Jing greets the gathered townsfolk with a stiff bow and eyes filled with concern. They took an enormous step towards fixing what's wrong with Willowshore, but have yet to reach their destination. Knowing this, Jing weighs his words. "We learned about what caused the calamity that threw all of Willowshire into the mess we're in right now. I will tell you the details later, but what matters most right now is that we find the governor. Heh Shan-bo attempted to bolster the Tan Sugi but failed. In doing so, Heh Shan-bo allowed Kugaptee to spill into our world."
He pauses to give the townsfolk a moment to process this. He then continues. "From that moment, we've been 'stuck' here. All of us. We," and he eyes his companions before returning his attention to the gathered townsfolk. "We've all died before. How many times I cannot tell you, but at some point the cycle begins anew, and all of us are alive again. This cycle can be broken, for we broke part of it by defeating Xin Yue at the monastery, but to break it fully we need to find the governor. Heh Shan-bo somehow is the reason the curse is still alive. Why, what or how, I do not know. We can only speculate."
Jing readies himself for the torrent of questions that are sure to follow.
The townsfolk meet the revelation with confusion and apprehension, but your skillful delivery inspires them to place their trust in you, their champions and heroes. They hold onto hope that you will find a way to break the cycle.
There are still a few more weeks left in the fall season. Willowshore must be ready for whatever winter will bring...
You spend the week preparing to host a tea ceremony for paying customers, then perform the ceremony for attendees on the last day of the workweek, providing them with tea, light snacks, and scintillating conversation. Spend 10 gp on supplies. If, instead, you spend 100 gp on supplies, treat a failure as a success. Attempt a DC 19 Performance check or a DC 21 Society check.
Critical Success: The ceremony is an overwhelming success! You make a bit of money and earn 15 gp. The party gains 2 Hope Points.
Success: The tea ceremony is a success! The party gains 1 Hope Point.
Failure: The tea ceremony was disappointing. If another PC attempts to Host Ceremony this week, that attempt suffers a –1 circumstance penalty.
Critical Failure: The ceremony was a disaster. No one can Host Ceremony again this week, and any attempt to Host Ceremony next week suffers a –1 circumstance penalty to the check. The party loses 1 Hope Point.
As usually, a pause in danger means Kamo is only thinking about one thing...his stomach!
"I'll help bring in some of the crops. If I can't get dumplings this winter, I might walk out into the wall of ghosts!"
With the horrors of the monastery behind her, Pagma returns to simple farming, smiling and chatting with all the people that seem to want to help suddenly. Together they pull in a bunker crop.
Jing knows he's no good out in the fields and instead opts to help the townsfolk prepare Willowshow for winter. Alas, he has no talent for chopping wood.
Sakura feels a sense of relief and accomplishment as she returns to Willowshore with her companions. There are still a few weeks left in the fall season, and she knows the town must be ready for whatever winter will bring. She rolls up her sleeves and sets to work, determined to reinforce buildings, help craft repairs and improvements, and bolster the town's infrastructure.
Her days are filled with the sounds of hammers and saws, the smell of fresh wood and paint, and the satisfaction of seeing progress.
While her brother works the field, Little Kamo assists him by constantly sniffing and nudging Kamo's pockets, looking for treats. When he doesn't find any, he rolls around in the freshly harvested crops, getting covered in dirt and bits of plants, then runs over to Kamo to share the mess!
In the evenings, Sakura makes sure to spend time with Little Kamo and Yami, having missed them while she was away.
Yami the supernatural cat is happy to have you back at the teahouse. She brings Sakura a gift of a platinum coin as a welcome home present.
***
Willowshore Stables had a rough time of things during the summer, and unfortunately for its proprietor Kum Soon-chong, fall has more peril in store. Near the end of this week, a plume of dark smoke starts to rise from the main barn of Willowshore Stables. It doesn't take long before calls of "Fire!" ring through the streets.
You arrive on the scene quickly, but the fire has already engulfed the barn. The employees have managed to save the livestock by leading them into the pasture. However, the fire now threatens to spread into the pasture and potentially further into town.
Critical Success: Your efforts to fight the fire are enormously helpful. The party gains 2 Victory Points. In addition, your impressive efforts earn the party 1 Hope Point.
Success: Your firefighting efforts help the townsfolk stem the blaze. The party gains 1 Victory Point.
Failure: You did your best to assist but weren’t able to contribute anything particularly helpful. Worse, you got burned in the process and take 3d6 fire damage (DC 19 basic Reflex save).
Critical Failure: Disaster! Your attempt to fight the fire caused the flames to spread! Worse, you got badly burned in the process and take 3d10 fire damage (DC 19 basic Reflex save). The party loses 1 Victory Point.
Sakura takes charge of the situation!
"Everyone, listen up! We need to stop this fire from spreading. Form a bucket brigade over there, and start creating firebreaks around the barn and pasture. We can’t let this fire reach the rest of the town!"
Kamo listens to Sakura (for once) and joins the bucket brigade.
Pagma rushes to the bucket line, getting too close to the fire in her eagerness to help. A blaze of flame licks her hand blistering it almost immediately.
For once Jing feels like he can help, really help! Weaving magic and spell, Jing bestows protective enchantments on the townsfolk, allowing them to get real close to the fire. It doesn't help against the smoke, but at least the infernal heat won't burn them to a crisp.
While Pagma gets scorched, the rest of you work together with the townsfolk to quickly put the fire out. After the fire is put out, you can investigate the badly burnt barn. The investigation turns up an eerie bit of evidence—a charred tengu skeleton with a mark of crime etched on the skull, whose head seems to have been severed at the neck by a heavy blade, even though the skull and skeleton lie in place apparently intact.
Jing-De and Kamo both recall the short-lived reign of terror an arsonist named Nin Nok went on in Willowshore before she was captured and executed for her crimes—she was beheaded, and a mark of crime was etched on her skull to indicate her punishment in the afterlife before she was buried in an unmarked grave in the Bones of the Forgotten northwest of town. It only takes a few minutes of investigating at that graveyard to locate an unmarked grave that appears to have been dug up from within.
It would seem that, even without Kugaptee's direct influence, supernatural events are going to continue to befall Willowshore...
"We should rebury them, right?" Pagma says in the aftermath, looking to Jing. She is rubbing salve on her burned hands, then passes it on to anyone else with burns.
In the following week, the alchemist moves on to help shore up buildings. The barn burning down makes her more worried that their homes could go next.
"Yes, and I'll ask mother to take a look at the graveyard." Kamo joins in reinforcing the defensive buildings in town.
"Perhaps, brother, we should all go to the graveyard. I would hate to send her mother into a dangerous location."
Jing plans to help the townsfolk with the fields but oversleeps. Disturbing dreams of things yet to come, or already past yet about to happen once more, held him hostage throughout the night.
---
A weary-looking Jing considers Pagma's words and then, with slumped shoulders, answers her question. "Yes, we should. But, it might also be futile. Who knows, I don't. Let's do it and get it over with, for now."
You rebury the tengu's remains and consecrate the ground again. Hopefully, that will put the criminal's spirit to rest. Still, a sense of unease hangs over the whole affair...
***
You work over the next week to bolster the defenses of the town and gather more food. Granny Hu and Old Matsuki are both pleased with your progress, noting that both tasks have been adequately completed to face the coming winter.
***
On the first day of the tenth week of fall, the merchant Shinzo returns to Willowshore. The mysterious man arrives at the Cerulean Teahouse early in the morning, waiting patiently outside the front door where he has set up his cart. He greets you warmly, his raven Yix watching curiously from the top of his cart.
"Good morning, my friends! I must say, you have had a lot of success since First Long Night. The tonwsfolk's morale seems to be quite high, thanks to your efforts. In my experience, though, spiritual well-being is just as important as physical well-being—even if the town manages to fully prepare its food and shelter for winter, that doesn’t mean that its citizens shall thrive. While lifting the townsfolk’s spirits will help, it’s just as important to lift the spirits of the town’s actual spirits as well!
"I speak of the kami, of course. I believe you have spoken to the kodama Great Willow and the shikigami Kohoshi who guards the town's shrine to Desna. But there are many more shikigami that dwell throughout Willowshore, quietly hiding within and protecting statues, works of art, gardens, and road signs. If you were to create a special feast specifically for the town’s kami population, their delight will surely work wonders for Willowshore’s spiritual health."
"That makes perfect sense, Shinzo," Kamo agrees. "But don't most families take care of their own shikigami? I know we tend the ones at our house. Are there others in public areas that we could enlist?"
"Many families do give offerings to their kami," Shinzo affirms. "But the spirits are still likely frightened and uncertain about what the coming winter may bring to your beleaguered village. And as you said, there are many that keep their presence hidden. You should spend a day or two making offerings and giving prayers to let the kami know of the upcoming feast. I'd also suggest you hold it on the last day of the week, to let word spread and give you time to prepare.
"You may peruse my wares now, if you're so inclined. I'll return the day after the feast finishes with some special gifts you may use to enhance your teahouse."
You spend time preparing the teahouse for the upcoming feast, either by decorating it in a way the kami will appreciate or by gathering and staging ingredients and resources for the feast. Alternately, you spend time out in town offering prayers and gifts to the local kami to let them know that they’ve all been invited to the feast. To add to the festive flair, ask each player to describe how their character decorates, prepares, or makes invitations—a PC who comes up with a particularly fun or amusing description can be rewarded with a +1 status bonus to their check at your option.
To decorate the teahouse, attempt a DC 17 Art Lore or a DC 19 Performance check. This check’s results earn the party Decoration Points.
To prepare for the banquet itself, attempt a DC 17 Food or Drink Lore or a DC 19 Crafting check. This check’s results earn the party Banquet points.
To invite the kami, attempt a DC 17 Religion or a DC 19 Diplomacy check. This check’s results earn the party Entertainment Points.
If Great Willow has been successfully invited, word spreads. Every check to Prepare Feast after Great Willow is invited gains a +1 circumstance bonus.
Critical Success: The PCs gain 1 point as appropriate for the skill chosen, plus an additional 1 point for any of the three categories.
Success: The PCs gain 1 point as appropriate for the skill chosen.
Critical Failure: The PCs lose 1 point as appropriate for the skill chosen.
"I can help decorate the tea house or invite some kami to come along," Kamo offers. "What do you feel like doing?"
Unlike most domestic chores, Kamo seems excited about this break in the tension.
Something about Shinzo gives Jing the creeps. If all of them are stuck here, including the spirits of the land, what does that make of Shinzo? So far, Shinzo has been nothing but helpful, but still ...
"I will do as you suggest, Shinzo, and go around town to invite the Kami. You say you will return the day after, but why not partake?"
After they meet with Shinzo, Jing will go around town to invite the Kami just as he said he would. The young man stops at the unlikeliest of places and often finds himself having to crawl and force himself into uncomfortable places and positions so that he can sing them a merry invitation.
"Know you're invited to a feast, dear unseen friends, that will see to it that your bellies are full. Know we care, know we see, even though you're hidden, we have nothing but warmth and appreciation for ye."
"I've got the food!" the alchemist insists, bright and eager, almost bouncing in excitement. "We're inviting the Great Willow right? And Ugly Cute? And Yami? Well I guess everyone..."
With quill and paper, she makes grand designs, vast ingredient lists, wandering all over the village finding out what they had to make with.
There are also a lot of samples as she experiments. "Imagine you are a tree" she tells Sakura as she offers up a honied broth.
Kamo prepares the teahouse. It might not be white-glove clean, but there are certainly a lot of decorations!
Sakura is exhausted and really wants to be spending some time working on her forms and preparing for their next set of adventurers. Instead, she gets the arrival of Shinzo, who she never has trusted or liked.
She's in a grumpy mood all week long and attempts in helping prepare for the feast are uneventful at best.
After a week of preparations, the day of the banquet has arrived, and Willowshore is abuzz with townsfolk eagerly awaiting the event—while the feast isn’t for them, word has spread, and the townsfolk have decorated the streets to celebrate the event with offerings and homages to Willowshore’s kami. As the sun dips low in the sky and evening falls, an astonishing sight takes place—dozens of kami emerge from their wards, muttering and giggling and gossiping among themselves as they make their way up the streets toward the Cerulean Teahouse. They ignore the gawking townsfolk who watch the growing parade with delight, but as they approach the teahouse, they “oooh” and “ahhh” in wonder at the preparations made just for them.
Great Willow towers more than a foot above the two-foot-tall shikigami, who themselves number nearly 40 in all—well over twice the amount of kami that anyone in town suspected dwelt within Willowshore. They bustle and hustle as they swarm into the teahouse and immediately settle in throughout the building, chattering among themselves about kami gossip and marveling—or perhaps mocking—your work. As you perform the feast, the kami tend to ignore you and focus on the decor and the food, eventually providing their own entertainment as well.
DECORATIONS: The kami appreciate artistry and creativity when it comes to decorating a gala like this and have a strange habit of treating inanimate objects and works of art as fellow people, complimenting these objects and even engaging in one-sided discussions with them.
BANQUET: Once the kami settle in, they immediately expect to be served tea and snacks in the proper way. The quality of the tea and food served helps to bolster the feast.
Success: The kami are delighted by the ceremony, and upon returning home, they pay back their hosts for the rest of winter by helping to protect the town’s food stores. The PCs gain 1 Food Point.
Failure: The kami are disappointed but don’t openly mock the PCs for their service.
Critical Failure: The kami are insulted by the ceremony and abandon the feast partway through. The PCs don’t get a chance to perform for the kami, and worse, the kami decide to make up for the insult by periodically raiding Willowshore’s food stores. The PCs lose 1 Food Point and 1 Hope Point.
Kamo tries to keep a strained smile on his face as the kami muss the decorations he worked so hard on. He helps Pagma to lay out the tea ceremony.
With Kamo at her side, Pagma leans over the tray and adjusts the pot with the three quarters turn "there" softly said with the grave importance that comes from someone who knows how important a properly laid tea set is.
She looks up to see the spirits enjoying the decorations and that makes her smile so brightly "it is going so well"
The tea service is spectacular, and the kami are suitably impressed! You can see the delight on their faces as they partake of the banquet.
One thing that intrigued the kami about the invitation to a banquet was the opportunity for entertainment, and whispers and guesses as to what sort of show they might be treated to remains a frequent topic during the feast. Once the meal is over, though, the kami as a group begin demanding the “post meal show.”
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Pagma had an accident in her lab one day, which in itself is not uncommon. This day it produced this multicolored molten coating that covered her desk. A desk she stubbed her toe and producing a shriek of pain.
The coating reacted.
Tonight she produced a small stage, poured the vibrant mix on the stage, then coaxed her spider to the center of it. Tik had a little helmet made of felt, a shield of bamboo and one leg painted like a spear.
Then Pagma started to sing. She does it all the time when she works, rarely on purpose. Her song is an odd melody of various pitches, nice but on its own, not stunning.
But the sounds make the coating of the stage move into shapes. A broken village, a crowd of villagers (semi distinct) sad. The hero Tik patting them in sympathy. A goodbye to another, a spider shape of pink, nuzzling.
Then shambling bog men are fought, Tik performing deeds of protective daring, one after another, even jumping on a huge bog man to stab his spear leg into the back of the neck.
Lastly a return, a nuzzle, then all settles when Pagma's song finally stops. Tik then bows.
Kamo turns cleaning up from the tea party into a form of entertainment, stacking tea cups and trays sky high, then seeing how many he can carry at the same time.
As a finale, he invites several of the small kami to jump on top of the pile. It sways in the air, but luckily Kamo manages to keep everything from tumbling down!
Sakura ties a long, flowing ribbon to her katana and ignites it with a torch. She watches the flames dancing along its length and takes a deep breath.
She begins her performance with powerful, sweeping strikes and fluid, controlled movements, the fiery ribbon trailing behind her in mesmerizing patterns. Each slash of her katana is strong and precise, a practiced movement she’d performed countless times before. As she swings her blade, the flames create an entrancing display of light and heat. She moves with strength and determination, attempting to weave the fiery ribbon in an entrancing display of both elegance and power.
The kami cheer and applaud as they are thoroughly entertained by your perfomances. Soon thereafter, the banquet comes to an end. The kami had a great time, but they suddenly realize they’ve been away from their wards for quite a long time and quickly disperse through the streets, forming a delightful spectacle for the townsfolk.
The teahouse is kind of a mess after some of the more rowdy kami trashed it, but at least they had fun!
The next morning, each of you find a gift waiting for you in the Cerulean Teahouse. Kamo and Sakura each receive a +1 armor potency rune. Jing-De receives a wand of calm. Pagma receives an eternal eruption.
As promised, Shinzo returns that day as well to congratulate you on your success. With a flourish, the mysterious merchant hands over a large book bound in green cloth that exudes the fine scent of tea. This book contains recipes for several magic teas, as well as a ritual that may prove useful!
Jing stands next to the sliding door and makes a short bow to say goodbye whenever a Kami exits. "Willowshore thanks you, spirit friend." When all the Kami have left, Jing's back aches and his throat is in dire need of some warm tea with honey.
"I think we did well," he offers his companions when the cavalcade has passed, and the teahouse has fallen silent.
"It went AMAZING!" the alchemist twirls, clutching her ever exploding wonderment. Around and around, making everyone worried that she'll drop the bead and Poof the tea house would be magmaed. But she doesn't, and after a minute she grins, puts the bead in a pocket and announces "I'll make tea."
"Yes, we did well," she agrees with Jing and Pags, a satisfied smile on her face. "but now, we have some cleaning to do." She hands Kamo a broom.
"Let's get this place back in order. We've shown we can handle anything thrown at us, even a wild kami party."
She rolls up her sleeves, ready to dive into cleaning.
There are only a few more weeks left until winter. You work to help bolster the town. Yami delivers Sakura a gift in the form of a lesser talisman cord.
One night in the middle of the week, Sakura has a harrowing nightmare. In the dream, she steps outside of her house to find that everyone in Willowshore has changed. They’re going about their business normally, but each and every person’s head has been replaced by a tiny cloud of fluttering blood-red butterflies. The other townsfolk ignore Sakura, who increasingly becomes aware of something unseen that’s coming after her, stealthily pursuing her. Just as this unseen stalker is about to reveal themself, though, Sakura awakes—only to see a disembodied ghostly face staring at her from the foot of the bed. Worse, the face watching her sleep is her own!
As soon as Sakura looks upon this ghostly face, the face breaks apart into a cloud of red butterflies that swoops around the warrior, their wings like razors that cut the flesh. An instant later, the butterflies are gone, and Sakura lies awake in bed—a dead, blood-red butterfly lies crushed on the pillow beside her...
RARE CURSE MAGICAL NECROMANCY
You’ve come face-to-face with your own ghost, and something is keeping it trapped.
Saving Throw DC 19 Will; Effect You realize that you’ve witnessed your own ghost, peering back from the future in an attempt to warn you of what will soon kill you, only for that same unknown force to tear your ghost away and leave you cursed with the conviction that what will eventually kill you now knows where you are. You suffer a –1 penalty to all saving throws against fear effects. Additionally, each time you’re reduced to 0 Hit Points, you grow that much closer to your true death and become stupefied 1 for the next 24 hours. This duration doesn’t stack but does reset each time you nearly die.
Kamo gets to work repairing the tea house. He starts to grumble about the mess, then remembers that a kami could pretty much be watching from anywhere.
"Our guests were a bit rowdy, but I suppose that means they were just having a good time."
Sakura wakes up with a start, her heart pounding as she tries to shake off the remnants of the nightmare. The eerie sensation of seeing her own ghost still lingers, and she can feel the ghostly butterflies cuts on her skin.
Sakura looks around her room and sees a dead, blood-red butterfly lying crushed on her pillow and screams. She leaps from her bed, throws her pillow and sheet off her, and dashes out the door into the night.
Not ready to return to bed and determined not to let the nightmare get the best of her, she walks around Willowshore to clear her mind.
Jing joins up with Kamo and does what he can to help. He isn't particularly gifted at manual labor but gives it an honest effort. "I thought about that last night before sleep found me. Perhaps the Kami don't see objects and things as we do, and their relationship to material things is intrinsically different. They seem most willing to gift us all kinds of objects, but they do insist that we pay attention to them, and honor them in transitional ways. And yes, I did fall asleep like right away."
You fix up the teahouse and finish up your last efforts to gather food and bolster the town's security. As fall comes to a close, the sunny days are a thing of the past and rain and wind become the new norm. Temperatures drop, frost dusts the ground each morning. Winter is coming, and all you can do is hope that you've done enough to prepare Willowshore for the season...
Pagma helps out with the security of the town, enjoying the regular improvement of fences, rooves, and roads.
During the week, once Kamo and Jing have fixed up the tea house. Pagme hosts another tea party, but just for them.
Hundreds of paper rose petals drift down from the ceiling, remnants from her attempts at lantern making. Small pools of cucumber water and ginger scented candles are placed at the corners of the tatami table she's prepared for them.
In the center is their most elegant tea set, the smell of chrysanthenum and honey wafting to their noses. A host of tiny little cookie and sweet biscuits surround the pot.
"I thought we deserved a moment to ourselves" she smiled at the three people that she has become the closest to in these last few months. "And nice dreams." she pours the tea for each of her friends, careful precision with each dipping pour. "I didn't have the money to buy the expensive tea leaves from that odd merchant, so it isn't as potent as the book he gave us suggests, but it might help... quieten what we've seen." the smile is softer, holding its stress at the horrors they've overcome.
Act 3: No Breath to Cry
Part 1: Oblivion of Truth
The final day of fall is a cold and blustery morning. As you have breakfast at the teahouse, a group of concerned townsfolk arrives with disturbing news: Kum Soon-chong, the proprietor of Willowshore Stables who has had a rough go of things the past few months, seems to have vanished without a trace. His son woke up this morning to find no trace of the man. There doesn't seem to be any signs of violence or foul play. He appears to have simply just disappeared...
You don't have much time to look into this mystery, however. At mid-morning, you spot eerie plumes of red smoke begininng to rise from the Cloud Paper House on the southern shore of Woodraft Lake. Any fears that the smoke rising from the papermaking factory resulted from a fire are put to rest as you approach, though, for no flames are visible; the crimson color of the plumes appears particularly unnatural. The dozens of frightened townsfolk gathered in the streets tell you that parts of the building have simply been vanishing into smoke, causing the structure to begin to collapse. But three civilians are trapped inside the building!
"What in the world?!" Kamo grasps. "Hurry, we have to get people out before they are buried--or before they vanish! Stay away from that smoke."
Pagma was moving toward the smoke with her hand held out as if to touch it. She quickly pulls her arm back at Kamo's barking command. The rampant curiosity fleeing from her face. "Yes, um... that is probably wise." then she hurries to go help
The mysterious smoke gives Jing the shivers. Is Kugaptee trying to change the rules of the game now that they've managed to get further than they seemingly have ever gotten before?
"Empress protect us! Fine, let's do this before it's too late!"
Sakura feels the rush of adrenaline and urgency as the plumes of crimson smoke rise ominously from the house. The cries and murmurs of the frightened townsfolk are worrisome, but Sakura knows she must focus on the immediate task at hand: saving the civilians trapped inside.
"Come on, we need to move quickly!" Sakura urges her companions, already sprinting towards the collapsing building.
Whatever is happening is beyond Kamo's understanding. As you approach the building, four glowing gold eyes blaze into existence in the smoke, moving forward without a body or legs to carry them. A monstrous red visage bleeds into air around them for just a moment, yellowed fangs twisting gruesomely out of its mouth before abruptly vanishing. Black sleeves billow around a crimson body, slipping into reality in torrents of cloth, as they leak rolling clouds of incense before collapsing into ash and blowing away in the wind. A few paces more, and the golden eyes wink out. The acrid smell of smoke remains, as do calls of help from the collapsing building beyond. It seems like the figure was performing some sort of ritual, but was likely little more than a figment created by the powerful magic afflicting the region.
As you enter the building, you take stock of the situation. Three people are trapped here, each one dealing with their own troubles:
A1. Aruka is a solidly built kitsune woman who was hauling logs when the ceiling fell all around her, knocking her to the ground and pinning her leg under a collapsed table. She struggles to free herself.
A2. Yu Er is a five-year-old girl who snuck into a loft in the rafters to play. When the building began to collapse, she fell through the loft floor but was lucky enough to fall into a mass of paper pulp on the ground and only suffered superficial scrapes. However, she’s quite distressed that her favorite doll, Mr. Jelly, remains hanging by its cape from a snapped bamboo pole protruding from the ceiling hole above. The doll is a straw-stuffed, six-limbed humanoid wearing a mask and a cape. One of Yu Er's parents is trying to collect her, but the girl resists, crying in fear and reaching up helplessly for Mr. Jelly.
A3. Zhen Luoyang is a spry, elderley man. He was delivering a homemade lunch to his nephew (a particularly panicked young man in the crowd watching the disaster unfold) who works in the mill when chaos struck. When the building first began to collapse, a blast of debris showered down on him and left him senseless, but also buried him under a layer of crumbled plaster and dust.
Complicating the rescue effort are two flickering humanoid shapes like the one you glimpsed outside. They stride purposefully across the ground, creating distortions in reality around it that cause wood to twist and decay. If left unchecked, you won't have long to rescue those inside the building before the whole thing collapses...
Sakura dashes to the woman trapped in the debris. Her first attempt to free her fails as she grabs a hold of the wrong piece. Trying again, she is able to hoist the table up high enough for the kistune woman to get free.
"Hurry!" she says, straining to hold the table up high enough.