The Stalkers RPG - Main Action and Team Status Thread [SEASON 3] *SWEET VICTORY!*

[Neo Emolga]

This time Julia is off to search (15) Rancha the Breloom's house!

You head to Rancha's house tonight. You start by searching the house from the outside, making your way around the exterior to see if you can find anything. From what you can see, the property is fairly large and seems to be maintained well for the most part, though considering the arid weather, it still seems dusty. It could be a whole lot worse, however.

You notice that Rancha seems to do a lot of gardening and has been trying to grow anything that can flourish in this kind of arid environment. However, it seems to be particularly challenging as not only is the arid climate harsh for plants, but the industrial air doesn't make things any better. Some of the plants seems to be doing okay, but there's plenty of others that definitely look like they're losing the fight.

You don't really find too much else on the outside, though in one of the bushes outside, you find a small bit of red fur that looks like it was tugged off by a snagging branch. The odd thing is you find this same fur in not just one spot, but several. It strikes you as odd, and it makes you think someone has been watching and snooping in on Rancha or possibly her husband Kexin. You decide to collect some of this red fur and keep it so Tashy can screen it.

Pokémon Sample [Red Fur] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You then head inside and take a look around the house itself. The wooden furniture is pretty nice, the floors are covered with a fine carpet, and everything seems pretty clean. You notice Rancha and her husband seem to cook a lot of their own food. In the trash bin, you notice Rancha has thrown out a blue porcelain bowl, though the only thing wrong with it is just a tiny chip along the edge. You get the feeling that to Rancha, this just can't be tolerated and thus, into the garbage it goes with the first sign of imperfection. You decide it might be needed for the Sin Purge Ritual and it doesn't hurt to grab extras, so you take it with you.

Item [Blue Bowl] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You search throughout the rest of the house, but only discover a few other things. On the side, Kexin seems to enjoy poetry, as he has quite a few books of it and likes to write it himself. It strikes you as odd considering his personality, though you can tell he doesn't like making this passion too obvious. You also notice that as a doctor, he takes a lot of his work home with him, but you get the idea he isn't really nice to deal with and doesn't have bedside manners. Quite the contrary, he seems to tease a lot of his patients.

You don't really find too much else around the house, so you decide to head back and return to base with your findings.

Julia the Weavile (M: Dark/Ice)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 3/4
Perk: Repair | Learned Abilities: Exorcism
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Neo Emolga]

Full steam ahead! Or is it speed? I'm starting to think its speed... Whatever. I going to take this lovely Shroud of Mystery and bring it to that statue.

Filled with vigor and morale, even though the streets are dark night and there is still a creepy, shadowy feeling lingering in the air, none of that at all bothers you. You feel ready to take on the Grim Reaper at this rate!

You head to the Odd-looking statue with the Shroud of Misery in your paws and find the statue in question, still covered with the black blanket that Sarah used to safeguard anyone looking directly at it. You then place the Shroud of Misery over the black blanket, and then carefully remove the black blanket from underneath.

Item [Shroud of Misery] has been removed from the Team Inventory.

From what you notice, it seems the statue is supposed to resemble a Mimikyu, and the Shroud of Misery now completes it where before, the statue with the Mimikyu's exposed true form was the source of the disturbing gaze that was causing so much unrest. However, the Mimikyu itself is still made of stone. You look at it from the front, and suddenly it hits you. This Mimikyu was somehow petrified into this stone state. As a result, this effect not only killed the Mimikyu, but now its spirit is locked inside. However, with the shroud now returned, it is somewhat more complete. It seems part of the Mimikyu's spirit was in that cloak, and that's the only part of it that wasn't turned to stone like the rest of it was. It suddenly feels like it has slightly awoken, but it still very much trapped in this prison.

You're only able to make out slight, whispering words...

... ... thank... ... you... but... ... can... dle... need... ... candle... ... de... part... ed...

You nod, and even though the Mimikyu spirit is having a lot of difficulty communicating with you, you understand enough of its request. It needs the Candle of the Departed, and it seems like this may be the only thing that will release the spirit out of this stone prison it was put into. How this even happened is beyond you, but you have a feeling you'll be able to find out more if you bring exactly what the Mimikyu needs.

Objective {Mimikyu Statue: Lit Candle of the Departed} has been noted in the Team Records.

You decide to head back and let the others know about this.

Marta the Buizel (M: Water)

Health: 5/5
Sanity: 7/4
Perk: Lockpick | Learned Abilities: Investigate
Failed Assassinations: 0/2

[Arrow-Jolteon]

Hmm... I guess I could try interviewing someone? Maybe #3 Vessi the Golduck [D]? idk

[Scytherwolf]

Rest again

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

I'll search #31 Redbarrel Foods Exterior.

[Neo Emolga]

I'll search #31 Redbarrel Foods Exterior.

You decide to head to the northern side of town tonight and check around the Redbarrel Foods manufacturing plant. The large black building doesn't seem to be in bad shape and seems to be well maintained, but you notice the concrete wall looks like it should be fixed.

On the eastern side, you notice there's a message drawn onto the broken wall and it seems there's a code attached to it as well.



Message =Broken Wall Message= has been noted in the Team Records.
Item [Four Digit Code 8871] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You wonder if this has something to do with the meat locker on the inside or if this is related to something else entirely. But if it is related to the meat locker cold storage, you wonder who wrote this and why they provided the code. You take note of the code and continue your search around the building.

Besides a little bit of trash by the dumpster and some bits of debris here and there, you don't really find too much else that seems odd or out of place. You decide to head back to base and prepare for what the morning may bring.

Quincy the Victini (S: Psychic/Fire)

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

[ARandomTool]

Rusty woke up and walked out of his room. He glanced back and considered another day of rest, but all his lazy nothing-doing was driving him stir-crazy, even with his spiritual company.
He considered the information he had absorbed through the "metaknowledge" tactic he had learned on another timeline, where you know stuff you logically shouldn't know because something bigger is whispering it into your ear, then glanced at the Lit Candle of the Departed.
"Sod it," he grumbled, taking the bright icicle, with that odd Mimyuku Statue in mind. He considered leaving Bless (that was her name now, he decided) behind, but decided against it. Never know, she might feel something he can't.

[Neo Emolga]

Rusty woke up and walked out of his room. He glanced back and considered another day of rest, but all his lazy nothing-doing was driving him stir-crazy, even with his spiritual company.
He considered the information he had absorbed through the "metaknowledge" tactic he had learned on another timeline, where you know stuff you logically shouldn't know because something bigger is whispering it into your ear, then glanced at the Lit Candle of the Departed.
"Sod it," he grumbled, taking the bright icicle, with that odd Mimyuku Statue in mind. He considered leaving Bless (that was her name now, he decided) behind, but decided against it. Never know, she might feel something he can't.

You decide to take Lit Candle of the Departed with you to the Mimikyu statue and Bless joins you the entire way. The night still feels a bit unsettling and there are still things that Bless can do that surprise you, but nonetheless, you have become accustomed to her presence and it helps you not to feel so alone.

You arrive before the Mimikyu statue and place the Lit Candle of the Departed before it. Not sure what to expect, you brace yourself for anything.

Item [Lit Candle of the Departed] was removed from the Team Inventory.

For a quick moment, the flame suddenly flashes and suddenly everything around you is enveloped in a violet-colored light. It quickly dies down and when you look back, you see the Mimikyu statue has vanished, and in its place is the spirit of the Mimikyu in question. He is still shaken a bit and it takes him a few seconds to get used to being able to move again, but then he looks toward you.

"I can't thank you enough..." he speaks to you with a bow. "Please, come with me. There's something you need to know. Something I have to confess to... before I must depart."

You nod, and you and Bless follow the Mimikyu spirit to the back of the strip mall. After moving aside a few boxes, he reveals a hidden set of doors that leads downward. While originally intended to be a supply area, you follow him and he takes you to a whole other room.

He lights the candles throughout the room, and suddenly the room is enveloped in an unsettling glow, but you find all kinds of maps, journals, and records stored throughout the room.

"My name is Dacul, and I used to be friends with Ninian the Numel," he explains, showing you pictures of the exploration team he once had with her. "We were a great team and the best of friends..."

"...before she became Karrasin."

"She was the one who originally pushed me to join her and the whole prospect of exploring Barendal seemed so fascinating the way she described it," Dacul tells you. "We didn't have much money, but we made due with what we had and we decided to make this little underground supply shed our base. There were never any exploration guilds in Southwarren, but we thought if we became successful enough, maybe one day we'd have our own and we could be guildmasters. It was a goal we wanted to strive for."

"We had been going well for years, and then that's when everything with the Stalkers started to happen," Dacul tells you. "I didn't know what Stalkers were at the time when I first heard about them. I didn't know they assimilated friends, family, coworkers, and all the Pokémon we know and trust. And then one day I came across the name Karrasin. I saw it a few times scribbled in our exploration journals in a handwriting I didn't recognize. It was disturbing and for a moment, I thought Ninian had found a third Pokémon to join our team and just hadn't gotten around to telling me yet. As everything around town was starting to go wrong, I felt compelled to ask Ninian about it."

"Where I asked her is exactly where she... no, Karrasin had turned me into stone," Dacul explains further. "I don't know what made her do that instead of just outright kill me the way she did with all the others, but that was some kind of vicious power these otherworldly evils have. Maybe Ninian was able to trick the Karrasin inside her. Maybe make her think it was better to torture my entrapped soul when she was trying to keep the truth from dying with me. I don't know for sure."

"I can sense she's still out there, and I know what Karrasin is capable of," Dacul warns you. "She won't stop until everyone in Southwarren is burnt to nothing but ashes. You have to stop her before Karrasin continues to make Ninian... my best friend... continue to do atrocities that she wouldn't dream of doing."

"My time is almost up..." Dacul tells you as you notice he is beginning to fade. "My body was destroyed in that petrifaction, and while the candle has allowed me to be free, I feel that power is beginning to fade and I must move on. Unlike your Eevee friend, I don't have the conduit I need to remain a part of this world. At least not anymore..."

"Please... free Ninian as you have freed me..." Dacul tells you as he slowly fades into nothing. "My spirit prison was of stone, but her prison is far more catastrophic...

...no one should be the puppet of a killer..."

With the image of Dacul now gone, you now realize the truth and what must be done next.

The Stalker "Karrasin" has been identified as Ninian the Numel.
The Team Records have been updated.

Rusty O'Toole the Lucario (M: Fighting/Steel)

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

[Neo Emolga]

Was hoping to hold out until another exorcism was needed but since both my chances were rudely stolen from me I guess I can take my chances and search (31)(a) Redbarrel Foods Floors 1-4. If there’s any sanity damage make it apply to the shaymin.

HEY!

You head over to the Redbarrel Foods manufacturing plant. With almost no one around, it definitely makes it easier to figure out what's the story behind this meat locker and if there's really anyone trapped in it without having someone notice you.

Inside, nothing really seems all that suspicious about the first floor of the manufacturing plant. Most of the machinery is up to code and whatever wasn't has already been pulled off the line and is being serviced on the side. The inside actually smells nice and the preparation of all the food items in here gives the interior a nice aroma, but you're not really all that concerned about that right now.

You head to where the meat locker is and you find it has a slightly more difficult lock than most of the others you've come across, but it can still be done. The odd thing about it are the strange, black scribbles around the keyhole that you swear seem to flicker a bit if you look at them for too long.

{Locked Meat Locker: <Lockpick>}

You take your tension wrench and specialized picks and start to get to work on it. It feels a bit unsettling to work on, but you imagine there's got to be something interesting on the other side.


(You can do this one or have someone else help you with it. :))

Madder the Mimikyu (S: Ghost/Fairy)

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

[Neo Emolga]

I'm making milkshakes for whoever wants one! Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry! Your choice! The bodyguard chooses the music, though! That's the deal!

I'm also going to put some good ol' H2O in this Ceramic Bowl and make it holy. And we'll see if this [Purple Scale] turns up with anything nefarious.

Tashy, after making a slew of absolutely incredible milkshakes, fills the blessed ceramic bowl with water from the faucet and begins to perform the Seinaru ritual needed to purify and make the water holy. After spending some time with it, all the impurities in the water are purged and it begins to glow with a holy light.

[Blessed Ceramic Bowl: <Empty>] has become [Blessed Ceramic Bowl: <Holy Water>]

She then takes the purple scale and goes through the screening process on it. She isn't too sure about what species of Pokémon it belongs to, but she analyzes it and uses her Seinaru to delve into it from all angles to see if there is any Stalker presence within it. However, after some time of running all kinds of Utopia screening tests on it, she confirms this is not related to the Stalkers after all.

Pokémon Sample [Purple Scale] does NOT belong to a Stalker. It has been removed from the Team Inventory.