57 rooms · levels 9–50
You stand beneath a gigantic stone archway, the Grand Gate of Orolin. Its two steel gates were forced open long ago and have rusted in place. A hollow gust of wind blows past you into the deserted, ruined city. Main Street runs west toward the domed temple, and to the east the desert sands stretch on for miles.
This was once a magnificent street, but now it lies in total ruin. The street is barren and windswept and the silence goes on and on, broken only by the howls and screams that echo through the deserted city. The Grand Gate stands just to the east and Main Street runs on west. To the south is a small guard house, and to the north a dark back alley squeezes between the ruins.
Main Street, once magnificent, is ruined here as everywhere. To the north lies a collapsed house, little more than a blast crater, and to the south a flight of broad steps climbs to the city hall, once the grandest building in Orolin; eerie sounds echo from within. West, the street ends at the garden path around the great domed temple, and east it runs on toward the gate.
A circular path of flagstones runs around the great domed temple at the heart of the city. The flowers have withered away and the once lush trees are bare; vines and ivy snake up the temple's walls and catch at your feet. On this, the east side, Main Street leads east toward the city's gate, and an archway opens west into the temple. The path bends away north and south. A sudden volley of howls pierces the air.
A circular path of flagstones runs around the great domed temple at the heart of the city. The flowers have withered away and the once lush trees are bare; vines and ivy snake up the temple's walls and catch at your feet. This is the north side of the path; an archway leads south into the temple, and a side street leads north into the common quarter. The path curves away east and west around the dome.
A circular path of flagstones runs around the great domed temple at the heart of the city. The flowers have withered away and the once lush trees are bare; vines and ivy snake up the temple's walls and catch at your feet. On the west side of the path an archway leads east into the temple, and the market place opens out to the west. The path bends away north and south.
A circular path of flagstones runs around the great domed temple at the heart of the city. The flowers have withered away and the once lush trees are bare; vines and ivy snake up the temple's walls and catch at your feet. This is the south side of the path. An archway leads north into the temple, and a small side street heads south into what was the business quarter. The path curves away east and west.
You stand in the middle of a large square lined with baskets, carts and stands of all shapes and sizes. Abandoned, the little stalls still hold some of the goods they once sold. A tapestry stand lies to the north and a meat stand to the south, and the market goes on to the west. East, the garden path circles the great domed temple.
You stand at the west end of the market square. Stands and carts line each side, filled with the remnants of fine foods and exquisite goods: a jewelry stand to the north and a produce cart to the south. A small gate in the western wall of the city lies just to the west, and the middle of the market is to the east.
The side street ends here at the city's northern wall. A back alley leads off east past the steaming bath house, and to the west stands a small clay dwelling. The street runs back south toward the temple. The incessant howling tears at your mind.
You are in the common quarter of the city. Ruined buildings of clay and stone are all there is to see; most of the homes are nothing but rubble, but a few look almost safe enough to venture into. The street continues north and south. To the east a small doorway leads into a house that is still standing, and to the west a narrow back alley runs between the ruins.
This small side street leads north from the garden path, to the south, into the common quarter. Large piles of rubble stand where the commoners' houses used to be. To the west is a collapsed stone house, and to the east an unusually tall dwelling looms over you. A lone howl makes you worry greatly about your safety here.
This small side street leads south from the temple's garden path, to the north, into the business quarter of the town. The destruction that leveled the city was not choosy: these important looking buildings have been all but destroyed. To the west is a smithy, and to the east a hole gapes in the wall of a very large building, the city hall.
This small side street is lined with the remains of once great buildings. To the east are the ruins of a tavern, and to the west a narrow alley runs off toward a watchtower. The street continues north toward the temple and south to its end.
You are at the south end of a long street leading north to the center of the city. To the west stands a dark, foreboding building, the city's guild house, and to the east what looks like a pile of rubble hides the door of a shop.
You stand at the foot of a tall watchtower built to protect the city from invaders. From the looks of things, it did not do a good job. A ladder climbs up into it, an alley leads north behind the market stands, and another runs east toward a side street.
This alley leads to the rear of what used to be a meat stand, to the north. You wince at the stench. South is one of the city watchtowers.
A large stand has been set up here, with metal hooks and wooden racks behind it. On the hooks hang very small scraps of meat and game. The stand is nearly empty, and a sudden burst of howling and screaming makes you realize why. The market place is to the north, a cart of rotted produce stands to the west, and a back alley leads south behind the stand.
A narrow alley leads east to a wider street and west to one of the city watchtowers.
You are standing in what was once this city's ONLY guild house. Tables and chairs have been smashed and broken weapons lie strewn about the floor, as if some massive battle had been fought here. Draped along the back wall is a tattered, jet-black banner bearing the symbol of the Darkside. The street is to the east.
A large cart stands here, piled with rotted fruit and vegetables. Flies swarm about what seem to be the last bits of food left in the city. The market place is to the north, and the meat stand next door, to the east, gives off a powerful stench.
In here are the tools and anvils once used to make weapons and armor. The walls have been stripped bare, and only a few unfinished pieces of armor and weaponry are left. The side street is to the east.
Tattered and torn tapestries and rugs lie heaped in piles here. Fancy robes and articles of clothing are now just rags. You stare at the strange piles for a long time until a piercing howl makes you think they might be beds. A narrow alley leads north between the ruins, the jewelry stand is to the west, and the market place lies south.
A narrow alley leads north to one of the city watchtowers, while to the south there lies a market stand full of torn clothes and rugs.
You stand under one of the watchtowers built to protect the city from invaders. Obviously, it failed. A ladder climbs up into the tower, a back alley leads east, and a narrow alley runs south toward the market.
A table has been tipped over here, spilling fine jewelry and gems across the ground. Most of the trinkets are battered and tarnished, and few would be worth anything now. The market lies to the south, and a stand of ruined clothes and rugs to the east.
This was once a very plain house with nothing more than a few chairs and a bed. A cold fireplace suggests the city has been abandoned for a long while. Almost nothing remains of this humble home. The side street is to the east.
This small stone house has collapsed in upon itself, leaving heaps of debris. A few rafters still stand with thatched straw hanging from them, and a hot wind gusts through the hollow dwelling. The side street is to the east.
A narrow alley runs between the ruined houses, east to a small side street and west to one of the city watchtowers.
From the outside this place looks like an ordinary pile of rubble, but inside these cramped quarters you find what used to be a shop filled with armor, weapons and other goods. A small sign flutters in the wind. The street is to the west.
A glorious place in its prime, this tavern now lies in ruin: tables and chairs broken and scattered, bottles and glasses shattered, and a small stage crushed. Musical instruments and personal belongings lie under the rubble, but the people they belonged to are not with them. Looking up you see that the whole second floor and the roof have fallen in, leaving a gaping hole above. The side street is to the west.
You stand in a large room at the end of the hallway that leads back north to the reception hall. Pedestals and columns have fallen, and most of the valuables have been carried off, leaving worthless debris. A few chairs have survived, and a large curved desk. To the east a vine-covered archway leads out into a private courtyard.
This is the main reception hall of Orolin's city hall. The walls are charred and scored, and debris lies from wall to wall. A great gaping hole in the west wall looks out on one of the city's side streets; no one will be seen here today. Hallways lead south and east, and the doorway north opens onto the steps.
Here lie the remnants of a fancy office, perhaps the mayor's. A few withered plants and the broken pieces of furniture make it anything but fancy now. The only thing still intact is a large glass cabinet. A hallway leads west back to the reception hall, and an ivy-covered archway opens south into a private courtyard.
What a shame that the destruction reached even this once beautiful place. The temple's garden path has nothing on this garden. Flowers and trees have been trampled into the ground and lawn benches flung through the walls, yet a great marble fountain in the middle of the courtyard still stands, defying every attempt to destroy it. Above the courtyard wall rises one of the city's watchtowers, and a stair climbs up to it. Archways to the north and west lead back into the city hall.
This was once the barracks of Orolin's city guard. Now it is an empty shell, though the little shack still stands watch over Main Street to the north, the city gate just beyond and the city hall next door.
All that's left of this house is a few scattered piles of rubble around a very large blast crater. Someone or something important must have lived here to draw such fury. Main Street lies to the south. A shrieking howl chills your blood.
This is the tallest building left standing in the city. Once it may have been an inn of some sort; now it is just a mess. Its back wall has been knocked down, opening a way east into the next building through yet another collapsed wall, with blast craters and boulders between the two. An old, very dangerous looking set of wooden steps leads up to a badly rotting second floor. It does not look safe to go up those stairs. The side street is to the west.
This cramped dwelling could not have housed more than one person; now, with its back wall gone, it could hold many more. Broken shelves and workbenches lie about, and vials and pouches have spilled their contents across the floor. This was perhaps the city's magic shop. Its east doorway is blocked with debris, so the only way out is back west through the tall dwelling.
A dark back alley squeezes between the ruins, south to Main Street and north toward a watchtower. A mass of howls catches you off guard.
A narrow back alley runs north to one of the city watchtowers and south toward Main Street. On the west side the doorway of a small house is blocked solid with debris.
You stand under a tall watchtower in the north-east corner of the city. Narrow back alleys lead west along the wall and south toward Main Street, and a very weak looking ladder leads up into the tower. Winds howl high above your head.
This was once the bath house of the city's commoners. Hot, steamy water still wells up from a hole in the floor: there must be a hot spring under the city, which makes building a city here seem a lot more reasonable. A closer look at the water shows a dead body floating in it, its skin long since melted away. The west wall has collapsed into the house next door, and a doorway leads north into a back alley.
A narrow back alley runs along the inside of the northern wall, west to the end of a side street and east to one of the city's watchtowers. Great clouds of steam pour out of the bath house to the south.
This home is almost the only one around still standing. Apart from the massive hole in its east wall everything looks intact, even the windows. Great clouds of steam roll in through the hole from the bath house beyond. The doorway west leads back out to the side street.
The minute you step off onto this floor you realize it was a mistake. The old rotted floorboards give way and you fall, impaling yourself on the jagged boards below.
You stand atop the north-west watchtower. The view is magnificent: you can see all the way to the western mountains. No wonder this place stood for so long. The ladder leads back down.
You stand atop the south-west watchtower. The view is magnificent: you can see all the way to the western mountains, and southward the desert stretches to the horizon. No wonder this place stood for so long. The ladder leads back down.
You stand atop the north-east watchtower. The view is magnificent: you can see a great floating pyramid hanging over the north-eastern horizon, and the desert sand stretches to the horizon. No wonder this place stood for so long. The ladder leads back down.
You stand within one of the most holy places in the realm. This stunning domed temple once held the city's worshipers by the hundred, but it too fell to whatever destroyed Orolin. Long benches lie toppled and the altar has been desecrated. Great chunks of stone have fallen from the walls and the dome, and sunlight streams in through the holes. A few books lie about, their holy message written in a strange tongue. Wind gusts through the four archways, north, east, south and west, onto the garden path outside, and howls and screams carry in from every part of the city.
Odd: from below this tower seemed old and rotting, but now that you have climbed it you see that the rot was an illusion! The tower is in perfect condition, its stones true and its parapet whole. Something unusual is going on here. The stair leads back down to the courtyard.
This was once the city of Orolin, a home of powerful mages. Now it is a ruin, and the desert nomads call it Orofin. The gates that closed this small back entrance, called the Eye of the Needle for its pointed arch and narrow size, are broken and rusted. To the east is the ruined market of Orolin, to the west the desert, and a gravel road leads south to the city graveyard.
The garden path turns a corner here beneath a dead plane tree, its bark hanging in strips. Stone benches have been tipped into the dry flower beds, and the temple's dome looms over the wall of ivy. The path runs on west along the temple's north side and south along its east side.
At this corner of the garden path a dry ornamental pool is choked with dead leaves and blown sand. The walls of the temple rise close by, scorched black where the fire licked at them. The path runs north along the temple's east side and west along its south side.
The flagstones of the garden path have been heaved up here by the roots of a withered fig tree. Something has gnawed at its bark, and claw marks score the temple wall behind it. The path runs north along the temple's west side and east along its south side.
A trellis has collapsed across this corner of the garden path, and its dead roses rattle in the hot wind. Beyond the ivy the temple's dome blots out half the sky. The path runs on east along the temple's north side and south along its west side.
Broad marble steps climb from Main Street, to the north, to the doors of the city hall to the south. The doors themselves are gone, torn from their hinges, and the columns that held up the portico lie across the steps in drums, scored and blackened. A carved seal of the city over the doorway has been hacked away until only its rim is left.