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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazlow" data-source="post: 2654277" data-attributes="member: 24242">Hm.  It does seem a bit out of place in an abbey dedicated to Surlamon.  Especially one with so much zeal, as our new friend attests.Meager?  In quantity only, I'm sure.The young girl smiles and nods.  "Yes, I don't disagree with that observation.  On the other hand, people with no religion tend towards laxity - in a spiritual sense, of course.  But this is all in keeping with the will of Gamael, that the balance be maintained.""Well...  It is unnatural...  And I'm afraid that is the extent of my assessment for the time being.  As I said, I've only been on the island just the night.  I was hoping to look deeper into that very question.  No doubt my associates would want to as well.""A week's journey by ship," Romanna replies.  "The Isle of St. Germain is the northernmost of the Sunset Isles, but also the easternmost, which might explain why your boat ended up here.  Quite a distance from Horizon, though.  Is that where you were headed?  Most ships of that size head straight for the largest port there.""Yes, I suppose that's how I would put it, but..."A look of deep concern covers Romanna's rain-streaked face.  She thinks for a moment, then speaks, choosing her words carefully.  "I arrived on a small ferry that came straight from Iona, about four hour's ride southwest of here.  I do not know the captain, although I understand his name to be Abner.  No doubt he is still here, as I can't imagine him trying to get back to Iona in this weather.  If he's not in the Abbey, I would imagine he's found lodgings in town.As for the circumstances surrounding our respective arrivals, I must say I am at a loss to explain them adequately...  But we did arrive on opposite sides of the island.  Here, let me show you."  She bends down and finds a piece of shell, with which she starts tracing in the wet sand.  "The island is rather elongated, like this.  The Abbey is here," she says, making a point in the lower part of the island shape, which runs from northwest down to southeast.  "I came from the southwest, and we made straight for the Abbey, which has a small landing on the southern beach.  It is closer to our origin, and I would imagine the ferrymen prefer it as there is no harbormaster to charge a fee.  The town and it's harbor is here, on the northwest side.  Now, your ship came from the east, and ended up where we are now, on the northern beach.  How it missed the lighthouse, here," she says, making another mark at the southernmost part of the island, "I have no idea.  It was approaching dusk, but still, you can see-"She looks down the coastline, gesturing upward a bit, but stops in mid-sentence, looking but obviously not seeing what she wanted.  "The lighthouse...  It's dark.  That's ill news, indeed.  No wonder your ship ended up where it did, it had no guidance."She sits back and looks at you, then continues, a look of perplexity on her face.  "Now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing it when my boat came in, either...  But thinking back, realizing that we made it to shore with little trouble, it seems...  It seems that your ship must have brought the storm with it, so to speak."  She stands up, looking at you inquiringly.Funny...  I was just about to ask you the same thing...  I can't recall anything since the mainland.  I must say, I've never experienced this feeling before, it's as if part of my very existence, my...  My time of being, has been taken from me.  I don't like this, Pollock.  Not one bit.===============Obelisk:  As you understand it, the original standing stones, centuries and maybe even millenia old, were unique to the Isles, erected by ancient civilizations to their long-forgotten gods. This one, however, is a more modern representation - which isn't all that odd, as there are more modern ones than ancient nowadays.St. Germain:  Germain lived about 200 years ago, and was the first man to cross the ocean and settle the Sunset Islands.  He attributed his successful journey to Surlamon, god of the oceans, and worship of this diety soon become the major religion in the Islands.  However, as with any civilization, piety gave way to progress, and now there are fewer established churches to Surlamon than in days past.  As with most cultures, the further away one gets from the larger populations, the more fervent the beliefs.  This is most evident in the fact that Horizon, largest port in the Sunset Islands, is well known as an extremely cosmopolitan city, where one can satisfy nearly every vice they desire, as well as pick up a few new ones.Surlamon:  God of the oceans, he is known on the mainlands, but rarely worshipped by anyone other than ocean-going sailors.Gamael:  God of nature, this deity is revered throughout the world by many Barbarian tribes, Druids, and Rangers, as well as hunters, fishermen, and farmers.  His disciples teach harmony and peaceful coexistence among all living creatures, which ensures that the fragile balance of the world is maintained.The wreckage strewn about the rocky shoreline is mainly broken planks, beams, and tattered ropes and nets.  There is still a goodly amount left, although not nearly an entire ship's worth.  You don't find anything significant among the rubble.Romanna's depiction of the Island of St. Germain (not to scale):<img src="http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3962/isleofstgermain5cr.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></blockquote>

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