Travel the ancient trade route

You decide that a route, no matter how ancient and decrepit, is better than no route at all. You travel a quarter day's journey to the trail's beginning, just a wagon-rutted dirt path long overgrown with weeds. It is nevertheless easy to follow, as it travels along a raised strip of land that once allowed a steady stream of spice merchants and **** traders to cross the broad expanse of swamps, lakes and rivers without getting their feet wet.

The sky is clear overhead and it's actually quite pretty in these parts. The swamp waters have given way to rolling meadows tracked with many streams.

Later in the afternoon the sky darkens a bit and you cross into an area where the willow trees, much like those of the mire, bend and droop over the trade road. It is a gloomy atmosphere and the singing of strange birds and insects does nothing to calm your nerves. Up ahead you see a man waving to you. He seems to be running towards you.

You are wary. You take out your bow and arrow, but do not string an arrow. You stand and wait as he approaches. The man is filthy, his clothing torn and blood is matted in his hair.

"Escaped," he cries. "Don't go any further. Wugs."

"What? Get a hold of yourself. Here, have some water," you say and pass him your water skin. He drinks greedily and seems to calm when you hand him a crust of bread.

"Now, tell me what has happened," you insist.

"There are wugs everywhere, something has them on the prowl. All three tribes."

"Tribes?"

"Or species. I do not know what the difference is. Along the path you travel the red wugs wait in ambush. These are the flesh-eaters. They captured many of my party and took them away to be eaten. We heard their screams...I...it was terrible. They are the smallest of the wugs, but they are numerous and not to be underestimated."

"It's alright," you comfort him.

"We fled south and were attacked again by the green wugs. They are the smartest of the wugs and they build elaborate mud villages and use blow guns. They tricked us by sending over an emmissary and giving us food, but it was ****. By the time we realized it they were attacking us. Killing the men and taking the women to a strange building in their village. Only a few of us escaped. We hid in the swamp and I could see that big building and hear the moans of those poor women inside."

"My gods," you say and rub his shoulder. "But where is the rest of your party?"

"We fled back north to the route, but we saw patrols of red wugs so we traveled further north into the lakelands. It seemed for a day we had escaped the wugs completely, but we hadn't. We were at the black lake, where the water is dark, but pure. While we were drinking they came out of the lake. Dozens of them, blue wugs, huge and powerful, as big as a strong man. These spoke and wore strange totems and symbols. They took men and women both into their village. Most terrible of all though, I saw shackles hanging from standing stones along the lake. I believe they were for human captives to be offered to whatever foul thing these creatures worship."

The man places his filthy hands on your arm and looks at you with wide, wild eyes.

"You must not travel this route. Turn back. Turn back and find another way."

He stands and begins to shuffle past you back down the road. You see he is injured and call out to offer further help seeing to his wounds but he is already running again, fleeing from the trade route and the wugs.

You consider what he has said. If you backtrack and choose a different route you will face danger no matter which path you choose. At least if you continue on this way you have been warned of the dangers and methods of the wugs and which tribe guards which approach.

Along the trade route lie the flesh-eating red wugs, small in stature, but numerous and violent. South of the trade route in the swamplands are the green wugs and they are clever and tricky and seem to kidnap women and take them to a large building in their village. North of the trade route you have been warned of the blue wugs, largest and strangest of the wugs, they hide in lakes and capture humans and may offer them up to their sinister amphibian gods.

Or you could turn back and choose a different path entirely.