Ultraviolet Grasslands D&D 5th Ed. with Kids: Episode 21

 8/8/2022

Back at the Last Serai, the crew pays sages and dig around the ancient libraries for research on treasures . Stanton becomes obsessed with the legendary 'Radiation Dragons' and wonders how he might be able to acquire an egg. He pays a sage a large sum of money who is able to inform him of their ancestral roosting grounds, far to the north of the Moon-Facing Ford. 

Shgalang and Jack spend some of their loot on Strider Birds - the same ones the riders ins ervice of the big-head ride. They are very comfortable on them as they are both small sized. Asmodeus, while searching for information on the radiation dragons, is recognised as a hero of the revolution, and gifted a book on the creatures of the Grasslands by a grateful alley merchant. 

They eventually decide to set off - still unsure as to whether they are still seeking the fireblade, or a radiation dragon or something else. They decide to head to the Waystone, and provision up before heading east into the desert. The way is dry and gruelling - they are albe to carry ample provisions for themselves and their animals as they rely on the druid to cast create water once a day for them. On the second day they enter a deep and fierce rust storm, which rages around the Waystone incessantly. 

A couple of days in, and it is tough going, they see an enormous shape heading towards them - a giant semi-mechanical centipede like creature, as big as a Dune sandworm. They quickly take cover, and manage to hide. It lumbers past them - luckily not noticing them.

In a couple more days they make their way to the Waystone. to their disappointment there is no settlement there - only a few yurts half buried in the storm sand. They present themselves at the Yurt and are welcomed in by a dwarf, two oranglenader twins and a porcelain prince. They introduce themselves as Laszlo Montague, dwarf archeologist, late of the Violet city, Sena and Xina, twin adventurers from the Orangelands, and a rogue polybody, Gilded 3-Era. They are on a contract with the University of the Violet City to uncover the famed tomb of the Dragon Who Rises. 

They offer hospitality, and seem friendly enough. The group offer themselves as guards and hired swords for the expedition. Laszlo agrees, and they strike a deal for a 50/50 split, once the University guaranteed cost of 70k is recouped. 

They rest for a couple of days at the Waystone, and then pack up the yurts and head south. On the first day out, through the storm and rust, they see a strange creature - what looks like a young man grafted onto a centipede body, with a shelter or gazebo on its massive back. It seems aggressive and insane, and screams at them for them to pay the price for it's wisdom. They ask what the price is and it demands a bone from a living creature. They briefly, as they like to do, debate whether to betray one of their own, or slaughter on of their beasts, but finally decide to fight the bizarre creature. After a fierce battle they kill it. Asmodeus tries to find it in his book of Grasslands creatures, and sees it listed as the 'Dispenser of Wisdom' - a creature that has plagued this area for many decades.