The hoomiku were better prepared to deal with the aftermath of Nigh's attack on Arborat. They had seen the deadly power of similar weapons in their own past history, and understood that the withering curtain of radiation spreading over the landscape would consume their colony. And so they fled, evacuating the monestary of Deca and moving south over the foothills that bordered the coastal lowlands of Erdanis. Here, safely out of the radiation's reach, they established a new colony, one that took an entirely different approach to concealment and secrecy. They hid right out in the open.
Southwind Cove is full of aliens. That is to say, hoomiku. While the entire town seems to be composed of humans, this is nothing more than an illusionary cloak. The entire town is a repeating, interlocking series of permanent illusionary scripts, forming an elaborate and realistic 'community' around only a small number of true hoomiku inhabitants. The Decider is completely unaware that the satrap sent to rule this region has been dead for decades, replaced a reclusive illusionary duplicate.
The first thing one might notice upon arrival in this quaint coastal town is that the inhabitants are unusually bright. The hoomiku have a hard time playing 'stupid', and thus most of the illusionary actors will seems exceptionally sophisticated and oddly detatched. Furthermore, everything is painted white, the perfect base coating for illusionary effects (like a blank movie screen). Everything is orderly and symetrical, there is no crime, and everyone is always smiling. Most guests are treated well by their illusionary hosts, and there are just enough hidden (possibly curious) hoomiku observers to create illusionary countermeasures to unplanned situations. When visitors of a particularly interesting nature show up (PCs, for instance), the hoomiku will frequently take the opportunity to study their behavior, belongings, anatomy, and even their thoughts. All this is done with remarkable subtlety, recorded, and added to their growing study database. The hoomiku hide their own homes beneath the tranquil town, and observe just everything through scrying spells and clairvoyance. Getting too close to the subjects is considered dangerous.
Althought the town is technically controlled by the Tamarans, few even know of its existence. It produces a certain quota of inoffensive goods each year, such as rope, textiles, and wine, all fabricated by the hoomiku, delivered like clockwork. Entire Tamaran crews have stayed in Southwind Cove for weeks on end and never noticed a hair out of place, although the hoomiku and their illusionary citizens will often try to hasten the departure of unwelcome visitors
Lots and lots of happy, smiling citizens, all of which are almost irritatingly polite and courteous. Many people have gotten the feeling that the town is a little odd, but nobody has ever proven anything. Nobody really cares, either, because Southwind Cove is so monumentally dull. However, should interesting folk arrive in town, life may suddenly become very lively. Psychological tests, stress tests, physical tests, all initiated by illusionary triggers and studied carefully by the ever-curious hoomiku. Who knows what might happen for the sake of the curious observers.