In the clearing is an encampment, a collection of tents gathered around a large central fire pit. In among the tents you can count over fifty armed men and women, more than double the number of warriors in your own small patrol. Clearly the bandits who attacked you on the road were not alone.
At the center of the encampment stands an enormous warrior, his head shaved save for a topknot that ends in a lank ponytail hanging over his back. This brute of a man has his back to you and is talking to a number of bandits only slightly less hulking than himself. Among those he's talking to, you recognize some of the people who attacked you on the road.