Faced with a hostile experiment, the group removes the mind control bug from the winged entity in the room. The entity, Sithra, appears to be a succubus-likes creature from whatever shard she came from. She warns the party that the enemies ahead will be dangerous and that they should be cautious. She offers that the bugs will be weak to fire, but that the collateral damage might be great. She opens a door for the party to allow them to bypass the testing chambers, then teleports away with Dr. Dallin, likely under her thrall. After a brief rest, the party moves on to the next room.

Continuing to ignore the testing labs, they enter a door labeled Fabrication and Protogenesis. Dr. Hayward comes over the intercom again, observing that the group has arrived to stop "something" without knowing what it is. He invites Dorean to continue forward to see what her role is. In the Fabrication room they find several creatures in vats like what they fought the last time they encountered Fulkin, six people chained to the floor with the mind control bugs on their heads, and John Oratio Hayward himself. Upon prompting, he explains that Fulkin believes that Hayward is creating an army for him, but Hayward has higher ambitions. With the gods gone, he says that people can step up and take control of their fate. He calls Dorean incomplete, that she could become more than merely a strong human, if only he was allowed to complete his work. He offers her a "cheese and wheel" to distract her, to encourage her to return to him. She desires only his head and her freedom. He offers to let her see Liz right now. His offers refused, he releases the creatures in the room upon them.

Over the course of the battle, Ward is able to prevent enemies from being released into the city. Half of the commoners who were being forced to worship and power a minor god were rescued, though half of them were killed. The god was also killed, the mind slaver queen escaping into the city. Once all of the enemies were defeated, the lab began to self-destruct, prompting the party to escape swiftly back into the sewers. Merely, unconscious as a result of killing the god, was taken back to the airship while the surviving commoners were left at the adventurer's guild to be taken care of.

Introduced

• Sithra

Returning

• Merely
• Dr. Dallin Barlow
• Dr. James Oratio Hayward

• Notes (Ward, from the Lab)
• Crystal (Ward, from the Lab)
• Pristine Etali fang (1, by Eck)