Stalkers RPG Main Action and Team Status [SEASON 4]

[Lychee]

Lillian woke up early, but stayed in the clubhouse, avoiding the crime scene where the most recent pokemon was killed. Valley Wellness centre, right? It didnt seem so well today. Gravemeld was killing a lot of pokemon.
It gave her the chills.
She couldnt look at the body. She couldn't think about it.
Lillian stayed in bed for a while, trying to warm up.

While sitting in the clubhouse trying to help coordinate actions for the day, she hears Dracobolts report about Orin STILL hiding something from them. She growls, swiping the enigma berry she got from Yssilee last night and biting into it. Right. Off to hunt down a bug, BEFORE the sun sets and epsilon is more likely to come out.

Wherever she finds him, Lillian will march up to him. They've never had good interactions in the past, but in this case maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it was easier to goad him into a fight. Lillian found herself looking forward to knocking him out.
"ORIN." She stomped a foot, demanding his attention.
"What are you up to? Something useless and pathetic today, again? Honestly, you dont make a good leader OR a good stalker! How are you somehow never helpful to the team you're on? - Its hypothetical, dont answer. I'm not really here to hear you talk. I'm here to ask you to a "friendly" batlle... But we both know you don't have any friends."
She drops down a bag of $500SP.
"How much will I find on your unconscious body, old bug? Surely the towns founder has a stash of splinters for betting?" She waits breifly for a response, but charges on either way.

"Did you know we had to vote about whether to actually keep you alive?... They decided you should live. But.."
Lillian takes a battle stance.
The obsidian dagger glinted like her eyes.
"I voted to kill you."

------------------

After the battle, (assuming Lillian both survives and wins) she will put $300SP into the team account, and take her little bunny self to the market with her winnings. She'll buy another adrenalin orb, using it in order to approach Willow, the Miltank. Lillian will ask her about her quest, ask about the utopian item she has, and challenge her to a friendly 'display battle' to show the kids at school how it's done, (putting up $150SP in a wager). If Willow is willing to hand over the utopian item upon losing, that's great too!

[Bulbasaur]

I'll check out the murder body, and use my Technical on the computer at 24a.

[Neo Emolga]

Since the last guild wasn't so bad and I'm still in the neighborhood, let's Search (22) Mercenary Guild.

When the sun rises, you decide to head to the Mercenary Guild at the northern reaches of town. Upon arriving, you look over the dark, slate-gray building made up of thick, heavy stones and notice there definitely aren't too many windows. It's easy to see what goes on inside this rather large and heavy building isn't something that wants to be openly made to the public.

You find yourself almost needing to sneak inside, as the only entrance is a small, metallic double set of doors that's watched by a Houndoom security guard at all times. Where most Pokémon who attempt to enter get questioned about their business being here, you slip by the security detail as they're distracted talking to a visiting Floatzel.

Inside, you see what the Mercenary Guild is made up of. Bodyguards, assassins, saboteurs, and many other types of mercs for hire come here looking for work regardless of how bloody or dangerous it might be. And as you suspected, not a whole lot of what gets talked about in this building ever reaches the outside. If you feel if the Stalkers weren't so good at concealing themselves among the living, these guys might have taken them out of the picture by now if someone paid high enough.

Their clients seem to be no different. Powerful and rich Pokémon walk through these halls, hiring goons to do their dirty work, giving themselves protection with more bodyguards, or simply hiring an assassin to take out one of their enemies to make it look like an accident or suicide. You feel as though while you're here, simply having the splinters would allow you to realign the wheels of fate depending on who stood in your way and how much you were willing to pay to see them gone. But as you discover, the prices for these services doesn't come cheap, and the harder and more influential a target is, the higher the price is for the service.

While navigating the stone hallways, you come across a heavy gate in the far back reaches of the guild halls. You find yourself alone now, with no one venturing down this far at all. As you face forward once again, you find this area looks like it had been neglected and abandoned long ago to the point where no one had bothered to check it for a long time. However, on a close inspection, it looks like someone did tamper with it recently. Disturbances in the dust make it clear someone has come this way...

When you get closer however, you start to feel different. Colder, hollow, suddenly it feels like the very air around you gets deeper and heavier, and every step you take seems to mysteriously d̛̩̙͍a̵͉ͅr͓̤̳̘͕̤͠ke̠ń̗͚̱͇̹͉ the lighting, further and f͓͖ú͙̦̘̭̬ͅr҉̫t͜h̸e͓̳r͕̙...

Madder the Mimikyu has taken 1 point of Purity damage.

When you finally arrive at the gate, there is a dark totem before you, and you have a feeling not a whole lot of the mercs have even seen this. On the d͏̼a͇̺̙͈͓̬̖ṟ͓͍̟̙͜k, jagged totem itself, you see an empty circular groove, and there seems to be a numerical keypad just under it.

{Heavy Gate Totem: Metal Disc Slot, ENTER DIFFERENCE CODE} has been noted in the Team Records.

You feel a dark presence, still trying to e̛̺̣̣̦̩̯̼n̴̫̲r̥̳̺̼̗a͔͈̞̳̬p̙t͓̤̩̬̲̟̻́u̥͕̹r̼͇̤̰͔̹̬͘e ̞͕̜̟͔̰̙͝ you within this living nightmare. As you realize you don't have what you need to get through this gate, you try to get away from it, and it becomes a st̸̹͙͙̘̫͇͖r̗̲̗̦͞ư̝͔͔̼ͅg̠͍̤͟g̤͕̰̮ͅļ͖̬̻̖e̹̱̱ as it tries to pull you back in like a vacuum.

Madder the Mimikyu has taken 1 point of Purity damage.

Fighting hard against the effect, you eventually break out of its range and make a sprint to get away, and you find yourself back in the empty corridor again. Once you feel you're now a safe distance away, you look back toward the gate again, and it seems deceptively innocent again, like nothing was wrong and it was simply just a hallucination you experienced.

It makes you wonder if the reason why no one is around these halls... is because those that ventured through them never came back out...

You decide to get out and head back to base, still feeling like you've seen that metal disc before...

Madder the Mimikyu (S: Ghost/Fairy)

Health: 8/8 | Sanity: 8/8 | Purity: 10/12
Battle Stance: Fight
Perk: Seinaru | Abilities: Investigate
Trait: Stealthy

[Neo Emolga]

I'll go repair the computer in 24a, gotta put my fedora on and get right in there!

Heading to the Scholars Guild, you manage to get inside rather easily, as there aren't too many prying eyes and not too many Pokémon know you well enough to question what you might be doing here, as your business is your own.

Following Adrian's report, you head toward where he found the computers that were used recently, but seemed to have been damaged. But most of all, seemed to have been used by a Stalker not so long ago.

When you track down which console he was referring to, you can tell the machine was heavily tampered with and something caused it to overheat. You open up the console case and take a look at the components inside, which seem to be caked with dust and debris. You clear it out, clean up the inner components, and you find which of the connections had capacitors and resistors burn out. You replace them, solder them into place, and reestablish the lost and damaged electrical connections. Once completed, you put back the circuit boards, close the case, and turn it back on.

{Partially Functional Computer: <Repair>, Password / <Technical>}

The computer seems to be working just fine now and the screen doesn't seem to be scrambled anymore. However, despite now being repaired, the system still prompts you for the password. And while you have the talent for resolving hardware issues, you don't have the password and you aren't quite sure how to hack into it and override the administrator access command console.

You make a note to tell the others that you've completed the work on your end, but there's still some more that needs to be done. You then decide to head back to base and prepare for tonight.


Brass the Braixen (M: Fire)

Health: 10/10| Sanity: 6/8 | Purity: 10/10
Battle Stance: Fight
Perk: Repair
Trait: Resourceful

[AgloMe Oen]

I changed my mind, Ignore the last post. I'll just eat a couple of Spelon Berries and head over to (25) Merchant's Guild and work on the {Fastened Shadowy Door: <Security>}

Since you didn't specify, you eat ALL the Spę͓̣͕͖̖̭̫̖͚̈́ͫͧ͆ͨ͒ͦͯͬͯͭͣ͊̍̈̆ͪ̃̀͢͠͠lon Berries. Muha haha haha ha I'm only kiddin̶̢͈̻͍̳̩̥͓̘͔̤̣̥ͯ̎͆̅͂͐ͧ̂ͪ̐͘͟͜g, you eat two. I may be s͉̹͎͕͉̪ͅa̠̟̺̜̦̳̻̕d͔i̤͙̥̮s͇͙͉̹̲t͈̦̦̙̹i̺̹͓͙̖c̻̕ but I haven't forgotten ho̹͙̮͎̫̞̳̹̮͙̮͎͚͕̼̘̗̱̾ͣͬ̏̀͘͢͟͡w to add.

Arrow recovers 4 Sanity after munching on 2 Spelon Berries. But you should try being insane sometime, it's fun!

You decide to go to the Merchant's Guild becausę͓̣͕͖̖̭̫̖͚̈́ͫͧ͆ͨ͒ͦͯͬͯͭͣ͊̍̈̆ͪ̃̀͢͠͠ you're the gullible s͙͓̦̙͓͈u̶c͖̤̣k͏̭er̤͠ͅ who got talked into knowingly gettin̶̢͈̻͍̳̩̥͓̘͔̤̣̥ͯ̎͆̅͂͐ͧ̂ͪ̐͘͟͜g their Purity ransacked to take one for the team! Wow, did they promise you like free pizza, milkshakes, and a cruise to the Bahamas for this? ...NO!? You're doing this out of the kindness of your heart!? Fo̹͙̮͎̫̞̳̹̮͙̮͎͚͕̼̘̗̱̾ͣͬ̏̀͘͢͟͡r free!? I was wrong, those Spelon̶̢͈̻͍̳̩̥͓̘͔̤̣̥ͯ̎͆̅͂͐ͧ̂ͪ̐͘͟͜ Berries have to be defectivę͓̣͕͖̖̭̫̖͚̈́ͫͧ͆ͨ͒ͦͯͬͯͭͣ͊̍̈̆ͪ̃̀͢͠͠!

Fine, let's get this party started! Arrow takes 1 Purity damage!

You dash on down and seę͓̣͕͖̖̭̫̖͚̈́ͫͧ͆ͨ͒ͦͯͬͯͭͣ͊̍̈̆ͪ̃̀͢͠͠ the shadowy door in the distance. And guess who sees you too! While Yris was a fine and delicious soul buffet for them, you know, they like the taste of a Jolteon's soul, too. It has that extra bit of zesty zing to̹͙̮͎̫̞̳̹̮͙̮͎͚͕̼̘̗̱̾ͣͬ̏̀͘͢͟͡ it. To them, it's like the c̵̸̡͕͈̤̲̳̙̻̮̲̹̯͉̺̭̭̜͍̓͌̍͐̎ͣ͆̉͐̍̇ͯ̅̐ͬ͟a͂̈́̋͗͋̅ͣ͑̎͊ͨ͗ ̡̱̬͔͓̦̫͇ͩͮͅf̷̶̴̪̪͓̬͕͕̪̣͓͔͆̾̏̇ͥ͌ͯ̅̀̚͞f̸̔ͬ̐̄̈́̊͗ͥͦ͑̒͡ ̨̹̱͉̼̭̱̕ę̸͚̙̼͔͉̖̲̲͙̫͉̮͂ͬ̀̆ͩ́͌̒́͜͡i̷̻̫͙̼͙̳͖̅̎ͪ̉ͫ͘͝ ̮̙̳͙̝ͅn̸̸̝̠͚͙͇̬ͨ͑ͪ̍̽̿̓̇ͫͪ̎͊͋̓ͥ͌̊͛e͛ͭ̂̔̍̿̌͑̎ͩ̈́ͧ̆ͦ̈͞ ̣̞̥̖͔̞̜̮̙̘͍̬̠̮̳̹̞̀ͅͅ they need to get to work in the morning. So of course they take an interest in yo̹͙̮͎̫̞̳̹̮͙̮͎͚͕̼̘̗̱̾ͣͬ̏̀͘͢͟͡u!

You dash and dash, but now they're wrapping around you. Aww, think of it like a hug! A nice, close, ṡ͎͖̠̖͙̯ͧ̾ͩ̿͒̿͛̌h̺̯ͩͧ͛̓̑͂́a͚̱̰̫̘̦̪ͪ͋̅͜͠d͇̥̩̬ͨͤͨoͪ̚ ̶̴̞̰̦͇͓̅̂͆ͧͮ̂w̪̦̲͆̋̈́́̂̂ͩͅͅy̴͉̜͎͚̥̤͉̯͇͒̐̑̍̾̐ͣ, constricting so̹͙̮͎̫̞̳̹̮͙̮͎͚͕̼̘̗̱̾ͣͬ̏̀͘͢͟͡ul-biting hug!

Arrow takes 2 more points Purity damage!

It feels a͖͓̝w̤̜̗̙f̗̰̼̮u̵͕̖̤͚̳̙̰l͇̳̝̦̜͢. It reminds you of puppies being m̗̕ụ͔̮̻r͎d̹̩̳̖̕e̥͉̘̥̩͈r̞̞̝̼̣e̛̞͖d̡̞̺̲̯͙ with an ice pick. Or a really bad episode of Hoarders where they find a dead cat un̻̼͓̯̩̑ͭ͂ͦ͛̑̽̅͛̋̄͢͝͞͞derneath a pile of used adult diapers. Part of yǫ̈́ͪ̆̂͐ͨ̄̒̒ͦͯ́́̚͢͝҉͈̜̙̘̱̳̠͇̜̩̪̖̠̻̻̟ͅu wonders if you'll even make it tǫ̈́ͪ̆̂͐ͨ̄̒̒ͦͯ́́̚͢͝҉͈̜̙̘̱̳̠͇̜̩̪̖̠̻̻̟ͅ the door in the first place, never mind get that darn̻̼͓̯̩̑ͭ͂ͦ͛̑̽̅͛̋̄͢͝͞͞ lock busted!

When you finally reach the door, boy, you try to work quickly on it like you've got Durants in your pants. At first, you try to pick it, but with all the shadows nibbling on your essence, you don't have time for that! And it's toǫ̈́ͪ̆̂͐ͨ̄̒̒ͦͯ́́̚͢͝҉͈̜̙̘̱̳̠͇̜̩̪̖̠̻̻̟ͅ much delicate work! Well, crap, this might just be for n̷̺͎̫͈͎̉ͤͬ̐ͯ͋̔ͪ̓ͪ́o̤̻̩̣̗̹͎̜̭͎̜̟̤̞̠̹ͦ̃͂ͤ̀̑ͭ̊͞t̿ͪ͒̓͊ ̞̳̼̦͎̹̫̖̳͕̯̪͇̐͋ͯ̏̓̓̆ͥ͌͐ͫͩ̐̕͠ͅh̴̶̷͓͇̩̯̱̠̭̗͑̆̓ͥͯͦͭ͢͝ ̹̠͇̘̹͕͕̻̭i̴̡͚͚̱͖͍͕̭̪͔͈̱̫̳̯̟͕̰̜̭ͯ͆ͫͯ͂ͤ̅̉̕͝͠ň͐̈́̇͂ͦ̂ ̸͓̙̝̦͕̫̺͕̯̭̲̺̤̞͖ͣ̒ͥͫ̕͡g̸̶̶̮̰̙͎̈̉̌ͧ̇̆ͣ̄͗͊̆̀̚͝ͅ!ͤ̓ͦ͗ ̛̛̬̠̦̤̗͇̱̣͓̱̤̩̜̝̤͓͊͋ͤͧ̊ͮ̀͘

You decide to try another approach, and it's the old "d̸͂̎̽̇̆ͨ̓͆͠҉̸̢̪̺̗͕̻̪̜͎̩à̷̵̡̆ͯͣ̍ͣͫ̊̅͆ͪ͏̛̤͍̠̜̗m̊́ͪ ̭̱̙̩̰͉̟̙̮̭̲̩̹̬̼͖̗͐̅̋̀ͥ͛ͩ̔ͤ̂͌ͨ͘͜ͅnͣͤͯ̏͠͏҉̸̬͍̮͓͉̘̟͇̗ ͉ this thing, I'll just break it instead!" You use your too̡ͣ̒͑ͨ̓͌̈ͨ̓ͬ̈ͭ̋͛͘͏̲̜̘͓̪̰̫͕̟̯̳̼͠ls and know-how to at least weaken and badly damage the inner mechanisms of the lock instead. Because at this point, you don't care about other Pokémon's personal property! Okay, I'll admit, that was clever improvising. Way to r̐͋̓ͭͨͧ̒̾͊͒͜͝҉͕͓̰̥͖͔͚͔͈̪̘̫̜̭͇͎̖́͟ͅȃͨ̔̌̇̔̐ͭͪ͑̍ͪͨ̚̚ ̢̜͎̰͓̖̙͉͈̥̩̀̕n̡̡͔̠̰̮͓̞̲̭̫̤̳̭͎̳͙̐̎̈́ͧͥͩͤ̊̌͒̓ͭ̓ͯ͡š͑̂ ̮̮̰͕̣͙͈̼̻̟̖͈̟̜͖̩͛ͤ͑͂̋̽̓̈́͌́̚͘͢͞ȧͤ͌̎ͩ͌͗ͥͬ́̅͑̉ͣ̈̓͛͂ͨ ̷̭̖̜͎͡͝c̸̛͇͕͈͕̦̖͎̼̫͕ͯ͐̃̿̋ͧ͑́̔͘͞͝k̵͍̗͉̮̟̙̾͊̓̐̍̍ͧ̐͡͡ ̮̰̼ that thing, you talented marauder!

{Fastened Shadowy Door: <Security>}

Your Emissary buddies better take you out to dinnę̡̛̮̞̙͎̹̹ͫ̈́ͨ͛̅ͥ͜͢ͅr for this nonsense. With the lock compromised, you SMASH into it and presto̡ͣ̒͑ͨ̓͌̈ͨ̓ͬ̈ͭ̋͛͘͏̲̜̘͓̪̰̫͕̟̯̳̼͠, that actually did the job! The lock falls o̡ͣ̒͑ͨ̓͌̈ͨ̓ͬ̈ͭ̋͛͘͏̲̜̘͓̪̰̫͕̟̯̳̼͠ff in a busted heap, on the ground, and the doors open wide to behold...!

{Corruption's Eye: <Seinaru>}

Arrow takes 3 crazy points Purity damage!

The shadows just ģ̜̻̹͙̤̩̟͔̰̜̠̣͕̠̖͕̯̊̔ͥ̄̔ͭͨͥ̆̂͗̀̚͘͜͡ó̭̞͆ͫ̇̎̄̉ͩ͢͜͢͝ ̪̭̱̳̩͍͉ṛ͚̮̹̰̹̖̪̱͇̟͓̳͔͕͎̞̽̌͗ͨ̆ͬ̑̐̂͛̌́g̸͍̠̦͑ͬ̆ͭͧ̆̒ͩ ͍̹͇̠͖̟̯̖͙͈͇̹ͅeͯ̀ͦ̆ͮ̓̐͆͊̎̌̈́̿̉̌ͨͨͣ͛͏̤͙̲͎͓̝̦̰͜͞ on your essence. It's like you stare into oblivion for a few seconds, almost enraptured by the swirling, enthralling darkness befō̷̧̝̣̤͍̺͇̪̤̞̣̳̱͋̾ͪͣ͊ͭ̀̓̀̿͒͌ͪ̆̄ͅͅre your bͮͣͥ̾҉̷͈͕̺̙̰̳̤̗̪͈͇͇̣̫͖̩̠͟rͭ͋͊̌͡͏͚͔̜̼̮̜̪͖͉̘͔͈̜͕̰̮̜͔ ̩a̛̭͉̝͎͈̯̼͓̟͓̲͇̯͎̒͆ͧ̓͋̅͐̈̓̕͘ͅi̵̛͕̥̫͓͓̊̌͆̉̈́ͨ̀͜͢n̐͋́ ̸̡̪̗̥̱͉̻͔̥̍ͩ̽̆͟ turns back on and you decide to run your yellow, spiky behind out of there asap before you take an unintended visit to the undiscovered country!

Well, you did your part and now you get to r̸̡͈̠͓͚͔͉̭̘̬̥̙̘̲͓̤͙̮͉̋ͩ̿ͣ̂̆̊͑ͩ̇̈́͒͐̋͗̒e͑ͣ͒́ͥ̚̕͡҉̩̝͔ ̯͚̥̻͙̜̗͇̙m̹̩̪͍ͥ̾͐̈̌̇ͬͩ́͘͢͜͟į̴̨̤̗̖ͬ̾̃̍͐ͩͫ̃̀ͅn̄͗ͣͥͣ ̸̴̨̝͙̜͔̗̺͖̫͚̳̩̤̪̥̼̊ͬ̓̈́̍ͩ͂͘ͅͅḍ̰͙͖̝͓̤̄̒̋ͪ̊̐ͣ̋ͯ͊͋̍̈͜ ͓̗̪̳ everyone to thank you and pamper you for your gracious services. Say, why not wave to your friend Daniel over there as he's next in line to join in on the shadō̷̧̝̣̤͍̺͇̪̤̞̣̳̱͋̾ͪͣ͊ͭ̀̓̀̿͒͌ͪ̆̄ͅͅwy fun! Yes, the reviews are in and those shadows love fresh Umbreō̷̧̝̣̤͍̺͇̪̤̞̣̳̱͋̾ͪͣ͊ͭ̀̓̀̿͒͌ͪ̆̄ͅͅn souls, too! They're nice and rich!

See you soon, Arrow! M̷̴̢̡̗͓̩̬̥̞̱̳̔̊ͩ͛͑̃͆͜ư̡̯͎̜̜̱̖̯͍̹͉͓̬͓̣̳̿̾̿͂ͭ͌ͩ̊̚aͣ ̐́̉̽ͦ̓̂̅͒͌̍̏̓͛́̚҉̛̬̥̮̠͟ȟ̵̶̯̠͙͙́ͭ̃̈̽̈́͌̂̃ͣ̏̈͑͛̚͟͠͝ ͉͔͉͎͖̣̹͉͇̙̝̺͈̝ ͐ͧ̈́̉̐̔̐̽ͩͥ̍͐̏̄ͤ̀͢͏̦͈̜͕̗̰͇̦̘̦́̀ḩ̴̶̴͂̇ͩ͂̓̏ͤ́ͣ͑̓̅ͫͤͫ ̗̳̙̫̯̥̬̙a̢̙̙̥͚̥̟̩̝̮̞͉̹̘͇̬̪͚̓̏̈́̄ͪ̌͋͆̄̄̈́ͮ̔͂ͭ͛́ ̡̲̻̤̩̰͔͇͍̙̣͚̭̰͓̯̦̽̈̏̊ͪ͗ͯ͑̚͜͜͡ͅh̓͊͌̈́͋ͧ̍͏̖̺̬̮̪̟͎̪̀̀͠ ̜̗̤̠̲̖͓̟ā̧̛̹̲̰̘̯̱̪͈͉̯̬͐̓̅̇͐̆ͯ̓ͤ̿̿ͭ̽̾͂͝͡ ̶̻̻̗̩̰̦̲̝͒͐̿̄͊̇͋ͫ̀͝h̢͈͍̻̣͖͓̝ͬ́ͯ̑ͥ̋̋͋͑͋̏̽͗͜͝͡a͒̊͛́̋ ̶̢͉͓̞̟̬̹̦͕̯̮̤̉͌̈̉̏̅̂̉͆́̚̕h͍̝̥͈̞̞̩̿̆̒̊ͨ̒͌ͨ̅̇̓ͧ͒͟͜͠͡ ̻̘a̴̡̬̩͕̗̰̞͉̭̻͍̟̘̱͔̦̬̫ͧ̏ͭ̂̓̚h̢̳͖̠̹͍̱̼̗̜̮ͬ͒ͬ̌̀̀̚ͅͅa ̴̖̺̹̦̦̮̘̞͎̳̠̆͋̓̏̑͐́̓ͧ͛͗ͬ͌̏̃̾̔ͮ!̛͕͎̥̙̙̈́ͯ̿ͥ̌̍̂̀́͆ͩ̀͝ ̰̹ >:3

Arrow the Jolteon (M: Electric)

Health: 10/10 | Sanity: 8/8 | Purity: 4/10
Battle Stance: Flee
Perk: Security
Trait: Nimble

[Morzone]

I shall take a search around the Mercenary sleeping quarters (22a) if my sources are correct there should be a yellow chest or box or something to go with the Yellow key our good friend Typhen the Luxio gave us.

[Shruikan]

Argh, everywhere I go I run into some blasted infernal trap! I spend as much time purifing myself as helping in the search!

[Use Medicine to heal Arrow and Yris for 4 Purity each]

[Neo Emolga]

When Arrow's done, I'll be checking out the Merchant's guild in case we need to hit it up with Seinaru.

Following closely behind Arrow, you make your way toward the Merchants Guild to prepare to finish off the Corruption's Eye. By now, you're use to this, but it doesn't make the soul-burning any less painful.

You try to go in quickly, racing through the fields of ensnaring tendrils of darkness, but you know most of them will latch on anyway. But you know you're capable of fighting through it, as you have done many times before. But still, you feel the shadows ẖ̞̻̱͚͞u̞͙̲̬̙͙͚n͎̣̣̪͉̝g̵̺̙͍e͇͓̠͍͔r̷͈͙̗̠͕̦̭ and latch on, surrounding you once again.

Daniel has taken 1 point of damage to Purity.

With the Eye up ahead, you try to fight through, though that feeling of spiritual siphoning never gets easier. Nor does it get less spiritually painful. Every b̻͓i̙̥͔͚̲t͏̰̳̹̯͚e into your essence makes you feel colder, more hollow, more lost in the universe...

Daniel has taken 2 points of damage to Purity.

You're only just out of range of the Eye now. Every effort to move ahead just a few feet feels like running a marathon for miles, but as the s̡͎̅̍ͤ̈̚ͅh̬ͩ̍͂͛ͪ̀̾͞ả̝̤̦̜ͥd̊ͤ́̓ͭ̑͌ͥ̚҉̜͙ǫ̀͐ͧͥ̓ͯ̓̂́ ͙̝w̟͚͈̻ͯ͋ͨ͋ͨ̀s̴̩̥͕̪̘͉̾ͧ͂̂͡ ͈̱͎̼̝̅̄s̴̨̡̠͉ͯ̋͆̈ͯͤw̤̞̻͇͔ͭ̽ͯ̇̃̅̓́ͩa̦ͩ̽̔ͧ̓̈r̴̤͔ͫ̄m̐ ̝̹̠̮̖̤̏̀ͣ͆͒̓ͦͮ to try and devour you, you fight and try to get through. And then, you look into it h̨̛̀͑̃͊̎ͬ҉̲̗̤̝͎̘͖e̗͚̗̻͋̾͌̎̄aͭ͗ͤ̊̇̚͏͖͉͚̠̯ď̷̙̳̿ͯ̆̎ͧ ̹͕ ̼͕͓̫̜̞̙͎ͬ̇͝ő̪̜̝̋͐̌ͦ͞ͅn̛͔͍̣ͫ...

Daniel has taken 3 points of damage to Purity.

Once again the void tries to swallow you in, trying to not fail where it did several times before. It tries to ensnare your soul like a helpless fish on a hook and line, but instead, you fight through and unleash your blazing white beam of Seinaru upon it, burning it mercilessly as the white, fiery light obliterates the shadows and pierces the Eye dead center.

{Corruption's Eye: <Seinaru>}

The light soon envelops the area, and you feel your soul restored, purified, and strengthened...

Daniel has restored 6 points Purity with an additional bonus 2 points.

With the shadows losing this war, you feel as though a newfound light has come forward and strengthens the Emissary campaign.

The Resourceful Trait has been strengthened!

RESOURCEFUL

Spoiler:

Scouting a useful item or material is your forte. Your keen eye combined with your honed ability for seeking out valuables makes you more successful when it comes to scavenging.

Effect:
You will always find at least 6 Common materials while Scavenging. +20% to find Rare items and +10% to find Very Rares.
Upgrade: 100% chance to find at least one Rare item. +50% chance for Very Rares.

As the shadows around the Merchants Guild die and fade away forever, you see hope and normalcy return to a place that had seemed like it would never see the light of day again...

Daniel the Umbreon (M: Dark)

Health: 9/10| Sanity: 8/8 | Purity: 12/10
Battle Stance: Flee
Perk: Seinaru
Trait: Charming

[Neo Emolga]

Spoiler:

Truly the Clauncher (S: Water)
Health: 8/8| Sanity: 8/8 | Purity: 12/12
Battle Stance: Fight
Perk: Technical | Abilities: Escort/Protect
Trait: Charming

First -- and I don't know if I've already done this, but I'll dump my personal inventory and wallet into the group's items & funds. There's not much there, but... even less reason for me to keep it to myself, right?

Then, I'll go with Lita to the Wellness Centre. I'll take a look at the cadaver... if Lita's investigation doesn't cover that already.

Finally, I'll catch up with Brass at the Scholar's Guild. If the Fennekin can get the crunchy bits in working order, I can probably crack it for us.

[Use Technical at (24a) Study Halls]

When I realize Mistee and I are headed the same direction, I make small talk. Then I realize we're headed to do the same job. Whoops! We part ways at the door to the Scholar's Guild, and I veer off to pick over (37a) Cepillu's Treehouse.

IF I can use Escort AND search an area with their help, THEN I'll Escort Kaskin the Croagunk to come along with me, in case there's a trapped Pokemon that needs Medicine.

After a short conversation with Mistee about what you're both hoping to find, you head toward Cepillu's Treehouse accompanied by Kaskin the Croagunk, ready to use his Medicine skills if he needs to.

The both of you soon arrive just outside of the Valley Graveyard, and in the distance, you see the old treehouse resting above an old, rotting tree that has definitely seen much better days. You look up above to see most of its branches are gnarled and bare, which almost seems fitting considering the graveyard just right there. Upon arriving at the base of the tree and looking up at the old treehouse resting on top, it makes you wonder why would Cepillu live so far away, secluded from everyone else, and right next to what used to be a corrupted and defiled graveyard that you feel still has traces of darkness within despite all the effort that went into purifying it.

You search the area around the tree, but it isn't until you get to the tree base itself that you see something out of the ordinary tucked within a small, cave-like opening in the base of the tree, wrapped hard and fast around several roots of the tree. It looks some something dark, and it also radiates with a wicked, shadowy aura. You try to pry it out, but it only gets more complicated, as now you discover vines and ivy have wrapped around it as well, making it feel like it's tightly tied to the tree base.

After you give up, Kaskin tries to pry away the roots and vines as well, but after a good few minutes of struggling, he's not able to get it loose either.

"Whew, I tried but that thing's stuck in there, whatever it is," Kaskin shrugs. "I don't think brute force is going to get it out of there. You're going to need some grass Pokémon to see if they can get those darn vines and roots to withdraw."

{Rotting Tree Base: +Grass-Type+} was noted in the Team Records.

You nod at his advice, thinking he's likely right about that. Anything else might not work or would be too destructive and might risk destroying whatever those roots and vines have secured down.

The both of you decide to climb the tree to see if there's anything that Cepillu might have in her treehouse. However, when you climb all the way up and enter through an old wooden porthole, you both do a quick look and see she's not around at the moment. As you both walk around, the treehouse is quite rickety and makes a lot of unsettling creaking sounds, making you both a little worried about its structural integrity, especially given the state of the old wood building materials that comprise the house in addition to the condition of the rotting tree.

Cepillu, even though she lives far away from the rest of the town, doesn't seem to be that aloof like a crazed hermit. Her belongings and possessions are simple and inexpensive, like simple ceramic plates and bowls, books on religious topics, and geography, history, and ancient culture. You also discover she knits her own blankets and quilts, almost to the point of it being a hobby than just out of necessity, but a lot of them have gotten worn down over the many years. Still, you don't find anything that seems to suggest there's dark work in play here. You come to the conclusion Cepillu just chooses to live her life as a priestess here, where it's quiet, likely watching over the dead resting in the cemetery.

With nothing else to find here, you and Kaskin head back and you return to base while he goes home to his house.

Truly the Clauncher (S: Water)

Health: 8/8| Sanity: 8/8 | Purity: 12/12
Battle Stance: Fight
Perk: Technical | Abilities: Escort/Protect
Trait: Charming

[Neo Emolga]

Time to take a good ol' look at that book.

....

Er... Well, I ain't the best reader on Pokearth. I think I'll get the Lombre to do it.

Action: Escort Remnashi the Lombre, get him to read that vile book.

You track down Remnashi, working at Terr's Delicacies. You can tell he doesn't enjoy being a waiter, but it's what he does to pay the bills. When he's on break, you go up to him and talk him into helping you with the secured metal book at the scholars sleeping quarters. As the day is slow and he figured he won't be missed anyway, he decides whatever this is couldn't possibly be worse than what he's doing now.

He joins you as you follow where Madder's report took him last time he was there. You both come to the small, miniature library at the end of the long hallway. You feel the dark, otherworldly presence that Madder mentioned earlier, and then you find the infernal metallic book itself, shackled down and tightly secured. You too get the idea that this is likely an Enthraller's creation, or was pulled out of the Abyss itself.

"This is what you want broken into?" Remnashi asks, skeptical about the whole thing. "You know what, fine. Whatever. It's probably nothing."

He whips out a set of lockpicks and precision tools and gets to work undoing the heavy shackles and chains, caring not one bit that the scholars here might have tried to keep this dark relic under control in the interest of preventing yet another cataclysmic disaster from this thing being cracked open. Surprisingly, it doesn't even take Remnashi all that long to pry out the locks and undo the shackles, taking it like it wasn't much of a challenge to him and didn't put his skills too much to the test.

{Secured Metal Book: <Security> / <Technical>

He takes the chains and shackles and tosses them aside like they mean nothing to him. Curiously, he sees for himself what all the fuss was about and open it to the first page. He then flips through it. Page by page by page, he goes from looking doubtful, to looking alarmed, to looking sicker and sicker and sicker. Eventually he gives up before he gets to the end, winces, pushes the book off to the side, and starts to look away.

"D... D-damn it, that... wasn't f-funny," he tells you with contempt, looking at you like this was a mean trick. "Pissing hell, don't ever a-ask me to look at that... g-goddamn thing again, okay?"

He slowly walks away, definitely horribly affected by whatever he just looked at. You decide you need to find out for yourself what exactly is within this dark tome that obviously has some connection to the Stalkers. So you flip everything back to the beginning and start on page one, delving into what seems to be dark, shadowy blood-red Abyssal runes, jagged and spidery upon paper that's jet-black. You don't know what this language of evil is describing or instructing, but you almost feel as if your soul can at least sense its evil, and it's warning you that these hellish words are nothing but wretched, wretched evil.

Page by page, you're not sure if your ignorance about what these words describe is a curse or a blessing. Part of you wants to know what dark work is at stake here, but the other side of you is convinced the knowledge wouldn't help and would just make you feel ill. Beside the dark words, there are jagged, twisted sketches. Demonic ziggurats, occult-like symbols that seem to radiate with evil, and depictions of torture, holocausts, and vile sacrifices. You feel as though the only thing preventing you from slipping helplessly into madness is the simple fact that you can't read whatever this darkness is, but the macabre imagery gives you a clear indication it's nothing any sane person would want to know.

You just barely reach the last few pages, but they become oddly vacant and devoid of anything without any warning. Suddenly, the runes and sketches are gone from these last, pure black pages. The writing and the dark images just stop and you can't understand the reason. You see three pages left, but when you flip to the next, you see there's still nothing. You turn to the second to last page... still blank. Then there's the last page, which you turn, but still blank blackness. You can't quite understand why it just stopped like this, but you begin to think maybe it just finished and there was nothing left to write about.

After this comes only the back of this last page and the back cover. You don't even shrug or blink, and turn it, expecting nothing but blackness and blank nothingness.

You turn it over...

...

You turn it over...

...

Ỵ̸͚͔̭͓̤̦̘̝̠̖̝̫͢ó̴̧̢̪͍͎̣̝̟̫͇͢U̮̙̟̟̙̮͜͝ͅ ̲̪͍̮̘͝͝t̴̷̫͔̖͍͎͎̬̹͘͟͟ͅU̺͉̼̬̙̪̼͙͡͝͡͡͡ͅͅņ̵̷̕͏̲͈͓͙̼͚ ̪̖͓̼̝̻̞̘͕̜̮͙R̷̺̣̻̘̣̳̹̣̻̲̯̩̘͓̺̝͡ ̵̴͖͕̰̗͍͚̫̥͉̕͢i̵͏̸̶̤͚͇̩̙͈̝̠Ṭ̗̼͖͇͚̬̜̹̙́̕͟͢ ̸̜̘̮͇̦̭̼͇̦͍̬̭̳̝̝͖̖Ǫ̛̮̹̥̱̘̪͈̙̘v͍̝̠͚̺̻̮̙̬͇͎́ͅE̶̶̻̖̩ ̣͔͓̬̫R̶̵̞̫̹͉̺̯̜̫̙̫̳͜͟



Olď̶̵̗̯̠̖̗͚̖͓̬̳͓̿̿́́ͭͪͥ͑̊̊̀ͅͅ Lace has ta̛̘̦̝̱̬̺͍̳̲̝ͦ̽͛ͫ̃̐͢͝ken 4 Poin̢̳̭̗̲̳̩̤̜ͭ̈́̄ͫ̈́ͮͨ̿ͨ͗ͩ̌̇ͩ̄̈̄͑ͅts of Sanity dama̛̘̦̝̱̬̺͍̳̲̝ͦ̽͛ͫ̃̐͢͝ge.

Your s̈́́̀ͣ̿̋c͎̪̫͗͗̒ͮ͌͛̈r͙͓̼̆̓͌e̳̙̠ͬ̈́â̞̤̤̳̈́͌̑͠m̢̙̳͑ͧ̃ͯ͗ ̮̯̰̦i̖̭͛̿̿̀̐n͍̲̲̐̏g͈̉̈́ suddenly becomes incoherent. Upon the back of that last page, you feel like your memories are suddenly raped, twisted, and gutted beyond reclamation.

HoW MaNY tIMeS HavE YouR MeMorIes bEeN WroNGed? Do yOU RemEmbER HoW iT WaS BeFoRE? Or Is IT HElPleSS to EVer ThInK AboUt GoiNg BacK!?

Is iT heLͫ̃̅ͥͦ̈́ͯ͂ͦ̾͌̔̀́͌ͯ͂҉̸͇̘̥̯̜̰͉̹̝͓̞̫̙̘̤̀ͅpLeSSͤͥ̊ͣ͒̂ ̧̛̤̭̰͔̩͍̓̔ͯͩ͂͞!?

You stop and try to pull yourself together. You look upon it again. How much has it been twisted? How many times has it been afflicted from the way you remember it was supposed to be?

You take a deep breath. You decide to count the differences between what you remember and what is defiled before you now... maybe hoping there's some dark, hidden meaning to that number...

=Spot the Blood= has been noted in the Team Records (=Original Reference=)

Old Lace the Buzzwole (L: Bug/Fighting)

Health: 12/12 | Sanity: 4/8 | Purity: 6/8
Battle Stance: Fight
Perk: Diplomacy | Abilities: Escort/Protect, Rescue/Escape
Trait: Stealthy

(I will openly admit this is one of the most EFFED-up images I've ever seen Xanthe make! It's well-done though! XD)