Well, the cabal can choose to get involved, if they want to be. Or even if individual members of it want to be.

Is it doable covertly, or vicariously through summons?

It's possibly doable covertly and definitely vicariously.

Then sure; a couple people are willing to stick their necks that far out.

Then they can explain their little arson plan and some of its contingencies. Meanwhile, she has someone to visit.

This time it'd be safer for her, Diana, and Doug to go together. No enchantresses.

But getting there may be more complicated. As they get near to the center of the city, the air turns from cold to warm to hot in the space of a few minutes. And a twelve-car pileup blocks the road, with several of the vehicles burning.

...what a delight. Maybe a detour?

Apparently. But as soon as they have a view of the center of the collision, a tall figure strides out and walks toward them. He's covered in rags from head to toe, with only one eye visible. If glowing too bright to look at counts as visible. He—it—accelerates toward them.

...well shit.

Time to run?

Probably. The Eye, that's definitely the Eye of the Storm, is faster. It closes the distance and raises a hand. Sparks crackle around an outstretched finger and lightning forks toward them with an ozone smell.

They can't run faster than the Eye; they definitely can't run faster than lightning. They're hit.

...and then they disappear in a puff of not-quite-smoke.

The Eye doesn't see the smoke. It feels the heat of running motors, of the flames licking up spilled fuel, of electrical circuits in street lights and air escaping heated buildings. And the body heat of two humans and a bird cowering near where it sighted its quarry. It senses them running north and gives chase, calling flames to cut off their path. And just before it closes in, it senses two humans and a bird fleeing east, and a third set going south.

(Meanwhile there are a couple of people who emit as much heat as the background snow and their parakeet over there.)

They're lucky it doesn't also see normally. 

As it moves past them they can see burnt skin and tufts of hair between some of the rags. And they can feel the air itself crackling and seeming to burn. Wide puddles of melted snow trace the elemental's path and lie there to re-freeze.

Yikes.

But whatever, that was—a close call averted. Onwards, slowly, travelling through paths the elemental didn't cross.

It smashes the pieces in their shell game one after another. But they've bought themselves an escape.

Diana pants, exhausted from the double duplication. But they aren't running anyway, just carefully making their way past the site.

And towards Duncan Behaim's place.

There's a family resemblance to Laird, though he's some years younger. But mostly he just looks surprised. 

"I got the A.P.B. but was, uh, really expecting to sit this out. Duncan Behaim. You must be Sam, and l know who you are. I'm guessing you've got a really good reason l shouldn't just turn you both in?"

"Yeah. How do you feel about being Lord?"

"Might be nice if that were ever going to happen. You must be really desperate, trying that."

She shrugs. "Not really. Jeremy's the obvious contender but I do have something to get if I back you and I do think there's a real chance you could do it. And even if you don't, just being in the running and backed by other people would probably still net you something, so that bit's guaranteed, conditional on us winning against Conquest. Which I'm confident of, by the by. So, wanna hear us out?"

"Not really, but I'm not that foolish. You can come in if you want."

They do.

"I'm not sure you realize just how unlikely that is. Conquest has handled scarier opponents than you, but let's say whatever you've got works out. What makes you think anyone would accept a random nobody as Lord?"

"Jeremy doesn't want to be Lord," she starts with. "Everyone knows that. He's doing it because his god wants him to, and he'll be his god's puppet in this as in everything else, and Isadora's okay with it because he's unlikely to ruffle any feathers or make any waves, his god just wants more worshipers. But by that token, it's not like people want him in particular as Lord as much as they might want out of Conquest and the fact that he already made a bid and is powerful enough to back it makes him the obvious contender, right?"