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

[Neo Emolga]

You know, that recording was probably talking about that door I found in the Runner Chemical Plant, but I should check out the Inspiration Inc. Chemical Plant just to be on the safe side.

{Search: (73b) Inspiration Inc. Chemical Plant Floors 1-5}

You arrive before the Inspiration Inc Chemical Plant, which is a larger, lighter-gray building that hasn't seen too much damage over time. Unlike some of the other buildings in the area, this one seems to be relatively intact and only a little bit of vandalism is here.

You head inside, taking note that the front double metal doors haven't been locked or chained off. After heading inside, you see the inside of the building hadn't taken too much damage either. The concrete floor, metallic walls, and piped concrete ceiling don't even seem to be in such bad condition and wouldn't really take much renovation to bring it all back online.

Most of the equipment was taken away, but there are a few minor fixtures that still remain here that someone didn't think were worth digging out of the ground to preserve. As a result, there is a lot of stripped machine components that aren't worth much than the metal they're made of.

The second floor seems to be more of the same, along with the third. You have a feeling what you're really looking for lies more on the fourth floor, so you head there to find a lot more of the same factory line equipment. As before, there's really not much left here. It seemed Inspiration Inc was very quick to strip whatever they could out of here and either throw it out or liquidate it.

You do come across one room that seems to be metal-lined storage containment room. As you step back the door, you hear some kind of clicking just before a mechanism pops and suddenly you're struck with a bombardment of ghostly spears that are smothered with a violet and black spectral fire. Thankfully, being a ghost type, they do you no harm, but to another Pokémon, the damage would have been brutal, if not fatal...

The only thing in this room seems to be a note on the wall. As you take a look, it seems to be in Braille again.



=Oblivion Wall Note= was noted in the Team Records.

You check the remainder of the fourth floor and the remaining fifth floor, you only find more of the same stripped equipment. You have a distinct feeling the search goes on.

Kames the Lampent (S: Ghost/Fire)

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

[Suicune's Fire]

I`m hungry.

10c) Stadium Concession Area <UNSEARCHED>

You head into the Patriarch Stadium concession area. For the most part, the area was locked down pretty well to deter thieves, but you find a clever way to slip in through an upper window that was never closed the way it was supposed to be.

In general, the area is actually quite clean and doesn't look like it has fallen victim to vandalism or a lot of theft. Everything is closed down and all of the cooking equipment is turned off, but there's still plenty around with a lot of advertisements for just about whatever junk food a Pokémon could ever want. Only a few backup lights are on, but they provide enough light to see around. Not to mention the overhead skylight windows provide a lot of natural sunlight as well. The drink refrigerators are still working and it seems like there hasn't been too many Pokémon taking stuff for free. The white-tiled floor is pretty spotless and while everything seems to be off, it would only take a few flicks of a switch to make everything look like it was ready to go again. You can tell it hasn't been vacant for too long.

After helping yourself to a bottle of Silver Crown Cola and a box of gummis, you check out each concession stand one by one to see if anything seems out of place. From what you can tell, not too much seems out of order here. Things were closed down because of the Stalker attacks, but they were done properly without hustled chaos. Meanwhile, stands offering grilled sandwich-like snacks, pizza croissants, frozen custard, and many other delicious-looking food items are all there with colorful signs and eye-catching displays. It definitely does get you feeling hungry, though there's no staff to cook anything so you'd have to do it yourself.

You start checking the supply rooms that only the employees and staff would have access to. Oddly enough, here seems to be where things could be a little cleaner, but you assume because none of the stadium goers have to see this area, the stadium mangers aren't too concerned about what it looks like. Some of the metal cabinets and lockers look old and could be replaced. You can definitely see where the funding and revenue goes. It's definitely not here.

You come across one cabinet in particular that seems strange. It's a bit rusty, but the very odd thing about it is the scratching. From what you can tell, someone was scratching at it, as if to look and feel around like they were in the dark trying to locate something. But oddly enough, you look around and there's enough backup lighting to be able to see your way around, even when there aren't any windows in these supply rooms. Meanwhile, there's scratching all over the door handle, which also has a keyhole. Normally, you wouldn't be able to tell what kind of key would go in here, but whoever the scratcher was raked in a twisted cross right by the keyhole, enough to the point where you could feel it even if you couldn't see it. You have a feeling you've seen that sign before and that the key that actually goes here is back at base.

Locked Container: {Rusted Cabinet: Twisted Cross Emblem} was noted in the Team Records.

You make one last check around the concession area, but nothing else seems to be out of place. You do, however, discover how the "scratcher" managed to get their way in by climbing through a maintenance hatch that leads to the outside. All along the way, it seems like whoever this was had to feel their way around rather than see where they were going. You find similar scratches all along the walls, the metal ladder, and the metal hatch they used to get to the rusted cabinet.

Once you get back outside, you head back to base.

Sam the Zoroark (L: Dark)

Health: 6/6
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Security | Learned Abilities: Escort/Protect
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

I don't think there's anything particular I need to do so...
I'll use the [Twisted Cross Key] on the {Rusted Cabinet: Twisted Cross Emblem}

[Scytherwolf]

Hm...not so sure what to do, so I guess I'll search (28e) Silvercoal Medical Center Floors 31-40.

[Neo Emolga]

I will take that tip and search 32b Silvercoal's fitness center floors 1-3.

From the outside, Silvercoal City's Fitness Center seems like a great place for any Pokémon looking to get in shape one way or another, offering plenty of different classes, equipment, and formats for personal training, sports, cardio activities and bodybuilding. As you can tell, a lot of Pokémon still come here. In fact for some, they believe learning self-defense and making themselves stronger could help them defend themselves from Stalker attacks or any other mugger in town.

You head inside and search the first three floors, starting with the running track. It's a decent-sized green-padded track that covers about a half a kilometer in length in a oval. A lot of Pokémon use this to build their endurance and it seems there are different-sized lanes for small, medium, and large sized Pokémon to make use of the track without trampled over each other. Your check here doesn't seem to turn up anything significant, so you decide to move on.

You move onto the administrative offices, which seem like they're mainly for those who work on the center's accounting, membership records, newsletters, and volunteer programs. It seems most of these offices and cubicles are in use and nothing suspicious seems to be in them, but you then get to a cubicle that doesn't seem to be in use. When you open the drawers, you find someone seemed to have left a dark brown, leather-bound book in one of them. You decide to pick it up and take a better look at it and it o̊̈́̊̀҉̨̱͙̖͇̼̺̱̘̩ṷ̜̬͎̱̹͔͎̥̐̃̑ͭ̃͌̓̂͡͠t̨̪̀̋̓ͯ͌̂ͩ͛̀̚͘ ̟̘̣r̶̸̤͖̜̫̠̭̬̥̦̒͋ͣͥ̋͐i͉͙͔̺̪͖͕ͩ̉ͤͤ̀͞ͅg̢̀̎̋҉̪̬̥͉̙̱h̊ ̯̝̭ͫt̘̼̳̯̝̦̄ͣ̒ͅ ̂͋ͯ͒҉̫̫̼͕͟ḩ̸̩͉̜̥̉ͣ̊͋͐ȃ̖͇̬̤̟ͭṷ̷̪̬̭̞̊ͬ͗n̼ͫ̃̒̿ͣ̓t͂ ̸̣̬̺̀̃̽̓̂ṡ̰̲̍̌̄͆͊ ̡̪̳̋͛̂̒ͬy̷̵͕͓̘̟ͭͤͩ̆ͬö̴͖̳͉̲̜́̒ͤ̑̽ͥͩ͘ủ̹̩͇̣̲̫͚̆ͭ͜r̎ͣ ̷̨̙͎̅ͦ ̨̢̻͕̤̜̟̙̩͎̑͗ͦ̀̍ͬ̑m͍̯̪̟̳̖̤̽ͪ́͐ͨ̂́ͅi͇͓̭͓̭͂̎̒̋͗̇͌͌́̚͘ ņ̹̘͔͉̗͍͈͖̒̍d̶̰̦̈ͭ̆͐̿̊̿̉̀͡.̞̘̿ͧ̌̌ͨ

You look at the cover, and it just screams into your mind as the vision just leaps and burrows into your mind.

TESTAMENT OF FAMINE



Starvation. Drought. F̭̹̳͈̭̼͕̱̍̋ͨ̎̈̑͟ä̧̧̬͇̦́̊͗͌̎m̵̟̪̱̦͓ͧ͛͐ͦͧ͝i̵̪̙̯̤̅ͯ͂ͩ n̵̲̻̤͓̜͈͕̿̓͝e̶̝̟̭̗̦̖̗̥̓̐̔̊͒̾.͙̍̅̚̕

Visions of thousands upon thousands of starving Pokémon, old and young, fill your head and you can hear their d̵̛̜̖̭̭̯̘̱͇͞y̘̟̮̞͚̪i͏͔͎̲̫͇͈̗͜ͅń͖̞̪g̛̪̹̪̻̬̮̤͎ moans.

Marta has suffered 1 point of damage to Sanity.

You know this unholy book absolutely doesn't belong here, and you... selflessly decide to take it with you... away from this place.

Item [Testament of Famine] #Infernal Presence# (Deals One Damage to Sanity) has been added to the Team Inventory.

You decide to leave, shaken, disturbed, and not feeling so great...

Marta the Buizel (M: Water)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Lockpick | Learned Abilities: Investigation
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[azura evley]

search (80) Destno Public Housing Complex

[Suicune's Fire]

search (80) Destno Public Housing Complex

You arrive at Destno Public Housing Complex, which you know is maintained by the Eelektross that Zeal spoke to, Vivanctus. Her charitable actions have given many homeless Pokémon a place to stay, but the drawback is unsightly. The entire complex is worn, tired, and not very well kept. Regardless, you figure that the Pokémon living inside are grateful for the opportunity to be off the streets and safely under a roof. You can see by the poorly-mended windows and the shabby paint job that although the Electric-type makes a good deal of money as a doctor, the funding for the housing project needs to increase if the state of the building is going to improve at all.

You begin scouting the premises in search of anything that might prove useful. You hide yourself in plain sight from any passers-by so that you can search uninterrupted. You eventually come across something glinting in the sunlight in the far corner of the property, so you make your way over to it and see that lodged in the dirt is what appears to be a gemstone. You pick it up and determine by its assortment of colours that it is an opal, although it seems to be fairly rough around the edges.

You're not sure what use this opal could have, but you bring it along with you just in case.

Item [Uncut Opal] was added to the Team Inventory.

After searching the rest of the exterior of Destno Apartments, you find nothing of use. You feel as if there might be something within the apartment complex itself, but you leave that up to another time, leaving to head back to your base.


Katzu the Sneasel (M: Dark/Ice)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: First Aid | Learned Abilities: Escort/Protect
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

I'd like to interview Pormalu the Arcanine. I want a list of any murder the Police believes to be connected to the Stalkers. I want the cause of death. I want any odd phrases or items at the scene of crime.
If we can find each Stalker's Modus Operandi, it will probably help a lot. And I don't have the patience to see each new method of killing every night.

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE
+1 Shared Pokémon Evolution Stage

You find Pormalu at the police station, seemingly very busy as usual. It also seems like some of the stress is wearing the Arcanine down a bit, but when he sees you arrive, he decides to set aside some time to speak with you.

"We have a lot of Stalkers on our hands," Pormalu sighs, finding it difficult to reply. "We have observed some additional patterns since we last spoke, but we don't quite have everything. But, I'll try to explain what we do have and the findings that we've been able to track."

He pulls out a series of case files that include several photographs as well as written and typed reports. There is a lot of information with many piles of papers. He also pulls aside one of the holocomputers to show you the electronic records on the display screen.

"Given, not all of this information is verified," Pormalu confesses. "But I'll at least explain what we know and then some of our suspicions. We have seen the word "Depredation" turn up several times. It's seems to be sometimes found alongside many instances of Stalker-related deaths or where they have been before. At first, we thought Depredation was one of the names of the Stalkers, but it has appeared alongside some of the Stalker names universally. We're not sure if it's a collective code name for this group or some kind of 'word of doom' that the Stalkers are using to instill fear."

"Now, we know six Stalkers in question," Pormalu further explains as he goes over the case file notes. "Embalm, Philter, Extol, Annul, Oblivion, and Nightlust. Those are the ones we know for certain. Problem is, there are imposers as well. We recently had an arrest for a phony Stalker named 'Hateface' who used it as a cover to kill his ex-girlfriend and her parents. His actual name was Gurit. Gurit the Kecleon. Turns out, he wasn't a Stalker, just a murderer seeing an opportunity to mislead police and detectives. As a result, we can't be certain of all our leads until we confirm them. At the moment, we're not sure if 'Dirge,' 'Thorntongue,' and 'Scratcher' are potential Stalkers as well. Our detectives are still out trying to confirm them."

Pormalu then goes through both the paper and the electronic files one by one. You can see there are a LOT of victims listed, and it would take many days to go through everything, so Pormalu decided to go through the general patterns rather than cover each and every victim from the known to the unknown.

"Embalm makes a bloody mess of their victims," Pormalu tells you, sharing the case file with you as you see many bloody photographs and details for just a few of the victims. "Just about every drop of blood is drained, often leaving victims as a gray cadaver."

"Philter, as I explained earlier, leaves victims with roots overtaking their entire bodies," the Arcanine shows you the files again. "We suspect a grass type to be the Stalker for Philter, but we're not sure which one yet. I feel as though we're the closest to finding this one."

"Extol, as you... might have seen with Krum's death just last night, makes the victim kill themselves," Promalu tells you as he shows you the case file with many gruesome photographs of previous victims. "Uru the Sudowoodo is the only victim that managed to survive Extol's attack, but we have tried to ask him what he saw, but he only responds with screams and just keeps repeating 'I should have said yes.' It is... disturbing. This 'should have said yes' phrase comes up very often with this Stalker."

"Annul seems to be a Stalker that hates ignorance," Pormalu explains. "Victims are often found completely brain-dead in a state that doesn't even allow vital organs to keep running. I don't even know how a Pokémon can do this, but we suspect it could possibly be a psychic type. We do know that many of Annul's victims seem to be students, but it's not the only pattern. Unfortunately, that's all we know about Annul."

"Oblivion is a Stalker that's definitely blind," Pormalu observes. "Everywhere we've found a victim, there are scratches and often the victim's bodies are smothered in some black, oily substance like tar, oil, black paint, and the like. Messages also seem to be in Morose Code and in Braille. Now, we're not sure if this may relate to 'Scratcher.' Fern suspects Scratcher could be a kind of Stalker cohort or observer, but it's only an untested hypothesis. We do know that Oblivion seems to have a helper of sorts. Someone has been helping Oblivion with the Morose Code and Braille, and we think that may be 'Scratcher.' There's no way Oblivion could be working alone given his or her blindness."

"Lastly, the final Stalker we know for certain is Nightlust," Pormalu tells you, feeling a bit wary about talking about this particular Stalker. "Nightlust... has killed quite a few Pokémon, including Penelope. These victims... look like they've seen the worst nightmares that could ever be fathomed. And they all turn up dead because of heart attacks brought on by pure, feverish fright that can only be described as being frightened to death. And everywhere our investigators have gone and found Nightlust's signatures, they are the essence of pure horror. I have... come across a few traces myself and even they have left me traumatized and unable to sleep for days. This one... this is a Stalker I hope someone deals with soon, because they are the embodiment of pure evil and are capable of extremely unholy powers. The sooner Nightlust is erased, the better off we all are. I don't care how you do it, but it will save me plenty of sleepless nights knowing Nightlust no longer exists."

"Those are the known Stalkers," Pormalu sighs. "'Dirge' is a rumor. Right now, it's uncertain and we have only found a few victims that might be related to Dirge, or might be unrelated cases. There has been a spike in drug overdose cases, but we're not sure if that's suicidal tendencies in Pokémon that have been far too overstressed from what's going on, or if that's related to Dirge or some other Stalker. Dirge might also be responsible for Pokémon turning up dead in booby traps. There have been several of those incidents and we're not sure if it's Dirge or someone else."

"'Thorntongue' is a plausible Stalker that goes around spreading lies," Pormalu tells you. "Or at least that's the conclusion. He or she seems to be very enigmatic. Some victims have been found with carvings in them and this might be the work of Thorntongue. Fern is convinced Thorntongue is a real Stalker, but I've only heard it from her. She's told me she has only heard it spoken in public places, never written down. Some mentions have been posted online, but we haven't been able to tie it down to a specific source. The enigmatic nature behind this Stalker would make sense given the name, but we're still trying to investigate it further."

"Lastly, 'Scratcher," Pormalu tells you. "As mentioned before, 'Scratcher' might be a Stalker assistant, some kind of cohort or underling, or sometimes chooses to help one Stalker sometimes and then at other times decided to work on their own. We're not even sure if Scratcher has killed anyone, but he or she would definitely be considered an accomplice."

Pormalu sighs, feeling like he's spilled his guts about this, but he feels better having told you everything he's managed to find.

"We know there are others," Pormalu continues. "We're just not sure and the evidence is loose and isn't always concrete. Some victims we've been able to identify, but others were so brutally murdered that we couldn't tell. We're also quite certain there are likely plenty of bodies that haven't been found yet."

"We haven't given up hope yet," Pormalu tells you. "We're working on this and hoping for the best as much as you are. We're all in this together. When you drop by later, we'll let you know if we've found anything new. Good luck out there."

He still seems a bit overwhelmed as he returns to work and trying to connect the findings and clues, but it seems he's told you everything he knows for now, including even just the suspicions.

Laura the Umbreon (M: Dark)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 4/4
Perk: Diplomacy | Learned Abilities: Escort/Protect, Exorcism
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

Alright, time for me to do some digging!


It's a shame that a place with tech like this has fallen into disrepair... hopefully there's something useful inside.

Search (52) Waypoint Manufacturing Plant (Abandoned).

From the outside, the Waypoint Manufacturing Plant has already started to crumble due to neglect. The smaller gray manufacturing plant has definitely seen better days. Just about every window is broken, every piece of metal has at least some trace of rust, and every wall had been stained and cracked.

You start by searching the exterior. Weeds, graffiti, and piles of rubble with pieces of broken concrete, broken glass, and rusty chunks of metal are very common around here. You don't really find anything suspicious out here besides the remnants of a factory that used to belong to a company that just had very bad luck and couldn't adapt to a very rapidly changing industry.

You head inside and begin your search around. The factory floor here has been totally destroyed by the elements while the walls have been falling apart with the paint peeling, creating a very creepy and unsetting appearance. The ceiling, covered with pipes, tubes, and wires, has become a twisted maze of rusty pipes and hanging wires.

Meanwhile, the factory floor has quite a few mass-production machines that have completely fallen apart. Many of the robotic assembly machines have rusted over, have been stripped of electronic components, or have been vandalized. Many of the factory line computers are broken or have also been vandalized. Whatever couldn't be taken after the company closed its doors for good was left behind to be a part of this ghastly mess.

The factory offices seem to be the same story. Many desks and offices were stripped bare, but a few leftover piles of junk were left behind. As you search around, you find something unusual in the shaded darkness. Disturbances in the dust and rubble seem to imply someone else was here recently. You take a look close and you identify a glowing presence of strange, yellow and black. You reach out to take it and as you use your white wings to take hold of it, it r̵͎͌͒̕a̧̭͉̬̙͚ͤv̶̢̠͍̭ͥ͐â̤͓͠ğ͍͛̔ͧ̑͐ͦ̐͟ȩ̪̠̩̓́͟sͮͩ̏ ̡̡̩͙̼̙̝͙̽̋̌ͦͅ ̨̳͇̫͖͚̲̙͓̓ͧ̇̒̔ͦ̿y̴̢̛̯͎͈̭̟̞̠̖̙̿͗ͫ̔̈́̚o͕̅ͨ̿̑ͮ̕͞u̎ͧ̾ͣ̆ ̺͐r̫̱̄͐̅ͮ̌̔̀͝ ̨̐̉̂ͮ̈́ͣ͏̧̥̤̫m̸ͮͭ̀ͪͤ͘͏̰̪͍̙̭̮̯̗ͅi̧̞͕̮̦̍̌͌̉̃̈͗͠͠n̵̠̦͋ ͕̦̥̝d̘̟͉̠̠̼͕̝͍̓͂̋ͪͮ̂͢͢ ̲̘̦̤͉̰͐ͣ͗̇w̫͚̞͇͕ͦͦ͗̍̈́̆̋̚̕͟i̶̗̜͉̖ͩͫtͩ̔̈́͏̨̞̗̲̙ḣ̀͌ͯ͌ ̴̭̺͚̜͘ ̛͚̘̃̌̀̋͑̅̎͛͠ͅM̶̛͕͓̟̜̜͚̖̍̍ͨ̐͒̇I̔ͭͥ̏ͩͩ͏̺̬̝̞̺͙͈̫͜Sͮͮ̍ ̰̭͕͍̬ͤ͛̅́ͫ̀E̖͊̔̋̈́̽͒̈̀R͚͈̚̚ͅŸ́̇͜҉̸̥̲̫̥̖̪̖.̸ͮ̏͠͞ ͅ

Velo has suffered 1 point of damage to Sanity.

Nothing but pure sadness, depression, and thoughts of s̢͕̣̻̬̞̬͎̱͋̽̍u̼̮͙͕̬͊̇ͥ̔̓̇ͮ̾́̀͝ỉ͍̮̫̣̲͚͚͜c͊ͮ͑̈̂͒̽́ͅ i̢̡͉̝͖͛͑d̶̡̘͑̽̓̇ͫ̇ͧ̉ͦe͓͙̘̟͈͍̲͇ͥ̈ͮ́̕͢ suddenly flush into your mind. It instantly leaves you crippled, and you barely even take note that you suddenly hear a snapping sound.

Suddenly, an explosion of fire erupts from under your feet and you can't even bring yourself to scream before the flames flush over you...

Velo has suffered 1 point of damage to Health.

Velo has become BURNED.

As the flames bite at you, the most you can do is tumble away to put them out before you realize this wasn't any accident. Someone intentionally booby-trapped this miserable gem. As the flames quickly begin to consume the desk and papers where you found the gem, you turn to find out what was responsible for this. You then realized someone set up a tripwire that when broken, ignited a hidden gasoline flask that dropped from the ceiling.

And you even find a note about it, tucked right above the trip wire base on the wall...



Hurt and even a bit angered at this, you recover the gem again and look at it. When you put it down, you feel fine, but when you hold it in your wings, it fills you with dread and depression. It's definitely an ill effect of the gem, but you know there's some kind of purpose behind this terrible thing.

You take it with you, honestly hoping you don't have to deal with it again. You weren't ready for this kind of physical and mental agony...

Item [Gem of Misery] #Dark Presence: Dark# (Deals 1 point of damage to Sanity, 25% chance to cause Confusion, 25% chance to cause Infatuation) has been added to the Team Inventory.

You then head out of the crumbling factory and back to base...

Velo the Togekiss (M: Fairy/Flying)

Health: 4/5 BURNED
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Science | Learned Abilities: Escort/Protect, Exorcism
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[pokemon trainer Felix]

I think i will just rest this turn