The Farms

Physical Description / Layout
The Farms are a long, narrow zone similar to the Shipyards/Harbor but aligned vertically as opposed to horizontally. It is the south-west sub-zone of the Industrial quarter, bordering the lighthouse to its South, the Mines to the North and the Commons / Worker’s District to the West. Consisting largely of long, rolling hills it’s significantly flatter than all of the other zones. Much of it is dirt / greenery, with a few special areas that are paved. The vertical ascension isn’t North-South like in the other subzones, but rather from the West to the East, with the easternmost border being the highest zone. The farms are split into four different levels here.

The main level by far is the one that extends across the entire Western half of the farmland which contains a majority of the farmhouses. This is the lowest level as well, but is largely flat as it borders the Commons / Worker’s district to the West. A dirt road runs here along the western edge of the sub-zone, originating from the lighthouse exit to the South and making their way up to the mines at the North. This road has an intersection roughly halfway up the sub-zone, heading east towards the Commons / Worker’s District to the West and to the watchtower towards the West.

Many of the farms are arranged such that the houses are close to the road, while the fenced farms stretch out behind them which hold the barns and such. The farms stop at the first ridge and level up though, which marks the beginning of the abandoned watchtower. From here the land gets more rugged and rocky, preventing many trees or wildlife from existing as it gets steeper. It also gets a lot narrower, with only another small, climbable level at the very extreme mid-east leading to the Khyber pass.

The “mid” level between the farms and the Khyber pass extends a fair bit south however, looping around to eventually become the western wall that borders the path to the lighthouse. As one goes south, the number of farmhouses begins to dwindle, while there are quite a few ruins right around the southern lighthouse, in essence testament to the high winds that fill the region there. To get a general idea of the vertical progression, here’s a feel for it (save not as green):

http://67rts.org/photo/sights/Farm%20Mountain%20Side%20is%20Fine.jpg

Mood, Lighting, Look & Feel
Things at the farms aren’t all that well. A haze fills the air as light rain pretty much saturates everything. However, things aren’t too bad as at least there’s a little bit of light about, while things are just a little difficult to see as opposed to all-out darkness like the lighthouse or docks. Here’s a good image that actually captures the look and feel for the farms:

http://n2xplor.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/tristram.jpg

However, the hue itself changes a bit the further one goes to the East or West. Go East and the hue changes to a more natural yellow, go further West towards the town and it becomes more and more grey and flat in color.

2.1.3 Important Locations
Your Home: Your home is towards the South of the Farms and is a rather small plot of land compared to the other farms. It holds a single barn, a stable and a two-story farmhouse and is pretty much where you start off. For the first three-four days, the player will start off here at the beginning of each day but will get a chance to move when the next day starts. Important characters include his father and his grandmother, along with a stable hand, Terrance. Behind the current farm is another one that’s been abandoned for a long time and taken over by wild animals. At its eastern boundary is the ridge that marks the next level.

The Abandoned Watchtower

A century ago, the watchtower was the main gateway to the Khyber pass, which was used by the early explorers and kings in their many failed attempts to explore beyond the mountains Sedaire. The watchtower used to hold many soldiers; almost 300 at its very peak. However when it became clear that it was impossible to explore beyond the mountains, it was abandoned and the Khyber pass was closed. Quite a lot of equipment was left behind in the watchtower, though, including a toolkit belonging to an engineer known as Dumas. This toolkit will be essential in fixing the machine, which is why you need to retrieve it.

If you have received the appropriate clues in the Abyss, you will be aware that there is a secret cave within the basement of one of the surrounding barracks. Going into this cave will let you bypass the sealed entrance and lets the player explore into…

The Khyber Pass

The Khyber pass is a high mountain pass that winds across several ridges and goes into a fairly snowing area of the mountain. The player can only go a limited amount into it – but at its end he will find the remains of a soldier that has actually explored beyond the mountains and returned, only to die when the main pass was sealed. The soldier has carved a simple word into the rock face however – it’s a name: “Lyda” along with a set of seemingly random numbers following it.

The Crossroads Tavern

The Crossroads Tavern is located at the intersection of the roads that lead to the Watchtower/Commons and the ones leading to the Mines and Lighthouse. It’s a fairly small tavern, single story with few patrons at time of day unfortunately. There is a man here, however, that the Monastery are looking for as part of a mid-game quest – an individual named Thann, whom helped supply some of the materials for the machine and is currently in hiding. The monastery hasn’t had much luck in finding him so far but believe you may have better luck. The player will have to convince him somehow to tell him all he knows about the machine – either through guile or through force.

The Mill

The mill is a large set of buildings located near the western-most edge of the subzone. It’s a small collection of buildings that essentially take some of the agricultural produce and turn it into bread and the like. The belvedere society has a contact in this area that has been observing Monastery activity and has managed to collect certain vital information. The operative will tell you to go to the bottom of the Mill’s basement to kill off a few of the Monastery members before taking whatever it is they were seeking back to the HQ at the factories.

Major Events

1.	If the player completes the Tavern quest, Thann will not appear in the tavern again the next day. 2.	If the player returns from the Khyber pass after reading the Lyda carving, the pass will become inaccessible. 3.	During the late game a large number of people will migrate from this area and up the city towards the wall.