Castles and Crusades - Castellan's Guide to Armor of the Early Medieval Period
Softcover book is in excellent condition.
Many ages ago trolls dominated the land. Their King ordered a great complex be constructed to house himself and his people. Troll engineers, artisans and countless slaves bent their backs to the task for many moons. They dug into the cliffs along the foothills of the mountains and there they built a palace of stone and dark tunnels. From their mountain fastness the trolls continued terrorizing the lands about, plundering the folk and carting them off to their pits and holes. In time however, the trolls, being voracious eaters, whittled away their food source until only small varmints and their gnomish kin remained. It took many years, but the trolls dispersed and moved on to more plentiful pastures. The complex was abandoned and left nearly empty.
The kingdoms of man eventually expanded into the old troll haunts and the region was settled. Frontiersmen arrived and mapped the land. Settlers followed, creating homesteads upon the green slopes of the hills. Clergy followed the homesteaders and not far behind them the nobility, claiming the land for themselves. Towns and villages sprung up here and there and the people lived peaceful, if taxing, lives under the shadow of the mountains. The old troll hunting grounds became home to a young Baron, his court and people.
In time, the old troll complex was discovered. Some brave and adventurous sorts even dared to go there in search of gold and treasure. Many never returned. Some returned with nothing to report but empty halls and passages. A few spoke of great demons roaming the depths of the dungeon. And a tiny few spoke of great treasure piled in heaps too large to carry.
