Stalkers RPG Main Action and Team Status [SEASON 4]

[Suicune's Fire]

It's showtime!

So who feels like getting out there and nailing some Stalkers? >:3

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

First Action: I think I'll Search and check out #41 Manufacturing Plot (Abandoned) to see if there's anything nifty that I can fix up into something cool.

Second Action: And then I think I'll spend the afternoon talking to #24 Marisha the Flaffy and see if she's seen anything weird or freaky lately.

FIRST ACTION:

Skills at the ready, you venture from your safe, cosy quarters in the Emissary Clubhouse and into the town of Salvage Keep. As you wander around, you take in the wide, open, dusty valley's end. Most buildings are fairly casually upkept, and the area itself is clearly not populated with wealthy citizens. Nevertheless, most pokémon you come across are happy to go about their daily business, despite the presence of the Stalkers.

As you get closer to the abandoned manufacturing plot toward the western end of the town, you see the climbing mountainside behind it. You also begin to feel progressively sick in your stomach. When you're close enough, there's a creeping sensation that crawls across your skin. You frown, unsure where this is coming from, until you get to the outskirts of the once-functional plot of land. The cracked, filthy concrete stretches out before you, and despite the fact that it's clearly daytime, you realise that you can't see any further into the property from your vantage point. It's simply too dark.

You slip between two massive pieces of equipment and head in closer, but the d̸̢̾́̍͊̈́̔̀̄̇͐͛ͅį̷̡̖͕͍̝̭̜͔̳͒͠͠s̴t̷u̸rbin̸g̵̅͋̓̔̒̈́̃ ̘̩̣̝̖͚͙̼̦̺̺̻̦͛͗͆͝ feeling only increases. The short fur across your body begins to stand on end and the tips of your ears, fingers, and tail grow colder. As you walk closer, it suddenly occurs to you that it might be a good idea to get a better vantage point. You spread your arms and glide up on top of a manufacturing equipment, only to behold something very strange.

Most of the property is caked in a layer of twisted darkness. Veins of pulsing, twisting and slithering red and blue energy course through it, darting between objects, ruined buildings, and machinery. Even though the sight is haunting to look upon, you feel yourself being...d̶̘̦̿̈́̍rą̵̢͈̐͆̎͘w̸̺̋͋̌̒̐̑̑́̈͂̚n̸͑́̅͗̽̈́̏̆͠ ͓̭̑ ̵̺͈̜̱͕̏͗̎̅tó̶̬̾̏͋̇͠͝ ̴̮̗͙̂̋̇́̒͐̈́͠į̶̛̱̜̯̥̹̜̹̍̊̿̈́͗t̶̤̤͒̃̀̾̂̀̑̆̈́̇͝. It calls you.

Neo the Emolga sustains 1 point of Purity damage.

Suddenly something invisible but viciously powerful slams into you from behind, casting you down into the crawling, creeping darkness below. You manage to catch yourself before sustaining any damage, but as soon as you make contact with the ground, your breath escapes you. You try to breathe in, but the air around you seems to flee, leaving you in a bizarre vacuum. You begin to panic as you fail to inhale oxygen, and your legs carry you further in, whispers infiltrating your head and hisses piercing your mind.

I̵͉ ̧̦̥c̦̙̬̭̪̮͍a͚̞̟̣̩ͅn̷ ̵̘̤͚̣͇s҉̙͔̼̳e̱ṋ̳̱̫͖̜s̬̥e̞̳̻̠͚͇͞ ̡̥̗̣̣̹̣y̢͚o̤͈͚̝͘u͕̼̤͈͢,̡͎̪ ͙̜̯̬͖͇͘E̞̲̯͉͚̟ͅmi͉͍̦͓̼̳͟ͅs̳̹̭̮̀s͞a̱͈̥r҉y҉͓̩...

The voice grates on you, tugging at your will and your spirit as if it's trying to unravel you one thread at a time.

Neo the Emolga sustains 2 points of Purity damage.

You shake your head, grasping it with your paws, and try to shake the feeling. You scream, but nothing escapes your throat. Everywhere you look, the face of death stares back. Your feet are burning with cold fire with every step you take, and when you try to fly away, a grasping hand reaches up and encases you effortlessly. The touch sears your skin, and another hand springs up before you, swirling with black, blue and purple. It rushes at you, its fingers entering your large, round ears and wiggling into your head. The pain shakes your spirit as you once again try to s̢̳̟̯c̷̤̞̻̭̯̮r̀e̛͖͚̩͇ͅa̞̬͖̬ͅm̰͇̮, but fail to make a sound.

Neo the Emolga sustains 3 points of Purity damage.

The nearby screech of an unfamiliar voice shakes you from your daze. It was a distinct screech--from someone real. You blink a number of times and start moving, desperate to get away from the evils around you...but there are no hands. There are no faces. There is only swirling darkness. The dark voice that spoke to you previously fades in and out of your mind, but your will to find the source of that screech is enough to force the evil whispers away. You claw your way through the dark energy, blood red sparks crackling around you and grazing your skin as you wince, but force your way through.

"Please...help," a voice rasps, and to your shock, you realise you're right beside the one you had been looking for. Your eyes fall upon a crumpled pidgeotto whose form you, at first, cannot confirm is real. However, the flying-type sees you too. "E-emolga, please... Help me. I'm trapped here and...I don't know how much longer I have."

You reach out to touch the pidgeotto, and for the first time since you have been here, you know what you are seeing is real. This pokémon looks badly injured, and his wing is bent and probably broken. Spots of blood cover his feathers, and a small pool is gathering beside him. You desperately try to think of anything that would help, but it seems to be out of your realm of knowledge.

{Injured Pidgeotto: <Medicine>} has been added to the Team Records.

You stay with the pidgeotto for as long as you can before the darkness again attempts to pierce your mind. You explain to the pidgeotto that you will come back for him, and with help. He appears grateful, and while he seems to be suffering from his injuries and the shadowy energy around him, it does not seem as if it takes a toll on him nearly as quickly as it does you.

Ensuring you remember to relay this information back to your team members at the end of the day, you bid the pidgeotto farewell and manage to slip away from the property without sustaining any further effects of the dark influence.


Neo the Emolga (S: Electric/Flying)

Health: 8/8 | Sanity: 8/8 | Purity: 6/12
Battle Stance: Fight
Perk: Repair

---

SECOND ACTION:

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE
+1 Shared type

After that horrific experience, you figure that it would be a good time to interview one of the locals. After settling on Marisha the flaaffy, you eventually find her working busily away at the abandoned vehicle yard. After a quick glide through, you note that there isn't too much around here aside from the stacks of destroyed, rusted, and collapsing vehicles at a first glance, but you also know not to always take everything at face value. The plot is quite large, but after the ordeal at the manufacturing plot, you figure that searching this place is best left for another time. At least there are no evil shadows to be seen.

You stop gliding once you're at a suitable distance, and land softly on the dusty ground. Marisha is at a workbench wielding a tool of some kind, equipped with a dirty pair of goggles. Her wool is matted and her skin is smeared with grease and grime, and you estimate that she has not washed in at least a number of days. She is too distracted to notice you as she tinkers with what could be a pocket watch, so you have to clear your throat to get her attention. She jumps, dropping her tools and backing up against a sheet of corrugated iron.

"Woah!" she shouts, breathing frantically as she takes a paw to her goggles and slides them further up her head. "Y-ya scared me there, little one." She breathes out slowly, then picks up her tool and places it back on her workbench. She takes a few steps forward. "I-I'm Marisha." She gestures to what you can now see is almost a suitable work space. "This is my, uh...sanctuary, where I fix stuff up for the folks around here. I-I know it ain't much, but...my work is better than my workspace, I promise! I'm what you'd call a repairmon. Say, uh...what're you doin' here? Need my assistance?"

It's then that you introduce yourself and share your knack for repairing things, and Marisha's eyes brighten. The two of you begin a hearty conversation, and you notice the blue orb on the end of her tail beginning to glow. However, you know that you can't spend the rest of the day engaging in idle chatter, so you enquire about anything "weird" or "freaky" that she might have seen lately. As this leg of the conversation begins, you can see the orb progressively losing its light.

"Ah...right. Yeah, um..." She pauses and pulls back from you a little, moving a matted wad of wool out of her eyes. You can immediately see that this is not a conversation that she finds comfortable. "Weird and freaky... Well, that seems to be the norm these days." She pauses again, hesitant to continue. In a lowered voice, she asks, "Have you heard about the Stalkers? Well...they've moved into town lately. Since they've been here, folks'a been turnin' up...murdered. There's been some gruesome stuff. Folks turnin' up in boxes as...mush, folks bein' melted down into goo, stabbed to death with anything and everything pointy...hell, there's even been cases o' pokémon bein' stuffed full o' food till they explode! Some'a been skinned alive and left to rot, then there's the other one...mummified or some'm. Ya know, it's all just so horrifyin'."

She winces as she continues. "Ain't nobody in town to investigate, either. Say, is that what you're doin'? Workin' for some external police force or some'm? If so...please, be careful. These Stalkers catch wind o' what you been doin', they might just come right after ya."

"But you ever find yourself in need of a repairmon, I'm ya gal!"

#24. Marisha the Flaaffy has been identified as possessing the <Repair> Perk.

"Look, I'm sorry if I wasn't much help. Maybe the mayor might know more, or even Orin? Oh, the mayor is Shilamora, although, it's...kind of a stand-in job. Salvage Keep ain't all that organised, you know. Anyhow... I, uh, better get back to work. But you ever want to hang out, you let me know, Neo." She gives you a warm smile and slips her goggles back on, then gets back to work.


Neo the Emolga (S: Electric/Flying)

Health: 8/8 | Sanity: 8/8 | Purity: 6/12
Battle Stance: Fight
Perk: Repair