hi all,

for some reason, when i enter trademeet I end up just outside the SW gate, not the SE where the battle with the militia and animals is going on... I see the battle in the dialog window, but even hasted by the time I get there the militia, including the captain, is dead. and idea what's going on?

Correct. To judge by the walkthroughs I looked at for that area* when I played where you enter depends on which direction you approached from, as usual.

*Not for this quest: I couldn't figure out where an NPC was for another quest in the town

sorry i was a little light on details. doesn't seem to matter where i come from, have tried from the city, de'arnisse keep, umar hills, windspear hills. always enter in the same spot, also tried to leave immediately to the world map and reenter, same thing. don't have any mods installed.

I can't say for certain why that would be, but rest assured that the militia (including the captain) are not essential. You can still go to High Merchant Coprith to advance the quest. The captain is just an introductory guide, pointing you to Coprith.