The preparations for the spring sowing began as soon as the harvest was taken in and processed. The last thing anybody wanted was to fall behind and be visited by the Croplings (though with the local dialect it sounded more line "crahpluns"). In spite of their cutesy and harmless sounding name they were anything but and this attempt to make them seem less terrifying was as effective as a guard dog made of marshmallows.
Croplings were common enough about the area that there were even warning signs around every crossroads with a tally of how many had been seen that day. Of course what nobody realised for many years was that it wasn't humans who updated this but the creatures themselves and as such the numbers couldn't really be trusted as a sign that they had done well enough in the harvest to discourage them from the area.
So far the only sure fire ways of avoiding a visit from the croplings altogether (aside from not being a farmer or living near the fields) was to fake an appearance and trick them into thinking that you had already been seen to. Foam bases attached to heavily weighted shoes and spraying a petrichor perfume were the most commonly used but those who had done particularly poorly often used a stock recording from last year's unfortunate visit in the hopes that the croplings would fall for it.
They rarely fell for the aforementioned technique, usually breaking into the offending home and screeching at the occupants until the force of their screams led them to projectile vomit. That was a stench you could never quite get rid of, that sickly scent of stale popcorn, metal and fermented pumpkin.
In all honesty if that was the worst of their visitation then they wouldn't be feared so much but their appearance was what drove fear throughout the area.From the long chronicles of the local vicars, it would seem that these creatures first appeared during a particularly poor crop in the late 1500s and regularly from then on.
Despite first being thought of as demons the area soon came to know them by their preferred hiding place - the tall corn fields where they squatted down between rows until they detected large movement. Their approach was often signalled by the sound of their long spines brushing against the cornstalks with a whispery whoosh and their crackled breathing.
From these primary signs the best thing to do would be to squat down as low as possible and hope they are one of the majority that finds this mimicry amusing enough that they let you live. Otherwise they tend to unhinge their jaws and stretch their mouths as wide as possible (with the older ones this can be anywhere from 5-8 feet across) before slamming their heads down and forcing you deep into their throats before chucking their heads back and swallowing.
The worst of it is when they press their swollen-looking faces against your windows late at night so you can make out every minute detail they possess. From their fist-sized,goat-slit eyes to the quivering slits of their nostrils and the tatters of fabric from their victims clinging to the multitude of tiny horns randomly dotted about their cheeks.
They'd just press themselves close, slowly smiling until you showed signs of moving and they would begin to press forward until the glass broke and they could crawl inside, squatting inches from you until they felt like leaving or decided to end you right there.
It's always a 50/50 in those cases.
Croplings were common enough about the area that there were even warning signs around every crossroads with a tally of how many had been seen that day. Of course what nobody realised for many years was that it wasn't humans who updated this but the creatures themselves and as such the numbers couldn't really be trusted as a sign that they had done well enough in the harvest to discourage them from the area.
So far the only sure fire ways of avoiding a visit from the croplings altogether (aside from not being a farmer or living near the fields) was to fake an appearance and trick them into thinking that you had already been seen to. Foam bases attached to heavily weighted shoes and spraying a petrichor perfume were the most commonly used but those who had done particularly poorly often used a stock recording from last year's unfortunate visit in the hopes that the croplings would fall for it.
They rarely fell for the aforementioned technique, usually breaking into the offending home and screeching at the occupants until the force of their screams led them to projectile vomit. That was a stench you could never quite get rid of, that sickly scent of stale popcorn, metal and fermented pumpkin.
In all honesty if that was the worst of their visitation then they wouldn't be feared so much but their appearance was what drove fear throughout the area.From the long chronicles of the local vicars, it would seem that these creatures first appeared during a particularly poor crop in the late 1500s and regularly from then on.
Despite first being thought of as demons the area soon came to know them by their preferred hiding place - the tall corn fields where they squatted down between rows until they detected large movement. Their approach was often signalled by the sound of their long spines brushing against the cornstalks with a whispery whoosh and their crackled breathing.
From these primary signs the best thing to do would be to squat down as low as possible and hope they are one of the majority that finds this mimicry amusing enough that they let you live. Otherwise they tend to unhinge their jaws and stretch their mouths as wide as possible (with the older ones this can be anywhere from 5-8 feet across) before slamming their heads down and forcing you deep into their throats before chucking their heads back and swallowing.
The worst of it is when they press their swollen-looking faces against your windows late at night so you can make out every minute detail they possess. From their fist-sized,goat-slit eyes to the quivering slits of their nostrils and the tatters of fabric from their victims clinging to the multitude of tiny horns randomly dotted about their cheeks.
They'd just press themselves close, slowly smiling until you showed signs of moving and they would begin to press forward until the glass broke and they could crawl inside, squatting inches from you until they felt like leaving or decided to end you right there.
It's always a 50/50 in those cases.
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