Quote Originally Posted by DayBreak View Post
012-shocked.jpg
"A death already?! Things are going south pretty fast..."

009-determined.jpg
"... But it's not too late to turn this around! I spent last night digging through our stash, put the two halves of the note together to get the full combination. Nickolas is already checking the café, so I'll check out this place." They point to (54) Pleasant Waters Harbor on a map of the town. If you want answers about what the hell is going on, naturally go to the most creepy areas. Made sense to the the Nidorina.

"Maybe I can have a word with some of the officers later, but I'll probably get to that tomorrow."
(I love your PMD-style portrait icons! :3)

Realizing you’re in a race against time, you decide to delve into what might be one of the darkest hearts of this town. The places you were warned not to go. But as the sun rises, you head southwest toward the shore, here where the old Pleasant Waters Harbor is.

It’s a long hike and it makes your clawed feet feel tired by the time you get there, but you persist nonetheless, keeping your ears open and your gaze sharp for any nefarious thing that might be lurking here. Right now, all you hear is the crashing of the waves upon the sandy and rocky shore and the splintering docks up ahead. The occasional moan from the hull of the “Silent Song” ship can be heard as well, sometimes unexpectedly as the wave caress the hull. And sometimes it almost sounds like a voice. You swear it almost sounds like the word “runnnn.” Again and again.

When you come before the collapsed harbor buildings, you see just how dilapidated the port really is. The once lively boardwalk and its long continuous structure is half-collapsed into a pile of splintered wood and ruins. Even sifting through the piles doesn’t reveal very much of value. You find what looked like it was once an old bar counter along with the pieces of a barstool. And you find the shattered remains of a glass mug as well. You then head over to another structure that fell apart and you find an old bed underneath that was crushed and snapped in half. But again. You dig through the rubble and ruins a bit more, wondering if there was anything really left behind that might have been of some value, but either there never was or it was already taken away by scavengers long ago.

“Ruuunnnn…” the moan of the Silent Song ship creaks out.

You continue digging through piles of rubble, but you only find destroyed furniture, rotting books, broken glass, and twisted metal. Almost next to nothing is worth salvaging and the little that remains intact consists of mostly everyday tools and items like pots, shovels, blankets, and so on that you see no need to take with you.

You then decide to move onto the other half of the boardwalk structure, taking care to watch your step. You’re not quite sure how much of this boardwalk can still withstand your weight, but you imagine one wrong step could send you tumbling down to the sandy dirt below.

“Runnnn…” the moan from the ship creaks out again.

Inside one of the few intact areas of the main structure, you come across what used to be a small café, but there’s very little of it left and a giant gaping hole lies in the middle. Meanwhile, there’s a few old wooden tables and chairs while a creepy metal chandelier has been wrapped with spider webs. You’re not able to go too much inside considering most of the floor is missing, so you decide to simply head out and see if there’s anything else in the remaining store and apartment entrances.

And then when you step out, something odd happens. You don’t realize it at first, but something suddenly makes you feel uneasy. And you’re not sure why. The sun is still in the sky, the waves are still crashing on the beach, and the ship is still rocking from the waves and…

…and it’s like you’ve gone c̔͐͊͋ͯ͊o͎̹͇ͯ̂̒mp̓̇ͩ̑ͩ̌l̮̯̘͖̦e͉̮̗̤̣̣̙ͫ̃̆ͧͪ̅̃t̰̞e͉͐l ͚̬͇͔̭̰͍̑͛̍ͧͯ͆̉y͛͒ͬͪ̿ͭ d̊̌̌ͬ̒ȇ̿ͨ̓͂ͥ̉afͭ.̜̠͙̪̻ͅͅ

You suddenly can’t hear anything. Not the waves, not the moan from the ship. You tap your blue clawed foot on the wooden boardwalk but you don’t hear any noise. You clap your clawed hands, but there’s nothing. And you try to shout “hello, is anyone there!?” but no sound or noise leaves from your mouth. At least not anything you can hear…

And you suddenly begin to panic… until suddenly you do hear something.

”Thock!”

You almost jump as the sudden sound comes from behind you and you feel your heart suddenly racing, though you can’t even hear your own heartbeat.

“THOCK!”

It gets much louder. That noise… it’s coming from inside one of the harbor structures…

You decide to investigate, though something urges you not to. But you tell yourself you have to know. The other Savants need to know, also. You push yourself to enter where the noise is coming from. It’s a shop. A small retail shop.

What’s the worst that’s possibly in here?”

…yo͕̾U̬ ͯ͆k̓i͔̰͍͖D ͓̲̭̣̠̺y͍̝̬͈͉̻͐̎̎͑ͦ̚o̙̟͚̫͔̤̥ͩ̌̏̎̃͊͂u͙͙̻̲̹̟̍̒ͪ̊ͩ̂R͑ͤ ͙̫̬̲͙͕͎̓̔ͯ̂ͭṡ̜E͙̤̝̥ͅl͇͈̍̏F̫̝̙̦͋̊ͨ͂.̬̦̭̦ͥ̎̔́ͧ͑ ͎̺

You step inside and suddenly it’s like you’re taken back in time. It’s a lovely summer day and there’s Pokémon all over this beautiful boardwalk enjoying the sea breeze, the sights and smells of the beach, and you look out to the ocean to see plenty of Pokémon enjoying a swim in the water, sailing on a boat, running along the boardwalk having fun, and you can’t help but smile to yourself having totally forgotten what you were even doing just a few minutes ago. You can hear laughter, Pokémon children playing games, and couples in love enjoying their time at this beautiful harbor. It doesn’t hit you at first until you suddenly realize there’s something odd going on.

Everyone is looking away from you. You can’t see any of their faces as they’re all facing in other directions. You can only see their backs or at most their sides. But you’re not able to make out anyone from the front.

And then…

..͓̹̩̤̻̻.͞An͇̞̦̦͔d ́t̰̻̙̳̝͘h̯͇e͡n ̴͈͇̩̦̭t̞̮̩ḫ͟e̥̥̻͉̟̠̙͠y͔̙͈͖͓ ̭̣̼̀AL̳̰̣̞̠͚ͅL͏̥͉̮͉͉ l̰̱̯ook ͠a͙̳t̛̜̯͔̟̱͙̭ ͖͎͕you̢̜.͚̜̘̮ͅ

@Hellish Deranged Presence – NORMAL (6 Purity Damage)@ Trap 30% Evasion Test: 37 out of 100: Failed!

Oh… god…

Lyric has suffered 3 Purity Damage.

…You see none of them have a face. They’re all just blots. Crowds… and crowds… of…

.͕̝̲͡.̤̫̹̝.͙̤̬̣͚͠B̢LO̼̞̱̫̙͙͎T̲́S

“THOCK!” The sharp noise pierces out again.

“No, no… this can’t be… real…” You mutter… “This…”

And you try speaking again, but there is only silence.

“THOCK!” The sharp noise pierces out again.

Who… are you all!? You want to shout… you want answers… but all you speak is silence and all you get is nothing. Nothing. Nothing… but…

“THOCK!” The sharp noise pierces out again.

You frantically run into the store away from the crowds of blotted faces and you see everything has returned to “normal” behind you. The decrepit reality of the Pleasant Waters Harbor returns, but what you frantically stumble across has you f̯̯̭r̫̫a̼̜̝͎̘̬n̖ṱ̱̞̮i̗ca̹͙͢l̢l͚y ̕s͡c̗̜r̴͎͔͖̤͙̰e̼̫̼̟̪̖ạ̴̖̥ͅm̸i҉̹̠͚̘n̺̝̘̦͈̪̣͢g̩̞͕ͅͅ ̗̜… but no… there is nothing, for no sound leaves your mouth…

“THOCK!” The sharp noise pierces out again.

And what stands before you in this decrepit store lies one of the most bewildering abominations you’ve ever seen… and you realize this… this is what is responsible for the hideous noise that keeps making your heart jump.

Lyric has suffered 3 Purity Damage.

It’s a sight that almost makes you want to peacefully die… and leave this place however possible. But no, instead the hideous contraptions have been wrapped into and around this door like an ungodly machine. But even then, it remains incomplete. Missing even additional pieces that need to be affixed to this apparatus of sin. You see a missing pyramid indentation, yearning for some infernal pyramid-shaped object to be rammed into it. And then you see a hideous black glass chamber, and its as if there was once essence in this chamber… an essence… of slavery. Of servitude. Not just of one… but of all. And lastly, something even more foul. Tools… instruments… demonic instruments… are needed to bring this mechanical abomination to working order. None of this chaos makes sense… but you realize there is no choice. Or else no answers will come of this thing…

@{The Deranged Clockwork Door: Corrupted Conduit Pyramid AND Servitude Essence AND Implementation of the Demonic Instruments} – Hellish Deranged Presence – NORMAL (6 Purity Damage)@ has been noted in the Team Records.

You can’t bear any more of this. You turn around and race out the door, almost tripping and stumbling on your way out. The deceptive dream-like vision of the crowds of Pokémon with blotted faces is gone, and instead you see the Pleasant Waters Harbor as it really is. Scorned. Broken. Forlorn… and forgotten…

…maybe the way it should be…

Hoping to save and spare your spirit from any more suffering, you dash toward Benni’s farmstead as fast as you can, barely able to comprehend the nightmare you just saw and experienced…

“Ruuunnnn…” the moan of the Silent Song ship creaks out…

Lyric Winterheart the Nidorina (M: Poison)
Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 14/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
  • Defense Armor: <Empty>
  • Jewelry: <Empty>