Aelfric
Aelfric is a legendary Redcap and founder of post-Shattering Redcap society.
Overview
According to legend, the first redcap to invite another to go hunting with him was named Aelfric who lived in what they used to call East Anglia. Supposedly he got hired by a bunch of commoners living in a handful of hole-in-the-wall villages to take care of a "wurrum," which means "big mean lizard" to me and you. Apparently they said the creature was big enough to wrap itself around a hill seven times. The urgency was probably because the hill was an old sidhe fort and probably the local freehold.
So Aelfric went with his trusty sword believing the villagers were being their usual scared little selves and that he'd deal with something the size of a horse. Redcap monster hunters didn't have a lot of respect for their customers in those days. That actually hasn't changed much, come to think of it.
He then, in fact, came snout to nose with something that was big enough to wrap around a hill seven times. Imagine his surprise.
So after he nearly got his butt chomped, he hightailed it out of there. It was a near escape but he went back to camp to 1) plan and 2) let his butt heal so he could sit again. He tried dozens of plans: Spiked pits, tree top ambushes. Nothing worked. The beast was too big to fall into a pit and smelled him in the trees. It was embarrassing, especially when the commoners started talking about getting their money back. Plus keeping him fed was a burden.
Being no idiot, Aelfric realized he couldn't do this on his own and if he couldn't deliver his days as a monster hunter were done. Who would hire one who can't bag their baddie? So he sent a message to two other big, bad critter killers like himself who he knew by reputation and offered them a share of the payoff in exchange for their help. It wasn't easy to do and surprised the other two when they got the message. At first they laughed it off but then thought about it. They knew Aelfric by reputation as well and if he needed help, they realized it was serious. Plus, they, too, had both been in fights they barely managed and were worried about bumping into something bigger than they could handle as well.
Plus three hunters work less individually and charge higher fees together. It sounded perfect.
So the two of them went to help Aelfric. They sat down for three days and three nights and planned. They went over what Aelfric had tried and things they had tried previously in similar circumstances. They tore every plan up.
In the end, they just beat the heck out of the beastie. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
After that, nothing could stop Aelfric and his two buddies (named Theodric and Offa). They went up and down the country beating the snot out of everything they saw until they cleared the whole countryside of monsters. Then, supposedly, they hopped in the channel and swam west to fight critters off in the Isles of the West. That part, I'm not so sure I believe, but it's darn sure they never lost a fight after they started teaming up.
References
- CTD. Kithbook: Redcaps, p. 23.