In which we visit the town of Bruhl, watch some character interaction and establish the evilness of the faceless mook-army of the East.

Welcome to a whole new chapter. Looking closely at the screen(shot), we see five story-episodes and one battle.
The first thing we see upon entering the city is the iconic windmill of Bruhl, and the longer I think about it the bigger my headache gets. This might even make some sense, mechanically. Regarding  the bending moment on the axle, not in any practical terms. But it IS iconic.
Welkin is happy to see the mill spinning again, so the wooden assembly sprouting out of the first tower is probably a sign of ongoing repair. Alicia agrees that it is good to see one of the most beautiful sights in Bruhl working again – it really would be a shame if something would happen to it, wouldn’t it? An artillery shell or something like it… but I digress.
Welkin and Isara part ways with Alicia, the latter going back to work, the former going home to pack for the journey away from the frontlines.

As Isara has already done most of the work, Welkin hopes to be on the road by sundown. Near their home, they run into Martha. Martha’s relation to the Gunters is either not explained or I just missed it. Anyways, Matha seems to know the Gunters from early on, and Welkin is not too happy about being called “Welkies”.The fact that Martha is pregnant and due any day makes me fear that she is an NPC used for some easy feels by killing her off very soon. This would be by the book, and terrible. Games shouldn’t do this. Books and movies shouldn’t either, before the question arises.
During our conversation with Martha, Alicia shows up again, bringing gifts:She wants to apologize for her earlier error of not recognising Welkins, and she’s bringing some preserved bread for us. We learn that she works, or rather worked before the invasion, at the local bakery and lives there, too.
After going inside, the whole story of the day is told, much to Martha’s amusement. And much to the embarrasment of everyone she thinks that Welkin and Alicia are a couple.Everyone who passes a roll on genre-savvyness can take a guess which characters will star in the inevitable romance.
After sorting out the relationships, Alicia notices a portrait on the wall:General Gunther on the right, and a certain Theimer on the left. Theimer served as an engineer, build the General’s tank and is Isara’s father. But wait, didn’t they say earlier Isara Welkin’s sister? Yes – Isara’s parents died early, and the Gunthers took her as their own.
It’s time for Alicia to leave, and Welkin volunteers to see her off while Isara finishes packing.

The two walk through the empty town. Most citizens already left, and those still here are either part of the militia or preparing to follow the others. The war is closing in, but one day the war will be over and the people will come back – at least that’s what Alicia hopes for. The conversation between the two eventually comes to Alicia asking Welkin whether or not he will follow in his father’s footsteps and join the army, but our naturalist rather wants to follow his own passion and become a teacher. His father served in the army, and while he wants to give something back to Gallia, he wants to do so in his own way. Which is considered “deep” by Alicia, and I’m not quite sure if someone maybe misunderstood the meaning of deep in this context.

The conversation is cut short by the high-pitched whine of incoming artillery shells. The war has reached Bruhl.The imperial army moves into town and starts acting like every good antagonist ever by gunning down fleeing civillians. Unfortunately, this is – for me, at least – expected behaviour for TEH EVIL GUYZ and has subsequently lost most of the shock value. It clearly establishes the Empire as the inhuman, evil fraction (the “faceless mooks”-uniforms help, too), but I’d really like to see an at least somewhat professional army. Or something so insane that few developers would go through with it, like the “kill everyone carrying a weapon or wearing glasses”-order in Bioshock Infinite, but stuff like that would probably go blunt quickly.
A better look at the faceless mook-uniform, for your convenience: Propaganda 101, one might say. Done by the book. These guys are the enemy, and giving them a face might humanize them. This isn’t even mend as harsh critique, as it fits perfectly into the setting and the art style, but it’s something attracting attention. Mine, that is.
The mill lies in ruins, and while Alicia and Welkins are still standing around shell-shocked, a member of the town guard shows up to inform us of the obvious: Bruhl is under attack, and the first imperial troops are already in town. Somebody has to do something. And as you might have guessed, “somebody” is “we”, and “something” is “kicking the bastards out of our town”.
Which will be done in a future episode.