97 rooms · levels 50–51
A small dirt road runs north and south through the middle of a silent town. No sign of life shows in any window, but human-sized tracks lead both ways along the road, and a great many small rodent tracks come in from the dark trail to the west. Two signs stand at the side of the road.
A few cart tracks run north along the road. A small sign at the roadside names this Lockwood Road, the main road of the town, and the grass and trees along its edges are still trimmed and neat, as if the gardeners only left yesterday. The road leads north and south.
The main road is strikingly clean: large sewer grates along its sides drain away the waste and the trash. A sign points east, naming that road Turnberry. Lockwood Road goes on north and south, and Turnberry Road branches off to the east.
The other end of Turnberry Road meets the main road here and heads away to the east. Lockwood Road runs on to the north and to the south. Far off over the rooftops to the northeast stands the hazy outline of a large palace.
Nothing moves along the road. The only sound is the wind whistling through the few bushes left at the sides of the street. Lockwood Road leads north and south, and an old, dusty road goes off to the west.
A small sign on the corner names the stony road that runs east and west here 'North Street.' It is in better repair than any other street in the town: its stones are finely laid and worn smooth, and long iron rods rise from its edges every few yards to hold the evening fires. The palace looms to the northeast, North Street runs on to the east and west, and Lockwood Road leads away south.
The street runs east and west. The collapsed houses thin out toward the west, where the beginnings of a forest path can be seen. Back to the east the palace rises over the town.
The street from the east narrows to a small forest path that heads off to the west. A few rodent tracks lead west along it. A short path leads south to an old well.
The forest thickens, and the call of an owl pierces the silence now and then. The path turns here, leading north into the trees and east back toward the town. A few rodent tracks come in from the east and head north.
The woods grow thick and travel on foot becomes hard. Branches hang across the path and the path itself begins to fade away. A few rodent tracks come in from the south and follow the fading trail west.
The desert road turns to packed dirt here and runs east through a strip of dark forest toward a small town. The dirt is pressed with footprints, both human and rodent, and the rodent ones far outnumber the rest. The highway lies back to the north, and a trail leads west into the desert.
The rodent tracks are gone, lost among the leaves of the heavy forest. Branches hang low over the trail, making every step a struggle. The trail back toward the town leads east, and to the north the woods seem to open up a little.
This tiny clearing is hidden in grass four feet tall. A cot of straw lies in the far corner beside a small stream, and a hole has been cut through the bushes nearby, giving whoever sleeps here a clear view of anyone coming up the trail. The only way out is back south into the woods.
An old well stands here, drained and left to ruin since the plague struck the townsfolk a few weeks ago. It makes a quiet spot, away from the streets, to watch the night sky. A small path leads north back to the road.
Cart wheels have cut deep grooves into this long, dusty road, which runs east and west. Trees lean out over it, their limbs nearly brushing the ground. There is no sign of life in any direction.
Trash and the bodies of the dead clutter this abandoned road, and the smell of decaying flesh hangs over everything. The houses around it have been burned to the ground. The blackened shell of an inn stands just to the south, a small park lies to the west, and the road leads back east to Lockwood Road.
This is the entrance to a small park. A large sign posted on its gates declares it closed until further notice, and the iron bars have long since rusted in the rain. Beyond them the park is empty and silent. The road leads back to the east.
The old inn's walls are blackened and half fallen; a fire burned most of it to the ground. Charred beams lie across the common room and nothing stirs among them. Many footprints, both human and rodent, lead out north to the road.
North Street keeps its clean look: not a scrap of trash, not a leaf, not a speck of dirt lies on its stones. The cleanliness only makes the silence stranger, for no human sound comes from anywhere. The palace road is to the east, Lockwood Road to the west, and a small walkway leads south to a little house.
This small house holds the tools of a blacksmith's trade: an anvil, a forge and many lesser tools lie about the room. It is pitch dark inside, and the walls are thick with soot from a fire nobody tended. Long abandoned, the house smells of rusting metal. A small walkway leads out to the north.
A large, ornate palace of stone looms to the north behind an iron fence that rings it all the way round; the stone walkway leading north to its gate is the only way in. North Street runs on to the east and to the west.
The street bends south here around fallen debris. A small bush has toppled into the middle of the road, the one blemish on an otherwise spotless street. The palace road is back to the west, and more houses can be seen down the street to the south.
North Street runs north and south, deserted and silent but for the wind rustling past. A shop of some sort stands to the west, its sign too faded to read.
This bakery was deserted long ago. Stale loaves lie scattered about the shop, the counter has been overturned, and a thick layer of dust covers everything. The windows and the back door are boarded up, leaving the door to the east as the only way out.
Two roads merge here. North Street, coming down from the north, joins Turnberry Road, which leads away to the south and to the west. North Street is in far better condition than Turnberry.
Turnberry Road turns here, leading north and west. A few small houses stand empty along both sides, and trash clutters the street.
Turnberry Road grows worse with every step. The paving has been torn apart, the trees and bushes along the road ripped down, and the houses all around destroyed. To the south a bit of the wreckage has been patched together into a small house. The road leads east and west.
This one room is all that remains of a small mansion. Rubble lies everywhere in total disarray: bits of wall, small broken statues, torn paintings. A small ladder leads up into the room above, and the road is out to the north.
This room is the last of the mansion it once belonged to. Even in its clutter it was plainly an expensive room, with fine curtains, old furniture and costly art, and someone has been using it to keep a great deal of money safe. A small bed with torn, dirty sheets lies in the corner. A ladder leads back down.
The road is in poor shape. A few paving stones have been upturned and some of the bushes along it pulled up by their roots. Turnberry Road continues east, Lockwood Road is just to the west, and to the north stand the remains of a small house.
The remains of what was once a most beautiful home lie here. Small pieces of furniture are scattered about, still smoldering from the fire that gutted it. A few human tracks lead back out south to Turnberry Road.
Small rocks and pebbles begin to fill the dirt road, and trash collects along its sides. Overgrown hedges spill out over the road, nearly covering the sign that names it Lockwood Road. The road leads north and south.
The palace stands directly to the north. A long, narrow walkway leads up to its doors, lined with fountains that spout crystal clear water, and a guard post has been set up right in front of the doors. North Street is back to the south.
The palace's main hallway is richly decorated, with paintings, drawings and sculptures lining it as it leads east and west. The floor is of gold and sparkles in the light of the torches on the walls. The entrance is to the south.
The walkway is of solid gold and the walls an ivory white. Footsteps echo through the hall from somewhere to the northeast. A small bedroom opens to the north, and the walkway leads east and west.
Not much is kept in this room: a small bed against the far wall, a dresser against the near one, and a little religious shrine beside the bed with a few lit candles set around it. The walkway is back to the south.
The golden walkway bends here, leading west and north. Distant shrieks of utter terror echo through the walls of the palace.
The golden walkway runs north and south and branches off east toward a small room. The sounds of torture echo down the hall, coming from somewhere to the north.
This is a waiting room for those bound for the chamber to the north. A few comfortable white chairs stand against the wall, and a sign-in sheet hangs beside them. To the west the hall leads back to the main walkway.
This large bedchamber is where newcomers to the upper class are seduced. A large, fluffy bed stands along one wall with a small bathtub beside it, and articles of women's clothing lie strewn over the floor and the furniture. The waiting room is to the south.
The golden walkway leads west and south. Torches fill the hall with a bright light, for the king suspects an assassination attempt and wants every hall lit. Screams and shrieks of pain come from somewhere to the west.
The golden walkway runs east and west. To the west the guards seem ten times as many, for the king's fear of assassins has grown, and screams and cries of death break out from somewhere beyond them.
The hallway runs east and west and also turns north here. The smell of blood is overpowering, and it comes from the north, along with screams of pain and anguish: 'Don't kill me!' and 'My fingers don't bend that way!' Someone not in a guard's uniform has made the mistake of walking north. It is almost as if walking north were a death wish. A large sign rests against the wall.
A small station has been set up here in the heart of the palace to watch over visitors to the throne. A line of torture devices runs along the walls, and guards mill about looking for intruders. Now and then a guard drags a screaming peasant in, mentions 'Feeding Time' to the others, and they laugh as the peasant is hauled away. It would not be wise to stand in this room for more than a few moments. The hallway is back to the south, and a foyer lies to the north.
Guards prowl this room in a fury. Tables are overturned and things scattered across the floor in the search for intruders, and a large table in the middle of the room is laid with pieces of human flesh. Screams come from somewhere beneath the floor. A sign reads: 'Anyone without the proper authority found in these rooms will be fed to the King's pet. If you don't leave NOW, you will die.' The throne room lies to the west, the guard room to the south.
A large throne stands against the far wall, with a long red carpet leading up to it from the doorway in the east. Suits of armor line both walls along the carpet, and a great circular candle holder hangs from the ceiling. A giant portrait on one wall shows an old man in a crown with a young lady seated beside him.
This grand hallway is filled with expensive things and even more expensive art. Its golden walkway leads east and west. To the west lies more hallway, but from the east come screams, cries and pleas for help, as if something to the east draws death to it.
The hallway splits here in the northwest corner of the palace. The hall leads east and south, and a small staircase goes down into what looks like a pit.
This small pit in the corner of the palace serves as a room for one of its people. A small cot lies in the corner, but what draws the eye is the large spiked grill in the middle of the room, where prisoners are bound and tortured. The staircase leads back up.
The sweet smell of flowers drifts in from the west and fills the hallway, though screams of pain echo down the hall from somewhere to the northeast. The golden walkway leads north, west and south.
The palace gardens are kept in this room. Plants and flowers of every kind hang about it, and a window in the roof lets in the sunlight and the rain, as in a greenhouse. A small bed stands in the far corner. The hallway is to the east.
The golden walkway bends here, leading east and north. The torches along the stone walls are freshly lit, and small shrieks of terror from somewhere to the northeast pierce the quiet of the halls.
The palace is ornate inside: the walkway is of pure gold, the walls an ivory white. A small bedroom opens to the south, and the walkway leads east and west.
This small bedroom houses a few of the town's guards. A row of beds lines the far wall, and a set of armor and a sword lie out on a table in the middle of the room. A small window lets in a breeze that makes the fire in the fireplace flicker, scattering ashes over the grate beneath it. The walkway is to the north.
The road keeps getting worse. Small sets of rodent tracks lead in every direction. Turnberry Road runs east and west, and to the north a small walkway leads to a boarded-up building.
A small sign over the door reads 'Mercer's General Goods Store.' The store is boarded up, and a notice nailed to the boards says the building is to be burned down. A small walkway leads south to the road.
The road is in terrible condition. Trees have fallen across it, rocks cover it from side to side, and the houses all around have been burned to the ground. Turnberry Road leads east, and Lockwood Road is just to the west.
Lockwood Road goes on north and south, and a small road signed 'Vistawilla' crosses it, leading east and west. Rodent tracks and human tracks lead off in every direction.
Vistawilla Road runs east and west. Many rodent tracks head east, but very few go west. A large house stands at the west end of the road, and to the east the road goes on for some way.
Every house along this torn-up stretch of road has been burned to the ground. The street is empty, and a slight breeze carries the smell of death. To the south stands the only house left on this part of the road.
The largest house on Vistawilla Road, and the only one left standing on it, rises here. Large and ornate, it has somehow withstood the hordes of rodents that stormed through the town, though its door hangs open and its rooms have been picked through. A stony walkway leads back north to the road.
This dirt road winds and curves, laid out to make room for as many houses as possible, though only a few still stand. Off to the southeast the roofs of a few houses rise above the ruins. The road leads east and west.
The road turns here, leading west and south. A few houses still stand along the way south, but most of the others have been destroyed. The streets are desolate and very quiet.
The small house of a poor peasant stands to the east, ringed by a few small bushes; it is the only house left standing on the block. A small rusted gate lies flat on the ground in front of it. The white marble columns of a mansion show above the ruins behind it. The road continues north and south.
This small house is one of the few still standing on this side of the town. A few small beds stand against the wall, with a few bedsheets, and a large table fills the middle of the room. The road lies out to the west.
The road turns here, leading north and west. The shells of houses burned to the ground still stand on this corner. A few houses still stand to the north and west.
The road ends abruptly here, where a line of collapsed houses blocks the way west. Due north, up a stone walkway, stands a large mansion, one of the few buildings left whole in the town. The road leads back east.
A long line of stones edges the way and soon paves it as it runs north. Well-trimmed bushes and plants line the walkway up to the mansion's doors to the north. The dirt road is back to the south.
Oddly, this large mansion was left untouched when the rodents came through the town. Two stone lions guard the walk up to its doors, which are finely made and trimmed with gold, and white marble columns hold up a balcony crowded with plants and flowers. Inside, everything is in its place. The walkway leads back south.
The road gets worse here, and the sounds around it fade away. A few trickles of blood run along the dirt, leading south. The road leads north and south.
Collapsed houses along the dirt road stand empty, and some of them still smolder. The trickle of blood running south grows wider. The road leads north and south.
A side road joins the main road from the west. The trickle of blood from the north runs on to the south, where the road seems to end at a clump of collapsed buildings.
Lockwood Road ends here. A large pile of wood, the remains of a shack, lies at the end of the road, and many dead bodies have been piled beside it, leaving a long trail of blood that drains down a grate in the road. The road leads back north toward the town.
This long, dusty road is still in fair condition and has more buildings standing than any other road in the town. The remains of a small house stand to the north. The road leads east and west.
This house is one of the few collapsed buildings that can still be walked through. Burn marks on the last few pieces of wood are reminders of the fire that brought it down. A narrow walkway of pebbles leads south to the road.
Rodent tracks cover this old road, leading every way. To the north stands the one house left on the block. The road leads east and west.
This small house is in terrible condition. Rodent tracks surround it, and the floors are covered with the small, dirty prints. Pottery, statues and other pieces of art have been knocked over. A small staircase leads up, and the road is out to the south.
This small room has seen the worst of the rodents' attack. What furniture is left is falling apart, every window is cracked or broken, and a large piece of the roof has been torn off and lies in the middle of the floor. The staircase leads back down.
The old road leads east and south. Far to the south lie the beginnings of a forest, and to the east stand more collapsed buildings.
Few travelers have come this way. A few stones lie scattered about and a few footprints in the dirt lead south, where a forest can be seen in the distance. An abandoned road leads east, and the old road leads north.
This road is deserted, with nothing moving either way. A few leaves drift lazily west along it toward the old road. An old warehouse stands to the north, and the road runs on east to the rubble of a house.
This abandoned warehouse holds nothing but a few wooden crates and barrels. Dust lies thick over the whole room. A small window is set in the west wall, and the road is out to the south.
A small house once stood here; now only rubble is left. Rodent tracks are pressed into the dirt all around it and lead back west to the road. A few broken pieces of furniture remain, but anything worth saving was taken long ago.
A trap door opens up underneath you and drops you down a long tunnel into a small room. Many human corpses can be seen lining the walls of this room. The floor is covered in a sandy substance, and many pawprints can be seen in the sand. A large sign in the middle of the room says something about paying attention to the warnings. A small trap door can be seen up on the ceiling.
Few have come this way. Tree limbs lie at the sides of the road and rocks clutter the dirt. The edge of a forest begins to the south, and the old road leads back north.
The edge of the forest creeps out over the road, its limbs and branches arching across it. Pinecones lie scattered along the way, more of them to the south, deeper in the trees, where a few faint footprints lead. The old road leads back north into the town.
The sewer reeks of corpses and old human waste. A tiny trickle of water runs north, and beside it a much larger stream of blood, most of it from the grate in the ceiling above.
A man-made sewer runs north and south beneath the town, under Lockwood Road. It is completely dark, and the only sound is the trickle of water. The rotten smell of human waste fills the air.
The sewer is completely dark, and tiny creatures crawl along the trail of blood that leads north and south. A spiderweb in a corner has a human finger caught in it. The air smells of death and decay, and the sewers are very quiet.
A large pile of human bodies lies here, dragged into the sewers after death to keep the plague from spreading. Rotting pieces of flesh are spread about, and bugs, rats and other carrion eaters feed on the dead. The sewer leads east and south.
This end of the sewer, beneath the palace, is pitch dark. The sounds of animals echo off the walls. A small ladder leads up to a grate in the ceiling, and the sewer runs back west.
The forest is much thicker here, and trees grow across the walking path. Gentle forest creatures can be heard now and then through the trees. The human footprints from the town are swallowed up by the brush on the ground. The forest ridge is to the north, and the path pushes on south.
Deep in the forest, the trees crowd so close that the path is little more than a gap between their trunks. The brush is trampled flat in places, and a faint smell of smoke drifts up from the south. The path leads north and south.
Many of the trees have been cleared back here. Loose limbs have been knocked down across the trail, and the sounds of the forest creatures die away. The path leads north and south.
A wide swath of the forest has been cleared. Many trees lie on their sides, knocked over as if something huge had passed through, and the trees at the edges are scorched. The wide path of uprooted trees leads west; the trail back into the forest leads north.
A great part of the forest has been cleared away here to make room for something enormous. Scorched trees still smolder along the edge of the clearing. In the middle the grass has died away, as if something very large rests there often. The path of uprooted trees leads back east.
This room serves as a workshop and thinkshop for Peleus as he works on his second zone. A few computer parts lie strewn about the room, and the words 'Plasma Spheres' is written on the wall. A large comfy chair lies in the corner, and next to it lies a few tools of work: a paper and pen, a large jackhammer, a fork, and a pair of old socks.