One Piercing Note

One Piercing Note is a novice quest which continues from the legend described in the story of The Song From Before The War. The theme of the quest is that of a murder mystery, specifically uncovering the motives of the murder. The quest was the first to be fully voiced and contains an extensive amount of audio.

The Abbey
Head east from Al Kharid, through the gate beside of Ranael's Super Skirt Store, past the Desert strykewyrms, to the Citharede Abbey. A strykewyrm hunter will speak to you before you can enter and tell you about the Abbey of Saint Elspeth. As you enter the Abbey, you will hear a group of troubadours singing, and see one of the sisters waiting for you. Speak to this Sister Catherina, who will tell you that Abbess Benita has asked her to wait for an adventurer to arrive, although she doesn't know why. She will tell you to immediately head for Benita's office, which is in the north-west of the Abbey.

Sister Anna's death
Abbess Benita wants you to investigate the murder of one of their sisters, which she had not yet told the others about. She says she last saw Sister Anna at Vespers the day before, and found her body when she didn't turn up for Compline. She hands over a key to Sister Anna's cell, so that her private room can be investigated. She also wants Sister Anna's body to be inspected, and for the people around the Abbey to be questioned. Abbess Benita will also request to be subtle in their investigations as she doesn't want the murder to be known. She will give you a notebook to keep track of progress with the investigation. This can be useful if missing a clue, since lines of investigation are crossed out if all the clues involved with them are found.

Cell
Sister Anna's cell is in the south-east corner of the Abbey with the rest of the cells. Read the doors to find the correct one and open it with the key. Here, inspect the bed to find a cloth fragment, and the window to reveal it was broken from inside. In the north western part of the Abbey is the applicants room, in which you will find another cloth fragment on the bed.

Body
Sister Anna's body is in the infirmary, in the south-west corner of the Abbey. The abbess prepared it for burial herself and forbade the other sisters from seeing it. Investigate the body simply by clicking on the bed covered with grey blanket. The information about Sister Anna's body and her wounds will be revealed. The body will give up to five clues.

Questioning the Suspects
A total of five people found in and around the monastery will need to be questioned. The order in which you speak to them does not matter. When you have spoken to the suspects correctly, you will be notified that you have gathered clues that will appear in the chat box in red text. Make sure you get all the clues to continue.


 * Sister Cecilia - located in the Altar Room of the abbey, with the choir (3 Clues)
 * Sister Debora (Feet) - located in the clock tower (2 Clues)
 * Sister Elena - located in the kitchen (3 Clues)
 * Valerio (Troubadour) - located outside the abbey (3 Clues)
 * Sister Catherina - located in the Altar Room of the abbey, opposite the side of the choir (2 Clues)

All of the questions must be asked of each suspect.

Valerio and sister Catherina both ask you why are you asking such questions. Telling them the truth or following Abbess Benita's orders won't change the outcome of the quest.

Run through all the options when speaking to each suspect, to avoid missing the clues, resulting in failing to continue the quest.

Sister Debora (called Feet when first encountered), who can be found upstairs in the clock tower in the north-east corner, confuses the adventurer with Sister Catherina and asks for help with setting up the correct time on the clock. She says how the clock is incorrect, which can be fixed by rotating the hands. Set them to the 12 o'clock position. As soon as it is fixed she will come out of the clock; You may now question her.

Return to Abbess Benita and say that you are finished. If clues are missing, she will say how many have yet to be found. Once all the clues are found, say who you think is the killer. The option chosen doesn't matter since the result will be the same. A cutscene occurs and a scream will be heard.

Sister Elena's death
Follow the sound of the scream to the cellar. The door to the kitchen has been blocked, so players will need to go via the Chapel to get there. Go down the stairs, and you'll find Elena's corpse, along with Cecillia panicking. Benita will then say that she cannot hide this any longer, and will ask for you to find clues.

First, investigate the bloodstains and the body. '''Do NOT search the Reliquary (providing that it is open). If you choose yes and are not wearing anything Saradomin related, you will get hit for your current life points minus one.'''


 * Search the robe cabinet directly south of Elena's body. Be sure to look carefully, as it can be difficult to find in the dark.


 * Return to Benita and ask for the cell key for Elena's cell, which she will give. Search her bed and a bundle of letters will be found. Make sure to read the letters once you have them. Talk to Benita about them.


 * Next, search the sack in the kitchen to the east of the Abbess (where Sister Elena was).


 * Talk to Valerio (only after having read the letters will the options from Sister Elena's death be available)


 * Finally, speak to Cecilia and learn that she saw the Ripper demon.

Once all the clues related to Sister Elena's murder are found, return to Benita to submit what you have found and she will ask who killed Sister Elena. Again, the option chosen does not matter. She then asks the adventurer to bring Sister Catherina back inside for her own safety.

Sister Catherina's death
Go outside and talk to Sister Catherina, who is dancing with the troubadours. Pick the first option to take her back inside (will not work if you have not found all previous clues). She agrees to go back in, but another cutscene occurs. As the player passes through the gateway, the gate comes down and Catherina is locked outside. The player may only watch as "The Ripper" jumps down and kills Catherina. Valerio rushes to try to save her, interrupting the killer, but is too late.

Climb up the ladder near the gate and operate the winch to open the gate. Go out and investigate the body or talk to Valerio. Benita also appears, and after a brief conversation. The adventurer and Valerio are summoned to the Abbess' office.

In the office, you again have to choose an option for who you think is the murderer, but it again does not matter. In further conversation, suggest making a trap to catch the killer. Suggest A New Victim as bait for the killer. Then you need to choose "They were all associated with Valerio".

After the conversation, pick up a cabbage from the small field and then head downstairs to the cellar. Move the nearby candelabrum or tri-candle stand next to the Reliquary. The candelabrum can be difficult to see in low detail. Taking care to not accidentally select eat, put the cabbage on it. More could be picked from the centre of the Abbey. Search the robe cabinet for a set of Citharede robes, put them on the candelabrum to finish off Sister Cabbage and hide in the cabinet.

The Final Conflict
Another cutscene will play where The Killer arrives and attacks the dummy. Exit the cabinet and try to knock the killer out. However, the killer is not knocked out and runs away up the stairs. Chase it around the abbey. Small cutscenes will play to show where the killer is running.

It heads to the kitchen, then outside to the gate which is closed. Two of Valerio's group block the gate, making the Ripper run to the prayer area. The sisters do not notice, and the killer runs up to the clock tower.

Once at the clock tower, the killer takes Sister Debora as a hostage and it is revealed that the killer was Sister Anna. You cannot fight her, only have a conversation with her. She believes she is the Spirit of Saint Elspeth and that Saradomin wished the dancers to die. She explains that she killed all the sisters because of their lust to dance, which she finds evil in her possessed mind. She killed the Abbey applicant, Isabella, and dressed her in Abbey robes to look like Sister Anna's body.

There is no way to convince her to release Debora and surrender. To stop her, go down one floor and operate the clock mechanism, setting the time to twelve o'clock, where the both hands hits the topmost notch. Contrary to most clocks the thin hand is the hour hand and the thick hand is the minute hand.

Return and talk to Sister Anna again. In order for the bell to ring, you will have to select the option that refers to a bell while talking to Sister Anna. This will result in the bell ringing, causing her to cower due to the noise. Sister Debora pulls off Sister Anna's claws, throwing them off of the tower. Talk to Sister Debora and she will leave. You must talk to Sister Debora first or Anna will ignore you. Anna will break from her madness and regret her actions. Three options will appear as you talk to Sister Anna. However, choosing any of them results in Sister Anna falling off the tower, either by her own delusional choice, or by your own choice; the choice will not affect the outcome, or the rewards of the quest.



Finishing up
After the cutscene you are returned to Abbess Benita's office, where you have two choices:

You can either reveal Anna as the culprit, to the horror of the Abbess and Valerio, who will indicate that both her resignation and the possible disintegration of the order may result. The second choice is to reveal The Ripper demon who possessed her as the offender.

Regardless of your choice, Abbess Benita will thank and reward you.

Congratulations, quest complete!

Rewards



 * 2 quest points
 * Citharede robes
 * The ability to recharge 33 Prayer points per tick while listening to a Musician (when wearing all 4 Citharede robe-pieces).
 * Troubadour Dance emote
 * Ability to make Illuminated god books (with a requirement of level and )
 * The first time each Illuminated god book is made, you will receive 10,000 experience in both Prayer and Crafting, per type of (completed) god book. (Making a total experience reward possible of 60,000 in both Prayer and Crafting.)
 * The ability to obtain Saint Elspeth's Holy Cithara from the Reliquary beneath the Abbey and gain an additional . Certain other items are needed to achieve this and are listed here.
 * The ability to obtain Saint Elspeth's Holy Cithara from the Reliquary beneath the Abbey and gain an additional . Certain other items are needed to achieve this and are listed here.

Music Unlocked

 * Valerio's Song - upon entering the Abbey (quest not required)
 * Traveller's Tale - upon exiting the Abbey gate during Sister Elena's murder investigation
 * Troubadour Dance - upon exiting the Abbey gate when tasked to escort Sister Catherina back
 * Citharede Requiem - during the first cutscene of funeral ceremony
 * The Abbey
 * Requiem Rehearsal
 * There Has Been a Murder

Required for completing

 * Desert Tasks:
 * Easy: "Wiggle Room"
 * Elite: "A, B, Cithara"

Pre-release
In the lead-up to the quest, the Lore The Song From Before The War was released, containing hints about the quest and the lore attached to it. A One Piercing Note developer's blog was also released days after.

The location of the quest was revealed at RuneFest, and the desert was altered in an update a week before release to make room for the Abbey.

Audio hints were released through Skaldrun's Images forum thread, the first time audio hints have been used:


 * Lyrics: Holy Elspeth guide our tongues to sing to Saradomin's grace. Grant us the vision that you saw to hold before us all our days.
 * Lyrics: Teach us to stand fast, as you stood, undaunted by the demon's cries. The clash of battle shook you not, nor heeded you Zamorak's lies.
 * Lyrics: Teach us that single piercing note that rang out with your final breath. Thou shook to ash the demon's heart; brought it to silence and to death.

Trivia

 * On the first day of the quest's release, the rewards portion on the quest help said "The spoilers departed with a shrill scream. We'll reveal more soon, once we've pieced together the evidence."
 * Next to one of the dancers is a lyric sheet with the Valerio's song on it, also a hymn book next to the choir for their song.
 * After the quest you can encourage Sister Cecilia to leave the Abbey or stay. If you tell her to leave she joins Valerio and drops the title of Sister.
 * Your Adventurer's Log will say "I discovered the identity of the murderer in the Citharede Abbey" once you have finished the quest.
 * One of the suggestions you could make when trying to find the killer is "I'll kill them all and Saradomin can sort it out". This is a reference to the phrase "Kill them all and let God sort them out", supposedly said by the papal legate Arnaud Amalric, during the siege of the French city of in 13th century.
 * The quest bears much comparison with the Murder Mystery quest. Both are novice, no-requirement murder mystery quests that take place within a relatively confined area. Also, both feature a character named Anna (Anna vs. Sister Anna). The quests also have characters whose names begin with the first few letters of the alphabet (Anna, Bob, Carol, David, Elizabeth and Frank in Murder Mystery vs. Sister Anna, Abbess Benita, Sisters Catherina/Cecelia, Sister Debora and Sister Elena in One Piercing Note). The two quests are explicitly contrasted in the developers' blog released before One Piercing Note, which stated that the main difference between the two is that Murder Mystery focused on the who of the murder while One Piercing Note focused on the why.
 * When you ask Sister Debora about what she thought of Sister Anna she makes a reference to the devised by William Paley. This analogy is a philosophical argument that compares the world to a clock, and God to the clock maker.
 * The name Cecilia is the name of the patron saint of music.
 * Sister Catherina could be a reference to the main character from the movie "The Sound of Music" Baroness Elsa Schraeder, given both character's upbringing in a church, love for music and dance and similar physical appearances.
 * If you leave the scene after Catherina is killed but before opening the portcullis, when you come back you may find that the portcullis is open, Valerio is absent, and examining the body does nothing. This can be fixed by logging out and logging in again. It may or may not be necessary to be inside the abbey when you log out.
 * The Troubadour is an infamous music venue located in Los Angeles, California.