Convinced, at least temporarily, of Trace Fellwinter’s good intentions, the party continues through the tunnels that no longer serve as a home to the kind, gentle, and stunning creatures known as shocker lizards. Seriously. They were just living their best lives and this group of murderous clowns just comes in an clears out the entire colony like it’s nothing. What does a creature have to do to get a modest level of respect from Golarion’s heartless adventurers? This party disgusts me sometimes.
At the end of a particularly winding passage, Krask notices that there is a slight seam on the smooth wall. Vale confirms that there should be an entrance to the prison cells below Fort Rannick, but he can’t recall where it might be, having never been down here before. After a brief minute of searching, Krask locates a hidden indentation and the stone door slides open to reveal a prison guard’s room that has been re-purposed with fine silks and upholstery. A figure is sitting in a plush chair facing away from the doorway, and they stand up to face the newcomers.
Krask stands face-to-face with a gorgeously slender woman whose stark red hair provides a perfect contrast to her pale face. She is sipping a glass of wine, but she doesn’t seem to be surprised by her unexpected visitors. Commence monologue.
The woman is Lucrecia (ring any bells?). Her moniker has been hinted at and referenced at a couple points in the adventure thus far: the discarded note to Xanesha on the Shadow Clock roof, and the supposed name of the proprietor of The Paradise. Obviously, however, she was not a victim to Claybottom Lake’s depths and she certainly wasn’t a meal for Pinkeye; here she is, in the flesh. Between sips of wine, Lucrecia talks about the uselessness of people allowing their souls to be trapped in their bodies. Why are people so protective of their soul when they just die without ever tapping into its power? She makes several poignant analogies of souls to grapes and the wine-making process.
As she talks with the party, the aroma of wine travels down the narrow passage and fills Fobias’ nostrils. He is hit with an overwhelming bout of nostalgia as the sickly-sweet smell triggers a memory from his past when he was fighting a younger, smaller boy back in Gary’s camp. Fobias had been pulling his punches for whatever reason, while the other child was fighting with the intensity of a thousand burning suns. After landing a devastating blow to the boy, causing him to stagger back to the ground in a breathless heap, Gary instructed Fobias to finish the job and knock him out. Fobias wouldn’t. And for that reason, according to Garitran, Fobias’ blood will always belong to him.
Back in the real world, Lucrecia proposes that the party join Mokmurian in his endeavor to create ‘the finest vintage in all of Golarion.” Unsurprisingly, the party isn’t having any of it, especially Trace who detects the evil aura surrounding the lamia. Battle begins and Lucrecia’s lower half transforms into a winding snake’s tail – her true form.
In a series of two blinding attacks, Lucrecia knock’s Vale to the edge of death with massive bleeding damage and puts Theo unconscious. Try as they might, the party can’t seem to get past the hardened scales of Xanesha’s older sister, even after they’ve surrounded her on all sides. Trace performs admirably, healing Theo and Value back to consciousness, while Krask and Shalelu attack with bolts from afar. Fobias and Barnaby team up to get right in Lucrecia’s business, but it isn’t until Barnaby intentionally misses his attack to catch the lamia flat-flooted that the party begins to chip away at her fortitude. Shalelu manages to fire an arrow right through Lucrecia’s wine glass and into her eye socket. In a rage, the lamia commands Jakardros to attack his daughter. He obliges.
The situation, although seemingly in favor of Lucrecia, doesn’t seem to sit well with the lamia and she casts the second Dimension Door of the battle, leaving the party panting around a sizeable pool of dark blood.
What will become of Jak now that he’s charmed? Where did Lucrecia retreat to? Who else wants to see an Animorphs-style image of Krask transitioning into a grape?
Art credit: Napa Sunset by Vicki Asp