As you consider the room and how to proceed, several other weak spots in the ceiling become apparent now that everyone knows what to look for. That said, several things occur to you all:
The first is that there's another entrance to this particular chamber from the sepulcher's entry hall, so going around to check things out from that angle is certainly a possibility.
Another, that Frankie pointed out, is that it might be possible to repair the ceiling using the scavenger's stone - if not completely then surely enough to reduce the threat of imminent collapse.
Finally, it might be enough to simply avoid the weakened spots with some careful maneuvering.
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Quang Chi withdraws the stone from his pouch and considers it, rolling it around in his hand as he does so. He remembers Captain Valsin saying, "It won’t last forever, but it should have enough magic left in it for this mission."
"It has only a few uses. We should save one for Hearth Keeper's grave. Perhaps we return to this after we have repaired other more important things?"
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As the pensive monk rolls the stone around in his hand, it seems to almost speak to him. Not literally, of course, and certainly not in words. Perhaps it is his newly acquired magical abilities interacting with the stone itself, or perhaps even the voice of some greater god-like being, he does not know for sure. But whatever the source, he gains the sense that the magic remaining should be sufficient if used carefully.
"Let me at least see how much of the stone's magic it will take before we move on."
He steps around the group to enter the nearest corridor. Just before he does, he pauses and focuses on the speed and subtlety of a great tiger he once saw in the forests of Xa Hoi. His ears get a little longer and grow orange hair on them and as he opens his eyes, a careful observer might notice that the pupils have become slitted. He rolls his neck and a little purr/growl comes from his throat.
Stepping up to the first area that the others pointed out, Quang Chi reaches up and touches the stone to the ceiling and invokes the magic to repair the cracks. He pauses to evaluate how much more of the magic it might take to at least make the passage safe.
Denair hovers happily behind Quang Chi as the beetle shaped human thing fixes cracks in the wall.
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Caller appears to rather upset as to the state of the Sepulcher, "We need to prioritize what is fixed, for now, someone will need to come and fix these other problems in the future. The damage done by this looting is a sacrilege of the highest order. But, we must do what we have stated to do and been advised by the great spirits to do first."
Turning the group, "Other than using this magic stone, is there any way else you can think of repair this damage? I could go outside and cut down some trees if you think they could be used as some sort of brace, but I am not sure. What do you think?"
While the rest of the group watches with bated breath, Quang Chi taps into the aspect of the tiger before carefully reaching up to touch the scavenger stone to the unstable ceiling above. Some dust and a few pebbles rain down but the magic within the stone quickly sets about repairing what has been damaged, restoring the section of ceiling to its' former state.
Though he may or may not be the best person to ask about such things, Quang Chi gets the feeling that this act used up a small bit of the stone's power but not nearly as much as was needed to repair the sarcophagus in the circular chamber.
Now that he's moved a little further into the chamber, Quang Chi can also see that numerous shards litter the floor here and there. Judging by their color and texture, they must have been blasted off of the numerous stone pillars that occupy this room, likely by magic. It might also be possible to repair the pillars, but that would mean finding and collecting all of the shards scattered about the room.
"There's a piece! And there's a piece! And there's a piece!" Denair points around, excited. A bit too excited, as she almost points randomly. Where she's from, pillars grow from the ground and are called "trees."
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As the others begin their 'scavenger hunt' (These Avistani have such strange phrases sometimes.) Quang Chi continues to repair the damage to the other sections of the ceiling.
"If the lightning dogs were actually guardians of this tomb, perhaps we could lead them back out to where Hearth Keeper is. Maybe she can, how do you say, 'reset' them?"
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With the initial patch of weak ceiling restored and the other weakened areas pointed out, moving about the room becomes a much easier proposition. While most of you scour the room for broken shards - avoiding the weakened patches of ceiling - Quang Chi sets about methodically repairing said weakened patches.
It takes some time and a bit of patience to find all of the missing pillar shards but Frankie's enthusiasm for the 'scavenger hunt' is welcome and perhaps makes the task a little bit more 'fun' than it would be otherwise. Eventually, once you're positive that you've found every little bit and piece, it's a simple matter to use them in conjunction with the scavenger's stone to repair the damage to the pillars.
Though nothing obvious happens, you nevertheless get the feeling that you've done something right.
Even better, there's a distinct lack of lightning dogs in the area!
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Frankie quickly declares himself the winner, even if its obvious he isn't. Frankie the Flash never admits defeat.
"Woo, that sure was nice. Let's hope this cub statue is half as much fun. Where too next?" He stands on his tip toes to sneak a peak at the map, then races off in that direction, towing Serge and Denny along with him.
VRROOOOMM!
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Serge looks around the room, expecting something to happen... yet nothing does. "Somehow, the air feels lighter now, but I can't explain it. Regardless, I think our work in this room is done. Let's -" Of course, he has little time to finish his sentence before he's rushed off with Denair and the Flash.
Assured that you're still on the right track regarding your mission, you all return to the hallway and continue heading towards the room where the wolf cub statue should go.
Nothing appears to be amiss as you make your way to the north and in short order you reach an intersection where the path continues north to a door and back to the east towards another door. Keeping with the earlier consensus to not leave too much unexplored area at your backs, you detour yet again to investigate the northern door - which should lead to a dead-end room, according to your map.
After a thorough inspection of the door reveals nothing of interest, Serge steps up and carefully swings the door open to reveal what must have once been a small storage chamber. The wooden crates stored in here have remarkably stood the test of time but have long since been emptied of whatever they once contained. Additional inspection of the room reveals no unusual auras, secret doors, or anything that appears to be broken or out of place and so you fall back again and head towards the room to the east.
Once you've undertaken your usual inspection of this eastern door, which also comes up clean, Serge once again shuffles to the front and carefully pushes the door open. Pottery shards in a variety of vibrant hues litter the room here. The staircase leading to the east leads to a dead end and another door exits the room to the north.
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"Not very good at what? Puzzles? All those pretty broken pieces are just like a big jig saw puzzle!" Frankie bends down and starts picking a few up, turning them over in his hands before giving them over to Meredith.
"And before anyone asks: No I wasn't the one who broke this stuff! But I'll help fix it up if you guys help get the pieces!" He continues 'jig sawing' the pieces. Someone else will have to use the stone.
Once again, it takes a few minutes of work but Frankie manages to hand-sort all of the pottery shards into five distinctive piles - all on his own, at that! From there, it's no problem at all to repair each piece of pottery with the scavenger's stone - should you wish to do so, of course.
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Frankie looks at Mr Chi and then at the stone, and then back to Mr Chi "We're gonna fix these right? Then we should go fix up that nice ghosty lady's stone, just so we don't run out!" He smiles, hops to his feet and dusts off his little hands.
Frankie spins around and grins "Oh man, Mom took that stuff away so fast... said I used to eat it... musta tasted good!" He giggles.
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Frankie looks at Mr Chi and then at the stone, and then back to Mr Chi "We're gonna fix these right? Then we should go fix up that nice ghosty lady's stone, just so we don't run out!"
"Yes, of course. We are here to do right by the Shoanti and repair what Lumketul destroyed."
Quang Chi uses the stone to repair the pottery with Frankie's guidance regarding how the pieces go back together. As each is made whole, he takes a moment to appreciate the artwork and craftsmanship of the piece before returning it to its niche in the wall.
"But, yes, we must be careful to keep enough uses to repair the 'nice ghost lady's stone.' Later." He nods to Meredith to indicate his agreement that the cub statue must be dealt with next.
And why is there a storage room full of crates in a tomb? In case the dead needed supplies? And a stairway to heaven nowhere? What is that about?
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"Yes indeed."
Caller looks around at all of the boxes in the room, "Does this look like storage, as if someone plans on returning? Either way, we need to find out what these crates had in them."
Does Caller know anything about Shoanti burial customs that might explain the boxes and stairway to nowhere?
Though at first the appearance of the stairway leading nowhere seems strange, further inspection reveals that it seems to be construction that was simply never finished for one reason or another. As to the mysteriously empty crates, Caller thinks for a moment and does recall that under normal circumstances Shoanti boneslayers periodically patrol these burial sites and other locations of import. Likely the empty crates once held supplies such as nonperishable foods and extra equipment for these boneslayers to make use of during their rounds.
With the pots now repaired the map is consulted once more and your spirits are lifted to see that the room where the wolf cub statue belongs is the next and final room for you to visit on this side of the sepulcher. Once again, you all do your due diligence regarding the northern door before setting off down the hallway. After only a few feet Frankie - with Denair and Serge in tow - rounds the corner to see that the hallway opens up ahead and terminates in what looks to be a relatively spacious chamber.
Since there are no doors to contend with a little position-swapping is done and Serge takes the lead, just in case anything nasty awaits. Standing just inside the hallway Serge and those near to the front can see that the chamber ahead is largely bare, except for a pit of flame at the center. The flame, emanating from a brazier, suffuses the area with a faint glow.
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Denair buzzes about, looking for those lightning dogs.
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"Lumketul's notes say only that he found the statue in this room, not where exactly. Is there not a niche or stand for it?" Quang Chi asks as he follows the others into the room and peers around.
He pulls the statue from his pack and looks closely at it for a clue as to where it may have rested before.
Where is your home, little one?
The group of you filter into the room, cautious, searching for the appropriate place to place the wolf cub statue. Those that draw near the pit to get a better look at the brazier see the following words engraved in its surface:
Ma tenei Maama Maama e Maama nga Maarama o te Po
May This Light Illuminate the Forests of the Night
As you all look around, Quang Chi and Frankie notice that the flames from the brazier suddenly begin to grow weaker...
It's another haunt! Much like the previous one, you suspect that it won't be harmed by positive energy.
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Serge
Frankie
Caller
Quang Chi
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?????
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Meredith & Denair
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: None
Frankie and Quang Chi may act!
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The dimming flames serve as a warning, one not to be ignored except by the foolish. The monk doesn't know what's happening exactly, but he doesn't intend to stay and find out.
With a shout of , he barrels into Caller, pushing the both of them back into the short hallway, and then tumbles past the big man to end up behind him.
I see it as a shove to push Caller back 5' whilst Quang Chi continues and ends up on Caller's other side. Total movement for QC = 15' and 5' for Caller.
Versus Caller's Flat Footed CMD of 18 (20 - DEX) is enough to move him.
The only two to sense that something is amiss, Frankie hollers a warning to the group as he tries to push Denair and Meredith away from the pit while Quang Chi barrels forward towards the room's exit and manages to shoulder-check Caller back out into the hallway on his way out.
And just in the nick of time. The brazier's flame flickers and goes out, as does every other light source, plunging the room into a supernatural darkness that not even Denair's darkvision can penetrate!
Yet in spite of the darkness, the four of you still within the chamber can feel the wind on your faces, can hear the sounds of rustling leaves and running water. And faintly, very faintly...you hear the bark of a dog or perhaps wolf.
'find me'
The bark sounds again, this time echoing as if in a cavern, and the four of you within the room are granted a vision of your surroundings, as if by blindsight. You can see a chasm within a cave - and your friend is on the other side, you just know it! All you have to do is leap the chasm and you'll be reunited with them, you're certain of it!
'find me'
Outside of the chamber, Quang Chi and Caller find themselves staring into what might as well be a black hole, for all that they can see into it.
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Serge
Frankie
Caller
Quang Chi
Meredith & Denair
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?????
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: None
Everyone is UP!
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You can hear Frankie's teeth start to chatter a bit as the lights go out. Bad things happen if the lights go out! "Guys? GUYS? You hear that? I'm heading over to find it! Don't leave without me!"
Frankie gets a running start and tries to make the jump, hoping his new fun training pays off!
For a little guy he's a pretty good jumper!
Derring-Do (Ex): At 1st level, a swashbuckler can spend 1 panache point when she makes an Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Fly, Ride, or Swim check to roll 1d6 and add the result to the check. She can do this after she makes the check but before the result is revealed. If the result of the d6 roll is a natural 6, she rolls another 1d6 and adds it to the check. She can continue to do this as long as she rolls natural 6s, up to a number of times equal to her Dexterity modifier (minimum 1).
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It's all too much for Meredith to react to. Her friends shout warnings, they push people away, her torch goes out- everything about this tomb unsettles her.
But she hears Denair calling. "B-Boss! He's coming back! I don't want him back! He's... oh, help!"
Meredith doesn't waste a second. She gets a running start and leaps.
Denair can't see anything, like the fire smoke that almost consumed her old home. It's a bit scary.
Too many of the Court offered to "help" her in that time. A couple of useless mites, a few well-meaning but also silly animals, and some Courtiers were clearly waiting for her to die. And then there’s Him, but we don't talk about him in good company.
But she hears the Queen of Thorns calling her name. "Denair, I require your assistance. It would be fortuitous if you approached now."
Translation? HELP!
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Quang Chi spins around and looks back to the room expecting to see some kind of apparition or at least a blast of energy. But all he sees is a wall of utter darkness.
"What happened? What is this?" he asks rhetorically. He steps up to the edge of the darkness but it's clear that it is somehow magical.
"I can give myself the ability to see like a bat. I am going in to find them." Then remembering why they are here, he looks at the wolf cub statue in his hand. "Perhaps like the other room, simply returning this will end the effect."
The monk focuses on a bat's ability to see in the darkness. Along with some minor changes to his face and nose that no one really wants to see anyhow, his vision sharpens. He steps into the wall of darkness, and....
Though extremely confused and shaken by the darkness that swirls around them, Serge, Frankie, Meredith and Denair see what they're certain is the light at the end of the tunnel - or in this case, across the chasm. Driven by instinct and the surging desire to be reunited with those that are lost, the four attempt to jump across the chasm. Serge, weighed down by his armor, drops like a rock instead of soaring like an eagle. Meredith doesn't fare much better. Frankie and Denair, unsurprisingly, have an easier time of it but can't quite get enough air time to make it across - and Denair finds that her usual powers of flight seem to be rendered useless in whatever strange dreamscape this is. All four fall...but even this is all wrong, as though someone flipped the Slo-Mo switch.
Quang Chi, for lack of any better ideas, adopts the sense of the bat before stepping into the black void after his companions. Utter darkness falls and for a moment he finds himself quite disoriented...but then he hears a faint echoing bark and a looming chasm appears before him.
'find me'
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Serge
Frankie
Caller
Quang Chi
Meredith & Denair
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Haunt
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: None
Caller is UP!
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Quang Chi yells back over his shoulder to his teammate still outside darkness.
Looking at the statue in his hand, he remarks more quietly as if speaking to both it and the ghostly echo, "Yes, let us find your place."
But there is an issue to be dealt with first. Getting across this chasm. A chasm that wasn't there before, but must now be jumped. He focuses again on his training back at the monastery and how they taught him to sprint at speeds beyond human. He runs to thee edge of the chasm and leaps...
Quang Chi calls out to Caller, hoping to reach him across the void, and then focuses on his past training. Making sure to get a good running start he taps into said training to bolster his speed to a preternatural level, allowing him to effortlessly leap the chasm with ease!
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Serge
Frankie
Caller
Quang Chi
Meredith & Denair
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Haunt
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: None
Caller is UP!