Azmarin 4

The party finishes off the barbed devil quickly, tells the prisoner to free as many as hey can, and steels themselves to continue on. They pass several cells, finding Andromeda, wearing magical manacles. Charlie wakes her, and tells her they need to get going. Tarian dispels the magic on the manacles.

Jude goes down the hallway, looking for Xavier, yelling out for him, and finding a Horned Devil who helps to run the place. The devil says that the one who broke into the castle was taken back to the castle dungeons, referring to Jude as "the disgraced one". Jude tells them that he was sent there by the same one who disgraced him, and that he will be on his way to the castle, then.

Meanwhile, Charlie finds the keys to the cells on the Chained Devil and begins unlocking cells. Tarian also creates a Magic Circle as a choke point. As they move to leave, they hear the door to the room where the Horned Devil was open and close, and a roar from the devil. As the devil comes charging after them, Andy tries to banish him, but is unable.

The devil is stopped by the Magic Circle, but tries to hurl fire at them through it, which Andy counterspells. They all rush out, with Tarian putting an Arcane Lock on the door behind them. They send most of the prisoners back to safety, and take Andy to Briar's clocktower.

Andy asks them what year it is, and, when they tell her, she says she's 2 years late for lunch with Theo. She seems quite unaware of the devil incursion, and why she was arrested for going to the castle. They wonder why the rebellion sent them to rescue her, and she suggests that they need to talk to Sigh to get some answers. As they settle in for the night, Jude stares out a window overlooking the castle, saying softly "Xavier, what did you get yourself into?"

In the wee hours of the morning, they hear the bell toll, signifying that Matthias Delaney is now hung up on the castle walls. Briar asks Najua why she's seeing things. Najua tells her that she has a destiny, since she got Najua, whether she wants it or not. Jude attempts to contact Valroc for information, but gets no response.

Charlie clutches her necklace and tries to reach out to Nekir. She hears him land on the roof and goes to see him. He tells her that, if he were to go to the castle and get out a Delaney, it would be the last thing he ever did, but he'll do it if she asks it. He tells her that, before the Devils took over the city by force, it was taken over by infiltration of key people. She tells him she will not ask him to walk into certain death, but she will find another way. He also lets her know that all means of communicating outside of Azmarin have been cut off.

The group make their way back to the Basilisk and the Bastille with Andy. Dave takes them a conference room, reuniting Andy with Sigh, her pseudodragon. Briar asks Jude about who he's looking for, and whether that's his destiny. He tells her he wouldn't focus on destiny - following his supposed destiny made him do something that he regrets, so now he's focusing on doing what feels right.

Dave returns and takes them all to an empty room, where a broken voice asks Andy about how she got into Azmarin. She tells the voice that she was invisible, thanks to a ring of invisibility from Xytharia. They ask her about Xytharia's connection with Adelaide Wolfewood, and where Adelaide is. They tell her that they were unable to reach Theo. Charlie suspects that they're speaking with an entity known as Hellbreaker, the leader behind the rebellion.

A zone of truth spell is cast across the room, with Jude and Briar resisting it. The voice asks whether Andy is willing to help the rebellion, which she says she is. The figure steps out of the shadow - a tall man, wearing plate armor. Charlie recognizes him as the former captain of the guard, Captain Delavan, and Jude recognizes him as his biological father. He tells Jude not to resist, and casts Zone of Truth again. Briar succeeds in resisting it again. He then demands that what he's about to say doesn't leave this room, which they all agree to.

He tells them all that they are about to attempt to bring Theo Delaney back to Azmarin, because he's the only one who has access to the vault of guns, and the only one who can break into the castle. Hellbreaker asks Andy to contact Theo and tell him what's going on with the other Delaneys, and she does so. Jude then takes over, introducing himself as Aegard, and telling him about what's going on.

Hellbreaker than demands that they (particularly Jude) smuggle Theo into the city, saying that maybe he can redeem himself. Jude wants to know how he's alive, and he says that he wasn't killed - he was taken to the hells and interrogated for 5 years about the city. On the night of the incursion, he escaped in the chaos and came through the portal and watched Jude take down all his brothers-in-arms. He tells Jude that he is no son of his. Jude tells him that he is trying to atone for his wrongs. He tells Jude to tell the party the truth and maybe he can redeem himself.

Jude leaves, and Hellbreaker tells them he will coordinate the plans to get Theo there, but it will take the better part of a month. The party head to their separate homes, with Andy going with Tarian. Jude breaks down, full-on ugly crying. Charlie goes and finds her father in his study, and asks why their house is untouched when so many have fallen. He admits that "too much" was given, and Charlie leaves to find her mom.