COMPLETED: Rescue of Novah and Viola

Maeve Grimjaw needs the party's help. 3 weeks ago Marreck Vortmouth wrote to Maeve concerning possible conspiracy amongst his order and he was going to pursue it. After going silent, Novah convinces the others that she would be able to covertly follow-up on Merreck's whereabouts. She too also stopped correspondence, finally Viola Willamay journeyed to Rubi'Sarha to pick up her mother's trail.
Unfortunately the inn she was staying at was burned down (the Sleeping Dog), however Clive and Maeve are confident she is still safe because she has a trinket that would have been able to call Clive to her at any time. Maeve can think of a few places she might go as well as some code names given to them by Novah; Maeve: Mother Bear, Clive: Crow, Novah: May Belle, Viola: Song Bird, and Marreck: Titan. First she might go to the Dueling Kettles a safe house setup by Novah run by brothers, Vil and Dromo. Second she may go to her College of Lore, however entry onto the grounds is prohibited and they'd need help from either a student or a teacher. Lastly she may go to a place known to very few, on the riverbank just South of The Old bridge lies a shrine to a forgotten god, if she went there a Sister of the Bulwark of Life, Clovet F. Harp would be able to tell them.
After talking with Maeve, Clive has some additional information. He himself is not that well adept in Divination magic but knows of someone, a Pale Matron, works in Rubi'Sarha as a fortune teller and would be willing to help them. He also gives Mess the latest description that the guards would have of him since his escape from Brak'Nol Prison.
Leaving the Cat on the Tin Roof they head East toward portside to the Dueling Kettles, run by Brothers Vil and Dromo. They arrive during the lunch rush and decide to sample the food and wait for a better opportunity to speak with one of the brothers. After the rush Mess goes to the man behind the counter a wide, and jovial man, after reporting they liked the food he shouts back to his brother to add it to the tally. They query after Song Bird to which Vil looks around and mentions they had some thrush had gotten caught in the rafters, but made a house for it and saw that it got off safe. Mess presses further, to which Vil seemingly changes subject and mentions he's got extra building supplies out back, Dromo will help track them down. Mess and Ostreliea head through the door to the kitchen, Dromo is a large muscular man but his face is pleasant like Vil's, he escorts them through the kitchen to the alley.
Dromo is holding a cleaver, "Where did you hear those names?" Mess nearly stumbles over himself explaining the Momma Bear sent them to find song bird, that she's an Adventurer's Lodge guild representative, he buys the story and says we can't be to careful. Those names were set up for member's of May Bell's association, The Hilt, but there must be some sort of trouble because Dromo and apparently Vil are suspicious and cautious about giving out any information. The party leaves knowing that Viola is safe but not where she is.
They push on to visit with the Pale Matron, in the Silver district. She works as an Oracle out of a tower near the mages college. After they ascend the stairs they are told to wait for an opening in the schedule, luckily their is one in just about half an hour, the faces of those that leave their appointments range from tearful, to cheerful. Once it's their turn they ascend yet another set of stairs to the top floor which is blocked off only by a set of beads. Each cross the threshold in turn until Mess attempts to enter, the Pale Matron refuses him entry, something about foul blood. Araz tries to defend him by saying you haven't even seen him, shes rises and crosses the table "I see him just as a i see you storm born." she refuses to budge on the issue and he's sent away. Libertas Dacia asks after Viola, she tells them that she escaped a place of fire, where... she draws out a symbol... this symbol pursued, then she went to a place of meat and mead found safety with two brothers. From there she went East and disappeared from her sight, wherever she is now it's warded against augury.
They then in turn ask about something personal, Pious asks about his sister, he's told that she is being held in a building of stone surrounded by fine guests, that their paths would cross again but to be weary of pitfalls and traps. Ostreliea asks about if her mother was still alive, she is and very comfortable. Araz asks about the woman who raised her, the Pale Matron clarifies that he means the woman who raised him and not the woman that birthed him. The woman that birthed him is happy while the woman that raised him is no longer here. Aethelin asks about her father, she knows his father he had come to get a fortune before his next adventure to the Kilimenga Expanse, he is alive and well somewhere deep in the jungle surrounded by many well armed men. She says that these fortunes were told as a favor to Clive and that they can leave without payment.
Frustrated at the lack of leads they head to another place Maeve had told them she might go, the Bulwark of Life. Tricky enough to get to as it lies in Gold District near the Golden Fangs fortress, better known as Oldfort. The security into this section of the city is more strict, but from temple district it's just a tad lighter, the guard not even minding the the obvious lies about names and destinations. They pass through and travel to the silent building that was once a medical wonder training the best healers the world had ever known, but now it lays barely marked by the dilapidated stone marker. The front hall is empty and dark but not unkempt, it's very obviously been cleaned recently, no one awaits them. Passing through a door they find a hallway extending back on the left side lecture halls or operation rooms. They hear voices from further ahead and press further, there is an older woman in white and red robes teaching several younger students. The teacher makes no mind of them and the students try and do the same, there are still more voices further in. An office nearly closed is the source, a woman is having a one side of a conversation. Ostreliea sneaks a peak inside as she passes the door in the hallway, upon looking in there is a single woman yet just beyond her there seems to be some sort of distortion. The rest, save Mess, try as well Pious sees the same, but Araz and Aethelin see no distortion but clutch their heads in pain.
Inside awaits Clovet F. Harp, they try and use the code names given them but Clovet can't be bothered. Viola had made no attempts to contact her and hadn't visited in several weeks with her mother. They show her the symbol given them by the Pale Matron, she identifies it as a clever adaptation of an apothecary mark for a rare flower from the Plain of Shadow in the Kilimenga Expanse, the Noctis Knell. Known for it's sweet smell and dire side effects if ingested, blindness. In 124RR Apothecary Dewitt first recorded the flower. In 232RR a team of apothecaries, Gimble, Naimes, and Littlemore isolated the compound responsible for the blindness, extracted it from the flower and developed a cure. This remedy was for more than just the blindness caused by the flower but all blindness and thus for an age blindness was universally cured through this means. The symbol being two triangles placed on their point sitting one within the other an isosceles triangle forming the base and an acute triangle emerging from above. The symbol they had presented was identical except it was also wrapped in a crescent moon. Sister Harp also noted that if you turned the symbol upside down it looks like a bell for which the flower got it's name, Noctis being night and Knell being bell.
The party decides it would be good to investigate the burnt out ruins of the Sleeping Dog, the last place Viola had stayed. Before entering the wreckage they question some of the surrounding townspeople, none of which were that helpful except one of them had known someone who was actually there during the fire. They track down Jeremy, seemingly a local drunkard, who recounts that one afternoon two people in cloaks walked into the bar. They were talking to the barkeep for a minute before drawing some strange weapons. One was a staff with a curved blade on one end, the other looked like a strange wand, which was correctly identified by Araz as a black powder pistol. Then there was a fire, it over took the whole counter and was spreading faster than any fire he'd ever seen. The doors were barred so he jumped out the window, a bunch of people got out but he didn't end up seeing either of those people again.
Returning to the burnt remains they investigate trying to identify sections of the rubble. The bar was pretty easily recognizable and so were the stairs, most of the dining area however was under rubble from the floor above. Amongst the debris they find three bodies, one behind the counter a hole in his chest, another wrapped in their cloak which had melted to their skin, and the last was now without cloak and wore a still recognizable vest. Pious tries to recreate the events, noting the place where the fire had begun, the positions of the bodies, and the lack of bodies anywhere else. The fire had spread from the wall across from the stairs, and indeed burned faster than one would have expected. The person wearing the vest had the same mark, the one drawn for them by the Pale Matron, pinned inside. Then in the vest pocket was an intact letter marking Viola Willamay, referencing her as the daughter of Novah Willamay and that she was to be taken to the warehouse alive.
They decided to take this new information back to Vil and Dromo and see what they could make of it or if they could explain any further. Vil gives them the same runaround at the door he had before and sends them out back with Dromo. Dromo wants to know why they are pursuing this so hard, their answer hadn't changed, they want to help Maeve. Dromo takes a look at the pendant and tells them that some organization going by Noctis Knell moved into Riverside and were swaying allegiances from The Hilt. Next they showed him the contract on Viola, he's taken a bit by surprise and questions them again on their loyalty's. Unable to keep from believing them any further he tells them about the safe house set up for her in Temple district, slipping them it's address.
They arrive in Temple District just before nightfall and think it best to wait. Ostreliea and Mess both scout out ahead, but the doorman's dog kills the undead rats that attempt to enter. Liea notices that someone arrives with a bag and then very soon leaves but otherwise quiet. They head inside to the intended room. Pious quickly picks the first lock but the door still doesn't budge, and he resorts to using his chime of opening to get inside. The room is pitch black, but smells of fresh baked bread. Looking around they notice each of the windows are blocked by some sort of furniture. There is food on the shelves and dishes in the sink, someone had been here recently. They check the bedroom again the windows are blocked, clothes are laid out on the floor. The only clues the find is a journal and that bag of fresh produce.
Reading the journal they discover it to be Viola's account from Marreck 's letter till now-ish. She followed her mom's footsteps which lead her to the Temple of Torag, that night two people came to get her, she burnt the inn down and ran to Vil and Dromo who were able to put her up here. She couldn't stop her search, she knows that Noctis Knell works out of Riverside and was attempting to track down their base of operations. On the very next page she suspects she's found it and is going to stake it out before rescuing her mom. However no details were written down for Libertas Dacia to follow.
They figure with the delivery of fresh produce that Viola will eventually be coming back to this place. They decide to take shifts and wait until morning. Sometime during Pious' watch he hears faint steps slowly approach the door, followed by a whisper and the distinct sound of a lock moving. Before it opens however the person is alerted to something and turns to run. Pious gives chase catching her on the stairs, by calling out her codename. She stops abruptly turning to recognize Pious. They return to the apartment and wake the rest of the party. She tries getting to the bottom of what's going on almost rejecting any offer to actually help but eventually caves telling them that she is pretty confident she knows where her mom is and that she plans on busting her out the next night.
She sleeps in until almost noon, she inquires as to any special ability they might have that could help her out. Ideally she'd like to get into wherever they are keeping her mom without raising any alarm. In turn they describe what they can do, she postpones any actual plan making until they see the location. She's been staking it out from an abandoned building across the street. They get lunch nearby so that they can go there two at a time.
Her and Pious have no trouble getting there undetected. Next are Aethelin and Araz, which begin to raise some suspicion. But it's not until Ostreliea and Mess try that someone at the warehouses decides to investigate. With some quick action Liea is able to Wild Shape and get her and Mess out of there, their pursuers never even caught a glimpse of them. Now all assembled they investigate the exterior of the building. The front is slightly higher than 25 feet the windows of the second floor are all covered. The first floor has a single door leading to an office and another leading to the storage area, alongside is a barn door that would allow for a cart to enter. She says the back has a similar door directly across from this one and a single door on the other side.
She hasn't been able to get a detailed look of the inside but she has seen at least one troll wandering the interior. Mess thinks he could solve that problem and sneaks a zombie bat in through an opening near the roof on this near side, the tall side of the building. They guards inside don't seem to pay too much mind to yet another flying creature taking up residence. It does some surveillance, there are some patrols of guards, two trolls, as well as some other rooms that the bat cannot get into. After the report Ostreliea decided to become a rat in order to squeeze under the doors. She scurries up to the second floor to investigate the four rooms. The first 3 are all sleeping quarters but the fourth is some kind of break room and a gruff man tries to stomp her in her rat form. She runs down the stairs where a troll threatens to eat her. She is able to duck out before being caught though and it doesn't seem like any within are much the wiser for their spy efforts.
With the knowledge they've gained Viola is confident that there is some hidden room within that they are holding her mother. The party is a little unsure as they didn't get a good look in the front room. Viola dismisses it out of hand though because anyone could walk right into the front office. To restrain her mom they'd need to make sure she couldn't speak and even then they'd need to take care, no ordinary confinement would do. With this new insight they are resolved about the raid tonight.
Adequately prepared the party mulls the plan, enter in by the back door, find the secret room, and get Novah out. The first part of the plan needs to be as stealthy as possible, afterwards if needs be they can go loud. They wait until nightfall to begin their assault.
Mess still has eyes on the inside and sees a reduced patrol in the evening, only 1 troll and two people walking the balustrade. They manage to get into position without trouble, Pious picks the lock. All is going smoothly until he opens it without realizing the bell in place over the back door. The troll calls out to the person patrolling closest to him that he heard something. The human makes note that there was some funny behavior in the neighborhood and be extra cautious. The troll goes to investigate. Mess casts them into a haunting shadow, something in the troll compels him to look away and the party is able to sneak past it unnoticed.
Now inside they attempt to keep out of the troll's path while they start investigating where there may be a secret room. Araz' first instinct is that one of these shelves may be covering something. Indeed after looking at them all, only one has a closed bottom. There a marks on the ground from the wear of moving the shelf. Worried about making noise they grease the path behind the shelf and lift as the push six inches at a time until the gap leading into a underground chamber is big enough for them to enter. They find a set of cut stone stairs leading to a metal door, inside is pitch black and a horrid smell wafts out. Mess pulls the slide open and enters the room.
Just inside are two dead bodies in different states of decay and a woman tied to a chair gagged. Viola is in soon after and rushes to the woman, hurriedly removing the gag. Novah spits out a warm greeting despite her apparent pain. Viola gets to work on the hands as Araz helps out on the feet. Ostrelia checks for any other way out of the room, to no avail.
After unbinding her hands Novah hugs Viola and asks to take a specific string from her violin and string it to hers. Araz finishes with the feet just as Viola finishes with the string. Novah is barely able to walk and upon inspecting her injuries the party notes in particular 3 fingernails are missing and her pinky is out of place. But after a moment she reclaims her balance and takes the violin from Viola before announcing to the party "Open the door, and then I want all of you to stay as close to me as possible. And no matter what you hear or feel keep your eyes on me" She holds Viola close once more before they head outside.
As soon as the shelf gets moved once more, Novah's violin whines into a haunting melody almost as though it's missing something. In pained response Novah sings an aria to drown the room in melancholic dissidence. She's definitely got the trolls attention, who thuds closer before a low rending of the sound silences it completely and showers the party in warm blood. The renting pull of the strings leaves a tingling feeling in all that can hear it, burrowing to the very core finding something primal and afraid. When the music finally fades, Novah tells them they can open their eyes. The entire warehouse had been flattened in the space of one song, nothing remained.
Novah returns the violin to Viola telling her that she needs to go now and that she'll be back. Viola nods knowingly before in a sound of rushing water Novah is gone. Viola guides the party back to the Bulwark of Life. They meet back up with Clovet F. Harp who scolds them for not telling her that they were in trouble. She ushers them off to bed, where they rest dreamlessly until they awake refreshed in the morning.
With the exception of Pious they all meet up in the dining area, Clovet and Viola are having a quiet chat over coffee. Clovet jumps up to serve their guests, Mess has coffee while the others pick from a wide assortment of teas. Ostreliea is drawn to one in particular Moon Lily Tea and asks Clovet about it. She explains the the lily is primarily used in the curing of Lycanthropy however in this dried form only its sweet fragrance is preserved. She collects a small book and gives it to Ostreliea, Apothecary's Guide of the Elder Road (See also Potion of the Brilliant Dawn ).
Once everyone has a warm beverage they sit and discuss what had happened the day before. Viola starts by asking the party what they know of her mother, they know only that she used to adventure with Maeve, Clive, and Marreck. She then tells them about after her time as an adventurer she became a Whisper of Secrets but before that she was what is known as a Herald of the Far.
Clovet takes hold of the explanation saying that Novah is one of only a few who are even capable of becoming such a one as a Herald of the Far. Of all the ones she's known Novah has shown the strongest resistance to the pull from the other side. Viola and Clovet are apparently at odds when it comes to the use of the Far to solve problems, Viola wanting her mother to be safe and rely on her own strength while Clovet seeing her control of the Far as her strength.
Eventually Clovet announces that Novah will be back soon and they should go and meet her. She guides them past the gardens and green houses to the ruins of The Old bridge, just next to it is what you would suspect is a fish from afar but up close seems closer to that aboleth they fought in Dagger Cove -Devils' Shipyard-. It's moist to the touch despite the river's waters never getting this high on the shore. Clovet says that this was once a rift into the Far Realm that had been mended, but remained weak enough for denizens of the primaterial plane to return through.
Soon after this explanation Novah reappears with the sound of falling water. She embraces Viola, upon wrapping her arms around her it's clear the the fingernails had already begun to regrow, either more time has passed for her or she was healed. She wants to go sit down before answering any questions, they retire to the gardens warmed by the morning sun. She explains to the them that she was following up on Marreck's lead when she was captured by some new group working from within the Temple of Torag, the Sentinels of Light. They were going to kill her until this new organization, Noctis Knell expressed desire to buy her. They tortured her for weeks on end trying to get secrets on The Hilt. She refused. They killed Marreck in front of her. She refused. They killed another member of the Hilt. She refused.
She clearly expresses that she knows she should mourn for Marreck but has to dig deeper to protect any others within either organizations cross hairs. She already knows that the Sentinels of Light are killing off adventurers of great renown. In her line of work she notices when people go missing, but it was never so abrupt as disappearing from a Temple or ever more than one at a time, each death seemed a natural end to an adventurer's life. Aethelin asks whether or not there is some pattern in those that have died, to which she says she'll need more time to investigate. She decides that before she heads home to Greensward that she'll have to get a roster from the Adventurer's Lodge here.
Several Days go by before Libertas Dacia meets back up with Novah, Viola, Clive, and Maeve.  Maeve is overcome with relief and joy that the party had gotten those two back safely.  Clive apologies again for not believing in them.  She informs them that Novah is recovering but they'll likely see Viola that night.  She is planning on hosting a party for their safe return day after tomorrow.