Albiele Island

This dark forest covers almost all of the western end of the island. The majority of the trees found here are a hard oak, very similar to the trees found in the Spiderfell. The Old Hills (see below) extend a short distance into the forest and the trees are thickest on and around these hills. All types of forest creatures, both normal and exotic, are believed to inhabit these woods. There are, however, confirmed reports of kobolds lairing in the forest and a number of giant spiders are known to reside in the dark heart of the wood.
Some of the more ambitious (or more foolish, perhaps) members of Albiele town have begun to log the very fringes of the forest. However, like the Spiderfell, Albiele Wood has a sinister reputation among those who live on the island or frequent it. Quite a number of people have disappeared in its shadowy depths and tales of curses and monsters have grown with every telling. No one knows for sure what secrets lie hidden in the heart of the wood (or if they do, they?re not telling), and very few are game enough to attempt to find out.

The low range of hills which runs down the spine of the island for over half its length is a place of sharp peaks, deep gullies and dangerous, cracked ground. In stark comparison to the heavily wooded western end of the island, the Old Hills support very little in the way of flora or fauna. Short grass and stubby bushes make up the bulk of the plant life, with an occasional small copse of trees breaking the view. Only a few species of insects and birds find this area at all habitable. The land between the Old Hills and the Suidemiere consists of flat, practically uninhabited plains.
Despite their apparent emptiness, the Old Hills are not without their secrets. Hidden away in a steep gully at the eastern end of the hills is a stone ruin that few of the island?s sentient inhabitants know about. This ruin is called Arghael á Traniesta. This millennia old site was built by the Truatha, a race of Elder elves long since vanished from the face of Cerilia. Arghael á Traniesta - Dome of the Stars in Truathan (an ancient language of which ?modern? sidhelien is a corrupted descendant) - was used by the Truatha to study the movement of the stars through the night sky. All manner of unusual artefacts and forgotten knowledge lie secreted in the ruins including a deadly secret that could bring ruin to all of Cerilia and beyond (more information on this is given in the Clans Of The Southern Seas accessory).
Also, the hills have large deposits of a variety of ores and trace amounts of precious minerals (mainly gold, but some silver and gemstones). These riches are only beginning to be plundered by the inhabitants of Albiele Town.

This small yet thriving town is rapidly becoming one of the most notorious places in the southern seas of Cerilia. Home to pirates, thieves, smugglers and other such dregs of society, the town could well become a real problem for the regents of southern Anuire before too long. The land on which the town sits is by far the most fertile on the island, capable of producing enough food for a population much larger than the current one. The town itself and some of its more important characters are more fully detailed in the following section.