The cabal convened at Kevin’s manse to plan the destruction of a Technocratic warehouse facility that was harvesting the raw essence of human beings. Unable to mount a direct assault with their scholarly magic, Ramiz called in the Midnight Syndicate — a no-nonsense subsect of the Hollow Ones — at the steep price of three future magical items. While negotiations concluded, Kevin and Echo engineered a fire construct named Algernon: a semi-sentient, metal-devouring creature that grew from rat-sized to Clydesdale-sized over several hours, enhanced by Mina’s ritual to cause instant oxidation on contact. The team geared up with weapons and tactical equipment, Ramiz briefed everyone on the intelligence picture, and the full strike team portaled into a wooded area near the facility’s parking lot.

The cabal was successful in the destruction of the warehouse, but, at what cost?