Oko offered more than payment. To Annie Flash he presented a chance to confront the threat that had once driven her from violence. To imprisoned specialists he offered freedom. To rivals and rogues he offered a target famous enough to make cooperation feel like legend.
Vraska served as his second-in-command, measuring the plan with more discipline than its architect displayed. The crew’s talents covered illusion, assassination, necromancy, charm, navigation and force. Trust was not among them, so every stage depended on incentives remaining stronger than suspicion.
The figure they knew as Ashiok added another layer of uncertainty. Oko valued the nightmare mage’s apparent usefulness without controlling the agenda behind the mask. In a company built from hidden motives, the greatest threat was always the participant who understood the job differently.