107. All the Good People We Can Get

The expedition methodically searches islands and locates a five-sided, rune-engraved column identified as an astral relay tied to a vast effect. Lacking a true astral specialist, Danielle Geller pushes to triangulate a central node despite her frustration with the expedition’s lopsided, politically stuffed roster.

Back in Greenstone, Jason, Vincent, Jory, and Belinda hurry to the prison. Anticipating a rigged hearing handing Sophie’s indenture to Lucian Lamprey, Jason opts to act within procedure. With Vincent’s paperwork and Albert’s cooperation, Jason is confirmed as the contracted agent and takes Sophie into custody, accepting a tracker bracelet.

Jason immediately hides Sophie within Emir Bahadir’s cloud palace, nullifying the tracker. Arella and her deputy, Genevieve, deduce the move and weigh Emir’s ties to Rufus, concluding Emir won’t yield Sophie without cause.

Vincent confronts Arella over weaponizing corruption to aid Lamprey. Arella derides Jason and fires Vincent for disobedience. As Vincent hands over his pin, news arrives that expedition tracking stones register numerous deaths across ranks.

Meanwhile, Danielle prepares to mobilise for missing scouts, but an automaton army—golems, constructs, and robed controllers on mechanical mounts—assaults the camp. Chaos erupts as Danielle and Thalia bark orders to hold the line.

Back at the Society, the scale of losses forces immediate recalibration. Genevieve reverses course, returning Vincent’s pin with the admission that they need all the good people they can get, as the expedition crisis intensifies.