After the fight Perren tells the PCs that Erstlin smuggles weapons for the Hand of Naarash in return for protection. He gives the group a rough map of where the Hand come south from but does not know the exact location of the Black March.

The adventurers leave the next morning and after a few days travel come to a ruined shrine. As they are examining the shrine and its surroundings they hear a cry. Out of the tree line stumbles a man they recognize to be Jaryn. He is sweating and seems to be out of it. The party offers him food and comfort. He excepts, sits down and then he stabs Auidar with a short sword. Then he runs away to the east into the woods. The party is shocked and thinks he is possessed or delusional.

Shortly he returns this time coming from the north. He attacks Auidar again and flees northward into the night. Render puts his weapon away and says, “All hail Pelor!” A couple other party members do the same. Auidar runs to the southern end of the shrine trying to steer clear of Jaryn. Suddenly Jaryn appears out of the woods behind Auidar and strike the halfling again. This time the party retaliates and hit Jaryn as he flees south back into the woods.

Auidar and Render then climb the crumbling pillars surrounding the shrine. As Tony makes his way to a pillar Jaryn runs out of the woods toward him and hits him with his sword. A few members of the group are astonished to see his wounds are gone. Orsik believes they are fighting more than one man (or creature), but other party members believe Jaryn to be a ghost or that maybe he is teleporting.

This goes on another round or two until the group realizes that Orsik is right, they must be fighting more than one creature. They all attack and soon are fighting 4 different Jaryns. The first falls unconscious to reveal its true form…a doppelganger. Now knowing what they were up against the party does not hold back.  Render and Orsik attack two of the fake Jayrns while Tony shoots down at them from above. Auidar casts call lightning but only hits Render while Donaar goes toe-to-toe with the other one. Much damage is dished out and much is taken, but in the end the adventurers are the only ones standing as the last doppelganger disappears then runs away.

The next morning the heroes leave the ruined shrine and after traveling for about a week come to the Black March.

DM Notes:

Running this encounter was a lot of fun. The PCs weren’t sure what was going on and hearing their guesses and reactions was great. I would have to say this encounter was the most fun of all I have run (not that I have run a lot).