My journey into the Dark Caverns began on a whim, exploring the rocky beaches south of the Sanctuary of Amadia. I remember the exact spot, just past where those poor, burning pigs were. I almost missed the hidden entrance nestled between the cliffs, but a keen eye spotted the subtle opening at coordinates X:513, Y:76. Little did I know, this detour would lead me to one of the most intriguing—and frustrating—items in all of Rivellon: the Band of Braccus.

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Stepping into the damp, echoing caverns, I was immediately accosted by a strange figure named Trompdoy. He warned me to turn back, his voice echoing off the wet stone. Behind him, an underground river flowed, and I noticed something odd about the air above it. Cautiously, I stepped forward, and an invisible path materialized beneath my feet! Using this hidden walkway, I ventured deeper, only to be ambushed by Trompdoy and a host of his magical illusions. The fight was chaotic, with duplicates of him appearing everywhere. The key was to take out all the illusions to force the real encounter.

Deeper in, the path narrowed into a stone chamber that felt more like a puzzle box than a dungeon. The room was disorienting, filled with fake doors and, at its center, a silent, enigmatic statue.

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When I spoke to it, it presented me with a riddle. My heart raced a little—I'm no scholar. I had to choose my words carefully:

  1. To finish its sentence, I chose 'very awful, rotten.'

  2. For the description of a curse, I replied, 'A hex, a misery, a blight, a curse.'

To my relief, the correct answers made the locked door behind the statue grind open. This led to the final confrontation. Trompdoy attacked again with more illusions, but this time, the real one was among them. I scanned the battlefield frantically and spotted him: the Aeromancer with the dreaded 'Cursed' status floating above his head. Focusing all our attacks on him, we struck him down, and like mist, all his illusions vanished.

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Looting his body, I found it. The Band of Braccus. It looked deceptively elegant. The moment my character, Ifan, picked it up, a new quest flashed in my journal: 'The Cursed Ring - Ifan.' The game was telling me this was no ordinary treasure.

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Curiosity got the better of me. I equipped it. Instantly, a wave of weakness washed over Ifan. My screen flashed, and his status bar was afflicted with the Cursed condition. The debuff was brutal:

  • Accuracy: -10%

  • Dodging: -30%

  • All Elemental Resistances: -15%

The quest updated immediately. It seemed simple: pass the curse along. I unequipped the ring, placed it in my inventory, and had Lohse put it on. Just like that, the curse jumped from Ifan to her, and the quest log marked the objective as complete. But now poor Lohse was stuck with it! We needed a way to break this curse for good.

Thankfully, I had also discovered a unique chest piece in the cavern's final treasure room: the Heart of the Tyrant. I learned there was a special, almost ritualistic, way to use these two items together to cleanse the curse without needing a Source skill like Bless.

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The sequence was everything. I had to be meticulous:

  1. Equip the Band of Braccus (cursing the character).

  2. Equip the Heart of the Tyrant chest armor.

  3. Unequip the Band of Braccus.

  4. Unequip the Heart of the Tyrant.

Following these steps in this exact order made the cursed status vanish from Lohse. It felt like performing an exorcism! I breathed a sigh of relief. The game is forgiving, though; if you mess up the order, you can just try again. There's no permanent penalty.

Now, with the curse lifted, I could examine the ring's true properties. On paper, it's not terrible:

Stat Bonus
Magic Armor +8
Intelligence +1
Constitution +1
Special Effect Set Cursed

But that 'Set Cursed' effect is permanent on the ring itself. Every single time you put it on, the curse returns. This makes it utterly useless as a regular equipment piece. You can cleanse the character, but you can never cleanse the ring. There is no 'clean' version to be found in the game.

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So, what's the point? After all this trouble, I discovered its one unique, game-changing use. Later, on Bloodmoon Island, you encounter the Gargoyle's Maze. It's a notoriously tricky puzzle filled with deadly traps and powerful guardians.

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If you approach the Gargoyle statue at the maze's entrance while wearing the Band of Braccus, something incredible happens. The gargoyle senses the ring's connection to its ancient master. It mistakes the wearer for Braccus Rex himself! As a sign of respect (or fear), it instantly teleports your entire party to the very center of the maze, right in front of the tower, bypassing the entire dangerous puzzle.

It's a fantastic shortcut, but it comes with a heavy trade-off. The Gargoyle's Maze is also filled with fantastic loot, including powerful unique items and tons of experience. By skipping it, you miss all of that. For me, the choice was clear. I wanted to experience everything the game had to offer. I stored the Band of Braccus in my personal chest on the Lady Vengeance, a curious trophy from a dangerous delve. It serves as a reminder that in Rivellon, power often comes with a price, and the most direct path isn't always the most rewarding one. My adventure with the cursed ring was a perfect example of the deep, interconnected storytelling and mechanics that make Divinity: Original Sin 2 such a masterpiece.