Morinsend Shelter
At an undisclosed loction along the Hooded Bluffs of Northern Winhem lies the Morinsend Shelter – a safe haven for illegal shipping activities. With the shipping activity in Avakaron, and Winhem as a whole, ramping up in the last decade, crime across the seas has seen a similar rise in action. With a rise in demand, the Morinsend Shelter was born, and immediately became the one and only major haven for those shipping illegally.
The Morinsend Shelter, other than being located in the Hooded Bluffs, is hidden away in the cliffs by taking up residence in an expansive cave system in the rocks. A passing ship, without being aware of the Shelters precise location, would simply see a cliff, the same as the miles they had passed previously and will continue to pass on their route. Only those who know exactly where the cave entrance is are able to locate it. This privilege of knowledge is reserved for pirate and smuggler ship captains, first mates and other very trusted and usually highly ranked seamen. Lowly crew members, workers, and slaves are never given this information outright. Outside of the illegal population, the Shelter is only rumored to exist, and those who have gone looking have come back empty handed.
A Human by the name of Cole Gedney is the founder of the Shelter. He was a smuggler in his younger years and ‘retired’ after coming across this cave system with his small crew of slaves and settling in. He’s spent the last 15 years in this cave, and rarely leaves. The Shelter is run by Gedney and populated mainly with slave workers. Over the years Gedney has amassed a large crew of slaves and puts them to work in numerous different jobs around the Shelter, from bartenders, to cleaners, to ship repairmen. He is the largest slave owner currently known and he intends to stay that way. He is usually shopping for more slaves, and is known to buy with the right price and skillset. He’s not against selling either.
Entering Morinsend Shelter
Once a ship knows the location of the Shelter they can ‘dock’ and request access. All ships, especially large ones, must anchor themselves offshore, and their crew and goods must be paddled in via rowboats to the shore. The shore itself is rather small and nearly disappears at high tide, only a thin sliver of grey sand left to walk on. Especially high tides force ships to wait for lower waters in order to gain access the the cave systems entrance. Once on shore one will be greeted by Gendey’s slave guards who monitor the entrance. They will confiscate any weaponry and inspect goods before being allowed in. Any weapons one wishes to trade with Gedney with be taken, along with a given price, by the guards, who will return later with a confirmation or denial from Gedney himself. Any weapons one wishes to trade with another already in the Shelter, must return to the outside of the cave system and trade on the shore. All weapons and confiscated items will be returned to their owners when they leave the Shelter. Gedney does not steal from his visitors.
From the shore there is a small cave entrance which slopes gradually to the east. Inside the tunnel there are stairs that move the visitors up in altitude and through the cliff. The dark grey rock covers all surfaces, and, while is smooth and sanded on the floor, it is rough and jagged on the walls. Small stalactites drip from the ceiling and the tunnel is lit by torches every few feet. One will come across a large, stiff, wooden door to their left shortly into their trek in the cliff, if attempted to open – one would find it locked. Continuing organically through the cave system one will eventually come across a fork in the road, to the left it will be easy to see that the large open cave residing in this direction is the main room for the Shelter, and its people and services.
Continuing straight at the fork one will once again run into a locked, large, wooden door, accessible only to Gedney and his staff. To the right is both an accessible room, and two more wooden door dead ends. The open room is the workshop of Tihri Azum, a Hellbend glassblower whose chosen life work is to perfect a counterfeit version of the Avakaronian currency of Skerricks. This room is often referred to as the Fiddler’s Dome. Visitors come here to trade for counterfeit coins or knowledge.
The Marrow
This large cave, dubbed The Marrow, is the only location in the Shelter that most visitors will occupy. The cave itself has roughly twenty foot ceilings, lit only by the dim glow from the torches and lamps that glow faintly near the ground of the cave. During especially low light one may be able to see the slight greenish glow of some small bioluminescent flora that cannot be found closer to the ground. Torches line the walls, always burning and accompanied by many oil lamps on tables and counters and other flat surfaces.
Near the middle of The Marrow a great circular counter, with a hollow center, was placed. This serves as a bar, staffed with slave barkeeps and stocked with many varying drinks, alcoholic or not, all depending on what Gendeys visitors in recent times have been able to trade him. Gedney and the Morinsend Shelter is almost exclusively stocked by trade with smugglers that dock at his Shelter. The most sought after drink, though, is the Cracked Ale, an alcoholic drink made by Gedney himself from a naturally occurring mushroom species found – and now farmed – inside the cave. While his recipe is closely guarded, the drink is rather cheap, and very popular with his visitors.
At the far end of the cave room there is a flat wall that rises, sloping slowly, to the ceiling. Upon closer inspection one will see that the wall has many small carved holes in it, each closed off with a simple cloth curtain to hide the insides of the hole. The holes fill up the entire wall, with ones near the ground, at at each level up to the top. Stone stairways and ledges provide access to the holes higher up. These holes serve as cheap and effective rooms for rent for those that visit the Shelter and wish to stay a while. Inside each hole is a simple wooden bed, a small chest with no lock, and a small table. There is also an oil lamp for light, with the oil being provided by Gedney at no extra cost. These rooms are very simple and serve well to those who are only staying a night or two in the shelter before their ship takes off.
Larger rooms for rent exist at the south end of The Marrow. Similar to the cheaper rooms, they are carved into the rock face, but unlike their counterparts, these are large and are only available at ground level. There are only a handful of these larger room available and they are much more expensive. While Gedney understands the need for places to sleep, he does not like it when a visitor stays too long. These rooms have wooden, lockable, doors, a large bed, possibly two upon request, a lockable chest, desk and chair, table with up to four chairs, and a hearth area along with a couple of oil lamps. These rooms can also serve as meeting areas for those in need of a private space for a few hours.
Fiddler’s Dome
This room, while large in its own right, is crowded and seems small to those who visit. The room is filled with glassblowing tools, furnaces, and storage. Tihri Azum spends most of his time here attempting to perfect a counterfeit Skerrick. While his work is good, it is not perfect. Some may be able to get away with spending these coins in Human settlements that accept Skerricks, but would not be able to tell real from fake. But attempting to trade these coins in Hellbend settlements, let alone Avakaron, face a high risk of discovery. Tihri sells these counterfeit coins at a rate of 3:1, meaning he will sell three counterfeit Skerricks at the price of one real coin. For those who can successfully use the fakes, this deal can make them rich.
Tihri is also willing to trade for other items. Mainly he looks for fresh cuttings of the Uathirtch tree which is required to make the Skerricks. Tihri has attempted to grow his own Uathirtch tree outside of the northern White Wood Forest, and even within the cave system itself, but has so far failed to do so. He will pay more for the cuttings the fresher they are. Skerricks are made with extremely fresh material and so decaying material that can still somewhat be used will fetch a lower price. Other tradeable items Tihri looks for are glassblowing supplies, from sand (especially sand from the Avakaronian shoreline) to tools and dyes.
NPCs
Cole Gedney
Born in Brickwell, Cole Gedney is a human male in his early 50s. He has a darker complexion, with graying hair. His hair is relatively long for a human man, and he wears it ins a tight bun at the nape of his neck. He has a patchy and scraggly beard that is also greying in color. He has many wrinkles on his face that make him look older and more hardened, hiding deep blue eyes that appear grey. His body is thick and muscular, but aging. Growing up in Brickwell, Godney was cast into a life of crime early on, from petty theft to and induction into a small gang in his teen years. From there he hitched a ride on a ship to Lysium, where he found the city large and rife with opportunity. He found himself working at the docks, an honest job he used to scope out ships with goods he wanted to steal and sell off underground. Eventually, this work landed him a spot on a pirate ship. He served on the seas for many years, gaining rank and respect, before wishing to settle down, at least temporarily. He found the Morinsend cave system and initially used it as a storage for smuggled goods. Eventually, the location evolved into what it is today, and his well-respected name on the black market served as good advertising for his new business.
Tihri Azum
Born in Avakaron, Tihri is a Hellbend with a dark red complexation and maroon-colored hair that is cut short, draping only to his ears. He prefers this short cut because of his work with hot glass and sand. Growing up, Tihri had a pentance for getting into trouble, but seemed to calm down when he found the skill of glassblowing. He got skilled enough in it to be accepted as an apprentice glassblower to the very Hellbend who makes Skerricks in Avakaron. While this interested Tahri greatly, he could not seem to stop his hijinks and was eventually cast out of his apprenticeship. His anger fueled him and it did not take Tihri long to dive deep into the underground world of Winhem, and eventually wind up at the Morinsend Shelter.
Slaves
There are many slaves within the Morinsend Shelter. Nearly all workers are either slaves, part time visitors, or Cole and Tihri themselves. Feel free to create NPC slaves for your threads. There is a good chance your created NPC could make it into this lore article. Slaves range in gender, race, age, appearance and skills, so feel free to get creative in order to suit your threads needs.
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