Misery Bay
The sky darkens the closer one gets: clouds roll in overhead, lead-grey and heavy, before the first raindrops fall, soon beating mercilessly against ship and sea alike. The wind picks up until it howls through sharp cliffs and crags, skimming foam off the top of hungry waves.
It is a dangerous journey, unless you know the way—there are safe channels, deep and still, winding paths through treacherous waters, where tall cliffs may shield a ship from the worst of the storm above.
At the heart of the storm it lies: Misery Bay, aptly named. It is many things—a safe haven, a profitable venture, a notorious nest of thieves and beggars, murderers and plunderers. For some, it is the end of the road; a place to go when all other paths are taken and there is nowhere left to run. For others, it is a place of riches and treasure—a port to avoid customs and taxes for unscrupulous smugglers; a place where pirates and robbers can sell their ill-gotten spoils, and a place where almost anything one can imagine is bought or sold.
Once known as Anath Kathur, in the old tongue, a remnant of a kingdom long lost to time and upheaval; nowadays it is a pirate outpost and a base of operations for many of the infamous crews that sail the Ivratian waters.
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Seen from above, the island is vaguely crescent-shaped, forming a natural port. Around it, a sort of shanty town has grown along the coast; a mishmash of rickety dwellings and sturdier buildings, mixed with the old ruins of an ancient stronghold.
Only about half of the masts seen at port are from functional ships: many vessels and wrecks have found their last resting place there, and parts of the town are made out of old hulls, slowly built upon and expanded, eventually merged into a large floating neighbourhood.
Towering above the town, and continuing down into the sea, are the skeletal remains of a great sea-beast, long dead: a cathedral of ribs and vertebrae, its skull resting atop the old fortress. The beast’s empty eye socket watches tirelessly over Misery Bay.
The area is surrounded by treacherous reefs and dangerous waters, and the skies above Misery Bay are almost always rainy and windy; often to the point of near-storm.
The island is connected to a large landmass at only one point: a thin strip of rock that reaches towards the island from the north, like an outstretched hand, close but not touching. A long walkway bridges the gap, and it is possible to get there from the mainland, but it is a likewise difficult and dangerous road.
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Misery Bay is located at the most southwestern tip of the Ivratian archipelago.