He who controls the Sturmrock Crag channel controls the shipping in and out of the Nesses. And he who controls is of course me.— Lord De Beris
One of the largest castles in the
Wexan Isles, Tempest Keep guards the biggest channel into and out of
The Nesses located between the Sturmrock Crags at the northern most part of the
Squall Islands and the western Wexan coast. The castle is built upon a jagged headland overlooking the channel, and has its own sheltered cove where the small port town of
Watteness has sprung up to take advantage of the natural harbour.
The castle is built from the same pink granite commonly found along the length of western Wexe. The sea facing courtyard walls are thick with a slight slope and are backed by deep banks of earth. The keep itself, a cluster of low built buildings, overlooks the channel below. It is rumoured that there are a network of tunnels and sea caves beneath the castle, hidden by treacherous rocks and dangerous breakers, however nobody knows where these tunnels may be.
Originally commissioned and built by the Wexan Crown to quell unrest in the region, the Crown was forced to sell off the castle during a decade of financial crisis that almost bankrupted the royal family. Ownership of the castle now jumps every few decades between a handful of powerful
Merchant Dynasties from The Nesses. The castle's commanding position over the widest and safest channel in and out of The Nesses, which when combined with a handful of privately owned galleys anchoring in the harbour, makes the owner of the castle perfectly situated to inspect cargo and extort taxes from merchant ships that pass through the channel.
The keep has recently been taken by a small, previously unknown Merchant Dynasty, the
De Beris family, that seemingly came out of nowhere. It is rumoured that the De Beris family have ties to various bands of Squall Island smugglers and other outlaws...
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