Widowmaker Bay is a small, insular community located on the
western coast of Nur. To the west is the Gulf of Promises. The Graymist Way, a
major travel route, lies just east of the town. South of Widowmaker Bay are a
string of small fishing villages and hamlets that make Widowmaker Bay appear
positively cosmopolitan. North of the town are pine forests, but no other
communities for at least a hundred miles.
The town's population is predominantly human and nonhumans
are seldom encouraged to settle within Widowmakers Bay. Fishing is the dominant industry, followed
closely by logging. The recent opening
of a Circle Station just outside the town has opened up new trade
opportunities, but many local merchants and townsfolk are suspicious of the
Station's motives.
The town is governed by a mayor, elected by the citizenry
every four years, and a six member town council, its members chosen by popular
vote every two years. Widowmaker Bay is a 'Free Town' and swears no allegiance
to any noble lord or king.
Places of Interest
Widowmaker Bay offers few places of interest or note to
travelers or adventurers.
The Circle Station (1) just north of town has become a point
of local interest. It occupies the home of the Stark family, one of the town's
oldest and most respected bloodlines.
Although use of a teleport circle is too expensive for most locals,
tours of the Station are available via appointment for a small fee.
South of the town proper is the Widowmaker Bay Lighthouse
(2), established over a century ago to warn ships of the treacherous coast
surrounding the town. Local history, not
typically shared with strangers, records that the Lighthouse was built and
commissioned after the town was laid seige too by the angry ghosts of folk who
perished in the bay.
On the northwest side of town is the Temple of Solat (3).
Built by Widowmaker Bay's wealthiest families, the temple is a modest stone
building. The exterior is painted black and purple and the color theme
continues on the interior. The Temple is weatherbeaten and has seen better
years. As the wealthy merchant families moved away, the Temple has fallen into
disrepair. There is no priest or clergy in residence, although on occasion an
itinerant priest of Solat will appear to bless the temple and lead informal
prayers. By longstanding tradition, the town's widows look after the Temple, as
best they can.
South and east of the Temple of Solat are the town's
graveyards(4). In Widowmaker Bay, the dead are burned and their bones are
interred in crypts and mausaleums. Only
residents may be buried in the town graveyard.
The area further west of the town graveyards is known as the
Wreckers' Yard(6). For a time, Widowmaker Bay's residents employed shipwrecking
as a means to keep the town's fortunes afloat. They would light bonfires on the
beaches to lure ships close to shore where they would run aground and sink.
Survivors of these shipwrecks were brutally murdered, their bodies buried in
the marshy land that became known as the Wrecker's Yard. Today, when someone from outside of
Widowmaker Bay dies, they are buried in the Wreckers' Yard. The area has an unpleasant reputation with
locals. There are rumors of undead prowling the Yard, and most locals avoid it
after sundown and on overcast days.
At the western end of the small peninsula Widowmaker Bay
occupies, beyond the Temple of Solat, the graveyards and the Wreckers' Yard is
the Bottom(5). Even a town like Widowmaker
Bay has its undesirables and this area is where they tend to congregate.
Although technically part of the town, the town does nothing for the Bottom.
Its residents, known as Bottom-Dwellers among the locals, are a mix of
outcasts, criminals and rejects. If you're an outsider in the town proper,
you'll probably get snubbed. If you're an outsider in the Bottom, you'll
probably get stabbed.
Persons of Interest
Thalia Arthoria, L14 Human Hermit
Thalia Arthoria is the last living descendant of the
wreckers who once led ships to their doom in Widowmaker Bay. She's a crone who lives in the Bottom, but
spends her waking hours in the Wreckers' Yard, tending its makeshift graves.
Thalia's a bit mad, but she knows more than anyone else in town about the
strange happenings in the Wreckers' Yard.
Aldoral Dusk, L9 Human Conjurer
Aldoral Dusk is the Master of the Widowmaker Bay Circle
Station. An affable, but rather mediocre, wizard, Dusk is originally from
Darkwater. He doesn't much care for Widowmaker Bay, and has decided that when
his current contract is up that he will move to Moontree where people are
"more civilized and less inbred."
Arabella Stark, L8 Human Merchant
The Stark family was one of Widowmaker Bay's wealthiest and
most-revered families. Arabella Stark was the youngest of four children and the
only member of the family to still reside in the town. The family's fortunes
have fallen recently, necessitating Mistress Stark to lease out a floor in her
home to the Circle Station. It's not something she would have done under other
circumstances, but she didn't have much choice. And Arabella Stark, for all of
her narrowminded prudery, is a survivor.
She will do whatever she has to, to ensure the success of herself and
her family.
Doric Rider, L4 Human Merchant
Doric Rider runs a livery stable in Widowmaker Bay. He
mostly rents out horses to folk who need to travel to Gullcliff or Moontree.
Rider's family is fairly new to Widowmaker Bay (less than three generations
have lived in the town) and there are rumors he has orc blood in him,
considering his prodigeous strength and stamina. Of course, no one says
anything about it to Doric, but behind closed doors people gossip. Doric is
aware of the gossip, and it's starting to grate on him. Sometimes, he dreams about setting fire to
the town and riding away on one of his horses.
Outsiders, especially those with orcish blood, might find Doric a useful
ally while in town.
Issilor Roseoil, L9 Half-Elf Pirate
Issilor Roseoil walks through the streets of Widowmaker Bay
at night, sure in his confidence that there is nothing more frightning in this
shithole town than himself. A smuggler and pirate, his fortunes took a turn for
the worse and he wound up in Widowmaker Bay. He's biding his time until he can
leave the town, trying to keep a low profile, but its hard. Issilor hates this
town with a passion and spends as little time as possible among the locals.
Most days, he can be found wandering the beach or sitting in the Temple of
Solat. The Temple has become his favorite place in Widowmaker Bay. He's started
reading some of the old books there, more out of boredom than anything else,
and feels a curious sense of empathy with the Deep God.
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