You set out on the road, aiming to get out of the marshland as swiftly as possible. At the elves recommendation you head for the Rhest Trail, which is an easier passage south than walking through the Witchwoods. The elves informed you that once you reach the first river you will either be forced to trek directly through the woods if you insist on heading straight to your goal, or detour eastward and follow the trail until it the Witchcross, at which point you should take the west fork to Talar (the eastfork leads directly to Brindol).
Unfortunately, about an hour after you leave the elven camp, your plan for a quick departure is halted when you spot a thin plume of black smoke on rising from ahead of you. Following the smoke down you see, about a thousand meters ahead of you, a wooden blocked has been erected on the road. The smoke is coming from what is probably a cookfire. You see figures standing atop the blockade, but from this distance can't quite make out who, or what, they are other than humanoid.