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

[Neo Emolga]

Lyric is just going to slowly approach Verio the Toucannon. This was... what Ralon had told them to do. To warn his family. They'd try looking for the stake later, but for now, warning his family about Exonull came first. They figured it'd be best to talk to Ralon's parents while his siblings were hopefully at school, so they didn't have to hear this. Rather than being their normal self, overflowing with energy, the Nidorina was eerily calm. The harsh reality of what was happening, the lengths the Stalkers would go, had finally hit them. It made it hard to be a light of hope.

... But they weren't going to stop trying to be one. Steadying their nerves, and readying their knowledge of diplomacy, they spoke up, finally ready to start interacting with the townsfolk. Not the best way to introduce yourself, but they had to do this.

Attachment 2058

"Excuse me, sir. You're Verio, aren't you? My name is Lyric and..."

"I'm... afraid I have some news regarding Ralon." The Nidorina's ears lowered, already feeling a growing pit in their stomach. Swallowing the knot in their throat and letting out an exhale, they attempted to steady their nerves.

Attachment 2059

"He's not going to be coming back... I'm certain you've heard of the murders over the last couple of days at the hands of Exonull, one of which was a Yanmega, my friend... Ralon was one of the other victims... I found his body a little ways out of town... Or at least, what was left of it..." They'd spare the Toucannon the horrific details. Just thinking about the horrific state he found Ralon in, trapped between life and death, only made their stomach turn. They were also careful and vague, never specifying where exactly. They weren't about to deliver the Starly's family to Exonull's doorstep on a silver platter. Taking another moment to exhale and try and lower their tension, they continued.

Attachment 2060

"If you have any information, even if it's something small or seemingly inconsequential, it would be a massive help sir." Lyric was determined now. The last two days since they'd arrived had given them a new drive. Ascension be damned, they were going to help people, especially now that they have every memory of every one of their past selves, the good and the downright evil. And the first step towards their goal was stopping the Stalkers that were here in their tracks.

Before Verio heads to the Seabourne Post Office this morning, you find him and manage to get his attention before you quickly introduce yourself. You’ve been told he’s dealing with particularly hard times, and you feel strongly compelled to tell him about what’s been going on with Ralon.

From what you can perceive by reading his face and body language, he’s fearful and greatly anxious. You can even see he’s reluctant to go to work today, but you can gather he understands that he still needs to earn money to provide for his family needs to come before his personal fears. He simply won’t let those cause his family to fall into financial ruin.

“Excuse me, sir,” you tell him as he looks at you. “You’re Verio, aren’t you? My name is Lyric and…”

He looks at you intently, trying to calm himself. It seems he can tell just from your expressions that what you have to tell him is very terrible news.

“I’m… afraid I have some news regarding Ralon,” you tell him, lowering your ears in sympathy as you feel a bit sick inside. “He’s not going to be coming back… I'm certain you've heard of the murders over the last couple of days at the hands of Exonull, one of which was a Yanmega, my friend... Ralon was one of the other victims... I found his body a little ways out of town... Or at least, what was left of it...”

He remains silent, taken back from the news you tell him. Gathering your strength, you continue…

“If you have any information even if it's something small or seemingly inconsequential, it would be a massive help sir."

“Where is he…?” Verio asks you.

But you explain the danger, knowing this is exactly what Ralon feared and that the last thing he wanted was for his family to come looking for him and put their own lives in danger. To gain Verio’s trust, you explain the full situation, giving him all the details regarding what you found on the Silent Song and the condition of Ralon’s body and spirit. And then you explain what needs to be done with the stake.

He falls silent. But you see his face and… it’s as if he already knows… but you telling him all this confirms you truly have seen what has become of his son… even though he knew the answer to his question already. But you pass his test of honesty and truthfulness, thus gaining his trust.

#15 Verio the Toucannon has become Compliant.

“I know where the stake is…” he mutters, looking away. “And… I know what’s going on with… my son. Velli has it. She using it to blackmail my family, especially my wife Farshira, and if Velli isn’t Exonull herself, then she knows who it is and she’s an accomplice.”

“It’s because I found these,” Verio tells you, laying out a series of jagged, demonic-looking tools and equipment. “I know these are related to the Stalkers, but Dantus and Yanza have not heard me out and they’re slow to believe in anything supernatural or superstitious. As a result, my son… paid the price. Velli told me if I return these to her, she’ll give me the stake to release him from his spirit shackle, but there’s no way to save his life. And there’s… no way to give him the full life he should have deserved to have. I… …

…I can’t bring myself to do it. I can’t… kill my own son…”

“I need you to take these because I don’t think I can trust anyone else, but be extremely careful with them,” Verio warns you. “They’re Velli’s and I know she’s working with the Stalkers. You absolutely mustn’t give them back to her, no matter what she tries to bargain with. She’s completely mad and I don’t know why she’s working with them. Probably because she’s either gotten corrupted herself or if she truly is an accomplice and isn’t one herself, she likely thinks they’ll spare her if she helps them. But I don’t believe that at all. They’re just using her.”

You see the demonic instruments laid out before you, and you carefully approach them…

@Infernal Discharge – ELECTRIC (9 Purity Damage)@ Trap 30% Evasion Test: 14 out of 100: Success!

Heeding the Toucannon’s words, you first inspect the Demonic Instruments. Their jagged shapes, the foul black metal, and the spidery evil runes on them that absolutely reek with the sins of the Stalkers… and you suddenly are reminded of something…

…

…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…

…

You remember the door… that nightmarish abomination lurking at the Pleasant Waters Harbor…

Carefully, you wrap the Demonic Instruments with a towel, sensing they are intensely infused with a foul, devilish evil.

“Thanks…” you tell him, taken back from your memories. “I believe I know what she’s intending to do with these…”

You believe Velli has something to do with that door. Either she had a hand in creating it or she has access to whatever horrid abomination that place must be hiding. Or both. You’re not sure what has happened to her, but she absolutely can’t be trusted now…

@[The Demonic Instruments] Infernal Discharge - ELECTRIC (9 Purity Damage)@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

“Please… stop them however you can… before any others have to suffer like this,” he pleads with you. “And please let my son know we love him…”

The whole time, he tries to hold in his emotions, but as he turns away to let the rest of his family know what has happened, you cannot imagine the emotional weight that must have on this father Toucannon.

It doesn’t surprise you when you see a tear forming around his eye…

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>

[Neo Emolga]

(Lost access to my icons, so… whoops! Colour coded text!)

”So then, we should-”

“Ah, not so fast! It’s time I had my say!”

“Didn’t expect you to be so keen. But sure, Silver, what’ve you got?”

“You’re welcome. Now then, follow my lead…though it may as well be yours as you’ve been on about it before.”

[Action decided: Interview 51, Velli the Sylveon. Be prepared for Diplomacy if she’s a little too… loopy.]

You decide to pay a visit to Velli the Sylveon, living almost entirely in seclusion in her house on the far outskirts of town. It almost seems as though she doesn’t get too many visitors, but when you get to her creepy-looking house that is becoming overgrown with vines and weeds while the dining room has collapsed in upon itself. You knock on the old, rotting door and you feel if you were to strike it any harder, it might just punch a hole right though it.

After a few moments, while you almost question your decisions coming here, she opens the door, beaming with a smile.

“Heehee!” she giggles, “hello there! Tis a fine day, yes? Yes? Beautiful weather we’re having!”

You take a glance up at the sky and the dark overcast implies it is about to rain any minute now…

But… in order to get through to Velli with your skills in diplomacy, you realize you’re going to have to get on her level… and perhaps portray yourself as completely deranged as she is…

“My favorite type of weather, yesss,” you hiss with a smile, gazing directly into her eyes. “My name is Colored! With a ‘C’ not with a ‘K’ heh, heh. I heard you were all alone and might be up for a chat on this fine day!”

#52 Velli the Sylveon has become Compliant.

“Ooooh, I would looove that!” she beams, shivering with glee. “You see, usually it’s only me, Melgan, and Mrs. Hampers. Here, let me introduce you to them! I’ll make tea for us all! Come in, come in, don’t just stand there out in the snow! It’s too cold outside, dearie!”

…Even though it’s clearly not snowing and doesn’t look like it has been for months…

“Of course!” you jump with joy, keeping in character to convince her you’re just as kooky as she is. “Lead the way!”

You follow her into the kitchen, just barely keeping the old front door on its rusting hinges as you close it behind you. And as you walk through the hallways of her house, you see webs of cracks in the walls, your two beige feet step upon loose and cracked floor tiles, and there’s a smell of mold throughout the decrepit house. To say this place needs renovations would be folly. It clearly needs to be torn down.

As you walk through the crumbling house, you see plenty of shelves and tables of strange vials, pots with bizarre herbs and plants growing out of them, and you find bins where she seems to be cultivating mushrooms and fungi. You’re not quite sure what she’s doing with them, possibly studying botany, chemistry, or some other kind of science. Given her bizarre demeanor, you’re not about to rule out witchcraft or alchemy, either…

When you arrive at the kitchen, you find it in a pretty miserable state just like the rest of the house. The back window has long been broken as a draft wafts through the room, the rusting chandelier only has three of its ten candles lit, and the dining table looks old and lopsided. Sitting at the table in dirty, dusty wooden chairs is an old stuffed tutu-wearing Buneary with stains all over it and what appears to be a skeleton of Patrat, one that looks like they’ve been dead for a very long time…

“Welcome!” she tells everyone. “This is Colored! Now Melgan and Mrs. Hampers, say hello! I’m so happy to have such wonderful guests today!”

“Hi there!” you tell Velli’s ‘guests’ with a smile and a wink. “Oh Mrs. Hampers, I looove that dress!”

Mrs. Hampers remains completely silent…

You pull up one of Velli’s dusty chairs to join everyone at the table, noticing the collapsed dining room just a few feet away to your right. The ceiling fell down upon what used to be a table large enough to seat ten Pokémon. Now, everything is a splintered mess and buried under a pile of broken wood planks, snapped wooden rods, and other pieces of rubble. You’re not sure what caused that to happen, but it looks like it’s been that way for years now.

All the while, Velli brews some tea on her slightly rusting kettle. You’re quite surprised the gas line is even still working, but Velli does have to use a match to get the fire going.

“So, Colored, what do you fancy for a chat!?” Velli asks you as the tea kettle warms up. “Surely you must have oh so many interesting tales to tell!”

“Oh, I do, I most certainly do!” you giggle with glee. “Let’s see let’s see…”

You make up a story about riding a Ponyta and exploring the jungles of Kaboo, which greatly entices Velli, who joins in on the tale as if she’s a supporting character in the story. The tale quickly spirals into sheer madness, with Velli claiming she beat you in the sandbox races while you refuse to admit you were defeated and that the game was supposed to continue on Starstrider Imperial starship, but didn’t. You insist the game never ended and is still ongoing.

And then the tea kettle whistles and Velli quickly jumps to excitement to pour four cups of tea for everyone. One for you, one for her, and one for Mrs. Hampers and for the long-deceased Melgan the Patrat. Somehow you get the feeling only two of these four cups of tea will actually be enjoyed by their recipients, but you play along anyway, avidly gazing admirably at the tea like a child that just unwrapped a Christmas present.

“Drink up, everyone!” Velli beams with a smile.

And you pick up the dirty, chipped teacup to take your first sip…

#Chemical Intoxication – POISON (SPECIAL)# Trap 40% Evasion Test: 44 out of 100: Failed!

The rich taste and aroma doesn’t strike you as odd, and you finish your tea feeling refreshed. You start to sing the first song that comes to mind…

…and that’s the last thing you remember.

…

You wake up feeling woozy, unsure of what was a dream and what actually happened. When you open your eyes, you find yourself outside lying face-down just before a droplet hits your nose and a second one hits your leaf tail. As you look up at the gray skies, you realize it’s starting to rain and gradually the amount of rainfall begins to increase.

You look around you and you’re not sure where you are for a moment, but you realize you’ve woken up off to the side of the dusty road, a short distance away from the Colbyi Estate. It takes you a few seconds to regain your bearings as you get up and stand on your own two beige feet again. You really don’t have any clue how you got here…

To be sure, you look yourself over and you don’t seem to be injured in any way. You’re not sure why Velli drugged the tea she served, but you see it’s starting to get late and you feel it’s best you plan for tonight. But before you go, you look down on the ground and see a small piece of soiled, dirty paper that must have been lying under you while you were unconscious. You pick it up and see…



So it wasn’t a dream after all.

You’re not sure what it really means in the end, but you just decide to then head back to Benni’s farmstead, sprinting a bit to get out of the rain…

Colored the Snivy (S: Grass)

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

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

[Neo Emolga]

I will spend today untrapping one of our trapped items

Selecting one at random!

1. #[Eye of Shadow] Spirit Hemorrhage – DARK (4 Purity Damage))#
2. @[Fang of the Crippled] Piercing Bite – ROCK (3 Health Damage, 3 Purity Damage)@
3. @[Bloody Thorn Wreath (Part 1 of 3)] Dark Lacerations – GRASS – (4 Health Damage, 4 Purity Damage)@
4. @[The Demonic Instruments] Infernal Discharge - ELECTRIC (9 Purity Damage)@

And #4 was selected, so you’re going for the Demonic Instruments.


Having just come across the Demonic Instruments that Lyric received from Verio, you decide to try your best at disarming the deeply defiled tools. Your senses are on full alert, easily feeling and detecting how saturated with evil these tools are.

Before you get started, you try to analyze and assess them from all angles, trying to discern exactly how this curse functions.

@Infernal Discharge – ELECTRIC (9 Purity Damage)@ Trap 80% Disarm Trap Test: 89 out of 100: Failed!

You’re not able to figure it out at first, but you believe there’s a chance it’s been coated with some kind of black, vile ichor. However, upon attempting to use alcohol to remove it, you find out the curse the result of an electrical essence infusion, and it triggers just as you attempt to remove a coating that is not actually there.

You nearly yelp out of your skin when you feel the demonically-infused discharge cő̀͛u͊r̄ͨ̅ͥͤ̓̄se̻̩͙͈̗̲ͤ̽ͥ̔͐̚ ̗̘͈̭͓̦ͦ̏̉̑̚̚t͕̏h̥̬̲̫̒̅͋͊r̦͓̣̖ͭͤ͒ͧȏ͗ͤuḡ͇̲͖ͤ̉̉ ̩h ̆ͧ̎yo͖̤̹ͫͥ̎u̠̦̲ͅr s͖͕̘̙͈ͬͮͬͩ̂piͦ͋̉̿̾ͩ̓n̿ͣe.ͩͧ̓̅ͨ

Maya has suffered 4.5 damage to Purity (halved by Electric).

It feels like a sudden gͤͩ̆u̽̓͒ͣ̏̎t͍̱̅͆-̖̲p͇̏u̜͆nc̼̙̤̟̳̠h to your š͚̯̘͖͇̪͌ͬ̑̉̓͗ͅou̘̞̙̰l, but you then understand what you’re dealing with. This is not the curse you were thinking it was. Instead, you decide to ground the demonic instruments, using a clay comprised of holy water. While you can’t seal off the working ends of the demonic tools themselves, you can cover and seal the handles and grips of the instruments to make them usable without triggering the grizzly electrical discharge. Once you’ve molded the purified clay around them, you then use Benni’s kitchen oven as a kiln to dry the clay, forming a stone-like handle coating on the grip that prevents the curse from triggering.

The Infernal Discharge curse has been removed from the Demonic Instruments.

With that done, you then place the [Demonic Instruments] back in the cabinet, ready and waiting for the next time they need to be used.

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]

Search (33d) Korak the Nidoking’s House

When the morning arrives, you head south toward the Shoreside Houses, intending to investigate Korak the Nidoking’s house to see if there’s anything unusual here and if you can possibly learn more about him.

As you trot south, you take a look up at the sky and you see the dark gray clouds gathering. Every now and then, you feel a raindrop land on you or you see them patter on the dusty road you walk on. It’s oddly quiet today and vacant around this area and you’re not quite sure why that is the case. It definitely seems like there’s more than just the weather going on.

When you arrive at Korak’s house, you see it’s in fairly good condition and your initial investigation of the perimeter of the property doesn’t seem to yield anything suspicious. Korak seems to have a liking for a more classical and contemporary style and it’s clear he makes the money to afford it and keep his house and property in impeccable shape, though he’s not rich by the current economic standards. But you gather he likely can afford maids and landscapers to take care of his house for him while he works. As such, you don’t even find so much as a single piece of trash and only a few rogue weeds have managed to take hold for now.

You then decide to sneak inside through an unlocked window that was left slightly ajar. As you investigate the inside, you see the interior seems to be in a similar condition as the exterior. Well-kempt, meticulously organized and neat, and you find Korak has a liking for books, especially ones about ancient culture, history, and archaeology. Meanwhile, a lot of his furniture seems old and he has a liking for antiques and vintage items, as long as they’re in good condition. While he may like old furniture, he doesn’t care for anything with a rustic appearance or style. He much rather prefers the kinds of pieces that remind you of old Victorian era furniture with elegant and fanciful carvings and construction.

By trade, you find he’s a professor who teaches architecture at Beachwood University and it seems he earns an admirable amount of income from his profession. You can see he’s been trying to influence his students to adopt more of a conservative culture mindset when it comes to his curriculum and study assignments.

All throughout the house, you don’t find anything that seems to raise any red flags. You find yourself nearly about to just head back to Benni’s house until you take a closer look through Korak’s archaeological collections. Something here doesn’t seem right and you feel a dark presence coming from something stowed between some of the books he has regarding ancient languages. When you pull the shredded leathery, paper-like material out, it seems familiar…



[=2nd Half of the Macabre Mantra=] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You’re only able to make out certain vague details. Only things like “a dream…” “A nightmare…” “to become the thing…” and “THIS IS EDIFICE.”

…

Edifice.

You suddenly realize what exactly this means. But to be sure, you head out the back window you came in and make your way back to Benni’s farmstead. There, you find the other half of the Macabre Mantra, and you put the two halves together…



The [=Macabre Mantra=] has been completed.

You then read the words… broken into two distinct overlapping passages…

…

We are all banded by evil
It seeps 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 escapes from
To become the thing you seek to kill

This is EDIFICE.

…

You then realize what this all means…

Edifice is the name of the Stalker…

…the one killing innocents at night…

…in their dreams…

But the death becomes real, and that’s what causes the aneurism. Suddenly it all falls into place, but judging from what you see before you, it’s possible Korak has something to do with it…

Sam the Deerling (S: Normal / Grass)

Health: 16/16 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 24/24 | 2/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 40%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Nidorino, Krabby, Blaziken, Ralts, Delcatty
EQUIPMENT:

• Defense Armor: <Empty>
• Jewelry: +|J| Ruby Pendant+ (2S, 1P)

[Neo Emolga]

I want to talk to Zakra the Kadabra! They're a lecturer at the uni, Caily says they saw them with an unusual stone tablet! I will certainly pay diplomatic respect to their knowledge as a teacher, but my goodness, I reckon I need to hold that tablet for a bit!
My friends and I have found a few artifacts that are similar and seem like relics of an ancient civilization right under our very noses! Isn't that cool, Zakra? Imagine, imagine if even the school here was right ontop of some massive buried ziggurat!
(I would love to bait her into telling me anything extra about the old texts/locations/relics, if she knows anything!)

You decide to pay Zakra a visit, having heard about the ancient stone tablet she has from Caily. You have a hunch that it may be related to some of the other relics you and the other Savants have been coming across, but you first want to see it for yourself.

You find the engineering professor between classes, although lately student turnout has been low due to fears of the Stalkers. And lack of compliance, which seems to be one of the more major reasons why students aren’t showing up to class, but are still expecting to be passed.

You greet her and introduce yourself, and from her initial composure, you find that yes, Caily was right. She definitely has a very testy, arrogant, and egotistical aura about her. Trying to get her to respect you right away might prove difficult, but you’re confident you can make it possible.

You explain about your interest in her stone tablet, and that you and your friends have come across other similar artifacts that you think might be related, but she almost instantly scoffs at the very idea.

“You?” she almost laughs. “I’ve spent quite a few hours researching this tablet, its very material and natures, and its purpose, and even with my own superior intellect I haven’t been able to yield answers. Nor have I been able to discern what this language is. You truly think you can derive these answers without haven’t even seen it yet? Preposterous!”

“Oh come on, at least let me see it,” You smile to her. “Give someone else a try, why not?”

Despite it having already perplexed all of her students and herself, she decides to let you have a try. All the while, she still scoffs, thinking this will only just be another amusing display of watching yet another Pokémon struggle and fail.

She takes you into her office, which is very meticulously organized and arranged in a very maximum efficiency manner. Her solid oak desk, her bookshelves, and the arrangement of the furniture are all done with efficacy in mind with very, very few personal items. As you can tell, she keeps things very professional.

From her desk drawer, she slides the ancient stone tablet out, and lays it out before you on the desk. The ancient stone looks familiar, very much like the Kagami tablet plate you found at the Seabourne Police Department earlier.

You look it over and place your black, knob-like hand upon it, gazing at the ancient text with your eyes…

…and suddenly it feels like the rest of you slips away… drifting…

ChiChi has inherited 4 points of Kurosuōbā…

…drifting…

…and then all of a sudden you realize everything…

What really is Kurosuōbā? What are these strange relics that have been found before you, like this one… like all the others…?

You realize what they’re all for. Where they’re all from. And it’s suddenly an answer you were never expecting, but it all makes sense in the end.

…YUME…

…the place the soul visits while the body sleeps. The realm of dreams. A parallel dimension that exists in another physical universe, but where far, far more is possible in reflection of the wonder, terror, and even the ambiguity of dreams. In other times, what it could make possible was called magic, or witchcraft… but only by those that didn’t understand and didn’t believe…

…and what you’ve found goes even far beyond the lucidity. Beyond what one can achieve long after they have become aware they are dreaming… aware they are in Yume, and have turned it into a handicraft, creating powerful artisan tools and relics that simply couldn’t be made anywhere else but in Yume through the power of their own dreams…

…but what if you were told there was a way to connect Yume to Vie? What if you were told the bridge could be through a Savant… one like yourself? Able to make what was only possible in Yume possible in Vie?

You realize this is where the tablet and the other Kurosuōbā-inducing relics are from. They are arcane relics that were created in Yume, the realm of dreams, and were brought into the physical realm of Vie. And it all makes sense why Zakra and the others would never be able to understand these artifacts or their purpose. Or who made them. Or where they are truly from.

Reading the tablet, you understand the mission that was attempted here in Seabourne… and how it connects to you… and the Stalkers…

The mementos…

…before they became Stalkers, each of these Pokémon had a life… a life of achievement, reminders of love from family and friends, feelings of fulfillment, and these all became memories… memories embedded into various belongings…

…you realize what can become possible. Find these mementos and construct the Dream Altar… the Yume no Saidan, fueled by the power of the Shiryoku, the orbs of vision, the relics that will remind the victims of who they really are.

• Reconstruct the Yume no Saidan…
• Obtain a Stalker’s Memento…
• Use a Shiryoku to empower the victim with Yume’s strength…
• And speak the Stalker’s name… their true name… the name they have as a Pokémon, and not the name of the one enslaving them…

…They will awaken… remember who they truly are… and be empowered… by their own hopes and dreams… and Yume will channel that power through them to crush the Demoni that hungers on their spirit to commit abominations… travesties that can now finally come to an end…

ChiChi has become Tatsujin.

Your body becomes like white as you are surrounded by an otherworldly glow, and Zakra can only gaze upon you, spellbound, unable to comprehend what she has just witnessed. And suddenly she is humbled by her lack of understanding as you harness this knowledge and tell her… relinquishing your newfound knowledge and insight.

#32 Zakra the Kadabra has become Compliant.

“Never… never could I have imagined something like this could be possible,” Zakra tells you, almost feeling shame and humiliation for having so recklessly harbored wrongful thinking. “Forgive me, for I simply did not know and I was wrong to assume.”

She hands you the tablet, realizing you will put it to its true intended use as the Tatsujin you have become, as if it was always yours to begin with…

@[Atifakutotaburetto] (Artifact Tablet) – ~4 Kurosuōbā~@ has been added to the Team Inventory.

As you hold it in your hands, the texts upon it tell you it is a summoning order, a request for the Atifakuto. And this is just one part of the Shadoutsuru, a series of shadow tools needed to construct the Yume no Saidan. The other part you already have… the Kagami, the mirror which you suddenly realize is a channel to Yume. It will be one more critical step you need to complete.

Your glowing hand upon the tablet gives you insight and focus… and a place comes to you in a vision… and you recognize it as the Dorimugento, a dream gate… located at the Roylea House… there you realize the Atifakutotaburetto can be sent into the gate, and Yume will deliver and fulfill the request…

“Dream gates… never would I have imagined there are such things…” Zakra tells you, still grasping what has just transpired. “…or even a realm called Yume to begin with. I know there are many dark secrets in Seaborune. Places that most Pokémon don’t venture into. I believe these dream gates… these Dorimugeto as you call them… they must have been hidden for a reason.”

“Tonight… when you dream… focus your attention on Yume and where else it might connect in Seabourne. For me, when I meditate in this physical world, I know this helps me to remember what was lost, to clear and defog the ambiguity, and from that, I gain new clarity. But perhaps this is something you can try in Yume… and maybe you’ll learn something with the power you have gained…”

And in that moment of realization, you now understand why the goals and aspirations of all are also called dreams…

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: <Empty>

[Neo Emolga]

I think I'll search (29) Twinbank Apartments

As the morning arrives, you enjoy a morning breakfast of berry waffles and apple tea that Benni baked and brewed just minutes ago. Once you finish breakfast with the others, you start heading to the Twinbank Apartments, used mainly by the Beachwood University students in place of a campus dorm.

While walking along the dusty roads to the dorm-like apartment building, you look up at the sky, realizing it’s about to rain soon. Considering there isn’t too much tree cover on these roads, you’re hoping to be back before it starts really coming down.

When you get to the Twinbank Apartments building, you see the dark gray-stone building is only a short walk away from the main university building itself, almost feeling like it’s still part of a small campus plot. The building itself doesn’t seem to be in bad shape, but you notice despite its close proximity, it still looks very different from the university itself. For one thing, it doesn’t look like it was built in pieces and renovated in fragmentary phases over the years. Meanwhile, the three-story apartment building seems to be in good shape when it comes to structural integrity, but the amount of litter, dirt, trash, graffiti, and other refuse due to negligence is quite abundant. But as you look around the building and look at the walls, you don’t see anything that looks overly-suspicious or seems Stalker-related. Most of these seem to be gang tags, graffiti scrawl signatures, and other various forms of rebellious vandalism.

Inside, the once-white now very faintly-gray hallways of the apartment building feel a bit narrow and you imagine two-way traffic might be difficult for larger Pokémon living here… if they can live here in the first place. While the stone-tiled floor and the plaster walls are relatively in okay condition, there are still scuff marks and signs of more graffiti, only its much more minor this time. However, judging from the slightly off-color paint patches you see on the wall, it looks like graffiti cleaning and painting over happens here quite often.

About half of the apartments are occupied while a quarter of them are being refurbished and renovated and the remainder are simply vacant and empty, waiting for a new tenant to occupy them. But you see the apartments aren’t all that bad, consisting mostly of single and double bedroom setups that each come with their own bathroom and kitchenette.

One thing you quickly notice is the noise. Pokémon living here are quite noisy and you hear rather trashy-sounding music mixing from different directions from different sources. It honestly sounds pretty awful to you, but you imagine the Pokémon living here may be used to it by now. For you, you feel that might take way too long for you to ever tolerate.

You don’t really find anything suspicious at first, but you realize one of the last remaining rooms that has been closed off is the “Middie Room” on the second floor, the site of where the last three tenants all committed suicide. When you get there, the door is simply locked, but you find something unusual about that lock.

…it’s been broken. It’s hard to tell on a first notice, but someone managed to force the lock and dismantle it without it looking too obvious, minimizing the amount of perceivable damage.

You’re not sure how long it’s been like that or who did it, but you find yourself easily able to open the door and look inside. When you step in, you see the previous tenant’s belongings are all still there, but the back windows have been boarded up with wood planks, so much so that it’s impossible to see the outside and no one can look into this apartment from the outside. It also looks like the apartment has been a derelict for a while.

As you realize, “Middie” was not the name of the last tenant. It was in fact Reyvol, a young Murkrow that used to be a student at Beachwood University like many others living here. His belongings don’t seem all that unusual for a university-age student living here and they’re all still here as if they’re still waiting for him. However, there’s a slight coating of dust, almost to imply it has been a few years since they’ve been touched. Most of Reyvol’s belongings imply he was into pop culture and trendy modern music, having large collections of records on his shelves. A lot of his class textbooks and notes are still here as well, again, all just resting there as if he was expected to be back shortly after his last departure…

But then, among his belongings, there’s a strange decoration hanging above his bed perch. At first, the burnt skeletal bird wings are easy to dismiss as some decoration, although you admit it could be considered “edgy” in a way and it doesn’t really seem to fit too well with his other belongings. But as you approach them, more and more you get a bad feeling about these skeletal wings…

…ṯ̰ͥ͌ḧ̫̤́̇ey ͑remͤͪi̦̠n̜d͉̟̓̈́ ̣̓y̰ͨõ̘u̫͍͆̉ ͓͍͔̇ͤ̉o͍͓f ͓̦͑̓ś̺̗̚o̜̖ͤ͒m̫̻͆̎e͔̮ẗ͈hi͍͇n̹̱͇ğ̤̟ͮ.͓..

There’s a faint presence of Stalker taint on them…

…there’s something about their size…

…you think you’ve seen something like this before…

…

When you put everything together, it almost makes you want to vomit…

Reyvol was the third suicide victim in this dorm. And the wings mounted on the wall… are his. Someone dug up his corpse and defiled it, removing the skeletal wings and put them here back in the very spot he killed himself, as if he couldn’t ever leave this place… this very spot where he took his own life, although you have the feeling unnatural forces had a part in that and that Reyvol’s despair may have been… influenced. Still, the rest of the body seems to be missing. And you start to wonder where it might be but then… you shiver…

…because you already know.

…the rest of Reyvol’s corpse is on display. At the Baywill Museum and Gallery, mounted on that grizzly cabinet you saw before. Instead of resting in peace, Reyvol’s remains, stripped of his wings and now defiled with Stalker taint, is a gross caricature of macabre “art” that unknowing Pokémon now pay to see like this Murkrow’s body is nothing more than ornamental decoration. Once again, you see the sheer cruelty and malice of a flying Pokémon’s death.

“God damn you, Exonull…” you mutter.

You remove the burnt wings mount, knowing what needs to be done with them next. It’s clear only Exonull knows about this and has placed these wings here the way someone hides a key to use for later.

[Brunt Wings Mount] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You then leave the “Middie Room” apartment, closing the door behind you. You then leave the apartment building, making your way north down the roads back to Benni’s farmstead just as the rain starts to come down.

When this is done, you feel the least you can do is put Reyvol’s body back together, remove it from the cabinet, and give him a proper burial once again. All the while, you hope his spirit, in whatever form he decided to become through Afterhaven, is doing well, away from the misery he encountered here…

As for Exonull, you know what you intend to do. They made it personal… you’re not letting that go unpunished…

Scy the Heracross (M: Bug / Fighting)

Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 15/20 | Purity: 20/20 | 8/10 Kurosuōbā | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Repair
Reincarnation Forms: Heracross, Scyther, Centiskorch, Snom, Volcarona
EQUIPMENT:

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

[Neo Emolga]

I'll go speak with 36 Altrea the Eldegoss

Interview Rapport: POSITIVE
+1 Shared Type (Grass)

You decide to seek out Altrea, who you discover is an old Eldegoss that retired from being a jeweler well over a decade ago. Instead, you find her at her house, relaxing outside on an old metal bench that has been losing its white paint over time. Even though it looks like its about to rain, the cotton bloom Pokémon doesn’t seem at all concerned about it, simply smiling to herself as she’s reading a book, one with the title of “Buried By Water” and it almost seems like a mystery book.

You introduce yourself and she looks up with a smile, not expecting company, but liking the fact you decided to stop by.

“Hello there, Lewisia, dearie,” she tells you. “Good morning, what brings you here today?”

You mention that you’re trying to discern what’s going on with the Stalkers, trying to find out who they are and put an end to their murderous crimes. She nods, understanding why you would be out to do that, but something about her reaction still seems off. It almost seems complacent.

She puts her book aside, offering you a space on the bench to sit down and feel at ease. As you leap up upon the bench to join her, you notice something strange but familiar. In a side linen pouch she has, you see the same smoky, baseball-sized orb you found back at the Kako Industries Farm.

A second Putki…

You’re not sure where she found it, but you hope you can convince her to give it up to you…

“When you get to be my age, you notice things about Pokémon,” she tells you, smiling slightly. “Their eyes, their faces tell you a lot about their story. About the life they’ve lived. About what they will probably go through. Yours is unique, Lewisia.”

You wonder how this might be so, but you listen further.

“You don’t fear death, do you?” she asks you, although it looks like she already knows the answer. “You don’t. But I can tell you want to help others. Help this town, selflessly in fact. You want to save all their lives. But something about you seems special. May I ask you a question?”

You’re uncertain of what this question might be, but you agree to it.

“Is there life after death?” she asks you.

You almost freeze in place and your eyes go wide…

But she sighs with a smile, almost mysteriously.

“Oh, you don’t need to tell me about it,” she smiles comfortably. “I’ll see it soon enough. The same way my mother, my father, and my brother have all seen it. Someday it’ll be my time, too…”

“But you still have time,” you remind her, not sure how she was able to discern this so easily. “But please, I want to help this town. Have you seen anything that might be alarming? Anything at all?”

She looks off into the distance, trying to think and gather her thoughts. All the while, she smiles calmly, as if it doesn’t bother her. You’re not sure if she’s fearless and brave, or if deep inside she has become apathetic to the whole situation.

“I recently was admitted to the hospital,” Altrea tells you, looking like she didn’t quite want to disclose this, but decided to since you specifically asked. “I fell, broke my hip, and needed surgery. Took me some time to be able to walk again. But I know I’m getting older every day.”

“While I was undergoing physical therapy, they had me walk around the hospital,” she told you. “The nurse, Rochel… she was awful. Not ‘oh she’s definitely a Stalker’ awful, but she really needs to learn manners. Now, while I was walking, she would often leave me to myself, which is not what a nurse should do, but this is Rochel we’re talking about.”

“During one of my lonely walks, I found something on one of the outside walls,” she tells you. “Hideous thing, really. Well, it looked like one of those ads… or motivational artwork murals or something. Yes, it was a family depiction, a Greedent and Skwovet family, in fact. And I could tell it once looked uplifting and encouraging to both patients and families. Common thing to see. Only someone had made of mess of this one. Vandalized it to look just atrocious. Gad. The eyes of the Greedent were blotted out and the entire faces of the Skwovet were blotched out. And then in hideous black lettering, it said ‘only the mantra of macabre words is understood here.’ Whatever that means. I was just happy to get out of there.”

You think it over and it almost sounds familiar, but you nod in agreement that it sounds like something you need to look into and sounds like something a Stalker might have had a part in tampering. You then look toward Altrea’s Putki, asking her about it.

“Oh this?” she asks you, pulling out the smoky orb out of her pouch as she seems keen to talk about it, “I found this while digging holes for my flowers. Intriguing, isn’t it? Santea asked me about it when she noticed it the other day… she works at the library, you see. She thinks this orb might be related to what she’s researching. Something called… Puhdistus… whatever that is. I’m going to hold onto it for now, maybe one of these days she can tell me if it really is anything or if it’s just one of those fancy baubles that Charms and Chimes store likes to sell.”

You find yourself having a tough time trying to convince Altrea to give the Putki to you. At the moment, you’re not able to persuade her she’d be better to leave it with you than to leave it with Santea…

#36 Altrea the Eldegoss: <Diplomacy>

You decide to thank her for her time, and at that moment, the rain starts to fall.

“Looks like we’d better head inside,” Altrea tells you, “although I don’t mind a nice gentle rain every now and then. I’d welcome you in, dearie, but things are a bit of a mess in there right now. My maid never showed up. Maybe some other time.”

You nod in agreement, hoping someone might be able to talk Altrea into giving up that Putki. While you’re not sure what it really is for either, you have a feeling between the Phudistus Makuuhuone and the destroyed Taika Temppeli, you’re way further ahead in uncovering the mystery behind this Puhdistus thing than Santea is. Or at least you think so.

Although the more you think about it… the more you realize maybe it would be better if you work together with Santea…

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]

Active Dark Event 2: Mission Disclosure:
10%/100%

From the events of this morning, the Demoni have discovered reliable information that has informed them that there is a new entity besides the local Seabourne Police pursuing them and attempting to stop their efforts. Most of the details regarding this new threat still remain ambiguous to them, however, but they are now pursuing more information if it can be found and to be watchful for any new discoveries that might shed more information regarding this new entity. At the current time, most of the Demoni aren’t too concerned about this new entity, assuming their efforts will not come to fruition and will continue to be mislead the same way the police have been.

[Neo Emolga]

Night has fallen in Seabourne Town
Submit your Day 3: Night Cycle Actions now!

Time Remaining:
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(Thursday, June 9, 2022 10:00:00 PM EST)

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

[C0L0R3D]

You know, after the curious experience of getting drugged for some reason, I think I fry the Gyarados and get a thing over with. Exonull genuinely be damned!

[ACTION DECIDED: Deliver the Skeletal Murkrow Wings to the cabinet in the museum. If anyone strikes me down, you’ll be seeing me again! As a… Morelull. If Xerneas is doing a line thing.]