Seal Point

Details

Located about sixty miles South of The Spire, Seal Point is the first major landfall on the Eastern trade route to the Crescent League. And the first sight that greets the eyes of sailors is the South Spire Lighthouse. This is an manned lighthouse that was built by the dwarves of The Spire, and it is believed that wizards were involved in the structure. The tower is made of white marble that is not native to this region. It is 20 feet in diameter but rises to an impressive height of 80 feet and is topped with a giant crystal that is lit my magical means and from the sea it can be seen from as far as 30 miles away. The lens room is blacked out on the backside to prevent the light from shining on the main island, Seal Island.

At the base of the tower is a single steel door with a small window next to it that looks in on small circular room with a ladder leading upwards and a trapdoor at its base. 8 windows circle the tower just below the lens room and a few people who claim to have looked in the window report they are covered with thick curtains on the inside. Regular visitors to the tower have reported that their knocking on the door was ignored but travelers in distress have reported dozens of dwarf clerics coming out of the tower to lend what aid they could. These dwarves, who number around 30 at any given time, hail from The Spire and are stationed here in shifts.

Some travelers, though, have expressed doubts about this. They believe there is some magical portal that connects The Spire and South Spire Lighthouse, claiming that they have seen a dwarf at The Spire and after needing assistance saw the same dwarf emerging from the lighthouse. The dwarves are quick to point out that these stories are always told in the inns and taverns after several mugs of ale or rum. Some claim that there is a tunnel that connects The Spire to the lighthouse and point out that when they put their minds to it dwarves can roll along at a might pace for days on end.

At the base of the lighthouse a narrow stone jetty extends about 50 feet to the North and at the end of the jetty is a wooded dock that extends another 20 feet. At the end of the dock a small pipe rises up vertically about 3 feet out of which flows fresh water at a rate of about 1 gallon per round. This water comes from a spring situated somewhere South of the lighthouse, with the pipe running underground through the jetty and under the dock. The jetty is often covered with seals, but they never climb on the dock. Through some means they have been trained to move out of the way of anyone who walks along the jetty to and from the tower, though they do so grudgingly and with a lot of noise.

Seal Island itself is a rather small island, about 5 miles wide by 10 miles long. The Northern end and Eastern edge of the island are covered with steep hills of broken shale that are inhospitable to everything except the seals that crowed the Eastern side of the island. The Southern end of the island is covered in a thick pine forest and the middle part of the island is a region of wooded hills covered with light pine trees. And in the very middle of the island is the village of Seal Point. This village consists of about 750 people, most of whom make a living fishing or seal hunting. And those who are not involved in those industries cater to the needs of sailors and trading, most often in the form of inns and taverns. The various seal-skinned boots and cloaks produced on the island are highly sought after by sailors do to their waterpoof nature.

While not exactly a lawless community, this village is rather laid back. They know that life on the edge of the edge of civilization can be pretty rough and trying to strictly control those living there seldom works. Surprisingly, though, while things can get rowdy, especially in the waterfront taverns, it is a peaceful place. The residents work hard to earn a living and dozens of locals will rush into to break up the rather violent fights or just to stop drunk sailors from doing something they will regret. Many a drunk has been carried by a mob and thrown off the end of the main dock, which is affectionately called Sober Point. There is a small garrison of about 20 soldiers, but they are there more to direct the locals when the community is threatened, which happens from to time when pirates or denizens of the sea mistakenly think the community is easy pickings. They quickly learn that living a hard life makes for hard people.

Given the small size of the community the ships that call to port are either in need of repairs or are seeking to top off their water barrels. Several large springs surround the town and aqueducts bring the water into the community. Aside from water there is not much available in the way of provisions for ships, but if in dire need enough food can be provided to ensure the ship can make it South to Outer Bank. There is no major shipyard but some locals build ships and the fishermen are good at making small repairs. In a pinch just about anything short of a cracked keel or a broken mast can be replaced, though even in those cases temporary repairs could patch up the ship to limp along to a proper facility.

One building hard to miss in the village is a small, white marble warehouse built near the northernmost dock. This building is where the 20 constables have their office but is also doubles as an aid station. It is stocked by the dwarves of The Spire and there is always 2 or 3 dwarf clerics stationed here to keep an eye on the small supply of magical healing potions and to administer first aid. These supplies are meant for emergency purposes for ships in need and include items such as barrels of water, iron rations, preserved food, clothing, blankets, etc. and some material for repairing ships, such as rope, tools, sailcloth, etc..

Some Captains, though, like to stop over for a few days to let their crews get drunk and blow off steam, specifically because they know their crews cannot get into too much trouble like they could in larger communities. More importantly they know it is easier to round up their crews, not only due to the small size but also some locals are more than eager to help out, especially if they can good-naturedly toss a sailor or two off of Sober Point. And despite the roughness of the residents, many sailors really enjoy Seal Point as a port of call, because they know they can have a good time here. There is always plenty of good food to fill their bellies, even if a lot of it is fish or seal soup, and there is plenty of booze. A lot of sailors are very fond of agarwine, a wine made with pine resin from the Agar Pines that grow on the island. It is made in great quantities and it is the only product that the island exports, though not in large numbers. More importantly for the sailors, it is cheap and goes very well with fish/seal soup.

NPC Spotlight

Kiryan Warfinger is the primary lighthouse keep of the South Spire Lighthouse and has been known to locals and travelers for the past 50 years, and she is all the more memorable for her twin sister with the same name stationed at The Spire. Standing at an average height and average build Kiryan would be a rather nondescript dwarf, except for her striking blonde hair, which she wears in long braids that are she wraps around her waist as a belt, and her blonde beard is pleated with copper plates adorned with symbols of Yaluna, the Goddess of life. Kiryan is a powerful cleric, devoting her entire life for the preservation of life, and her knowledge of healing, both magical and mundane, is rivaled only by her skills are brewing magical potions of healing and the creation of salves to help with the healing process. The driving force in her life is the preservation of life, born of her devotion to her Goddess, who’s call she answered at a very young age, but she is still a dwarf at heart and is the first to step to fight the forces of evil, forces whom according to her faith give up their right live when they seek to take the lives of others. When it comes to the helping of people in need, Kiryan is the first to respond, even traveling to Seal Point or along the Eastern shores to help seal hunters who have fallen among the treacherous hills, and she is very forward, taking charge by her sheer force of personality and giving orders that people, including non-dwarves, readily obey. Kiryan’s knowledge of healing is vast and only few in the region can match her skill, but she is also an accomplished blacksmith and with her sister located on The Spire has acquired a large collection of maps of all of Icengale, much of Elagneci, and some maps of the local regions of and more well-known a reas of the Dark Realms. Aside from her bright, blonde hair, her most distinguishing feature is her infectious grin, which even during an emergency is constantly flashing across her face, and it is a feature that naturally calms people down, puts them at ease, and makes them believe that everything is going to be okay.