#i however

--- of his chambers when the characters first arrive, there is a 25% cumulative chance per hour that he arrives; at the end of four hours, he will definitely appear.

Of course, to outward appearances, Strom is an illithid! When he first spies the characters, he mentally projects, "At last! I thought you'd never come! Do you have the Annulus? With it, perhaps we can blast these illithids and their heinous plans straight into the Nine Hells!" Note that headmeshes and similar items that guard against mental attacks do not interfere with surface telepathy; however, whoever holds the Annulus in hand may have trouble communicating with Strom until the artifact is stowed.

It is probable that the heroes have many, many questions for Strom, not the least of which is his origin as a "friendly illithid." Strom's responses to this and other possible questions are below. Strom also relates as much information found in "About the Overmind" on page 39 as the adventurers are willing to listen to.

🧠 "I was once a human, a single-minded student of all things illithid. I learned much, and eventually I discovered the barest tip of the plot that has finally culminated in the dawn of the Overmind, though at the time it seemed far less overwhelming. "I allowed myself to be caught and implanted with an illithid tadpole! But prior to this, I had feasted on special herbs, saturating my body and mind with potent residues. While all others implanted with the illithid tadpole are consumed from within, brain first, my mind was spared. Though I became an illithid on the outside for all intents and purposes, on the inside I retained my mind and personality! "Working in secret, I infiltrated all the illithid plans, and put a stop to them where I could. Though the illithids never discovered the viper in their midst, they suspected, and so the legend of the Adversary was born."

🧠 "When I found out about the Overmind, I despaired, and could initially discover no way to foil its terrible purpose. This was many years ago, of course, and the dawn was yet far off. Seeking after a solution I into the farthest reaches of recorded illithid history, back even to the merest legends that remain of the illithids' time of ascendancy. Eventually, I learned of Penumbra, and the Annulus, though I doubt any living mind flayer or even Elder Brain would recognize these names as part of their ancient heritage. Though legend alone hints that the Annulus is sufficient unto any task, yet still I wonder…"

🧠 "I worked from behind the scenes, preparing agents in my stead, lest I reveal my true nature to the hated illithids! If I were discovered, the last hope for the multiverse would have been extinguished. Thus, only through agents, prepared paths, and subtle clues could I attempt to bring worthy heroes to the aid of all that exists. Though only you stand here now, know that I had many other agents also working towards this same goal, but on different paths. You succeeded where they failed, though their sacrifice was a noble one. Hopefully your success will redeem their deaths."

🧠 "The githyanki learned of the illithid plans not long ago, but not through my doing. The battle is shaping up to last a few months, though the githyanki press hard, and bring ever more warriors from their far realm in the Astral into the fray. Unfortunately, the Engine Consummate requires only one more month before the illithid Creatives predict full gap reversal!"

🧠 "The illithid Raebul created the Engine Consummate. Perhaps it knows how to destroy it without an artifact. You may run into it in its labs as you make your way towards the Engine Consummate." When Strom has answered all the questions he is able to, his mental voice becomes quite solemn, and he says, "It all comes down to this. It's time to try the Annulus against the Engine Consummate. If we fail, all creation will soon be changed to fit the illithid point of view. I'll point you in the proper direction, while I attempt a distraction!"

Strom accompanies the party from his chambers when they are ready to go, and directs them in the direction of the Engine Consummate. The Adversary says that he'll remain behind, and begin a campaign of "mental assassination" for a distraction. It's now up to the party to destroy the Engine Consummate with their hard-won artifact.

If they try, the heroes are unable to convince Strom to accompany them or to take the Annulus. Strom indicates that if the characters are successful, they need to return immediately to his chamber, where he will be preparing a "means for escape." It wouldn't do, he says, for the characters to save the multiverse, only to die before they can appreciate their own achievement! If the characters indicate they have their own means of escaping, the Adversary indicates that it is still his duty to warn off the battling githyanki in the event of the characters' success, lest they also be annihilated when the Engine Consummate is shut down.