Southwest of the borders of Thring, there lies a ravine five miles long and thick with trees. It is extremely steep on all sides, making it a grueling one-day trek just to get from the bottom of the ravine to the top. This is the haunt of the swine-harpies, vile creatures with the wings of birds, the bodies of virgins and the heads of sows. The swine-harpies are not directly hostile, but they are greedy, malicious and possess supernatural powers of perception. Whenever anyone prepares to eat while within the bounds of the canyon, the swine-harpies will swoop down and devour or defile the food. No mortal weapon can harm the harpies and no threat seems to scare them off. As a result, those who become trapped in the canyon may well starve to death.
Recently, a young nobleman of Thring, bearing the name Martin of Wenstoke, arrived in the canyon. Having killed a man, he was bound to pay the price of blood, and rather than give up his own life he swore to slay the swine-harpies. Although he considered these isolated and non-aggressive monsters an easy target, his foolproof plan to slay them fell through and the rest of his party has since died of starvation. Martin has discovered a rather unsavory way of surviving, although it is doubtful now that he will ever be allowed to return to Thringish society. On the other hand, it is possible that he has learned something about the ravine, which is rumored to contain a treasure which the swine-harpies were assigned to guard.
Hooks
- Where is Wenstoke?
- Who did Martin kill and why?
- What was Martin’s foolproof plan to slay the swine-harpies?
- How has Martin survived without food for the past few months?
- What is the treasure of the ravine?
