They encounter raiding parties on the road.

Brynn had enough experience in the woods of Vangel to navigate the pair out onto the roads. They moved swiftly, but aware that they were potentially coming upon an army, tried to stay to the side of the main roads to Solis. They came across the remnants of several farming villages that had been put to the torch and sword. They traveled quickly, but stopped to forage where possible to keep their strength up. The former habitants of these unnamed hamlets wouldn't need whatever was left anyways, if the fairy's account had been correct.

After some time, the came across a village that was relatively intact, though there were signs of a struggle. In particular, a shed structure a short distance away from the main village. The travelers investigated, hoping for some leftover scraps to restock their rations. They found a few jars of pickled vegetables and were packing them away when they heard voices in the distance, too far away to be clear as to what their origin was, but it was clear there was an argument, and feminine screams. Marielle moved to her blade, but Brynn stopped her.

"We don't know how many there are. Based on what we've seen so far, there's too many for us to handle." She saw the look on Marielle's face, her sense of duty, and softened slightly. "I know what they'll do to her, and I want nothing more than to save her, but we need to get to the temple, and if we're in chains with her, we aren't doing that. We need to wait them out!"

Marielle relented, and they tried to peek out to assess the situation. This party appeared to be a tribe of gnolls, and sure enough, they carried behind them a train of young women, naked and in chains. Brynn was right, they were wildly outnumbered. The gnolls were rough with the women as they egged them forward, rough hands lingering on intimate areas. They spoke, but out of earshot of the pair. One particularly large gnoll, who seemed to be in command, roughly pushed the smallest gnoll, almost gaunt he was so small, and pointed towards the village proper, including where the adventurers were hiding. He advanced, presumably to search for any missing remnants, as the larger raiding party moved out. The travelers had a choice. They could take him out, or try to evade him.