Askalet

Askalet was the easternmost of the three islands located south of Thelve and southwest from the the fortress library of Candlekeep. During the century that followed the Spellplague, its was a part of the so-called Cimarine Isles.

Description
Askalet was a rocky outcropping that rose above the Sea of Swords. The island of fissured granite with temperate woods growing among the cracks. Askalet had rock-basin pools of freshwater collected from melted snow and summer fogs as well as several freshwater springs. A small two-vessel harbor was located at the center of the island's southern shores. Not far from it stood a fish-filled freshwater pond at the center of a wooded alley – the source of a dozen freshwater springs that trickled down the slop, eventually emptying into the Sea of Swords. In winter, the spring and their miniature waterfalls froze into a delicate and beautiful ice wall. Beyond the wooded valley, Askalet was a collection of wooded cliffs and ridges.

Askalet's eastern side was long, northern and western shores were  long each.

The island was once inhabited, but by the late 14 century DR, it only held at least three ruins: an overgrown cottage with its roof collapsed located in the westernmost dell on Askalet. A ruined stone estate stood in the valley not far from the harbor, rumored to hide a pirate's trapped treasure. Ruins of a castle rose above the sea atop the island's easternmost cliffs. The castle was falsely believed to had been a pirate-baron's keep and, at one point – a mage's tower. Elminster Aumar theorized that the said wizard, Askalath was the island's namesake.

Geography
Askalet's northern shores were separated by Skoond's Run from the large island of Thelve. To Askalet's west laid two sister islands of Nairn's Tomb and Arthoum. The isles of Askalet and Nairn's Tomb were apart, while Arthoum laid  north of Askalet. The Sword Coast mainland was separated from Askaletby a body of water at its narrowest and the strait known as the Racewind Passage.

Flora & Fauna
Askalet was home to a massive population of seabirds numbered in thousands. The island's rocks were stained with the birds' guano. Several species of predatory sea creatures could also be found on the island. Deer and an occasion owlbear called the wooded labyrinth of rocks and fissure-caverns their home.

History
Askalet was once used by pirates and smugglers who likely gave the island its name. By the late 14 century DR, the island's ruins were used by many as a shelter through the years. Despite that, the island was far from thoroughly looted. Askalath's tower had a well-hidden cellar with a shaft that dropped down into the dangerous depths of the Underdark. Some believed that the wizard used the shaft as a well, magically retrieving water from the far underground. However, the shaft's true value was in the multitude of cellar complexes, with their entrances opening into the endless shaft's lower reaches.