The group returned to Cillamar, in order to investigate various open questions.  En route, they stopped at a couple of farmhouses to leave plundered weapons with the peasants they'd rescued from orcish slavery.  These homesteaders reported that they had also been viisted by Sapphira Silverhue, the elven ranger the party had also rescued, and the person in whom Brie at the Inn of the Slumbering Drake had seemed to have a special interest.

Arriving in time, the group began with a shopping trip - mainly selling items, and talked to the Glimers about the Clockwork Academy.  Apparently, this long-lost establishment was once the foremost centre of golem manufacturing in the known world.  The group also checked on Old Ned, whose apprenticeship with the Glimers seems to be progressing well.

The group then spoke with Lady Talbalt about the unhallowed Church of Denithae and the complex beneath it.  Following this conversation, they came to suspect that the strange pillars in one room were actually petrified people, who had then been enlarged via magic.  After several days of attempting to dispel the transmutation magic on the pillars, William finally succeeded, and the pillar did indeed shrink.  However, the group currently has no way to alleviate the effects of petrification, so they cannot confirm if the now life-sized statue is actually a person, or simply an ordinary statue that had been enlarged.

While this was going on, the group also spent some time talking to Lady Chauntessa about the ethnic tensions in the city.  She explained that these were due to a large influx of southern refugees in the past two years.  There is civil war in the empire of Zan'an, and supporters of all three factions in the war have fled north, bringing their animosities with them.  This, coupled with the fact that many of the refugees are desperate enough to work for a pittance - or to steal to survive, if they must - has caused considerable economic hardship and a strong backlash against the outsiders.

Lady Chauntessa also suggested that the group pursue some of their more esoteric research at Cillamar library, colorfully known as the "Hall of Worms".  She even gave them a letter of introduction to present to the irascible head of the library, the elderly gnome Or'dimisus.  With Chauntessa's sponsorship, and William's proof of his scholarly credentials, Or'dimisus begrudgingly allowed the group to pay for some research to be conducted at the library.  He also expressed an interest in the library of the Order of the Dawning Sun, offering to pay handsomely for any books from this establishment, if the heroes should locate it.

Or'dimisus's researchers turned up the following information:

The Duergar: According to Dwarven legend, the Duergar were corrupted by the lies of Norgrull the Mole-God.  The Duergar, by contrast, believe themselves to be the chosen race, destined to command all the riches of the world.  They are racist and xenophobic, though generally in a condescending and sneering manner rather than a genocidal one.

The Derro: A race of dwarves known to often work as servitors of the Duergar,and known for their racial propensity to mental disorders.  According to Dwarven and Duergar legend, the Derro are the descendants of those clans which lacked the courage to choose sides between the mole-like god of greed, Norgrull, and his adversary, Mother Kadirik.

The Outer Gods: The Outer Gods are ancient deities of the races from before the rise of men, elves and dwarves: the serpent folk and other foul species.  It is said that the blood of these ancient races still runs in the veins of some modern families, and that those with the taint are the tools - whether they know it or not - of the Outer Gods.  One of the texts in the Hall of Worms made reference to the wizard Pelltar, indicating that this wizard from six centuries ago was an expert on the Outer Gods.

Pelltar: Or'dimisus took the liberty of ordering further research into Pelltar.  This wizard was a member of an adventuring group known as the Company of the Black Osprey.  The Company controlled Castle Whiterock for a period of about 50 years, ending some 600 years ago after Pelltar and most of his companions vanished.  The members of the Company were:

• Pelltar, a human wizard
• Nim Softstep, a halfling rogue
• Lythe Abysstalker, a human cleric said to have had angelic blood in her veins
• Vallisneria, a half-elf druid
• General Koborth, a human fighter

Order of the Waxing Moon: A rival organisation to the Order of the Dawning Sun, the Waxing Moon has a monastery hidden somewhere in the Ul Dominor mountains, east of Cillamar.  The exact location is a secret; one of the tests of membership is to locate it.  The warriors of the Waxing Moon are reputed to have unique supernatural powers, connected to a theme of darkness.  Philosophically, they are strongly lawful, but mostly selfish and power-hungry.

Returning to the Inn, the heroes asked Lady Chauntessa if she knew anything of Lady Talbalt's father, who had disappeared in Castle Whiterock.  Lady Chauntessa explained that Lord Talbalt was a powerful champion of Justicia, who had been part of a group trying to slay Benthosustra - the Great Wyrm of the Mountain.  The heroes were a little surprised to learn that Castle Whiterock and the caverns beneath it were the home of a powerful red dragon.  Apparently the beast had twice attacked Cillamar, once nearly razing it, and the second time damaging the city's (still unrepaired) southern wall.

The group then investigated Umberwood Coffins, discovering the place in some confusion, as the owner, one Mortimer Umberwood, had vanished a few days earlier, along with most of the company's monetary assets.  Feeling compassion for the overworked and underpaid workers left behind, the group "pre-purchased" some coffins.  They also persuaded Mr Umberwood's landlady to let them investigate his apartment, discovering that the place looked like it had been barely lived in.

Finally, the party decided to make the acquaintance of the Sisters of Elyr; nuns dedicated to the service of the Lady of Healing.  The Abbotess there spoke with them, and mentioned that two of her nuns had been beaten for trying to provide alms to the Zan'anian refugees.  She had been unable to send her people into the Warrens since then. Given the heroes strength and skill, she asked if they might escort her followers in their holy duty.  The heroes, who already had an interest in the ethnic tensions, readily agreed.