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

Lonesome Wanderings, Session 32

 In which Badger...

• Reads about the history of Huutaka in the Room of Records in the Temple of Pflarr.
• Flees from skeletons and zombies infesting the temple.
• Returns to the treasure room and stuffs everything he can into what he believes is a Bag of Holding he finds in the room.
• Escapes the treasure room only to find Golthar waiting for him at the temple exit.
• Relinquishes all the loot, giving the bag over, and offers to help protect Golthar as they exit the valley in exchange for Golthar not casting evil magics on him then and there.
• Travels with Golthar through the valley until one night, Golthar discovers the supposed Bag of Holding was empty - it was a Bag of Devouring which had destroyed the entire treasure hoard of the ancient Huutakan empire!
• Avoids Golthar as he tries to kill Badger for (accidentally) tricking him out of loot - only for the Orc siblings Tom, Bom, and Lilom - searching for Badger after they heard in Threshold he was lost in the Black peaks - to help Badger slay the mage.
• Escapes the Valley into the Black peak mountains, letting the valley rot to its undead infestation with nothing to show for his efforts except some magic items and that accursed Bag of Devouring.
• Avoids some hawks that look to steal some magic items on the way through the mountains back to Threshold.
• Runs into Tino's Toughest, the team from the tournament, and drinks with them in the mountains sharing camp one night.
• Returns to Threshold, selling all the magic items and other loot for massive profit (though regretfully much less compared to the treasure hoard).
• Says goodbye to the orc siblings, promising them they'd meet again, before resting up for a month in Threshold.

Current Level: Badger 8

Lonesome Wanderings, Session 31

 In which Badger...

• Explores the Lost Valley of Huutaka after entering it.
• Encounters some deformed humanoids, the Traldar, who extort him out of his traveler's yurt and the tapestry/magic needle and thread.
• Is joined by Sebastian, the surviving finalist from the Top Shots team on the Ruby Phoenix tournament who'd found his way into the valley after the tournament - and was recruited as a Traldar spy.
• Joins a group of Huutakan dog people, who take him in and heal his and Sebastian up after seeing their mistreatment by the Traldar.
• Is tasked by the Huutakans to search the Valley for the Book of Elders and stem an undead threat spreading throughout it.
• Runs into Ahmitar, his teammate from the Ruby Phoenix tournament, who too found himself in the valley and was caught by the Huutakans.
• Convinces the Huutakan patrol to let go of Ahmitar and have him join the party, along with one young Huutakan hopeful Len who wants to adventure as well.
• Comes across the Vault of the Elders, the lost tomb which is said to hold the Book of Elders.
• Encounters Slipper, the Viper goblin that was Badger's former prisoner picking the lock to the tomb. The goblin is shocked and flees when it sees Badger.
• Enters the vault, only to be attacked by a large ghoul that paralyzes the party and starts feasting on Len.
• Manages to shake it off, and steals the book and some gold before running (with Ahmitar and Sebastian following as the ghoul feasts on poor Len).
• Brings the book back to the Huutakans, who then task him to search for the Singing Water pool on the other side of the valley.
• Goes with some priests and warriors, as well as Seb and Ahmitar, to grab the holy water when a strange grumble from a cave near the pool scares some large predatory birds away.
• Enters with the group to find the monstrous tentacle beast Kartoeba which kills Seb and Ahmitar with its tentacles crushing them before they are able to slay the beast.
• Retrieves a magic key and discovers the entrance to the treasure vault of the Temple of Pflaar, the lost temple of the gods of Huutaka.
• Barely survives a poison trap that kills most of the Huutakans, save for himself and one priest.
• Kills the priest in a fit of greed, planning to take as much loot as he can hold and run.
• Realizes his mistake when Slipper and the Viper goblins, who had been following the Huutakans and Badger, enter the treasure vault and give chase to Badger.
• Runs from the goblins only to emerge from a secret door into a chamber in the main hall of the temple where the Thieves guild from Threshold, who had also tracked Badger, where camping and exploring!
• Uses the Rope of Climb to quickly climb up and again into the high arches of the temple as all out chaos breaks out between the thieves and the goblins.
• Watches as a much reduced number of goblins comes out the victor, and decides to try his luck at slaying them.
• Fails to slay the goblins and is forced to flee - right into the wizard Golthar, who had also followed Badger his mind set on revenge for the adventurer's antics.
• Gets blinded by the wizard and barely flees as the wizard is forced to fight the goblins who now see a new threat to the loot.
• Fails to escape Golthar, who had killed the remaining goblins, who tells Badger he would slowly stab him to death with his rusty dagger.
• Escapes within an inch of his life, breaking free from the hateful wizard and running blindly deeper into the temple.
• Awakes in a strange library with his vision back, still wary of Golthar searching for him in the temple. He is surrounded by texts written in Old Common seemingly on the history of the lost valley of Huutaka...

Current Level: Badger 8

Lonesome Wandering, Session 30

 In which Badger...

• Travels through the Black Peaks Mountains along the ancient stone road leading to the legendary lost valley of Hutaaka, as found on the magical tapestry.
• Flees from some hill giants and gnolls.
• Crosses a narrow chasm when Joe the Free Horse stumbles and falls, and is feasted upon by a displacer beast.
• Pays respects to Joe the Free Horse, tossing some gold down to honor the free horse.
• Shows the magic needle and thread with the tapestry to cross a stone bridge protected by bronze statues of dog headed figures, who kneel before the needle and thread in deference.
• Loots some magic items from corpses found on the stone bridge.
• Avoids some ghouls and wolves that fight in a gnoll burial ground - unknown to him, being followed by a gnoll shaman.
• Forced marches to the sound of drums and the smell of smoke, not realizing it is the shaman's illusion to frighten him.
• Encounters the gnoll shaman Krisgut on a rickety wooden bridge over a 900' chasm, which she sacrificially severs to kill both herself and Badger for desecrating the gnoll burial grounds.
• Grabs a ledge and barely survives as Krisgut falls to her death, before resting to heal up.
• Arrives at another high bridge, waiting out both some griffons and wolves to leave the area before crossing.
• Rappels down  a chasm with no bridge over it, using the Rope of Climb to travel down the sheer cliffs.
• Runs from a giant lizard at the bottom of the chasm, using the Rope of Climb to climb up the cliff face as fast as possible until reaching the top, where the lizard turns back fearful of a large roc nesting above feasting on carcasses.
• Slays a giant rattlesnake that attacks him at the top of the cliff.
• Arrives at the gateway to Hutaaka, using the magic needle and thread to once more bypass 2 giant stone dog headed statues, which once more kneel to the power of the thread.
• Climbs up a cliff face with the Rope of Climb to the gateway to Hutaaka.
• Watches in awe as the needle and thread, inserted into the doorway opens the gateway, whirring ancient stone gears to life the first time in millenia.
• Enters the gateway into the legendary Valley of Hutaaka.

Current Level: Badger 8

Lonesome Wanderings, Session 29

In which Badger...

• Visits Cardia's magic carpet shop only to find out she's out of town.
• Flees from mage Golthar whom he sees in a parade.
• Shoos away some troublesome beggars, who return the next night with a vengeance.
• Catches some beggar thieves trying to pickpocket him - three of them - and threatens to report them if they don't do some dirty work for him.
• Finds a purse with a note from Golthar telling someone to meet him at the Crossed Swords Inn.
• Has the thieves go investigate the inn for him, two of them getting mauled by a troll and the third fleeing in the process.
• Follows a shadowy figure, which turns out to be one of Golthar's Iron Ring operatives, to their hideout.
• Hides as Golthar and most of his company go to check out the troll trap at the Cross Swords Inn.
• Kills the few remaining guards and loots Golthar's hideout.
• Sells off the loot in the thieves quarter the next day, but lets slip accidentally about the Tapestry and the great treasure associated with it.
• Catches the third thief from last night trailing him, and gets him to spill that the thieves guild in town got word of his tapestry and the treasure and he was tasked to find out where Badger was staying.
• Loses the slippery thief as they manage to give him the slip and vanish back into an alleyway.
• Decides to skip town, packing up his loot and riding Joe the Free Horse into the Black Peaks to the north of Threshold.
• Is followed by both Golthar with the Iron Ring, believing Badger to be mauled by the troll but wanting to track whoever stole their loot; and the Thieves Guild, in hunt of Badger and the tapestry for great treasure.

Current Level: Badger 8

Lonesome Wanderings, Episode 28

 In which Badger...

• Fights in the Ruby Phoenix tournament proper with his team of orc siblings and Ahmitar the young priest from the Temple of Irohi as Badger's Band.
• Beats Winter's Roar to progress from the group stage to the semifinals.
• Faces off and wins against the Fallen Moons in the semifinals to make it to the finals.
• Comes face to face with his former retainer Spindle and his Top Shots in the finals of the tournament.
• Kills the traitorous Spindle by pushing him off a cliff onto a hidden snare trap on the ground, exploding him to bits.
• Beats the rest of the Top Shots, with two of them fighting to the death before Sebastian the glum journeyman surrenders and accepts defeat.
• Wins the Ruby Phoenix tournament and claims the prize of the rare magic item - the Rope of Climb, a magic rope which crawls along and ties itself up at his command.
• Says goodbye to the orc siblings and Ahmitar once the tournament ends, as they go off onto their own journeys.
• Returns back to his accommodation in Threshold for the rest of the week to rest up and prepare for the next leg of his own adventure. 

Current Level: Badger 8

Lonesome Wanderings, Session 27

 In which Badger...

• Bribes off the Fallen Moon team so he doesn't have to fight them.
• Flees from various beasts in the jungles.
• Finds the last silver feather and subsequently holes up in the temple until the last day of the qualifiers.
• Tries to sneak to the mountain where qualifiers will be completed - only to be found by tournament enforcers who determine they need to do more fighting.
• Starts fighting with one tournament head enforcer, half giant Koto Zekora.
• Flees from the fight, escaping the enforcers into a tribal village.
• Flees from the tribal villagers and a giant monitor lizard.
• Arrives at the mountain (before the enforcers catch wind of them) and turns in the phoenix necklace and silver feathers to get admission into the Ruby Palace - and officially qualifies for the tournament finals!
• Runs into the palace as fighting between unqualified teams starts up outside (which is quelled by Tino's Toughest).
• Discovers the 7 other qualifying teams: Winter's Roar, a team of Viking Marauders; Biting Roses, opportunistic martial artists; Arms of Balance, monks here in the tournament as an exam; Light Bringers, the sadistic top tournament team; Spindle's Top Shots, Badger's ex-retainer's team with harsh feelings; Tino's Toughest, an underdog team with a heart of gold; and the Fallen Moons, a lazy team with an eye out for gold.
• Heads to dinner, with the Ruby Phoenix, the tournament judge, presiding over the qualified teams.
• Gives a relatively poor first impression to the Ruby Phoenix, with a scruffy exterior and not many unique abilities and powers to speak of.
• Avoids various challenges and events that take place after dinner throughout the night.
• Faces the top ranked Light Bringers in an exhibition match - very reluctantly having been chosen for not having participated in any other events.
• Pulls off an upset taking out the Light Bringers in the exhibition match despite most of the team going down - and to Badger's dismay placing a large target on their back from rest of the other teams.
• Travels back to Threshold from Danger Island to rest up for 2 months and purchase supplies, the qualifiers for the tournament having ended, with the main tournament taking place in the city proper.

Current Level: Badger 8