Last time! On the Adventures of Team BAJA! After the team managed to get on board the ship, a battle ensued with the ship’s crew until the halfling Rainer and the mysterious blonde woman Cecil emerge from the bowels of ship. A deal more or less was re-struck. Rainer and the rest of the team were now tasked in the retrieval of an artifact that rested in the unknown depths of Nim Rock, an unstable island that many ships avoided for centuries. The team was not entirely pleased with their current predicaments but decided to aid their halfling friend, soon afterwards the ship ascended into the sky towards their inevitable destination.

The loud sound of gears and mechanisms alerted the party to the ship’s edge, large wing sails emerged from the sides, a sudden jolt notified the party of the ship’s change in elevation. The ship soared up to the night sky, heading south past the city of Illinathar, the party managed to spot the city down below. The docks and harbor were still in disarray but some repairs seemed apparent since their departure. The city was rather calm and looked small from their height, they bid farewell to Illinathar with the hope to return to it one day soon.

On the way to their destination, the party decided to make themselves useful and worked along with the crew in the meantime. Brightiron helped with the sails and deck work, Jimmy remained at the top of the crow’s nest as a look out. Arcaelus found himself in the engine room with a gnome engineer with a unique and odd-looking apparatus that housed an air elemental as its power source. The two exchanged theories and notes while maintaining the apparatus. Rainer and Aydan conversed with Cecil to learn more about the artifact they were sent to retrieve, which happened to be the fabled Rod of Nim, though the specifics of the item had been lost to history. The region around Nim Rock was supposedly magically unstable and that previous expeditions to the island had resulted in total failure.

As the island approached, the magical systems along the ship began to spark erratically, the connection to magic for Aydan, Jimmy, and Arcaelus was akin to a sense of seasickness. The ship began to descend as the crew frantically braced themselves for a possible oceanic crash. Arcaelus and Aydan tried to aid the gnome engineer in stabilizing the power core, Rainer and Jimmy did their best to help the ship’s captain navigate through the unstable winds and occasional water sprouts that formed on their approach, while Brightiron aided the crew with the sails to improved their maneuverability. In the end, the team managed to get the ship close enough to the shores of the island before the systems and the power core gave way, Aydan cast her Feather Fall on the team and every crew member as they jumped off the falling ship. A fiery conflagration erupted as the ship made its thunderous landing, the crew was safe for the most part and the party along with Cecil found their way on the island.

The team decided to set up camp for the night, it was going to be a long ordeal before they ventured deep into the island to find a probable tomb or sanctum. As the camp died down into sleep, a sudden gust of wind and howling voices from deep within the island forest awoke the party to find the camp largely empty with the exception of Cecil, the gnome engineer, and the ship captain. The crew for the ship was missing and their bedrolls looked untouched. From the edge of the forest, dozens of shadowy figures emerged and began to make their way toward the camp. Through dazzling display of spells and swordplay, the party fended off some of the specters, but more continued to emerge. The team ran along the coastline and used the ship wreckage to hide their trail, their search within the island led them to a carved tunnel. The party investigated the tunnel before stepping on a pressure plate, where a large stone wall dropped and killed the ship captain who stood at the threshold. The team, along with Cecil and the gnome engineer continued their way down towards the tunnel. \

Meanwhile…

Thia had managed to heal the last citizen in Rivergreen injured by the attack, the elf ranger made her way towards the docks. There was no sign of the party or the supposed ship, she recalled that the party made a business arrangement with a ship named The Lady for safe passage and decided to find the ship and its captain. The vice captain, a female half-elf, greeted the exhausted ranger and informed Thia that their business deal with Team BAJA was still valid even if only one of their members arrived on the ship. Thia pleaded with the vice captain that they set sail soon to catch up to her friends. The captain, a tall blue dragonborn emerged and while annoyed was willing to set sail early due to previous schedule delays.

Thia and the crew of The Lady set sailed and quickly accelerated thanks to the wind and some unknown magics and enchantments on the ship. Dawn finally broke over the horizon when The Lady made its way to the city of Illinathar. The ports were still damaged and disarray, but the ship continued onward towards the open seas towards Nim Rock. The captain informed Thia that he could not risk the ship and its crew to the wild and uncertain seas that surrounded the cursed isle and could only promise a small row-boat as a show of thanks but some coin helped as well. Before Thia left the ship, the vice captain named Vex, gave the ranger a small gold coin that was enchanted to find the things they sought the most. The coin could spin or slide closer to the direction of its intended target, a useful tool for the elf ranger. Thia bid her farewells and began to row herself toward the island, it took another hour or more before she got to the shores. The elf expertly followed the currents and waves, which she used to propel her closer to the shoreline.

Once on the island shore, the elf judged it had to be midday by the her personal count, though the skies were shrouded in dark and stormy clouds. She began to use her expert tracking skills tried to find the party once she found the abandoned camp and ship wreckage. A battalion of shadowy figures emerged the forest and gave chase to the elf ranger who fled on foot. A sudden soft patch of earth caused an opening that the ranger fell through and tumbled her way down into a dark and stone-carved room deep below. After insuring that she was not followed, Thia began to explore the apparent dark halls that laid underneath the island’s surface.

Now…

Team BAJA continued onward through the dark tunnel until they found themselves in a large room with some statues with corridors in each cardinal direction. Aydan had her magical lantern out to peer through the walls and unveil the shadows. Rainer scouted ahead while Jimmy and Arcaelus inspected their surroundings, the goliath Brightiron kept vigil of their ‘observer’ Cecil until his curiosity took over and he went into a room full of sarcophagi. The barbarian slid the lid off to find bones and weapons, when withdrawn from their resting places, the weapons came alive and struck at the barbarian and rogue. From the statues, dark shadowy figures emerged and attacked the remainder of the party. After fending off their attackers, the party found a large stone door where arcane runes became lit when in the presence of Aydan’s Animus gem. Cecil walked over to the doors and deciphered the runic combinations to unlock the door and the path ahead. The party descended further down the complex and found themselves in a large armory with religious relics.

Brightiron found a trapped chest full of acid and managed to retrieve the contents before it became magical filled with the corrosive substance. The barbarian decided to keep the acid-filled chest for later use, the room was secure enough for the party to take a much-needed rest. Afterwards, the party confronted Cecil about her intimate knowledge of the complex, which she revealed the place to had been an Azurian stronghold that was commanded by one of the ancient empires that fought alongside Azuroth in a war almost a thousand years ago. This other empire had a fabled warrior named Nim whom safeguarded this region due to its special property where the veil between worlds was thinnest. The warriors that were stationed here fought to the last man, none reportedly survived. The region had become magically unstable from the conflict and the influx of magic was something that Cecil warned the party for their usage.

After a couple of hours of rest, the party decided it was best to finish their business as quickly as possible before whatever else resided on the island found them. The room had two stone doors, similar to the previous room, so Cecil once again deciphered the lexicon of runes. Another sequence of rune presses and the door opened once again, the air felt stale and hallway seemed empty. The party cautiously approached hallway before noticing an odd shine and quickly realized that the way ahead was covered by some gelatinous ooze creature. The party hacked and blasted it with spells but it remained rather durable, it continued its advance and Rainer managed to pass through the creature though not before having some of his armor and skin corroded from the creature. The halfling ran to the other hallway adjacent to the previous room and found himself caught by another ooze creature. The party in the end managed to defeat both creatures but not some serious effort. Cecil had to step in and offered aid by divine spells as blue runes floated over the party’s heads.

With the creatures dispatched, the party are lead to several corridors with steel doors and a stairwell that descended further down. The group decided to explore a few of the rooms, finding trinkets and some probable magical items left behind denizens that never returned. A loud thump and broken rocks alerted the party to a particular room and there they found their elven ranger, Thia in the rubble. The ranger informed the party of her plight and efforts to find the team after their separation, now reunited, the group descend further down below the depths below.

Alright everyone! We’re at the final episode for Season 1 for the Adventures of Team BAJA! So next week is the season finale of our narrative! Stay tune next week with an announcement regarding where we are taking the blog in the foreseeable future. We thank you all for your viewership and subscription with us. We hope you enjoy the epic conclusion of our 1st season of nearly a year of games. Season 2 is already being played and being written as we speak. I have other things in store in the near future and we hope to see you along the journey with us. If you have any questions or comments, please post them down below. If you want updates or want to chat with me, please subscribe via email or follow our Facebook and Twitter. We also have a tip jar if you want to donate to our cause for an improved experience on the blog.