The door was reluctant to open at first, as though stuck, but after a sharp tug it opened with a hiss of escaping air and a crackling flash of light that implied a now-deactivated ward. It evidently blocked sound and light among any other functions it might have had, because the wailing of a woman in labor was immediately and loudly audible while a pale crimson light in the ceiling illuminated the laboratory.<br/><br/>She was sitting against the far wall with her legs splayed out, in the middle of giving birth to some tentacled monstrosity. While nude below the breasts she did retain the top plate of the king's royal guard. On the ground beside her was a chipped dagger, a repeating crossbow with a single bolt left in the clip, and an empty potion bottle. Her belly was massively swollen and she curled her fingers in pain with each contraction.<br/><br/>There was a table in the middle of the room on which an alchemist's setup was arranged. Four full bottles of translucent liquid each a deep blue stood on the table as well, one of which was labeled "CLW" by a card tied to a string wound around the neck of the bottle. On the walls on either side there were many shelves and cupboards apparently filled with books, tools, alchemical utensils and other junk.