DnD 5e: My mouth is dry...

[Vecna]

"By Tempus' beard, this guard surely does not inspire a lot of confidence in these farmers here. I am willing to conduct the negotiating on our behalf, but before we proceed - do we want to do this as an act of kindness or are we also looking to get paid for our services?"

[Vecna]

*approach the crowd and try to calm them down by using an insight check to demonstrate we understand their plight*

"Good day good people of Thode. The local temples have received word of your troubles here. Your guard also sent word to us and they have sent us to help. We understand you need the local river to be able to provide food to your families. We understand the urgency of this situation. Do not fear, we will get to the bottom of this. We will uncover the reason for your river going dry and we will solve this problem for you. I promise you this".

"Now, if you all would be so kind to return to your farms, me and my friends would like to have a talk with your town guard here to learn all we can."

[Vecna]

"Yes, getting more information on what to expect and how to approach this task might be useful. In fact, im sure the custodians of my temple made us study the lore of all many of the regions in this country"

*history check to recall anything of note happening in this region or this village in the past*

[Vecna]

"Maybe someone stealthy could go scout the camp to know what were dealing with? Clearly they were capable of taking out the farmers that were sent here to investigate, and judging by what they did to the river they do not appear to be afraid of drawing attention to themselves."

[Vecna]

"Could we even clear that blockade? Those boulders look pretty big. What would it take to remove them?"

[Vecna]

"I agree with Virgil, lets clear the rocks and wait in hiding to see who comes to check out what happened. If you guys can stand guard on the banks of the river in case this is some sort of a trap, I will go and clear the rocks"

[Vecna]

"Take in the surroundings to check for any defensible positions that might give us an edge against overwhelming numbers of enemies. Any chokepoints that we could use?"

[Vecna]

"or a good place for an ambush or a trap"

[Vecna]

"Look alive friends, if you can keep these ugly things out of my face I will cast a sleep spell on the largest group. Then we can take out the other group in a coordinated strike"

[Vecna]

"Looks like were eating grilled froglegs tonight guys. Watch me unleash my inferno."

*The tiniest of flames start forming around vekna's fingers as he focusses -really really- hard to cast....a campfire cantrip*

[Vecna]

*Vecna screams out in agony, a wailing sharp type of sound that no dwarf should ever produce.*

"He took a bite out of my arm. The frog mutilated my brewing arm"

[Vecna]

"It seems these creatures were under the control of some very strong magic. Lets not take too much risk here just yet. Ill try and see if I can communicate with it through magic means"

Vecna starts casting a spell to try and communicate in draconic with the fishman. What could possibly go wrong?

[Vecna]

"Guys, I can communicate with the caster. It speaks draconian".

*Vecna starts to cast another message spell on the fish-faced monster, and continue to talk to it in draconean*

"I am not the same person that made these promises. I am the dwarf that is now waving at you"

*wave at him so he sees you*

"The person that made these promises betrayed you. He betrayed your friends. We do not want to fight. Let us help you get back home. Lets be friends."

[Vecna]

"Yes, I really could use some healing and im not sure we have enough time to convince our new potential friend here".

"Cast a final message spell in draconian. The message reads: We mean you no harm. As a peace offering, we shall leave behind your friend and not harm him. Next time we meet, lets talk before we fight".

"How about we go back to a nearby farm and rest and heal? If another of these groups catches us in this state, while they have two of those casters, I doubt we will survive the encounter in this state"

[Vecna]

"alright guys, lets see if we can find the farmers then went missing now that the fishmen have retreated temporary. Lets cross where the diverted stream was and see if we can find them in the area between here and the fishmen camp. They mightve even found themselves a good spot to hide that we can use".

"maybe one of you can continue to try and track them from there".

[Vecna]

"great, lets also be on the lookout for a good hiding place to rest along the way".

[Vecna]

"Ahoy friends, my name is Vekna. Bobert of Thode hired us to find out what happened to the river. So we went and broke a damn and then fought a bunch of frogs and fishies that were none too pleased with that. We brought this ugly one here to interrogate while were resting. We managed to find out that these creatures were most likely affected by a mental domination type of spell, so someone is controlling them to terrorize this region.

Now, do you lads maybe have a safe resting place? I assume so since the froggers havent found you yet? We could really use a moment of respite to tend to our wounds. Ever got bitten by an oversized frog? It feels every bit as nasty as it sounds.

Maybe you can tell us what you have been up to here?"

[Vecna]

"A little red flying one you say? That sucks souls? Did it also look like a frog or a fish, or did it have different features?

Regardless, during our fight at the damn two of their casters escaped. Do you guys have any idea about their total number? Did anyone scout for their camp or their base?"