Last time on the Adventures of Team BAJA…the party faced against the dragon entity known as Nim, after defeating the corrupted brass dragon, its remaining essence became part of the Rod of Nim. Rainer approached the item and acquired it, but unbeknownst to him the veil between dimensions had suffered a tear which sucked the entire team. Thrown through the cosmic chaos, Aydan and Jimmy Moon find themselves in a shadowy world devoid of color and endless gloom.
It had been roughly a week since the incident, when the vortex opened at the base of the island known as Nim Rock. Flung into the darkness, no one knew where or when they were dragged but once they awoke they found themselves in a strange-looking land. Jimmy Moon took the first watch again, he and the tiefling Aydan had journeyed across the gray landscape for several days with no signs of life or any of their friends either. The half-elf was not even sure where “here” was, other than the endless gloom and clouds. There was no sun or moon in this world, which had left the druid of Lystrata perturbed ever since they arrived. The two had managed to find an alcove on the side of a canyon wall, vegetation was scarce as well, luckily the Druid could conjure a handful of goodberries to keep up their stamina.
Meanwhile Aydan decided to rest first, since their battle against the dragon had made her quite fatigued still. She could still function but sleep came easily. I’m her dreams, the tiefling found herself in a familiar landscape within her mind. The white metal-wired table with complementary chairs rested in the middle of a lush glen. A well dressed, lanky figure sat on one of the chairs, a golden mask concealed his face. Aydan had never seen the figure before and inquired about its identity. Unlike the tall, shadowy figure or her darker self, this entity confounded her. The mask looked like an elaborate smiling masquerade mask, the entity’s behavior was equally erratic. It wanted to test Aydan, asking her a riddle which she solved with relative ease. Aydan wondered if the entity was tied to the Animus Gem, which he replied that he might be related but would only reveal more if she answered another riddle.
Aydan thought long and answered the riddle, which the entity became jolly and gleeful at the tiefling’s resolve and cleverness. A book appeared in the masked entity’s hand, he handed the item over the sorceress and promised that what she wanted to know was within the pages of the book. She opened the book, a bright light enveloped her field of vision. Meanwhile outside of the dream, the Animus gem began to resonate and glow brightly, discharging another wave of arcane energy outward. Jimmy’s sudden yelp awoke Aydan and the canyon began to shake and rumble violently. The two decided that rush out of their alcove before it caved in, decided that it was no longer safe they ran for the end of the stretch of rock hoping for somewhere more stable. In the midst of their run, more of the canyon gave way until a large skeletal dragon emerged out of the rock wall.
Rather than face the undead creature, the two continued to run for their lives but unfortunately it kept pace and would soon overtake them. A golden ray of light struck the creature in the face, followed by a golden blur that struck it at its side. A figure clothed in blue robes could be seen traversing through the air, striking the beast with thunderous blows. On the other end of the canyon path, a gold dragonborn in gold armor launched a heavenly bolt of energy at the creature which illuminated the central chest cavity of the large skeletal dragon. Even with the combined assaults from the mysterious allies, the creature unleashed a powerful surge of electrical energy out of its toothy maw. The group dodged most of the onslaught but took some close calls, a decisive strike from bolts of purple energy struck the dragon’s wings which sent it falling to the darkness below.
A leather-clad half-drow emerged from the top of the canyon, two rapiers on either side of him. The half-drow introduced himself as Kelmaris, the gold dragonborn was named Proax, and the blue robed stranger removed his hood to reveal a tiefling named Quest the Blue. Taking a moment to rest, the group introduced became acquainted with themselves and also revealed that they too found their own way into this gloomy and dead world. Jimmy felt unsure about their newly found friends as they recounted their stories before their arrival to this world. The druid tested his theory on the half-drow, discovering that the three were in fact shades of their former selves and no longer flesh and blood.
Voices and odd whispers could be heard by the group, determined to find its source, they journeyed further along the canyon valley. They entered a field of mist, their vision became obscured and eventually the group became separated. Lost in the misty fields, shapes and shadows began to move until each became confronted with a ‘shadow’ of their past. Screams and terror gripped many of them, Jimmy Moon fought against a specter of his father, while Aydan dealt the specters of her parents. Proax, Quest, and Kelmaris faced visions of losing battles and desperate cries for help. Jimmy Moon eventually overcame the fog that lurked within his soul, the mist dissipated and the party could see clearly past the field which lead to a set of stairs etched into the stone walls heading downward. The voice beckoned the group in the foreboding valley, the walls had become alabaster compared to some of the other regions they had come across on their travels.
At the end of the path, the group were met by large, tall black iron doors that were chained from corner to corner. Motifs and etched figures were laced throughout the doors, the group felt the whispers intensify and encouraged them closer. Curious, Aydan wanted to understand what sort of imagery were placed on the doors but stopped when she noticed from the corner of her eye shadows emerging out of the rock face surrounding the party.
The shadows began to take shape, two took on the form of a blue and black dragonborn who carried familiar vestiges of the Cult of Dragon members Team BAJA slew and defeated back in the town of Greenest. Their shades had come to exact vengeance on the tiefling and half-elf, additional shades of cultists arrived to reinforce their former leaders. The party countered their foes’ onslaught unleashing powers and abilities that Aydan and Jimmy had never seen before, especially of the half-drow who continued to perplex them more and more at each turn. Kelmaris used his stunning swordplay and laced bits of arcane emerald fire along with his strikes, Proax had conjured the spectral ancestors of his clan to defend the party, and Quest the Blue performed arrays of acrobatically charged attacks with his iron-heavy fists and kicks. Jimmy and the blue dragonborn Cyanwrath returned their duel from before, the zealous warrior versus the shapeshifting druid in his dire animal forms. Aydan squared off against the cult leader Remaz in a contest of spells and draconic-fueled displays. The party prevailed with the cult leader retreating back into the shadows, promising that he would one day exact his revenge on them.
The Animus Gem glowed once more, the chains on the iron door shook and broken under the gem’s arcane might. The doors opened and the voice they had heard since the beginning spoke clearly: “ENTER.”
Thank you for reading! Season 2 Narrative Recaps are officially underway. I will do my best to release these regular every Wednesday until our season 2 finale. The game is still ongoing, but our season 2 gameplay will be wrapped up in November so we will most likely be halfway through this season by the time we get there. If you want to follow along, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We are also on Instagram for behind-the-scenes Team BAJA D&D campaign stuff and board game fun. If you want to help us out, we have a donate button above, every little bit helps. If you have any inquires or want to contact me, email me at archmage@deathbymage.com. Thanks again and we’ll see you soon!
Death By Mage 