The trio of Order inquisitors filled out paperwork. A miserable and ill-timed operation; only three Cabal cell leaders were captured. The newly emerged Hornet Queen, her allies the Shield-Maiend and Doctor Worm, as well as the notorious Uncle Slug, escaped. But the extenuating circumstances were the sudden revelation of a hostage; what Uncle Slug called a 'sacrifice' for the Hornet Queen to create a black obol and prove she was worthy of leading the region's Obsidian Cabal cells. The inquisitors had a lot of paperwork to fill out.

    Now leaderless, several of the cells met on Treasure Island under the cover of a new moon to discuss recent events.
    "I am seriously not okay with killing people to make black obols."
    "Yeah and like..." The spectral-looking mage started silently counting. "... that's a lot of people that died to make all of us. Are we going to run into their angry ghosts or something?"
    Another Cabal member rubbed her arms to keep warm. "Hornet Queen said she'd found something different?"
    The crowd murmured before a young man with night-black skin and batwings spoke up. "I dunno about all that, but Hornet Queen's got skills if she's got Doctor Worm's loyalty. How many of us got made by Doc Worm?" There's a hesitant show of hands. "Yeah, so maybe we ought to throw in with Hornet Queen then. Maybe that Shield-Maiden and the Doc can set up a sanctuary like I hear the Beacon Society's got. Tired of living in trashed out places and hiding from the normies myself."
    There's animated discussion about this well into the night.