[@Mae] I was thinking about that, and I had the idea that Vodalus decides to join the party not entirely out of his own free will. What happened was, he found out while he was in the tavern that the church authorities had caught up with him, and were closing in on the tavern. He searched frantically for exit points, but found church agents coming through each one.

Then, he sees an adventuring party about to go into the dungeons. He grits his teeth, reviews his options, and decides that his only way of escape is going into the dungeon. He frantically yet amiably approaches them, and offers to join at the last minute before they descend.

So to answer your question, I guess he's been in the tavern a decent amount of time (especially if he was enjoying having drinks bought for him thanks to the sermon he performed in the town the previous day). But he only met the party at the last minute.

How does all of that sound? Does it work?