The Plight of Two Crags - Prologue

Written: Jan-Feb 2012.

Apologies for the lack of spell check.

Prologue

    In and around Two-Crags, everyone knew to stay inside when it rained. All windows closed, doors barred, verandahs abandoned. When it rained, the monsters from the nearby cave system would come out to clean their skin and stalk through the farmsteads, looking for anyone foolish enough to peek at them. They were kept from the town itself by a tall wall, but the occasional creature did clamber over it, thankfully often handily dispatched by the town guard.
    The creatures stand two thirds the height of a man, but broader. They are similar in strength and speed to an ordinary man, although the strange bending of their legs allows them to leap forwards to catch their foes off guard. Their mouths are wide, their teeth long, and their hands clawed. Their noses are two long slits, their ears small holes, and their eyes black and beady. Their skin is always slime coated - without moisture, they quickly become unable to move, and die. Often they are partly, or almost entirely, covered with muck, though they wash this off when they can. They are usually gray in colour, blending in with the caverns that dot the land around Two Crags, and they bleed red.
    Many times had brave knights slaughtered the creatures - who were, in truth, not much of a threat to a fully armoured, mounted group of knights. But more always came from the cave, and knights who attempted to clear out the cave system either came back after the small size of the nooks and crannies prevented further progress, or never came back at all. And all attempts to seal the caves were cleared, or - when a mage bound the entrances with strong magic - new exits were dug within a month.
    But the creatures never attempted to chase anyone they did not see, so the villages were safe in doors. And despite their always replenishing number, they did not grow in number over time. So the village became used to this peculiarity, and as it was some distance from the caves, all knew to get inside quickly when rain began, or to stay indoors if they already were. The creatures only ever caught, and ate, travellers who had not heard - or did not believe - the stories, and life, though occasionally risky, was good for the villagers.
    Then the floods came.
    The rains began innocently, a normal storm for Two Crags, in the shadows of the moutains and near the sea. But the rain did not stop. At first, the villagers hid away, waiting an entire day for the storm to break. But it did not. Nor the day after, nor the day after that. And as time passed, the waters rose, and the creatures occupied these pools, spied by the few brave souls who ventured out.
    The villagers had stores to keep themselves fed, strong walls, and strong arms. They kept the creatures out, day after day. For three weeks they persevered, and then they sent three messengers, the bravest people in the village, to carry word of their plight to the local lord.
    Of the three, only one survived the journey, but that was enough. With knowledge of Two Crags' state, the local baron, Lord Laudian summoned every knight and mercenary he could, and with fifty of his men, he sent them to relieve Two Crags. The knights and soldiers slew the monsters surrounding the town, and freed a route for the town to be resupplied, but still the rain fell. And in the woods and fields, now marsh, surrounding the town, the creatures roamed.
    Laudian set a great bounty for saving Two Crags, promising a reward to any who could end the rain, or destroy the creatures once and for all. Perhaps a hundred knights, mercenaries, and others came to Two Crags, eager to save the town, and take the reward. Amongst them, as you may expect,  were a particular group of heroes: the knigh Graeme, his squire Annette, and the mercenary, Sparrow.