The Drunkard's Lighthouse

Why is it called the Drunkard's Lighthouse? Tell you what sit here and see if you can figure it out. Come find me when you think you know the answer.

— Jasper Cameron, Leader of The Bronze Ravens.

*KNOCK *KNOCK *KNOCK
At the pounding on the door Vala let out a groan, knowing instantly what this must be about. She didnt know why they bothered. It wasn't like this body would give them any new clues. One hundred and seven years the murders had been going on. No one had any idea why they happened or who (or what) was responsible.
Still, a captain of the guard had duties to attend to is such cases. "I'm awake!" she half yelled, half growled as she rolled out of bed and started to get dressed.

---

A little while later some young private handed the now dressed and awake Vala a steaming mug of tea as she surveyed the grisley scene. Sure enough, Drunkard's Tower had claimed another victim. At least this one looked older, the last 2 victims had been little more than children, barely old enough to sign onto the crew of the ships that had brought them. No, this one was an old man of the sea. From the looks he had put up a bit of a fight, though it did him as little good as it did any of them.
"Well," she said, after briefly studying the scene, "have a preist coem and put him to reset. We will try to figure out who he is in the morning. It looks like there may be a little blood on his knife. I'm not hopeful, but see if Klellbumog can get a trace off of it."
"Thats it," exclaimed the private. "Thats all we are going to..."
"LOOK!, I dont like it much more than you, but I know how this goes. The only tracks in the snow are his. Odds are the blood on his knife will be unable to be traced by magic, or it will also be his, just like it always is. No one saw or heard anything because all the locals know better than to look at the tower, especially on a night like this and the wind would have drowned out most of the sound anyway. The priest will try to speak with the poor soul to find out what happened, only to discover that that!" she pointed to the frozen afterimage slightly offset from the man, giving the whole scene the effect of seeing double. "That is the poor sod's soul, or spirit, or whatever you want to call it! And we are unlikely to get more than wailing and the occasional "oh god" or "please no" out of it. For twelve years I have been coming to scenes like this at least twice a year. Those smarter than me have been trying to figure this out for longer. None of us have been able to find anything. So yes, that's it for now."

The Murders

For 102 years, Drunkard's Lighthouse has been the dumping grounds for a serial murderer. Although dumping grounds is probably not the best way to describe it. The bodies are found on the causeway out to the lighthouse, along with a ghostly spectre of the victim, in the same pose, and a little offset from the physical body.
With over a century to work with and at least 2 bodies found a year, there is a plethora of data to try to some up with evidence of a pettern of some sort. None have been found. Age, gender, nationality, even the activity they are seemingly frozen in are all almost completely random. Caster's arcane and divine have attempted to figure out what manner of magic is used to accomplish this strange tableau, all to no avail. Ah, but I appear to be putting the cart before the horse again

The Lighthouse

Drunkard's Lighthouse is a wonderfully crafted structure. The lighter colored twin the The Beacon of Artemis that is on the opposite side of the entrance to the bay of Deepnight. Both stand nearly 300 feet tall and shine out over the water each night while the passage to Deepnight is open. Very few people notice the similarities between the lighthouses though. At some point some magic was imbued into the Drunkard's Lighthouse.
Magic that makes it hazardous to look at or be around, unless one is the appointed Keeper. This magic is what gives it its name. Best way to know if you are safe is to hold your arm out with your thumb extending up. If your thum is bigger than the lighthouse, you should be fine. If the lighthouse stands taller than your thumb, best not let your gaze linger too long.
As you gaze lingers you will start to fill a bit fuzzy or numb. Jokes will be more funny as the world outside your little sphere of influence seems to become blurred and muffled. Well, actually instead of me writing down everything down, go grab enough booze to make yourself pass out. Drink it down, recording your symptoms as the night goes along. That is basically what will happen as one stares at the Lighthouse for increasing periods of time. The effects even linger for a similar amount of time. On the bright side you don't get a hangover from staring at the tower. Silver linings and all that I guess.

The Visions

There is another bit of strangeness. About one in one-thousand people feel no effects at all of this drunkenness, instead they are cast into what The Ghostwalker Dwarves call "The Waking Dream." A place where they experience premonitions and strange visions. While a mere glance is not enough to trigger the visions, looking for as little as half a minute can cause them to enter a catatonic state until the vision they are in passes. They always remember what they saw, but its usefulness is suspect at best, there are no Oracles, after all.