Characters
Dario Diego Durant, swashbuckling swordsman
Doctor Anastasia Nadya Strahov, a gun-priest
Ulu, the party's urska mom
Varro, a young snow elf bearing a magical sword
Morwenna, harpy devotee of St. Vionka
Johanna, lycan bard
Events
We last left the Charnel Hounds investigating the Convent of St. Nostalia of the Bladed Mercy because they suspected the nuns were connected to the strange, plant-infected sisters who had attacked Braelin hours before. The Hounds hadn't made a great impression on the nuns after breaking into the convent, leveling guns at them, and announcing their allegiance to heretical saints.
Things didn't improve much after one of the nuns, Sister Evangeline, offered to take them on a tour of the convent to show that nothing nefarious was going on and they just stood there dickering about it for quite some time. Their behavior toward the nuns effectively cut off any negotiation or the possibility of deceiving them--it was clear they weren't there in good faith.
When they finally decided to let themselves be escorted by three of the nuns (Sister Bronwyn stayed behind in the chapel to finish her prayers), they were shown that nothing was amiss in the laundry. Sister Evangeline was adamant that the strangers could NOT interrupt the rest of any of their sick and dying patients. They were also shown the kitchen, where again nothing was amiss.
Ulu and Varro left the convent to investigate the adjoining cemetery, after promising not to disturb the dead. Again, nothing was amiss...until they searched the nearby bake house. It was evident that the ovens had not been fired in some time, which made them suspect that the nuns weren't actually eating. Also strange was the covered cauldron they found that contained more of the Borcheza perfume they had smelled earlier, and a ladder leading down into tunnels--tunnels where they could hear water rushing.
Back in the kitchen, Dario and Johanna were led down into the basement larder by Sister Petra. The nun beckoned them into the reaches of the larder--then blew out her candelabra. At the same moment, Sister Evangelina kicked the trapdoor leading into the larder shut. A sudden rush of perfumed scent assailed Anastasia and Morwenna, knocking them both out.
Down in the darkness, Johanna and Dario found themselves attacked by thorny tendrils--things immediately went poorly for them as they were savaged by a surprise attack. They attempted to fight back, but the absence of any light made it impossible. When they finally got a lantern lit, they saw that Sister Petra was no longer standing on two feet; she had sprouted a number of vine-like tendrils from her back that allowed her to scuttle around. The battle in the larder was a very near thing; both Johanna and Dario emerged wounded.
Morwenna and Anastasia awoke blindfolded, gagged, and bound. They felt a small blade cutting each of their ankles, then felt the pain of a walnut-sized seed being pushed into their flesh.
Varro and Ulu returned to the convent proper and now found the front door barred from within. A window was broken so that Varro could crawl inside and unbar it. They then met up with Dario and Johanna, and the group discovered Morwenna and Anastasia face down and bound in one of the nun's cells. Anastasia determined that trying to remove the seeds from their ankles would cause catastrophic damage, as the seeds had already started sending roots throughout their legs--if not further into their flesh.
Ulu explained about the tunnel system they had found, so it was decided that the best bet was to explore that and hope to find the nuns and perhaps uncover a way to remove the growing seeds from Morwenna and Anastasia. Disconcertingly, as they traversed the tunnels, they found the nuns' discarded habits...and then the nuns' discarded skins.
Further in the tunnels, they faced their most dangerous foe yet: a rushing underground river. Ulu, the strongest and largest of the group, attempted to ford it first--and was promptly swept away by the current. Varro jumped in after her, but was also swept away. Luckily, Morwenna had just enough room to fly and follow them to where they washed up in a little debris-strewn alcove. Clearing away the detritus allowed them to find a passage that circled around to the other side of the underground river, and also netted them a bottle imp to the bargain. With two strong members of the party on the other side of the river, using a rope to help everyone else ford became a much safer prospect.
However, they may have wished they hadn't forded the river when they stumbled upon the three remaining "nuns" (who were now fully plant creatures made of writhing thorny tendrils) caught in the act of merging to form a larger, deadlier creature. Battle was joined and it did not go well. An attempt was made to douse the creature with oil and set it alight, but the thrown torch missed the mark entirely.
Any initial momentum squandered, the Hounds faced a barrage of attacks that left them all badly wounded and already wrong-footed. Their attempts to rally met with minimal success--ill luck seemed to dog them: guns jammed, attacks missed, and the creature shrugged off some powerful blows. Ultimately, though they were teetering on the brink of defeat, the cavern resounded with the sound of wood cracking as Ulu tore the creature in half.
With no obvious solution to the problem of the seeds in sight, the Hounds made their way back to Braelin. Raenessa, their alchemist, analyzed the perfume and concluded that it was probably meant to poison the town's water supplies to make everyone transform into plant creatures. Unfortunately, Raenessa had no way to stop the seeds' progress.
Aivra Williams was rounded up from the schoolhouse, since it now occurred to the group that it was strange that she had been targeted by the mutated nuns--they hoped that her blood possessed some sort of anti-plant property--and she was taken to Dr. Ilsa's office. Dr. Ilsa had no way of removing the seeds either, but when questioned Aivra closed the office's door and made all within swear a blood oath not to share what she was about to tell them. She then took down her bun of auburn hair and revealed that she was actually Ivara Graymalk, the eldest sister of the infamous witch clan of Hemlock Hollow.
She had no way to affect a cure either, but she insisted that her family might be able to help. To that end, she gave them a sealed letter of introduction and urged them to make their way to Hemlock Hollow. The clock was ticking for Anastasia and Morwenna.