High Potency Radioactive Fallout

While minor radiation samples can be scraped from contaminated surface scavengers outside, the true heart of Gnomeregan's catastrophe demands something far more concentrated. Researchers stationed outside the fallen capital require raw, unadulterated radioactive fallout taken directly from living irradiated horrors, lurkers, and slimes creeping across the lowest tiers of the Hall of Gears. Because this viscous sludge is constantly decaying, it must be contained in a specialized leaden phial and returned quickly before the sample destabilizes entirely.

The desperate pursuit of such lethal materials serves an urgent purpose. Ozzie Togglevolt and his colleagues believe that unlocking the secrets of the irradiated sludge is the only viable path toward developing a cure for the leper gnomes. Driven mad and deformed by the toxic venting ordered during the trogg invasion, these tragic survivors remain trapped in a living nightmare, making even the most dangerous gathering expeditions inside the ruins worth the hazard.