Mika decided to return to the sewers to determine where the cultist’s lair lay in relation to the rest of Bogenhafen.  She discovered that the lair had been repaired, although the copper circle in which demons had appeared had been sawn off and removed.  Taking note of the location of sewer inlets, Mika determined that the lair lay directly beneath the offices of the Steinhager family’s merchant business.

After Mika reported her findings, the party split and went its separate ways.  Ploncie set off for the town hall to find what he could about the Steinhager family, Mika and Gabby set off for the archery contest at the fair, while Harry and Snorr set off for the cattle markets.

Both Snorr and Harry counted the visit to the cattle markets as a success.  Snorr finally managed to sell his flock of sheep for what he felt was a tidy sum, while Harry sold his horse for a significantly larger pile of gold.

Ploncie’s visit to the town hall was less successful as he failed to convince an administrator to help him with his enquiries.

Even less successful was the “masked archer” and her appearance at the town fair’s archery contest.  Mika bowed out of the competition in the first round, having the worst result of all the competitors.  Still, she at least retained her dignity, with some thanks for that going to Gabby who prepared a rather impressive costume and led some cheer-leading amongst the crowd.

That afternoon Ploncie went out drinking with Josef.  He chose a bar in the noble district and made some subtle enquiries about the Steinhager family.  He discovered that it had been a house on the wane, until Franz Steinhager took control of its operations.  The house now made most of its money from mine operations in the Grey Mountains.  Franz was assisted in his dealings by his younger brother Heinrich, and the two of them lived in the noble quarter of town in a grand house next to another noble home – that of the Tergen family.

After leaving the bar, Ploncie visited the Physician’s Guild and made an appointment to see a doctor for the following day.  Ploncie then returned to the boat and told his companions that he had decided to spend the next day resting and recovering from his wounds and tucked himself into bed. 

The next morning, while Ploncie lay about not contributing in any meaningful manner whatsoever, his fellow adventurers set off to do some real investigating.

Gabby set off for the offices of the Steinhager family.  Here he posed as a wine merchant from the Moot and managed to arrange an interview with Franz Steinhager himself.  While speaking to Mr Steinhager Gabby noticed a letter on his desk with some rather demonic imagery.  Gabby was unable to read what the letter said, but did manage to arrange a further interview by promising to return with samples of special Halfling wine.

Meanwhile Mika spent most of the morning at a local temple.  Here she discovered that Bogenhafen had four noble families, the Steinhagers, the Tergens, the Hagens and the Ragbroders.

In the afternoon Mika scouted out the Adelring gardens in the noble district and found herself a place to hide and wait until the gardens (and the district) were locked up for the night.

While Mika spent the afternoon in hiding, Harry went shopping and Snorr visited the Steinhager offices on the pretence that he was seeking employment in the mines.  Snorr was less successful than Gabby in his enquiries and was turned away without an interview.

Gabby had spent the time after his interview buying wine of Josef and infusing it with a range of herbs and spices.  He returned to the Steinhager offices in the afternoon with several bottles of his concoction and was shown into a room containing both Franz Steinhager and his head wine-taster.  Much to Gabby’s surprise, these two enjoyed the flavoured wine and placed an order for a case.  During the interview Gabby managed to steal the note he had spotted earlier.  When he met up with his friends again sometime later they were able to tell him that it read:

“An hour after sunset at my house.

All members of the Inner Council will attend.

Johannes Tergen.”

Gabby began to walk back to the boat as night began to fall.  On his way he was set upon by 8 armed ruffians.  They roughed him up a bit and told him not to meddle in affairs that do not concern him.  Gabby managed to escape and returned to the boat where he spent the night rapidly churning out more “Halfling wine” in order to fulfil Mr Steinhager’s order. 

Some of Gabby’s companions left him to seek rumours and possible jobs in bars at the noble end of town.  They managed to drink a fair amount, but discovered little.

Meanwhile, Mika watched the guards lock the gates to the Adelring and then leave before sneaking out of a hiding place high in one of the trees.  She snuck around the back of the Steinhagen offices and then onto the roof.  Taking a length of rope she tied a heavy stone to one end, and tied a noose in the other.  She lowered the stone and swung the rope, causing the stone to rap sharply against the door.  A dog barked at the sound, alerting a man who came outside to investigate the disturbance.  Mika swung the rope around and lowered the lasso swiftly about the man’s torso.  She hauled the protesting figure up to the roof and then bound and gagged him, before shooting the still yapping dog dead with a single arrow. 

Mika waited a short time to make sure that the noise did not attract any further attention, and then lowered herself to the ground and entered the open doorway.  Mika searched the offices quickly, grabbing any papers which looked suspicious and scattering the rest to make it look like the place had been roughly robbed.  One office was locked, so Mika threw herself against the door.  It collapsed with a loud crash and the sound of splintering wood.  Mika grabbed all the paper she could find in this office and then smashed a second door, this one leading to a larger, more ornate, office.  The sound of the doors breaking must have caused some alarm, because from a window Mika heard the sound of steel-shod feet approaching at speed.  Without delay Mika snatched up what she could find on the desk – including parchments marked with pointed stars, a bronze medallion and an old leather-bound book – before leaping from a window and running down the street.  Soldiers spotted her and gave chase, but a detour through a busy market helped to shake the pursuit and by the time she returned to the boat Mika was fairly confident that she was no longer being followed.