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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tor Bladebearer" data-source="post: 570880" data-attributes="member: 4939">General Information: Watchtower Isle is a smallish island, about 10 miles across the long way, and perhaps 3 or 4 miles across the narrow. Much of the island is rocky, though the center of the island has heavy vegetation and a small forest. Craggy rocks and rugged terrain form most of the outer edges of the island, though there are small rocky beaches along most of the island. Tall cliffs of a pale gray stone line the Western side of the island, and the fierce waves smashing against their base make a dramatic sight to see. These cliffs also give the name to the one settlement on the island, a small town called Gray Cliffs. The town is built along the beach where the island is most accessible by the sea. The Eastern side of the island is riddled with natural caves. Lining the Southern side of the island are the “Serpent’s Fangs”, a vicious area marked with sharp spiky rocks jutting up out of the ocean and treacherous reefs. Any ship that wanders too close to the Fangs is invariably destroyed. It is chilly much of the year, and the island is often battered by powerful thunderstorms in the Winter and Spring. The weather is still temperate enough to grow a small selection of crops, although the main food source on the island is fishing. Fishermen out of Gray Cliffs bring in large catches of fish daily, and the bounty of the sea provides the staple food for all inhabitants of the island. There are also a variety of smaller animals that live on the uninhabited parts of the island, including a few larger wild animals such as wild boar. Much of the Western part of the island is covered in ancient ruins of a long-lost empire. While adventurous teenagers head into the ruins looking for excitement, the ruins have been long abandoned and picked over through the years, and nothing of value remains. Little is commonly known about the previous city that existed on the island, although it is clear from the serpent-themed architecture that snakes featured heavily in their culture. In addition to the ruins, other remains of this older civilization can be found across the island in the form of small shrines or statues. Giving the island its name is a large stone watch tower that sits on the highest cliff, on the Northwest corner of the island. While this tower may have served as a lighthouse for travelers long ago, it has been abandoned for many years. The large structure still stands, and is visible from anywhere on the Western side of the island. There is very little, almost nonexistent, trade or travel between Watchtower Isle and the mainland of Jun Halai. While ships from foreign lands have been known to sometimes arrive, none have shown up in recent memory. Jun Halai is a much larger sub-continent to the East, an island of the considerably larger continent of Taradin that is the extent of the known world. Gray Cliffs itself is a healthy fishing community on Watchtower Isle, consisting of approximately two hundred residents. Most are human, but there is a small halfling community integrated into the town as well. Because the community is small, and visitors are rare, just about everyone in the town is familiar with everyone else, and can recognize them on sight if not by name. While it is built in the shadow of the older ruins on the island, most of the buildings in the town are of more modern construction. Inhabitants of Gray Cliffs: Here are some of the more well-known residents of the town, and common knowledge about their personality and activities. Joseph Netter: Mayor of the town, an honest and competent man but complacent and not much of a risk taker. Back in his day he was a fierce and proud sailor and warrior, but is now getting on in years and has grown much more conservative. Malcolm Preen: The Mayor’s assistant and heir apparent. Seen as a bit of an over-achiever who tends to make a mountain out of a molehill, but is a good man who works hard for the town. Samwell and Elda Taproot: Halfling proprietors of the Aemon’s Forge, the one and only tavern in Gray Cliffs. The common room is often comfortably full, and the stout beer brewed by the Taproots is the only real source of alcohol for the island. One of the notable features of the place is the giant forge in the center of the common room, of which the tavern is named. The tavern is the social center of the town. Tala, Milo, and Jacie Taproot: The children (also halflings, of course) of the tavern proprietors. Tala, the oldest, is the only Druid on the island and is often called in to help with problems in the crops or assist in healing. Milo is the middle child, and has a reputation for getting into mischief and spending a lot of time exploring the old ruins. Jacie is the youngest child, 10 years old, a cute-as-a-button little halfling girl, and she is often helping out around the tavern. Critias Pellorn: Old sage who has a tower on the outskirts of the island. He has been on the island for as long as anyone can remember. He is distant and aloof from the rest of the island, and only comes into the town periodically for some supplies. He is known to dislike unexpected visitors to his tower. Errok & Mathis Tain: A pair of large and burly brothers, now in their early 20s, known as the town bullies. Frequent tormentors of all the other adolescents in the town. Cedric and Aspellia Strider: Disappeared 13 years ago and presumed dead at sea. Before their disappearance, they were very active about trying to map out the various ruins and caves on the island, as well as creating charts of the treacherous naval hazards around the outskirts of the island. Both were believed to be wizards, though that may just be rumor. “Ug” Strider: Orphaned by the loss of his parents 13 years ago, Ug was raised by the Mayor and sort of collectively by the town. Ug is strong as an ox, but dumb as a brick, and one of the best fighters in the town. He works at the docks, moving cargo and helping fishermen. Caladriel Eltaris: A very old elven bard, he can often be found telling tales and singing ballads in the Aemon’s Forge common room. Jakob Reedy: A curmudgeonly old Cleric who maintains the town’s small shrine to Neris (Goddess of the Sea). While his bedside manner is severely lacking, he is the main healer on the island and the only religious figure in the town. Torix: A foreigner from strange barbarian lands who washed up after a shipwreck two years ago. His ways are odd, but he has been accepted among the people of the town. He has earned a name among the hunters and fishermen of the town with his prowess with a harpoon.</blockquote>

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