From the back cover:
It’s mid-spring, the time when the land’s rulers and their men-at-arms go out to thin down the nearby orc tribes (as well as war with each other). Nearly every able person is already involved in such conflicts, or with helping the remaining militia protect the local village.
A little girl comes running and crying into the center of the village. When questioned, she sobs that she and her dog were playing just outside of town by that old stone building on Witch's Hill, when a giant, clawed creature came up out of the ground and took her dog. The girl is obviously completely terrified and her dog, which never normally leaves her side, is nowhere to be seen.
You and your companions volunteer to look into the matter. After all, local legends say that vast amounts of treasure lay under the darkness of Witch's Hill. The village elders agree to let you and your party investigate the incident; indeed they almost seem relieved to do so