Case Files

A collection of notes relating to the Pforzheim Disappearances.

Most of the original & edited text from a Google Document created by Thiera Psyche. Heavily edited after her death by Lilith Psyche ("--L"). Psych profiles posted directly by Ira.

Map of Pforzheim. Campus on north end, downtown on south. Grimm lives on 221 HabermehistraBe.--L

On the same street is Bürgerhaus Buckenberg-Haidach, or "Buckenberg-Haidach Mansion," Pforzheim's community center at the fork of the river Enz. Being watched?--L

Missing People

*Proessor Dr. Lara Schreiber was supposedly sighted several times before resuming her job & taking in a student. Is now on sabbatical in hiding with the others deceased, having bled out after being shot by the priest.--L
*Bus Driver Said by Dr. Schrieber to have been dragged into the forest by the beasts & killed.
*Mrs. Cyprus, disappeared in the Black Forest several years ago.
*Mr. Psyche. Died in a car crash in the Black Forest several years ago.
*The Johnsons. Abandoned Vanessa almost immediately after birth & left for France. Fates unknown.
*Aroma, Sab, Noctis, & Mortal, abducted by the Shadow during "the purge.
**Aroma & Sab tortured by Ira & eventually incinerated in the asylum crematorium.
*Gabe. Fate unknown, presumed abducted by Shadow.
*Nero, killed by Ira & abducted by the Shadow.
**Note: In Dr. Schreiber's office with her, Astarte, & Vanessa after failed attempt to exorcise Ira. Very suspicious.--L
*Vanessa Johnson. Itinerant since coming back to society. Fate unknown. Appeared with Dr. Schreiber.
*Hector, Monu, & Stefan. "Never existed."
**Stefan is now catatonic in police custody.--L
*Issac Grimm, presumed taken by the Shadow. Revived along with Stefan.
**Before being killed in a shootout & burnt along with his house.
*Euryale, Cameron, & Mimiru. Taken by the crawling monster & incinerated by Ira in the asylum crematorium.
*Senthose, in hiding after attempting to kill Grimm.
**Since shot by Ira while fleeing Roatha's house & taken by Shadow.--L
*Officer Jane. Killed by the White Monster & erased by the Shadow.
*Thiera. Impaled by broken broom handle by white monster in BioLab basement. Taken by Shadow.--L
*Taiyo Shikasu. Taken by Shadow.--L
*Azuma & Kentaro Haruka. Taken by Shadow.--L

OBSERVATION: Many of our family members disappeared in the Black Forest long before all of this. Schreiber assessed for trauma related to disappearances. Accused of sacrificing others to the Shadow for her own gain. Evidence is piling up. Schreiber is NOT TO BE TRUSTED.--L

"The Shadow" AKA "Shadow Man"

A shadowy figure that our group encountered on their trip & which followed us back home. All events seem to revolve around this entity.

*Mainly takes the figure of a shadow of a cloaked man wearing a porkpie hat.
*Can replicate similar shadowy entities seemingly indefinitely.
*Can manifest red "eyes." Unclear if this does anything.
*Nearly omnipotent--can move far faster than humans, teleport, cause cancer, damage technology that records it, erase all evidence & memories of a person's existence, & burn away flesh. Ira states that it removed his soul from both his body & the passage of time.
*Conversely, it has an unclear weakness or weaknesses a weakness to radiation, able to be harmed & temporarily incapacitated by large amounts of electricity & also bullets shot by an unknown assailant Dr. Schreiber's irradiated gun. Otherwise, objects attempting to harm it simply pass through & may even be damaged.
**An apparent exception is that it is tolerant to daylight. Perhaps an acquired resistance?--L
*Smaller shadows are likely weaker, with several being destroyed by flares.
*Possibly imitates voices & creates illusions.

Key events associated with the Shadow:

*Caused the initial bus crash that sabotaged the field trip.
*Erased Stefan, Hector, & Monu from existence.
**Later brought Stefan and Issac Grimm back with no memory of their deaths.
*Helped Ira assault Monu before it killed him.
*Attacked Tirea's parents, giving them cancer. They died the day of "the purge."
*A few days later it helped Ira abduct Sab & Aroma.
*Soon after, it abducted Noctis & Mortal.
*Transported surviving students through time to Roatha's house. Took Senthose before following to campus & taking Thiera.--L

"White Monster" AKA "Big One"

A hulking, white beast first encountered as group was trying to escape the forest, where it killed a police officer. Not as stealthy as the rest of its kind, it appears mainly in abandoned areas, acting as some kind of brute muscle. UPDATE: Finally killed by irradiated knives & burned, hopefully finishing it off for good. It has a very primitive nervous system, lashing out at nearby targets to dangerous effect even after its death.--L

Anatomical features:

*Eyes similar to those of the "Crawling One."
*Ill defined mouth with many small, pointy black teeth.
*Vaguely humanoid. Approx. 7-9 feet in height. Body covered in white fur.
*4 batlike wings protrude from its back--a larger set & smaller set. Covered in white pseudofeathers--an evolutionary "halfway point" between hair & feathers. Capable of full flight.
**Features imply it is very primitive, but unlike any known animal.--L
*Broad shoulders, but thin limbs terminating in claws. Very little excess fat.
*Its feet resemble its hands.
*Resistance to pain & injury. Kept attacking despite being stabbed in the eye once & later the side & despite showing obvious signs of pain.
**Has since survived being shot in each eye by a nailgun. Given past experience, will probably heal soon.--L
*Blood is a thick, green-brown substance.
*Hard exoskeleton.
*Intelligent enough to perform deliberate searches for its targets, use primitive tools, & stage ambushes, but susceptible to tricks like blinding and corralling.--L
*Hears well, but cannot navigate by scent.--L

"Crawling One"

A beast of unknown origin first sighted when the group returned from their trip. UPDATE: Shot through the head by Dr. Schreiber, unclear if permanently killed.

Anatomical features:

*Vaguely humanoid.
*Mouth is a series of mandibles, which conceal a red, dagger-like proboscis.
*Eyes like that of a fly. They glow & are the size of a baseball.
*Skin appears black, but inspected close up, actually consists of a camouflage pattern of black & very dark green.
*About 4 foot if standing upright, but usually crawls.
*Disproportionately long arms & legs connected by wings similar to a cross between a bat's & the skin of a flying squirrel. Wings are spread by some internal anatomical feature. Capable of at least gliding.
*Black quills on its spine.

Behavioral features:

*Appears inside & outside of buildings.
*Frequents dark, cramped spaces.
*Can climb & scale walls.
*Primarily stalks, but can be aggressive--uses claws & self-defense to incapacitate foes & kills with proboscis using unknown means.
*Not as strong as the White Monster, but can still takes several people to overpower.
*Most likely the monster responsible for leaving behind dead animals, drained of blood.
**Is this what the proboscis is for?--L
*Some intelligence, observes targets for Ira & follows his orders.

"Ira"

*Our group became aware that someone was following us shortly after we returned from our trip.
*This person would periodically send us messages, often including threats & pictures or video of his targets.
*Sab, Aroma, Noctis, Mortal, & Gabe were attacked by members of a fraternity for their sexual orientation. The police claimed to have no evidence of the incident & that the girls fabricated it. When questioned, one of the assailants claimed to have been approached by a young man he didn't know & encouraged to "take action." These were initially believed to be unrelated events, but we later decided that the various stalkers were related. Some guessed possession.
*In response, the stalker left a message, including a video which confirmed that he has possessive capabilities, but these only take full effect when used on a blood relative.
*"Ira" is an alias, & not the man's given name. Latin for "anger."
*Roatha is a distant grand nephew of Ira.
**Mrs. Arelaz was murdered by Ira, implying the genes are on the paternal side.
***Mr. Arelaz was last known to be in police protection.--L
*Ira is currently "purging" the most intelligent of the group, along with anyone on his considerable list of people he personally hates.
**Most of the group has been killed, but at least 2 of his original targets remain: Eve & Lilith.--L
***Seems to be growing desperate with repeated failures. Lost several minions.--L
*Claims that we will meet "an ally(?)" Confirmed to be Dr. Schreiber. He later accused her of using us as bait, but there is no evidence.
**No direct evidence. Circumstances highly suspicious.--L
*Can manipulate others into doing his dirty work, particularly a faction inside of the police department.
**Revealed to be related to him having the mayor in his pocket.--L
*Roatha appeared as himself recently, but Ira took over after Dr. Schreiber tried to purge him, & killed Nero. Back with us now, but for how long?
**Once again AWOL after BioLab disaster. Must be killed.--L
*Ira placed Astarte's father under surveillance & briefly held him captive.
**Alive, well, & free when last seen, with no memory of the event. A rarity.--L
*Appears to be closely linked to the church & the revived priest.
*An enemy of Schreiber's. Implying she has friends.--L

Evidence not erased by Shadow

The Shadow is aided by Ira due to a desire to not expend more energy than is strictly necessary. As a result, some of the evidence of its rampage is covered up via conspiracy, rather than erased completely.

*Cop killed by White Monster. Framed for murder of his partner, death ruled accident or suicide.
*Partner of White Monster cop. Murdered along with family in his own home.
*Schizophrenic homeless man, killed by Issac Grimm while possessed by Ira.
*Evidence of fraternity attack, collected by police but either hidden or destroyed.
*Numerous threatening messages sent by Ira. Often deleted or retrieved before they can be presented to authorities.
*Aroma's, Euryale's, Sab's, Cameron's, & Mimiru's bodies, incinerated in a crematorium after Ira was done with them. At least some of the ashes spread through the hotel air vent. Likely cleaned away by now.
*Issac's Grimm's assaults on our group, evidence twisted to make us look like the aggressors.
*Somewhere, Ira stores surveillance footage on his various targets and their families. Presumed to be either the asylum or the church.
*Mrs. Arelaz's murder, for which we were framed.--L
*The deaths of Dr. Schreiber & Issac Grimm, somewhat accurately said to have killed each other after the doctor kidnapped her students.--L

Potentially Significant Places

*Hotel visited by Roatha & Nero.
*Issac Grimm's church. Vandalized by Roatha when possessed by Ira.
*Asylum outside of town. Ira & all monsters appeared here when the group investigated it for sightings of the Shadow. Most records lost. Was overcrowded at least from 1860-1891. Converted from TB hospital to a mental ward in 1919. Converted again into a war hospital in 1940, abandoned in 1945 and finally shut down in 1950. Ira has shot footage and burned bodies in the basement.
*Ulm Campus, Pforzheim. Did they come here for us or have they always been here?
*Black Forest & cabin within.

Other Unusual Events

Other unusual circumstances.

*Teleportation. We are frequently teleported around, even when the Shadow is not around. It was confirmed by Ira that we can travel paths through time & space used by the Shadow (albeit not voluntarily), because we have been "touched by its power." Ira presumably has more control over his destination.
*Memories of altered reality. We do not forget the people & things "erased" by the Shadow. Also confirmed to be due to being touched by its power.
*Occasional encounters of orbs of light that can mimic human voices. Seem to lead victims into danger.
*"The survivalist," as dubbed by Azuma, was an unseen woman who appeared in the black forest & had a gun that could harm the Shadow. Confirmed to be Dr. Schreiber using irradiated bullets.
*Roatha & Ira have appeared in the same place at once. Possibly due to passing between time periods?

Roatha's Genealogy:

Campus Psychology Service Notes

What you don't know about your "friends" will hurt you. Love, Ira:

Shouldn't Monu be on the missing people list?

Yes. I also didn't check to see if any of your characters' parents or whatever died or went missing before the start of the RP.

Isn't Grimm dead?

I am considering making this list a canonical part of the RP, so I deliberately withheld mentioning anything that the protagonists are not currently aware of.

Nope, everyone's parents other than Tirea's are still living.

How many people are aware that Vanessa's an orphan?

In shitty news, the image of Roatha's genealogy appears to have been spontaneously deleted. I cannot find it through Google Search, on my own files, on my flash drives, Google Docs/Slides, or even a text record in the RP somewhere.

I searched most of Evil Dead, but of course there's no guarantee that something isn't in there that I just missed. If it were anywhere else, I guess it could be in the latter portion of Better Left Forgotten. It would not be in Waiting to Die, or anywhere before they learn Ira's true identity, for obvious reasons.

I can remember only a few of the names, & I don't remember anything after Roatha's parents with precision, e.g. I don't recall if Sarai was Abraham's grandmother, Sarah's mother, etc., nor what her last name was.

You made it when Eve, Thiera, Taiyo, Astarte and Nero were staying in the hotel room, if that helps at all.

It does not.