The Devil in the Details

The King's Hand ride back to Solebreuve, only to find the city on a bit of a lockdown, doing more thorough checks on anyone entering or leaving the city. Xanthe is stopped in particular, but is able to fool the guards with her lies, plus having Marik sneak into the city with the stolen items. With that done, the group returns to the Bronze Compass.

After catching up Zepharos, they place the stolen items into lead boxes to prevent anyone from detecting where they are through magical means. All that remains is to have Edwinn rest so he can be at full strength and use the Severing Needle on Via.

During his rest, Edwinn attempts to cast Remove Curse on the gauntlet, but the spell seems to have no effect. With his faith in Pelor and the gauntlet strengthened, he offers a prayer of thanks to Pelor to thank him for his aid in saving his siblings.

Xanthe goes to speak with Via, but finds her in a drunken state, with Via lashing out at Xanthe and wanting to heal on her own terms, as she still feels guilty about using the needle on herself. Xanthe sees the pain that Via is in, and apologizes for how she's reacted in the past. Xanthe and Via make amends before Xanthe requests the Ashen Crown. Via is hesitant, but agrees to give it to her the following day.

Later that night, Cailynn veilwalks and examines Via and Xanthe as they sleep. Around Via she sees the sleeping form of two dragons, along with the familiar smoke and electricity that has attacked them before.

On Xanthe though, she delves deep and is able to travel deep into the Etheral Plane, but is noticed by the devil that owns Xanthe's soul. The devil mocks her as a "pup" and uses his power to control her and make her do various tricks. Cailynn lashes out, breaking the connection the Devil has over her before retreating.

She awakens with several bad burns across her face, which awakens Xanthe, who quickly chastises Cailynn for taking such a risk without warning her.

Cailynn visits Edwinn the next day and he is able to heal the worst of the burns, with the rest naturally healing over the next few weeks. She then moves down to speak with Marik and fill him in on what happened. Marik offers little back and denies anything being wrong when Cailynn presses him, saying that he merely wants to move on from this place. Marik also blows off Xanthe and Via when they both attempt to check in on him after his refusal for Knighthood from Sir Torwynn.

Edwinn makes a trip down to test his strength, voicing his concern for Xanthe wearing the crown once he sees it. He warns her against wearing cursed objects, calling upon his own experience with the gauntlet and what happened, but Xanthe assures him that she will be fine and will remove the crown should anything attempt to influence her. Edwinn seems to back off, but isn't happy with the decision.

The following day, Elim, Moreau, Zepharos, and Torwynn all suggest that the four of them head down to the teleportion circle the cult uses, insisting on watching it and keeping guard over it until the heirs finish their work in the Scorched Sepulcher. The heirs all agree with this plan.

Later that night, a strange presence overtakes the Bronze Compass as a man rolls in, seemingly knowing who all the heirs were. He introduces himself as Raphael, yet another devil that was interesting in the party. He offers them a deal, wanting them to hold onto the Severing Needle so they could use it on his father Mephisto, the devil that owns Xanthe's soul. They initially push back, but Raphael recognizes Cailynn's burns and realizes she's the one that attacked him the other night. With this new leverage, he threatens to inform his father of what was done unless they agree to his contract. He gives them twenty four hours to consider his offer. He departs, leaving the heirs with a rough discussion ahead of them.