Making Waves

"**Blood and Devotion**" (2x04) is the fourth episode of Memory=Null Season 2, in which answers begin to reveal themselves.

## Synopsis

Emberlin claims his winnings from the bookie, and the group begins to make their way back to the Golden Wake. On the way, Emberlin examines the note given to him by Alphos- it is a starmap which has been waxed over for use on an ocean-going ship. He shows it to Sharsu, who is unable to read it. Hex, however, having spent some time as a sailor, asks to see it, and says that it shows a location up north by the Red Isles.

Arriving back at the Golden Wake, they find everyone inside listening to Mina telling stories of the beginning of the Guild from atop the bar. Emberlin finds Glassjaw in the back and asks about the contract looking for mimic parts. He locates the paperwork and directs him to a local wizard named Roran Eldwin.

It takes a while to find the address, but they eventually find their way to the mage research district. Above the door sits a sign which says “Roran Eldwin: Magical Weapons Research”. Upon knocking, a elevator descends revealing an androgynous looking firbolg, whose arm appears to be made of magical wood. They invite them inside and explain that they’ve been doing research into the shapeshifting properties of the mimic, and have even bred a few. They’ve been endeavouring to tame mimics, and have discovered that they are highly motivated by food. If you are willing to feed them regularly, they don’t necessarily want to murder anyone. Their research has progressed to the point of wanting to run a field test with a mimic, to which Emberlin volunteers his crew.

Roran pays Emberlin 20 gold for a majority of the mimic parts, and then begins to show off the mimics. Bringing over a glass dome with a dagger beneath it, he introduces the group to “Toothy”. It appears to be an ordinary dagger until Roran taps the glass, at which point an eye opens in the middle of the blade. He explains that it is willing to maintain a shape as long as you keep it fed. It normally takes the shape of things that creatures will open so that it can ambush and eat them, but he has trained this one to take the shape of a weapon and remain that way, so long as you allow it to eat a bit of what it kills. As its size limits it to nothing larger than a shortsword, they decide Toothy would best suit Hex. Roran asks that they keep whatever notes they can. They agree, and Roran goes off to fetch another item. Meanwhile, Hex excitedly shows Toothy his butcher's knife, which it quickly shifts into an exact replica of.

Roran returns with a pair of goggles which he loans to Hex. On activation, it reveals any mimics nearby. Hex takes a look and comments on the large number of mimics in the building. Roran confirms that a few of them did get out, but they leave food on the floor and the mimics leave them alone. Hex asks if they know that the chandelier is a mimic, and he confirms it is Bridget. He pulls out a chunk of meat and tosses it up, at which point the chandelier sprouts tentacles, lashes out, and pulls the meat in.

As they hurriedly attempt to end the meeting, Roran mentions that they have a standing agreement with a blacksmith nearby who makes items for the mimics to turn into. Roran removes the glass dome, allowing Hex to take Toothy, and the group heads back down the elevator. At the door, Roran temporarily disables a spell to allow Toothy to leave. With a final comment about not dying and not letting it eat them, Roran shuts the door.

The group make their way over to the blacksmith where they purchase new studded leather armor for Hex and get a handaxe for Toothy to mimic. After stopping by a street meat vendor to feed Toothy, they all head over to the Ardim Industries headquarters. Inside is a large display room with small, working models of various ships scattered about. Emberlin is immediately accosted by a human who introduces herself as Guinevere. He inquires about a lovely ship he saw at the docks with red crystals and asks her to show that line to her. At the mention of this, her demeanor becomes very serious and informs him that it is not one of their ships, though it may have been a custom order. While she hurries off to go speak with a manager, Emberlin begins to look at the various models with an air of pomp.

She soon returns and informs him that it was indeed a custom order for a dear friend of the company president, and they are unable to replicate it. Emberlin asks how to have a conversation with Ardim, but she says that he is very busy and doesn’t speak to many people. He asks if he knows who the ship was made for, but she says that the identities of their customers are private, and tries to redirect him to a different kind of ship. Not making anymore progress, Emberlin shows off his harness and asks her to tell Ardim that he will be staying at the Golden Wake and would like to speak with him. Guinevere says she isn’t sure she can do that, but will do what she can. With that, the group heads back to the Golden Wake.

Inside, they find that things have calmed down considerably, as Mina is nowhere to be seen. Grabbing a table, they begin to discuss their plans and decide to take a mission North of the Red Isles, as their hunting of Alphos’ wife will take them there anyway. While the front desk works to find something, Emberlin asks Sharsu about his previous life. He says that he was a member of the Emerald Shield for most of his life, as he joined when he was very young. His life has been mostly helping people, seeking out knowledge, prayer, fighting the influence of the Nazil, etc. However, despite his attempts to push against it, the Emerald Shield has become more militaristic in recent years, which led to his confrontation with his superior. Emberlin asks what’s changed, and Sharsu says that it could be any number of things- the wrong people being put in charge, higher ups being influenced by the lower lords, etc. There’s always a chance, no matter how holy, that you can fall back into darker ways. Emberlin praises him for staying true to his beliefs, unlike many of his other compatriots.

The clerk soon returns and asks how they feel about owls and bears. A smaller fringe isle has come into an owlbear situation due to a rogue mage who couldn’t control what they created. They take the contract and decide to head out the following morning as Mina emerges from a back room with Glassjaw, comes up to the table and orders drinks for all of them. She spends the next few hours regaling them with stories, all the while sneaking shots of alcohol into Sharsu’s water. This eventually leads to a drunk Sharsu swapping fighting stores with her. As evening comes, they wrap up and Emberlin helps Sharsu back to the Inn of Three Maidens and into his room. Hex very excitedly takes Mina’s room since she’s staying at the Golden Wake, and Emberlin heads to his room. Preparing to simply collapse onto the bed and fall asleep in his armor, he opens the door and notices a very hospitable fire lit inside. A moment later, he notices the figure in the chair next to it.

Resigning himself to a lack of sleep, he sits down on the bed and asks the figure what he can help them with. The individual, an attractive masculine figure with dark hair under their hood, holds a glass of whisky in their hand as they say “It appears you’ve made quite the splash since you’ve been here, haven’t you?”

He introduces himself as Jopha, the Vanguard of Woe- the god of death. Believing himself to be dead, Emberlin tries to keep his cool until Jopha assures him that he is simply here to “abate his own curiosity” and offers him a glass of very old, very fine whisky. They converse for a while, during which Emberlin asks many questions, though the answers he gets are often sparse and cryptic, as Jopha feels there are certain things that are not his place to tell.

One of the first things he asks is if Jopha might ask his mother to speak with Sharsu briefly to give his life something special, and Jopha replies that, while he normally would be willing to, there are factors at play that make it impossible currently. Next, he asks how long Alphos has had a death wish for her wife, and he says that she has been trying to get him to kill her wife for ever, but that it is not his place to comment on or affect. It is merely his duty to usher people to the other side. He also asks whether the Queen was granted deity by him, and he replies that she is the only god, aside from the three born gods, that he did not grant godhood to. As he says this, he pulls back his hood to reveal the burn mark of a hand on his neck. She is the first to claim deity since he’s been around.

With most of his questions answered, Emberlin asks Jopha what he can do for him, as he doubts he makes house calls lightly. He replies that he just wanted some face time with him, as it’s not often he can shut the others out. He says that, though Emberlin cannot hear them, they are hammering at the door.

Emberlin says he doesn’t know what the Queen’s coming will result in or what he’s supposed to do until then, and Jopha comments on how he has unintentionally stumbled upon one of the great truths- that the Queen herself does not know what she wants yet. He believes she took hold of power, but now does not know what to do with it, and wants to see if Emberlin is worthy to carry her name. He believes she will find it on her own, because you don’t “fight one of the Old Ones, and then more of the Old Ones, and then win, and lose, and then win without questioning what you’re doing.” He mentions how he’s been asked to slay certain things (such as the dragons), and he has always refused. At this, he stares for a moment into the fire. As he does, it flares up a bit, and with a furrow of his brow, it dies down to almost nothing.

He turns back and asks if Emberlin believes the gods are immortal. He replies that, left to their own devices, they will not age and die like everyone else, but while not everything has a natural end, some can have an end thrust upon them. Jopha says it’s something to ponder.

As Jopha stands up to leave, the table sinks back down into the floor as he reaches over and grabs Emberlin’s axe. He looks at it with a smirk, and then hands it back over to Emberlin. He snaps his fingers, and a massive black door appears. Walking over to it, he reaches up and pulls a nail from it and drops it on the ground. Looking back, he says “I will be seeing you, Emberlin Burns”, and as he passes through the door, it dissolves into smoke. After taking a moment to calm himself, he walks over to the nail. It is a four inch long, rough hewn black iron nail. He gently pokes it before picking it up, finding it cold to the touch and rather heavy before tucking it into the spine of his tome and going to sleep.

The next morning, he awakens to see Hex standing next to the bed staring at him. He informs him that he didn’t lock his door last night, and that it is now late morning. Hex heads downstairs as Emberlin gets dressed. Downstairs, they find Sharsu reading and drinking tea with a headache. Emberlin decides not to tell them about last night yet, and they make their way to the docks, with Emberlin picking up a kabob on the way. As they approach the base of the tower where the Epoch is docked, they see a very old, angry gnome waiting. He immediately spots them and, pointing to the Epoch, asks if they are the owners. Emberlin feigns confusion for a bit before explaining that he wanted to go up the tower for the view- to eat his kabob and contemplate the world. The gnome tells them to go away as he’s waiting for someone. As Emberlin leads the group away, he turns back at the last moment and asks why he is looking for the owner. He says he needs to find out who owns the boat, as he built it for his ex-fiance.