The Cost of War (Campaign 2)

"**The Cost of War**" (2x14) is the fourteenth episode of Memory=Null Season 2, in which our hero returns to the inferno he helped create.

## Synopsis

Sharsu explains that the Emerald Shield has been rampaging through the islands taking them over, and Fearranndreh is completely under their control. They’ve made Tieflings illegal and are placing them in camps. Everyone’s been trying to fight back, but it’s hard to fight the largest army in the world without a unified front - most of the islands are just trying to wait it out. Mina, who is now a general, tasked them to seek out a thing that has been picking off Emerald Shield ships in the middle of the night, plucking crew members off the deck. Even while their ships are in combat with other ships, the thing only attacks the Emerald Shield, and has been melting ships. They’ve been calling it The Black Death.

Currently, they’re about a day south of Tajemna near where it was last sighted. There’s been another incursion of islands which the Emerald Shield has been pillaging, and Tajemna has completely sealed their dome. Emberlin, after a moment, jump-hugs Sharsu as Amber also joins them. They ask what happened to him, and Emberlin breaks the news that Dalpha had been deceiving them. He summarizes his time in the labyrinth and the Tavern in the Middle of Everywhere (Amber is stunned to discover that both places are real). He also breaks the news to Sharsu that Orophel was actually Dalpha, though he seems more okay with the outcome than expected.

Emberlin asks Secena what they need from him, and they reply that they need a host- an avatar. On the horizon, Amber spots their rendezvous. As the ship sets off, Emberlin heads to the cabin and takes some time to process everything that he’s learned. About forty-five minutes later, they rendezvous with three very large Golden Wake ships. Boarding the lead ship, Emberlin discovers that the captain is none other than Glassjaw, who has been made an Admiral. The crew heads off to his quarters to debrief. Amber reports on the mysterious attacker, who Emberlin identifies as Shehada. Based on previous sightings, they predict that it’s following the Emerald Shield fleet towards Tajemna. Glassjaw orders them to track it and attempt to make contact if possible, as they have been one of the most successful individuals at eliminating the Emerald Shield besides Sharsu. Sharsu explains that one of the best ways to kill them is to use crystals to propel your war pick through their shell, and then burn them from the inside.

Glassjaw informs Emberlin that, within the last month, a group of dragonborn of an unknown group have been asking around about him. Everyone was instructed not to give them any information (partly due to the fact that they had none). Emberlin asks about the gnoll pirates, and Glassjaw explains that they are enjoying the chaos and, while they are attacking both sides, they are attacking the Emerald Shield more due to their greater numbers.

Emberlin pauses in the middle of the discussion and heads over into a corner with the axe. He asks Secena what the relationship between them and their avatar would be, and they explain that it is a team situation. He turns back to the group and asks where Mina is. Glassjaw says she’s in Tajemna, but it’s difficult to get in currently, as they have sealed the dome and heavily search any ships that enter. Emberlin decides that there’s not enough time, and so asks for permission to address the Dogs of War onboard in an attempt to find an avatar for Secena.

Once they have been assembled, Emberlin begins by asking any who consider themselves great hunters to step forward. Every single one steps forward. He explains that they will be joining Emberlin’s crew for a super secret mission, which may involve facing creatures beyond their understanding. About a third of them step back. He then explains that they will be joining with the god of the hunt themselves, and again asks anyone who is not interested to step back, of which another half do. Emberlin begins to wave the axe back and forth like a divining rod, and asks Secena if any of the remaining individuals would do. They reply that they are all scavengers; not hunters.

Emberlins points to one individual and asks if they are a hunter. He nervously responds that he is, but Emberlin says he has the eyes of a badger, and has him step back. He points out another individual and asks them what the largest thing they ever hunted was - he figures it was a drake. He then asks the group who their strongest warrior is. Everyone points to a huge half-orc with scars and broken tusks. Emberlin asks him how he has engaged in the great hunt, and he replies that he’s currently leading this ship in hunting the Emerald Shield, both to push them back and for pleasure.

Emberlin then asks who their weakest hunter is. They all point to a twelve year old child nearby. A very uncomfortable Emberlin pretends he never asked the question, and moves on. He asks Glassjaw if he knows any true hunters which Secena might be interested in, and though a few spring to mind, none of them are in the area. Emberlin asks Secena if any of these individuals could serve as a temporary avatar, but they inform him that to be an avatar is to serve until death.

Emberlin turns back to the Dogs of War and informs them that, while none of them will be the avatar for the god of the hunt, he is proud to fight alongside them. Glassjaw dismisses them all, and Emberlin and crew depart aboard the Epoch as the rest of the ships head off south-east. Sharsu sets sail, and Emberlin asks Amber to start composing a song to charm a giant bat, in the hopes that Shehada won’t eat them. He then heads into the cabin to commune with the Queen of Embers. Focusing on his ever-warm coal, he soon finds himself not in the throne room, but in a new location- a giant, obsidian throne sitting atop a dais, surrounded by cracked, volcanic earth. Sitting atop the throne is the Queen of Embers.

Emberlin apologizes for getting trapped in a pocket dimension and letting Dalpha play him, but she explains that she wouldn’t have let him be trapped there if she didn’t have a purpose for it. She confirms that the order to wake the old gods was indeed hers, and greets Secena, who is standing nearby behind Emberlin. She explains that Dalpha could not kill Emberlin, due to herself being the goddess of rebirth, and so decided to take him off the map. She allowed her to do that, as she knew that Dalpha had Secena trapped there as well.

Emberlin laments that so much happened while he was away, and mourns the loss of Hex, asking what he should do. She lays a gentle hand on his shoulder and says “My order still stands. Spread my name. Wake the old gods. There is a war on, and we need all the soldiers we can.”. Emberlin admits that he feels lost without Hex, and asks if there is anything she can do to bring him back. She gently lifts his head and says “Child. I cannot rebirth what is not dead.”

Hex begins doing an excited happy dance before remembering where he is and settling down again. Emberlin asks how many more old gods they need to wake, and she replies that it is a complicated question. There are many of them, but if they make enough noise, it will rouse the rest. Emberlin thanks his queen for the answers, clarity, and her faith in him, and asks if she knows where Hex is. She responds that he’ll find him soon, and with that he is returned to the cabin. He collects his things, and emerges back out on the deck, saying nothing to the others.

Amber reports that they are nearly there, but that they will wait on the outskirts until nightfall in the hopes the black death will appear. As the sun begins to set, they spot the ships moored near a floating island on the horizon. They take the Epoch up into the clouds as they get closer, and eventually set down on the water under cover of darkness. Several hours pass before Emberlin hears in his mind “A hunter approaches”.

Emberlin rouses Amber and Sharsu as they all begin scanning the skies. Out of the clouds, a dark shape dives down over one of the ships as a blood curdling scream echoes across the sea. Alarms start sounding as the shape continues to swoop down over the ships. There’s a loud thump sound as something shoots out of it and hits one of the ships. Amber, peering through the spyglass, says that it is melting the ships. Sharsu confusedly asks Emberlin to confirm what he’s seeing when it passes close to one of the fires, and it takes nearly ten minutes before Emberlin can get a good view. It continues to dive bomb the ships without any apparent flapping motion, and one of its projectiles hits a crystal, snapping it off and causing the ship to list to one side - this is not Shehada.

Emberlin nervously lowers the spyglass and reports that he has no idea what it is. Sharsu says he thinks it’s a ship, but it looks like there are tentacles hanging off the bottom of it, which it uses to grab people. They begin getting closer, and soon catch a glint of firelight on a golden placard reading “GWS Toothy”; and at the wheel, a giant billowing cloak attached to a tiny kobold. Amber begins playing as they head in at full speed. Two of the ships have already been sunk as Emberlin begins wildly firing his pistol. Two of the other ships unmoor and begin fleeing, while the last remaining ship appears to be empty. They pull up alongside the attacking ship as Emberlin begins wildly waving at Hex, who is wearing an eyepatch. The ship has the structure of the Epoch, but the crystals are blue with veins of red through them. The entire ship looks simultaneously woody and fleshy, and the bow is a giant toothy maw slowly opening and closing.

They eventually moor up to the island, and Emberlin and Hex collide together in a big hug. A happy reunion occurs, during which Hex explains that he survived the leviathan by having Toothy eat it from the inside. The leviathan had eaten several ships and had some levitation crystals inside it, so Toothy was able to take the form of the Epoch and integrate the crystals. Also, as a result of eating so much, Toothy had children - he introduces the group to his new axe, Bitey.

They pause the reunion to pillage the remaining Emerald Shield ship. They find an abundance of food and supplies, and raid the captain’s safe for several hundred gold, all the while being entirely unsettled as Toothy hovers around, picking up corpses with their tentacles and depositing them in their toothy maw. They decide to camp here for the night while Amber takes the Epoch to bring back a crew for the captured ship. Emberlin and Sharsu investigate a nearby structure, and find within it a collection of maps and papers which Emberlin collects to give to Glassjaw. They also find a pair of shoes beneath a loose floorboard, which had been there for quite some time.

They board Toothy to bed down for the night, and Emberlin takes some time to tell Hex about his time in the labyrinth. Hex tells some more of his tale - how he got the cloak and eyepatch off a dead elf, how he’s still been taking notes on Toothy and children for Roran the next time they see them, and how it took a bit of time to train Bitey to not be so bitey. Sharsu chimes in with some tales of his own, and tells about how they developed a strategy where they would fly in over a ship, turn upside down and drop one of them onto the deck of the enemy ship. There, they would kill a few people before jumping back onto the Epoch and flying away.

Several hours later, as dawn approaches, they spot the Epoch on the horizon, and Amber reports that a ship is on the way. She heads off to get some rest, while the rest of them unmoor the ship from the island, in case the island were to disappear again and take the ship with it. Emberlin takes some time to look through the documents. Most of the documents are correspondents from the High Paladin to the leader of the armada, Admiral Kali. The High Paladin writes of how Orophel has begun speaking to them again and has given them the divine purpose to rid the world of heresy and evil. As time goes on, the writings get more and more dogmatic, devolving into “we are right, they are wrong, kill all who oppose us”.

Eventually, Emberlin heads to bed and immediately falls asleep. He awakens some time later to find the other Golden Wake ship has arrived, and the crew is in the process of preparing the captured ship (while glancing uneasily over their shoulders at Toothy). He is greeted by the captain of the GWS Claymore, Captain Durok, who congratulates them on the capture of the ship. He gives Emberlin a letter of recommendation to get them into Tajemna, and explains that they have made it very difficult to get inside. They are trying to outlast the Emerald Shield, and Ardim Industries has inexplicably ceased production of new ships. Emberlin also turns over the papers and charts to him. As Emberlin prepares to head to Tajemna, he says goodbye to Hex, who gets picked up by one of Toothy’s tentacles and flung onto the deck before speeding off into the distance.

Emberlin, Amber and Sharsu board the Epoch and head off north-west towards Tajemna. They arrive two days later and are met by an individual from one of the ships circling the city. Emberlin introduces himself and presents the letter of recommendation, but when the individual returns, he informs him that they are on the whitelist of allowed individuals. A small skiff arrives with a contingent which thoroughly searches the ship. Once they are cleared, they are guided in through an opening in the shield which is barely large enough for the ship.

Once docked, they make their way directly to the Golden Wake, whose closed doors are guarded by ten members. After giving their names and business and being confirmed by Mina, they are brought inside to Mina’s office. They briefly catch up before Emberlin lays out his plan for her to become Secena’s avatar and to drop her into Fearanndreh to cause chaos and mayhem.

With Mina not outright rejecting, Seneca tells Emberlin to hold out his hand to her. Upon taking it, they find themselves back in the Queen’s throne room. Emberlin awkwardly greets the queen before turning to Mina, who has gone white at the sight of her. However, on turning around and seeing Secena, she unflinchingly squares herself for a fight. Seneca gets right up to her face. Upon smelling her, he says “You are a hunter. I am the hunt. To bond with me is to be bound to the hunt forever- the rest of your life. I can grant you powers and send you places that you did not know you could go. You will feel the rush, adrenaline, and blood in your mouth - every aspect of the hunt that you love. But to be bound to me is to be bound to my will. It is a choice.”

Mina slowly draws her pistol and points it at them. After a moment, she says “The only thing I currently fear is losing the ones I care about. Can you help me hunt the things that are a threat to those I care about?” Secena nods, and with a single smooth motion, she holsters her pistol and says “I accept”. With that, and a warning that it will hurt, Seneca lunges at Mina and latches onto her throat. His form slowly turns to smoke and begins to enter the wounds as Mina chokes on her own blood, until he has completely entered her, and the wounds close up. Mina is left standing there in shock. After a moment, she turns around, revealing her now jet black eyes.

Emberlin asks how they’re doing, and in both voices simultaneously, they say “It’s going to be a bit of time to adjust, but I think I’m okay.” The Queen rises and steps down towards them, saying “Hail avatar of the hunt. I’m glad that you have a form to exert your will upon the world again. There is much to hunt. There’s a war to be had, and we can use every soldier.” She turns to Emberlin and tells him that, in addition to The Hunt needing a bit of time to adjust (there is a possibility of host rejection, and The Hunt says they may need a smaller hunt first to acclimate), there is one other person he needs to meet before they head to Fearanndreh - they are already looking for him, and are close.

The Hunt tells the Queen of Embers that they are very glad the ember has found a new host, and it has been too long since the old one took on her new form. A confused Emberlin gestures silently, and the Queen explains that they knew the person who held the mantle before her, and has watched them in their new power. With business completed, Emberlin blinks and finds himself back in Mina’s office. Mina, eyes black, is leaning against the desk.

Emberlin asks if he should start finding people to take over Mina’s desk work, and she responds that she’ll summon Glassjaw back to handle it. Emberlin tells Mina to take a nap, and tells Sharsu to inform everyone that he will be handling Mina’s work for the afternoon. Mina immediately shuts that idea down, and tells him to go send Tera in.

Emberlin, Amber and Sharsu decide to take the afternoon off in the bar while they wait for whomever it is who is looking for them. They spend several hours drinking and playing bar games before a member of the guild approaches him. They confusedly and haltingly inform him that there’s someone here to see him, and they’ve asked for a private audience. Emberlin asks if he needs to worry, as they seem very nervous, but they reply that they’re mostly just confused, and that they’re going to send him another drink.

Emberlin enters a nearby room, and the individual is shown in. Entering the room is a bipedal corgi in plate armor. He introduces himself as Rolxius, herald of Carmata. He explains that he was, at one time, just a dog (called Mr. Truffles) whose owner died in the woods. He stood by them to guard their body and was found by Carmata, who appreciated his devotion and diligence. Seeing as he needed a new master, they offered themselves as one. Carmata sent them to give aid to the other old gods.

He says that Greenspires has continued to grow and that the housing market is booming, as an entirely new spire has grown. They discuss current events and possibly who has been involved in pulling strings, and Emberlin happily welcomes them to the team.