Frontier Town Industrial Park

[Jackie Cat]

The pokémon looked up at the group as they filed in, and adjusted his glasses. Behind the lenses, his eyes seemed to adjust to their presense. He stood, and gave them a stiff bow.

"Excuse me. Are you, by any chance, Nolan?"

"That I am," he replied, in a measured, authoritative voice. A slight rasp may have indicated that he was quite old, but perhaps that was just how his species sounded. "Inteleon Nolan, auditor and investigator. I believe I've been expecting you."

“Hope this is a good time. And…nice glasses?”

He peered around the room as the others greeted the Inteleon, looking around for any interesting clues.

Nolan's expression as he eyed certain members of the group looked somehow skeptical, as if he were looking for something inside them. Or possibly his vision was simply not what it had been.

"Thank you," he replied. "It's the best slot I could find in my itinerary, I'm afraid. Apologies for the choice of meeting-place, but it's a challenge to make off-the-cuff arrangements when pressed for time."

He gestured around himself as he said this, indicating that this was not his own office, but rather, his work simply placed him there at the present time. The documents on the desk looked, at a glance, like work orders and paperwork for Steel Spirit. A fine leather briefcase waited in the corner, likely Nolan's.

"Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice. When Dakota said he'd reach out to you, I hadn't expected you to be available so soon."

"'Available' is a strong word," said the Inteleon, with a dry smile, and some irony. "However, Dakota is a... He is a decent fellow, and I dare say, a friend. I owe him enough favours by now."

“Right, rumor has it you know some things about these shady Pokémon. Tell us what you know.”

He shook the thought and brought his attention back to the inteleon, ears perked for whatever he might say.

Nolan raised a brow, but the dry smile remained.

"Straight to business, eh? Very well. That suits me just fine, under the circumstances. About which matter in particular would you like to exchange information? Dakota advised me that you may have several concerns I could help with."

He sat back down, and folded his hands on the desk.

"I normally charge by the hour, but I'll make an exception in this case."

The corner of his mouth quirked in subtle jest.

 

[Sinderella]

Odette raised her brows at the way the inteleon held himself. Something about the way his eyes flicked about, and the way that he regarded everyone, gave her a gut churning feeling that she was going to need to watch herself going forward. This guy might give her own hyperobservance a run for its money.

“I’ll put it as bluntly as I can,” she said. “Shadow Pokemon. Or, better known as Witching Beasts by the locals around here. Feral, demonic, absurdly powerful, might have an aversion to light. We’re under the impression you know a thing or two about them. So let’s start there.”

 

[Butterfree]

“Auditor, huh,” Dave said, with a casual air. “What sorts of things do you audit?”

 

[Inkedust]

Bellatrix nodded along to Odette's words. "What she said. There have been a large number of sightings in the Blaguarro area and several of us - at least those who have very recently returned from an investigation there would like to find out more." The others who weren't there, she wasn't so sure of. They could speak for themselves, she decided.

Her ear twitched towards Dave but she decided to keep herself acting none-the-wiser for the moment.

 

[Jackie Cat]

“Auditor, huh. What sorts of things do you audit?”

Nolan quirked a brow at the Poochyena's question.

"Indeed. In my line of work, I sift through every kind of bureaucratic debris – ledgers, bills of sale, contracts. Memos, often enough. Much can be learned from such things."

“I’ll put it as bluntly as I can. Shadow pokémon. Or, better known as Witching Beasts by the locals around here. Feral, demonic, absurdly powerful, might have an aversion to light. We’re under the impression you know a thing or two about them. So let’s start there.”

"What she said. There have been a large number of sightings in the Blaguarro area and several of us – at least those who have very recently returned from an investigation there – would like to find out more."

The lizard turned to Odette and Bellatrix, and nodded solemnly.

"Yes, I've recently come to attribute a number of regional disturbances to these 'Shadow pokémon'. I prefer not to use... fanciful, occult terms for them, but nothing fits so well as 'Shadow', it seems. 'Tenebraeformes' does not exactly roll off the common tongue. In any case, they are certainly a most disturbing matter."

Nolan gestured in an illustrative way, and momentarily squeezed his brow in concern.

"There's much to say, and yet little is firmly evidenced, much to my irritation. You have some information already, so I'll elaborate on that to begin with. You are correct in identifying them as feral and as powerful. Whatever the underlying cause, whether it be psychological or physiological in nature, I believe them to be... incapable of higher thought. At least, none save that which concerns battle, at which they are... disturbingly adept."

The Inteleon wet his lips, and his gaze wandered for a moment.

"They are strong in a general sense," he clarified, "but more precisely, their attacks appear to be unimpeded by the normal resistances granted by one's own elemental type. In other words, all their attacks will be especially-effective against any adversary."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven listened with growing unease. Everything Nolan was saying aligned with what little he knew about the beast Koa had told him about. So they were talking about the same horrifying creatures...

"What... what can be done about them, then?" he asked, voice tight with concern. "Dakota mentioned you had a run in with one of these shadow pokemon yourself, fairly recently too. Is that how you've learned so much about them? From encountering them first-hand?"

 

[RJr3:2]

Aige had stayed quiet, feeling a little behind the curve compared to the others. As she soaked in the information, the Roggenrola went back and forth in her head with guesses as to what it felt like to be a shadow pokemon.

“Well that’s not very fair if they hit harder than anyone else,” she said quietly.

“Um, building off what you said,” she started hesitantly, “If they hit hard, is there anything that they’re hit hard by?”

 

[Butterfree]

Nolan quirked a brow at the Poochyena's question.

"Indeed. In my line of work, I sift through every kind of bureaucratic debris – ledgers, bills of sale, contracts. Memos, often enough. Much can be learned from such things."

Bureaucratic debris, huh. Dave wanted to probe further - whether he audited the railroad owners or had a relationship with them, and whether he'd ever audited Voclain's fucking trafficking business, for a start - but the others were already asking him about Shadow Pokémon, more interested in consulting him as an actual expert than in just who this guy was and what he was up to.

But maybe something interesting would come of that too, he supposed. Maybe he really did know shit. Maybe the human supremacists were involved with that, too. A stinging, tingling itch crept through his burnt side.

"Yes, I've recently come to attribute a number of regional disturbances to these 'Shadow pokémon'. I prefer not to use... fanciful, occult terms for them, but nothing fits so well as 'Shadow', it seems. 'Tenebraeformes' does not exactly roll off the common tongue. In any case, they are certainly a most disturbing matter."

Nolan gestured in an illustrative way, and momentarily squeezed his brow in concern.

"There's much to say, and yet little is firmly evidenced, much to my irritation. You have some information already, so I'll elaborate on that to begin with. You are correct in identifying them as feral and as powerful. Whatever the underlying cause, whether it be psychological or physiological in nature, I believe them to be... incapable of higher thought. At least, none save that which concerns battle, at which they are... disturbingly adept."

The Inteleon wet his lips, and his gaze wandered for a moment.

"They are strong in a general sense," he clarified, "but more precisely, their attacks appear to be unimpeded by the normal resistances granted by one's own elemental type. In other words, all their attacks will be especially-effective against any adversary."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at 'Tenebraeformes', just barely. (Darkness-shaped?) Apparently even in a different universe with magic translation, there was no escape from pretentious Latin.

Dave wasn't sure what 'all their attacks being especially effective against any adversary' was supposed to mean, and none of the rest was new. He thought for a moment, suppressing faint nausea. Was there a way this could be a bad idea? He couldn't think of much of a disadvantage.

"Some of us were attacked by one the other day," he said. "Seemed to give off this black energy. Any idea what that is or how they got to be that way?"

 

[HelloYellow17]

Wes had not taken his eyes off of Nolan as he spoke, observing his mannerisms as if trying to find a crack in the mon’s persona. He chose his next question rather carefully.

“So, how did you come to know of these Shadow mon? What has your experience been with them? Any ideas on where they came from?”

 

[Sinderella]

"There's much to say, and yet little is firmly evidenced, much to my irritation.

The way Nolan said this caused Odette’s insides to lurch, but she kept herself perfectly still. After a beat, she tilted her head.

“That’s to say you have no real physical evidence of them, right?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

"There's much to say, and yet little is firmly evidenced, much to my irritation."

“That’s to say you have no real physical evidence of them, right?”

Nolan shook his head. "None yet. ...But I shall persevere."

"What... what can be done about them, then? Dakota mentioned you had a run in with one of these shadow pokemon yourself, fairly recently too. Is that how you've learned so much about them? From encountering them first-hand?"

“Um, building off what you said. If they hit hard, is there anything that they’re hit hard by?”

Nolan's dry smile returned as he glanced at Steven and Aige.

"Wouldn't that be something? A power equal and opposite to their affliction. Unfortunately, I have very little good news on that subject – though I am still searching. According to certain myths, various saints and heroes were able to defeat monsters matching a loose description of Shadow pokémon by using a power of light. That could be fanciful imagery and metaphor, of course, but some saints still walk the earth. Perhaps I'll find one who can confirm or discredit these accounts."

"Some of us were attacked by one the other day. Seemed to give off this black energy. Any idea what that is or how they got to be that way?"

“So, how did you come to know of these Shadow mon? What has your experience been with them? Any ideas on where they came from?”

Nolan sniffed, and peered at Dave and Wes for a moment, as if considering how much to say. Whether to trust them, perhaps.

"As I mentioned before, I usually investigate... clerical matters. I look for evidence of financial malfeasance, identity fraud, and so on. Sometimes this brings unusual and disturbing things to my attention." He gestured vaguely to the rest of Steel Spirit Foundry with mild disdain. "For instance, that the bookkeeping of business owners can be staggeringly incompetent."

His face grew serious, his eyes narrowing behind his spectacles.

"Or that the number of missing persons in the frontier region each year has been at an anomalous high for the last two. That under Mayor Voclain's 'governance', Frontier Town's petty thieves and vagrants have been routinely transferred to a private carceral facility not even registered in the Commonwealth, ever since the departure of Sheriff Stranger five years ago. Graver still, increasingly frequent reports of livestock maimed and travellers assaulted by savage, invulnerable monsters. Most disturbing of all, there have even been claims – for which I have procured sworn testimony – that certain of these 'beasts' bear resemblance to these missing persons."

Nolan removed his glasses, and he didn't seem to squint or strain. His eyes focused sharply on each offworlder's face, looking for the most minute clue, the slightest tell.

"And most recently, I hear that a number of pokémon claiming to be offworlders have encountered these creatures, and escaped multiple, actual battles with them, without even taking casualties. That warrants my interest. My close, undivided interest."

 

[canisaries]

"Or that the number of missing persons in the frontier region each year has been at an anomalous high for the last two. That under Mayor Voclain's 'governance', Frontier Town's petty thieves and vagrants have been routinely transferred to a private carceral facility not even registered in the Commonwealth, ever since the departure of Sheriff Stranger five years ago. Graver still, increasingly frequent reports of livestock maimed and travellers assaulted by savage, invulnerable monsters. Most disturbing of all, there have even been claims – for which I have procured sworn testimony – that certain of these 'beasts' bear resemblance to these missing persons."

Andre blinked. So this guy did know about Terminal Two. He wasn't expecting him to just admit it like that. Or, well, he didn't say anything about the goings-on of the place, only implying that it was shady. Still, he had clearly been paying attention to these matters. Private investigator, indeed.

"And most recently, I hear that a number of pokémon claiming to be offworlders have encountered these creatures, and escaped multiple, actual battles with them, without even taking casualties. That warrants my interest. My close, undivided interest."

Andre suppressed a flinch. Oh, he knew. And he was deeply interested. Andre looked at the others, waiting to see how they would respond. He didn't feel comfortable making the decision to come clean for the whole group. Not after he'd already carelessly announced his humanity in Little Scriven before.

 

[Butterfree]

Dave raised an eyebrow, shoulder still itching. “Sounds like what you’ve heard was vastly exaggerated. ‘Multiple actual battles without taking casualties’? By my count, that’s one encounter where the shadow Pokémon would’ve handily slaughtered six people if not for outside intervention, and one where someone came vaguely close to a Skorupi, got grazed by a single attack, and then stayed away.”

(Sure would be something you might motivatedly cast as impressive if it seemed to confirm your beliefs about the awesome power of particular people who come from other worlds, though. And if you wanted to make some people feel special to draw them into your cult.)

Interesting, though. Nolan’d already worked out Terminal Two and that some of the shadow Pokémon were people who’d been sent by Voclain - assuming that was actually his investigative prowess and not him being somehow involved.

“So if you knew about Voclain trafficking people for illicit purposes,” he added, “what were you doing about it?”

 

[Sinderella]

Odette settled herself into a pensive silence, listening to the inteleon speak and mentally prodding through every word he said. So he'd known about what Igneousrock was doing with the prisoners. Perhaps not to the extent of them ending up in a fucking slaughterhouse (at least, that seemed to be as much as he was letting on at the moment), but he certainly had to have guessed that the "private carceral facility" was likely unregistered for a reason. Plus, he knew what she and the others were. He didn't say it, but there was an inflection in his tone that let her know he just knew. This guy was no idiot.

While she did understand Dave's gripe tenfold, there was a part of her willing to give the benefit of the doubt on that front. Virtue Corp knew about the source of the sacrilege crisis for years and kept it under wraps for the sake of their investigation, so she couldn't judge. She wasn't willing to just hand that certainty to Nolan without a lot of extra prodding, but it wasn't setting off alarm bells just yet.

However, that felt like a good cue. Dave already laid it out, and she was positive her bandages weren't exactly subtle. There didn't seem like much point in beating around the bush. Without looking away from the inteleon, she reached into her bag, rifled around until she felt the pin, and pulled it out.

"I can back that account up with this," she said, holding it up next to her face. "Pin Missile. Straight out of a Shadow 'mon. Would this suffice as physical evidence?"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Unfortunately, I have very little good news on that subject – though I am still searching.

Steven's gaze fell when Nolan admitted he didn't know of a way to stop the shadow pokemon. So they were right back where they started...

But when Nolan mentioned the power of 'light' as an opposition to the shadow creatures, Steven's eye furrowed in thought. A power wielded by saints and heroes against such beasts throughout history...? His mind drifted to the conversation with Ralsen-- that saints were disappearing from Sojavena-- and then to the Wardens of the Fort Sunward, watching over their saint as she slumbered. The power of light... or absence thereof, and an increased number of shadow beast sightings at the same time...

Then Nolan spoke again, and what he said halted Steven's train of thought in its tracks.

The inteleon knew everything. About Ignatius, about the wagons, about Terminal Two. For a moment, Steven fretted, wondering if Nolan the auditor knew about the mayor's notebook-- the blackmail-- too, but he quickly realized it didn't matter. Sonora and the bandits had figured out most of the same information as him without the book. Steven was curious as to what the answer to Dave's question would be, though. They knew what Sonora had been doing about it, at least.

Nolan's knowledge of them being offworlders was less surprising; he'd talked with Dakota, after all. But what did surprise Steven was the phrase 'multiple attacks.' He only knew about the one from Koa, the wagon mission. There had been more?! Slowly his eye slid over to Odette, connecting her fresh bandages to the item in her hand.

 

[Jackie Cat]

“Sounds like what you’ve heard was vastly exaggerated. ‘Multiple actual battles without taking casualties’? By my count, that’s one encounter where the shadow Pokémon would’ve handily slaughtered six people if not for outside intervention, and one where someone came vaguely close to a Skorupi, got grazed by a single attack, and then stayed away.”

Nolan gave Dave a doubtful look, and seemed as if he was about to query his account...

"I can back that account up with this. Pin Missile. Straight out of a Shadow 'mon. Would this suffice as physical evidence?"

...then his eyes focused intently on the skorupi spike in Odette's grip.

"Pass me that," he urged, extending a hand. "If you would be so kind, ma'am."

“So if you knew about Voclain trafficking people for illicit purposes, what were you doing about it?”

Nolan's face flashed with anger for a second, but he closed his eyes and with a twitch of his head, he seemed to swallow the emotion.

"Perhaps you presume that my investigation into Voclain began and concluded some time ago? In actual fact, I have been in town scarcely a week, and I expect to sustain my inquiry for some time yet. I could ask you what you suppose I might have 'done about it', in so short a time? I am not some uniformed constable of the law. My job is to gather evidence. To gather evidence. Unfortunately, it seems all records of Voclain's illicit activities are either burnt, water-ruined... or 'unaccounted for'. The man himself is behind bars already – following the most implausible of circumstances – and exercising his right not to self-incriminate. My work continues nonetheless."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Unfortunately, it seems all records of Voclain's illicit activities are either burnt, water-ruined... or 'unaccounted for'.

Steven had to fight the sudden urge to fidget at Nolan's inflection. So maybe he did know about the notebook after all...

Lucien's warning echoed in the back of his mind as he tried to avoid eye contact with the inteleon.

"You had best be mindful of the contents, sir. If that is what I suspect it is, then who knows how much trouble that little book could be in the wrong claws."

The question remained, which claws were Nolan's?

 

[Inkedust]

Bellatrix's tail twitched. Well wasn't that disappointing. The best they would get out of this would be a collaborative investigative effort going forwards, however, there was little time to dwell on it when the next words the inteleon spoke began to indicate what exactly the point of this meeting was. Of course. It was all plastered over the frontpage news. This meeting was inevitable.

So, in her mind, there was no point in playing coy. "In that case," she said, "what interest do you have with us offworlders? And, how much of our appearance do you believe is in large part due to this shadow crisis?"

 

[Butterfree]

Nolan's face flashed with anger for a second, but he closed his eyes and with a twitch of his head, he seemed to swallow the emotion.

"Perhaps you presume that my investigation into Voclain began and concluded some time ago? In actual fact, I have been in town scarcely a week, and I expect to sustain my inquiry for some time yet. I could ask you what you suppose I might have 'done about it', in so short a time? I am not some uniformed constable of the law. My job is to gather evidence. To gather evidence. Unfortunately, it seems all records of Voclain's illicit activities are either burnt, water-ruined... or 'unaccounted for'. The man himself is behind bars already – following the most implausible of circumstances – and exercising his right not to self-incriminate. My work continues nonetheless."

Dave peered at him. "Fair enough," he said. "I don't know how long you've been here, but I wasn't figuring you'd casually figured out all that from scratch in the space of less than a week, in between auditing metalworking businesses."

So he hadn't gotten his hands on the blackmail notebook. Had he been trying to? Surely he knew about it, given it'd been revealed extremely publicly, and even if he wasn't at the gala, the most rudimentary investigation would surely have uncovered any of the half of town who had attended and witnessed it. But that just opened the question of how he'd learned about the trafficking to begin with.

"So when you say your job is to gather evidence, who are you gathering it for exactly? You get hired by the local law enforcement, or is some other client taking an interest?"

 

[Sinderella]

...then his eyes focused intently on the skorupi spike in Odette's grip.

"Pass me that," he urged, extending a hand. "If you would be so kind, ma'am."

“Certainly,” she said. “But I’d like to know what you’re gonna do with it. It made me bleed when I’m supposed to resist it so I’m very interested in where it’s headed.”