Location Black Beach Cavern

[Trident]

Located at the northern tip of Cyphrus, Black Beach Cavern is largely unknown to local land-dwellers and invisible to merchant ships that do not sail closely to the coast. The Svefra who have discovered the location a long time ago assume that it is part of the ancient cave system their Drykas neighbors used before the Valterrian struck. Black Beach can only be accessed through a small opening that is easy to sail past without noticing anything. The opening is almost circular, speaking of skilled hands that carved the cavern, and the tides added the rest. Because of its size, only a small Casinor can pass through and only when the waves are low during ebb. A few feet into the cavern water turns into land. It is sand mixed with soft earth that the visitor finds, adding an unusually dark shade to the ground. It is not quite sand, but not quite earth, one side of the story behind Black Beach’s name. Shrubs of grass and small bushes grow around the beach area, but do not populate the back for Syna’s rays do not reach it anymore. The whole cavern is shaped like a large worm, with curved walls, a ceiling made of earth and rock, and sandy ground. Remnants of campfires scatter the entrance area. Towards the back, the occasional empty bottle of rum can be found. Sometimes these bottles still have some liquid in them, or a mysterious message a drunken Svefra might have left for the next visitor. A ballad is known, sung in Fratava, that centers on Black Beach Cavern. It tells the story of two people in love, a young woman and an old man, the latter of whom having being struck by a terminal illness. When the man was about to die, the woman brought him to the cavern and begged Dira not to take him away from her yet. However, the Goddess was merciless and took the man’s life just when his body reached its limit. The woman mourned and stayed at the cavern for days and days, cared for by her family. When she finally left she composed a ballad that would forever remind the Svefra of her story and how Black Beach Cavern got its name. After that, several who have visited the cavern at night tell of a strange whispering and moaning. They believe the ghost of the woman’s lover still haunts the cavern, hoping for her return. Also, most Svefra believe that visiting the cavern and leaving a bottle of rum or some food behind as a gift honors the dead and calms Dira. NPC List : There are no known people inhabitating Black Beach Cavern, though rumors do abound about what lurks within the cave at night... Credit for idea goes to Lier Wavedancer.