DM Carbide's Through a Cracked Mirror: The Dark Road
Game Master John Woodford

Waiting for Sami too.

Sami moves to the other side of the vine, opposite Rashun, and hammers away at the thing with the stiffened ridge of his hand.

Flank if possible - subtract 2 from the attack roll if I can't; attack with elemental fist - fire
Attack1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
Damage1d8 + 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + (4) + 3 = 11

Apologies - was in a communications dead zone for 4 days

Eretria casts magic missile on the vine.

3d4 + 3 ⇒ (4, 4, 1) + 3 = 12

Round 1 (final):

The combination of Rashun's deep slice, Sami's chop (despite the lack of apparent effect from the flames), and Eretria's spell is too much for the animate plant, and it ceases its movement.

Darc shrugs at his friends success, a plant!. He picks up one of its shriveled leaves and after several seconds nods, then utters a single word. "Search"

Identifying the plant, Darc realises that it does not digest the victims wepaons and armor, so starts looking for such in the area or een another vine.
Knowledge(Nature) 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Perception 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8 to search the area around the assassin vine

Umm, are you worried about more creatures, Darc?

Xavier follows the Barbarian, though not understanding his reasons simply looks for enemies.
He retrieves his Scimitar.

Perception1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Darc, this particular assassin vine looks a bit odd to you--a more violet cast to the leaves, which are also a different shape from the ones you've seen in your travels. You find nothing in the area. While following you around, though, Xavier trips over the partially disjointed skeleton of a dwarf, with a couple of small shoots that look like the larger vine growing through it. The skeleton is in still-mostly unrusted chain, and a battleax is nearby. A pouch at the skeleton's belt contains ten platinum pieces and a sealed scroll case.

Eretria stands nearby, keeping watch. She has no interest wading through foliage.

Looks like our friend here was not so lucky. That battlaxe and armor may be serviceable.

Is either weapon or armor of noticeable quality? Craft: Weapons1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Darc sees Xavier bend down into the foliage and look at something. He walks over and takes a look too. "Nice axe." He waves his hand in front of his eyes, murmuring something, as though to give him greater insight into the find.

"Xavier, case what in? I open?" Darc inquires to Xavier, pointing at the scroll case.

Cast Detect Magic to study the weapon and armor.

Axe and armor are both mw, Xavier. Darc, neither detect as magic.

Is it a chain shirt or Chainmail? I don't wanna wear it. My breastplate suits me. Take the axe Darc.

Chainmail. Sized for a dwarf, so it would take some messing around to get it to fit any of you.

Rashun looks at the armor, and decides to keep what he has.
"Let us move on before some other strange creature crosses our path." He seems to less than happy after his second attempt to attack the vine.

What, besides the battleaxe, are you taking from the body?

Eretria wouldn't mind taking a look through the scroll case if it is passed her way.

Darc takes the scroll case to Eretria, "Here, we found this, you might find it interesting?"

Sami merely waits patiently, his eyes scanning his surroundings as he waits for his companions to complete their search of the body.

Perception1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24

Sami, you spot a few other immature assassin vine sprouts in the area, but that's about it.

Eretria, the scroll case is sealed with a blob of wax bearing the image of a crowned mountain. The seal has begun to crack and pull away from the case, though, so the case can be opened without breaking the seal.

Xavier calmly pulls the Chainmail off the dwarfs remains. When he recieves odd looks he merely states, I expect you to do the same If I fall. Gear does the dead no good. This could pay for something useful later.
He secures it in his Handy Haversack.

"Burn new shoots." Darc says to Sami as they examine the new shoots growing through the undergrowth.

Eretria is going to open the case to examine the contents.

It contains a very nice vellum scroll, slight water damage to the top edge, with two columns of script. The lefthand column is in a runic language that none of you know, while the righthand column is in Common. The Common section is a letter addressed to "the Druids of Arenway," from someone styling himself as "Dralm Hammerhand, Lord of Highhelm and King of the Dwarves." The body of it, after the various flowery salutations and the like, is a plea for assistance with a plague of peculiar plants afflicting the few remaining dwarf outposts in the southeast corner of Five Kings Mountains, along the Sellen.

"Mmm... seems we can expect more of these plants, men." Eretria comments with a frown before stowing the scroll back into the case. "I am curious what the other part says but perhaps we need a druid for it... or a dwarf."

I have comprehend languages as a spell.
"Eretria could I see that? I should be able to decipher it."
While waiting for the scroll to be handed over I Rashun cast Comprehend Languages.

The section in the runic language is a duplicate in overall meaning of the part in Common, although there are subtleties of language and idiom that didn't translate well. This is, btw, considered to be a polite thing to do in diplomatic communiques between nations with different languages.

Whilst the rest of the party look at the scroll, Darc lights a small fire over the shoots of the young assassin plants, one at a time making sure that the fire is made safe before continuing on, scraping foliage away around the plant exposing the brown bare earth.

The section in the runic language is a duplicate in overall meaning of the part in Common, although there are subtleties of language and idiom that didn't translate well. This is, btw, considered to be a polite thing to do in diplomatic communiques between nations with different languages.

So the runic section is just a copy of what we could already read?

Sami does his best to help Darcin exposing the new shoots, using his hands to burrow away at the earth around their bases. This is much like working in my own village; it's been too long since I've been able to get my hands well and truly dirty.. He smiles in spite of the grim nature of the work.

Xavier looks over Rashun's shoulder. Trying to, but not understanding the runes.

DM Carbide - Dark Road wrote:

The section in the runic language is a duplicate in overall meaning of the part in Common, although there are subtleties of language and idiom that didn't translate well. This is, btw, considered to be a polite thing to do in diplomatic communiques between nations with different languages.

So the runic section is just a copy of what we could already read?

Correct.

Darc, the shoots don't ignite easily, but with Sami's help you're able to uproot them and eventually get them burned.

After searching the area carefully for more shoots and excessively affectionate flora, the party makes camp in one of the ruined buildings. The night is quiet.

Conjunction -24 days.

The next morning, however, is not. You're getting ready to strike camp under a cloudy and louring brass-colored sky when the heavens open. Thunder, lightning, torrential downpour, with occasional spits of hail. If this had hit when you were out on the river, it would have been touch and go, but as it is you were able to get the boat under cover so it takes no hail damage.

Travel that day is contraindicated.

So you sit around a small fire, surrounded by the chain, listening to the rain pitter-patter on the roof and the roof timbers creak in the wind. Simultaneously, all of you hear something moving outside your shelter. What do you do?

Sami looks about in his typical calm but focused manner, making sure that all of his companions are alert and ready and rousing them if not. Seems we've company; shall we introduce ourselves, or wait for them to reveal their intent? He looks at the chain about them, not entirely sure at how secure their shelter was from roving beasts.

Xavier draws his Scimitar and looks to Sammy and Eretria for direction. He was willing but unsure if they wanted him to go or not.

"Cannot fight here. Go outside. Face friend or foe. Xavier?" asks the hlaf-orc of his companions. He fidgets with his flail, readying himself. In all the morning listening to the rain, he looks more relaxed now there is the opportunity to leave the confines of the cabin.

Xavier mouths, "Let's go" and walks out of the chain, stacking up on the exit and when Darc is ready, quickly goes through the door, Scimitar ready...

Perception1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20

Xavier moves towards the exit. Just before he gets there, a brief pause in the rainfall reduces the ambient noise level enough that he can hear a high-pitched voice saying in Common, "...you smell that? Smoke--someone's here!"

Rashun also goes outside to see what new threat may appear.

Xavier, Rashun, and Darc move out of the gap in the wall. The brief pause in the rain has ended, so the trio can't resolve any immediate details on a single humanoid figure about thirty feet away. The only obvious things about it are its height and build (at least seven feet tall and slender almost to the point of emaciation, albeit with either a hunchback or a backpack). The high-pitched voice says, "Look th--" before it's interrupted by a lower, somewhat breathier voice. "I see. Run us now?"

Sami glances at Eretria and offers a shrug. He leans in to whisper. Perhaps we should wait in here in case we are needed; there's no sense to reveal our full strength before we know their intentions.

Eretria smiles slightly, putting her back against the inside wall to the right of the gap, "I was thinking on that... but don't linger too long in here if they mean us harm."

Darc shouts out, "Stay, you friend?"

Diplomacy 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Perception 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9 to see the creatures with the voices

Darc, it seems to you that the high-pitched voice was coming from the tall creature's back, while the other voice came from its head. Everyone outside, there's also something odd about the tall creature's head.

Are there any knowledge checks that would help?

Nature or History for the tall creature, v. high DC. DC 5 Nature, History, Nobility, or Local to recognize the high-pitched voice.

Knowledge(History) 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Knowledge(Nature) 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Darc, the high-pitched voice sounds pretty gnomish to you. The tall creature, though, is not familiar at all, and that's decidedly odd.

"Gnome, you friend?" continues Darc.

The putative gnome replies, "Maybe. Who's asking?" You hear a murmur in the pause that follows, "Be ready to run, Versey."

ETA, since I didn't get to this until it was past the edit window: the quiet voice was the gnome again, not the other voice.