IMO locking parts of the map is a technique only used by poor Devs. "Speak to the villages" is a nothing quest as far as I can see, a simple hint for people who can't figure out that talking to NPC's a good idea. Making it an insta-start can be considered a good idea, but so is just deleting it
let the suckers stumble about clueless lol I hate handholding in a game, if you can't figure out something this simple then I have no pity.