Ironspire Island

On the western side of Loblolly Lake is a small island clearly visible from the shore because of the rust-red tower that seems almost as big as the island itself. The rust-red rocks of the tower have given the island the moniker of Ironspire - not really all that creative, and definitely not indicative of the actual materials involved (and honestly, it is only a three-story tower, not much of a spire either).

While it is in active use currently (by Counselor Terk's "operations division", a squad of adventurers and mercenaries that handle issues that the city can't address directly), it is a pretty wet and miserable place, especially once you descend into the lower levels. Most of the island is about twelve feet above the beaches at the level of the lake - and close investigation of the cliffs of the island will find a small "sea cave" along the east side that doesn't seem to go very far under the island. It actually links to a series of tight underwater passages that eventually lead to the cistern under the tower.

Whether or not there is a boat tied up on the stone bollards in the water south of the island, there are foot prints on the southern beach and an obviously well-trod trail between the beach and the door into the tower. The tower itself is made in two parts - a square tower with battlements that juts into the lake (the walls of which extend down the height of the cliffs into the lake proper), and a hexagonal tower with a peaked slate roof that reaches up a level above the square tower.

The interior of the tower is fairly simple, with one room in each of the two portions of the tower on each floor until we descend underground. The ground floor consists of a "welcome" hall where visitors are greeted (often with arms) and a room with an open centre looking down on the level below and spiral stairs up and down the tower.

The second level of the tower contains two rooms used for sitting, reading, playing games, eating, and most other social activities by the inhabitants. Both are pierced in many places by arrow slits, and there are murder holes above the front entrance.

The next level is reached by a ladder in the hexagonal structure that opens to a trapdoor on this level. Here the hexagonal tower has multiple curtained windows and several tables used by the resident alchemist for their experiments - the longest table on the south-east side being a small garden bed for rare herbs and ingredients. This level is the rooftop of the square tower, where a few of the operators spend their time on nice days.

The first level beneath the towers has some storage and serves as a larder and pantry for the rest of the structure. While cooking is usually done on the second level of the hexagonal tower, grabbing a snack usually involves coming down here and searching through barrels of apples and such. The rest of this level is pretty empty, with stairs down to the cistern in the south, and the spiral stairs to the underwater level of the tower.

This lowest level of the tower is perpetually damp and moldy. The south side is the cistern, where the tower's emergency water supply is fed from the lake outside. The north side is a set of three wet and unpleasant rooms, and a fourth used by the two very clever scrags that are full members of the operations division, but generally kept under wraps.