So in my campaign, the PC's have just headed down the river in search of Alek and arrived at the headless statue. My party was already a little curious how a lone paladin was wandering around in this dangerous area and surviving, let alone taking a canoe downriver and then...hiking back up to Redgorge??
So was looking ahead and realized...just how in the hell did Alek get past wandering monsters, gnolls, quasits, giants, ettins, and a fire giant, without realizing he was walking right into a den of evil? Sure, he might see the Hags as Archons, but what about the rest of the monsters? Knowing my group, they'll start wondering this as they fight their way in, and I've yet to think of something plausible.
I think he never saw them, may be the 3 hags met him in the forest the first time and after this he entered by the great doors going in the south (constructed) part of the complex where there are no monsters' lair.
The mephit and the hill giant at the doors can be hidden as the obey the hags.
In fact in my campaign the spellthief after exploring nearly all the dungeon came back disguised as a hag (hat of disguise) and brought the hill giant in an ambush far away from the doors, very great play.
As noted by christian above, virtually all the monsters in the complex are minions of the hags, so that solves that issue - hags shuffle them away for a bit, and Alek moves unimpeded. (And if the players are wondering how Alek did it when they arrive and starting fighting their way through, that's a good thing - there's a clue right there for them that things 'aren't right'.)
As for the wilderness, I had long since established that Alek knows this region very well, and has been wandering around and helping people for years and years. He knows where to go and what things to avoid, and thus knows the gnolls' habits and territory, etc.
Two great suggestions, thanks! That will help a lot when they start making their way in. I hadn't even considered the whole "Alek is familiar to the area" idea, but it makes so much sense!
I hadn't even considered the whole "Alek is familiar to the area" idea, but it makes so much sense!
And you have further backup to this, because Alek is continually selling bric-a-brac to Tygot, which he gets from his travelings around the region.