Tales of Awesomeness #4

Unstable Shapeshifter: 

Showin' off a sketch of the Team Hortons' current lineup. Credit to Jake (He plays Raging Velasquez) for the art.

After suffering their first defeat at the hands of the mysterious Eran, the Team Hortons spent the next few weeks in the town of Iledan healing their wounds and crying like little girls. They knew they had to do something about this creeping depression and what better way to do this than to venture out again into the forest and investigate another area on their map!

Our Heroes of the Day L to R: Dragonborn Paladin (Dave I still can't remember its name haha!); Raging Velasquez (Half-Elf Bard); Ray Dar (Half Elf Wizard); and Strygwyr (Dragonborn Druid)

After days of travel, they found that the new mark on their map is an opening to a cave. Just great, nothing like a dungeon to release some suppressed rage!

Yes, gentlemen. Adventure awaits beyond those cut outs of rocky looking thingees.

Our heroes spent about an hour delving into the dungeon and they begin to notice dead monsters along the corridors, suggesting that someone else is here. About another half hour of travel, they will come to a corner and hear the sound of voices chattering ahead of them. To their surprise, there is a group of three humanoids inside this larger room and one of them is holding out a small shining object in front of the far wall. A few moments  later, a single rune will begin to glow on the wall and as the humanoid pressed on this rune, unseen gears began to screech from all directions and the wall gave way to open a new tunnel.

Due to the Hortons’ lack of apparent skill in the stealth department, they got spotted by the other group and the battle is joined! Even more chaos ensued as the Hortons’ resident tank Dragonborn Druid named Strygwyr fell into a pit with his opponent along with much dust and rubble! Our heroes eventually proved too much for these small fry opponents and they eventually triumphed. Strygwyr was pulled out from his hole and they even got the strange shining item their opponents were using.

Ray Dar, seeing Strygwyr’s now tattered robes, even mended the old and bloody fabric.

Room by room, the Hortons chugged on, fighting monsters and constructs and deactivating traps. They did all these without rest as there are guardian constructs roaming about.

Ray Dar laying down the hurt on a group of skeletons with his Shatter spell!

After long hours of exploring, the Hortons squared off against a helmed guardian unlike the ones they faced before, the guardian proved to be strong and pushed our heroes to the brink of defeat but the Hortons dug hard and their coordinated attacks whittled the guardian construct until it eventually fell to the Hortons’ combination of spells and steel.

Inside the guardian’s room they find a small wooden box. Inside is a needle, about six inches long. Strygwyr pulled the item from the box, and with a grin, shot out volleys of magic missiles at the Hortons!

Tired, bloodies and confused, the Hortons failed to react and Strygwyr once again unleashed another volley of magic missiles which KO’d Ray Dar.

It is by this time that another figure entered the room. It is another Dragonborn which looks exactly like Strygwyr but wearing only its undergarments! The enraged shirtless druid quickly changed into his bear form and charged the other spellcaster in front of him. Slowly, the other Dragonborn began to change to reveal a featureless face! The angry Hortons focused on the single foe and the final shot came from the angry bear which chomped the foe into little pieces!

Strygwyr: RRRRRRRAAAAWWWWRRRR!!!
Ray Dar: Ugh.......

After the battle, Strygwyr explained that he was knocked unconscious when he fell into the pit. Obvisouly, the now dead featureless creature before them is a Doppleganger who took Strygwyr’s place. Ray Dar was up and about stomping and bitching because he even mended the impostor’s clothes!

Strygwyr: OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM!
Ray Dar: Ughh......Bitch........ Ughhh.....

Going back to the treasure, the box holding the needle contains an inscription on its side which reads:

“Before you is the Hutaakan Needle. May the heavens find you worthy.”

-Thirteen-

(For those who wanted to know, I connived with our resident druid player (Luis) to play the Doppleganger in this scenario. He deserved an award for the acting job.)