The session also gave us the opportunity to play through a little "downtime" in the town of Braelin. No dice were rolled, but the characters got a chance to talk with the NPCs more, further their relationships in town, and learn more about their new home.
Downtime
Ulu paid a visit to the Nokoviks' store. Yungfang wasn't around, but his sister Mei-Lin was. Ulu restocked on rations for the group and bought a bunch of daggers. She asked about any art they might have for sale, and Mei-Lin gave her one of her brother's paintings for free; apparently, Mei-Lin has a low opinion of her brother's art. Ulu also left with an invitation for the group to have dinner with the Nokoviks. On the way back to the Kaul house, Ulu stopped in at the gaol and had a conversation with Ulysses, the town's necromancer sheriff. He compared necromancy to baked goods, which was perplexing.
Dario availed himself of the amenities at the Blue Room, including a brutal massage from Naomi, the woman who runs the place. Later on, he met up with Johanna and Varro to check out the Wolf & Rose tavern--where they met Embrelle, the cambion who owns it. Like the Charnel Hounds, Embrelle was once a soldier, having served in the Hellwar. She and Varro compared greatswords, and made a tentative plan to spar at some point. Johanna asked if they ever had live music, which got her an open invitation to perform on the Wolf & Rose's small stage. They also made the acquaintance of Wyatt Hothstaedder, the Knight Labyrinthian keeping watch on the mountains from Fort Onataiga. Furthermore, they saw some local shifty toughs with small rag dolls tied to their biceps; they explained that they worked for Doctor Ilsa aka Ragdoll Ilsa. They weren't shy in letting the group know that Doctor Ilsa peddles alchemical intoxicants, as well as serving as the local doctor and brothel owner.
More importantly, the group learned that the two men who had been asking around town after them were soldiers from the Fist of Arjal--the very army that had destroyed the Charnel Hounds. No one knew where the soldiers were currently, but Embrelle doubted that they had left Braelin. They seemed very determined to find the last of the Hounds.
Anastasia and Morwenna took a little side trip to scout out what was going on over at the Children of Eternal Penance compound. They were, obviously, a cult--one lead by a mysterious Brother Jacob. They weren't let inside the walled compound, but were given a printed tract called The Many Sins of Mankind and Cure Above All Cures, which explained that Brother Jacob was "spiritually married" to every member of his flock. It was somewhat obvious that these spiritual marriages also give him conjugal rights, but the less said about that the better. It was also said that Brother Jacob could perform miracles.
When the group reconvened in Kaul House, they found visitors awaiting their return--the two soldiers from the Fist of Arjal were sipping tea in their parlor. Their butler, Beaumont D'Orleac, had made the "guests" comfortable, but Irenya, the maid, was prepared to make them less so--the two soldiers couldn't see it, but she had a pistol trained on them.
The soldiers were there on an errand of conscience: they had found out that the Hounds had been betrayed into a trap in Trevania. As such, they could not stomach being part of a treachery. They had sought out the last of the Charnel Hounds to return a battle standard that had been taken as spoils of war. Before departing, they told the group that one of the men who betrayed them--a commander named Stavran Moyle--was currently in a mining town to the south called Goranstad. That would be the party's next stop.
Advances
Ulu raised her Intimidation skill
Johanna raised her Survival skill
Morwenna raised her Smarts
Anastasia took the Ambidextrous edge
Varro took the Trademark Weapon edge
Dario took the Attractive edge