Lonesome Wanderings, Session 38

 In which Badger...

• Continues to search the wilds for Akihitos, the wily merchant.
• Starts running out of rations and the party is forced to go hunting for sustenance.
• Decides to return back to Kebi village, starting home from the wilds.
• Meets Teru the Gold Dragon on the way, breaking bread with him.
• Learns from Teru that there is a sickness spreading, but he is on the way to find a cure.
• Runs into Akihitos in the swamp near Kebi village, discovering he's made an alliance with another bandit group - and the Stone Mind Collective.
• Learns the Stone Mind Collective want revenge on Badger for the fall of the Stone Seekers and Mindblades respectively.
• Fights with Akihitos and his people in the battle that ensues. 
• Wins the battle, with Badger, the Orc Siblings, the bandits, and the ogre coming out on top.
• Kills Akihitos and disbands the Stone Mind Collective, scattering them and putting the Stone Seekers and Mindblades to rest once and for all.
• Watches as Bom, one of the Orc Siblings, dies, leaving Tom as the only surviving siblings.
• Requests Tom, the last of the Orc Siblings, to join him as a retainer - to which Tom agrees, and even promises loyalty!
• Takes leave with the ogre and remaining bandits and heads back to Kebi village with Tom to rest up and figure out their next steps.

Current Level: Badger 9, Tom 4

Lonesome Wanderings, Session 37

 In which Badger...

• Enters the keep to investigate the mysterious occurrences, with Tino's Toughest.
• Discovers an ogre guarding a gate that attacks the party, downing one of Tino's Toughest.
• Defeats the ogre, revealing it to be twelve goblins dressed in ogre skin guarding the gate.
• Enters and run into the Orc Siblings in the keep, who are working on entering a room in the keep.
• Lures some boars from another room to smash down the door, revealing a treasure room with a Magic Stone of Charming Dance, as well as other treasures.
• Takes the stone as the treasures are divided between the groups, and Tino's Toughest and the Orc Siblings both take their leave.
• Returns to explore the wilderness from Kebi village.
• Runs into Akihitos, who offers to pay 500 gp for saving him from some "thugs".
• Encounters the Orc Siblings, "thugs", and an ogre; they reveal themselves to be vagabonds that were cheated by Akihitos, with the Orc Siblings vouching for them.
• Joins the Orc Siblings and the vagabonds plus ogre to find Akihitos.
• Stumbles into the main force of the Mindblades and the Stone Seekers, also hired by Akihitos to deal with the "thugs". 
• Fights with the Mindblades and Stone Seekers, who are skewered and driven away with few survivors. The remaining four Mindblades and two Stone Seekers vow revenge, teaming together as the Stone Mind Collective.
• Mourns the loss of Lilom of the Orc Siblings, who dies as the only causality on Badger's side of the battle.
• Continues exploring the wilds with the Orc Siblings and the vagabonds, searching for Akihitos.

Current Level: Badger 9

Lonesome Wanderings, Session 36

 In which Badger...

• Is requested by one disheveled noble to investigate the mysterious goings on in their keep.
• Gets paid handsomely to take the job and investigate the keep and the strange "beast" that seems to haunt it.
• Travels through hills and mountains from Best Tea 852 to Teramon's Keep in the village of Verge.
• Encounters his former rivals from the Ruby Phoenix tournament Tino's Toughest, the four of whom agree to join him on his quest for a share of the loot.
• Flees from Mindblade Order agents who attack him in retribution.
• Runs into Loshad the Chevall, who in discovering Joe the Free Horse's conspicuous absence assumes the worst and attacks.
• Manages to convince Loshad Joe's death, while unfortunate, was natural, enough that Loshad tells him to get lost and that he shouldn't expect any more help from the Chevall.
• Encounters Ms. Fyoderall the trader elf, with whom he has a friendly chat in which he introduces Tino's Toughest.
• Encounters a strange set of Preta spirits eating refuse from the shell of a decaying tortoise, before slaying the mad spirits with the help of Tino's Toughest.
• Has a vision of Ngaire, the Poppy Lord, decimating the remaining dozen or so agents of the Iron Ring who remember Badger's face as a boon for Badger acquiring the sacrifice from the Naga, eliminating the faction as a direct threat to Badger at the least.
• Arrives at Verge town, which is dour and tense given the beast's incursion.
• Meets one Sergeant Alkin, whose armor and weapons has been destroyed by the beast inside the keep after trying to explore it, camped outside the keep.
• Is forced to kill Alkin when he sees through Badger's trick of buying him platemail as a false gesture of goodwill to be a sacrificial pawn in exploring the tower and resultantly attacks Badger.
• Sets up camp outside the keep with Tino's Toughest and keeps watch as they all rest for a month, celebrate Badger's 26th birthday, and come up with a plan.

Current Level: Badger 8, Tino's Toughest 4

Lonesome Wanderings, Session 35

 In which Badger...

• Talks to the Chief Librarian of the Chala Opium School, who complains about the school going through hard times because it is under scrutiny, blamed for a string of deaths at rival Lotus Flora Academy.
• Offers to investigate the murders for a fee, which he is granted.
• Visits the Lotus Flora Academy, where he discovers the killings had started just a few days ago, with the individuals being brutally mauled and there being significant property vandalism.
• Discovers a Chala Opium School uniform, torn on the floor - but realizes it looks planted.
• Tries to talk to students or investigate for more clues but finds nothing.
• Stakes out the school at night, waiting to see if someone arrives.
• Starts to nod off when someone strikes a blow to the back of his head and he's knocked out cold.
• Wakes up in a basement, tied to a chair by a harried looking man in spectacles.
• Learns the man is an admissions counselor for the Lotus Flora Academy named Kanar, whose job is under threat due to the popularity of the more profitable venture of Opium farming causing more admissions heading to the Chala Opium School.
• Discovers the killings are a plot to bring down Chala Opium School by draining its funds in a murder investigation so that the Lotus Flora Academy has no more competition, thus increasing admissions.
• Waits till Kanar leaves before tipping the chair and dragging himself to the Rope of Climb.
• Commands the rope of climb to knot him and crawl up to the rafters, allowing him to rise up and then fall smashing the chair he's tied to into smithereens.
• Rushes to stop Kanar from killing the next student, fighting him and killing him in the process.
• Has the student the late Kanar was attacking provide proof as he reveals the plot to the heads of the schools.
• Takes his pay and his leave as he goes to rest healing up from his wounds for another week at the tea house.

Current Level: Badger 8

Lonesome Wanderings, Session 34

 In which Badger and Maggie...

• Find a strange portal into a magical garden in the wilds.
• Discover some psychedelic blue fruits in the garden that they harvest, as well as a false tooth that makes him immune to poison which Badger cleans and inserts into his mouth.
• Go deeper into the garden to find a greenhouse that is completely inverted, hanging from the ceiling.
• Explore hothouses using hanging vines and the Rope of Climbin the greenhouse and gather some valuable plants with medicinal and ornamental properties.
• See signs of some sort of slimy monster in the hothouses.
• Accidentally release a monstrous Sundew plant and are forced to flee out of the garden for their lives.
• Travel to the Yellow City, resting at one sketchy teahouse the Best Tea 852.
• Offer to help out (for a price) one Gambam, who is in trouble with local priests of Ngaire, the Poppy deity of agriculture and food, for having pissed on the temple shrine while drunk.
• Traverse the jungles and delta plains with Gambam, searching for the venom of a Naga, the only sacrifice the priests of Ngaire claim will soothe the god.
• Discover an ascetic in the jungles who their guide claims is immortal, and try to converse with him only to discover he vanishes once they approach.
• Stumble onto a ghost tiger, a vengeful spirit which kills Gambam and Maggie, Badger fleeing for his life.
• Finally stumble upon the Naga lair, but have no way to access it as the few Nagas around it retreat into the swamp.
  
• Run into the elf trader Fyodorel, who had ties with the Nagas and for the price of a false silver coin, discusses terms to let Badger down to converse with the Nagas.
• Lead to a Naga pleasure chamber, where a beautiful Naga courtesan spy Vandini easily seduces Badger to find out what his purpose is.
• Found by the Naga courtesan to be a non threat, and she herself milks some of her venom to give to Badger before sending him on his way (refusing his requests for her to join him on his adventures).
• Return to the Yellow City without incident and give the priests the poison, which supposedly calms Ngaire's wrath.
• Take payment for delivering the venom. Badger rests for one month in the Yellow City, selling off all the loot, mourning his fallen comrades, and healing up from the wounds received in the jungles.

Current Level: Badger 8

Lonesome Wanderings, Session 33

 In which Badger...

• Arrives in the industrial city of Endon.
• Partakes in some strange black liquid "coffee" that gives him a boost of energy.
• Is confronted by the Bone Golem Badger that has been chasing him.
• Defeats the Bone Golem Badger by scaling some tall buildings and pushing it off into the alleyway below.
• Arrives at the healing area "Blumsworth Hospital".
• Travels around the streets of the hospital to a strange dancing building with screeching music coming from within, Dane Hall.
• Discovers a thin, gaunt, young woman yelling on the roof of the hall that she will kill herself.
• Climbs up the side of the building with the Rope of Climb and talks the woman off the edge.
• Gives the woman, Maggie Stolls, a magical history teacher with a side business of smuggling artifacts, a way out of her large debt offering her a share of any treasure he discovers on his journey.
• Travels the next day to a private practice physician establishment outside the Auld Grey Cathedral.
• Discovers another clerk yelling that he'll kill himself on the roof of the private practice.
• Decides he's had enough of Endon and it's depressing nature and with Maggie in tow leaves the city for adventure elsewhere.

Current Level: Badger 8, Maggie 4