This is a gem of a roleplay!

It's hard to say too much about it without spoiling anything but you'll want to check out the last mission and Shelldor's part in it for the setup for this one.

 
The sounds of battle echo around, metal on metal, metal on flesh. The screams of man and beast. A shadow moves close by, its face unclear. There is pain, and then darkness.

Shelldor woke with a start, breathing heavily. He started to rise, but something felt… wrong. He tried to look down at himself, but his neck didn't seem to move the right way. He tried to move his hands, but they felt… different. Tired, but not in a way he’s ever felt tired before.

He tried to think, to remember. He could hear the sound of water splashing nearby. He started to open his eyes, the lids felt heavy.

He was in some kind of forest, beside a lake. He attempted to look down at himself, but his neck wouldn't move the right way. He attempted to stand, but his arms wouldn't lift him.

He moved over to the lake, thirsty, needing a drink. He bent down to the water, and saw his reflection. He stumbled back, shocked.

As his breathing calmed, he crawled (walked?) back to the water, looking at himself again. Had he become… a turtle?

“Oh what fresh hell is this?” He attempted to say, but it came out much more turtley.

“This place isn't nearly as bad as hell,” Shelldor heard a voice say.

Shelldor turned toward the voice, and saw an imp standing there. His clothes were ragged and torn, but he was smiling.

Shelldor shook his head. “Who are you, and where is this?”

The imp grinned. “I'm Tatter, and this is Bob’s terrarium. Are you new here?”

Shelldor thought to himself. “Bob? Why does that name sound familiar? Wait, familiar!” He thought as the answer came to him.

The imp’s smile faded. “Buddy? You ok? You look like you've just seen a ghost. Granted, there are a few ghosts around here.”

Shelldor’s mind was racing. Trying to remember how he came to be here in this form. The memory dark, fuzzy.

“Can we go… outside?” Shelldor asked the imp.

“Outside the terrarium? Sure, Bob doesn't care if we wander around the campsite.”

The imp turned, and Shelldor followed. They moved through the forest, to a clearing. In the middle of the clearing sat a large arch. Shimmering light danced inside the arch.

“There it is, the portal to the outside,” the imp said.

Shelldor followed the imp into the light, squinting as he entered the bright portal. When he opened his eyes, he was back on the nearby planes, at a familiar campsite.

“I need to get some answers.” Shelldor thought aloud.

Shelldor moved toward the tent. He didn't think Bob had the brains for something like this, but he might have some answers.

“The boss doesn't like when you wake him, fair warning,” the imp called after him.

Shelldor entered the tent flap, hearing Bob snoring. He moved over to the bed and….

“Maybe I didn't think this through.” he thought.

Shelldor grabbed the blanket in his mouth, starting to tug it off the bed. Bob grumbled as he did. Bob began to sit up in bed, rubbing his eyes and looking down at the turtle.

“Hey, little buddy, what are you doing here? Is it breakfast time already?”

“Bob, what the hell is going on?” Shelldor said, or rather, tried to say.

His question left his mouth sounding like a series of grunts.

Bob smiled. “I know you're hungry, little fella, let's see what we got.”

Bob looked in the cabinet. “Aw, dang we’re out of cereal, it's not a good breakfast without cereal.”

Shelldor struggled in vain to communicate his feelings, to no avail.

“I guess we’re gonna need to go into town and get some. Come on, little guy,” Bob said as he picked Shelldor up, placing him on his shoulder.

Bob began to gather his supplies, Shelldor now given up on making any sense to him. When they got outside Bob gave a whistle. A potato, a teddy bear, and an origami towel crane emerged from the terrarium soon after, joining tatter at the campsite.

“Ok, group, let's head out,” Bob said, heading down the path to town.

“Ah well,” Shelldor muttered, “I am kinda hungry.”

“Eyes the other way, bud,” said the potato, causing Shelldor to do a double take.

As Bob, Shelldor, and the rest of the party passed the cemetery, they heard a major commotion.

“Brrrrrrri...splcrunch,” the party heard, which was the sound of a zombie running head first into a viking’s axe.

“Remember what Thinky said, Ulf, you have to hit em in the brain to kill em, or they just come back!”

“Yeah yeah, I know, Rolf, sometimes I'd like to hit him in the brain.”

Both of the vikings gave a hearty chuckle. Shelldor watched the melee from Bob’s shoulder, admiring the vikings form. It was rough, yes, but effective. These two could make valuable allies.

Shelldor recalled Bob putting a weapon in his pack as they were leaving. He slide from Bob’s shoulder, down into the pack.

“Hey, little buddy, where are you going?” Bob said as he took off the pack, looking for the turtle.

Shelldor managed to nudge the mace into Bob’s hand. Bob looked somewhat shocked as his hand grasped it. He pulled it out, immediately getting the attention of some nearby zombies. As the zombies attacked, Bob screamed and swung the mace, being more effective than Shelldor would have thought, honestly.

More zombies tried to join the fray, being tripped by potato, teddy bear, and towel crane, respectively. Tatter launched fireballs at the remaining ones, as Bob swung his mace.

The group fighting the vikings, and the group fighting Bob and co. gradually moved closer together, until they one and the same, the zombies surrounded by vikings, familiars, and adventurer.

As the last one fell, the two groups regarded each other. The vikings smiled.

"Hey, you're not bad,” Rolf said to Bob, “certainly an impressive fight.”

“Rolf, remember what Olin said about looking for adventures to help out?” Ulf said to his partner.

“Oh yeah,” both of the vikings smiles got wider.

“Hey, buddy, how would you like to help make the kingdom a better place?”

Bob looked dubious, “I was just going to town to get cereal.”

“Perfect,” Rolf smiled, “that's where we’re going too.”

“We have to meet the others to get the plans.” Ulf smiled along.

“This is a lot of trouble to buy a box of cereal.” Said Bob.

Bob was ushered between the two large vikings, traveling only half willingly with them, the familiars following close. Inside the pack, Shelldor smiled along with the vikings.

There it is. Shelldor's gone from a powerful avatar of Boris to a turtle.

This roleplay won two of the three awards awarded this mission. It won best solo roleplay and also took funniest moment for when Shelldor tries to talk and it comes out "all turtley."

Our voter Ichiro praised the roleplay's beginning for being "super imposing, with the description of every little thing that he felt was wrong with himself up until the reveal," in his own words. The writer really set a strong tone and delivered through with it. I like how it shifts to that to the comedic bit with the Vikings at the end, but keeps a sense of humor for most of the whole roleplay.

I have high hopes for Shelldor, as well as Captain Wallace and SpaghettiGirl, in season 3. But for now, we're already done with roleplaying so the Finale is next!