Soaring Souls

The Flock, an infamous mercenary gang, takes a simple commission to break a prisoner out of their cell and are rewarded handsomely. However, they are given an unexpected additional gift: a special stone emanating a brilliant gold, and are told to touch it by their commissioner. Upon doing so, their entire world-view is flipped on its head, and they are plunged into a conspiracy at a national scale. Did the birds bite off more than they could peck?