In myth and legend, in story and fable, in reality and study, there are creatures, monsters that go bump in the night.
But a question for the philosophers, a pondering for the inquisitive and curious.
These monsters that man and mer feared throughout time, these monsters that go 'bump' in the night...
For these creatures...
What goes 'bump' in the night for them?
A question no intelligent monster ever considered, those who knew thoughts and bore consciousness. The Ogre never considered that the Troll would steal its deformed spawn away in the night, the Worg never considered that the Griffon would prey on its cubs. The Dragon never though the Wyvern would dare steal its eggs, nor did the Yeti teach its children stories of the Wendigo.
Monsters... The creatures that inspire fear, always thought to never feel it themselves. The beasts that appear unstoppable, driven by the horrifying will to slaughter without care or pity... Even the most intelligent monsters of all, the humanoids who prey on their own kind... What do these creatures fear?
For centuries... since time immemorial... These creatures feared nothing... even with good reason to be afraid no satisfaction ever came from their deaths.
The monsters walk as veritable kings amid the sheep around them, untouchable even in their vulnerabilities...
This troll lived in the foothills of a small forested mountain in the Allirian Reach with this farm as his source of easy prey after it awoke from hibernation. The troll terrorized this countryside and its residence, but not to the point of a witch hunt. The people had even gotten used to his annual presence and accepted it as part of life, allowing him to make his kills in peace so that he may go and bother them no further, a sweet little arrangement.
But now...
Something was in its territory... Hunting... The piggish black eyes narrowed as it twisted its green warted face into a wicked glare, anger boiling up within the black heart of the bent green skinned forest terror. In rage the troll chased down another cow and slaughtered it, eating it ravenously till all but bones and blood remained.
Shall the king of this land be challenged!? Shall the terror of the deep woods stand for this!? He let out the mighty howl of an anguishing loathsome beast!
With murderous intent in its mind it ambled back into the forest with its hunched over gait. This was HIS forest... only HE knew its secrets... and only HE deserved to be feared by the sheep that resided at his mercy...
There was blood in the air, the whole forest stank of it and the troll became on edge, so much so that as it rounded the trunk of a great oak the troll let out an inhuman scream as it came face to face with the filleted carcass of a great grizzly bear hanging from the low branches by its intestines... The troll couldn't understand what was happening... Its heart was hammering in its chest, far greater than any blood frenzy or excitement it has ever felt before... A hunter greater than he? A creature that has already hunted and killed in the trolls own territory without any regard for the unspoken boundaries... and without the troll even knowing about it?!
The troll sat squatting under the reeking carcass as it looked around, sniffing, whining, glancing around nervously. It seemed to the troll that a corpse hid around every corner, around every tree trunk and up in every branch... Everywhere it looked... What did it have to fear? A troll was a regenerating creature, it had fought bears and won every time simply by outlasting them and then slaughtering them... What did the troll have to fear? its nose could pick up the scent of a squirrel from a mile off, or the presence of a newcomer passing through the village from several leagues away...
What did the troll have to fear... And why was it still afraid?
Because this creature could kill a bear without leaving signs of even a struggle on the forest around, and without leaving tracks... And because the troll couldn't smell anything but blood and death within a hundred miles in HIS forest!
But as it sat squatting there it caught a new scent... Back in the direction it came... But how? hardly ten minutes had passed since the troll left that farm... The troll loped back, his long sharp nose close to the ground...
It returned to the farm... Where it saw every last animal laying dead and eaten in the grass...
The farmers had tried to hunt down this beast themselves, thinking it was a troll that their mothers had told stories about to keep them in line. The volunteers went out with weapons and equipment to fight and put down a troll. But the hunters were found the next day half eaten and hanging in the trees by their entrails right outside the village. They were now all gathered at the town hall for a meeting to discuss what else could be done and to see whether their request at the guild would produce a hunter for them.
But a question for the philosophers, a pondering for the inquisitive and curious.
These monsters that man and mer feared throughout time, these monsters that go 'bump' in the night...
For these creatures...
What goes 'bump' in the night for them?
A question no intelligent monster ever considered, those who knew thoughts and bore consciousness. The Ogre never considered that the Troll would steal its deformed spawn away in the night, the Worg never considered that the Griffon would prey on its cubs. The Dragon never though the Wyvern would dare steal its eggs, nor did the Yeti teach its children stories of the Wendigo.
Monsters... The creatures that inspire fear, always thought to never feel it themselves. The beasts that appear unstoppable, driven by the horrifying will to slaughter without care or pity... Even the most intelligent monsters of all, the humanoids who prey on their own kind... What do these creatures fear?
For centuries... since time immemorial... These creatures feared nothing... even with good reason to be afraid no satisfaction ever came from their deaths.
The monsters walk as veritable kings amid the sheep around them, untouchable even in their vulnerabilities...
… However...
For the first time since his spawning... The black stringy hairs on the trolls head stood on end as it gazed over a kill it did not make... A bull cow, flesh consumed and the carcass left right in the middle of the farmers field, a fresh kill but from a monster with an odor like no other animal it has ever smelled before...
This troll lived in the foothills of a small forested mountain in the Allirian Reach with this farm as his source of easy prey after it awoke from hibernation. The troll terrorized this countryside and its residence, but not to the point of a witch hunt. The people had even gotten used to his annual presence and accepted it as part of life, allowing him to make his kills in peace so that he may go and bother them no further, a sweet little arrangement.
But now...
Something was in its territory... Hunting... The piggish black eyes narrowed as it twisted its green warted face into a wicked glare, anger boiling up within the black heart of the bent green skinned forest terror. In rage the troll chased down another cow and slaughtered it, eating it ravenously till all but bones and blood remained.
Shall the king of this land be challenged!? Shall the terror of the deep woods stand for this!? He let out the mighty howl of an anguishing loathsome beast!
With murderous intent in its mind it ambled back into the forest with its hunched over gait. This was HIS forest... only HE knew its secrets... and only HE deserved to be feared by the sheep that resided at his mercy...
There was blood in the air, the whole forest stank of it and the troll became on edge, so much so that as it rounded the trunk of a great oak the troll let out an inhuman scream as it came face to face with the filleted carcass of a great grizzly bear hanging from the low branches by its intestines... The troll couldn't understand what was happening... Its heart was hammering in its chest, far greater than any blood frenzy or excitement it has ever felt before... A hunter greater than he? A creature that has already hunted and killed in the trolls own territory without any regard for the unspoken boundaries... and without the troll even knowing about it?!
The troll sat squatting under the reeking carcass as it looked around, sniffing, whining, glancing around nervously. It seemed to the troll that a corpse hid around every corner, around every tree trunk and up in every branch... Everywhere it looked... What did it have to fear? A troll was a regenerating creature, it had fought bears and won every time simply by outlasting them and then slaughtering them... What did the troll have to fear? its nose could pick up the scent of a squirrel from a mile off, or the presence of a newcomer passing through the village from several leagues away...
What did the troll have to fear... And why was it still afraid?
Because this creature could kill a bear without leaving signs of even a struggle on the forest around, and without leaving tracks... And because the troll couldn't smell anything but blood and death within a hundred miles in HIS forest!
But as it sat squatting there it caught a new scent... Back in the direction it came... But how? hardly ten minutes had passed since the troll left that farm... The troll loped back, his long sharp nose close to the ground...
It returned to the farm... Where it saw every last animal laying dead and eaten in the grass...
… The black heart felt terror... And then nothing...
The village was having a town meeting. They had come together and scraped up enough money to out a contract at the adventurers guild in the city of Alliria. The contract stated this:
Wanted: Monster Hunter.
Job Details: To hunt down and kill whatever it is that is slaughtering our livestock.
Our animals have been continuously slaughtered for the past two weeks and our village risks poverty if this monster is not stopped.
Reward: 1,000 Gold.
Job Details: To hunt down and kill whatever it is that is slaughtering our livestock.
Our animals have been continuously slaughtered for the past two weeks and our village risks poverty if this monster is not stopped.
Reward: 1,000 Gold.
The farmers had tried to hunt down this beast themselves, thinking it was a troll that their mothers had told stories about to keep them in line. The volunteers went out with weapons and equipment to fight and put down a troll. But the hunters were found the next day half eaten and hanging in the trees by their entrails right outside the village. They were now all gathered at the town hall for a meeting to discuss what else could be done and to see whether their request at the guild would produce a hunter for them.
Last edited: