Belfry Bay

Geography

It's common knowledge that the only portion of Albion's coast fit to accommodate vessels of any real size is the much larger Godseye Bay, home of the eponymous city. Strictly speaking however, that's not an accurate assessment. Belfry Bay is also deep enough to allow large vessels to approach the coast directly, it's simply one of the most treacherous stretches of water in the known world. The approach to the bay as well as the bay itself are absolutely riddled with jagged rock formations and several reefs of a particularly durable species of magical coral, making even a slight navigational error a genuine risk of sinking. This is exacerbated mightily by the dark and cloudy water full of sands and silts kicked up by the aggressive wave action caused by the bay's shape, to say nothing of the effect of that wave action itself. Though there is an old ruined church in the area, the name of the bay actually comes from a comparison to the bats living there in the near total inability to rely on sight while navigating the nearby waters, and an unfortunately near to true adage about needing echolocation to really sail through safely.

Natural Resources

The terrain around Belfry Bay is mostly rocky hills, and though there are many trees, very few of them make for good timber. Barring a shocking discovery by prospectors not even currently looking in the area, it seems that the only useful feature of the territory is the bay itself.

History

When Albion was still divided into petty kingdoms and small territories, there were repeated attempts to settle the area surrounding Belfry Bay and more than one abortive city lies on its coast. The lack of anything of value in the nearby area was a significant impediment to these efforts, as was the extreme difficulty of navigating the bay, but it was worthwhile for the chance to open and control a second deep water port on the island. Since unification there has been a natural decline in these efforts which was immediately pounced upon by the movers and shakers of the city (and port) of Godseye, leading to no significant development of the area for many years. No significant official development, that is. The city skeletons have actually grown quite a bit in that time, inhabited almost exclusively by smugglers, pirates, thieves, ne'er-do-wells of all stripes, and the various services seeking to profit from them. Though the bay is dangerous, the complete lack of government oversight attracts nearly as many as the fact that there is no third option. The somewhat unsavory population living around the bay now rivals that of all but the most prosperous of Albion's true cities, though the lack of roads leading there or any official business means it actually remains fairly unknown among the general populace.

Type

Bay

Location under

Albion