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Just a few more steps, Elizabet. Our new players are almost ready. They just need a few more things, and they will be prepared to finish this. We have issues with our older pawns, though. Seems like they think there is a way out. That’s not acceptable. There’s no running. There’s no hiding. Oblivion is coming for everything here, and they are no different. I want this reality gone. No vestiges of it hiding anywhere else. Strand them here, Elizabet. Do it by any means.

The teams dives into the Shadowfell, venturing into the realm of dusk and meeting some old friends along the way. They also make friends with the local folks.

I am very familiar with the horror that lurks in the darkness, Mr. Slayton. I was content to run from it once again, but now, given what happened with my son and his friends, it does not seem like running is an option anymore. I will not go quietly, and while others might dismiss your… vision, I appreciate the intent. You need more, though. You’re talented, but your vision is too small. That is not a slight, you just don’t know how big a level to work on. Monsters are well and good, Mr. Slayton, but it takes far more than a monster to kill a god.

This week, the team begins to gather information for their next mission. Sights are staked out, files are reviewed, and meetings with your parents never get less awkward.

Hello. My name is Stanton Slayton. Though, I imagine that if you brought me here, you already know that. You’ve read about me in the papers, I’m sure. About the brilliant engineer who was driven to the edge by his work and became a monster. You see it now, though. The darkness falling on this world. Other planes spilling into ours. The city tearing at the seams. That pressure in the back of your head telling you to fear the night. And, now, you come to me because you’ve finally realized there are worse things in the dark than monsters.

Makers are met and old friends are visited as the team begins to ramp up for their next mission. One team member dives into their past, but sometimes the past needs to remain forgotten.

Look, I’m just gonna come out and say it. Otto’s lost their vision. The people who pull the strings are at their weakest, and we’re what? Being errand runners for a soup kitchen? I mean, it’s not like these people don���t need help, but we’re, at best, acting as a bandage. At worst, we’re hurting these people further by not seizing the reigns. If this was Otto a year ago, we would be running the city and actually helping, but now...We’re all thinking it. It’s Corra. She’s a great person and has a big heart, but that is not what the city needs. It’s not what Otto needs.

This week, the team does their best to provide for their section of the city as their resources dwindle. Also, a pair of couples have some heart-to-heart talks, as well as a caper revealed.

You couldn’t protect him forever, Elizabet. Like I said, he was bound to put it together. I know you had a soft spot for him. What? You think I didn’t see you pulling punches with him and his friends? I know it’s not the first time. Little moments when your better self comes up for air. With those new Keeper recruits, what, forty years ago? More recently with that whole apartment complex thing you and the elf helped out with. You’ve been using kids gloves with him, but remember, it’s all just ephemeral. It will all go away soon enough, and you will have the peace you’ve wanted for so long. Now, be quick. This will burn up quicker than you think it will.

This week ties are severed as some members of the group turn in their proverbial pink slips. Some other forces are waiting in the wings though, waiting to see the fallout.

I’m torn, Dawn Father. I didn’t know my connection to Tessa would be like this. Her feelings are bleeding over onto my mine. It’s almost like I never died. I keep thinking back to before. Before the world started falling apart. Before we all had to give up so much of ourselves. Before Ioun... Well, just before the war in general. I know that bad things are coming, but I can’t help but want her to not have to deal with it all. All of the loss and the pain that we had to endure. It just makes me want to go back to before we put up the veil I just wish we could go back before the bad. Back when we were happy.

The team recovers from their grueling time at the Keeper’s HQ. While some of the team does their best to relax, others decide they need a conversation with their boss.

The scene fades in. Ai, Otto, and Wyatt all stand in front of the interns and those that had been rescued. They have just been informed that the team did not come back with those rescued, and you can see the information washing over the trio in their faces. “What do you mean they ain’t coming back?” Ai’s eyes bore into Enna. “Y’all just left them there?” Her expression quickly softens, turning to panic. “What…What am I gonna do, if she doesn’t come back?” Ai’s eyes are wise, darting around as though she is looking for an answer. “I ain't… I ain’t got nobody else but my momma and... I can’t deal with losin’ someone again. Not like this. What am I gonna do, Otto? What am I gonna do?” Otto moves around her, looking her dead in the eyes with a stony expression. “We’re not losing anyone. I promise you, we will get them back. Corra, Tessa, all of them. I don’t care what we have to do, or who we have to kill.” They glance up and over toward River, who is standing, looking just as shocked. “River, get all hands on deck. Tell them we’re going to war.”

The battle at the Keeper’s HQ rages on. Things begin to spiral out of control as combat heats up. In the middle of the fray, someone comes to make a request.

I had a long talk with Newton yesterday. He and I framed it like a visit to the storage facility. It’s pretty much the only place we can get away from her and Lincoln. I wanted to see if he felt the same way I did. Newton and I usually can see the same writing on the wall. She’s getting desperate and sloppy. She’s narrowing her focus and losing sight of the big picture. I’ve told her before, these are all feints trying to get her to make a mistake and she has. Newton agrees with me. While if the choice is between her and nothing, she wins out, but maybe it is time to find a different solution. Maybe extend an olive branch.

The team comes face to face with a foe from their past, but a new, more dangerous foe makes their presence known.

All available units, I repeat, all available units, disturbance reported at the indeliophan. Multiple casualties reported. Students being evacuated. We have reports that Tessa Blackmoore is on the scene. Proceed with caution. Unknown number casualties at scene, conflict still in progress. I repeat, proceed with caution. Establish a perimeter and mobilize all available automated security units. Stay sharp and stay safe. We don’t know what this group is capable of or if they are injured. Do not engage alone. They’ll be desperate for escape. They’ll be more dangerous than ever.

The team makes their way into the belly of Keepers HQ. While they are searching from their friend they find something that may tempt them like never before.

R&D Memo to Glittering Oath Board of Directors. Highly confidential. Burn after reading.

Our efforts to continue reverse engineering the main sample have been less than fruitful. While our initial results were promising, we cannot crack the secret behind this independence displayed in the sample. Our newest line can perform more detailed tasks, but still require both supervision and a handler in the vicinity. With their current limitations, we will not be able to fulfill the goals of both the keepers and the city guard to restore order to the east end of the city. We cannot push the sample any harder, as of right now. It is at its limit, and we may lose it altogether. There is a gap here, between the schematics and the sample. We may have to bring Vancroft in for the automated personnel units to progress how we want.

This week the team prepares to infiltrate the Keeper’s headquarters to rescue Kravitz. They gather information, scope out the joint, and maybe, just maybe, mend some fences.