Hera is not a bad choice, though I don't think she's very sympathetic to adulterous women (it's not like Poseidon was single)--and with Demeter, I was thinking of the Persephone angle for reuniting a mother with her children. Plus, Demeter presumably has it in for for Poseidon (http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/DemeterFamily.html#(1)%20DIVINE%%0LOVES%20(GODS)), though I don't know that Viola would be aware of that.
What does Calliope think of the question? Viola wants to know how much of the story Ipek told the woman, to see if the woman's suggestion was based on a solid knowledge of our story.
Calliope shakes her head. "Better to steer clear of Hera; she's jealous and obstinate, with little mercy or amiability. She may be better suited to aid us, but she's far less likely to."
As to what Lydia knows - she's heard the song, and Ipek has told her it's based on an actual situation which Viola is trying to rectify.
That should be enough for her to know. Viola doesn't quite have the vis she requested, though--just 4 pawns of Herbam. Will anything else, work? Say, Animal?
Does Viola have any idea what that form might be? The original form of the Herbam was wine, but she would have transferred it to something more portable.
Wheat and barley are fairly trivial. A snake is likely to be a bit harder - you'd have to actually go out and catch a snake.
The transfer spell will definitely require a roll - it's base 10 (so level 15 or 25, depending on whether you're doing Individual or Group), with one extra botch die per pawn of vis you're manipulating.
I think the rolls is (Mu 12 + 2 X Vi 5 +2 Sta + stress die) / 2--so she needs a 4. Are there any positive auras around?
As for finding a snake, let's go to somewhere likely to be inhabited by snakes, and cast an InAn spont to give her a (brief) magical sense:
Range Per, Dur Inst, T ?
Base 4 for finding out one fact about an animal (location), +3 hearing or +4 for vision
The example spell Hunter's Sense uses the amount of noise the animal would make if it were making noise to determine range, and snakes don't make much noise, but I'm not sure that the animal's own noises really have anything to do with the range of a magical sense used to determine its location. What do you think?
The aura around the village and temple ruins feels positive, but you haven't checked it to know the exact type and strength.
It's Rego you need to move vis, not Muto (the spell is basically "Gather the Essence of the Beast") - still doable, but a bit harder for her (and I think you'd got your arithmetic wrong previously - she needs to roll a 6 if ignoring the aura, not a 4). Go ahead and make the rolls for her - she'll need five successful rolls, each with two botch dice.
Agreed the snakes not making noise shouldn't stop you using the Hearing Target - I think that's just how Hunter's Sense in particular is set up. You're going to either need to cast it repeatedly or use concentration duration to pinpoint a snake's location, though.
Some rolls for the vis-moving:
(Why two botch dice?)
2, 9, 9, 5, 6, 9
I don't think she's going to get away with Conc without using Life-linked Spontaneous Magic, which is Not My Idea of Fun. Let's gather whatever information we may about where the snakes hang out around here.
[In addition to the default botch die, I thought you got one extra botch die per pawn of vis involved in the spell, even if it wasn't being used in the spell. However, looking at the main book I can't find anything other than the extra botch dice for using it, so either I'm mistaken or I'm looking in the wrong place. Either way it doesn't matter much right now, given you didn't roll a 0.]
The first spell doesn't succeed, but all of the others do, and Viola is able to transfer the vis once she has suitable receptables.
As to the snakes...Viola ends up leaving it to the grogs, who ask her whether she wants it alive or dead before one heads off for the afternoon. Ipek also starts to head off, saying something about wanting to explore the grove where you're meant to meet Lydia.
The grove is a short walk from the village, but on the other side of the hill such that it's not visible from the houses. It seems to consist mostly of oak trees.
[OOC: Give me Per + Aw and Per + SS rolls, and let me know any spells you're casting/other specific things you're doing.]
She doesn't have enough info to want to commit to casting spells, but she's generally peering around, paying careful attention to anything that might be non-mundane.
Awareness roll:
1 (unless alertness is involved) +2 Per + Stress die 0 (rolled 3 potential botch dice, all negative) = 3
Second Sight roll:
2 (unless this involves a regio) +2 Per + Stress die 0 (again, three negative botch dice) = 4
Assuming Constantine gets the same rolls and isn't also suffering from a bout of ADD....
Awareness:
4 (unless this involves alertness) +1 Per + Stress die 4 = 9
Second Sight roll:
3 (unless a regio) +1 Per + Stress die 2 = 6
This isn't particularly stressful, so I'll let the 0's count as 10's.
After an hour or so of peering around the grove, all of the evidence appears to be that this is, in fact, a fairly small and unexciting grove of trees. Its main advantage appears to lie in its location - close to the village, but out of sight of it - and also, Viola realises, in a blind spot from the watchtower, as is most of the route to it. Said route is, however, clearly in view from the outskirts of the trees - anyone at the edge of them would be able to see anyone approaching from some distance.
"Let's hide here overnight and watch what she does when she arrives" suggests Ipek.
This strikes Viola as a bad idea, since it might spook her, but Viola reckons that Ipek probably is going to do it whether Viola likes it or not...so we'll bed down for the night.
Viola will send Constantine to tell the rest of the party what we're doing, then have him return to help keep watch.
Note that Lydia said to meet her in two dawns, so you have a day spare. Are you doing anything with it?
The possibilities for hiding yourself in the grove are existent, but limited - this late in the year, a lot of the undergrowth has died back, and the trees have shed their leaves. There are certainly places you could stay out of a direct line of sight (up some of the trees, for starters), but Viola isn't sure how well any of them would stand up to an active search.
[OOC: Make a Dex + Stealth roll, and let me know of any magic you're using to enhance your hiding.]
"But how are we going to see what she's up to if she knows we're there?" Ipek asks when Viola sounds a note of caution around her plan.
The grogs eventually return with something Viola tentively identifies as a grass snake - a dark green snake around a meter long with no venom.
As to interesting areas - you've already explored most of the local area, at least lightly. Is there anything you're particularly keen to investigate further?