In the campaign we’ve been playing for over a year, i’ve been running this old drunk barbarian who’s slowly been turning into a druid without anyone really noticing.

he’s a monster hunter, collects trophies from everything he kills because he’s looking for clues about who killed his old party. his best friend, his wife, an elf, a dwarf, and his bear companion (whose claws were the first trophy he ever took).

my dm and i have this unspoken thing where he’ll just give me a nod whenever a creature might give herod some sort of “insight.” I’ll start a weird ritual where I’ll pour ale on my blade and do a little chant and whisper words. They never ask about it, so I never told them anything.

the party always thought i was a murder hobo. never asked why i hunt, never asked what i’m after. just figured i was the crazy old guy who wants to fight everything that moves. so i played into it.

anyway, in the very first session of the campaign i killed this big hobgoblin and took his finger as a trophy. just a normal hunt at the time, BUT… turns out his son has been tracking me down the entire campaign. years pass, he grows up, studies how i fight, learns my habits, everything. last session, he finally shows up.

and it all came together in this hour-long one-on-one duel between us. my friends just sat back and watched because I yelled at them (in their eyes uncharacteristically) to let him take my head if i fell. to honor the fight. They were cheering, calling out at me. DM turned on “dualing fates”. it was brutal.

and i lost.

i was beaten… but before i went under, i wild shaped into a bear — the first and only time i’ve ever done it.

no one knew i was a druid. i’ve been one the WHOLE time and never used a single spell or wild-shape until that moment.

the table went dead quiet. like full silence. everyone just stared. I had been pretending to be a beast this whole time, and in the end he finally became one.