Rebirth

"**Rebirth**" (2x01) is the first episode of Memory=Null Season 2, in which a herald of fire and flame awakens in a world of rising waters.

## Synopsis

***You awaken on the floor. You groggily get up to your knees, your head swimming. You hear a woman’s voice trail off. Looking around, the space is massive, dark and imposing. On the outskirts you see massive figures seated on immense stone thrones encircling you. They’re seated in the shadows at the edge of the room, so you cannot make out details, but they’re so immense, you’d think they were statues, but you can see them moving. Before you stands a woman. She’s addressing the colossal figures on the outskirts, but now slowly turns to face you. A band of cloth is around her eyes that fades from black to red. On her back- four outstretched wings whose feathers also fade black to red. Jet black hair flows down into an elegant dress made of black silk, with glowing red metal embellishments. As if finishing a thought, she says “I wonder what he will do with it.” Her voice is deep and calm- a calm that seems to hide a fierceness underneath.***

***She steps forward and lifts your chin to look up at her. Beneath the veil that covers her eyes you can see two orange glowing points. Her hand is almost painfully hot on your chin, but you cannot seem to pull yourself or your gaze away. When she speaks again, she utters a command- “You will go into the world and be my champion. My herald. My vanguard. I have given you some of my power- do with it what you will, but when I call, you will answer and do as you are bid.” She pauses and steps back. She waves her hand and a flash of orange light fills the room. When it fades, you see the floor is littered with a myriad of weapons glowing like they just emerged from the forge. She folds her hands in front of her, and her wings behind her. “The world is a violent place. You will either join the masses in their mindless carnage, or you will be forced to defend yourself against them. Take one of these to aid you.” She gestures for you to choose one.***

***As you reach towards a great axe, the weapon flies to your hand. There’s a brief searing pain, and the glow fades from the weapon. She waves her hand, and a row of symbols is emblazoned on the blade. One of the figures on the outskirts shifts- she shoots a glance at it and then looks back to you. All four wings extend as she speaks- her massive span engulfing your vision. “Now go forth. When they ask you from whence your power comes, tell them you’re the herald of the Queen of Embers.” She erupts in flames and you instinctively close your eyes to shield your face.***

***When you open them again, you are on your back- a solid wooden floor beneath you. Above you on a railing is a massive black bird with six eyes. It spreads its four wings revealing dark red feathers on the underside, and lets out a cry at you before leaping into the air and flying off. You pull yourself up by the railing, and your gaze follows its path. In the distance you can see an island. It is at this moment you realize you are on a small boat- but the boat is not on the water. It is suspended about one hundred feet in the air by three massive red crystals- one on each side and one on the back. They hum and pulse with a slow, dim crackling light. They are encased in gilded bindings, and a mechanism that appears to be some kind of steering mechanism.***

***The ship is about thirty feet long and ten feet wide, and made of an almost black wood of some kind. At the back there appears to be a small cabin, and just before that what looks to be a helm. There are a number of pulley systems which seem to swing out over the side. Looking down the side of the ship, you see emblazoned in golden lettering “GWS Epoch”. Strapped to the inside of the ship, there is a large hammer that has some kind of mechanical components, and beside it five short harpoons. As you take all this in, you realize you have no idea who you are- no memories before that… dream? Vision?”***

On the deck stands a masc-presenting tiefling with deep red skin, large curling horns and long black hair that is braided into a ponytail. Wearing a set of black leather armor outfitted like some kind of climbing harness, he looks around and begins to take stock of what is around him. On his person, he finds a pistol inscribed with the word “Kindness” in Infernal, and below that, a small leather bound tome. Flipping through the tome, he finds it to be a spell book. On the first page, he finds the following words:

What is a debt of blood to the Fire.
The Fire cares not of oaths, of honor, of mercy.
The Fire cares only for its own strength.
How we choose to use the Fire is what makes us.
To warm the bones and feed the weak.
Or to set its destructive nature free.
The choice is what defines us.
The final page appears to be torn out, leaving only a scrap with the name “Ardim Nackle” written on it.

Strapped to his back is the axe given to him by the mysterious figure, and on his belt he finds two daggers, inscribed with “Good Faith” and “Deal Breaker” in Infernal. There is also a small, perpetually warm coal, a belaying pin, some bullets and coins, and a small key. At the center of his chest sits a small red crystal, and around his neck hangs a pendant on a golden chain- two golden rings on a dark grey stone-like background, framed in laurels.

He next inspects the cabin, which is only about six feet deep. A backpack sits below a hammock which hangs by the left wall, and a small chest sits in the back, appearing to double as a chair for the small table that folds down from the wall. Inside the backpack he finds parchment and ink, a small bag of sand and a knife, and a book of basic world history entitled “The History of Orophel”. Inside the chest he finds several more harpoons and bullets, a decently sized leather bound tome entitled “On the Care and Operation of the Ardim Industries Longship, Model VKN-64”, and a small lock box.

Unlocking the lock box with the key on his belt, he opens it to find more money, two vials of swirling red liquid, and another golden pendant- this one depicting four outstretched wings with a flame at the center of them.

The tiefling heads over to the helm and attempts to figure out how to pilot the ship without reading the manual. He sits down and eventually manages to power the ship up. The red crystal on his chest begins to glow, and several leather straps attached to the seat snap to the harness he is wearing. Opening up the throttle and orienting towards the island, the ship jumps to full speed, rocketing towards the island. The bird begins following, but eventually peels off as he approaches the island. Seeing a series of piers halfway up the mountain with several other skyships of varying sizes docked, he makes his way there and is guided in.

A very fat, pompous dwarf makes his way over. He welcomes the tiefling to the Blessed Dominion of Fearanndreh and asks if he has ever docked here before. The tiefling pretends to start writing down notes and making sketches in his book to delay his responses, much to the annoyance of the dwarf. He says that he has not docked here before, and when asked what his name is, he says that it is Emberlin Burns.

Looking at the pendant around Emberlin’s neck, the dwarf informs him that the guild rate for a day is 2 coppers. Emberlin pays for one day, opting to come back and settle things should he decide to stay for longer. He hands over a gold coin with a dragon on it, and the dwarf comments on how he’s been to the Steamers recently. Emberlin gives him two more coppers as a tip, and as the dwarf trundles off, he says “May The Eights be with you.”

Emberlin heads down the pier and comes to a crossroads- a central tunnel descends into the mountain, while two outer paths ascend the outside of the mountain up to a structure with a massive telescope at the peak. An arch above the path says “Welcome to Hachaigh”. After a moment of thought, Emberlin decides to head inside the mountain and find a dive bar. As he descends deeper inside, he begins to notice groups of guards dressed in armor and robes, appearing to be a religious police force. He also notices that there are members of almost every species imaginable except for tieflings, and he is getting dirty looks from many.

About three-quarters down the inside of the mountain, Emberlin finds a bar called “The Fat Shepherd”. Inside, he heads over to the bar, where he is served by a gnome named Jane. He orders a bottle of her strongest and a candle, and begins to spin a tale of arriving to meet a no-show contact. As this is his first time on the island, Emberlin asks Jane to tell him about it. She talks about how they are essentially a theocracy- the Fearchd serve as the religious town guard and answer only to the high priest, the Seanir. She says that after the Grim Crusade, many people gathered here as it was one of the higher points, and as they were mostly religious, they constructed the telescope to view the planets and get more information about the gods. She says that each of the planets represent a god, and that is how they learn about them, though the priests don’t tell them much. She also mentions a rumor that the gods have gone mysteriously quiet recently, and as such, so have the priests.

Emberlin asks how one stays out of trouble on the island, to which Jane responds that he should start with not being a tiefling. She says that while his kind are not technically illegal, a lot of folk don’t trust “demon spawn”, so he should either keep a low profile, or raise hell. She recommends that he stay in the Golden Wake Hall as he’s a Guild member, and that would be the safest for him.

Exiting the bar he heads back up the mountain and eventually finds the hall. The hall is dug into the side of the mountain, and a line of about two dozen people of all kinds are waiting to get in. The guards notice his medallion and wave him inside, but Emberlin stays outside and begins scanning the line of people. Noticing an elf girl dressed in rags and holding a tiny piece of paper who looks very nervous, he goes up and introduces himself.

She introduces herself as Aloth, and says that she is here hoping that someone will take her contract. She needs a creature killed for its glands in order to make a medicine for her sister. However, she’s worried that no one in the hunter’s guild will take the contract, as she has very little money. As they talk, a group of guards approaches and asks her if “this thing” is bothering her. She says no, and Emberlin announces that he was about to escort her inside to assist her with her contract, doing so before they can respond.

The interior of the hall is huge, with a massive bar spanning the entire right side of the room and a series of private recessed booths spaced out along the rest of the walls. The center of the room is filled with tables and groups of rowdy guild members, all of whom appear to be extremely capable fighters. The receptionist informs Emberlin that, unless he is taking Aloth’s contract, she will have to wait in line with everyone else. Emberlin agrees to take the contract, and she directs them to one of the booths.

After ordering some food, Emberlin explains that, in exchange for helping her get the glands she needs, he will need information about the island, as he knows nothing about it. She agrees and hands him the contract, which is for the glands of a giant poisonous snake. She explains that her sister had tried to make a deal with one of the Lower Lords (for reasons her sister won’t tell her), and as a result was cursed and has been slowly turning to stone for about a week. She says she’s heard of some snakes on the nearby island of Nebach.

As Emberlin takes a moment to consider the situation, Aloth begins to feverishly devour her food. While she eats, Emberlin gets up to try and recruit some help. As he begins scanning the room, a commotion arises at the entrance. Keeping an eye on the door, he sits down next to a dragonborn fighter who appears to be alone. A elven man in gilded robes walks in, followed by several priests and a squad of enforcers enters and approaches the receptionist. She identifies him as “Seanir”, and asks what they can do for him. He says that he needs someone to go on a hunt, as they need special sacrifices for the gods. She agrees to show him to a booth, but informs him that only one of his priests can go with him; the rest must wait outside. As he goes to protest, everyone in the room immediately reaches for their weapons, and he quickly quiets down.

Using the commotion as a lead in, Emberlin attempts to recruit the dragonborn, but she immediately turns him down. An offering of alcohol gains him a few seconds of discussion, but upon learning there is nowhere near enough money to drag her away from her vacation, she shoos him away. Next, he tries a spellcaster who appears not quite human. He introduces himself as Lany. He turns out to be very nervous, and is reluctant to go on any hunts as he is scared of anything that might try to kill him. He doesn’t even know why he joined the guild. Some probing reveals that he has only been on two missions, though one of them was a ship, and might have been piracy. Though reluctant, Emberlin manages to convince him with ten silver and some spicy street meat.

The two of them head back to the booth where Aloth has devoured all of her food, and has started on Emberlin’s as well. He introduces Aloth and Lany, and informs her that she will be accompanying them to make sure no one steals the ship. He also gives her five silver so she can purchase some better clothes. As she heads off to inform her sister, Emberlin notices a goliath monk at one of the nearby tables go suddenly on edge and begin scanning the bar. Approaching him, he inquires if he’s looking for a job. It takes the monk a moment to register that Emberlin is talking to him, but says that he is currently hunting a creature, and that it is here in the guild. Emberlin offers his ship as a speedy getaway if he needs it, and the monk says he’ll keep it in mind.

As he and Lany exit the guild, a fight erupts inside the bar, though they are unable to see who is fighting through all the commotion. On the way to the ship, Emberlin purchases a large waterproof tarp and a pair of goggles while Lany tries not to have a panic attack. Arriving at the ship, Lany is surprised at it, mentioning that he’s never seen red crystals before. Looking around, Emberlin notices that every other skyship docked here has blue crystals. While they wait for Aloth to arrive, Emberlin asks Lany about himself. He says that he is a mostly self taught wizard for reasons that he’d rather not go into, and that his ship experience from before might have involved magic missiling a ship’s crystals, causing it to crash into the sea.

Further conversation quickly reveals to Lany that Emberlin has no idea how ships operate, despite owning one, and Lany has a panic attack as a result of Emberlin suggesting that ships might be alive and feel pain. This is when Aloth arrives. Delaying in the hopes that the monk will show up, Emberlin asks Aloth about herself. She says that she was born on the island and has only been off it about three times. Her family are all simple bakers, living on the lower rings and worshiping the gods like everyone else, though all the priests have gone silent recently, turning everyone away with no explanation. She nervously mentions rumors that there’s been a new local star in the sky, which is odd because, since the stars represent each of the gods, a new star means there’s a new god. She wonders what the new god’s purpose is- perhaps they will get rid of the two dragons flooding the world.

Emberlin inquires about the dragons, drawing a skeptical look from her. He persuades her to tell him more, leading her to explain about the Grim Crusade. Two ancient dragons, Dashmala and Nocri, were once mates. One of the fell lords, Morek, began whispering lies to them about each other, and slowly corrupted their souls. Rumor has it that one of the dragon’s children was killed, and the dark lord convinced each of them that the other was responsible. This culminated in a massive fight between the two that destroyed much of the world. Such powerful magic was used that entire mountains were ripped from the earth and set floating about the world. The two dragons were unable to kill each other, so they retreated to opposite ends of the world and set up dens for themselves at the north and south poles. Their natural radiant heat began to melt the ice caps, and the sea levels began to rise, forcing people to scatter and seek refuge on mountain tops or floating islands.

Syndra, a power mage, tried to quickly devise a ritual to counteract the waters and shield a number of locations. She was partially successful, but the ritual went wrong and she sacrificed herself to try and maintain it. It caused entire swaths of land to blink in and out existence, or to float. When they appear, they have preserved creatures that must be kept in check, which is where the Golden Wake comes in, hunting the islands and preventing the creatures from overrunning what little land remains.

Out of the corner of his eye, Emberlin notices the monk, covered in blood, making his way through the crowd. Emberlin waves him over, and he climbs on board, suggesting that they leave now. Emberlin throws the tarp over top of him and calmly pilots the ship out of the dock. Once they are away from the docks, the monk introduces himself as Harland. He is a lower level member of the order of Az Otho, which hunts the unclean- those who are cursed with various forms of undeath or other life. The creature he fought in the guild hall was a werebear.

They arrive at the island about half an hour later. Aloth points out some cliffs where she heard there were some snakes. Harland offers some of his powder which increases aggression for Lany, as he is still curled up in a corner of the ship. Aloth waits in the cabin while the three hunters all disembark the ship, with Lany and Emberlin doing so less gracefully than they hoped. Emberlin immediately locates some snake tracks and follows them into a nearby cave. As they head deeper inside, more and more snake tracks begin to appear. Rounding a corner, they come upon two massive snakes.

As the snakes charge towards them, Emberlin casts Burning Hands, instantly setting one of the snakes on fire and killing it, and crippling the other one, which Harland walks up to and punches, shoving its spine out of place and killing it as well. Emberlin runs up and tries to put out the flames on the burning one, majorly injuring himself. Lany, meanwhile, looks around nervously while holding his spell, not having anything to attack anymore. After extracting the glands, Harland and Emberlin haul the two snakes back to the ship, since Lany is unwilling due to his uncomfortableness with dead bodies.

Ready to head back, Emberlin asks Harland where he would like to be dropped off. Harland says that he doesn’t know, but is fine with being dropped off back at Hachaigh, and that he will make his own way from there. Harland comments on Emberlin’s interesting power, and asks where his powers come from. Emberlin responds that he “likes to think from a sharp wit, a good bottle, and occasionally, a pithy comeback.” Suddenly, everything goes black. Before Emberlin stands an entity in a deep black robe with flaming wings and a flaming skull. It says, “Our Mistress gave you very few commands. You were to serve her, and when asked, you were given a response.” Emberlin answers that he doesn’t quite trust these people, and that he didn’t think advertising the Queen of Embers to them was a good idea. The entity completes his admonishment with “You have your orders”, and disappears, leaving Emberlin back on the deck carving up a snake. He immediately vomits over the side.

Once they’re a fair distance from the island. Emberlin stops the ship and heads over to the rest of the group. There, he announces to them, as ordered, that he is Emberlin Burns, Herald of the Queen of Embers. Aloth points out a connection between the arrival of the new star and Emberlin’s arrival, and Emberlin asks for the group’s discretion, which they agree to. Back at the docks, everyone goes their separate ways, and Aloth gives Emberlin a quick hug before heading off to have the medicine made. Emberlin takes a moment to arrange the two snake corpses at the controls as a deterrent to thieves before making his way back to the Golden Wake Hall.

After obtaining a room for the night, Emberlin has dinner in the main hall and begins to sketch what he can remember of the Queen of Embers and the figures behind her, and contemplates who he is. He begins writing in his book, and as he writes down the Queen of Ember’s name, something inside him resonates through the room, as if everyone turned and looked at him. Heading to his room, he instinctively pulls out the ever-warm coal and uses it to start a fire for the night before heading to bed.

In the night, Emberlin’s sleep is plagued by strange visions- visions of a woman standing before a figure, offering, but also bragging about something he cannot understand. A massive dragon leans in out of the darkness and speaks in an echoey, distorted voice before engulfing the woman in an intense fire, starting Emberlin awake with the woman’s screams of pain ringing in his memory. As he sits there in the beams of sunlight peeking through the window, soaked with sweat and breathing heavily, a gentle knock comes from the door.

Outside stands one of the Fearchd. He informs Emberlin that he is here to fetch him, as the Seanir wishes to speak with him. Once dressed, the two of them head down to the main room. Emberlin stops by the bar and asks one of the bartenders to pass him a bottle of flammable alcohol and theatrically throw him out of the hall, which she gladly does for a gold. With Emberlin’s alcohol safely hidden away, the Fearchd escorts him to the top of the island where the observatory sits. Along the way, he reiterates that he has been sent in good faith, and that the Seanir simply wants some answers to some things he has heard.

Stepping inside, Emberlin finds himself in an awe-inspiring cathedral. Massive murals span the walls and ceilings, and people are scattered among many alcoves in various states of worship and prayer. The Fearchd takes him up a massive spiral staircase at the center which leads up to the telescope. At the top lies a huge room, whose entire floor is one massive mural depicting the history of the gods, and at whose center stands the eyepiece of the great telescope. The Fearchd waves, and a high elf in elaborate garb makes his way over to them

Tea is brought out for them, and everyone is ordered out of the room, leaving just them, the tea, and the telescope. The elf introduces himself as Elror, the high priest and Seanir. He says that he has some questions, and imagines that, likewise, Emberlin probably has some questions for him too. He takes some time to show Emberlin a few of the planets through the telescope, and then shows him the new one- a planet of molten rock, perpetually spinning and erupting with gouts of flame. As he has heard that Emberlin bears allegiance to this new planet, he would like to cast some divination spells on him, in order to determine his nature.

Emberlin starts out by explaining what little he knows; how he has no memories before the previous day, and what his charge from the Queen of Embers is. The Seanir asks what he knows of Morek, the ruler of the Nasile. He explains that, recently, Morek has gone quiet, and that they are worried, with the arrival of this new planet, this might be his doing- essentially claiming to be a god. Emberlin pulls out his book and shows him the sketch of the Queen of Embers he made the night before, the sight of this causing the Seanir to begin shaking, despite his calm demeanor.

The Seanir also asks if he is familiar with the Valkus, a bird with four wings and six eyes. Emberlin tells him of the one that was there when he awoke, and the Seanir explains that they are heralds of storm and harbingers of death, destruction and change; though they can sometimes herald rebirth. He once again asks for permission to cast a divination spell on him, though he admits he will do it regardless, but would rather have his permission.

Emberlin consents, and he begins casting what Emberlin recognizes as a Detect Evil and Good spell. As he finishes casting, a hand suddenly reaches around from behind, grabs him by the throat, and lifts him into the air. Standing behind him is the entity with the flaming skull, saying “No. this one belongs to the Queen. You will not touch them. You can try to fell this one as much as you will, but this one is effectively the high priest of the Queen of Embers. I am the archangel of the Priest of Embers. You will not harm them.” Emberlin tries to talk the archangel down, but he does not listen and throws the Seanir across the room into the wall. The archangel says “This one has a purpose. You will facilitate it, or else the embers will burn”, and then disappears.

As the Seanir tries to recover from the ordeal amidst Emberlin’s apologies, he asks him what he knows of the gods. He explains that, at one time, there was one god, Orophel, who had two children- the gods of life and death. Every god after them was given godhood by the god of death because they achieved something spectacular- their rage so unbounded, their kindness so unmatched, etc. As far as he can tell, the Queen of Embers was not gifted deity, but instead claimed it, tearing deity from the others- and he does not know what this means, which is terrifying.

He asks if there was anything else that she told Emberlin or gave to him, prompting Emberlin to pull out his axe. The Seanir looks it over, and visibly deflates when he reads the inscription, which is in celestial. It says “God Rend”, and is a blade that could kill a god, something he did not think was possible. However, he says that there are rumors of one of the Nasile dying, and since they are effectively lower gods, this does not bode well.

The Seanir decides he needs some time to try and commune with the gods, and he recommends Emberlin go back to the guild hall and try to contact the Queen of Embers. He doubts it will work, but if it does, it might provide some answers. Emberlin reflects on how he is no longer working alone, and even has a friend now, before realizing that he forgot to pay his dock fees. The Seanir rushes him off, confirming that the dockmaster is an asshole and that he needs to go pay now, and says that he will contact him tomorrow as Emberlin rushes down the stairs.

With his fees paid, he heads back to the guild hall and thanks the bartender from earlier before heading up to his room. As the night approaches, Emberlin sits on the floor staring into the fire. With every flicker, every pop of fire, he sees visions of the Queen of Embers standing there smouldering, with her slow rage and power washing over him.

## Quotations

* **Jane:** You born under a rock, son?
**Emberlin:** It’s been a very long journey. It’s been a very long journey. You know, conversation and company wasn’t exactly forthcoming. I made best friends with a bird- it was one of those kinds of voyages.
**Jane:** Gotcha. Don’t want to hear about your special relationship with a bird. Moving on.

* **Jane:** Between you and me, and, you know, whatever gods are watching- rumor has it the gods have mysteriously gone very quiet recently. No particular reason. And, as such, so have all the priests.
**Emberlin:** Interesting. Interesting. *loudly* That is the best secret recipe for a crusty flake pie! I can’t believe everyone else hasn’t thought of that!
**Jane:** Yes, and you keep that to yourself lad. Otherwise I’m gonna go out of business.
**Emberlin:** Oh, right you are. Right you are.

* **Emberlin:** So, I meant to ask, what’s that pendant- the *gestures*? What’s that all about?
**Aloth:** This? It’s the symbol of Orophel, the Magus of Shields. Goddess of Knowledge?
**Emberlin:** Oh yes. Of course. I was just making sure you weren’t some kind of shapeshifter, or pretending- do you know, I have heard tale there are people in this town who wear that pendant without knowing what it is. Can you believe that?
**Aloth:** You’re kidding!?
**Emberlin:** Right!? Who would do such a thing?
**Aloth:** The nerve! I mean, Orophel gives all of us life. It’s the ground we stand on.
**Emberlin:** So much life…

* *On finding out the fabric shop doesn't sell goggles*
**Emberlin:** What do you mean you don’t sell goggles!?
**Shopkeeper:** We sell fabric! That’s all we sell!
**Emberlin:** Goggles are fabric for the eyes!
**Shopkeeper:** And glass! I don’t do glass!
**Emberlin:** Okay! You have a good point there! Have a good day, and I hope your business is well!
**Shopkeeper:** Thank you… and the… Eight be with you!
**Emberlin:** Eight be with you!

* **Emberlin:** Actually, I never asked your specialty…
**Lany:** Oh. I, uh, I’m a wizard. Specifically, I’m fairly good at Magic Missile.
**Emberlin:** Oh, lovely. Lovely.
**Lany:** Yeah, so Magic Missile- that’s my thing. The thing I was talking about earlier- I might have Magic Missiled a ship’s crystals and made them crash into the ocean. It’s fine.
**Emberlin:** I… all I heard was that you did a very good job of slaying something that was much larger than yourself. Honestly, all I’m hearing here is job recommendations.
**Lany:** That’s a very good way to say that- I’m going to write that down. Is that okay if I write that down?
**Emberlin:** Absolutely. Absolutely.

* **Lany:** I see you’ve been doing a good job keeping good maintenance of your OML.
**Emberlin:** Oh yes. My OML. Uh, but, what makes you think I’m good at the- the- the omonl- the om-om-omanl, that you just said?
**Lany:** The, Omnilateral Maneuvering Lines?
**Emberlin:** Exactly that, yes.
**Lany:** … the repelling gear?
**Emberlin:** Yes.
**Lany:** It- it just seems like it’s well maintained…
**Emberlin:** Oh, thank you. I spend a lot of time making sure the Omni...loteral, uh Repelling Gear is absolutely in working order.
**Lany:** The Maneuvering Line, but yes. Okay.
**Emberlin:** Absolutely. I was- uh, that was a test. That was a test, and you passed.
**Lany:** *Points at the hammer* What’s that called?
**Emberlin:** ……… Well, uh, I’ve been- I’ve been flying ships so long, I just call it ‘Dave’ at this point.
**Lany:** …… You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?
**Emberlin:** ……. I’ve kept the manual.

* **Emberlin:** Lany, you okay? You decent?
**Lany:** *small thumbs up rises from his curled up body*
**Emberlin:** There we go!
**Emberlin:** *whispers to Harland* I am drastically underpaying that child.
**Harland:** If you would like, I can give him some of our powder that increases aggression.
**Emberlin:** You know what? I think that would help.
**Harland:** We will save it until we see the thing, and then I will… okay.
**Harland:** Is this… no, this is probably a good idea. This is a good idea.
**Emberlin:** I don’t see a downside.
**Harland:** Mage with aggression. That’s a good thing, right?
**Emberlin:** Oh, hells yes… I think.
**Harland:** Yes. Okay.
**Aloth:** *nervously* Uhm, uh… can I hide in the cabin? Is that okay?

* **Aloth:** Did you need to bring all of the snakes back? That’s really gross.
**Emberlin:** Well, I figured you work in the food industry. Perhaps you could help us carve a few useful pieces off.
**Aloth:** I do bread.
**Emberlin:** That’s basically snake.
**Aloth:** No it’s not! They’re very different!
**Emberlin:** But the long loaves!
**Aloth:** Yes. One is a living thing that you have to kill and dissect carefully. The other one is flour.
**Emberlin:** …. Good point.