In the battle between good and evil, the scales appear to favor the forces of villainy. One of the heroes is lost, and another despairs. Divisions grow as the Kelpies - the ancient leaders of treachery and deceit - continue to become more and more powerful. Some of them have been defeated, but it may not be enough. Wounded, exhausted, discouraged, the spirits of the eight one-time strangers, now comrades in arms, are flagging.