Stalkers RPG Main Action and Team Status [SEASON 5]

[Lychee]

Nico found herself swirled into a conciousness yet again, going from a tasty meat meal for ghouls to more of a light bakery snack.
"I... I am not sure if saving the world as an emissary is really my calling..." She mumbled, counting the sochas left in her pocket.

She put any money she had onto the table that was the group inventory, and picked up a spare machete that was lying around.
"I'll just be down in the basement, checking out our base." She said tiredly, hefting the machete over her shoulder and heading down to (1a) Foundry Basement (Empty Space)

[Neo Emolga]

Investigate (20) Exacta City Police Precinct

As the sun begins to set, you decide to head out and explore the Exacta City Police Precinct. Following Rali’s lead, you decide to see what this head is about, something that Nico was going to do earlier, but didn’t quite make it. At the same time, you’re also thinking there may be a few valuable weapons or armor still lying around that might come in handy.

After leaving the steel mill, you head eastbound, keeping a watchful lookout as you cross into Northern Reach territory. Trying to make the best use of cover, you weave your way behind walls, abandoned vehicles, and piles of debris as you keep out of sight from the ghouls. Thankfully, you’re able to slip past their gazes despite being the Heatran that you are.

Once at the precinct, you start by investigating the exterior. The beige-colored building seems to be in relatively good shape, though dust and dirt has been thrown at it relentlessly by the wind storms for the past few years. The earthquakes have knocked a few things around, but it doesn’t seem like serious building damage has occurred. Still, around the building, you don’t find all too much besides a trash bin that’s been stuffed for years, two abandoned police vehicles, and collapsed cardboard boxes.

You decide to head inside through the double glass front doors that bear the police department’s insignia, though the glass could definitely use a wash and the insignia is barely legible. Still, the whole building definitely looks better than what some other structures just a few blocks away went through.

Once inside, you come across a vacant reception area where a receptionist’s desk and a few other desks have been abandoned. Unlike some other buildings, it doesn’t look like the commotion was too severe, though plenty of papers, writing utensils, and other office debris have been scattered about on the gray stone tiled floor. Surprisingly, some of the lights still work, but just barely. Many of them are extremely dim and a few of them flicker, creating seemingly moving, spidery-like shadows along the walls.

The officer desk area seems to be pretty similar in condition. It looks like no one’s been here for quite a while and a layer of dust has thoroughly coated everything including stacks of police reports, memos, correspondence and report letters, and the like. Occasionally, the lights on the ceiling flicker just a bit, but then go back to darkness. It makes you twitch a bit every now and then, making it feel like someone or something is in here with you…

You head over to the armory, which used to be behind two layers of barred steel doors, but those were undone rather recently. From the looks like things, quite a bit of it has been raided by scavengers. Still, you go through each of the weapon lockers, trying to see if anything usable is still around. Whoever was here last seemed to have been in a hurry, as you find cannon armament ammunition rounds scattered about on the floor. In one locker, you find what looks to be a fairly decent cloak armor, which you pull out and try on for yourself. It feels comfortable but also made of a rugged leather material, and might offer a little protection. You decide to keep it and continue looking.

[|DA| Renegade’s Cloak] (Reduces incoming Health damage by 1 point each time Health damage is taken) was equipped by Sacred.

You look through three more lockers all with nothing inside, but the fourth has something curious. At first it looks like just a normal black shawl was thrown in here, but you dig around a bit more and you find a black pouch that jingles a bit as you shake it, which immediately gets you thinking there’s money inside. You open it and you’re pleasantly surprised to see that you’re right, a bit amused how none of the scavengers that were previously here found this simply because of the shawl thrown on top of it.

You quickly take what’s there and add it to your own Pack.

$230 Sochas were added to Sacred’s Pack.

You don’t find too much of value in the other lockers, but then you get to a larger, heavily fortified security locker at the end of the row that looks to be about five feet tall by three feet wide, likely used to hold some of the more advanced weaponry and armor. It looks like quite a few Pokémon have tried to pick, force, and bash this particular locker to no end, but it has remained adamant in staying shut. Still, you can’t help but think maybe someone in the Emissary crew might want to take a swing at this to see if they can possibly crack it open.

{Reinforced Police Armory Locker: <Lockpick>} was noted in the Team Records.

Lastly, you decide to check the holding area, the place where Rali reported to have seen the severed head. You make sure you watch your back the entire way, hoping no ghouls might have slipped in while you weren’t looking or were residing here long before you came. Still, the holding and criminal processing area is rather dark and you can see why visibility was an issue for Rali. When you come to the room, you see the head she’s talking about hanging from a dusty ceiling fan by a bloody rope, only you’re facing it from the back. You walk in closer to get a better look at who must have been the decapitated victim here…

#Macabre Discovery (8 Sanity Damage)# Trap 30% Evasion Test: 79 out of 100: Successful!

It… can’t be.

As if on defensive impulse, you do a double take, quickly grab a nearby duffle bag that was used for a now-missing shoulder-mounted cannon armament, and rapidly pull it over the head as if trying to cover and trap a vicious blood-thirsty insect. And then with one quick tug, you free it from the bloody rope.

Because there’s something very, very wrong with this head.

It’s your own head…

…

#[Head of Sacred the Heatran] Macabre Presence – (3 Sanity Damage)# was added to the Team Inventory.

Dark temptation attempts to nip at you to look it over in full for dark curiosity and validity’s sake, but you know better. It reeks with Stalker presence and it wouldn’t surprise you to discover they’ve done something heinously wicked and disturbing like this. But really, without a doubt, you’re convinced the gray, steel skull-shaped head that you hold in that duffle bag is exactly your own without even questioning it enough to look it over, but you know to do so would just eat away at your mind beholding your own severed head in your grasp.

Despite the morbidity of it, you decide to take your head with you, feeling there’s some dark and wicked intention behind this and you’re going to get to the bottom of it. You decide to look around the rest of the police precinct for any last remaining items of value that might still be around, but most of it just seems to be everyday objects and things that don’t seem like the kind of thing you need to take along with you.

You decide to head back, instantly noticing the sun has long set by now and the night sky hangs above you. There’s an eerie feeling of quiet stillness as you head back to base, and it seems like not even the ghouls are around for some odd reason.

You just hope it’s a coincidence and not because of something else…

Sacred the Heatran (M: Fire/Steel)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20
Battle Stance: Heroic
Perk: Seinaru | Abilities:
EQUIPMENT:
Attack Weapon: <Empty>
Defense Armor: [|DA| Renegade’s Cloak] (Reduces incoming Health damage by 1 point each time Health damage is taken)
Jewelry: <Empty>
Utopian Aspect: <Empty>
MERCENARIES:
#1: <Empty>
#2: <Empty>
PACK:

• $408 Sochas$

[Neo Emolga]

Misty shuffled a bit in place, seemingly bothered by something.
“Nico’s really unlucky, huh.. dying twice already. At least the second time was a Ghoul instead of Obscene.”
She sighs, eyeing his new form, an Alcremie, before looking back to the map.
“As for tonight... I’ll go check out (17) North Heights Storage (ABANDONED). Might just be something there.”
She says, still proud for getting Scarlet on their side last night.
“Stay safe out there guys.”

You decide to head due east this evening, deciding to investigate the small North Heights Storage building to see if anything suspicious has been happening in there, lately. After walking past the north side of the Redstone Motel and across the dusty train tracks, eventually you find the small storage facility. From the outside, it looks to have been abandoned for quite a while. The old red bricks have been battered by dust and sand for years even before OMEN, but at least the building is still intact.

Around the outside, you find a few abandoned wheelbarrows, a broken-down fertilizer machine, and other farming and gardening tools that have become degraded due to being left out in the elements. However, underneath an old vehicle tire that looks like it doesn’t quite belong with the other pieces of equipment, you see something out of the ordinary. A bit of dusty ground seems to be displaced here, and when you dig a little, you find a dusty ammunition crate. You brush it off, undo the latch, and then wrestle to open it up.

On the top, you see a dirty, hand-written note. You unfold it and read it silently.

Jureg,

All yours. I threw in a bonus for the heck of a fine job you did making her death look like she got drunk and fell off herself. I got a kick out of that and it perfectly fits her dumb drunkard persona. She deserved it, one less dumb degenerate tramp infesting this world and I don’t have to worry about her crap ever again.

Now burn this note and let’s act like we never met.

~KT

You’re not sure what happened or even how long ago it was, but it definitely sounds extremely dark and nefarious and easily sounds like someone paid to hire a hitman. However, it looks like whoever this Jureg is, they never came by to find this reward cache. You toss the note aside and you notice there’s quite a few stacks of money bills tucked away in here.

You decide to collect it and keep it for yourself, thinking there’s bound to be a better way to make use of this blood money.

$600 Sochas$ were added to Misty’s Pack.

You don’t find anything else that seems out of place outside, so you decide to head into the storage area itself.

Inside, its dark, musty, dust is constantly floating in the air, and the air feels hot and stuffy. Meanwhile, there’s no lighting and there aren’t too many windows, so you pull out a flashlight and try your best to see if there’s anything among the piles of tools, wooden crates, and boxes that might be valuable.

Most of it seems to be very old industrial farming equipment that probably wouldn’t last five minutes if someone attempted to make use of it. Meanwhile, the cabinets aren’t any better. Cans, jugs, and pouches of pesticides and herbicides are here, though they’ve expired decides ago and most of them are dried up. The fuel canisters have also gone bad over time, though there’s quite a rancid stink coming from them.

In another pile are a few black plastic trash bags filled with filthy clothing and coverings. Many of them have dirty blotches from either oil, grease, or mud, and a lot of these are torn as well, leaving not much else besides dirty rags. However, you come across one filthy and dirty gown that seems to have something firm and hard in one of the pouches on the side. You dig around for it and manage to pull it out.

It looks to be an amulet with five overlapping triangles as the emblem. It seems to be very old, but still in good condition. Though there’s something about it that seems different. As you hold it in your hands, it seems to radiate with an unusual reassuring aura and it suddenly occurs to you that some kind of ethereal blessing was performed on this amulet, but it’s been forgotten and lost in this pile of dirty clothing for all these many years.

You decide to wear it around your neck, and almost immediately it feels as though you’ve become a bit more resilient against the forces of corruption and darkness…

[|JY| Gold Triad Amulet] (Reduces incoming Sanity damage by 2 points each time Sanity damage is taken and reduces incoming Purity damage by 2 points each time Purity damage is taken) was equipped by Misty.

Toward the back of the storage area, you see something out of place, and it looks like a few boxes and trash bags were thrown aside. It seems as though someone else has been here not too long ago, and after checking around, you find an unusual Wall Vault safe was installed here not too long ago. Oddly enough, there’s even power going to it, all sourced from a single wire emerging from the back and going into the ground.

You take a look at the safe and it looks like the back was opened and some of the circuity was removed while the safe firmware itself was corrupted. In order to open this, you figure someone’s going to need to reconfigure the hardware, put the circuitry back in, and then on top of that, you’re going to need an 8-digit code to undo the lock.

{“Wall Vault” Safe: Missing Circuit Board AND <Technical> AND <8-Digit Passcode>} was noted in the Team Records.

The odd thing is that it looks like someone really wanted to make sure whatever is in here is kept locked and stashed away for good, and they only wanted to retrieve it if it was absolutely dire and necessary. But you wonder… why would someone lock something up like this so tight and not just destroy it? What stopped them from doing that?

You can only wonder about what kind of a thing could fit that description, but at the moment, you’ll have to set it aside for now as you just don’t have the means to address what this safe needs to be opened.

After having searched around one last time, you decide to head back and you arrive back at the steel mill just in time before the windstorms start to pick up again.

Misty the Palpitoad (M: Water/Ground)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20
Battle Stance: Flee
Perk: Medicine | Abilities:
EQUIPMENT:
Attack Weapon: [|AW| Utility Sledgehammer] (Adds 3 damage to successful attack rolls)
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: [|JY| Gold Triad Amulet] (Reduces incoming Sanity damage by 2 points each time Sanity damage is taken and reduces incoming Purity damage by 2 points each time Purity damage is taken)
Utopian Aspect: <Empty>
MERCENARIES:
#1: <Empty>
#2: <Empty>
PACK:

• $650 Sochas

[Noblejanobii]

Let's interview 30. Umie the Petilil

[EmeraldSky]

I will check the Sapphire Oasis

[Shruikan]

Ok, still at a loss on where to go, so back to the random searching...

Search: (35) Keepers™ Self-Storage Center

[Neo Emolga]

Nico found herself swirled into a conciousness yet again, going from a tasty meat meal for ghouls to more of a light bakery snack.
"I... I am not sure if saving the world as an emissary is really my calling..." She mumbled, counting the sochas left in her pocket.

She put any money she had onto the table that was the group inventory, and picked up a spare machete that was lying around.
"I'll just be down in the basement, checking out our base." She said tiredly, hefting the machete over her shoulder and heading down to (1a) Foundry Basement (Empty Space)

A little anxious regarding what recently happened and unsure of where to go from here, you decide to add your money to the Emissary bank, saving it for later. Meanwhile, you take the Military Machete, feeling it should help improve things next time.

Nico has added $113 Sochas$ to the Team Inventory and has withdrawn the [|AW| Military Machete] (Adds 4 damage to successful attack rolls)

Deciding not to risk anything tonight, you decide to simply investigate the steel mill, wondering what might be in the basement. After all, it was abandoned for quite some time before you and the other Emissaries had arrived.

Heading down the concrete steps, you find this sublevel was mainly used as a storage and loading area that connects to the outside through a slope, and there were two stations for trucks to pull into and unload whatever they needed to deliver. Most of it has been emptied out save for a few neglected crates that don’t have anything inside.

You figure in time, you might be able to use this space for something, though you would need to find someone that would be able to build facilities. From what you’ve explored already, it doesn’t seem like someone who specializes in that resides in the refuge area, but the Knaves may have someone who could handle a task like that.

After searching the back corner area of the basement, you find something a little peculiar and that one of the metallic panels that make up the floor seem a little loose. You pull it aside and it looks like someone hid something here.

When you pull it out, it looks like a large steel military case with an unfamiliar triple overlapping crescent moon insignia. You’re not quite sure how it got here, but then the evidence you find makes it clear someone was using this area for smuggling military surplus. It doesn’t seem to be Aurorawatch’s brand of equipment either and you’re beginning to piece it together that before OMEN, someone was using this place to smuggle military weapons and gear on the side, though you imagine now those operations were shut down. But it looks like some of it still remains. The manifest describes it as being for a paramilitary faction called Shadowmarch. When you piece it all together, someone was stealing from Exacta City’s military and selling it to Shadowmarch. You even find evidence that suggests this very steel mill was used to create these Shadowmarch badges and insignias to rebrand the armor.

What became of Shadowmarch and if it’s even still in operation is a question, but the armor and equipment here is still perfectly usable, though it seems like only a few crates remain. You crack open the first of the crates and it looks like whoever was in charge of this operation was seriously well-financed and had a lot invested in it. Inside the first crate, it looks like a high-end battle armor with dark-gray reinforced plating. Curiously, you pull it out, strap it on, and buckle and lock it into place. It fits surprisingly well, is quite comfortable, and was made to fit Pokémon of multiple sizes, but it definitely makes you look like the most badass Alcremie that’s ever existed as if you’re no stranger to warzones. You have a feeling whatever Shadowmarch is, they might have been a heck of a threat to even Aurorawatch if they were equipped with gear like this.

Nico has equipped the [|DA| Shadowmarch Colossus Armor (Reduces incoming Health damage by 4 points each time Health damage is taken, prevents Super-Effective damage effects)

You also find the payment deposit in another box with a memo regarding the transaction, which seems like it was intended as an upfront cost to whatever contraband operation was going on here. It doesn’t seem like they’ll ever come by to collect, not like what they were doing was legal anyway, so you decide to take it for yourself.

$1000 Sochas$ were added to Nico’s Pack.

The other crates seem to have equipment like radios, headsets, MREs, and a series of data disks that you’re not sure if there’s anything even in Exacta City that can read what kind of data is on them. It might have been useful if you were planning on leading a revolution, but for now, you decide to leave them alone.

You decide to get some sleep tonight, feeling tomorrow will be a better day.

Nico the Alcremie (S: Fairy)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24
Battle Stance: Ferocious
Perk: Diplomacy | Abilities:
EQUIPMENT:
Attack Weapon: [|AW| Military Machete] (Adds 4 damage to successful attack rolls)
Defense Armor: [|DA| Shadowmarch Colossus Armor] (Reduces incoming Health damage by 4 points each time Health damage is taken, prevents Super-Effective damage effects)
Jewelry: <Empty>
Utopian Aspect: <Empty>
MERCENARIES:
#1: <Empty>
#2: <Empty>
PACK:

• $1000 Sochas$
  [OMEN Sample Collection Jar]

[Scarlet the Weavile]

Well now, don't go forgetting about little old me. Scratch that. I'm not that old

I'll search the (16) Riverwinds Shopping Center

[Neo Emolga]

Let's interview 30. Umie the Petilil

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE
+1 Shared Type (Grass)

You decide to pay Umie the Petilil a visit tonight to see if she knows something about the Stalkers. When you ask around to find her, you learn she’s a boarding student at Daybreak School, residing there because she’s only 12 years old and isn’t old enough to work. You shudder to think her parents are either dead or missing, but it’s the unfortunate reality of the situation.

You head over there quickly as the sun sets, dashing as fast as your white Shaymin paws can take you. You figure whoever is in charge of the school likely has a strict curfew on these kids and you don’t want to arrive only to find out she’s been sent to bed. Thankfully, you manage to get there just in time with a few minutes to spare. You find her in one of the classrooms, cleaning up at the end of the day and putting things back in order. As she’s one of the older children, she helps the teachers as a kind of assistant.

From what you observe at a distance, Umie is quite polite, holding doors for other Pokémon, cleaning up after herself, and putting things back where they belong, even when other students neglectfully left their things laying around. Gently, you approach the small, green sprout Pokémon and introduce yourself. You notice as you get closer that she keeps a small pink pouch by her side at all times.

“Good evening, Miss Noble,” Umie smiles and bows before you. “How are you?”

You mention you’re doing well. After a small friendly chat about how her day went and some of the things she learned about today, you gently and softly ask about any strange things around town she might have come across, and if she knows anything about the Stalkers.

“I haven’t seen any Stalkers, no,” Umie looks away, looking a bit ashamed. “I really don’t want to. They just seem so scary.”

“Have you might have overheard something strange from someone else?” you ask her, understanding why she would be reluctant to venture out too far considering the situation.

“Well, there’s… Jakko,” Umie tells you, nervously shuffling. “Jakko is so rude and likes to pick on the other kids. He also likes to scare them about the Stalkers, teasing them that… they’ll kill them in their sleep.” She shuffles a bit more with anxiety. “As much as I’d like to say he’s wrong and just trying to make them believe in boogeymen, he’s… well, he’s right, but being reminded of it is making the other kids really scared…”

“He also likes breaking rules and he dares the other kids to venture into the Northern Reach,” Umie tells you, trying to keep it quiet. “He warned not to tell anyone or he’ll beat them up. The other day, he stole Kio’s money and told Kio and Pesha that if they wanted to get it back, they had to go to the chemical plant and bring some proof that they were there. They went in and came out of there screaming. They haven’t been the same since and they keep having nightmares. I talked to Pesha since she was really sobbing and she told me there’s some kind of… nightmare monster in there. She told me it almost electrocuted her and tried to scream in her mind! She was afraid I wouldn’t believe her, but I do. I know her, she wouldn’t lie about something like that.”

“Miss Taliea found out about it and Kio and Pesha got in so much trouble,” Umie tells you with remorse. “They’re excluded from playtime for the rest of the month and now we’re not allowed to go outside without an adult. Jakko was laughing about it and he still didn’t give Kio’s money back.”

The whole time she’s talking, you notice she seems to have some kind of light glowing from her pouch. You politely ask about it, wondering if you think it might be Utopia-related.

“Oh this?” Umie asks, opening her pink pouch and showing you a glowing white cylinder made of a whiteish-silvery metal. “I’m not sure, but it seems so… pure, and holy. Look at these glowing white carvings!”

She’s more than happy to show you, and you can tell it’s definitely a relic from Utopia. The only issue is that she’s rather fond of it and it seems to bring her quite a bit of comfort. Asking her to part with it seems just as hard to ask a kid to give up their entire bag of Halloween candy after spending several hours filling up an entire pillowcase’s worth, but you try anyway, knowing it could be a crucial part of Utopia’s operations here.

“Do you mind if I could have it?” you aske Umie. “I think I might know what it’s for.”

“I’m… sorry, Miss Noble, I… please don’t make me give this up,” Umie tells you, looking very apologetic. “It’s one of the few things I have left. But… well, listen. I… want to help Kio with her…problem with Jakko. She never got her money back and she’s really upset about it. I want to make her happy again, more than anything, so… if you could give me 200 sochas for this, it would allow me to give that money to Kio that Jakko stole from her. It would make her really happy and I would be happy, too.”

You tell Umie you’ll think it over. True, giving her the sochas would definitely encourage her to hand it over, but you think there might be another way to talk Umie into giving up this Utopian relic, but you’re a bit at a loss for words right now.

{Umie the Petilil: <Diplomacy> OR $200 Sochas$}

Shortly after, you hear Taliea the Azumarill call the children to head off to sleep, and it seems Umie is very set on not keeping her waiting.

“Well, good night Miss Noble, I need to go,” Umie tells you with a warm smile. “It was great to meet you!”

“Good night and sleep well, Umie” you tell her.

After heading out of the classroom and walking your way out of the school building, you decide to head back to base and think about what you might intend on doing tomorrow.

Noble the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 15/20 | Purity: 24/24
Battle Stance: Tactical
Perk: Seinaru | Abilities:
EQUIPMENT:
Attack Weapon: [|AW| Razor-sharp Shiv] (Adds 1d4 damage to successful attack rolls)
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>
Utopian Aspect: <Empty>
MERCENARIES:
#1: <Empty>
#2: <Empty>
PACK:

• $205 Sochas$

[Neo Emolga]

I will check the Sapphire Oasis

As the sun begins to set, you decide to head south and investigate the small Sapphire Oasis Jewelry Store that faces the Exacta Military Compound. The temperature feels a bit more comfortable tonight and thankfully there isn’t any wind around to blow the dust and sand into the air.

When you arrive, you see the building itself seems to be in pretty good condition and thanks to it being right next to the compound, the only way it could possibly have even more protection is to be within the compound itself. Lagrais the Rapidash seems to make sure the store looks as inviting and as attractive as possible, though you imagine in times like these, it’s a challenge. Still, it looks like the grounds surrounding the building seem to be in pretty good shape and it appears she doesn’t even want weeds growing around. There’s a few nice plants growing by the front door and they seem to make the store feel welcoming as a nice “Sapphire Oasis” store sign hangs above.

In the back of the building, you find there’s a clothing donation bin, and it looks like it was mainly used for protective shawls and other protective garments that would help provide coverage from the dust storms. Upon a closer inspection, it looks like it’s been locked for a very long time and hasn’t been opened to collect the contents inside.

You take a look at the lock itself and it definitely seems like other types of locks you’ve seen before. You take out your set of picks, tension wrench, and get to work on it, positioning in the tumbler and using your hooked picks to raise the pins to just the right level. Once you use your hooked lockpick to align the pins, you turn and the lock disengages.

{Clothing Donation Bin: <Security>}

After opening the metal door, it looks like quite a few articles of clothing were put into here and were never collected as you figured whoever held the key to this container either lost it or something happened to them…

You sift through the articles of clothing, finding quite a few Pokémon donors unintentionally left things of value inside the pockets and pouches. You find plenty of loose change left in these pockets, which you collect and amass into a larger pile. After putting it all together, you find it results in a fairly sizable pile of money.

$270 Sochas$ were added to Lita’s Pack.

In one of the pockets of a rather elegant pink shawl that you’re honestly surprised someone was willing to give up, you find what looks like a mysterious but seemingly very mystical gold chain amulet with a center crystal that seems to glisten in a stark array of rainbow colors. At these night hours, you can only faintly see the colors, though you imagine it must look quite beautiful in daylight. You wonder if the original owner didn’t realize they left it here.

You decide to put it on, and you feel a sudden captivating presence that you can only describe as magic, suddenly making you feel like you can go anywhere, do anything, and change yourself. It almost seems like the power is stashed away inside, as if you can’t trigger it on your own, but it’s there…

Lita has equipped the [|JY| Prismatic Amulet] (Bypass all Pokémon type-related barriers and obstacles upon encountering them).

After searching some more through the bin, you find a few items put into there that weren’t clothing. You find a few children’s toys like a rubber ball and a worn plush Teddiursa along with an old tool set in a slightly rusty metal box. You do find one thing that causes a bit of alarm. It appears to be a stone hand, specific in shape and size to a Mr Mime’s. While most Pokémon would just dismiss it, you feel traces of Stalker presence coming from it, though it seems to be mild. Still, it reminds you of something you’ve seen before, so you decide to hold onto it until you discern what it’s used for.

[Right Hand of the Forgotten One] was added to the Team Inventory.

After you’re convinced you’ve managed to find all that you could in here, you decide to leave the metal door to the clothing bin fully open. You’re not sure who in town might be needy enough to use one of these articles, but you’ve made it clear this bin is now opened and whoever needs clothing can help themselves.

You then move onto investigating the store itself, which has closed down for the night after Lagrais left and headed into the upstairs apartment. Though it seems like Lagrais has taken quite a few precautions to make sure her inventory isn’t stolen, you sneak your way in through one of the windows and take a look around to see what she has for sale.

Checking the shelves, glass display cases, and store racks, you find she’s got quite a bit of inventory. Most of it seems to be ornamental and for decorative purposes only, which won’t really help too much in terms of dealing with the Stalkers, but quite a fair bit of these items have protective qualities and useful traits to them.

Sapphire Oasis Jewelry Store
Run by Lagrais the Rapidash

VARIABLE ATTACK AMULETS

• $[|JY| Opal Amulet] 50 Sochas$ (Adds 1d4 damage to successful attack rolls.)
• $[|JY| Topaz Amulet] 150 Sochas$ (Adds 1d6 damage to successful attack rolls.)
• $[|JY| Diamond Amulet] 250 Sochas$ (Adds 1d8 damage to successful attack rolls.)

SET ATTACK RINGS

• $[|JY| Cross Ring] 40 Sochas$ (Adds 2 damage to successful attack rolls.)
• $[|JY| Clover Ring] 125 Sochas$ (Adds 3 damage to successful attack rolls.)
• $[|JY| Starburst Ring] 200 Sochas$ (Adds 4 damage to successful attack rolls.)

PROFICIENCY BANDS

• $[|JY| Band of the Rogue] 300 Sochas$ (Grants use of the Security Perk.)
• $[|JY| Band of the Crafter] 300 Sochas$ (Grants use of the Repair Perk.)
• $[|JY| Band of the Cleric] 300 Sochas$ (Grants use of the Medicine Perk.)
• $[|JY| Band of the Diplomat] 300 Sochas$ (Grants use of the Diplomacy Perk.)
• $[|JY| Band of the Angels] 300 Sochas$ (Grants use of the Seinaru Perk.)

UNIQUE TALISMANS

• $[|JY| Talisman of Life] 500 Sochas$ (Grants immediate full revival if killed. Talisman of Life breaks if this occurs, one use only.)
• $[|JY| Flashfire Talisman] 200 Sochas$ (Always strike first in combat regardless of speed.)

After searching through the rest of the store, you don’t find anything that seems out of place or suspicious, so you decide to head back to the steel mill and use the rest of the evening to get some sleep.

Lita the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24
Battle Stance: Tactical
Perk: Security | Abilities: Clairvoyance
EQUIPMENT:
Attack Weapon: [|AW| Steel Bow] (Adds 1d4 damage to successful attack rolls)
Defense Armor: [|DA| Bronze Guard] (Reduces incoming Health damage by 1 point each time Health damage is taken)
Jewelry: [|JY| Prismatic Amulet] (Bypass all Pokémon type-related barriers and obstacles upon encountering them)
Utopian Aspect: <Empty>
MERCENARIES:
#1: <Empty>
#2: <Empty>
PACK:

• $495 Sochas$
• [Starf Berry] (Restores all Purity)
• [|AW| Combat Longbow] (Adds 1d6 damage to successful attack rolls)
• [|AW| Razor Composite Bow] (Adds 2 damage to successful attack rolls)