you quickly rush to get outside, as the intense, metallic smell of blood is quickly getting to you...

[Neo Emolga]

Excited about finding the other half of the ritual instructions, Lita stashes it in her bag and the hurries to 28. Dari's House

You arrive before Dari's House, which seems to be pretty exquisite. Judging from the fine wood and stone house, it's clear Dari the Raichu does pretty well for herself and has lots of money to work with, but it also looks like she spends wisely and keeps a budget in mind.

You start by searching the exterior. One thing you quickly realize is that Dari enjoys spending time outside. Her garden is quite nice and she has outdoor furniture here for spending many hours out in the sun. She also has a patio set out here for when she has guests over. You search around the perimeter, but don't find anything that looks too out of place.

Inside, you start by searching the upstairs level. One thing you notice is that Dari seems to have a liking for art, which, as you're initially surprised, is all drawn by her using many types of colored pencils. As for the subject matter, it seems to reflect on her personality for liking the outdoors. Her traveling easel looks like it has seen some outdoor use judging by the dirt on the wooden legs.

You notice Dari has drawn several places around town, including the lake and the park. Her drawing seems quite detailed and realistic. You can definitely tell where she was working when she was creating the drawing.

Dari's home office is quite overwhelmed with papers. It seems her previous claims about looking into real estate to add to her financial work were true. She has been looking into several properties in Serenity Town and has also looked into talking to Marche, Talag, and Joff regarding renovation work. Estimates regarding what kind of work that would need to be done are also here.

Downstairs, Dari's kitchen, living room, and dining room are nice and well-maintained, but you don't find anything that seems strange or distinctly out of place.