Tempest Cay

Drenchport is on Tempest Cay in the Shackles. Its proximity to the dreaded Eye of Abendego means the city is constantly lashed by storms. The city itself is constructed from driftwood and the remains of wrecked ships. Many arriving sailors make a beeline for the Drowned Dwarf—this sturdy, two-story tavern is famed across the Shackles for two things: the alarming murder rate in its common room, and its sinfully delicious (and potent) black kelp beer. The recipe for the coveted brew is guarded with an obstinacy usually reserved for political secrets and the location of buried treasure. The current proprietors are Dagrun and Narrika Lelkhammer (N female dwarf fighter 5 and CN female dwarf fighter 3/rogue 2), blond-haired sisters who formerly sailed with the famed Redbeard Sewk on Gozreh’s Knuckles. They were remarkable stewards of their loot over the years (an extraordinarily rare quality in pirates) and bought the Drowned Dwarf from their elderly cousin Peffen Stonebreaker (N male dwarf expert 3/rogue 4) some 2 years ago. The price, reputed to comprise entire chests of bounty, also bought the precious beer recipe. The city is the home of the gnome salvager Tho Rimplethember, who is well known as an expert on the currents and winds of the dangerous Eye of Abendego.

There are at least seven shrines to the Deluged God in the shady districts of Drenchport, and its priests sail in small crafts around the Shackles, engaged in wildeyed, apocalyptic evangelism, led by their mysterious high priest, Father Chessadarde (CN male human sorcerer 10), who claims to have received his divine visions from the Deluged God after sailing into the heart of Ancient Azlant to the west. Thus far the cult’s priests have won few converts outside Tempest Cay, but the temples to Besmara and Gozreh on the island keep close watch on the new faith, deeply concerned about its ultimate intentions, while the Master of the Gales has for the most part kept out of the matter completely

Downpour is a small fishing town on Tempest Cay island in the Shackles. It was founded to take advantage of the plentiful fish that once made their way up and down the Bluehook River during spawning season. Since the cruel catoblepas Gruzugr made its home in the river, the waters have been poisoned and the fish are gone. The residents survive by harvesting the numerous nearby clam colonies.

Drowning Rock is a small town on the southwestern side of the island of Tempest Cay in the Shackles. Its position largely shields it from the stormy winds of the north. The town is built around a towering monolith that gradually sinks into the muddy soil, and the townsfolk hold their landmark in high esteem. Every summer the town throws a two-day festival, and the main event involves the strongest men coming together and hoisting the rock from the muck via rope and pulley. The town economy is based on its farms and clam fields.

Maidenspool once vied with Drenchport for dominance of the island of Tempest Cay in the Shackles. Free Captain Bradesmar Wache of Mediogalti (CN male middle-aged human fighter 6/rogue 2) poured enormous resources into the town, building structures of stone and fine lumber. At the peak of Maidenspool's growth, Bradesmar openly boasted that the Master of the Gales's city would soon be just so much driftwood. Quickly after Bradesmar's proclamation, Maidenspool was attacked by swarms of locathahs. Most of the town was destroyed by fire and hundreds of its residents were killed, including Bradesmar's darling wife Ella Wache.

Some sailors can muster a brave face even in the greatest of troubles, but Bradesmar is not one of these. His threadbare clothing, unkempt gray hair, and sallow skin tell of many hours sitting in silence and darkness, cursing his very existence. He has become even more withdrawn over the last year since a series of deaths occurred around his unfinished home. Locals whisper that the overwhelming power of his grief has dragged the spirit of Ella, his beloved wife, back to Maidenspool against her will. Bradesmar is as terrified of this prospect as the rumored ghost is furious, and he attempts to ignore the problem by denying its very existence.

Tzaarban once served as the capital of the ancient cyclops civilisation of Ghol-Gan but now lies sunken beneath the waves of the Arcadian Ocean. At its height, during the Ghol-Gan classical era, Tzaarban is believed to have housed as many inhabitants as modern-day Sothis, but it has been abandoned for millennia. The city once stood amidst the heartland of ancient Ghol-Gan but, with Earthfall, the city and much of the debased kingdom surrounding it sank beneath the Arcadian Ocean. Tzaarban now lies submerged somewhere north-west of Tempest Cay on the ocean floor near the isles of the Shackles.