The Waterways
The sea which surrounds the Pirate Isles is shallow, with many tidal islands (islands which only poke out above the water during low tide) and reefs. The shallow sea is a haven for sea-life, making fishing in the islands easy and productive. The shallow sea also acts as a protective barrier for the pirates. It is difficult to sail the waters around the Pirate Isles without a pilot who knows the many hidden reefs and sandbars which dot this area, and it is suicide to sail here quickly without expert guidance. Only in certain areas is any kind of open-sea sailing possible.
The free-sailing waterways of the Pirate Isles thus become highways, allowing swift travel between the islands for those who know the routes. Traveling off of these waterways greatly increases the chance of running aground.
The largest area of free-sailing is the Bowl, an area of relatively deep sea roughly bounded by Ming Isle, Bulta, Ilthan, and the reefs southeast of Sumbar. The Bowl allows access to all of these islands, as well as Oresk and Paldir.
Adjacent to the Bowl is Wyrm Bay, a roughly circular area of open sea lying inside the eastern curve of the Dragonisle. Wyrm Bay is named for the dragon turtles that infest it (which also, incidentally, give the Dragonisle its name). These huge undersea creatures are extremely territorial, and even though the water is clear within the Bay, sailing here is treacherous. A dragon turtle can capsize even the largest vessel, and those who fall into its jaws are doomed to a gruesome death. Fortunately, the area has enough dragon turtles that these creatures fight one another as often as they attack ships. Ships which make appropriate tribute, either in treasure or meat, can usually pass safely.
The northeast edge of the Bowl marks one end of the Windrace, a strait running from the Bowl to Alphar Isle and beyond. The Windrace is so named because it lies along the lines of the prevailing winds, allowing swift travel from the Bowl to Alphar Isle. In the other direction, however, travel is extremely slow, requiring tacking back and forth across the strait in order to make headway. Disputes between captains are often settled by a race from Mirg Isle, across the Bowl and up the Windrace to Alphar harbor, with the winner gaining victory in the challenge. It is said that just such a challenge cost the life of King Verovan of Westgate, who challenged the Red Wizards of Thay to a race from Alphar harbor around Mirg Isle and back again. According to the legend, Verovan was winning the challenge, but was betrayed by the Thayvian artifice of substituting his whip with one braided with cockatrice feathers, thus tricking Verovan into turning all of his oarsmen into stone.
Two other straits bear mentioning. One, known as the Jaws, runs south of the Dragonisle beneath the high peak of Earthspur, to the islands of Teltar and Sarr. The other, known as the Spoon, runs along the southern edge of Alphar Isle to the eastern shore of Ilthan and then south into the Bowl. The Spoon is not as wide as the Windrace, and it has a few sharp twists in it, so it is not as popular an accessway into the central Pirate Isles.
All of these waters (except Wyrm Bay) are inhabited by the nomadic locathah. These creatures travel throughout the Pirate Isles, and lair in undersea caves on almost every island in the region. The locathah tribes and the pirates have an arrangement, in which the locathah are paid for steering pirate fishing fleets to the best fishing waters, allowing these islands to support many more people than would otherwise be possible. In addition, the pirates do a considerable trade in locathah coral carvings, and nearly every pirate wears a ring or earring of locathah coral.
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