[SEASON 2] The Stalkers RPG - Main Action and Team Status [ENDED... FOR NOW]

[azura evley]

im going to open the vine lockbox with the vine key

[Bulbasaur]

Eddie liked engineering, and 13 is a sketchy number, so he decided to search that floor in the engineering complex!

Search (87c) Floors 11-20

[Neo Emolga]

I guess I'll get rid of the boulders in (72) Electrical Substation

You pick up where Pixel left off, traveling to the building near the back of the Electrical Substation's property. The boulders are lying there in wait, and the closer to them you draw, the stronger the eerie presence becomes. You feel your muscles tense as you stand before the first boulder, and you build up strength before unleashing them by thrusting each arm forward in succession.

The first boulder collapses, shattering into countless pieces as dust erupts from its midsection and begins to cloud your surroundings. You cough and cover your mouth for a moment, then focus on the second boulder and perform the same actions. When the rock formation crumbles like the first one did, you use your horn as a shovel to remove all the debris. You clear the last remaining fragments and dirt, which reveals just what Pixel said may have been there: dual trapdoors.

You latch your hands around them and pull, and you hear the big metal doors heave and scrape as they open slowly, revealing a pitch-black passage.

Just as you are about to step through, you have a feeling that something is about to jump out at you, and you swiftly leap away from the trapdoors. The second you get out of range, an electrical explosion sizzles inside the opening of the passage, then slowly fizzles out. You feel immense relief; that looked more powerful than a regular trap.

Sure that it's safe, you step into the tunnel and begin to work your way through it, using your headband flashlight to light the path. As you walk through, you can feel the dirt flooring begin to get softer. It grows slightly damp, and the air becomes thick with must. There's another stale smell which you can detect, but you can't see another doorway yet. However, it doesn't take you long to finally find one, and when you do, you immediately suspect that this is a Stalker lair.

Enormous letters are slathered across the large iron doors in what looks to be dried blood. It amounts to one word:

At first you're worried that you won't be able to open the doors, but after a simple push, they heave open. To your horror, there is blood everywhere.

The metallic stench of blood is immensely strong and makes you immediately sick in the stomach. It appears to be a dungeon where something like surgery is performed. At least, that is what you assume when taking into consideration the metal stands with tools, equipment you see, preparation benches, and the abundance of blood. This is clearly not just any kind of surgery. It's sick, twisted and horrifying, and you can only imagine this is the work of a Stalker. You study the walls and the various areas which look to be for different procedures, noting the scribbles often scrawled in blood. Bits and pieces of intestines, arteries and other internal body pieces are scattered about, usually pushed into a corner in some sort of attempt to clean.

You scour the room for evidence, but you can't find anything that incriminates one particular citizen. You carefully trod about the lair, hoping that nobody is currently in it, and then your headlamp light falls onto a drawer. You approach it and carefully open it, seeing a collection of pristine documents which look to be insignificant and mostly devoid of blood. You shuffle through them until you come across a receipt. The name above the service details is scribbled out, and you imagine that the Stalker's identity was printed below it. However, no matter what angle you hold it at, you cannot see a name.



You pocket the receipt in the pack you brought with you in the hopes that it might bring you close to discovering the Stalker's identity by tracing it back, and give the rest of the hideout a quick scour. You come upon another trapdoor at the far back. This one looks to be much more intricate than the ones at the start of the tunnel leading into the dungeon, and you see several indents and requirements, none of which you can fulfill right now. Still, you make a note of it.

Object {Trapdoor of Sickening: +Dragon-type+, +Normal-type+, Cuff Slot, Bleach Stain, Fragment Slot} was noted in the Team Records.

As soon as that is done, you ensure the receipt is still in your satchel and you hurry to the exit, leaving this heinous place.


Carly the Heracross (M: Bug/Fighting)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Science | Learned Abilities: Rescue/Escape
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

Search (66) Joka Memorial Park.

You immediately decide to head to Joka Memorial Park, trying to search for Penelope based on Cinci's last known lead.

At night, the Joka Memorial Park does look and feel a bit intimidating even though it should look nice during the day. The trees seem to be in good condition and it seems like the city officials try to keep the park looking nice, but it is known for many muggings and violence. You also see the city has been trying to fight against the graffiti in many places, but some persistent Pokémon insist on vandalizing things and leaving spray-painted gang tags around. You definitely don't feel safe around here as you search along the paths for any sign of Penelope.

You try to find whatever evidence you can. You tell yourself that if you can't find Penelope, you'd like to at least leave with something that might be able to point in the direction. You start by searching the few park tables and benches, likely the place where Penelope and Giji had lunch and socialized before they parted ways. However, you don't find anything here that seems conclusive beyond a few pieces of trash and a child's red rubber ball that was left behind.

You then decide to take your search to the darker, more shady areas of the park, wondering if that's where Penelope might have been attacked and dragged off to. While you're right that it's clear these areas of the park don't get a whole lot of visitors checking around them, there doesn't seem to be anything that relates to Penelope.

However, you do find something else.

Within a shadowy corner of the park, you find what looks like a hidden door, which you immediately think must be a shed of some sort that Penelope could have been thrown into. However, when you turn around to look at it, you're greeted by a f̛͉͚̤̞͂̈ͬ͆ͧ̀a̳͖ͪ̽c̤̫̙̋͗ͤ̐ě̘̠͍̭̩͚̜͉̦̌̂̏͢͡l̵̒̇ͦ̏͒̏̇ ̞̦̠͍͇̳͈̣ȩ̻̫͈͋ͥ̓ͭ̉̉s̛̘̞ͮ̉ͥ̃̇́̑̓̕͜s̵̛̤̬͖̅̎̍̋ͥ͊ ̧̖̅ͮ̾ͦ̄͆ͮ͛n̗͓̜̮̞̩͚͖̺͛͒̊i̧̪̤͛͑͗g̼̩̘̥̻̟̭̅̇ͤ̅̄͛̕h̴ͦͪͮ ̧͏̫̤̥̘͇̙͔̥ṯ̫̗̠̩̳̣͊̌̏ͅm̛͕͍̣̻͚̏͑͆ͨ͝ą̸͇͈̞̈́ͩrͪ͆́ͫ̎̇̓ ͎͉̺͚̪̜̻͍̤̎e͖͌ͨ̇̄͝ ͖̤̼̫͍̜͑ͩ͠b̒҉̬͈͈̮́e̥̯̅̂͑ͯ̂͑y̛ͣͥ͏̝̣̝̭̭o̶̡̧̻͇̺̩ͮn̒̐̈͌ ̨͖̭̺̖d̤̳̝͖̻͓̯͇̮̀͑̔ͨ̌̔͟ ̸̘̇̓ŷ̡̨̘̫̯̰͌̏ͦ̅̇͛̂̀o̶͉̥̣̤̯ͧͣͫͤ̍u͒ͥͬͮ͏͙̰͕͖̮r̛̀̅ͫ͠͠ ̥̤͇ ̡͕͓̹̻̫͉̿̊b̴̖̠͓ͩ̏ͧ͢͝ͅę͕͇̯ͧ̈́͝l̴̶͓̝̙ͧ̍͛͆͌ͪ͌i̎ͨ̅̀ͤ́̌̉ ̠͖̳̝͈ͣě̘̼̇͝ḟ̺̲̘͖͒ͥ͜.̨̛̦̘̔̿̃͢

Standing before you is a macabre, blood-stained metallic door and a "̯͍̪̤̗ͬ̐̔f̻͍͙͛ͪ̅́̾̀̒̄a͓ͫ̄ͬ́c͎̖͓̿̎̑̃̚͞ê̡̛̝̣̏ͪ̇͂̎̓͗ ̥͚̺"̶̳͚̩͈ͪ̉̇̌̎̀, but it's... it's just missing. What should have been the face of a Kangaskhan is just hollowed out, empty, and wicked. In her mouth, a dark, infernal symbol seems to yearn for something d̶̮̟̩̜͇͊̋͂͌ͭ̓̓̚̕͝e̱̘͕̙̭͇̳̔̃ͧͣ͗ͨ̀m̷͙̣͆̉̍̋͗͗̈́o͗ͨ͂̉ͥͦ ̛̗̗̔͟͠ṇ̴̥͔͚ͣ̂ͨ̀͡i̶ͬͤ̋̐҉͈̰c̞͐́̅̂͠ to be inserted into it.

Sam has suffered 1 point of damage to Sanity.

It gives you the chills, and you wonder if Penelope is behind it. Or what's left of her...

Meanwhile, you look down to see a plaque description. You wipe away the bloodstains and the message gives you the chills.

Wretched the demonic slaughterer, widow of death, demands the offering of the demonic rite. Return her face to her, or SHE WILL TAKE YOURS.

Once you shake off the paralysis of fear, you dart out of there, not having what exactly this grizzly thing seems to want...

Locked door {The Widow Door: Demonic Mark Emblem, Missing Widow Face Left Half, Missing Widow Face Right Half} #Infernal Presence# (Deals one damage to Sanity) has been noted in the Team Records.

Sam the Deerling (S: Normal/Grass)

Health: 2/4
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Repair | Learned Abilities: Rescue/Escape
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

I'll search (79) Pishter Park.

When you arrive at Pishter Park, you can tell the city officials never wanted it to become something like this. From a first outside glance, the park is unsightly, overgrown with weeds and uncontrolled grass, and those are just the parts of it that are still alive. As you can tell, the ground water became heavily polluted around here and that is what likely did it in for the plants that used to thrive here.

Most of the trees are dead and those that still cling onto life are very sickly, diseased, and don't have much life to them left before they die off as well. In truth, it looks bad, but at night, it looks very macabre. Clearly, this park is dead and it would take decades of work to restore it. But no one seems interested in it enough to do that.

Vandalism and crime seem to be apparent here as well. The public bathroom is slathered with graffiti and a lot of the things like the mirrors, sinks, and fixtures were ripped out of the walls and stolen. Other things like the windows have been smashed, the doors have been broken off and are coated with scribbled graffiti, and the ceiling and floor are a disgusting and dirty mess from the lack of maintenance. Feces, bits of paper, pieces of broken glass, and dirt and grime are everywhere. And it smells like the devil in there.

The benches and tables have also been damaged to the point where it would be better to just outright replace them than to attempt fixing the rusted, warped mess they have been turned into. Besides graffiti all over those as well, many of them are broken, rusted over, and have been knocked over. Trying to find a bench that's still usable is actually quite a challenge. Meanwhile, garbage is everywhere. When the trash barrels filled up and were never emptied out, Pokémon simply threw their wrappers and trash around them and eventually stopped caring at all.

Surprisingly, the areas where Pokémon usually don't go are probably the best off. You search around these areas, hoping to find something besides junk. You do see something metallic in the ground, which seems to be a kind of entrance to an underground level. It seems like it was once used by the city to be a storage area, but someone or something else has been using it ever since everyone else stopped caring about the welfare of the park.

You pull back the decaying weeds and shrubs that were attempting to hide the entrance, and what you see immediately fills you with d̯̖͇̘̳̻̔͛̆̑̍̆ͯͬr̞͔̺͇̺̯̘̉͊̎ͩ͗̎͌͘͝e̡̛̯̗̝͎͌ͥͨ̀̒ͭ̚͟a̛̽ ̦͕̗d̝̺͔̥͔͔̥͇͂ͦ̿.̴̦͚͙̥͗̃̉̌̒

Theo has suffered 1 point of damage to Sanity.

The visage is incomprehensible, but it clasps at your throat in the form of a horrifying realization that hope is merely an illusion. The only words you can describe it as include a macabre abstraction that feels so distinctly evil that you're certain it means something horribly dark and the innate knowledge in your soul feels it. Jagged lines, forming shapes and patterns that make you wish for a͈̰̝͙̱͛̿͑͘p̫̽̍͟͠͠o͎͔̬͖̭͈̩ͬ͋ͣ͗͂̂̚͡c̝̺̖̫ͭͬ̔ͮ̆̃̀͜a̍͋ͥ ̻̺̽͝l̤͍̟̞ͮ̽̀̉ͫ͗͘͜y̨̯͕̦͚͖̭̖̻ͬ̏ͥ͊̌p̢̯͚ͬ̾̃̒́ͬͬ̇͜ş̖̏̿ ̫͎̻̬͈͎e͙̭͉̤̝̭̻͐͛ͦ͝ for just a moment. A vision of impending grief is all you see before you fight to take your eyes off of the sight that devours hope and optimism voraciously.

You look at what is missing. XTHEN. ZEKETH. It yearns. It hungers for the brands. It excepts nothing less. You feel compelled to complete it, even if it means your own demise.

Locked door {Hall of Ill Omen: Missing Brand of the XTHEN, Missing Brand of the ZEKETH} #Infernal Presence# (Deals one damage to Sanity) has been noted in the Team Records.

You walk away, trying to regain what you have lost, though you feel like a piece of yourself was ripped out and had become part of that very door of Ill Omen...

Theo the Bisharp (L: Dark/Steel)

Health: 6/6
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Diplomacy | Learned Abilities: Restrain
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Shruikan]

Hey Sam, you look like you could use some fixing up.

Use First Aid on Sam the Deerling

[Neo Emolga]

Hm... more need for my lockpicking skills? I'm on a roll today. Let's see what I can discover here.

Madder has decided to lockpick {Underground Cellar Door: Black Rose Emblem / <Lockpick>} at (38) Altamar Motel (Abandoned).

Later during the night, you head to the Altamar Motel. As you see for yourself, Sam the Zoroark was right, this place has been stripped clean of anything useful save for damaged wiring and a few things the squatters own.

You head to the back where the cellar door was found and you locate the locked door in question. The door has been slightly rusted and you take a look at the lock with the freshly painted black rose above the keyhole. From what you can tell, it seems to be a kind of marker of sorts or is being used as an identifier. What exactly for is something you're not quite sure, however.

The lock isn't complicated, so you first start by placing in the tension wrench. You then take your starting pick and lock the last pin past the shear line until the tension wrench keeps it from falling back into the hole. You follow through with the remainder of the five pins until all of them are past the shear line and you're able to bypass the tumbler mechanism to disengage the lock. The rusted metallic door swings open with a metallic creaking sound and you head into the dark cellar below.

Being a ghost type, the poor, nearly pitch-black lighting doesn't bother you. Down there, the concrete walls are dirty and stained while the stairs have had their tiling work come loose. After heading down, you see the underground storage room is mostly cleared out though there are a few old boxes, paint cans, power tools, and workbench equipment still remaining.

One thing that catches your attention is the presence of a strangely-designed cube. As you take a closer look, there is the engraving of an Arbok on it, and it seems like there are nooks and groves along the sides. You figure this must be a kind of special key, but what it's used for is something that still needs to be discovered.

Item: [Cobra Cube (Arbok)] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You decide to head back upstairs and out of the motel, walking back into the dark streets of Silvercoal.

Madder the Mimikyu (S: Ghost/Fairy)

Health: 4/4
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Lockpick | Learned Abilities: Restrain
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Ladybugclue]

Let's head out!
Search (47b) Floors 8-15 of the Azure Water Tower.

[Neo Emolga]

I'll repair the =Divine Codex Pages First Half: <Repair>!

The recovered first half of the Divine Codex Pages are in pretty bad shape and it looks like someone tried their hardest to completely destroy them, but couldn't quite do it completely. But as you can tell, the bits and pieces of the pages came very close to being impossible to restore.

Carefully, you lay out a flat, metal plate on one of the clubhouse tables and lay out the pieces. Working through the night, you successfully mend most of the major rips and tears. Before, the pieces were far too damaged and any kind of handling might have damaged them further, but now, they're in a repaired condition that should make them much easier to handle for the reassembly process.

Once you complete most of the work, all that's left now is to take the pieces and reassemble what someone else had desperately tried to destroy.

=Divine Codex Pages First Half: <Repair>=

Sarah the Archen (S: Rock/Flying)

Health: 4/4
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Repair | Learned Abilities: Investigate
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Suicune's Fire]

I'll finish what I started last night and search the rest of the Chemical Plant

{Search: (49b) Runner Chemical Plant Floors 8-15}

Once more you look upon the Runner Chemical Plant as you float before it, knowing half of its interior has been already scoured by you the previous night. This time, you're heading for floors 8 through to 15, so you get to work and make your way up to the eighth floor. This half of the building is essentially the same as the first half; old, mostly destroyed, threatening to collapse, and absolutely disgusting to levitate through. You feel relieved that you don't need to apply your weight to the flooring, because this high up you feel like it would collapse.

You search every room, even ones that are blocked off, by phasing through the walls. It's a much quicker route to take when searching a large plant such as this one, and before you know it, you're already at floor 13. You hover through, still using your lit flame to light the way, and eventually come into what looks like a leisure room. You can see that the floor is lined with chemicals, so you carefully float above them, taking extra care not to float too close. When you reach the other side of the spilled chemicals toward the back of the room, you see a book lying on the floor. It is old, brown, and has a simple drawing of a Cutiefly on the front, with the title, Tales of Jacob the Cutiefly. Curious, you use your arms to flick the front cover over and you see scribbling on the inside.

To my dearest Min,
I know that you will grow up to make me proud.
My dearest boy, your father will always be watching.
Remember me every time you read this.
Undying love, your father.

Although you're unsure if this is just an innocent letter from what sounds like a dying father to his son, or if it's connected to the administraton door you found down on a lower floor, you scoop the book up and decide to take it with you.

Item [Tales of Jacob the Cutiefly] was added to the Team Inventory.

The rest of the building's interior is empty, so you leave with this single piece of potential evidence.


Kames the Lampent (S: Ghost/Fire)

Health: 4/4
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Repair | Learned Abilities: Investigate
Failed Assassinations: 0/2