Team Alfa Eighty-Eighth Session

30th Harvest

(Combat, continued)

After hard-fought battle the crew prevails, with one Gnoll captured alive for questioning.

Afterwards, Sid and Wolf search use detect object for the brain worms only to discover the worm he had in a jar is missing, but one seems to be with.. Gruululacrum? He doesn't understand why we're asking him about the worm though. He sure seems able to concentrate on multiple spells at once...

This seems to trigger something, though, and suddenly The Collector reveals he was inside the worm and has now taken over Gruululacrum. He claims: "I always knew Gruul was a plant" - a plant of the burrow (Gnomish CIA).

"Probably long term implant to keep an eye on Monstertown, just like the Pastor was for the Breaker Gnomes." He's almost certainly still active in the world somehow.

This Collector seems to be a copy of The Collector, without the loyalty to the Dread Lord. He also claims to have an increased ability to locate other worm-infected individuals and the ability to tell that the Pastor's worm source is the same as the other Thralls.

We are left only with questions:

• The Gnolls are unified, and SUPPORTED by clockwork hounds? Does this mean the Pastor has taken control of Doggtown?? Are we close enough their sentries might have heard or seen the explosions (there were several types of explosions and large blasts of fire as there should be. There were no known survivors beyond us and the captive and 1 escaped giant hyena)
• What can the captured mook tell us about what's going on in there?
• Will we ever be rid of this fucking Collector?

Tune in next time