Stalkers RPG Main Action and Team Status [SEASON 4]

[Neo Emolga]

I'll Escort Kaskin to 22, the mercenary guild, and blow his mind: following the same steps as before, I'll head him to the Fetid Tunnel and ask him to help look it over.
Change my stance to Flee.
(May edit later, for fluff, not substance.)

The Abyss has Truly in their sights...

You decide to meet with Kaskin and ask him for his assistance with a toxic pool that Lillian had found earlier. You describe what was recorded in Lillian's report, and he takes an interest in what this might lead to. That and the prospect of pitching in to help figure out what's going on with the Stalkers seems beneficial to everyone. You then both go to the Mercenary Guild and upon arriving at the front gate, Kaskin's reputation as a healer allows him to get through the front with you following him close by as his "associate."

After going down many windowless stone hallways, you then come to the areas where there is less mercenary activity and the area becomes quiet and mysteriously empty. You both then head to the dark tunnel, and as the others mentioned, it gets darker as you travel down, and the shadows then begin to take their l̶̳̼̠̰̹i̯c̰̼͔͠k̨̫̤̱̙̣ș͙̻ at you with their d͟a̺̲̞̥͎̬r̴k̼,͔͇̖̩̫́ ̮̪̳̥͉̖̖w̘̺̤h̩͎͈͠ḭ̺̱̘̝̲͞p̳̞̺̠͠-̣͖͕l̳̞̹͇̬̝̝͜ì̖̖̣͕̖̺k̳̠̲̕ͅe̞̦̳ tendrils.

Truly has sustained 2 points of Purity damage.

"This place reeks of corruption," Kaskin mentions to you as he is trying to deal with the shadows himself. "How have none of the mercenaries reported this?"

"They're probably dead," you tell him. "A few of the others ran into some booby traps, so keep an eye out for anything out of place."

He nods, and you both carry onward. You head toward the central tunnel, and you find that as Lillian reported earlier, the acid pools and toxic puddles begin to appear. From what you can tell with Kaskin, he's dealt with this kind of thing before, and is able to rely on his toxic powers to drive back the acidic and corrosive liquid, dispelling them back into the walls and completely out of sight. What was completely smothered in hazardous ooze is now completely clear...

{Fetid Tunnel: +Poison-type+}

"I can see why you needed my assistance," Kaskin replies with a helpful smirk. "But let's be ready for anything."

As the two of you carry on, Kaskin continues to use more of his dispelling energies to remove the last of the toxic sludge, but then both of you come across an open, circular chamber.

n̴̷͖̹̬̈͝Ẽ͕͚͊̔́̏͗ͣ̓V̡̪̮̬̯͉̹̺ͪͤͬͤ̒͂͂͠ͅE̶̡̱ͩͮͣ͗͑r̆̌̔ ̡͚͋̌̇̄ ̛̗͈ͮ̈́ͪ̂ͥ͛̎͝B͚̘̽́ͬ̄E̛̫̦̮̒ͫF̢̢͕͖̫̤̙̎ͪͧͮ͒̋̅̚ò̠̊ͬ̂ͭ͒̎ ͕͎̮̻̪̜͇r̩͉̪̫̋̓̅ͧ̑͗͒̚ͅE̦̟̘̳̼͙̻̅͗ ̶̨͓̯̻͎̮͇̍ͫͤ͌́H̟͔̼̳ͤͬ͌̌̒̔̇̿͞ā̹͚̭̫̹̮̖̆͗́̔v͙̭͊̏̑̿ͩ̆E ̢̡̳͉̲̙̮͊̑̑̒̏͋̀͘ ͚͙̞̹̞̺͖ͧ̂̂ͣ̆͆̚̕͜Y̻̳͛͆ͨ̉ͅŌ͚͍͉̬̱̖͒̃ͣͥ͊u̶̸̎ͫ̓ͥͯ̋ͤ͏̩͕ ͖ ̵̧̮̰̤̻͙̥̰͎̿̌͊̓ͯͬS̴͎͈̻͑͛ͦ͡͡Eͧ̽̍̿ͭͫ̒̆҉͍ë́̔̈ͭͥ̅ͥͦ͊͘̕͞ ̠͇̟̘n͛ͩ̂̽͐҉̸͉̪͙̙̬̠ ̞͎ͮͯͩŞ̡̺͍̩͚ͪ̒̄͆ͣ̐ͫ̈́Ų̷̬̰̼͙͇̀ͯͯ͢c̓ͫͮͥ̐̂ͦ͏̻̳͎̝̩̳͔h̾ ̵͚͖̰͇̖̤͉̞͉́̀͐̇ ̡̹̣̩͙̜͈͓̐͛͘d̨̹̟ͪͫ͑ͫ̚A̢͚̟̮ͫ̚Rͭ̋́͗̋͋̄͟҉̘̖̣͍̟̪̯̼̱k̓ͪ̓ ̛̼̜͈͇̞̫̄̑́͑͛n̗̖͕̹̤̤̟͕͐͒̏̃̓̅ͬ͑̕͞E̘͈̙̤̹̭̝ͥͩ̾͑̎́s̋̓ͫͪ ̟͈̪͖̐͆͞s͙̟̗̞͇̝͆̀.ͤͫ̑ͫͮ̉̃͠҉͕̲̙̕

In the middle is a massive, pulsating sac, thrusting and shaking like a monstrous cocoon withering in pain. Shadows of dark, abysmal f̻̤̭̣̯̍̌͗̅ͦͩ́̕͟ͅe̗ͣ̎͆͗̊̉͢v̖̰̞̦̬̺͖̞̀ͮ͟͞ͅe̷̹̦͚̭̐́̚̚̕ ̠ṟ̛͖̫͕̲̭̺̟̃̕ are rushing wildly in all directions like a nightmare circus of horror. At first, they seem untamed and out of control, swirling about the giant sac as it shifts and shakes in horrific pain.

"No... this can't be right!" Kaskin gasps, having never seen anything like this before in his life. "What IS THIS!?"

But you see pain. Nothing but pain... horrifying pain in that sac...

"It's..." you mutter to the cleric.

"I think something's inside of it," Kaskin tells you, his voice sounding meek and anxious. "Lord Arceus, if someone is trapped in that demonic vessel..."

You look at it closely, trying to watch for signs and listen to voices. The way the sac keeps pulsating... you're just not sure. You hope it's not true. But you cannot truly tell for sure...

"We can't risk attacking it," Kaskin tells you. "Not if someone is trapped in there. This may sound odd, but... maybe administering a painkiller might help. It might stop this... thing from shaking violently like that. Enough to get it under control and carefully dismantle it. Unfortunately, I'm all out of painkillers myself and have had to rely on Oran Berry consumption, but that's not going to work with this thing! But if you still have some..."

{Pulsating Sac: Painkiller Injection}

But then, Kaskin's eyes light up in horror.

The shadows...

...

They're now coming for you. Surging, twisting, hungry and angry... they've spotted you.

"RUN!" Kaskin shouts.

Immediately, you both turn around as the massive tendrils of darkness try to surround you. You try hard to move as fast as you can on your blue crustacean legs, but they're faster, and they f̸̡͓͔̳̞̳͍̝̣̯ͤ͑͊̓ͦ̍͊̓̕e̴͔͖ͥ̇́͟͜ã̭̆̄ͫͭͨ̕ş̷̎̾̊͗̐ͤ̏̂ ̴̘̣̫̰̭͓͉ţ̻̰̭̠̼̠̬̓́̕͢ ̢̮͙̭̜͉͎̼̀ư̴̹̱̇̿͋̇̾ͩ̊̑̾͝p̷̹̺̥͔̤̙̞ͥͦͧ͆̈́̌ͫ̚o̢͖̖̖̥͓ͮ̾ ͖̭ṇ̸̱̖ͮ̚ ̶͓̻̞̬̜̋̆y̢̯̎̈o̹̭̦̞̘͔̔ͨ̾ͥ͑u̢̞̬̣͒͑̆̓͗ͬ̿r̶̵͕̰̩̼̹̐̉̀̚͢ ̣̹̯̖ ̤̣̈ͭ̎̒͐̓́͘s͚̺̊͛͑̚p͔̯͇̭̪̝͒ͮ͂͌͐ͥ͝ͅi̴̢̹̞̫̺̺͓͔̺̍̽ͫͭ͛̆̕ ͕r̖̪͖̜̹̊ͩͧ̚i̧͈̤̗͈ͣ̂͊̂͂̅ͣ̊́t̝̼̯̠̭ͭ̒͒̀ despite your best efforts.

Truly has sustained 2 points of Purity damage.

"Curse these wretched things!" Kaskin shouts, helplessly trying to swat away the shadows as he tries to sprint away.

The keep following you down, down, down the tunnel, far more than you thought they would. You growl as your sprit tries to fight it back and protect itself, but they keep B̵͚͉̗̲͔͖ͫ͆ͯͯ͜͡I̢̢̝̜ͪ̀ͮͫ͋ͯ̃̾T̲̯͑ͫ̅ͬ̓̀͜I̠̗͓̦͕̟ͯ̅N͑̾ͧ ̸̢̼͇͚͕̑̅͊̏͜G̨̲̖͓͒͂͗ͮ͌͑.

Truly has sustained 3 points of Purity damage.

You eventually clear far enough of a distance back down the stone hallway, panting, exhausted and spiritually wounded. It also looks like Kaskin himself didn't fare too well either.

"That chamber..." Kaskin tells you, looking tired. "Don't go down there again. Never. Not... without some kind of protection."

You nod, knowing it would likely be fatal if special care isn't taken before heading down there. You decide to both head back to town, not sure what would be the best approach to take now, but you shudder to think... what if someone or something really is trapped within that grotesque cocoon?

...would they even appreciate being freed...? Why is it even there...?

You don't think you're going to sleep very well thinking about this...

Truly the Clauncher (S: Water)

Health: 8/8| Sanity: 8/8 | Purity: 5/12
Battle Stance: Flee
Perk: Technical | Abilities: Escort/Protect
Trait: Charming