Scabbard Preview: Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

<StarmanTheta> It is a thankfully overcast day as you travel along Route 6. The clouds blot out the aggression of the summer sun as you and your band travel along the small road cut through hills, more of a dirt path than anything; even before the Catastrophe, this was nothing more than a simple side road for aspiring trainers to pass tot he next town or, occasionally, go into the tall grass to look for pokemon.
<StarmanTheta> You're accompanying three others, the scavengers who saved your life:
<StarmanTheta> Sal is the sole human of the group, a man of average height with jet black hair that ends in a long ponytail that he refuses to cut. He caries most of the supplies, and even in the heat  he wears a thick falconer glove on his right hand.
<StarmanTheta> Which is fortuitous for the second of the group, a Swellow by the name of Zephyr who is almost always perched on Sal's arm or shoulder. The two make a happy-go-lucky pair, constantly cracking jokes with one another. Zephyr's only article of clothing is his Safety Goggles
<StarmanTheta> And the last of the trio, a krokorok by the name of Timpani (though she always insists on being called Crusher; she thinks it gives a far more intimidating entrance) who is the technician of the group, with her trusty bag of nicknacks and the sharp teeth.
<StarmanTheta> This trio of pokemon found you months and months ago on one of their scavenging runs, barely clinging to life with mangled scythes covered in metal that must have burned hotter than the fires of hell itself. Even though Sal cared for you best he could, there was nothing they could do to get the metal off of your scythes.
<StarmanTheta> But still, they helped nurse you back to health, and you've been friends with these guys--owe 'em your life after all. Right now, they've gone on a short scavenging run along the old routes, hearing tell of an old field research station in the pastures near Route 6 that might hold some old research notes that could be of interest to the right person.
<StarmanTheta> So you walk along the path, just really shooting the shit for now. Timpani checks her map once more, and in doing so, asks off hand, "So, Scabbard, what all have you been up to? You got like a different aura 'bout you and stuff."
* Scabbard has managed to integrate into the group pretty well since he was found. Though he has had a -very noticeable- aversion to fire ever since. More so that one would expect. Still, it's cheerfully company. At least, better than before, anyway. He's pretty spaced out when Timpani talks to him, though. "...Huh? Oh. Aura?" He shakes his head to bring himself back
<Scabbard> into focus. "...I've just been thinking, is all."
<StarmanTheta> "'Bout her, right?"
<Scabbard> "...Yeah." He rubs the back of his head with his dulled scythe. "...Not really good at thinking about much else. You know that."
<StarmanTheta> "Nah, nah, I don't blame you," she says. "We been trying to find out what we can, but no luck so far." Sal takes a moment to look over and say, "Don't worry, Scabs, it'll come in time."
* Scabbard has had a tendency to drift off like that, mentally, for as long as these people have known him. Either he spaces out, or he gets really intensely focused on something. There isn't really a middle ground for him anymore.
<Scabbard> "Yeah, I know..."
<StarmanTheta> Zephyr takes a second to fly up, though. Easier to scout out the place from a bird's eye view, literally.
<Scabbard> "...What were we looking for again?"
<StarmanTheta> "Mostly files and stuff," Sal says as they walk along. The sides of the path are begining to smooth out to flat plain instead of hill. "Word is, there used to be some researcher who studied, like, some sort of soil purification method or something. More than likely, it's all in hard drives and safes; we lift what we can and take it back."
* Scabbard kicks at the sand. "...It still weirds me out to think stuff used to grow here."
<Scabbard> "I don't think I've ever actually -seen- soil."
<StarmanTheta> The plains around the route aren't the most fertile, if only because of its proximity to the wastes, but still bares a little bit of green. But it's clear to see the desertification is spreading west, and the lack of rain lately ain't helping, as much as the clouds taunt. Sal shrugs.
<StarmanTheta> "Well, if the stuff's legit," Timpani says, "then it oughta help out some creatures." As she says this, Zephyr flies back down, hovering just above. "Yo! I spotted it, bought a third of a mile north, a beat down building. I think that be it!"
<StarmanTheta> "Looks like a fight broke out there, though. Think we got beat?" "Only one way to find out," Sal says, holding out his arm for Zephyr to land.
<Scabbard> "A fight, huh? Anyone still there?"
<StarmanTheta> "Dunno," Zephyr says. "I didn't fly in to get a closer look, but it looks like some stuff was thrown around on the outside."
<Scabbard> "...Maybe I should go in first?"
<Scabbard> "Just in case someone is still there?"
<StarmanTheta> Sal nods. "Yeah, probably for the best; you're pretty good at takin' hits. Timpani, you wanna back him up while Zephyr and I case it out to make sure there's no ambushes?"
<StarmanTheta> "Crusher"
<StarmanTheta> "Yeah, Crusher, sorry, sorry."
<StarmanTheta> So the plan right now is that you and Timpani go in, while Zephyr watches from above and Sal comes around back to make sure no one's  gonna jump you. You fine with that?
* Scabbard is fine with this plan!
<StarmanTheta> Your group makes due north, off the path and over the land. It's sad; hard to imagine that this was once a lush grassland for a variety of pokemon, but only dry dirt and withered weeds weekly gasping for life. Rounding a hill, you spot it, a dilapidated building built on a land behind short, broken fences. The building has a fair bit of glass, but it's all broken, and even from here, you can see th
<StarmanTheta> e signs of scorch marks on the outside and on the generator on the side of the building.
<StarmanTheta> Most of the windows are busted out, and the door hangs ajar.
<StarmanTheta> "Yeesh," Zephyr says. "Ok, you two go in, I'll watch from the sky, Sal along back. Holler if you need it!" He flies up in the air, and circles high above the building. Sal nods and turns to you two. "Alright, let's go," as he sneaks off to the side, to circle the building the long way.
<StarmanTheta> And Timpani is set to follow your lead, cracking her knuckles just in case there are heads that need to be busted.
* Scabbard suppressed a shudder at the sight of the Scorch Marks, taking a deep breath to focus himself as he steps inside. "What happened here...?"
* Scabbard -really- hopes whoever made those marks still isn't here.
<StarmanTheta> You step into the dimly lit building--the lights have long since gone out. The building seems to have not been very big; it seems to mostly be one big room, with couches and a coffee table near the front and plenty of computers and file cabinets near the back.
<StarmanTheta> The couches have been ripped up, the table and bookshelves over turned, files and other things everywhere...
<StarmanTheta> Perception if you would
<Scabbard> (Got a preferred dice roller?))
<Scabbard> (If not, then the Wizards one gave me a 9)
<StarmanTheta> oh, shit
<StarmanTheta> uh, critsenpai is fine
<StarmanTheta> You notice there's an unmistakeable smell in the air...
<StarmanTheta> the foul smell of blood
<Scabbard> "...Do you... smell blood?"
<StarmanTheta> Timpani sniffs the air, and grimaces. "Ugh, yeah, smells like it's comin' from over there..." she nods to the only other door, which seems to lead to the bathroom. It's wide open, but you can't see what's inside from this angle
* Scabbard slowly edges toward the door. He's heard Campfire stories that start this way... "Stay behind me."
<StarmanTheta> Timpani nods, always on her guard. You peak slowly in...the only light is the faint beam from a high window.
<StarmanTheta> It seems like this bathroom was mostly just a holdover for scientists doing reasearch. Just a simple shower, toilet, and sink that haven't been cleaned in forever. But what attracts your attention most is...
<StarmanTheta> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4kxEAVJjSM
<StarmanTheta> On the floor, lying face down with the upper half of her body in the shower, is a human woman. A pool of blood surrounds her, the drain only clearing some of it.
<Scabbard> "Oh Arceus..."
* Scabbard slowly approaches her. Is she...?
<StarmanTheta> "Sheesh..." Timpani says. Approaching her, it's clear that the woman is very, very dead.
<StarmanTheta> Education medicine or survival if you would
<Scabbard> ((9))
<Scabbard> ((Survival))
<StarmanTheta> You can't tell when exactly she died, but probably within the last 3 days. Her clothes are ripped and singed, so she probably had a fight
<StarmanTheta> But the curious thing is that her wrists were tied behind her back, and it looks like the back of her neck was bitten. Hard.
<Scabbard> "They executed her..."
<StarmanTheta> The method, is...very familiar.
<StarmanTheta> Evocative of one of your former coworkers.
<Scabbard> "...The Legion was here. They did this."
<StarmanTheta> You remember, in your time with the Legion, that there was a mightyena by the name of Fang. Just a low-ranking officer, he was notoriously cruel, even by the legion's standards. His favorite way of finishing off enemies was to set them prostrate then savagely crunch the backs of their necks
* Scabbard grits his teeth. He remembers -that- all too well. "...Crusher, do you see anyone else here?"
<StarmanTheta> Timpani moves forward, getting on all fours to get a better look at her. "God damn, I knew the Legion were savage, but nobody deserves to go like this." She gets to her feet and shakes her head.
<Scabbard> "...I think I know who did this, but. Why would they be here?"
<StarmanTheta> "I didn't see anyone else in the room, but they might have gotten dragged off.  Hell if I know why they're out this far."
<StarmanTheta> "Or why'd they execute a human like this. I thought they took them as slaves too?"
<StarmanTheta> At that point, Sal raps on the door, saying, "It's me!" before peering in. He immediately flinches at the sight. "Ho-ly shit. The hell happened here?"
<Scabbard> "...The Legion was here."
<Scabbard> "...This poor woman. No one deserves that..."
<StarmanTheta> "Ah..." he bows his head. "The bastards...if they were here, they aren't anymore. Zephyr says there's no one around, and I didn't see anyone." Timpani looks over the body once more, and says, "You said you know the fucker who did this, right? Ol' buddy of yours?"
<Scabbard> "...I use the term 'buddy' very loosely."
<StarmanTheta> "Sorry, sorry."
<Scabbard> "...He's a Mightyena by the name of Fang. He's the kind of guy who puts the "monster" in Pokemon."
<Scabbard> "...I don't know why he'd be looking at soil samples though..."
<Scabbard> "...We should give this woman a proper burial, or find out where she came from. I feel... wrong just leaving her here..."
<StarmanTheta> "No, no, I feel ya." Timpani says. "Here, Sal, help me move her.: Sal nods, and the two of them step in to get the woman. Sal checks her belongings...the only thing on her person being a small journal, though the first few pages are ruined by blood
<StarmanTheta> The human and krokorok take her out of the bathroom, and Timpani quickly gets to work making a grave for the woman. Zephyr is perched on one of the desks in the back end of the lab, taking a break from going through he files to bow head in respect.
* Scabbard goes to assist with digging the grave. He's not quite as good a digger, but... you know, obligations.
* Scabbard also is probably the only person who knows how to give last rites, considering how many shallow graves he's had to dig in the past... Knowing the ceremony kind of helps with the guilt. A little.
<StarmanTheta> If any of you is qualified to do it, it's Scabbard. With the grave dug, they wait respectfully for you to perform the rites, before laying the woman in the ground and covering her. Fashioning a small cross from broken chair legs and rope, they put it to mark the grave.
* Scabbard waves his scythe in a vaguely cross like gesture over the grave. "Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Arceus, and let the perpetual light of Paradise shine upon them..."
<Scabbard> "...There."
* Scabbard never knows what to say -after- that is the problem.
<StarmanTheta> "May she rest in peace..." Zephyr sighs. "Well, we might as well get what we came for, if it's still here..."
<Scabbard> "You can take a look. I want to get a better sense of why she was here..."
* Scabbard has to -very carefully- pick up the diary. "Could someone please help me with this?"
<StarmanTheta> "Yeah, I got you," Sal says, taking it and opening it up. It seems the blood has soaked through a ton of the pages, making them pretty much unreadable. A few have escaped destruction, however...
<StarmanTheta> The first readable date is about two months ago. Most of it is smeared, but you pick up notes of "a luxurious garden" and "purifies even the most toxic of land. I wonder if..."
<StarmanTheta> The next few pages describe the journal owner's travels--it seems that she made way from the north, and kept a meticulous log of soil conditions.
<StarmanTheta> A few pages later, it describes her stopping to rest on the road, but feeling she was being watched. The next page describes her being ambushed while trying to take soil samples from a fertile grove, only barely fighting off the attackers.
<StarmanTheta> The last legible entry, written only a week ago, reads as as follows:
<StarmanTheta> "From the directions, rumors, and hints I've uncovered, I must be near Heller's old station. I can only pray that his research is still intact; it will be my one and only chance to grow the Fruit of Rebirth..."
<Scabbard> "Fruit of Rebirth...?"
<Scabbard> "Something that can purify toxic land? Is that what was being researched here?"
<StarmanTheta> Roll occult, if you have it
<StarmanTheta> "Who knows; I ain't a scientist type."
<Scabbard> (8)
<StarmanTheta> You have no clue what that is, or if it's even a real thing.
<Scabbard> "...It... sounds kind of mystical, doesn't it?"
<Scabbard> "..Maybe there's something to it. I mean, if it was enough for the legion to kill her over it..."
<Scabbard> "Are the notes still here? Did they take them?"
<StarmanTheta> Just then, Timpani calls from inside. "Yo, we're in business! The files are still here, and the hard drive don't look like it's too busted."
* Scabbard looks over. "That's great!"
<Scabbard> "...I wonder."
<Scabbard> "...It doesn't mention anything about a fruit, does it?"
<StarmanTheta> "Eh, the paper stuff has some mention of making soil more fertile, but I ain't gone through  it yet," Timpani says. "It'll take longer to go through the hard drive; I know it works, but I'll have to take it back to base to really get at it."
<Scabbard> "I wonder if this Fruit of Rebirth is a real thing. This woman seemed so dedicated to growing it. Like... it was something really, really important to her."
<Scabbard> "...I'd hate to leave her with unfinished business like that."
* Scabbard feels kind of responsible, if only by association.
<StarmanTheta> "Well, we were only supposed to bring in the data, but if it's anything good, I'll let you know," Timpani says.
<Scabbard> "I'd appreciate it."
* Scabbard has taken to staring at the grave now.
<Scabbard> "...Who asked us for this data anyway?
<StarmanTheta> "Dunno, job posting. You know people don't like to give names, usually."
<Scabbard> "...I just have this hunch, you know? That something about this is going to turn out bigger than any of us realize."
<StarmanTheta> "Let's just focus on getting back for now," Zephyr says.
* Scabbard nods. "You're right. This place is starting to creep me out..."
<StarmanTheta> With your bounty in tow, you all leave the dismal scene. Taking one last look back as you crest the hill, you can only think of the face of the mightyena who did this.
* Scabbard has, once again, spaced out. He doesn't even -know- this woman. And yet... imagining Fang and his accomplices tying her up and... after she had come so far...
* Scabbard had a feeling he might end up doing something stupid again. Last time he did something like this, he ended up with his scythes welded...