Well, we've made it to day 14! Today's prompt brings us the second cold and snowy location, which I've actually added another smaller island for with a gigantic mountain on it.
Balzer's Watch is an observatory high on the largest mountain of the island, built up from the ruined foundations of a tower that had watched over this area ages ago. Balzer's Watch is - among certain circles - a renowned observatory, providing its inhabitants and visitors an unbeaten view of the cosmos. At the very base of the mountain there is a small village from which a visitor can hire a guide to take them safely up to the observatory - a trek that is itself no small feat. It usually takes nearly two days to reach the tower proper, and so there are multiple cabins at various points up the slope for any who need to take a rest.
The tower itself is shared by an order of monks dedicated to furthering their understanding of self by understanding the universe, as well as various practitioners of the arcane arts who were instrumental in the construction of both the tower and the unique crystal dome at the top. The magic of the crystal dome allows each viewer to use specific magic words to increase or decrease the magnification of the sky in whatever area they're looking. In the daytime, it also provides the ability to cut the glare from the sun so that those interested in studying the sun can do so without damaging their eyes or resorting to complicated and unreliable gnomish machines.
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