Consequences

"Consequences" (2x10) is the tenth episode of Memory=Null Season 2, in which Emberlin is both the seeker and the sought.

Synopsis
Unsure what to do now, the group falls back on their default and heads to the nearest pub. The journey is a bit unsettling, as the bridges and buildings are all slowly moving along with the growing of the trees. Amongst the panicking people who have no idea why their forest is growing, they find a pub called the Rat and Aristocrat and order drinks. As they discuss what to do next, they are interrupted by a travelling accordion player, which Emberlin angrily shoos away. They decide to go visit the Matriarch (the leader of Greenspires) and explain what has happened. They head back to the ship and leave Firstfall for Evergreen at the center of the island. They dock at the Matriarch’s building and approach a pair of guards. Emberlin introduces himself and says he’s the reason the trees are growing. They brush him off, but Amber steps up and manages to convince them enough to bring them before the Matriarch. The guards take them through the main audience room and out onto a nearby balcony and to an elderly elf woman who is kneeling in a vegetable box. He announces them, and introduces her as Arwel the Matriarch before being dismissed by her. Emberlin explains that his deity tasked them with meeting the old gods (omitting the fact that they purposefully woke the god of nature), and that they managed to speak to them through the ritual. Arwel identifies him as Kamarta, and is surprised that he spoke to Emberlin. She herself went through the ritual long ago and, while she saw him, he did not speak to her, and has never been known to speak to anyone before. She asks a few more questions, but Emberlin is not able to provide much more information. As the conversation wraps up, a gaggle of gnomes (the architects responsible for planning around the growth of the forest) enter in a frenzy and draw Arwel away. Before she goes, she thanks Emberlin for coming to her so soon, and Emberlin, having noticed her cast a Detect Magic spell earlier, asks if it had revealed anything. She informs him that there is a Hunter’s Mark spell on him, and that he is being tracked. With this information in hand, the group heads back to the ship. They start retracing their steps to determine who might be tracking them, and Emberlin comes to the conclusion that it was the accordion player from earlier. Determined to track down the offending musician, Emberlin pilots the ship back to Firstfall and marches quickly to the bar, where he is disappointed to discover that, as it is nearly midnight, the bar is closed and there is no accordion to be heard. Heading back to the Golden Wake in defeat, Emberlin immediately heads to bed. The next morning, Emberlin meets everyone downstairs, and they all head back to speak to the old druid from before. She invites them in, and informs them that business has been booming since the trees started growing. Many more people have been attempting the ritual, and while a few have seen Kamarta, no one else has talked to him. Emberlin asks her how many other old gods there are, and she replies “how many aspects of existence are there?” She speaks of one or two that dwell in the Underdark, as well as one who is rumored to reside in the Floating Mountains of Perton. The old druid speaks of how the new gods began appearing around the time that civilizations started forming, and how the old gods existed long before civilization. Each one has their own ritual, with their local one having been passed down through generations of druids. She speaks of the decline of the old gods, and how, as time went on, they either grew tired of existing or were forgotten, and eventually fell asleep or simply ceased to exist. Others of the old gods, such as Kamarta, had to go through a drastic change when the world flooded, and went into remission, having been silent ever since. Those who ceased to exist left behind their mantle - their power, and opened the door for others to step in and claim it for themselves - others like the Queen of Embers. As the conversation begins to wind down, a loud, deep warning horn sounds out across the island. Amber immediately runs out the door, shouting that the Stormbreakers have been called. The rest of the group hurriedly follows after her, eventually arriving at a convergence of branches supporting a large stone monolith. Several other Stormbreakers have already arrived and are looking out at a massive storm approaching in the distance. Down below, Stormbreakers continue to arrive and take up position every fifty feet or so in a wall around the edge of the city. One of the other Stormbreakers offers the lead position to Amber, which she happily accepts, and Sharsu gives her a quick blessing. Amber starts the song, and as the other Stormbreakers join in, the song quickly spreads down the line. The waters start to churn as a massive bubble begins to form around the Greenspires, right before the storm reaches them. The first gargantuan wave slams into the shield, followed by another and another. The sky is pitch black, and as the storm continues on, some of the Stormbreakers (including Amber) begin to falter. Sharsu and Hex approach her and begin praying, and as an ember sheen begins to cover her, she squares her shoulders and begins playing more strongly again as flames begin to spring from her bagpipes. The storm lasts for hours as the Stormbreakers start rotating out in shifts, with Amber leading the song the entire time. Eventually the storm dies down to a gentle rain, and Amber collapses to the ground, exhausted. The crowd of people which had slowly grown over time erupts into cheers. With the danger passed, everyone heads to the nearest bar for food and drink, with the Stormbreakers soon beginning to swap tales. Eventually, the celebration begins to wind down, and Emberlin asks Amber to get them access to the library at the College of Storms before she leaves to crash for the night. Once there, they split up to cover more ground. Hex heads off to look for some maps, Sharsu begins looking for information on Tynlu, and Emberlin starts searching for a list of the old gods. Hex manages to track down the locations of the Floating Islands and Deledar, and Sharsu discovers that Tynlu is the capital of, and one of the biggest cities in the Underdark. Unfortunately, Emberlin is unable to find anything about the old gods. Emberlin also does some research on the Hunter’s Mark spell and discovers that, while it normally lasts for an hour, it is possible to make it last significantly longer. Finally, he tries to find a map of the world pre-flood, but the clerk informs him that somebody else has currently checked it out. Emberlin then asks if they have any pop-up books, but when they ask how Emberlin got into the library, he casts darkness and bolts for the exit. With the light beginning to fade, Emberlin finds his way to a shop called Parphilius’s Palace of Prestidigitation, and obtains from a man named Dave a piece of chalk which, when the phrase “Yo. Where you at?” in Elvish is spoken, will levitate and point in the direction of the person who cast the Hunter’s Mark spell. Once outside, Emberlin speaks the words, and the chalk points roughly westward - away from the city and slightly up. Confident the individual is not nearby, they head back to the Golden Wake and turn in for the night. However, when Emberlin gets to his room, Hex and the Archangel are already in there. They say since Emberlin would want to talk to the Archangel eventually, they decided to use his room, but that they were simply talking one champion to another. The Archangel asks if they have a direction, and Emberlin says they will go to the Floating Isles and avoid the Underdark for the moment. The Archangel adds that, if they decide to go back to Tynlu, they should downplay their connection to the Queen. He advises that Emberlin seek out Shehada, the old god who dwells in the Floating Isles. Before leaving, he asks Emberlin if he remembers nothing about his previous life, and says that he remembers bits and pieces of his, especially the moments leading up to his death. He also asks for Emberlin’s axe, and after running his hand over the runes, tells him that if he speaks the word “seeking” in Infernal, it will help guide him to what he seeks. With that, the Archangel leaves to go investigate the storm from earlier. As Emberlin sleeps, he has visions of the Queen battling with the Goddess of War in the throne room, interspersed with flashes of the axe the Queen gave him. He watches as Selik stabs the Queen through the heart, who simply looks up and smiles. She grabs the blade, and as she says “Goddess of rebirth”, bursts into flame. The next morning, Emberlin awakens in a cold sweat. Before getting dressed, he picks up the axe and says “seeking”. A series of whispers creep into the back of his mind and guide his mind northward. After eating breakfast, they stock up on supplies before setting sail north towards the Floating Isles. Throughout the next few days of the journey, they keep using the chalk to track their tracker, and soon determine that they are somewhere in the middle of the ocean, and are quickly moving north. By the third night, their hunter has moved directly north, between them and the Floating Isles. Assuming that it is the Blasphemous, they take some time to strategize. They decide to stay where they are for the rest of the night and continue towards them in the morning. Emberlin keeps an eye on the chalk through the night, and begins to notice that the chalk is starting to point upwards. Peering out into the darkness, he spots a group of clouds about five miles away which are acting strangely. Emberlin wakes everyone up again and pitches an idea to Amber- using her skills to submerge the ship and travel underwater. Amber thinks about it and says that, while it’s possible, she doesn’t know how long she’d be able to maintain it. Amber anchors herself while Emberlin pilots the ship down to the water’s surface. Hex takes the chalk while Sharsu gets ready to bless Amber. As Amber begins to play, the bubble of protective force forms around them, and Emberlin takes the ship down beneath the surface and opens the throttle up at full speed. Amber is visibly struggling as the ocean presses in on them, but she manages to hold it as the chalk in Hex’s hand passes vertical. Emberlin sees Amber about to drop and pulls the ship up out of the water as she collapses to the deck. Above and behind them, the clouds break in five different places as if something passed through them, but nothing is visible. Emberlin continues to head north at full speed. The chalk continues to drop until it is pointing directly behind them, and the sound of ships engines can briefly be heard behind them. They keep moving at full speed for over four hours before the sun begins to rise and the Isles appear in the distance. As they begin to gain altitude and gain a better view of the islands, they start to make out a series of smaller islands surrounding a massive central island with a castle at its peak. On the underside of the island, a number of docks have been carved into the island, and several large arcane engines work to keep the island in place. They head for a dock near one of the engines in the hopes it will help shield them, and as they land, a halfling begins making their way towards them. Emberlin quickly pays the dock fee and gets directions to the local Golden Wake. He also tries to bribe the dockmaster into saying their ship is owned by a very beefy orc named Grognak the Left-Handed. Unfortunately, he refuses the bribe, so Hex and Toothy then proceed to intimidate him into agreeing before they all run off towards the guild hall. As they are crossing one of the bridges to the outer islands, they use the taking chalk, and watch as it begins circling the island. Arriving at the Golden Wake, they find it to be the smallest they have seen, being more like a tavern than a hall. They run past the single guard at the door and approach the very grumpy clerk. He starts off asking for someone to remove the Hunter’s Mark, but when he gets to the part about the cloaked ships, the clerk gets deadly serious, realizing that the Blasphemous is tracking him. They tell him to go wait in the corner while they rush off. While waiting, Emberlin activates the chalk again and watches it do a full loop around the island before falling inert in his hand. The clerk eventually returns and informs them that they’re trying to get reinforcements, but that it will take some time. They then ask how bad the situation is, and Emberlin explains their encounter with the leviathan. The clerk explains that the Blasphemous is not a ship, but a sect of cannibalistic pirates. At this moment, somebody runs over and whispers something to them. She then turns around and announces to the hall that the Malediction has docked at the island. Everyone else in the hall immediately stands up and leaves. One of the few individuals who stayed behind, a giant half-orc with a huge hook on their left hand, comes over and introduces himself as Grognak. He says that he’s had experience with the Blasphemous before, and that they can be reasoned with. He recommends staying inside, because they’ve been known to simply bombard their target from the sky if they can see them. He explains that they generally hunt ships looking for plunder, slave labor and meat. It’s believed that they were forced to serve one of the lower lords, and that they’ve been more unpredictable than normal recently. Emberlin theorizes that they might be looking for him due to their interactions with the lower lords. He gives a brief explanation of his history, and when he gets to the part about his ship, Grognak stops him. He asks if the previous owners were a female aasimar and a male half-elf. He points over to one of the walls, where a giant oil painting of Emberlin’s ship, an individual who looks very similar to the Queen of Embers, and a half-elf, adorns the hall. He explains that the individuals in the painting once saved the islands from a giant leviathan who tried to eat them. As Emberlin ponders this, there’s a commotion at the door as the bouncer’s head is slammed into the door frame, and a huge gnoll enters the hall. The clerk immediately points in Emberlin’s direction, who quickly introduces himself. The gnoll introduces himself as “The Admiral”, and explains that it is due to the Queen of Embers that they are free. Before his time, the previous Admiral had made a deal with one of the lower lords. Though it gave them significant power, they were bound to serve their will and every passing whim. The Queen killed that lower lord, and he took the change to stage a coup and take control. As a result, they are in Emberlin’s debt. Emberlin assures him that he will only call on them for something of the utmost importance to the Queen, and the Admiral hands him a medallion with the image of a snarling gnoll face and the word “debt”. Emberlin starts discussing their escape from the Admiral, and accidentally lets slip their trick of going underwater, which intrigues the Admiral and will probably get ten Stormbreakers enslaved in the future. The Admiral starts inquiring after Emberlin’s mission, and explains that one of his personal projects is the acquisition of odd knowledge; knowledge which might be of use to Emberlin. They begin discussing possible trades, and end up settling on Emberlin receiving the answer to any one question (if he knows the answer) in exchange for a bottle of inter-dimensional wine. Emberlin asks for a map of the Underdark, and the Admiral hands over a map which was up to date as of two months ago. With the exchange made, the Admiral departs back to his ship as the doors to the hall are closed and the alcohol starts flowing.