Stalkers RPG: Dustwoken - Main Action and Team Status [SEASON 1]

[Neo Emolga]

[ I'm not sure what else to do from here, but I'm going to interview Korak the Nidoking, and just in case, I'll have Lyric go into Diplomacy mode should the need arise. ]

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Lyric spent the entire afternoon after delivering Ralon's body just recovering at Benni's farmstead, trying to process everything. Ralon mentioned that Exonull was particularly aggravated, and they just knew that it had something to do with the stunt they pulled getting the encrypted stake. They were just glad his family didn't have to see that.

Having heard that one of the Macabre Mantra pieces was found in Korak's house, they figured they'd pay him a visit tonight to see if they can't get any info off of him. They hoped that this would be a little easier with the evolutionary line that they shared.
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"Excuse me mister, mind if I speak with you a moment? I've heard you teach archeology at Beachwood University and was wondering if you've heard of any interesting discoveries, or possibly even had them yourself."

They wouldn't normally admit this, but in their Ampharos incarnation, back when they were a Flaafy, they were a bit of a bookworm, spending entire days reading whatever had caught their fancy. Of course, they seldom had good grades on account of their fixations almost never being on what they were studying at the time. Still, they felt they'd be able to get more information by relating their previous self's interests to those of the Nidoking. Plus, getting information was probably just mildly important, so it was worth giving up a bit of their self-imposed "cool and calm 'mon" image for this particular incarnation.
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"I may not look it, but I've actually been quite fascinated by ancient history. I feel there's a lot we can learn from cultures gone by! Plus, it never hurts to learn more about Pokémon that came before us, and I believe that the more we know about them and how they lived, the more we can improve life for everyone in the present and future."

... Even though they meant what they said about everything else, the part about their interests was slightly stretching the truth. They only had in interest in it when it was their active fixation, and that stuff changed like the weather.

When the night arrives, you head down to Korak’s house, nestled among the several Shoreside Houses by the shore. It’s a bit chilly tonight as you take the long walk from Benni farmstead, but you keep focused and hope to learn something useful from Korak himself.

When you arrive, you knock on the door and he opens it to see you. He’s a bit surprised to have a visitor he wasn’t expecting, but he welcomes your arrival regardless.

“Excuse me mister,” you begin, “mind if I speak with you a moment? I’ve heard you teach archeology at Beachwood University and was wondering if you’ve heard of any interesting discoveries or even had them yourself.”

#31 Korak the Nidoking has become Compliant.

“Hello there!” he greets you. “You’re close, I actually teach architecture at the university, but archeology is something I study on the side and when possible, I try to incorporate that into studies of modern floorplan design and drafting when it comes to my lectures about today’s architecture. There’s a surprisingly valuable wealth of knowledge and understanding that can be gained from learning and analyzing what Pokémon did in ancient history when it comes to building design. If these design techniques were understood then, we can use them to understand hem today. For example…”

You can sense he’s quite passionate about the subject manner and continues to discuss it as he invites you inside. He gives some examples from ancient history, the way old amphitheaters were designed and how that knowledge is used today. And he also covers areas where there were faulty designs and why those practices are no longer used. The whole time, it seems he automatically assumes you already have a vast knowledge about these kinds of things.

“I may not look it, but I’ve actually been quite fascinated by ancient history,” you tell Korak. “I feel there’s a lot we can learn from cultures gone by! Plus, it never hurts to learn more about Pokémon that came before us, and I believe that the more we know about them and how they lived, the more we can improve life for everyone in the present and future.”

“Splendid!” he grins. “I wish a lot of my students felt the same way as you do! I can’t tell you how many of them assume old designs and ancient structural engineering practices are no longer relevant. The nerve! I’ve pointed this out plenty of times to them and still, a number of them continue to fail my exams because of these assumptions they make. How can they even begin to work on buildings of the future if they can’t understand the buildings of the past!? It just baffles me. They would do well to study harder, I’m sure.”

“I’ve studied quite a share of history in my time and I feel if one wants to prepare for the future, they need to learn what happened in the past, because as we know, the past has this tendency to repeat itself,” he tells you. “And it repeats because Pokémon fall into the same societal traps and misunderstandings! It’s a tragic lack of education that causes these things. To me, ignorance is a malaise and that spreads to others that don’t know either!”

It seems he likes to talk about these things quite a bit, but you’ve noticed the conversation hasn’t gone anywhere near toward what you’re hoping to learn about regarding the Stalkers. So when things settled down and you’ve given him the chance to spill his aspiration for history and archeology, you ask him about some of the more recent things going on around town. The odd weather, and the subject of the Stalkers.

“Yes, I think just about every Pokémon living here in Seabourne has had at least some kind of encounter with them,” he tells you. “Well, maybe not directly, but in some indirect capacity at least. I don’t know what they’re up to, however. I dare say I’m not well-versed into these kinds of things. The psychology of killers is just something I’d rather not touch, and while psychological warfare and things of such nature appear quite often in history, I don’t believe what we’re dealing with here falls within those same fields, if you know what I mean, of course.”

“The only thing I’ve noted as of late is one of the murals at city hall,” Korak explains. “Someone recently vandalized it and stole the bronze medallion that was there. if there’s anything I despise, it’s vandalism. It’s truly deplorable. I’ve seen what vandalism can do and all throughout time and history, it is a menace.”

“Well, it is getting rather late,” Korak tells you. “Thank you for a delightful conversation and I wish you good night.”

He then heads off to sleep and you decide to make your way back toward Benni’s farmstead. All the while, it still feels as though the night has gotten a bit colder.

Lyric Winterheart the Nidorina (M: Poison)

Health: 17/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 11/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:

• Defense Armor: <Empty>
• Jewelry: <Empty>

[Neo Emolga]

Time to go digging in a place where my hunches direct me so! And by that, I mean going to a place we’ve already looked at. Hand me that mantra and wish me luck!

[ACTION DECIDED: Take the Macabre Mantra to the mural in Seabourne Hospital and read that bad boy out! See if we can follow up on anything with Korak!]

As the moon rises overhead, you head out into the night, taking the eerie and cryptic words of the Macabre Mantra with you. You’re not quite sure what to expect once this is done, but you know that if you’re to find the source of truth behind the Stalkers, it’s going to mean going into the dragon’s den.

Once you arrive at the hospital, you head toward where the mural is. It hasn’t changed since the last time it was seen and still depicts the grim caricature of Jackia and Sal as well as the unknown Blaziken father, but you have a feeling that if Edifice kills again, that might change things.

Feeling a bit anxious, you take the words of the mantra and you speak them out loud…

“We are all banded by evil…” you begin, feeling uneasy about these words. “It seems into all of us. You cannot run from your sins. You will learn to eat your guilt. Relinquish your innocence. You are just one amongst many. A dream of my own design. A nightmare no one escape from. To become the thing you seek to kill. This is EDIFICE.”

…

Colored has used the [Macabre Mantra].

{The Fallen Mantra Mural: Unspoken Macabre Words}

For a moment, there is nothing, and you almost begin to wonder if something went wrong or if a step was missed.

And then, from the blackness of the night…

#Deranged Sin Voices – PSYCHIC (8 Purity Damage)# Trap 40% Evasion Test: 76 out of 100: Failed!

…

“Colored, help!” you hear a voice cry out. “Please help me!”

You turn frantically, looking in all directions, but there is nothing. This area of the hospital remains quiet and there’s no one around.

“Who… who’s there?” you ask. “What’s… what’s wrong?”

And there is silence. For a minute, you wonder if you’re just imagining things, but you feel anxious again. There’s an unusual amount of stillness now. You feel like someone should have been passing by in that hospital now, but there’s been no one you can see in the windows.

“Where are you, Colored!?” the voice cries out again. “I can’t find you!”

“I’m right here!” you should back. “What’s…!”

And then you stop yourself, realizing what you said was a mistake. Suddenly, the lights in the hospital shut off and the faint illumination they gave this outside area goes dark. Even the very faint moonlight is suddenly gone when you look up and dark clouds smother and blot out the moon and the little light it was producing.

For a moment, you see nothing. It’s completely pitch black. You turn in all directions, but then you see something… disturbing.

The faces. The faces of Jackia, Sal, and the Blaziken father… are revealed, and they are the only things that can be seen in the void-like blackness. And their faces are distorted, as if they were burned, scarred, and then warped and melting like their faces were made of nothing more than goopy clay.

Colored has suffered 1 damage to Purity.

“Get me out of here, this isn’t real!” you shout.

But your demands fall upon silence. You only hear l̯̥̱͈a̙͐u̥̟̹̙̫̹̐̅̅̌̎ͦg̤̞͎͉̺h̬̣͍̾͊́i̤̞͙͚̹̎̔̉̄̑n̗ ̣g and it sounds grotesque.

“You could have protected Jackia,” the shrieking voice mocks you. “But you chose not to. You chose to put her in harm’s way.

Y̓̆̌̈oU̯͔͚̣̖̜ͅ C͇͓̥̰̃͗̊ͫh̜͔̦̺ö́ͥͣ̿̌͑͛S̗É̝͍͔̤̅̓̚ ̫͓̦̯͎͇̻̂ͧ̔̅̔͛ͥTo͆̑́̓̆̔́ ̀̌̊̔̚LĖ̻̙̣̭͉̺͐̆̒̾͐̀ͅt̻̦̼͕̲̅ͭ͋ͥ̚ ̻̝͎̲̼̳H̝͐e͋̆̽̾͛ͨR̿ͣ̄̂ ̣̜͔̘̙ͯ̃̈͐̒̏̿ͅͅD̦̬̜͓I̝͓̩ȅ̀”

…

“No!” you shout, refusing to believe that. “There’s no way I could have known she would be the next target! And why…

…no…

YOU were the one that killed her!” you insist, denying your guilt.

At first you thought the truth would protect you. The fact that you could not protect every citizen in this town all at once. It would be impossible. It wasn’t your fault and you couldn’t be blamed for what happened. If you had known, you would have done everything in your power to protect her last night.

But here, the truth… the facts… ar͈̻͈̘e̫͇̹͇͔ ̳̘̬̦̹͍ͅb̯̩͕̗͍l̥̳̺̩̱a͍̹̟s͍̙̭̥̟p̭ẖ̩̫͔̙eͅͅmy̱͍̫̰ ̹̖.

The facts don’t provide you with a shield in this place. Instead, your brain goes cold, and then you suddenly feel like you had your mind melt. Facts no longer make sense, the things you remember are disjointed and now hardwired all the wrong way. Up is suddenly left, and suddenly its wrong and forever wrong. Your name is jumbled, the letters melt and don’t make sense anymore. And then even more chaos and anarchy is added in viciously, making you think incoherent thoughts that soon turn to destruction and murder…

Up is death. Left is massacre. Your name spells suffering in another language, and then it is blown apart like the trillions of pieces of billions of victims…

Color̆ͬ̾ͬ̒̍̈́ed has s̙̼̝͇͉uf̭͕f̟͈e̞̰͍r͕eḏ 3 damage to Purity.

You imagine a distorted world where everything is lit aflame. The buildings are upside-down, melting, the streets are consuming lava, the trees are raging fireballs while the Pokémon you see are warped, frozen, and then pulled apart, as if the entire world has been inflicted with a hideous virus and now what should be the apocalypse is in fact the very beginning of a new, burning world. You see yourself, now turned into a monster with a Snivy’s head, the body of a Pidgeot, the ears and paws of a Cinccino, the feet of a Palpitoad, and with a Morelull’s mushrooms growing out of your head. And the others… the other Pokémon around you are all the same way as chimeras of multiple Pokémon that don’t fit at all together, but also with their bodies warping… melting, being randomly ripped apart and then scattered… only to be put back together like puzzles haphazardly-assembled completely wrong.

The world is bathed and lit aflame again, and then suddenly frozen like cold frosty death, and yet you cannot feel hot or cold… only pain.

And the worst part of all…

Your brain… your mind… isn’t even afraid of this anymore. B̖e͖̱̗̩̟͕c͙̠̬̦̯̗͕ḁ̩̘͙̣̖̻u̲͔̱͕̬͕s̜̰͎e̻̱ ͖̘i̭t’s ͇̮̺̥t̜̟̣̘he͇̟ ̱̼̥͖͉n̙̱͇̦̫͍e̟̣̣͔̥̬̬w ̜͕̲no̞̭͓r̥̗̣ma̼l̫. This is what the rest of the future will be like. Your future. Everyone’s future. You gawk, your vision becomes blurry, and then suddenly… you cannot help but defecate where you stand, right on the twisting sidewalk that’s suddenly lit aflame again. It comes out of your b͒͋͐̓͊̊́ͫ̃ͤ̓̚l̤̠̩͔͚͓̹̟͈̩̣͉̣ͩͦ͑̓ͫ̇̐ͪ̑̅ͥ͗͌e͓̼̱ͪ͋͒̅ͫ̋ ͇̠̹ẻͥ̉̍̉ͦ̊̔̅̒̄ͪ̑d̝̠͉͕͚͉i͐ng colon like hot, fiery lava, but once it has been expelled from your scorching anus, you feel better, although the burning still remains. You should have been embarrassed, but instead… you’re bashful but proud. You giggle.

Something terrible makes your hideous, chimera-like body turn around to see what your excreted fecal accomplishment looks like, and then you gawk at the sight of it, just laying there in a putrid pile.

…It’s the rotten remains of youṟ̳̰͍̘̼͖̜̮͍̯̱ ̭̜͚̳͈̱̦̲͓̹̟̱b̲̖̘̖̘̞͎͓̠̭̭̣͔̱ͅrain.

But you laugh, because you don’t need it anymore. In fact, you’re better off without it! You twitch, dance a monstrous jig, and then you rip off your own Cinccino arm and use your other arm to hit yourself in the head with it as the world continues to scramble out of control!

DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE DiE diE Die DiE dIE dIe DIe DIE diE

Blood is all over you.

But you find yourself unable to die. It’s simply not enough. Instead, you rip off your Cinccino ears… and then your Palpitoad feet, followed by the Morelull mushrooms… blood gushing into the flames. When that’s not enough, you drag yourself by your one remaining arm to a blacker-than-death wrought-iron fence and then forcefully RAM your eyes into the spearhead-like tips. They burrow deep into your eye sockets before nestling themselves into the empty cavity where your rotting brain used to be. Sickly black and red blood oozes from your mouth, piling the mucus-like goop onto the flaming sidewalk below.

You howl from the tremendous, suicidal pain, and with one last horrific laugh, you shout loudly and your voice booms throughout the entirety of this hideous abomination of a world you now dwell in. It echoes throughout the burning lands, as if you’ve become some dark, unholy god for all to be called to with your horrendous booming voice.

“THiS iS EDiFiCe!!!” You gleefully shriek with unholy laughter.

The world ignites again and the macabre flames rage higher. All of the twisted and hideous chimera-beings that are around you cheer with thunderous applause…

…your performance has truly inspired them, and now they bow and pray.

Colo̞̖̣̼̞͇͙̦̼͙̰red has Ŝ͍͎̞̫̗ͦͮͫ̌U̪͕̥͔̹̟͍̘͔͋͗͆ͨ̍̆ͫ̍̈́F̪̥͚̍̈́̍F̳͕͇̲͛̈̋̉Ĕ̓̓ ̂ͮ̄̉̅̏̋̃̇Rͮ̅Ẽ͓̤͓͈͂͌͋D 4 damage to Ṗ̫̖̱̞̥̫̙͉̺̿͊́ͯͣ̑̈̊͐ͅU̦̜͖͚̠̣̹̳̫̻̼̐̒͒̇̎ͧ̍ͧͯͩ͆R͒ͦ̅̎͌ ̰̩̺̱̼͖͚̲͖͎͉̫̲͈̐ͪ̐̏̈́̄́̊͋Ỉ͊͋ͥ̾̄ͩ͂͂͒̇̈̄̃TY.

…

You wake up… mumbling. Unconsciously, unwillingly, you find yourself almost on autopilot…

“seeps into all of us… eat your guilt… a dream of my own design… a nightmare no one escapes from…”

You gasp. You cannot control what you are saying.

“…to become the thing you seek to kill…” you moan… not even sure if the words you utter from your own mouth are your own.

But you stop. Stop before mentioning the name of Edifice. Finally, you can control yourself again and you feel yourself unbound by this horrendous presence…

Before you, the mural has collapsed. The entire wall is in pieces, now spilled out before you as if an explosive went off and made the wall crumble. The sight surprises you for a moment, but then you notice the individual pieces of the wall and the mural that was once depicted.

Before the wall crumbled, the mural… it changed. It no longer depicts the Blaziken father with Jackia and Sal. You pick up a few of the pieces as if looking at a giant concrete jigsaw puzzle, but the depiction… what was on that mural before it collapsed… had changed.

You almost weep in desperation and panic when you realize what the new mural was before it crashed to the ground and what it would look like if you tried to put it back together.

Now it depicts YOU. You… in your hideous chimera-like body, and the world burning around you in a hellish landscape bathed in madness and deranged psychosis. But now even that is in pieces. But you’re actually thankful, because you don’t want to see what the end result looks like.

You toss the pieces aside, genuinely hoping no one ever tries to put this back together. But where the mural once was, there’s now an empty, black cavity, revealing a mysterious alcove that was sealed by the now-collapsed wall. You move your snake-like body to climb over the pile of concrete fragments to see something was sealed into this alcove.

What you see looks like a very old cup with artistic engravings on it, an artisan ritual knife, a strange voodoo-like figurine, and an old armband that looks like it has blood stains on it. All of these items look to be ancient and very old, as if they were supposed to be in a museum or part of someone’s personal collection.

You’re not sure why these were put here, but it almost seems like they were sealed in here… to prevent someone from finding them, as if they were trying to sweep something under the rug and hide it without destroying it. Someone… Edifice most likely… hid these here, perhaps unable to destroy them… but fearful that they might be used against them… whoever they are.

You take them with you, not sure how, where, and if these can be used somehow, but something about them seems mysterious and you strongly feel there has to be a reason why these were hidden here.

[Ancient Chalice], [Ceremonial Knife], [Occult Figurine], and [Bloodstained Armband] were added to the Team Inventory.

Still overwhelmed from what happened, you pick yourself up and head back to Benni’s farmstead, but the whole walk home, you shiver, still seeing glimpses of the horrendous nightmare in your imagination… still checking your body to ensure you’re still a whole and normal Snivy… and that fragments of that dream weren’t taken with you beyond what still dwells in your mind. But thankfully, in terms of the physical real realm, things seem normal…

…It almost feels alarming how what should be normal and neutral feels so sanctifying after what you went through…

Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 16/24 | 6/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Morelull, Palpitoad, Mega Audino, Pidgeot, Cinccino
EQUIPMENT:

• Defense Armor: <Empty>
• Jewelry: <Empty>

[Neo Emolga]

Whew, finally I’m feeling much better. Still a bit of a cold to shake off, but I’m getting there and can start doing these again.

Thanks for being patient!

Chi chi had an accidental nap all day (wait, do I have to post to say I slept/did nothing and healed? Oops!) but is ready to do some chatting tonight!

Following up on the chat with Altrea, ChiChi logs that old lady as someone to talk to later. Unfortunately, if she dies tonight, at least it's likely they'll be able to find that Putki orb at her house. If Santea dies, then they'll never know how much she knew...
So ChiChi is off to talk Diplomatically, of course, to the librarian. She's gonna take a Putki, and spark up exactly the same conversation that Altrea has already had with her-- show her the orb, ask about Puhdistus, and possibly dig for more locations or items or rituals. And you know what, maybe see if she's friends with that Nidoking in archeology- since its ancient things we are talking about here. If she's friends, be a little more wary. If not, possibly just tell her not to bother talking to him.
ChiChi may be glowing like some sort of weird godly figure, but that's not actually out of the ordinary for her species of Pokémon, so she's hoping that nobody else will find it too weird either.

From what you’ve gathered, not too many Pokémon talk about Santea the Lilligant as she mostly keeps to herself quietly, but you manage to track her down to her apartment at the Seaport Lofts after working the day at the library. It seems as though being a librarian is her dream job, as quiet reading is perfect for a quiet Pokémon such as herself.

As you make your way through the silent night toward the Seaport Lofts, you’re hoping she’ll open up to you and reveal her secrets, so while the night is still young, you head out and lightly knock on Santea’s apartment door. When she opens the door and looks upon you, you get a reaction from your Dreamwatch Necklace, radiating with a warming reassurance while it is as if a serene and trustworthy voice is whispering to you…

Santea… this Lilligant before you… is not a Stalker. Her soul does not struggle against the Demoni, thankfully…

“Hello there,” she greets you, still a bit on the cautious side as she hasn’t met you before. “Who might you be?”

Despite being cautious, she remains calm, though you can understand she has every reason to beware of each Pokémon she comes into contact with. Still, you assure her that you mean no harm and you calmly introduce yourself.

“Hello, Santea, my name is ChiChi,” you tell her as you present the Putki before her. “I have acquired one of the Putki. I believe you have been studying Puhdistus for quite some time. I wish to know more about it.”

She blinks out of surprise and takes a double take, never expecting anyone else to know about this ancient and seemingly dark magic.

She politely invites you into her apartment, which seems calm, quiet, and peaceful. As you take a look around, you can smell an incense burner and the apartment rooms are illuminated by peaceful candles that emit a calming, almost otherworldly glow. You almost immediately feel at peace here.

#5 Santea the Lilligant has become COMPLIANT.

“Welcome,” she beams happily. “You know, I don’t have too many guests over, and I’ve never had anyone to talk to about Phudistus.”

She goes and brews some sweet herbal tea for you and herself as you take a place at her circular cherrywood table. While her apartment is small, it’s nice and cozy as you feel as though it has everything anyone could ever need without all the materialistic things they don’t. She has plenty of books on her shelves, a nice cozy reading area with a stuffed bean bag, and a soft plushy bed to relax on. She also has paintings of nature scenes on the walls as if they were windows to an outside world of serenity. It makes it easy to be at ease in here and forget about the Stalkers for a while.

“I’ll admit I was wary about Puhdistus at first,” Santea tells you, admitting she had doubts when she first started reading about this shadowy magic. “I learned a lot about the history about it, and some of it is rather dark. At times I almost stopped myself from continuing, but what drove me to delve in further… yes, it was the Stalkers. No one was trying to stop them, and more and more victims kept turning up. I don’t want to end up like them, so I looked for anything I could that might help me defend myself, and that’s when I discovered Puhdistus.”

“I cast my doubts about Puhdistus aside,” she tells you. “It’s like a knife. It can be a dangerous and deadly weapon, but it can also be a helpful and life-saving tool. I decided despite how dark it seemed, I would try to use Puhdistus for good causes. To help protect myself and others.”

“I learned a band of fighting-type Pokémon, the Iahko, had recently recovered a forbidden, ancient magic called Taika,” she tells you, explaining what she has learned from her reading. “After being hunted down by a group of evil psychic type Pokémon, the Iahko learned and wielded Taika to find ways to obliterate evil entities and promote healing, even if Taika may look dark and shadowy on the exterior. So I knew it could be used for good causes.”

“I believe it can be used to stop the Stalkers,” Santea explains, opening one of her books on the subject matter. “See, the Puhdistus Ritual is part of this Taika magic. Now, it may seem like this a bit outlandish, but I believe our very town of Seabourne was in fact once a source site of Taika at one point or another. At one point, there was a Taika Temppeli, or a Taika Temple to be exact. It was destroyed many ages ago, but there exists one spell that can undo the effects of time, and that requires the sacred Taika Tekstit, or the Taika Texts to be exact. And the second thing it needs is the Palauttaminen Mantra, the Mantra of Restoration.”

“Somewhere in town, the ruins of the Taika Temppeli should be here, but I have no idea where they might be,” Santea sighs. “If we could find those Taika Tekstit and the Palauttaminen Mantra, you know, we might just be able to use a bit of Taika to restore the Taika Temppeli.”

“So you’re probably wondering what we might be able to do with the Taika Tempeli if it can be restored. Well, it’s a start, but we’d need the Completed Välineitä, which is a set of Taika Instruments. And those consist of a Taika Ritualli Tome, The Varjo Välineet, or ‘Shadow Tools’ and lastly, the Olemus… the essence.”

Before you, she places a jar containing a purple and black mist-like wisp.

“This, right here, is the Olemus!” she tells you happily. “Oh, I know it looks dark, but it’s safe to handle. I want you to have it, because I believe the Tatsujin are the key to unlocking the true potential of these relics and artifacts.”

You see that it matches the description what Kulsso mentioned to you before, though at the time, he had reason to be wary of it considering he was not aware of what it is or what it’s for. You watch it for a few seconds, flickering about inside the jar like a dark, shadowy firefly.

[The Olemus] (Essence) has been added to the Team Inventory.

“Now, once the Varjo Välineet are gathered at the Taika Temppeli, that’s when the Puhdistus Ritual can be performed,” Santea explains further. “This Cleansing Ritual, from what I’ve read, can be used to banish dark and evil spirits. To do that, each time the ritual is performed, a Putki is used, which serves as a conduit to summon and channel the Taika energy needed to fulfill the banishing. That’s exactly what you’ve got right there! The other thing that’s needed is the Stalker’s Phylactery.”

“These Phylacteries… they serve as anchors for the Demoni to allow them to persist in the material plane for an indefinite amount of time. And the Demoni, I learned, are the dark and evil spirits that have been possessing Pokémon and causing them to do murders on their behalf as the Stalkers for some wicked objective. I found out that’s why we haven’t seen the Demoni in their true forms. They’re using us as puppets and hiding among us!”

You’re not surprised to see Santea has managed to uncover so much information about this as she goes through multiple books regarding the subject matter. Most of the tomes she shows you look like they’ve been in the library for many years and it doesn’t look like too many Pokémon have read them, likely thinking they were just fantasy stories or old wives’ tales. On top of that, all of the pages are handwritten and you’re quite sure none of these books have a version that went through a printing press.

“I imagine these Demoni are hiding their Phylacteries in very secret and highly protected locations,” Santea tells you, knowing how critical these are to them. “But I believe if you can find them, they can be the key to stopping these Demoni. If the Phylactery is found and used in the Puhdistus Ritual, it will free the victim from the Demoni’s grasp and rip the Demoni linked to them to shreds, committing them to an eternity of torture and harassment in an underworld realm called Kadotus as they only exist in fragmented pieces. I mean, it sounds rather merciless, but these are the Demoni we’re talking about after all. They were supposed to be serving eternal damnation in Unohdus for all their evil deeds and then started doing this to us, so I can’t really feel sorry for them.”

“Well, it’s becoming late for me…” Santea tells you, though she seems very happy to have shared her knowledge with you. “I know this may seem like a lot, but I want to help you and I’m always available to answer questions about the Puhdistus Ritual if you have them. It’s been a pleasure to speak with you, ChiChi, and let me know if I can be of any help.”

…

ChiChi the Tatsujin Tapu Lele (M: Kūsho)

Health: 16/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 10/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Corviknight, Milotic, Aurorus, Espeon, Alcremie
EQUIPMENT:

• Defense Armor: <Empty>
• Jewelry: +|J| Dreamwatch Necklace+ (Wearer gets notified if they speak or have spoken to a Stalker)

[Neo Emolga]

I'll take things a little easy tonight and search (14) Greenvale Centre Apartments

As the moon appears in the sky, you head out for the night, intending to investigate the Greenvale Centre Apartments. The air is calm and still as you levitate your way toward the luxury apartment building. It feels quiet tonight, almost in a strange, uncanny, and eerie kind of way.

When you first arrive, you don’t see anything distinctly out of the ordinary and the exterior grounds actually seem welcoming despite the dark situation surrounding the town and the current conditions with the Stalkers. The outside lighting is fairly substantial and it almost feels like it would be a safe haven away from the threats of the Stalkers, but you know there really isn’t a safe corner anywhere in Seabourne.

…at least not yet.

You search around the exterior of the building, investigating every nook and cranny within reasonable time. You’re impressed at the state of the groundskeeping, especially given the emergency state that the town is in. Truthfully, if you had the money, you might consider living in a cozy, spacious place like this given the welcoming and clean exterior.

Outside in one of the potted lily flower patches, you see the very faint glint of metal and when you investigate it further, it looks to be a vintage sapphire amulet. It appears to be quite old but in still very good condition. As you hold the gleaming amulet in your hands, you feel a kind of protective radiance coming from it, as though it was blessed and imbued with a protective spiritual barrier many ages ago. While the blessing used to be stronger, it still has a good amount of it’s protective radiance.

Chakra has equipped the +|J| Sapphire Amulet+ (1S, 2P) and the +|J| Blessed Armband+ (1S, 1P) has been moved to the Team Inventory (Equipment Items).

You then search the interior of the building, and even from the moment you walk in, the inside walls are clean and pristine, the tiled floor is of intricate and artisan quality, and the lighting feels warm and welcoming even in the night hours. The lobby is quite spacious and almost feels like a hotel, but you can imagine it’s quite expensive here.

Most of the individual apartments are locked, but you are able to investigate the hallways and initially, you don’t find anything that causes any suspicions. The whole time, it does seem quiet tonight, but you also realize that many of these apartments are vacant, likely due to the high rent demand.

When you get to the far east side of the building, you see a finely-crafted mosaic tile artwork on the wall, with each hexagon tile depicting an individual picture that overall make up a much larger picture of a shoreline sunset when viewed from a distance. Among the tiles, you find individual images of natural art like sunflowers, leaves, clouds, and the like.

One of the tiles, as you detect with your Savant senses, seems to radiate a mysterious energy, and you suddenly realize it was cleverly hidden here to look like one of the others in the mosaic when really, it was not meant to be part of the overall artwork. You find this mysterious energy coming from a hexagon tile depicting a black lily, and you find it’s easily removed unlike all the others that have been affixed to the wall.

You realize that this is a key to something else… and you decide to take it with you.

[Black Lily Insignia] has been added to the Team Inventory.

…

From what you can gather and assume, only another Savant could have left this here for other Savants to detect, find, and use. It has you believing one of the Black Moon guild members left this hidden key here for others to find while natural Pokémon would never suspect anything unusual or out of place with this tile.

You’re only hoping you’re able to continue their work before it’s too late…

You make one last check around the building, but nothing else seems to be hidden here or seems to strike you as suspicious. As you’re growing tired, you decide to head back to Benni’s farmstead and get some sleep to prepare for tomorrow.

Chakra the Jirachi (S: Steel / Psychic)

Health: 14/16 | Sanity: 11/20 | Purity: 15/24 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Pikachu, Pachirisu, Minccino, Victini, Mudkip
EQUIPMENT:

• Defense Armor: +|A| Scale Armor+ (3H)
• Jewelry: +|J| Sapphire Amulet+ (1S, 2P)

[Neo Emolga]

I will explore Centrebrooke Apartments

As the hour grows late, you head out from Benni’s farmstead and make your way toward the Centerbrooke Apartments, having heard odd rumors about the place. It’s a short walk south from the farm, but you can’t help but feel it’s rather still and lonely out tonight. On previous nights, the wind would course its way through your yellow fur and whip your long ears around, but tonight it’s as still as death, and now you’re not sure which of the two is the more eerie feeling to have right now…

When you finally arrive at the building, you have uncertain vibes about the place. The exterior seems a bit frayed, with weeds and shrubs growing where they shouldn’t be, moss growing on the sidewalks, paint peeling off of the walls, and the wood splintering in places. A few of the windows are cracked as well, and overall, it doesn’t feel like a welcoming place to live.

You search the inside and the situation in the main lobby seems to be about the same. The wooden floor looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in years and the walls show sign of discoloration. Where they were once white, they’re now a light beige color from the dust and the overall aging. In some places, the paint is peeling off as well.

You notice by the directory that Namrea the Krokorok and Chenny the Zebstrika live here. Jackia the Combusken lived here with her son Sal as well, although they still haven’t removed her name, yet. But many of the slots are empty, indicating many vacant apartments.

Pursuing the rumors, you find the lights do flicker, but that’s mainly from the age of the bulbs or perhaps a faulty wiring job or even a disrupted electrical output. Meanwhile, in some of the empty rooms you’re able to investigate, there are markings and words on the walls, but most of them have faded out. You also see outlines of furniture and other indications that someone was here at one point, but then left.

It wouldn’t seem unusual at first and to most Pokémon, it would seem like someone simply moved out and that was it. But you’re able to detect other presences and you can almost sense the presence of another Savant here. One of them had to have taken residence here before, but only signs and indications were left behind. Their messages on the walls were scrubbed away but not painted over, and you can only make out single words and parts of phrases…

…They were taking notes. They were mapping out who the potential demons were, only the townspeople thought wrong of them. They thought this was mania and not the work of a skilled Savant demon assassin. Sadly, most of it was wiped away by the landlord’s cleanup crew and there’s very little of anything left of the work they started.

There are barely any remnants left, but in a corner of one of the vacant rooms, you find a piece of something, still radiating with Savant presence…



[=Sigil Fragment 1=] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You believe you’ve seen something like this before, part of a larger puzzle. You’ve gathered all the answers you can here, but you have a strong feeling there’s still more to be found.

As it’s starting to get late, you start heading out of the building. While you head for the exit, you can almost hear what must have been the rumor regarding music playing in the night, sounding like occasional piano keys being struck, causing an odd, eerie echo in the hallways that sometimes gives you the chills. You’re not sure where it’s coming from, but it could just be one of the tenants. As for the rumor of the child Sandshrew haunting the building, you don’t see anything that seems to imply that, but you’re wondering if maybe that and the music are somehow connected…

After heading back outside, suddenly the sounds go deathly quiet again, and a sudden silence washes over you as you walk back toward Benni’s farmstead tonight.

…they were here before… what did they find…?

…if only someone believed them… if only they actually listened…

…maybe none of this would be happening right now… maybe it would have made sense if they had the chance to explain…

You look at the Sigil Fragment once more, recalling that there were other Savants here… Savants that had their memories washed away thinking it was for their own benefit… only to have them lose sight of who they truly were… and now they are gone. They learned from their mistakes. You and the others are a testament to that. But what became of all those former humans? Did they never find their way back home?

You know you may never find the answer to that, but you feel you can at least try to make sure the work they did and the sacrifice that was made was not done in vain…

Maya the Pikachu (S: Electric)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 19.5/24 | 5/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales, Meloetta, Baile forme Oricorio, Cinderace
EQUIPMENT:

• Defense Armor: <Empty>
• Jewelry: <Empty>

[Neo Emolga]

I'll search (19) Overlook Apartments

Tonight, after eating a shepherd’s pie dinner at Benni’s and giving yourself some time to focus, you head southeast toward the Overlook Apartments. The whole journey down, you swear the air feels deathly still and your paws pressing on the grit of the road are the only things that seem to make a sound for miles around you.

From what you heard about the rumors surrounding this place, the Overlook Apartments were made to replace an older Steiner apartment building that was haunted, but this new structure has had issues of its own, including strange dreams involving a furnace and new medical diagnoses that were never part of the family history. Part of you wonders if it’s simply coincidence or if it might have something to do with Edifice and the dreams they have been inflicting on the civilians here.

When you arrive, it almost seems as though the Overlook Apartments are one of the, if not the newest buildings constructed in Seabourne. When it comes to the buildings in the center of town, it seems they get the best treatment and are the soonest to get new additions while everything on the outskirts seems mostly forgotten.

You first spend the last few hours of daylight searching around the exterior. From what you notice, the dark gray walls are quite clean, the windows are in good condition, and the grounds seem pretty well-maintained. If you hadn’t heard the rumors, you wouldn’t have suspected of anything being wrong with this place.

When you head inside, you find the interior seems fairly normal, in good condition, and nothing seems suspicious. There’s a few empty rooms that don’t have tenants, but you feel even after just searching through them, nothing seems wrong and you personally find it wouldn’t be a bad place to move into if the rent was reasonable.

You search both the first and second floors and nothing seems to go awry. You find there’s a basement level, which usually isn’t used by tenants and it seems to be only for regulating the water, electricity, heat, cooling, and other utilities. Most of the area has many pipes and wires along the concrete walls. They’re a bit rudimentary, but they get the job done especially considering the Pokémon here are still about seventy years behind humans in terms of technology. Meanwhile, down here in this cold, concrete area, the lighting is very dim and you imagine no one really goes down here unless they need to.

It almost feels like there’s really nothing much to find here at first, but then you come across something strange and unusual. There’s a chalk drawing on the floor, and it looks to be a child’s crude depiction of a Pokémon’s skeleton. There’s also crude drawings of eyeballs, and when you look around the room, you suddenly spot something eerily familiar rolled into the corner of the maintenance room.

There, rolled into a corner besides a few sticks of chalk and an old wooden top, you spot one of the eyes and you realize it’s the second Eye of Shadow that belongs with the one that was already found with Kulsso the Rampardos. It continues to excrete a black, vile ichor and it now sits in an oil-like puddle of it. You’re already well aware these things are rigged with a booby trap, so you decide to look for some kind of long tool that can help you disarm this thing.

In the janitorial closet, you find a long shovel that feels like it should do exactly what you need it to. After taking it to the eye, you aim the back end of the spade and quickly strike the eyeball…

#Spirit Hemorrhage – DARK (4 Purity Damage)# Trap 80% Disarm Trap Test: 51 out of 100: Success!

The mechanism in the eye triggers as it thinks an unsuspecting victim touched the eye. Suddenly, it causes a burst of black ichor to be ejected as a hidden blade embedded in the eye strikes out, only to hit nothing but air. It causes more black ichor to be splattered on the concrete floor, but at least now its disarmed and won’t cause harm to anyone.

Grabbing a spare rag from the janitorial closet, you wrap the eye carefully and take it with you, knowing exactly what it’s for…

[Eye of Shadow] has been added to the Team Inventory.

With that taken care of, you can’t help but look back at the chalk drawings. The Stalker responsible for these may very well be a child and no one suspects a thing about it…

You then head out and make the walk back to Benni’s farmstead. The still, night air persists and it almost seems too quiet for your liking…

Lewisia the Shaymin (S: Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Security
Reincarnation Forms: Gallade, Arctozolt, Galarian Rapidash, Mawile, Hisuian Typhlosion
EQUIPMENT:

• Defense Armor: +|A| Sentry Armor+ (2H)
• Jewelry: <Empty>

[Neo Emolga]

#38 Malco the Toxtricity has been murdered by the Stalkers.

Languished.

It was the thought that instantly came to Yanza when she looked at the horrifically-mutilated body of the Toxtricity.

The tall, bipedal purple and yellow lizard had been corrupted into trying to rearrange his face and appendages using a grotesque array of household tools like carving knives, scissors, thread, glue, needles, and other cringe-inducing items only for it to fail miserably.

Now, the restroom of the Seabourne Coast Guard building was a bloody mess as the now blood-splattered mirror had become Malco’s worst enemy besides himself. As for Malco, he was now lying in a pool of blood with a few pieces of his face and body besides him… pieces that he had intended to reattach to himself but never did before dying from too much blood loss.

“Kill me if you even start to see me doing this to myself…” Yanza sighed to Dantus, still not entirely desensitized to the way Languished performs their murders. “I’m sure you probably want the same.”

Dantus was silent as he looked over the victim’s body. In truth, he thought his mind was too strong and had the vigilance to avoid succumbing to such a fate, but he could have sworn Malco would have been the same way. They were, after all, not that far apart in terms of profession and personality. Now the Coast Guard was without a director and that left only Drestan or Erine to take his place, neither of which Dantus had much faith in.

But after looking over the situation, despite his usual lack of empathy and ability to see himself in the misfortune of others, he took the time to be more open-minded with what happened to Malco. After a few moments of silence, he decided maybe it was better if he did mention something in Yanza in the possible event that something like this did befall him. He tried to imagine what it would be like if he took tools like this and self-mutilated himself in a horrific display of butchery.

And once the idea implanted itself in his brain, he decided he never wanted it to be in the realm of possibility if Yanza could help it. He was not too proud to admit he too, could potentially be a future target…

“Fine, we’ll cover each other,” Dantus confirmed. “No fear, no hesitation.”

Yanza had blinked twice, almost suspecting Dantus would never respond and would simply fearlessly face anything despite the consequences. Even something like this. But it looked like sighting after sighting of Languished’s gruesome work time and time again… perhaps it was making even the strongest wills and minds have second thoughts about how far and how much they were willing to go through…

Doom Tracker:
4/15

[Neo Emolga]

Morning has arrived in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 5: Day Cycle Actions now!

Time Remaining:
CLICK HERE

(Saturday, July 9, 2022 3:00:00 PM EST)
(Giving extra time due to me being a little late with these!)

@C0L0R3D @Chakramaster @ARandomTool @EmeraldSky @sammy0295 @Scytherwolf @Shruikan @Noblejanobii @Lychee @DayBreak

[Scytherwolf]

I'll take a look around the (49) Emerald Fields Townhouses.

[Neo Emolga]

I'll take a look around the (49) Emerald Fields Townhouses.

As the sun rises, you decide to help yourself to a few of the muffins that Benni baked early this morning and you head west to investigate the Emerald Fields Townhouses, which seem to have an odd amount of rumors and urban myths behind them. You’re not sure which ones are real and which ones might just be old wives tales, but you decide the only way to really find out is to see for yourself and put those rumors under your own validation process.

The other matter in the whole ordeal is the fact if the Stalkers had anything to do with the place, you need to know and find those things. Because if you don’t, who will? The answer you feel may be nothing. No one.

After finishing breakfast, you cross the long barren divide between Benni’s farmstead and the derelict, northwestern side of Seabourne. When you finally arrive, you find that at least the place matches the description. One house here, the Elona House, seems to be in perfect condition, as if not only do the inhabitants still live there, but they take extreme meticulous care of the property in an almost obsessive way to make sure it stays looking as new as possible. And considering the state of the surrounding area, it seems completely unnatural for something to be this way and you’re quite sure something else is going on. But then the other thing you’ve heard is that those that enter this place never return. And you’re left unsure if you really want to discover why that is at the cost of succumbing to the same fate… whatever the true nature of that fate really is.

Secondly, the Nowela House seems to be the only thing here that makes sense given the situation and the surrounding environment around the Emerald Fields Townhouses. The house itself lies in ruins with the only things still standing are basic pieces of the original wooden framework. Only half of one side has walls left and even then they’re in terrible condition and provide no shelter at all. You decide to start here and look around through the rubble of a house that must have fallen apart years ago from age. But whatever was left behind is too damaged to make any use of. Broken pipes, rusty metal, shattered glass, and splintered wood are about all you find here besides several broken pots, a crushed wooden crate, and other similar junk.

You then decide to investigate the Dewall house, or at least the vacant, empty plot where nothing exists save for dirt. As you confirm, no grass, no weed, absolutely nothing has grown here for ages, and you’ve even heard that not even grass type Pokémon can bare to stand in this location for any duration of time at all. Thankfully, that’s not something you need to worry about as the Pokémon you are.

Taking a deep breath, you step into the empty plot and you feel ŝ̒͋͊̾õ͖͔̟̑̓m͖̞̓̎e̫̠t̩̝͖͎ͧͭ̅̾h̝̩̭̤͕̻̲̄̆ͪ̆̂̒̓i̐̋̀̑ ̝͎͚̬̝͗n͎g uncanny at first, but you cannot explain it, as if a sense you never realized you had before is being triggered and is suffering for it, but you cannot tell what.

{Foreboding Presence: Location}

There’s something buried here, but you cannot discern where. It all looks the same to you and there isn’t any kind of disturbance in the ground that would clue you in on its location. And then you realize something else that’s bizarre.

You don’t leave behind footprints behind you. You don’t even cast a shadow in this plot of land…

You step out, realizing you could spend all day trying to dig here only to find nothing. As soon as you leave this anomalous area, your shadow reappears and you feel a strange relief, as if you can breathe again. But you cannot even begin to explain just how that was possible.

Lastly, you turn back toward the Elona House. You’re a bit hesitant to go inside, but if anything is lurking in there, you need to know why and what’s the true story behind this place. Looters and pillagers have gone in attempting to pluck whatever they could from the place only to lose everything, far more than what they started off with. But why? And how did it happen to all of them?

You approach the front door of the immaculate, pure-white house and the perfectly clean brass door knob is easily turned and you realize the front door isn’t even locked, as if all guests and visitors are welcome to come on in. You step inside and almost naturally, the door closes gently behind you…

The living room is perfectly clean and homely with plenty of cushy seating for at least eight Pokémon while the fireplace mantle is clean and quite presentable with perfectly polished candle holders and lovely paintings on the wall. Not a speck of anything… dust, debris, or anything of that nature is in sight and you can only wonder how does anyone keep a place like this so clean all the time? You think it would take an army of well-funded and very motivated Cinccinos to keep a place looking like this.

It isn’t until you get to the den do you realize what might be the answer to this mystery. But before you do, you feel a strange but familiar presence wash over you as you look into the Dream Gate…

Scy has inherited 3 Points of Kurosuōbā…

You soon begin to glow as you ascend to become a Tatsujin, and you realize this is a gateway to Yume, a direct portal to the world of dreams…

Scy has become a Tatsujin…

@{Dorimugeto (Dream Gate): Shukufuku no jonzai} – ~3 Kurosuōbā~@ has been noted in the Team Records.

You realize it’s for the [Shukufuku no jozai], the Blessing Tablet that was originally found in the Seabourne Public Library. And that very tablet contains the instructions behind the request, an order to receive the [Kage no Shukufuku] Shadow Blessing as needed for the Majutsu ritual. All you would have to do is carry that tablet back here and insert it into the swirling black and cyan-colored twisting portal. It all suddenly makes sense to you, as if you knew about this information long before and only just suddenly remembered.

And then you realize the truth behind this place. Why those that entered it came here and never came out. It makes you wonder just how many of them mistakenly touched the portal to unintentionally be taken into Yume only to never come out… or at least never go out the same way they went in. How many vandals and pillagers went into Yume and may still to this day be perplexed and unaware of what realm they really stepped into…

As for the Elona House itself… and how it stays untainted by time and withering, you realize the house itself has its foundation built into the portal and the house itself is only an extension of it. If and when the portal closes, you might imagine in time, the Elona House may start to become like the Nowela House. Or at least until your thoughts take you elsewhere and on another track of thinking…

Elona…

Nowela…

Dewall…

E… N… D…

This area itself… it’s a literal depiction of the passage of time. Elona is how it all begins… a nicely and newly constructed house fully furnished… whereas the Nowela House is a depiction of what ultimately every house eventually becomes. Ruins… and rubble. And the Dewall House… is pure nothingness. Where not even the dust of what once was remains… where not even you seem to exist in that space and it is the literal depiction of when all life is gone…

Only when you realize it do you see the similarities, but it didn’t happen a moment sooner. All three houses have the same plot of land and would have had the same floorplan. When you leave, you almost feel like you now have more questions than answers. How is such an anomaly possible, and why is it here? Are you the only one that realized this, yet? And if not, who else knows?

You decide to head back, thinking about the tablet that’s needed for the Dream Gate, but then there was the matter of barren Dewall plot of land. Someone hid something there because they knew it was a strange, uncanny protected area, but why, and what did they hide? Something… something unnatural would have had to drive someone to bury something in such a place and there had to be a good reason for it. They needed it out of the way…

Could even the Dewall house… or at least that plot of land… even wipe away the taint of the Stalkers? Is that why something was hidden there?

…

Scy the Tatsujin Heracross (M: Kūsho)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 15/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 10/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:

• Defense Armor: <Empty>
• Jewelry: +|J| Diamond Necklace+ (2S, 2P)